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MASS EFFECT: ANDROMEDA Gameplay Series #2: Characters
- Thread starter Phamit
- Start date
Nice of them to branch out with characters. Never had a rogue turian, an old krogan, or a scientist asari before...
lucebuce12
Member
Different pair for every playthrough.
Cora and Vetra at first, then Drack and Jaal, then Peebee and Liam.
Then mix according to who I like.
Metroidvania
People called Romanes they go the house?
Eurogamer also has a specific discussion with a dev on the removal of the power wheel for squadmate abilities
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...ed-the-power-wheel-from-mass-effect-andromeda
Also, apparently the select button (on the Xbone, at least) is the new 'view' (pause) wheel.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...ed-the-power-wheel-from-mass-effect-andromeda
Also, apparently the select button (on the Xbone, at least) is the new 'view' (pause) wheel.
SoRuffShoNuff
Member
They have also given you a young Krogan and warrior Asari before.
Admiral Woofington
Member
Its kind of cheating to put a Krogan as you always need to have him in your party to approve of your sassy comments
Samurai G0SU
Member
YO ... my mouth is watering from the footage. Especially at 60fps. mmmmmmm
I want to believe this is
footage and all will be revealed come e3!
I want to believe this is
scorpio
The Last Wizard
Member
MegaSackman
Member
Day Pre-Ordered.
lucebuce12
Member
That "Quit to Desktop" option in the pause menu kinda ruins that theory.
based on what?
Admiral Woofington
Member
Should have been here in the past thread about the first video. We were all crying about it. In this video they try to dodge the issue by making it seem like the AI will control it. But ultimately it looks like they wanted to add that favorites tab in the quick menu and thought
'hey with this new tab, we don't have space to put squad skills'
'well clearly we get rid of it all together and hope the AI does everything'
flipswitch
Member
For someone who has only played a little bit of ME1, will I be lost story wise with Andromeda?
The previous video and even this video they don't look that useful either. That segment at the end had the companions largely just standing around.
Standing around? You mean they got utterly fucked up by that Fiend and player had to solo it?
Reminds me of ME3 AI for squadies. Standing in open and taking melee and ammo to face for days if you don't micro them 24/7.
lucebuce12
Member
Nope, set in a completely new galaxy with completely new characters and places and is set 600 years after Mass Effect 2.
So you'll be fine.
Unfortunately knew most of this information. But I suppose that's because I only delve a bit deeper than most. Still bummed we can't control our squad's powers and I see they didn't bother mentioning that in the video either, only glossed over how they can either be set to prime or detonate with their powers. I wonder why they wouldn't want to cover that information, as if there would be a bit of a backlash...
Still don't find that explanation very excusable. It was entirely optional to either have control over your squad's powers and have them do it on their own in the previous games. Why not do the same here who want to play that way?
Still don't find that explanation very excusable. It was entirely optional to either have control over your squad's powers and have them do it on their own in the previous games. Why not do the same here who want to play that way?
flipswitch
Member
Oh wow. Thanks.
This is on easy mode and the companion was getting wrecked and running around in the open. On Insane she's going to be dead in seconds.
Yup, real dumb reasoning. I like slowing down combat. That was my favorite thing about ME combat. Pausing to select powers and asses the battlefield and choose my targets. There's no reason to not include that ability still for those who like that style of gameplay. It doesn't impede or prevent people who want a faster run and gun style from playing like that.
or a white girl with biotics in a skin-tight suit
SoRuffShoNuff
Member
So you are looking for something more superficial as opposed to actual full on gameplay. Even with your example there are problems, for example if the sniper character hangs back and provides cover then that sniper character cant be in your party, same issue with the stealthy characters going ahead and scouting. All you are doing really is turning the characters you dont use into consumables. And its not going to be as dynamic as you think because people will determine which characters are best suited to be used as a consumable during any particular mission and therefore that character is essentially removed from your list of available party members.
GavinUK86
Member
yeah i'm on board with the new setup. it looks pretty fun. i don't want andromeda to play like the previous games tbh. it's a new story, new characters, new galaxy, i like the idea of having new gameplay mechanics too.
i'm going to end up being an "explorer" i think. a little bit of everything.
i'm going to end up being an "explorer" i think. a little bit of everything.
Confidence Man
Member
Lame as fuck removing the power wheel. For every step forward in this series they take a step back.
The Last Wizard
Member
Are you coming at Ashley bro?!
Yeah, my biggest fear is that AI is nowhere competent enough to hold its own. Then combine incompetent AI with new combat design that is all about momentum and you don't have time to micro manage AI companions that they still would require. Kinda makes it that initially one should approach Insanity difficulty as solo experience where you get some squad talk between combat segments.
I so hope I'm wrong about squad AI and it's actually competent in staying alive and using abilities.
Blue Ninja
Member
Awesome, I always wanted to do biotic jumps.
As cool as the system is, I'll probably have four different Vanguard sets favorited at all times. Maybe throw in an Adept for fun.
The Last Wizard
Member
Damn, that's one of the most uninspired squad I've ever seen.
you mean the segment where they are running the easiest difficulty probably on god mod?
Miranda.
On top of the mentioned similarities, Cora even has the same hanging belt thing on the character design.
Exactly and you see the AI sitting around or just running in the open. The companions aren't being proactive in that battle in the end (I can't even tell where the Krogan is) and it's pretty much the main character solo'ing it.
Neither of those things should turn AI into utter moron. Squad AI doesn't look that much better than it was in ME3 and that was some horrendous shit for higher difficulty play. Micro managing for days like playing StarCraft.
So this confirms that you can't freely combine 12 different abilities in combat due to them hitting you with an ability cooldown.
Switching favorites is only for when your selected abilities aren't a good fit for the combat encounter, and then you hide behind a crate for a while to switch them out.
Switching favorites is only for when your selected abilities aren't a good fit for the combat encounter, and then you hide behind a crate for a while to switch them out.
Darkstorne
Member
Eh? No, I must be explaining it wrong. I mean you choose your party, and any members you don't use fill in as supplemental characters. No where near as active as your main party members, not even visible 99% of the time, and designed to be completely dynamic within the game systems rather than scripted (except possibly for key story beats similar to Mass 2's ending). There would never be a point where the game demands that a specific character plays a supplemental role, and those supplemental characters would never be more useful in this supplemental role than they would be in your party.
I literally just mean that, whether at your command on a cooldown or as a low-chance proc, a stealth character might appear from out of cloak for a backstab before vanishing back into stealth; a sniper character might provide a long-range powerful shot; a tech character aboard the ship might highlight all enemy positions so you can see them through walls temporarily. That kind of thing, so you still have all the gameplay and class choices you're used to, but without that weird Bioware thing where you set up for a mission so important that the life of literally everyone in the galaxy depends on your success, yet you only bring two squadmates with you and order the rest to chill out at base doing absolutely nothing of use at all.
I swear, the majority of players, and perhaps even Bioware themselves, are so used to this weird video game tradition that they don't even realize it's a colossal plot problem.
cripterion
Member
Looking good but dislike all them filthy alien squadmates. Hopefully will be able to roll whole human squad, all the time.
It does seem that they just copied ME1 and replaced Tali with Jaal.
Cora = Ashley
Liam = Kaidan (although I expect both of these to survive)
Vetra = Garrus
PeeBee = Liara
Drack = Wrex
Samurai G0SU
Member
I dunno, switching profiles on the fly and not having complete control of your squad sounds like a few too many deviations for my liking. Of course, I was already down on this game, so I'm not as willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it'll end up being a Doom 2016 level surprise...
The magic of Mass Effect to me was in systematically planning out my next moves using the power wheel as the battle progressed. It was a beautiful system that really made you feel like a boss when you planned out the perfect biotic combo, or could run up and flank the enemy with reliable back up from your squad.
Every time the squad did something without your direct control the game became less fun. Thankfully I learned to turn off automatic squad powers partway through the first game. Also, part of what necessitated such in-depth micro management was how unforgiving the enemies were when you'd step out of cover. For the most part they would shred you down in seconds. Sure, these trailers are all on the easiest difficulty (something I'll never understand), but I can't lie and say their focus on more "active" combat doesn't make me wary.
The magic of Mass Effect to me was in systematically planning out my next moves using the power wheel as the battle progressed. It was a beautiful system that really made you feel like a boss when you planned out the perfect biotic combo, or could run up and flank the enemy with reliable back up from your squad.
Every time the squad did something without your direct control the game became less fun. Thankfully I learned to turn off automatic squad powers partway through the first game. Also, part of what necessitated such in-depth micro management was how unforgiving the enemies were when you'd step out of cover. For the most part they would shred you down in seconds. Sure, these trailers are all on the easiest difficulty (something I'll never understand), but I can't lie and say their focus on more "active" combat doesn't make me wary.
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