Mass Effect - Gen. Discussion & Info - Pinnacle Station DLC Now Available 400pts

I played for about 8 hours today. I didn't even really do much in the main storyline. I just spent most of the time exploring other planets, and doing sidequests.
 
I've put about 3 hours into the game as of nearly 1AM CST... and WOW. Just WOW. But danged if it's not hard... There's some monster on a planet that just refuses to die...

And you get the "failure music" that really makes me want to toss the controller. ;) I think I need to level up some more before I tackle this beastie.

In short... the rumors and conjecture are true... ;) This game is turning out to be TOTALLY AWESOME.... I'm not sleeping much this Turkey-break. :D

I'm off to scout the planets some more... w00t!
 
[quote name='KwanzaaTimmy']On my LCD the Grain filter makes everything look a little too diluted, turning it of showcases the games great graphics.

What'd everyone decide to start playing as?

I settled with an Infiltrator--after playing the first 2 hours as an Adept, Soldier, and Vanguard.[/QUOTE]

I started as a soldier, because I'm curious to fiddle with all the neat weaponry. ;) But I forgot to be a gal... so I'm a guy... good voice acting... stoic, yet has depth.

The voice-acting in this game is TOP NOTCH... Bioware doesn't disappoint.. :)
 
elevators in the future are really really slow. I forgot what shitty loading times were like after playing Halo 3, Bioshock and XBLA . Thanks for reminding me Bioware.
 
[quote name='thorbahn3']elevators in the future are really really slow. I forgot what shitty loading times were like after playing Halo 3, Bioshock and XBLA . Thanks for reminding me Bioware.[/QUOTE]

I don't mind them too much. The only one that seems excessively long is the Normandy load--the fast transit in the Citadel is quick and you get to bypass the elevator music.

Played quite a bit tonight, enjoyed it all.
 
Ahh. 4 1/2 hours in.

Just became a spectre...it's too bad I cannot afford ANYTHING in this game. Also, does anyone know what to do with that random obsessed fan? I don't remember where I talked to him, and it's bothering me that that assignment still shows up

I must say, I was very relieved to play the game, and find that it is still very much a shooter if you ask me. Cannot wait to play more tomorrow, the acting and story are really fantastic. The loading times are kinda...bleh, and just the enormity of the Citadel is a bit overwhelming, but I'm sure I just need more time in it to get better acquainted. Really awesome game, I need to play more, but this is up there with Mario, Bioshock, and GoW II on my best games this year list.

Also, can you change your class later on? I read somewhere in this thread that they changed classes after X hours into the game.
 
I've got this sitting here and am tempted to play it... Note that I've never played an M-rated game. This is not due to any moral issue, I just don't find them appealing in general. Plus I tend to play most games with my kids. But I can set aside some late-night play time if I want for this.

The fact that you say it is mostly a shooter, Panda, is a turn off for me. And if you guys are finding the combat tough I wonder how I would fare :lol:. Also, one of the knocks in the otherwise excellent IGN review (9.4/10) was that the exploration aspect is lacking. Ie, there isn't much to find on uncharted planets that isn't specifically quest-related. If true, I find that disappointing as that is one of most important elements to a successful RPG as far as I'm concerned (ie, lots of stuff to find off the main path).

I enjoyed KOTOR (on the PC) quite a bit, so that's what is drawing me in. The overwhelmingly positive reviews help, too, of course. Still...
 
[quote name='Mechafenris']I've put about 3 hours into the game as of nearly 1AM CST... and WOW. Just WOW. But danged if it's not hard... There's some monster on a planet that just refuses to die...

And you get the "failure music" that really makes me want to toss the controller. ;) I think I need to level up some more before I tackle this beastie.

In short... the rumors and conjecture are true... ;) This game is turning out to be TOTALLY AWESOME.... I'm not sleeping much this Turkey-break. :D

I'm off to scout the planets some more... w00t![/quote]

I learned to use the jump to dodge the acid, then fire your cannon.
 
[quote name='A Happy Panda']Ahh. 4 1/2 hours in.

Just became a spectre...it's too bad I cannot afford ANYTHING in this game. Also, does anyone know what to do with that random obsessed fan? I don't remember where I talked to him, and it's bothering me that that assignment still shows up

I must say, I was very relieved to play the game, and find that it is still very much a shooter if you ask me. Cannot wait to play more tomorrow, the acting and story are really fantastic. The loading times are kinda...bleh, and just the enormity of the Citadel is a bit overwhelming, but I'm sure I just need more time in it to get better acquainted. Really awesome game, I need to play more, but this is up there with Mario, Bioshock, and GoW II on my best games this year list.

Also, can you change your class later on? I read somewhere in this thread that they changed classes after X hours into the game.[/quote]

You run into him on the upper level of the market. He asks for your autograph and then wanders away. I don't know why they bother putting him in your missins list... he probably shows up on every planet you go to as a joke or something.
 
[quote name='Mechafenris']I started as a soldier, because I'm curious to fiddle with all the neat weaponry. ;) But I forgot to be a gal... so I'm a guy... good voice acting... stoic, yet has depth.

The voice-acting in this game is TOP NOTCH... Bioware doesn't disappoint.. :)[/quote]

The best voice actor in the game so far....

deanna.jpg
 
[quote name='evanft']Holy shit...I fucking need this game.[/quote]

Dude, I hate sci fi really. I really dont like it that much but this game is fucking amazing. I literally can't stop playing just cause I want to know whats going to happen next. Its outstanding, period.
 
I like everything but the voice acting the male player character. I know they were going for neutral, but they could have found someone with more warmth/texture to his voice. He sounds like a B-movie actor, while most of the others are fantastic.
 
[quote name='thorbahn3']elevators in the future are really really slow. I forgot what shitty loading times were like after playing Halo 3, Bioshock and XBLA . Thanks for reminding me Bioware.[/quote]

Seriously, I thought the PA comic was exagerating until I actually sat down and played the game last night/this morning for about 3-4 hours straight.

I'm playing as a Vanguard and saying every dialogue option available, so this game will be slow but immersive for me.

I just picked up Wrex and the quarian who found evidence against Seran, great game so far despite the stupid fucking elevators and choppy frames-per-second (which I got used to in KOTOR back in the day).

I'm much like Maynard, I don't delve into sci-fi games much. Hell, I didn't even finish KOTOR because I just plain lost interest. I'm not a big fan of RPGs either, but the shooting mechanics that are perfectly integrated into the main storyline (thus far, things may change) is great. The shooter aspect makes me feel as if I'm playing a mixture of GRAW/GoW.
 
anyone else find the graphics to be grainy? maybe its just the tv im playing on (emprex 32 inch lcd) but i cant get the graphics to look as good as i think they should... everythings just not smooth to me. maybe its the style of the game i dont know.

either way ive only had about a hour to play but im liking it so far... thank god i got my xbox back in time for this.
 
[quote name='GeneralJenkins']anyone else find the graphics to be grainy? maybe its just the tv im playing on (emprex 32 inch lcd) but i cant get the graphics to look as good as i think they should... everythings just not smooth to me. maybe its the style of the game i dont know.

either way ive only had about a hour to play but im liking it so far... thank god i got my xbox back in time for this.[/QUOTE]

The grain effect can be turned off. It's there for mood, to make it seem like a 70's sci fi film.
 
[quote name='SpecTrE3353']You make me want to vomit.[/quote]

I found the gameplay to be great, it's just that Star Wars doesn't interest me.

[quote name='GeneralJenkins']anyone else find the graphics to be grainy? maybe its just the tv im playing on (emprex 32 inch lcd) but i cant get the graphics to look as good as i think they should... everythings just not smooth to me. maybe its the style of the game i dont know.

either way ive only had about a hour to play but im liking it so far... thank god i got my xbox back in time for this.[/quote]
There's a grain filter which can be toggled on and off.
 
[quote name='GeneralJenkins']anyone else find the graphics to be grainy?[/QUOTE]
Look in the Options menu. You can turn off film grain and motion blur.
 
[quote name='thrustbucket']The grain effect can be turned off. It's there for mood, to make it seem like a 70's sci fi film.[/quote]

I have a friend who is using a smaller SDTV and he was complaining about issues with things seeming too blurry and grainy. Might be a good idea to try turning off the motion blur and the grainy filter thing in the graphics menu for people on a small and/or SD tv.
 
[quote name='mrelusive']In the future, elevators will be slow as fuck.

I hope my descendants don't end up working in a 5-mile-high office building...[/quote]

Think of it this way... they could have just paused the game and let you stare at a loading screen. Instead you get to listen to news and/or character babble.

I actually picked up a quest off of just listening to a newscast during an elevator ride.
 
I'm ~15 hours in now--the side quests take up a lot of time. I have only completed one of the main quest areas after the intro quest. They're a bit repetitive, but I am enjoying it. Some maps are exactly the same on different planets, they just have different bad guys inside.

very mild spoiler for one of the 3 main early quests
I can tell you one thing--those giant frickin' shrimp are something when they get riled up!
 
Haha, Sniping in this game is so tight. Even if I don't one shot 'em (I'm looking at you Krogans!), I've got the mod that makes the bullet flatten out so it delivers one hell of a knockback. I feel like I'm using an Elephant gun on some galactic safari. ;)

After the Citadel...

I went into the Artemis Tau Cluster, and I thought I missed the "uncharted" world that Liara would be on. Turns out she was on a colonized world-- Pretty awesome to actually play through the X06 demo area.
 
[quote name='dimeadz']I learned to use the jump to dodge the acid, then fire your cannon.[/QUOTE]

I'm still practicing... it's not exactly like "charge in guns blazing" sort of combat... particularly with that monster... I just need more trigger time so I can maneuver better... not to mention making sure I bring with me the combat-oriented squad. ;)

At first I thought you had to eliminate it with the landing craft... big mistake... the landing craft's like a tinfoil wrapper.. ;)
 
I had some aprehensions about this game even though I loved KOTOR. Jade Empire's combat I didn't think was very well done so I was worried about the combat plus the other issues mentioned in reviews. But I bought it anyway, and I think it's great just from a couple hours into it. None of the smaller technical issues really bother me since most of them were issues in KOTOR as well, and I love how they did the combat since it's a lot deeper than just running and gunning.

Question though, as a Vangard am I stuck with the pistol/shotgun combo? No spoilers, just a yes or no please. Being 'untrained' in a weapon seems to mean I can't hit the broadside of a barn with it.
 
[quote name='Mechafenris']I'm still practicing... it's not exactly like "charge in guns blazing" sort of combat... particularly with that monster... I just need more trigger time so I can maneuver better... not to mention making sure I bring with me the combat-oriented squad. ;)

At first I thought you had to eliminate it with the landing craft... big mistake... the landing craft's like a tinfoil wrapper.. ;)[/QUOTE]

Wow, you're trying to take one down outside of the MAKO? Thats pretty gutsy man.
 
Bah. Anyone else unhappy with the so-called cover system? I find it kind of broken. You want it to work like the Gears cover system, but it doesn't. Sometimes when I hit A next to a wall, nothing happens, then I keep hitting A, and something eventually happens. Also, what's up with needing to crouch first, then hit A in order to hide behind something waist high? Can't I just hit A and have my character auto-crouch? Kind of annoying/broken.
 
[quote name='A Happy Panda']Bah. Anyone else unhappy with the so-called cover system? I find it kind of broken. You want it to work like the Gears cover system, but it doesn't. Sometimes when I hit A next to a wall, nothing happens, then I keep hitting A, and something eventually happens. Also, what's up with needing to crouch first, then hit A in order to hide behind something waist high? Can't I just hit A and have my character auto-crouch? Kind of annoying/broken.[/QUOTE]

Why are you hitting A? You just need to press against the wall and the game does it automatic.
 
[quote name='whiptcracker']Why are you hitting A? You just need to press against the wall and the game does it automatic.[/QUOTE]

Well shit, it's more broken than I thought. At first I started running up to the walls, but when it wouldn't let me stick to the wall, I started hitting A, then it become more of a 50/50 thing. Next time I play, I'll give the game more time to recognize that I'm trying to get cover, see if that helps. I'll feel like a dumbass if its because I keep hitting A...but I swear it was helping.
 
[quote name='A Happy Panda']Well shit, it's more broken than I thought. At first I started running up to the walls, but when it wouldn't let me stick to the wall, I started hitting A, then it become more of a 50/50 thing. Next time I play, I'll give the game more time to recognize that I'm trying to get cover, see if that helps. I'll feel like a dumbass if its because I keep hitting A...but I swear it was helping.[/QUOTE]

Unless I was hallucinating or something, I'm pretty sure if you run up to a wall, pause for a second, then press forward you'll stick. Try stopping just before the wall, then going forward again, see if that helps.

I haven't had a problem with it except once, and of course that was the time the game was trying to instruct me to stick to a specific wall :)
 
[quote name='A Happy Panda']Well shit, it's more broken than I thought. At first I started running up to the walls, but when it wouldn't let me stick to the wall, I started hitting A, then it become more of a 50/50 thing. Next time I play, I'll give the game more time to recognize that I'm trying to get cover, see if that helps. I'll feel like a dumbass if its because I keep hitting A...but I swear it was helping.[/quote]

It is a bit frustrating after having played Gears so much. Mass Effects combat would be fantastic if the controls were as responsive or the cover mechanics as easy to use as they were in GoW. I also find it a bit frustrating that while cover seems pretty necessary to survive during combat, it is located in pretty uniform and sometimes tactically inappropriate areas. It is ALSO frustrating that when you finally find a good spot to take cover, either a biotic picks up your cover and moves it or your enemies charge from their cover and start punching you as you flimsily try to uncrouch and get your character to stop sticking to the box your behind. Lastly I hate how imbalanced the fights are. Even after knocking it down to casual mode I constantly find myself dying to stupid situations beyond my control.

The combat has a ton of potential and is sometimes very fun, but I am a turned off by the poor controls, the terrible AI and the horrible difficulty imbalance.
 
Try crouching with L3 to see if that helps. When I can't just stick standing I tend to crouch and then it works pretty well for the most part. Though I do agree in the sense that it should be reworked a little bit different. Not a big deal to me though.



Personally I hate using the MAKO on anything remotely rocky. One time I was on a mostly lava planet and I just died and after looking at the ground I died on, I wondered how the hell it happened. There was no lava or anything. Plus another time I hit a rock and flew 50 feet in the air and did something like a fucking quad-triple axel as if I was a damn figure skater on steroids. Happened a few times actually and was almost thrown into lava once. I also think the controls shouldof been tighter on it. It's my only irk in the game so far really as it feels incomplete to me.
 
[quote name='Draekon']Personally I hate using the MAKO on anything remotely rocky. One time I was on a mostly lava planet and I just died and after looking at the ground I died on, I wondered how the hell it happened. There was no lava or anything. Plus another time I hit a rock and flew 50 feet in the air and did something like a fucking quad-triple axel as if I was a damn figure skater on steroids. Happened a few times actually and was almost thrown into lava once. I also think the controls shouldof been tighter on it. It's my only irk in the game so far really as it feels incomplete to me.[/quote]

I spent about 5 minutes trying to figure out where the analog stick sensitivity was for driving in the options menus before I realized there just isn't one. When it comes to that sort of thing it feels like this game was at least a little bit rushed... why would they ship a game lacking a number of important options that all other FPS games have as well as a pretty big lack of tutorials and instructions on how to do important things in game?
 
[quote name='SpecTrE3353']It is a bit frustrating after having played Gears so much. Mass Effects combat would be fantastic if the controls were as responsive or the cover mechanics as easy to use as they were in GoW. I also find it a bit frustrating that while cover seems pretty necessary to survive during combat, it is located in pretty uniform and sometimes tactically inappropriate areas. It is ALSO frustrating that when you finally find a good spot to take cover, either a biotic picks up your cover and moves it or your enemies charge from their cover and start punching you as you flimsily try to uncrouch and get your character to stop sticking to the box your behind. Lastly I hate how imbalanced the fights are. Even after knocking it down to casual mode I constantly find myself dying to stupid situations beyond my control.

The combat has a ton of potential and is sometimes very fun, but I am a turned off by the poor controls, the terrible AI and the horrible difficulty imbalance.[/QUOTE]

I actually find the combat system to be quite good, with the cover and grenade throwing system as exceptions. When you're throwing the grenade long distances, it's pretty damn hard to judge the depth. And again, the cover system is a bit finnicky, and it becomes more annoying, like you said, because it is essential in alot of fights.

Overall though, I find the shooting and biotic use to be really solid. Except I really do wish it wouldn't pause the game everytime, but oh well.

Also, how hard does it get? I just
became a spectre
and have yet to die. I also haven't left the citadel yet, so that probably tells you something. And I'm on the normal difficulty.
 
[quote name='SpecTrE3353']as well as a pretty big lack of tutorials and instructions on how to do important things in game?[/quote]

Bioware does have the word "tutorial" in their dictionary. However they do tend to write decent manuals. Unfortunetly through their latest games haven't been as in depth as their earlier ones, including the manuals.
 
[quote name='A Happy Panda']Also, how hard does it get? I just
became a spectre
and have yet to die. I also haven't left the citadel yet, so that probably tells you something. And I'm on the normal difficulty.[/quote]

I had no problems up to that point. There is a spot I just did about 7 hours in where you fight a boss
Matriarch Benezia
and I think I died somewhere between 10-15 times before I finished the fight off completely. Half the time i literally died the instant fighting began before I could even do anything and that includes after I bumped the difficulty down to casual.

I am not saying I hate the combat, most of the time I really enjoy it but it is imbalanced unfair situations like that are really frustrating. This frustration is even more compounded by the bizarre auto-saving that either doesn't save before a big encounter or saves at a stupid spot where you have to redo cut scenes everytime you load.
 
[quote name='A Happy Panda']Overall though, I find the shooting and biotic use to be really solid. Except I really do wish it wouldn't pause the game everytime, but oh well.[/quote]

You can assign one skill to RB in the sense that you only need to tap RB to perform it. The rest obviously need pausing beyond that, but just in case you didn't know I thought I'd throw it out there.

[quote name='A Happy Panda']Also, how hard does it get? I just
became a spectre
and have yet to die. I also haven't left the citadel yet, so that probably tells you something. And I'm on the normal difficulty.[/quote]

I'm not terribly farther than you, but all my deaths have been pretty retarded. I've been playing on Normal difficulty with low AA and I'm fairly adept at shooters and such. My friend on the other hand isn't quite as good as me generally but is playing through on Veteran and was complaining earlier today that he was stuck on a fight that took him a while to beat.
 
Veteran definitely isn't run and gun. I'm enjoying it so far tho, level 18 or 19 Infiltrator and counting tho! Only things I had problems so far with were the
Asari Clones on Feros
enemy biotics suck...
 
For cover you have to match the height of it to stick, so if its a low wall or rock, you have to be crouched to stick. I love the cover system, at least as an infiltrator, If I'm ducking behind cover- I can pop out with the sniper and give em hell.
 
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