Mass Effect Legendary Edition (General Discussion)

According to Forbes the issues are in ME1.

"Yes, the pandemic is a factor, but reportedly the biggest issue with the remaster is the state of Mass Effect 1, where its quality lags behind the other two games to such an extent it’s proving problematic to address. There are issues with both visuals and gameplay here."

www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2020/09/26/report-the-mass-effect-trilogy-remaster-does-exist-but-has-been-delayed/?sh=120c89fe584e

Supposedly (according to "Jeff") they were not happy with the updates to ME1 … hinting at modernizing the game play and perhaps inventory to fall closer to ME2 and ME3.

This might be true (and it appears that Jeff and others were mostly right), but in BioWare's announcement, they really didn't address those ME1 issues … at most, they hinted at it (if you squint really hard).

My guess … which is only a guess … the disruption caused by COVID slowed the process down sufficiently that they had to delay release … which might include updates to ME1 gameplay, but I'm skeptical (albeit hopeful), despite Jeff having gotten most of the info right.

Edit add: yeah, what vella said.

Well in my attempt to play ME1 early this year for the first time in half a decade, I was a bit shocked by how bad the game looked, my memory had really massaged it. So that’s actually what I’m most interested in seeing in terms of this update, plus any gameplay updates.

I am curious if “all dlc” includes Pinnacle Station, my understanding was that source code was lost at some point.

I have written this before and I will write it again: I do not know how you would update Mass Effect 1's combat without a lot of the gameplay immediately falling apart. A lot of gameplay systems are interwined and can be near impossible to separate.

I can see a few tweaks they can make:
- improved inventory management
- improved collision detection so enemies do not get stuck in walls, crates, or ceilings as often
- improved cover system for getting into and out of cover (either a button press like ME2 or ME3, or the auto-cover system from MEA could possibly work)

Everything else is so interwined -- from the loot system to the talent points -- that you cannot change much without impacting something else pretty significantly. And I am someone who would very much like a better combat system for ME1.

Please note that this is more of a general reply to everyone wanting some gameplay changes in ME1; this is not specifically a direct reply to you traks.

I'll definitely be picking it up at launch despite already owning the trilogy on PC and XB1(technically via 360), though I am kinda disappointed they aren't going to at least remake ME1 as I feel the gameplay could definitely use an overhaul.

Even just tackling the shooting mechanics in ME1: how would you change it?

All weapons of each weapon type -- Pistol, Assault rifle, Sniper Rifle, Shotgun -- fire exactly the same.
Each weapon has different stats in the following categories: damage, shots to overheat, and accuracy.
Each weapon type has a talent bar associated with it that increases damage and accuracy.

Each weapon talent has an associated power:
- Marksman (Pistols) increases accuracy and rate of fire, while reducing heat to compensate
- Carnage (Shotguns) fires a damaging projectile
- Assassination (Sniper Rifle) increases the damage of the next shot
- Overkill (assault rifle) improves accuracy and reduces overheat

If you have a talent bar for a weapon (except pistols for Sentinel), you can zoom with the weapon. Putting points into a weapon talent and buying better weapons improves the damage and accuracy of the weapon.

Like all equipment in the game, you always buying, selling, and looting better weapons until you purchase the best weapons in the game (Spectre weapons, HMW-class weapons).

I guess the open question would be, how would you improve the shooting mechanics so that the weapon system that is currently in place does not fall apart? Just the fact that each weapon type has a power associated with it makes it hard to change the shooting mechanics. The Assassination and Carnage powers are based on weapon damage, meaning there needs to be a "best weapon" in those categories to make those powers worth it to some degree.

I guess the most you could probably do is remove or greatly reduce the accuracy penalties. That way all guns are usable from the start, and you are only looking to improve damage and overheat values.

I know this will likely be an unpopular opinion, but I prefer the visual and art direction of ME1 compared to the sequels. It felt very utilitarian and boxy(?) like the old Star Trek and Star Wars series and movies, respectfully.

The sequels began to feel like an overcluttered mess of bright colors, lights, and shapes.

Anyone else know what I’m getting at?

That's true. Back then the only differences were resolution, controls, and frame rate. There was also missing animation in the PC version of ME1, at the beginning when Joker mentions why he hates Nihlus.

I'm guessing there are two approaches they could take …

One, similar to the original methodologies, select which game result you are importing from a completed run, use that to define your world state in the next installment of the series.

The other is to take advantage of the ME equivalent of the DA Keep … the game uploads your decisions onto the web platform, you can access it, tweak your world state as you desire, then kick off the next game in the sequence, based on that world state.

Since the web version already exists … maybe that is the direction they planned all along for a remaster … as well as future installments of ME … regardless of whether it's based in the MW or Andromeda.

Probably the same way the originals did. My big question is more with no MP how will the remaster handle the whole Galactic readiness and EMS systems in ME3?

I guess it depends if all games are on the same disc and the moment you finish one you start the other or not. If they’re all connected, I see it just recording the choices. If they’re separate, I see either a fixed import system or using a Keep-like system.