So what exactly did Mass Effect Andromeda's huge budget get spent on?

I know, I just badly wish the same sort of measured responses where offered in discussion of bio games. I mean, maybe it's the same on the TW3 forums, I dunno. At any rate, TW3 is targeting a differnt and a smaller slice of the audience, so folks like me simply do not pick it up, because we know in advance that it's just not our game :) Bio tries to cover a lot more ground than TW3 does.

That's what they say. If they are unable to deliver a quality product on the contract within the deadlines because they did not scale back in time, it's not exactly to their credit as a developer. We have no idea what strain Bio Montreal was under, but we are playing a product that is by far more finished and polished than KOTOR2 at release.

And, yeah, my rants are done. It's pointless.

<3 Bio. <3 Andromeda.

Your last paragraph is exactly my point when it comes to a games budget. Only games that are expecting to pull in a ton of sales will be given the luxury of a large budget as if they are given said budget but underachieve they lose out. If one goes through biowares history on game budgets they'll see bioware games in general tend to be between 20-40 million which is more than enough for their goals.  GTA, first person shooters in general, and a few exceptions  between RPGs (mainly Bethesda games) are given the luxury of a large budget because they're considered top of the market. Personally I'd wonder how well Mobas would sell if they weren't F2P but doubt we'll see many ever try since they're able to get so many players pulled in by it being F2P and it helps them on their MicroTs since people aren't having to pay $60 up front.

As you said, mass effect has never been a top hit when it comes to sales or making money,it'd be naive of them to give up more for a larger budget without the guarantee of more sales happening, which is a very questionable thing because of the ME3 controversy, DA:I and now MEA being so mixed on their direction I'd doubt EA would feel comfortable giving bioware a bigger budget. Bioware does enough to get by, but they've never been top of the world commercially regardless how well received it is by their own fanbase. 

Mid bet Andromeda has the budget that the previous trilogy had, I wouldn't be suprised if it were higher but I wouldn't count on it being to much higher.

personally I still don't think budget is an issue as the OT did just fine not having as much as most games out there had, it comes down to talent making do with what they're given and I've always preferred the lower budget games compared to the ones that pour millions upon millions into theirs yet don't appeal to me.

Yep, Cora's arse and blue boobies.

I did not mind the pacing in ME2 and ME3. In ME2, I minded the abrupt ending after recruiting the team, and the size of the team. It was a cool team, but I did not really get to adventure with them. In both of these games I minded that we did not get to see the neighborhood. Even out of the four Council races we only got to visit the home worlds for... actually, we got to visit a couple of tiny corners under heavy bombardment. I mean, what's Palaven look like? What's the name of Salarian homeworld even? Do Asari exclusively construct temples? The closest we've come t exploring Khar'shan is buying an Eel on Citadel... In Andromeda, we are finally exploring the Angaran world. But the main story is just as cohesive and long as the one in ME1 and ME3.

Anyway, did not I say something about stopping to rant? I should.

Even the marketing was very minimalistic compared to ME 1, 2 & 3. And other AAA games. 

You think biological Reapers grow on trees?

do we know if that 40 million price tag included marketing costs?

LOL
You made my day. I have a - you would call it shill or BW-drone - in my family and we often have hard fights about the quality of BW, very hard fights. If I would show your comment to this person... ROFLOL, that's what this person would do.
Difference between you and me - and I think of myself as no lesser "huge" fan of Shepard as you pretend to be - I don't cry around and compare a company to another, a game to another because I coulnd't care less about this witcher hype (that is obviously just based on Witcher 3. Who even cares to talk about 1 or 2?) I want a good BW game with good BW stories and qualities - nothing more, nothing less. But I would also prefer every mediocre BW game over ten of "perfect" Witcher3 games. I don't want BW to be like CDPR because some people want their Witcher in Space. I am no CDPR shill that praises their full-assed efforts to please people like you. And I don't want BW to probably listen to people like you (heaven beware us...) who cry out lout "feed me more of this shit".
My expectations of what a game should look like or how a game should entertain me obviously differs from yours - thankfully.
I don't think of Andromeda as "crap" or mediocre. Of course there is a lot that needs improvement but I don't bitch around because I never wanted a "Shepard 2.0" (and I will never understand how people can idolize Shep and the OT so much) or - and that would be even worse - a "Space-Wixer".
My advice for people like you: Since you're so convinced that CDPR is a company that "listens" to you and BW is just a company that gets worse with every new game, you should stick around at their forum to praise and ask them for a game in space. A universe they have to create instead of copying it from a book series (and even that poorly done...). With all the features you so much like to see - whatever that might be. I'm certain if you put the same amount of time and effort into it as you do here CDPR certainly will listen to you.

Don't waste your breath on people like this. They refuse to acknowledge the game as anything greater than a festering shit stain in the bowl of a toilet, infested with fly larva. The same people have been saying how shitty Bioware games are every single release for years now, yet they keep buying them. They think backlash will fix the problem? Yea right, obviously the ME3 backlash worked out great considering how shitty they think this game is. Screaming from the rooftops how dumb everyone else besides themselves are will accomplish nothing. Maybe one day people like this will realize that, and actually learn that their belief in their righteous indignation does not make them more correct, or more intelligent than people with different opinions.  

Awww! It's almost adorable watching you run around screaming "BIOVAR SHILLZ!!!1!" at every post that disagrees with you. Keep trying little guy - one day you'll make a valid point!

In the mean time, here's a little picture to cut out and stick to your monitor. Take a look at it the next time you feel one of your inane rants coming on: