Code Red: IGN Preview

Here is animation from 1997 Final Fantasy 7

This is objectively a very poor animation but nobody had problems with it simply because it's on level with graphics and feels genuine in the circumstances. Simplistic graphics -> simplistic animations - everything is fine.

MEA has more realistic graphics in comparison to previous games but animations are not on par with it. It's just like brain expects that this realistic scene will be played realistically and when it doesn't it generates "out of place" feeling which can heavily break immersion for some people. And unlike those rare horror dimension moments in original trilogy in MEA this will happen much more often it seems.

I'll let myself to speculate about it. I guess it can be so because HDZ was marketed first of all as action game, so there weren't any huge expectations towards dialogues, story and cut-scenes. MEA on the other hand is well... you know, Bioware title, so cut-scenes quality is a big deal to say the least.


I understand that sheer scope of Bioware openworldly rpg is not comparable to short linear game. It simply will cost too much. I didn't even blamed them for repeated assets and locations in DA 1-2 and ME 1-3 games I can understand why it was that way and think that this is tolerable solution.

Ehh... I didn't play the Witcher 3 so I bring it up not because I'm on "TW3 is the pinnacle of evolution and existence" mission. Just let's compare animations from two open-world story driven games then. And yeah - I know that TH3 has set protagonists and it makes things easier. Still:

Animations makes her looking like psycho (inadequate expression) who just disarmed poor guy by sending irresistible telepathic 'give me the gun' command.
vs.

^ I don't even particularly like her face but those animations... she is so lively, so genuine here I can't help but start to care about her.

P.S. I mostly blame the engine.

Worse than DAI? Cuz that's what I'm going to measure it by. DAI was a bit janky but it served, the only issue I hope they've resolved is the fact that emotions would "freeze" on your face so you could make a joke, smirk, have the conversation take an incredibly tragic turn and then still have this deeply incongruous oh-god-ive-had-a-stroke-havent-i smirk on your face.

Brom: I'll kill myself! I'll Kill myself before I hurt her!

Aloy: Ha! What a cool story Brom! Anyways how is your sex life?

Well it hadn't changed in the press build that was just previewed: 

"After finishing the tutorial mission, I jumped ahead several hours in the game’s campaign, and was now playing as Sara Ryder, and a few more hiccups appeared. Andromeda’s reveal trailer showed some questionable facial animation, and while playing the game these problems continue. Sara can look terrifying at times.

Her lack of emotional expression, coupled with a ghostly, unblinking stare, makes Sara very distracting during many conversations, and at times the animations can be laughable. At one point Sara is listening to a radio communication aboard the Tempest, Andromeda’s Normandy, and her eyes dart around the room so much that I thought she had no idea where the noise was coming from. It completely breaks the mood.


Read more at www.trustedreviews.com/mass-effect-andromeda-review#6rwbSHi57Cq4cILG.99"

Hopefully it will change by launch!

I don't get this drama with the facial animations. Last year, Doom was praised (and overly so) for having a protagonist that is faceless, emotionless, storyless, pastless, heartless and largely voiceless. I am not saying that approach suits Bioware style, yet even in story-heavy Bioware games for the most part you won't have your protagonist looking are the camera while interacting with others - these are in fact rare moments in a game in which for the most part you will be starting at a helmeted person's back. Now people are criticizing Bioware for having a character does not possess a perfect, pornstar-like range of flawless facial animations?

You are very susceptible to PR talk. I can't blame you, we all want a good game. Especially those of us that already paid for this product (I don't know if you did). But words are cheap and for all we know the preview build was not allowed to be shown to the public.

I think Sara still has problems in animations, based on what I read. Hopefully they'll be fixed/improved.
The VGA trailer, though, is old compared to the build they tested. An Italian reviewer made a Q&A shorty after the embargo ended, and he played footage released so far. He said Sloan Kelly is changed from the trailer, and well as Sara's animation In that scene.

You mean like quoting someone on things they've never said, and saying someone's opinion doesn't matter because they "just don't get it"?

Or was that you?

So, after catching up (kinda, there were a truckload previews) it seems that it's technical performance, as in bugs and animations, holding the game back. Which begs the question of where's the point of the One Engine to Rule Them All policy of EA if there's not an efficient way to share the know-how. If the best they can do is to have dudes from PGA games helping out with grass while a key aspect of a game like ME is overlooked, then I wonder how people can be so dense. Bugs are not as worrying at this point imo, perhaps there's even an advantage for the two extra days we Euros have to wait after all. 

Has anyone ever played a Bioware game for top tier facial animation? Seriously, if meh facial animation is the worst thing on the list than Mass Effect Andromeda still manages to be better than most of the other shit that gets released these days.

Besides, so long as they steadily improve on past games I can't really ask for more. From everything I've seen so far, they have. Better graphics, better animations, better sound design, better combat, better character progression (granted this one is subjective so feel free to disagree) and perhaps even better writing (I cant rightfully say that for sure yet since we havent played the game).

Even facial animation has gotten better since the last Mass Effect. Is it top tier? No. Is it better than it was though? Yes, even if only slightly.

I honestly didnt read any preview view which specifically said that the facial animations were going to be fixed. Kindly post links, thanks. 
I know the devs have admitted the infamous disarm scene had bugged facial animations and I've heard more recently that they were working (as in, it hasn't been done yet) to "improve" them, but that doesn't instill much confidence this close to launch. 

As for Horizon Zero Dawn, I based what I said about the facial animations due to ONE trailer that I watched and was impressed by but subsequently changed my mind after others pointed out it wasn't that great and had bad dialogue/voice acting. 

Honestly though, I would prefer Horizon Zero Dawn's version of facial animations--which remind me a lot more of Mass Effect 3--than what we've seen from MEA so far. I never had a problem with facial animations in the ME series before, maybe because they were very limited. Bioware took a step into the uncanny valley with MEA. What I find odd is that all of the reviewers seem to say it's Sara which looks off... Scott seems fine. I think it's because they made her cheeks weird. It looks like she talks with ten marshmallows tucked in her cheeks. 

Just because I employ hyperbole as a rhetorical device doesn't mean my opinions should be discounted as trolling. I feel strongly about the facial animations and am voicing my concerns. If you don't care, then shut up. It's just like the DAI hair: I was one of the most vocal people on the old BSN who was expressing concern about the hair options (or lack thereof). MANY people assured me that there would be more options than what we saw in the previews and in the end, there weren't. I had hoped our collective vocal complaints would make Bioware release a hair DLC but it made no difference. Complaining here makes no difference either, but it's nice to know I'm not the only one who cares about something like this. If my ONLY issue with the game is bad facial animations, I can live with that.