Bring Back ME1 Side Quests via Planet Exploration

Yes, loved it in 1 and Andromeda.

No i vastly preferred ME2 planet side quests where the rather tedious driving was cut out and instead you cut to investigating a location/facility etc.

Planetary exploration in ME1 was just a different version of planet scanning in ME2. You drove around aimlessly being completely taken out of the game hoping to find something interesting. If you were there just for the UNC missions the spot needed to complete that quest would be on your map automatically and then you would be stuck driving to that location.

I much preferred the UNC missions in ME2 where if you were going to a planet for a mission had to do a quick scan to get what you wanted. Take out the chore of travelling or scanning and then I would probably enjoy them more otherwise they become another chore and lose any impact on me.

I think it was great! Uncharted planets, crazy terrain that's not transformed by civilization. It just had this air of mystery. I think my favorite part of ME1 was the exploration, combined with everything else.

Tbh,ME1 style was perfect for me.I know...sometimes the exploration was boring...but it make you feel like a explorer,and waiting for something new for you do scover,new planets,new skyboxes.In ME2 and ME3,I really missed those things.Still,I dont want an Andromeda style,only 5-6 planets to explore...I prefer atleast 15 landable planets...and a mix of corridor style and open world.Also...i really want to see some space exploration,or underwater missions.

Yeah same for me really I think bot hcan work it jus tdepensd on the story and objectives as to what works best as I kin dof like the exploring we got in ME1 and Andromeda but then I also kind of liked the more linear levels we got in 2 and 3 as well. Given we were also at war during th eevents of ME3 it kinf of makes sense we don't focus too much on exploring there.

IMO the ME1 system was the best: scanning didn't require turning around a planet to find a spot, you just clicked and got information about your finding. Alternatively, you could land and truly feel like you're on an alien planet. The only problem was the emptiness. In ME:A, they attempted to compensate by having respawning enemy camps, which are fine on first encounter but then become things to avoid because you know they just keep respawning. However, they did have a lot of cool things hidden that you could stumble upon, like the extra vault on Elaaden. That reminded me the most about ME1 exploration, only in visually more engaging way. On the other hand, if those enemy camps didn't respawn, the maps would eventually become devoid of life once you've explored everything, so I don't know what the ideal solution would be. If you wanted to make big maps to explore which didn't utilise respawning, you would have a ton of work to do and that would probably mean fewer planets to explore.

This was supposed to be in Andromeda, but was cut out - a thread exists on the forum where one can read the descriptions of some of the missions

I liked driving around with the Mako in ME1.

The planet were mayvbe to empty but a empty planet is better then respawning enemys like in Andromeda. Thats just annoying

I might enjoy planet exploration in a Bioware game *IF* said planets had life. At most in ME1 we had Pyjacks and Thorian creeper's. In MEA we had Kett, who're the enemy. That is it. Dragon Age suffers from this too, where Bioware make a lovely World, but it's empty. Either they need to become better at World building, or leave it out.

I did not break immersion for me, but it certainly shifted the main focus of the game away from the main plot for way too long (it still does).

I can at least made a case for why they sometimes landed far away from the main objective on a planet, but I would agree that sometimes they landed way too far away.

Ultimately, I would say that planet exploration in ME1 is interesting but ultimately pointless except for the XP grind.

My preference would be a mixture of both ME:1 and ME:2/3 style N7 missions.

In other words an handful of optional, barren or wildlife-inhabited planets that could be landed upon and explored via vehicle if the player chose to do so, each of which had some kind of optional objective. Doesn't even need to be combat focussed. What's so wrong with simply cataloguing a new species of creature, or exploring alien ruins? As long as the environments are compelling, unique and well crafted.

But also some basic 'land in the shuttle and take out the bad guys' kind of missions too - keep mixing it up, keep it fresh.

Put in some interesting alien ships to discover and board, add some environmental hazards or dangerous weather conditions to prepare against. Anyone who has seen Ridley Scott's original Alien movie will remember that harrowing slog on foot to the alien vessel though ferocious winds, with low visibility - imagine that in a game?

Each experience needs to be fresh and interesting, with something new to discover. The identical 'mine, tech lab1 or tech lab2' encounters' in ME:1 got old after a while until it felt like a bit of a chore.. for me at least, as did the endless slogging over mountains and gullies, though that was mostly due to quantity rather than quality, as ME:1 is still a classic game.