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

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.

Are you 12? Seriously, some of the most ridiculous comments come out of your fingers. All you have is fucktastic comebacks, and not a single post with any substance backing up anything you say.