Trailer shots with Mass Effect 1 atmosphere

Actually the shots are somewhat akward. In the second and third shots it looks like the moon we on is so close to the parent planet that it should be ripped to shreds and become part of the ring system. The first shot can be forgiven if it is an asteroid.

Oh I agree, planets usually sucked, terrain too monotonous or too awkward to traverse in the Mako, sharp edges combined with Mako controls is a recipe for disaster.

But I caught myself just parking the Mako and enjoying the sky view at each planet. The storms, or the parent stars, parent planets for satellites and such.

ApocAlypsE Yeah and the orientation on the second one is weird IMHO. Even in ME1 I think all of the planets that appeared were too close to the satellites, I guess these are either asteroids or they took some artistic liberty. Actually, I think only Earth in ME1 was at the reasonable distance.

Yes, exactly. I missed shots like that in ME2 and somewhat in ME3. Considering they emphasize exploration when talking about ME:A, I can't wait to explore again and just absorb the scenery.

I'd say exactly the opposite - I was a huge fan of the dull and mundane planets in ME1 exactly because they were dull and mundane.
See, this was exactly my idea of how the space exploration would look like if it would be real. Most planets would be dull rocks with single terrain and nothing of interest, because of the variety of circumstances - distance from the star, size, geological history. Those planets could be interesting to some mining companies - for the resources mostly. That's why there would be some stations and mines there. But it would look just as it looks in ME1 - a field with whole lot of nothing and an odd, box-like space station in the middle of nowhere.

Seldom "interesting" planets were interesting because they were so few. I suppose in MEA we will have a "everything is awesome" paradigm, and I'm not averse to that - it's just I appreciate (even if it wasn't the original intent) how ME1 captured the probable cruel emptiness and boredom of other worlds.

Yes, I agree. ME1 planets were horrible as game levels.

Let me explain whats the deal with exoplanets. With our current instruments we can't see exoplanet because the light the parent star emits is so much stronger than the reflection from the planet. There are two ways in which we find exoplanets:

1. The first one involves measuring slight periodical light decreases from the star when the planet transits. The frequency of the light decrease tells you how close the planet orbits the parent star. The variation intensity tells you about the planet's radius. Based on the star's light spectrum we can deduct the star type and therefore the orbital period required for the star to be in the habitable zone (where it is possible for liquid water to exist on the surface).

2. The second one is measuring slight wobbles in the star's motion. It allows us to deduct the planet's mass and orbital period based on how strong the wobble is and the frequency of the wobble. Keep in mind that all stars in the galaxy orbit around the galaxy's center.

With those two methods we know (not assume) if there is an exoplanet or a system of exoplanets around a star. Keep in mind that the easiest exoplanets to find are "Hot Jupiters" which are massive gas giants orbiting very close to the star giving fast and strong light decreases and wobbles. With the WEBB space telescope soon launching we will probably be able to infrared image close exoplanets.

Keep in mind that planets that are earth size or smaller are hard to find but we have a bunch of candidates: rocky worlds in the habitable zone, and those are more common than we first thought. Many candidates spin around red dwarf stars with very high probabilty of tidal locking (one side always facing the star while the other is always dark), but there are many that spin around stars like our sun. There is a solar system around KOI-351 that is remarkably similar to ours, so many interesting things do exist in the galaxy.

If we really are in one star cluster as that leak suggested, it may be big enough and have lots of uncharted planets to explore as in ME1.

Lol the Hinterlands meme will never die it seems.