Mass Effect 3 (Also Mass Effect General I suppose?)

[JackSlack]

My opinions of Mass Effect and bioware are best summarised by my long winded writings here https://ironcurtainproject.wordpress.com/ for those who are two lazy, I really hope ME3 brings back what was awesome about ME1(Inventory, moding, heat instead of ammo) while keeping the strong story/writing/voice acting on par with the first two games.

Wow. OK, I admit, that is basically the direct inverse of my own opinions, which were that:

Mass Effect 1:
Pros:
o. Strong story
o. Strong characters
o. Strong voice acting
o. Good universe/sense of scale
o. Extensive customization
o. Great NPC dialogue.
Cons:
o. So-so shooting.
o. Infuriating inventory
o. Poor actual combat
o. Over-convoluted customisation

By contrast,

Mass Effect 2:
Pros:
o. Strong shooting
o. Streamlined, customization
o. Well considered power system
o. Smarter AI
o. Some strong characters
o. Great NPC dialogue.
Cons:
o. Awful story
o. Too many characters
o. Some thin characters.

Essentially, I also want a hybrid of ME1 and ME2... but wholly at the story level. I want a story that makes freaking sense again: One with a good solid villain (ala Saren) and no brain-hurting developments (wha? wait wha? we're going into the 'dead' reaper? and our boss sent us in knowing it was a trap, even though 'I'm the only man who can save the universe?' Say WHAT?)... just, y'know, a solidly well told story.

But I definitely prefer the action-RPG design of ME2. I've said for ages that computer/videogame RPGs needed to ditch the random number nonsense ages ago as a relic of tabletop. ME2 is pretty close to what I want in that regard.

Now, pair it up with a good story, and a sensibly sized cast.

[nicholasmc1]

Inverse really? We both agree that the voice acting and characterisation remains strong as is probably what makes the francchise?

[JackSlack]

Well, OK. Not entirely inverse. But the gameplay is where we differ: You saw the decreased RPG elements as a minus, and saw the story staying strong. I saw the decreased RPG elements as a plus, but the story's decline displeased me. Both of us liked the first more than the second (I think) but for wholly opposite reasons.

I think.

[Arius]

Meet your new squad member: James Vega.



Guidos in Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaace.

[semysane]

I assume one of his upgrades will be a tighter shirt?

[Drinnik]

We can but hope.

[semysane]

Here's hoping Kal'Reegar and/or Matriarch Aethyta (the bartender on Illium) get to be squad members. That would kick ass.

[LogicSword]

I want an Elcor squad member.

Slash love interest.

[nicholasmc1]

I want an Elcor squad member.

Slash love interest.

He could give us a rendition of Elcor Hamlet!

[JackSlack]

Welp, that's my pre-order for ME3 collector's edition in. I am a consumer whore.

[Duckay]

Belated response to Vega: I am half expecting his new gear to be an absence of shirt, really. Rowr. Also, I want Shepard to steal his boots. They're awesome.

And that concludes the rampantly hormonal fangirl section of this bulletin.

[nicholasmc1]

Just realised he looks alot like Andy Circus

[JackSlack]

Here's my issue: Vega would have been AWESOME in ME1. A political novice who wants to charge in and kick ass, and causes problems as such. But in ME3, really? Isn't this when the gloves should be well and truly off?

[Duckay]

I didn't think of that, and I see your point, JackSlack. Still, I'm tentatively optimistic about him and his place in ME3.

[JackSlack]

... woah. I just had a wicked thought.

What is Vega is the villain?

1. It makes that name rather intriguing. "Vega" is a villainous name; Street Fighter 2 used it for its main boss, after all.

2. It makes a certain weird sense. If Vega becomes a charismatic leader for the human first movement, then he becomes the enemy of what Shepard's been trying to do for two games: Build an army, by any means, to defeat the Reapers. Even a Renegade Shepard could see Vega's politics as well meaning, but naive. Plus, this means ME3 would have a 'villain whose face you can punch', ala Saren: Something ME2's Reaper/Collector narrative sorely lacked.

3. He could still be a team-mate. He'd just be a temporary one. After all, if he's an early team-mate, then betrays you early on to become the main villain... Man, that could rock!

[Geoff_B]

this has probably been said but my biggest gripe about mass effect 2 was the ammo - sorry - HEAT SINK system. it doesn't seem to make sense in the gameplay or in the story.

"ah, commander shepard, in the two years you've been dead we've made some changes to how our guns work."
"you mean they no longer have infinite ammo?"
"well yes they do still have infinite ammo, but we've put a limit on the number of heat sinks the gun can hold."
"but don't guns cool down if you leave them for a while?"
"not any more. now you have to load it up with heat sinks to be able to fire it. if you run out of heat sinks the gun won't fire."
"ooookaaaaay"
"also, you're the only one who has this feature. everyone else's weapon still fires with no need to reload heat sinks. but they will still carry them so that you can pick them up from the dead bodies. except they'll get fewer and fewer as you progress through the mission."

couldn't think of a funny way to end that but i hope the point is made

[JackSlack]

Geoff: Yeah, it's a dirty retcon. That said, here's my favourite resolution of it.

There's always been a tradeoff between three factors: Gun power, gun 'capacity' and kinetic barrier regeneration rate. If the guns are too strong, they over-heat too quickly. If the capacity is too low, you can't shoot through a shield fast enough before it gets back up. If the shield is too strong, low powered guns just don't damage them.

Mass Effect 1 occurred in a time when the capacity was dominant in the cycle. Heat sinks were good enough and shields weak enough that strong weapons were plausible. Thus, the internal heat sink -- with its limitless shots but slow 'reload time' was the winner.

In the two years, some great advancement in shield tech was made. (It is true that shields do seem to regenerate a lot faster in ME2 than ME1.) This meant that reload times had to decrease fast, while maintaining strong shots. The heat clip idea won out again. Heat clips aren't the same as internal heat clips; they don't cool down in any plausible timeframe, but unlike internal ones they're ejectable. They become a way to have power and reload speed.

At some point, some clever guy will come up with a better internal heat sink, and the pendulum in weapon design will swing back that way.

None of this answers why Shepard, upon getting that gun after two years out of the game, didn't first ask, "What the hell is a heat clip?"

[semysane]

None of this answers why Shepard, upon getting that gun after two years out of the game, didn't first ask, "What the hell is a heat clip?"

If it is a recurring cycle, he may well have been trained on heat-clip using weapons in the past. IIRC, at least one of the DLC weapons in ME2 was a vintage assault rifle that still used heat clips.

[Geoff_B]

still doesn't answer the question as to why shepard is the only being in the universe who has to reload her gun though.

[Vanguard]

To make it fair for everyone else.

[semysane]

Yeah, the only reason there wasn't just a pile of corpses at every door was because I had to stop to reload heat clips. Shepard is a monster, even ParagonShep!

[Geoff_B]

so when the reapers invade and all life is wiped out, shepard will be standing there shouting "hold on a sec! Reloading!"

[Vanguard]

Those few extra seconds that it takes for Shepard to reload will just give the Reapers a few more precious seconds to exist before they get wiped off the face of the galaxy. The bastards should be grateful.

semysane is right; Shepard is a bad-ass. Heck, with mine she had the War Hero background, which essentially boils down to her fending off an entire enemy platoon while she was on vacation. In my mind this invasion happened while she was in the shower, so she ran out to go to war wearing only a bath towel, and even that she ditched about fifteen minutes in because she thought, and I quote, "it was giving me too much of an advantage".

Eat your heart out, Chuck Norris. The pussy.

[semysane]

Mine had the War Hero background as well. I would also like to point out that entire civilizations were unable to kill Reapers, and at this point Shepard has killed THREE

[Drinnik]

Three? Harbinger survived, only Soverign and the human!reaper died.