[Megathread] Mass Effect Andromeda

[rhorle]

You are free to call it whatever you want, but if can buy a loot box via real world money, then there isn't an issue for me when someone labels it a paid loot box. This seems to be something we disagree on.

No one with Origins, the example being used, can buy a loot box via real world money.

I wouldn't label anything that couldn't readily be obtained with with real money a paid loot box.

You can't obtain a loot box with real money in AC:O. In order to get a loot box you have to buy Helix credits. Then use the Helix credits to buy 2,000 drachmas. Then you have to find Reda (the vendor) in the game. Travel to their location and purchase the loot box at a cost of 3,000 drachma. When you purchase the currency you are using it to obtain anything currency can buy.

That is why the example of a crafted item in WoW is a perfect extension of your argument. One that no one here has admitted to being labeled as a micro transaction or "paid item".

If player A buys a WoW token they get, lets say, 100k gold. They buy crafting mats with that 100k gold and craft item X. Player A sells item X to player B for gold. Is player B buying a paid item? Or is player B performing a micro transaction? If the loot box in AC:O is paid then player B has to be buying a paid item as well. Because it is sourced with a RMT.

Paid transactions are not subjective. There are not "certain circumstances" that apply. Either it is a RMT or it isn't. If no RM is being exchanged for the item then it isn't a RMT. If RM is being exchanged then it is a RMT. At some point someone somewhere has paid money for the game item. Unless they pirate the game.

[Sheevah]

You can't obtain a loot box with real money in AC:O. In order to get a loot box you have to buy Helix credits. Then use the Helix credits to buy 2,000 drachmas. Then you have to find Reda (the vendor) in the game. Travel to their location and purchase the loot box at a cost of 3,000 drachma. When you purchase the currency you are using it to obtain anything currency can buy.

It's a convoluted process, but that falls under the "effectively the same" umbrella to me, personally. You're paying real money for currency that is being exchanged to buy the lootbox. The lootbox itself is not a paid loot box, per se, but you can pay money to get a loot box. Depending on the contents available in said lootbox, someone could determine whether or not they feel those loot boxes are a pro or con for the game.

That is why the example of a crafted item in WoW is a perfect extension of your argument. One that no one here has admitted to being labeled as a micro transaction or "paid item".

If player A buys a WoW token they get, lets say, 100k gold. They buy crafting mats with that 100k gold and craft item X. Player A sells item X to player B for gold. Is player B buying a paid item? Or is player B performing a micro transaction? If the loot box in AC:O is paid then player B has to be buying a paid item as well. Because it is sourced with a RMT.

To me, player B is an innocent bystander in the equation, as they could have just as easily purchased the crafted item from a player that never spent real world money, and would neither know nor care how the item was funded. They have absolutely nothing to do with the microtransaction.

At a technical level, the microtransaction is the purchase of the token. The gold from the token that was sold and the materials/items purchased with it are attributable to the token purchase, which was the only actual RMT. It yields the same result as if player A had spent the real world equivalent of the token directly on the materials/items (even though the game does not allow for that). When X is crafted, the value is skewed because a product has been made that holds a separate value from the materials used to make it. Subsequently selling X after crafting it would theoretically yield a profit/loss if you wanted to take the time to track all of that and continue the token flipping game, but it could be extremely difficult for someone to track and account for all of that without having a little bit of accounting/finance/stats knowledge (or the add ons to do the heavy lifting for you). Even then, all of that stuff is only applied to Player A, who happened to actually spend real money for that process to unfold.

Paid transactions are not subjective. There are not "certain circumstances" that apply. Either it is a RMT or it isn't. If no RM is being exchanged for the item then it isn't a RMT. If RM is being exchanged then it is a RMT. At some point someone somewhere has paid money for the game item. Unless they pirate the game.

I don't really have an issue with any of this part, because it's kind of like saying that all apples are apples with how circular/obvious the rationale is. The difference appears to be that I do believe that it is important to factor in aspects of a game that are attributable to microtransactions made after the initial barrier to entry, and how that effects the player base at a more detailed level than you.

An example would be that I, personally, find the lootbox system in Overwatch significantly more tolerable than the token and value added service models that WoW has (or at least had when I quit).

[Vankrys]

I didn't buy and play andromeda on release day. In fact, i waited about 5-6 month before having a chance to play it. By then, it is my understanding that a few patches have come along to fix some issue, so i guess that tainted my experience. But here's my take on it.

planet and exploration: I actually enjoyed the exploration part and found the vehicle control responsive and fun. Maybe a bit basic, some gimmick or flying vehicle could have been fun. The planet were ok, some empty other not so empty. I did appreciate the departure from a corridor design of the first 3 games. I liked the freedom, the ability to approach my objective the way i want.

Combat and parkour mechanics. Again, i enjoyed that, the guns felt satisfying, the various power enjoyable, the variety of different build and playstyle, a blast. Absolutely love the jumping jet, great idea.

The story: Disappointed, so many plot holes, so many incoherence. While i appreciate the idea of exploring a new galaxy, the way the andromeda initiative was handled is unrealistic, it doesn't feel like a well thought out, major enterprise.And did they really expect a man with an AI, the pathfinder, to be able to terraform any planet in matter of days? Throughout the game, it felt that any soldier with a portable computer to interface with the remnant could have done the same, i don't understand what so special about the pathfinder. The ending isn't that super satisfying either, but i appreciate the remnant remained somewhat mysterious, for future game.

The writing uneven. Sometimes good, sometimes terrible, sometimes funny, never really sad (unfortunately), sometimes awkward (no i don't want to be your friend). Ties to the terrible story design.

The aliens super disappointed. I was hopping to find a brand new galaxy with dozen of new aliens to populate the mass effect saga. We got 2 new races of aliens, kett and agora, plus some remnant machines. While i didn't not feel the planets were that empty, i did felt andromeda galaxy was empty, so few alien races, unsatisfying.

bugs and animations one last thing, about bugs and terrible animation, like i said i played the game a good 5 month after release, and i don't recall any game breaking bugs in a 80 hours campaign, in fact, i recall experiencing very few bugs, a handful of death here and there, just have to reload. And the dialogue animation were perfectly acceptable. I have seen the horrors of the release day animations, nothing like that after 5 month.

So here is my take, i enjoyed the game as an action, parkour shooter, but the story, some dialogue and the settings (lack of alien races) were completely subpar, for an RPG and especially for a mass effect game.

[Drakain]

I’m extremely disappointed that EA has elected to not really support the IP and don’t really understand why given the franchise’s popularity. It kind of turned me off to andromeda than anything else because if it’s never going to evolve like the first three did, what’s the point?

[CmdrShep2154]

And did they rip off Disney too?

[Vankrys]

hum, you are stretching it there. cora and that calhoun aren't the same at all, aside from being blonde and short hair.

[rhorle]

And did they rip off Disney too?

So because a black guy has similar melee weapons they are a copy cat? And because a female is a military-esque they are a copy cat?

As for Calhoun the character was originally supposed to be male. And it is speculated that it was inspired by Mass Effect. People need to stop looking for ways to stir up an out cry over plagiarism.

"According to director Rich Moore, Sergeant Calhoun was initially written as a male character. The gender flip occurred because Moore felt that a male action hero was an overdone concept.[1] Later on in development, when the crew encountered difficulties translating Felix's appearance to 3D, the idea of romantically pairing Calhoun and Felix came about after noticing that the latter's 3D model was easier to design when he was alongside her.[2]"

"Her outfit strongly resembles Commander Shepard's N7 armor from Mass Effect."
"She was likely inspired by such characters as Samus Aran of Metroid fame and the female version of the aforementioned Commander Shepard. "

http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Sergeant_Calhoun

[pateuvasiliu]

I didn't buy and play andromeda on release day. In fact, i waited about 5-6 month before having a chance to play it. By then, it is my understanding that a few patches have come along to fix some issue, so i guess that tainted my experience. But here's my take on it.

planet and exploration: I actually enjoyed the exploration part and found the vehicle control responsive and fun. Maybe a bit basic, some gimmick or flying vehicle could have been fun. The planet were ok, some empty other not so empty. I did appreciate the departure from a corridor design of the first 3 games. I liked the freedom, the ability to approach my objective the way i want.

Combat and parkour mechanics. Again, i enjoyed that, the guns felt satisfying, the various power enjoyable, the variety of different build and playstyle, a blast. Absolutely love the jumping jet, great idea.

The story: Disappointed, so many plot holes, so many incoherence. While i appreciate the idea of exploring a new galaxy, the way the andromeda initiative was handled is unrealistic, it doesn't feel like a well thought out, major enterprise.And did they really expect a man with an AI, the pathfinder, to be able to terraform any planet in matter of days? Throughout the game, it felt that any soldier with a portable computer to interface with the remnant could have done the same, i don't understand what so special about the pathfinder. The ending isn't that super satisfying either, but i appreciate the remnant remained somewhat mysterious, for future game.

The writing uneven. Sometimes good, sometimes terrible, sometimes funny, never really sad (unfortunately), sometimes awkward (no i don't want to be your friend). Ties to the terrible story design.

The aliens super disappointed. I was hopping to find a brand new galaxy with dozen of new aliens to populate the mass effect saga. We got 2 new races of aliens, kett and agora, plus some remnant machines. While i didn't not feel the planets were that empty, i did felt andromeda galaxy was empty, so few alien races, unsatisfying.

bugs and animations one last thing, about bugs and terrible animation, like i said i played the game a good 5 month after release, and i don't recall any game breaking bugs in a 80 hours campaign, in fact, i recall experiencing very few bugs, a handful of death here and there, just have to reload. And the dialogue animation were perfectly acceptable. I have seen the horrors of the release day animations, nothing like that after 5 month.

So here is my take, i enjoyed the game as an action, parkour shooter, but the story, some dialogue and the settings (lack of alien races) were completely subpar, for an RPG and especially for a mass effect game.

And did they really expect a man with an AI, the pathfinder, to be able to terraform any planet in matter of days? Throughout the game, it felt that any soldier with a portable computer to interface with the remnant could have done the same, i don't understand what so special about the pathfinder.

They had Golden Worlds but the ugly dudes ( played it months ago, I forgot their names ) used Remnant tech to terra form the planets and make them inhospitable for other races.

The idea is that when the Arks left the planets were fine but it took them 500 years to get there and by then the place was FUBAR.

The human AI thing is just a super ( SUPER ) soldier and also has access to the Arks via the AI. Somewhat like Shepard, he's their Captain America, the guy that leads the charge and wrecks everything.

[Nazrark]

From long range scans, the golden worlds were habitable. It is just that sometime between when we left and when we got there the Jardaan showed up and started terraforming them to make them more Angara friendly. Then a species showed up and went to war with the Jardaan and deployed the Scourge. Ultimately messing them up and forcing them to abandon it. Years later the Kett show up and go all Borg on the Angara.

The way the Andromeda galaxy seems is that the Jardaan and Unknown Empire are at war with each other. Are still active in the universe, but just leave anyone else who isn't as advanced as them alone. The Jardaan themselves try and seed every possible world with life.

[CmdrShep2154]

I actually bought the book.



There is a grassroots movement called "Homeward Sol" and they oppose the expansion of humanity outside Earth's solar system because they thought more money was going into colony development instead of Earth.

I thought Cerberus and Terra Firma were batshit insane enough but Homeward Sol lol?

[quijote3000]

Never bought any of the mass effect books

[Jtbrig7390]

And did they rip off Disney too?

Nope the tits on the Wreck it Ralph one is bigger.

In other word's you are trying way to hard here.

[CmdrShep2154]

Isn't that the Andromeda galaxy on his computer screen? That was before the voice actors for Andromeda were revealed! Did the producers of Portlandia knew something we didn't?

[rhorle]

Isn't that the Andromeda galaxy on his computer screen? That was before the voice actors for Andromeda were revealed! Did the producers of Portlandia knew something we didn't?

http://osxdaily.com/2011/06/06/mac-o...ace-wallpaper/

Yep. Portlandia knows something you do not. That the Andromeda Galaxy actually exists in real life. A stock wall paper was used in a TV show.

[Morally Grey Storm]

I am dissapoint at romance scenes
we see Jaal going down on femroider

We don't see Cora going down on male Rayder

That's sexist

[Deleted]

the fact people still talk about this bad game is a bit upsetting

[Aoewy]

the fact people still talk about this bad game is a bit upsetting

Just dont read and move on?

[Morally Grey Storm]

Good games don't die
hence me poking the thread

- - - Updated - - -

also, we must fighting to stave sexism off
Cora doesn't do bj, it's sexist when Jaal dives into the abyss headfirst.

[Edge-]

Hey friendo's, let's keep discussion on ME:A specifically and not "dead game X" or trying to stir up issues on topics that are mostly off-limits for the forum. If there's nothing to discuss, so be it, but let's keep any posts productive and on-topic, please.

[Morally Grey Storm]

I was specifically raising a topic about Syndromeda's romance scenes.
Oh well, guess it's an off-limit theme somehow.