Preview Shocking Report From RPS: First Hours of Mass Effect: Andromeda Stinks

[Grauken]

Some people will stumble into the codex, read this and just nod in agreement

 

[Prime Junta]

It'll be between that and NTwtF I'd think.

Assuming NTwtF makes it in 2017.

 

[Father Foreskin]

Some good ass in nier: automata. Havent played it but i think it has stats or someshit so it passes off as an rpg. Just like andromeda exept for the ass. I think automata will be my goty.

 

[Wayward Son]

It'll be between that and NTwtF I'd think.

Assuming NTwtF makes it in 2017.

Didn't they set their release date for 2017?

 

[DeepOcean]

Moonwalking like Michael!

"Oh, God... I need to go to the toilet NOW!"

"Ohh God, this vibrator on my ass is so good!"

 

[MRY]

I really don't know what to make of this character creation process. I can't tell if they're trying to be progressive or outrageous (see 8:08, for example).

 

[Prime Junta]

It'll be between that and NTwtF I'd think.

Assuming NTwtF makes it in 2017.

Didn't they set their release date for 2017?

They did. But, you know. Release dates.

IOW I'm keeping my fingers crossed and cheering for them every step of the way, but given their ambition level I wouldn't be surprised the least bit if it slips.

 

[Lurker King]

John Walker is a noob. Everyone knows that the only purpose of playing a Biowaste game is intra-species sex romance. And apparently the game has more romances than all of the previous games combined:

Mass Effect: Andromeda romance guide - how you do it, whom you can do it with

A staple of BioWare games and cherished piss-taking opportunity for headline writers across the industry, you can rest assured that banging ‘romance’ will make a return in Mass Effect: Andromeda. Here's everything we know so far about what romance is like in the new game, and whom is susceptible to it.

Check out your potential dance partners in our Mass Effect: Andromeda character guide.


Mass Effect: Andromeda romance options
“By my count, if you include squad, crew, and light romances, we have more romances than we've ever had before," says creative director Mac Walters. "And like I said, the relationships are more in-depth than we've had before."

Producer Mike Gamble is more direct: you can bang "so many" of the game’s NPCs, and "the banging is pretty good", he says. There’s a man who knows what you want.

So you can rest assured you won't be starved for choice, but BioWare have been trying to keep a lid on specifically who will be romance-able. Trying, and mostly, failing. Here's who we know, or are fairly sure, are down to ride the Ryder.

Cora

The 'New Earth' cinematic trailer gave us a look at perhaps the first-ever human make-out session in the Andromeda galaxy - an 'achievement unlocked' moment if ever we heard one. That's ops specialist Cora Harper, one of your two starting squadmates, getting it on with Scott Ryder, so we know for sure this is one pairing that can work. In a cheeky touch, Cora's voiceover on the trailer says "this is what we came for" just as the scene fades out. Damn right.

Peebee

In an interview, Peebee's voice actress Christine Lakin says she's "somebody who has never really trusted anyone. This is the first time that she’s allowed herself to open up and be a part of a team, or fall in love." Producer Mike Gamble has since confirmed that she is indeed romanceable. She flirted freely with us as Sara Ryder during our hands-on time with the game, and mentions that she came to Andromeda with a female partner.

We know Peebee is independent, headstrong, and "very different than the rest of the team". Neil Pollner, her writer tweeted that she finds open-mindedness, self-reliance, unconventionality, and asymmetry attractive, so remember that if you wouldn't mind feeling blue, so to speak.

Jaal

After native Andromedean species the Angara were revealed in the New Earth trailer, a fan immediately and naturally asked whether he could "kiss" them. Mike Gamble's response was "mhm". We now know that the Angara in this image is named Jaal, and that he will join your squad.

Gamble's comment seems fairly solid, so we're not worried, but it's still interesting to note that Jaal was actually one of the very few squadmates with whom Sara Ryder did not have a flirt conversation option in our hands-on time with the game. Where the heart icon should've been was an image of two figures embracing, and it led to a heartfelt chat about Jaal and Sara enjoying one another's company. Perhaps this was a relationship-building prerequisite to flirtation?

Vetra

This one is a little shakier than the others, but there's some evidence that makes us fairly confident. Mike Gamble said she likes to take her visor off "during sexy time", which implies that such sexy time will transpire, and playing as Sara Ryder, we had a flirt option with Vetra during our hands-on preview. She didn't seem too into it though, laughing awkwardly and changing the subject, which means she's either shy or not interested in a same-sex pairing. Ian Frazier has kept quiet on the possibility of romancing the Turian, saying "you'll have to chat her up and see what happens".

Of course, Gamble could've been joking, and we've seen red herring flirtation in BioWare games before (see Vivienne from Dragon Age: Inquisition).

Others
No other romances for Ryder are 100% confirmed, and BioWare have said they won't spill all the details until the game is released. If you're worried a given orientation won't be represented, don't be; Ian Frazier says every sexual orientation has at least one, if not multiple romance options, while BioWare GM Aaryn Flynn specifically confirms there will be male-on-male romances (see Gil Brodie, below, for a likely but unconfirmed candidate).

If you're wondering where these other dance partners will come from, remember it's not just your squadmates who have needs. Keep aware of others on your ship, and even further afield: Mac Walters says "some of the crew of the Tempest, as well as other characters you meet in the wilds of Andromeda, will be looking for love."

To get to know the possible candidates, squadmates and beyond, check out our character guide. Recent hands-on previews have revealed flirtation options with one or two of them - but as we note above, flirtation doesn't necessarily mean romance. Here's everyone we know who has a flirt conversation option:

• Liam Kosta, one of your starting squadmates, who seemed taken aback by the difference in rank when we flirted with him as Sara Ryder
• Gil Brodie, the Tempest's engineer, who Eurogamer say responded well to Scott Ryder's attention

That about wraps things up for Ryder. But if you were wondering... no, okay? Just no.


30 Dec
Rai @raiskream
@Faburisu @YanickRRoy @tibermoon @GambleMike Can you guys confirm that you can't romance your twin so we can put this to rest?

Follow
Michael Gamble

✔@GambleMike
@raiskream @Faburisu @YanickRRoy @tibermoon you can't romance your twin. What the hell, man...

6:49 PM - 30 Dec 2016

Romance beyond Ryder
Who remembers Garrus and Tali's adorable scene in the gun battery near the end of Mass Effect 3? If the player doesn't romance either of them, the two tech-heads will form their own bonds, and your crew in Andromeda will be no different.

Creative director Mac Walters says "the squad and crew definitely have their own relationships. And at least one 'crush' I can think of." He may have been referring there to your Asari doctor, Lexi T'Perro, who we learned has the hots for Drack in an interview with her voice actress, Game of Thrones's Natalie Dormer. In our hands-on time with the game, Peebee also expressed curiosity about Jaal, wondering if the Asari ability to mate with all Milky Way species extended to the Andromeda natives.

How romance has changed in Mass Effect: Andromeda

Things have changed compared to the previous trilogy when it comes to how you'll go about working your charms.

“For me, typically in the trilogy it was a bit formulaic,” Walters told Game Informer. “You’d talk to them and then get to that one point in the game where there was no going back and romance was going to happen. That's not real life. There should be some people who just want to hop in the sack immediately. There should people who are interested in a long-term relationship. There are people who aren't interested in romance at all."


So romance in Mass Effect: Andromeda will be more mature, and more sensitive not only to the personal needs of each character but to the circumstances in which you find yourselves. Interactions used to feel a bit like lore dumps - “Hello, I’m an Asari, and when our species mate we do it like this” - whereas now, they’ll be more reflective of the individual and of what they need from you in that moment, if anything. If diverse sexualities ever felt forced or tokenistic to you in the past, Walters says the team took care to remedy that in Andromeda.

"It has to be a part of who they are," he says. "It can't just be, 'we need to have three male and three female [options].' We do look at the balance and make sure there's good inclusivity, but I'd much rather say if we need to do that then we have to rethink that character."

Given this, we can expect some characters to be exclusively straight, others to be exclusively gay, others to be bisexual, and others to show no interest in Ryder (or sex) at all. It’s also clear that some characters will prefer long-term, monogamous relationships, perhaps with a long build-up, while others will be down with open relationships or casual flings, with little fore or afterthought.

BioWare are also aware that not every player will necessarily like the romance options available to their character, and that they, indeed, might not like you, depending on your playstyle. In the original trilogy, you generally had to be a nice person if you wanted to get laid - imagine that - leaving badass renegades all on their lonesome for an entire playthrough. In a separate interview with IGN, Walters said "not everyone's going to love every character, and you shouldn't try to do that. We actually want to build some characters who are going to appeal to certain people… A lot of that actually comes because we have large writing teams. Different writers can invest in their characters in different ways, so you get this nice differentiation between all the different characters".

Dragon Age: Inquisition is the best recent example of this approach, with a broad mix of sexual preferences, attitudes towards commitment, and personalities and agendas who responded to different player behaviours.

Andromeda will take this further, as we found in our hands-on preview of the game. Gone is Mass Effect's simple nice/boring/hardass model; here instead are four tones, seemingly grouped in opposing pairs: casual or professional, and emotional or logical. Producer Fabrice Condominas explained that Ryder's personality will slowly be 'set' by those tones, with Ryder unlocking new conversation options and character interactions when he or she reaches different thresholds within those personality types. It sounds similar to Hawke's personality system in Dragon Age II, but with a little more depth.

We didn't get to see too much about how this will work, since it will play out over the course of a whole game, but our guess is that a hotheaded, emotional Ryder will get conversation options - and catch the eye of certain squadmates - that a cool, professional Ryder won't, and vice versa.

Responding to fan queries about the system on Twitter, lead designer Ian Frazier said:

1 Feb
Jen G @caravaggio4lyfe
@tibermoon @AarynFlynn @GambleMike TY for answering. So in some situations we'll have 5 options or is it more like the flirt replaces 1?

Follow
Ian Soon Frazier

✔@tibermoon
@caravaggio4lyfe @AarynFlynn @GambleMike It's possible to have Flirt + Investigates or Flirt + various Tone options, yup.

ll keep this guide updated with all romance-related news, both before and after Andromeda's release.


This game will probably sell a billion copies on the first day.

2017 GOTY
10/10 would ride the bull alien again

 

[Kev Inkline]

Yep. Trying to correct who/whom a fool errand even if you get it right.

Depends on to whom you are giving advice, I guess.

 

[Kev Inkline]

 

[Lurker King]

They probably switched their writing style from merely incompetent to utterly infantile, which sits not well even with people with obvious bad taste

Too optimist. This is just an inevitable part of the “increasing your target audience” process. The butthurt is just a natural externality created in the process. Just think about it. They made BG2, and sold 2 million copies. Then they ignore their fanbase, and released D:AO. Outrage from BG fans. The result? They sold more than 4 million copies. Not good enough. They streamline the game even harder. Time to release D:A2. Outrage from DA:O fans. Fuck them. The game sold “one million copies sold within two weeks of the launch, faster than Dragon Age: Origins. Within two months of the launch, the game sold-in "over two million copies", meaning that over two million copies have been distributed to retailers”. DA:I MMO. DA2 fans outrage. Who gives a fuck? The game sold more copies at launch than any than any other Bioware game. This new ME game is just another chapter in the inevitable path to increasing the audience. The machine is perfectly calibrated and it will succeed. A few bad apples in the press can’t revert the process, and they will be eliminated.

 

[undecaf]

I laughed at this comparison I saw somewhere...

 

[Outlander]

I really don't know what to make of this character creation process. I can't tell if they're trying to be progressive or outrageous (see 8:08, for example).

It's like Oblivion all over again.

CrustyBot any idea what's cooking on the Nü BSN?

 

[DeepOcean]

Guess what the next exuse for biodrones will be, "You don't understand, the facial animations aren't bad, it is that Bioware is trying to be inclusive and include the whole population that suffer from facial paralysis. I think the old too expressive facial animations was too offensive and a microagression to this minority."

 

[Naraya]

I need an eye bleach.

 

[ArchAngel]

Guess what the next exuse for biodrones will be, "You don't understand, the facial animations aren't bad, it is that Bioware is trying to be inclusive and include the whole population that suffer from facial paralysis. I think the old too expressive facial animations was too offensive and a microagression to this minority."

This is when you wish the game was isometric and you can use your imagination to fill in the rest.

 

[Maculo]

I did not have high expectations for this game, but I still find myself depressed that it missed the mark. A game based on exploring uncharted space should have been more interesting. Space explorations seems like an easy avenue to write fun plots/stories. For example, part of me hoped that the "Pathfinder" would wake up to an abandoned ark ship and have to piece together what happened to the colonists (less tedious than Peragus in Kotor 2 though). I know that sounds silly, but I think that would have been a nice hook, or at least a better hook than what Andromeda has.

I am starting to believe it takes a large amount of coke and depressed people to write a story.

 

[taxalot]

Put everything on low details and play in 640x480 . This way everything will look less shocking.

 

[Space Satan]

 

[J_C]

Bioware must be doing this on purpose. No way a company with millions of dollars for funding produces this crap.

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

 

[sstacks]

Put everything on low details and play in 640x480 . This way everything will look less shocking.

And it could be marketed as part of the old school revival.

 

[taxalot]

Indie game developers are laughing at this shit.

 

[Kuattro]

Indie game developers are laughing at this shit.

EVERYONE is laughing at this shit.

 

[DeepOcean]

Guess what the next exuse for biodrones will be, "You don't understand, the facial animations aren't bad, it is that Bioware is trying to be inclusive and include the whole population that suffer from facial paralysis. I think the old too expressive facial animations was too offensive and a microagression to this minority."

This is when you wish the game was isometric and you can use your imagination to fill in the rest.

Unless you are Prosper, then this game would be his wet dream.