Mass Effect Andromeda Q&A Panel at Montreal Comic Con, 8th July 2017, "Can not comment on future pro

That Bioware had to cobble together their game in 18 months doesn't disallow the fact that Andromeda was in development for way longer than that. Come on now.

Exactly. They were trying to make a version of the game that didn't pan out and frankly I'm glad we got this version.

That includes you too? The BSN is not a hive mind, we have people with diverse opinions.

And, as one of the many Mass Effect fans who found Andromeda to be entirely average, I am by no means glad that Bioware didn't make better use of their time.

Maybe, but they are listed as video game not book/comic in the schedule. And the description is all about the game.

"Join the developers of Mass Effect: Andromeda and learn how they designed and constructed a new galaxy. Learn how the worlds, creatures, and characters came to life from the people who made them. Featuring a brief Q&A with the audience."

Anyone take bets that it's going to be awkward? Just speculating.

Not really, it's just the Bioware Defense Force and those who think MEA is worse than the holocaust. The ME3 BSN era had diverse opinions, especially with crazies like David and Auld Wulf to spice things up, this subforum is just the same boring drama in every thread.

I've got your six. It's my tone. I know. Sorry. I'm with you, but my snark-meter is running high tonight. I know developers read these forums. NDAs are a motherf*****. However, I know they're smart, patient and very reasonable. The only thing that has changed is the amount and frequency of the information since EA took over. I never fully appreciated that concept even though it was subtlety done during Inquisition's patch testing. I'm a slow learner sometimes. 

I enjoyed Inquisition and will replay eventually, but it still had a lot of bloat and that I'm not really interested in playing, let alone replaying. Maybe a bit more than MEA, actually. Just so much pointless stuff to do for no reason other than XP or "management" when I am looking for the actual quests, like, Where's the beef?

I also find the two main storylines comparable in quality -- I don't quite understand how this Corypheus story is any less cliched, predictable, or oversimplistic for a fantasy world than the Kett story is for sci-fi one?

I think the companions are better in DAI (like Dorian!), and (to my memory) have more content and cutscenes overall. I mean, looking back, I guess I feel like DAI did have more fun stuff to do beyond collecting and delivering, and maybe the main quest had a bit more layering, but not especially so? (Did it? All I can remember is closing rift after rift!) So the GOTY A-/C- gap is a little confusing to me.

I don't think BW executes open world well and should just stop, but they won't ever stop now, now we get a BIG OPEN WORLD YOU CAN PLAY WITH YOUR FRIENDS, oh well. I'm replaying ME3 right now and man, it's such a dream compared to DAI or MEA. Of course, it will be over sooner...

I agree with you about the open world not being executed well in either game. I do expect BioWare to correct that in some respect. I would rather work in smaller, crowded hub areas for combat because it retains a familiar, but distinctive feel to it. Kind of like an instance in WoW. I love to replay the trilogy because of that aspect. It's something people hate a lot though. I always hear noise about corridor-style combat. I think BioWare is going to bridge that gap, but some of the design choices are so limited. It feels like I have less and less to work with each successive title. I know BioWare is now longer a PC Master Race Only studio. They're on consoles and that's a freakin' anchor if I ever saw one. Forget about how tough Frostbite is to program. It's taking all the potential that BioWare can put on canvas and then slowly strip it down to make it work on those consoles. No wonder they gave up on XBox 360 and PS3 versions. At the time it sounded such a like a dick move, but it makes sense. EA, Enthusiasm Annihilated.

Shouldn't have had to wait 9 fucking patches to get the game functional, period.

I remember some people saying ME3 BSN was uninhabitable. Besides there are way more people who have opinions on not just MEA but Dragon Age and other games if you bothered to look.