Topic: The next Mass Effect

And if we get the KOTOR game … ? Not sure about that one now…

@oliverp The pulse on that one is weak, yes (though that one's not even in the hands of EA, so it could still pull through)

Okay, as expected, not much info on the next Mass Effect game, other than Executive Producer Mike Gamble reiterating that the game is still in production, despite rumours to the contrary, and that both BioWare and EA are fully committed to it, in a blog post over at BioWare.

Seems like it's still far away, though.
He also talks about the Amazon TV show, which he states will not be a retelling of Shepard's story after all (YAY!!!), but set after the original trilogy and they are still figuring out where it falls in relation to the next game.

There is also a hidden message in there somewhere, I'm sure, as there are some letters that are suspiciously italicised and he goes out of his way to assure us that there is no hidden message in there. I'm sure other internet denizens will crack that shortly, if they haven't already.

@FuriousMachine Just had a quick read and the letters are just URL KROGAN.

EDIT: With the TV show very likely to come before the game and occurring after the original trilogy we should get an understanding of how they are going to deal with the continuity of differing ending states of the galaxy.

@BearsEatBeets Indeed, but along with a hint in a tweet and the application of a cipher, fans managed to uncover this url, which leads to a piece of concept art that maybe gives a hint of the central conflict explored in the next game?

Here it is:

@FuriousMachine A shame so many N7 days have gone by with limited information... but that artwork being named "Civil War" intrigues me. What have the Krogan gotten themselves involved in now?

Happy to hear the TV show will be an original story however. My perception of the Mass Effect trilogy is so heavily ingrained with FemShep at this point that I would've already had my issues seeing a male Shepard again, haha. Honestly though, I wouldn't necessarily have minded a direct adaptation either, as I don't see the show choosing one specific path as canon for itself cheapening the experience of the games like some. That said, it's definitely more exciting to see what they will come up with for fresh narratives. I sure hope it doesn't disappoint, but I'll keep my expectations incredibly low just in case.

@Tjuz Assuming curing the genophage is canon, too many Krogans = too many angry disagreements, maybe?

100% agreed, there is only the mighty FemShep! I, too, would probably survive if a movie/TV adaptation of Shepard's story used the male version, but if that then became canon for future games, then I would have a problem
Will be interesting to see how they will handle any/all choices from the OG trilogy in the new game, though. Many can be avoided, but I imagine they will have to make some choices canon for the next one (moving the story to Andromeda was a neat way of sidestepping that, but the new one seems closer in time and space for that to work).

@FuriousMachine I feel like too many angry Krogans is what led them to this issue in the first place! This is what everyone who didn't start with the second entry gets by having Wreav lead them instead of Wrex. My boy Wrex would've put an end to this in a second!

Yeah, I assume they'll probably go with all the "popular" outcomes in terms of what's canon within the TV universe. Curing the Genophage, bringing the Geth and Quarians together (but anyway destroying all synthetic life with the "best" ending)... Seems like the obvious choices to not rock the boat all too much. That said, I'd actually love if they took some risks and surprised us with their interpretation of the state of the universe! Imagine a TV show spawning out of the Control or Synthesis ending. That'd be fascinating.

I'm just here to be counted as somebody who absolutely adored Dragon Age: The Veilguard in its entirety, from soup to nuts. If the next Mass Effect were to come from even a fraction of that same creative talent, then I'd be one heck of a happy fanboi.

@Tjuz Krogans gonna Krogan, no doubt about that I can't see the TV show taking many risks; most likely they will bend over backwards to avoid the issue as far as they can, is my guess. Love for them to prove me wrong, though.

@Werehog Cool! I never got around to Veilguard as I want to try to finish "Inquisition" first, but I've made two attempts so far without any luck, so I may simply have to write that one off. Not sure how many, if any, from the Veilguard team have transitioned on to the Mass Effect team, though. The next Mass Effect (actual) is just one big question mark at this point, I suppose. Will probably stay that way for quite a while longer as well, considering how little info we got for N7 day (my reasoning being that if they were close to having anything to show they would have found a way to show something for N7 day and maybe saving the juiciest bit for Game Awards or something like that)

@Werehog Glad to hear you enjoyed Dragon Age: Veilguard! The reception has been... spotty to say the least, but I always imagined I'd get a kick out of it personally. I was very tempted to press the buy button on multiple occasions, but the fact that I've played no Dragon Age previously and that I'm under the impression Inquisition is very much a pre-requisite to it have held me back. I am so in the mood for some new BioWare however, but maybe The Expanse: Osiris Reborn will fill that void before I'd ever finish Inquisition... which I've heard is an incredibly long and drawn-out game to a fault, despite having many highlights.

@FuriousMachine @Tjuz Despite how brilliant its highlights may be, Dragon Age: Inquisition is a brutal slog of a game. There's just so much of it, you gotta commit. It took a lot of convincing to get me to start the Dragon Age series to begin with, but it helped that my best friend was (and still is) a super-fan who wanted to watch me play Inquisition and nerd out over its many twists and turns, so that kept my momentum pretty steady. I certainly wouldn't blame anybody for finding it too daunting an undertaking.

With regards The Veilguard, I wouldn't say that Inquisition is a pre-requisite. Okay, sure, its plot is a direct continuation, constructed around one of the most important characters and most dramatic cliffhangers, but The Veilguard is pretty good at telling you all you need to know up-front. It feels like a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end. Of course you'll get more from it if you know who key players are, or why you're being asked to create a second custom character, but it's all rich flavour, and not really essential to enjoying the ride. At least, that's how I felt. I suspected as much when they abandoned the "Keep" system for uploading all of your previous choices (a decision which upset many fans looking to maintain a sense of continuity, but which ended up serving the game for the better by ensuring it didn't get bogged down by too many lore weeds).

It's what they're gonna have to do with the next Mass Effect. Not just because the series doesn't have its own equivalent of the Keep, but also because the ending to Mass Effect 3 is so definitive. It's gonna be real interesting to see where they go from there!

@Werehog Good to know that getting through Inquisiton is not a necessity! That kind of thinking is what withheld me from moving onto Alan Wake II for a while, thinking I'd need to complete Control first, which I'm glad was a thought I was able to let go. Maybe this'll have the same effect with Veilguard and you'll be hearing me hopefully rave about it at some point in the future! I might still try to get through the previous game, but all the ballast that's been talked into me regarding that game might continue to put me off as someone who doesn't really enjoy open-world antics.

@Werehog That plot continuation is gonna nag me if I attempt to skip "Inquisition", though I will give "inquisition" one last honest attempt before trying to tackle "Veilguard", but both games are pretty far down on my list of backlog games clamouring for attention.

@Tjuz I had a thoroughly good time with "Control" (excepting one awfully annoying DLC... can't remember the name, the not-Alan-Wake-Tie-In one), so it should be explored for its own sake Not your type of game, maybe? (I'm guessing, due to your reluctance)

@Tjuz If its open-world areas are what's putting you off, know that large sections of Inquisition can be sprinted through if you just wanna focus on story. You might end up a touch under-levelled later on, but I believe the usual companion quests and other key side missions don't require exploration to be triggered, and they should bolster your XP well enough. When the game first came out, there were numerous articles advising players to "get out of the Hinterlands" because it was (and is) super-easy to get sidetracked in that first large map. Why they led with it when it's the biggest in the game is beyond me!

@FuriousMachine Ah, yeah. If you're somebody who usually prefers to know what's being talked about beyond any obvious surface-level signposting, then maybe don't skip ahead. When I started The Veilguard, it had been a while since I played Inquisition and I'd forgotten a lot of its dense details, but reminders and name-drops could still trigger memories, so it definitely helped.

@Werehog Yeah, I'm almost OCD about not skipping parts of a continuing story, even if the connective tissue isn't all that tight. As an example, I've read all of Michael Connelly's novels set in the Bosch universe, but there was a short story I couldn't get a hold of, and it almost bothers me (and those novels are all standalone, too!). I will be able to get past it, should my third attempt at "Inquisition" fail, but it won't feel good I think it might have been easier had I not also completed the first two games in the series ("Dragon Age: Origins" three or four times), but as it stands, "Inquisition" would be a gaping hole should I skip it.

with the mass effect image of waring krogans im wondering of due to the end of the genophage the krogan population expanded rapidly needs more space more planets leading to conflict like it did in the past and the ultimate solution which was the creation of the genopahge

@FuriousMachine I actually did play Control for a few hours, but didn't get far into it. I don't think I cleared the second chapter even. I wouldn't say I've completely written it off or anything. Just at the time I started it a few months ago, I didn't vibe with it at least. I don't think it was through any fault of the game, but possibly just bad timing on my part. I'll give it another shot and see if I gel with it better now that I've finishd Alan Wake II. It might help as well to not have the feeling of needing to finish it before I can get to the game I was actually excited to follow up on as well.

@Werehog I'm glad to hear at least important side-quests or companion quests don't need the exploration. I'm always scared of missing out on fun bits if I don't explore thoroughly, despite my inner repulsion to a fully open-world level. It keeps me from following what I probably ought to be doing and results in forcing myself to do all of it in spite of that. Knowing that there's not much to miss in terms of worthy plot points however might definitely help me to avoid going all-in on the exploration. I suppose if XP would become a problem, it's not that counterproductive to just go explore a little bit and get my levels up either! At least then, I'd have a proper goal in doing so instead of just being led by my completionism. It's funny I'm talking this way after recently finishing Xenoblade Chronicles, which itself has large areas to explore... which I did. Except the difference was that I enjoyed exploring there to the point I finished 99% of its side quests, which are famously low-effort fetch quests for the most parts. I suppose it still can depend on the particular game too!

@trev666 That seems like the logical progression of how you'd get to this point, yeah. I hope that, if that's the case, they'll write the motivations and all for that in a very well thought-out matter, because you also run the risk of feeling like they just retcon all of the Krogans' development in the original trilogy if they go back to being murder-hungry colonisers. I guess there's nothing to do but wait and see!

@Tjuz I know what you mean, I'm not fond of "forcing" a play either. Have to be the right game at the right time (and for the right reasons). Which is why, when a game doesn't "click" with me and I can't pinpoint any specific reasons as to why that is, I will attempt it again at another time when I might be "feeling" it a bit better. Sometimes it's clear that a game is simply not my jam and I move on, though.

@FuriousMachine That is the spirit man There have been belive it or not been several games and franchises which I think have looked cool but I have had to say no to.