The Official Mass Effect 3 Thread

[Soldierducky]

I love krogans and turians. Their physical character shape is badass!!

 

[AxelCloris]

MLE, the Mass Effect 2 Save Editor can basically write you a fresh game with the plot choices you want to use. Just make sure you get the Xbox version and not the PC one since you're using it on the console, otherwise it won't import into ME3 properly. Then toss the save file it creates for you on a flash, connect it to the xbox, and play how you want. I did that when replaying 2 to select what I wanted carried over from 1 since my 1 save file was corrupted when transferring HDDs on my xbox. Bioware in their infinite wisdom thought it was smart to allow a save from ME1 to only work on the HDD it was originally installed on... stupid DRM... It lead me to playing 2 again and 3 on the PC.

 

[ibage]

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I tried a ManShep character once. Didn't like it. His voice is so damn dull he sounds like a robot. Femshep has a much more human sounding voice. (Imagine that!)

 
I agree Hale is much better than Meer in the VA department. However, ManShep gets Tali so it all sorta evens out.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I wouldn't know how to mess with the save editor. In any case, I have the very much inferior PS3 version.

There are a lot of times where the game runs at like 10 fps. Its crazy bad. I can't believe they'd sell a game with so many technical issues.

 

[ibage]

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I wouldn't know how to mess with the save editor. In any case, I have the very much inferior PS3 version.
There are a lot of times where the game runs at like 10 fps. Its crazy bad. I can't believe they'd sell a game with so many technical issues.

At least it's not as bad as some of Bethesda's games or Obsidian. 
 

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Its bad though. I played the 360 version's demo, and I'm so peeved that it runs somuch smoother, and looks sharper.

 

[ibage]

Damn, that's surprising considering the PS3 is slightly more powerful. Didn't realize it was that bad. They did say though there's a fix incoming sometime soon if I remember right. Maybe they'll iron things out.  

 

[Kukuk]

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Damn, that's surprising considering the PS3 is slightly more powerful. Didn't realize it was that bad. They did say though there's a fix incoming sometime soon if I remember right. Maybe they'll iron things out.  

It's because the Unreal Engine is crap. Pair that with the fact that PS3 is pretty much always third priority, and it makes sense. I hope they do fix it though, PS3 owners deserve better. You'd think so late in its life cycle developers would give the PS3 the attention it deserves.

 

[ibage]

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It's because the Unreal Engine is crap. Pair that with the fact that PS3 is pretty much always third priority, and it makes sense. I hope they do fix it though, PS3 owners deserve better. You'd think so late in its life cycle developers would give the PS3 the attention it deserves.

UR3 is actually a solid engine and remains pretty versatile. It's also rather optimized. However, the PS3 has issues with it's memory IIRC causing it to have issues with certain engines. Gamebryo comes to mind as I remember reading something on Skyrim having issues. 
 
That all said, I can't see what you mean saying PS3 is third priority. Most games today are designed with consoles in mind and most releases for the PCs are ports and in many cases, sloppy ones at that. This generation belongs to consoles. A slip up here and there are bound to happen

 

[Roller]

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That all said, I can't see what you mean saying PS3 is third priority. Most games today are designed with consoles in mind and most releases for the PCs are ports and in many cases, sloppy ones at that. This generation belongs to consoles. A slip up here and there are bound to happen

 
What really worries me is that the current console gen situation might carry over for more years than it should, continuing to disrupt PC gaming even further. High quality audio was one of the first casualties, and overall game optimization soon followed.

 

[Kukuk]

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UR3 is actually a solid engine and remains pretty versatile. It's also rather optimized. However, the PS3 has issues with it's memory IIRC causing it to have issues with certain engines. Gamebryo comes to mind as I remember reading something on Skyrim having issues. 
 
That all said, I can't see what you mean saying PS3 is third priority. Most games today are designed with consoles in mind and most releases for the PCs are ports and in many cases, sloppy ones at that. This generation belongs to consoles. A slip up here and there are bound to happen

 
It has issues because the engine is built with the pooled RAM in mind, and them ported to the split RAM, when logically it should be the other way around. I think ME3 is one of the few exceptions for the engine looking really good though (but that clearly comes at a cost for PS3). Most games running on the engine end up looking very, very samey and ugly.
 
And PS3 is third priority because the 360 and PC have such similar architecture. It's pretty easy to move a project between the two, but moving it to PS3 provides a bigger challenge, when a developer isn't willing to go the extra mile (which most aren't. Bottom line and all).
 
Slip-ups on PS3 are fair, but when it's the biggest games of the year, it's totally inexcusable. Every Mass Effect game has sold very well, and Bioware/EA should be able to allocate a decent budget to make sure the PS3 version is up to snuff.

 

[ibage]

Quote:

 
What really worries me is that the current console gen situation might carry over for more years than it should, continuing to disrupt PC gaming even further. High quality audio was one of the first casualties, and overall game optimization soon followed.

It already has lasted a bit longer thanks to the Move and Kinect. Or you can blame Nintendo for that one with the Wii. However, the PC will endure as it always has. Even if the game doesn't have the tools like Skyrim has for instance, there's still a great modding community for almost any game out there. On the topic of Mass Effect, there was recently a texture mod for the first game that would blow you away. PC gamers will always remain.
 
I am however more worried about stagnation with the rising cost to produce games than I am about PC gaming. The indie market has gotten really impressive in the past 3-4 years but most companies aren't taking chances like they were around this time last decade. 
 

 
Quote:

 
It has issues because the engine is built with the pooled RAM in mind, and them ported to the split RAM, when logically it should be the other way around. I think ME3 is one of the few exceptions for the engine looking really good though (but that clearly comes at a cost for PS3). Most games running on the engine end up looking very, very samey and ugly.
 
And PS3 is third priority because the 360 and PC have such similar architecture. It's pretty easy to move a project between the two, but moving it to PS3 provides a bigger challenge, when a developer isn't willing to go the extra mile (which most aren't. Bottom line and all).
 
Slip-ups on PS3 are fair, but when it's the biggest games of the year, it's totally inexcusable. Every Mass Effect game has sold very well, and Bioware/EA should be able to allocate a decent budget to make sure the PS3 version is up to snuff.

I think it might just be an isolated issue. ME2 looked just as nice as the PC version without mods. I was rather impressed at how it looked. But you're right about the U3 engine. Most games use a dark color pallet but it's up to developers to use the engine to it's fullest potential. Arkam Asylum looks absolutely amazing on the 360 and PC. When it's used to it's fullest, it yields great results. 
 
However, the cost of making games spiked this generation. I can't blame some developers for holding back on full optimization.

 

[Roller]

Quote:

It already has lasted a bit longer thanks to the Move and Kinect. Or you can blame Nintendo for that one with the Wii. However, the PC will endure as it always has. Even if the game doesn't have the tools like Skyrim has for instance, there's still a great modding community for almost any game out there. On the topic of Mass Effect, there was recently a texture mod for the first game that would blow you away. PC gamers will always remain.
 
I am however more worried about stagnation with the rising cost to produce games than I am about PC gaming. The indie market has gotten really impressive in the past 3-4 years but most companies aren't taking chances like they were around this time last decade. 
 

 
Terrible ports is only one side of the issue. Modding is one of the many things that make the PC gaming scene great. And stagnation is also due to cross platform development in which includes hardware limited devices. That would be acceptable if at least the PC versions were optimized and ran smoothly as they should.
 
I'm a great fan of indie gaming, there are true gems available, and it's not just limited to simple graphics at all.
 
In all fairness, the public is also part of the problem as eating up all the new games from game series that haven't changed at their core in the slightest, only having face lifts, doesn't really help. Visuals are more on the spotlight than they should, gameplay is becoming less and less important, at least from what game developers have been putting out there.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

What people need to understand is that most console games are made optimized for the 360, and then ported to the PS3 from that build. Having owned both systems since launch, I can tell you, almost EVERY single game that came out on both systems looks and runs noticeably better on the 360. There are exceptions, but they are in the severe minority. Like FFXIII, which was made for the PS3 then ported to the 360. Ironically, FFXIII-2 looks dumbed down compared to the first one because they wanted to make the games look/run the same on both systems.

So yes, the PS3 is capable of more than the 360 can handle, yet it's easier to develop for the 360 and just port to the PS3, it seems.

If all major PC versions supported controllers at DEFAULT (real in game controller options, no work arounds), I'd get the games for my PC (which can handle stuff better for the most part). I tried playing Mass effect 2 on PC, and I just couldn't.

I think devs that make PC versions on games that come out on consoles, should at least TRY to give real controller support to all games. I don't care if the PC crowd thinks K&M is better. I hate K&M gaming.

 

[ibage]

Quote:

 
Terrible ports is only one side of the issue. Modding is one of the many things that make the PC gaming scene great. And stagnation is also due to cross platform development in which includes hardware limited devices. That would be acceptable if at least the PC versions were optimized and ran smoothly as they should.
 
I'm a great fan of indie gaming, there are true gems available, and it's not just limited to simple graphics at all.
 
In all fairness, the public is also part of the problem as eating up all the new games from game series that haven't changed at their core in the slightest, only having face lifts, doesn't really help. Visuals are more on the spotlight than they should, gameplay is becoming less and less important, at least from what game developers have been putting out there.

And this can be blamed on big name developers/publishers. And at the risk of sounding like a hipster, gaming has become more mainstream over the past decade leading to a larger audience wanting more of the same. I'm going to use Call of Duty here. 1, 2 and 4 (I hated 3 personally) were all simply amazing games. However, once Kotick came in and saw there was a major appeal in CoD4, that idea was used over and over and we're up to MW3. I'm not saying they're bad games. It's simply bad development leading to a sense of staleness. Games lack that sense of complexity they once had as well. Deus Ex remains to this day one of my favorite games of all times. When HR came out, I enjoyed the game but it was slightly more simplistic (still worth playing). As far as graphics go, I really, REALLY don't care either way. If the game is fun and/or has a compelling story, I can easily overlook graphics.  
 
 

I think devs that make PC versions on games that come out on consoles, should at least TRY to give real controller support to all games. I don't care if the PC crowd thinks K&M is better. I hate K&M gaming.

I completely agree here as a PC gamer who favors KB/M over a controller. There's some occasions I'd love to sit back on my couch and play with the controller on my TV.