Topic: The next Mass Effect

Of the contenders to fill the Mass Effect 'gap' this probably holds the most hope for me. Still very early to say though.

@BearsEatBeets Yeah, one of the reasons I created this thread in the first place was to shine a spotlight on this and Exodus from former ME devs. I think they both have the potential to be better games than the actual ME sequel, to be honest, and both seem to scratch many of the itches left behind from ME. "Exodus" feels like it's closer to release, though, but that may just be down to Archetype Entertainment sharing more details about their game lately, while Owlcat is still keeping a small lid on theirs.
I'm truly looking forward to both and hope one of them will arrive soon! (I'm hoping for a release date announcement at the Game Awards, but that may be premature)

I have it on good authority that we'll at least get to see a new trailer for Exodus at the Game Awards! Archetype told me so themselves in an email just now And also on their website
I am all the excite!

@FuriousMachine I'm curious to see more of that. The premise is certainly interesting but not sure how it will play out. I tend to find the reality of the time dilation effect of intergalactic space travel a bit of a downer. I tend to prefer the freedom a less realistic take allows for space hopping adventure.

Also, I take it your on some sort of mailing list, or are you an up-and-comer in the industry insider scene? 😁

@BearsEatBeets It will probably make for some agonising choices if they play their cards right. Though, it will all be for naught unless they manage to populate the game with memorable characters. I think they are in a good position there, though, having the lead writer from the OG Mass Effect onboard along with a bonafide Sci-fi author fleshing out the universe they're building. Having read Peter F. Hamilton's first tie-in novel, I'm already in love with the setting

And I'm absolutely an up-and-comer in the mailing list reading scene
Been following those guys since they formed Archetype Entertainment, first through a Google alert for the company and then through their website and newsletter. I think I may have signed up for their newsletter before they had a newsletter to sign up for. Imagine their surprise when they set up the newsletter only to find me already there waiting for them...

@FuriousMachine yeah it's the main creative talent involved that has me most enthused for the game. Does it seem like it might be some extended gameplay at the awards?

@BearsEatBeets They just announced that they'll be showing a new trailer, info is thin on the ground outside of that. I bet they would have made a point of mentioning it if it was more substantial than that. In their previous Q&A, however, they hinted that a release date could be announced this year. I wouldn't be surprised if that trailer is indeed a release date announcement.
(They said something along the lines that they've received many more questions about "gameplay, release date and more" and looked forward to sharing more on that "this year" - vague, but I think they were almost sure they would announce a release date this year but still hedged their bets a little)

@FuriousMachine That sounds promising enough. To be honest, a quick(ish) trailer with a date to generate attention is probably cheaper for them and they could follow up with showing gameplay themselves a little later.

I'm curious if Sony is going to bring something to the show again as that seems to be becoming more common of late. Maybe like Intergalactic last year they could do a tease of Barlog's game. There were rumours that was a sci-fi game but I think more recent 'info' hinted it was a fresh take on an existing IP so hard to tell.

@BearsEatBeets Yeah, I think that's a good strategy.

That's a good call; I'm curious about what they have cooking over at Santa Monica Studio (he's still there, isn't he?). Fresh take on an existing IP - could that heavily rumoured side-scrolling GoW title qualify, I wonder? Or was that supposed to be from another studio, maybe? (maybe both the sci-fi rumour AND the fresh take on existing IP rumour are true - Kratos in space!! )

Either way, would be cool to get some intel on whatever it is he's doing.

@FuriousMachine Kratos takes on the Roman Gods next...in PLANET FORM!!! Defeating Mercury isn't too bad but it takes weeks to destroy Jupiter.
In all seriousness, if the side-scrolling thing is true I hope that's not Barlog's project. I'm hoping for something as epic as GoW 2018. I'm inclined to think he was working on his own or with a small team whilst the rest of the studio did Ragnarok. Then maybe they moved to his game once that was done. 3 years from that might be time to reveal at least what it is. Of course I could be totally wrong. We better not suddenly discover he was leading the Bluepoint live-service GoW game 😬

@FuriousMachine Thanks for sharing that info! I'm highly interested to see what they cooked in terms of marketing ever since you made me aware of this one. I was disappointed (but unsurprised) by the little reel Owlcat prepared for the Golden Joystick Awards, so I hope this one lands better. Not that I can blame Owlcat, since I'm sure that one is still a longer ways off from actually releasing and they have the Dark Heresy closed alpha already coming out not too long from now!

@BearsEatBeets 100% agree with you there. Discovering Barlog's project was the side-scroller would be anti-climactic, to put it mildly!

@Tjuz I missed the Golden Joysticks. Was the reel completely devoid of any Expanse or was it that what was there simply underwhelming?

@FuriousMachine It had some new in-engine footage mostly of the environments, but mostly focused on the way they've approached simulating life in space in the game. They showcased how they've collaborated with real-life astronauts to try and get the "feeling" of the game as accurate as possible, as well as some developer commentary on the world-building. It's not that it was a bad showcase necessarily, but I might've gotten too hyped for it when I heard in advance they'd be showing something at the awards. I was hoping for some bigger news or details more relevant to the story or gameplay mechanics, but it was really just a short reel of their approach to specific parts of the game and its universe. I'll link it here for you if you're interested. Maybe you'll get more out of it!

@Tjuz Thanks for sharing! I agree, that was a little underwhelming, but thanks to you, my expectations were in check Game looks pretty damn awesome, though!

I think we'll do well to keep our expectations low for whatever Archetype has planned for the Game Awards, too. I think it is mainly to get some more exposure on the game and (hope hope hope) maybe announce a release date (or window). Fingers crossed for that!

@Vermines I would absolutely recommend giving it a go if you have the time and inclination to do so. While it is a pale shadow of the original trilogy, in my opinion, I still had a good time with it and I don't think it's anywhere near as bad as some will have you believe. Hope you'll enjoy it and I would love to hear your thoughts on it afterwards, should you give it a go

@Vermines I'd echo what @FuriousMachine said, the story and characters don't quite live up to the OG but it's good enough to still be enjoyable and the gameplay is very strong. If you don't already have it I imagine it can be got for very cheap by now too.

@FuriousMachine I'm not an expert at keeping my expectations in check as proven with The Expanse reel, so I will simply get hyped up hoping for the best! Haha. What's the worst that can happen? A trailer announcing they canceled the game?

... I didn't realise how long it'd been since I'd finished Mass Effect 2 for the first time.

It only feels like a couple of months but looking at my trophies reveals it was back in flipping February. 🤯

And playing ME 1 for the first time was back in November last year! I'd only had a 2/3 month gap between them!

Hopefully I'll get round to finishing the trilogy soon. Might play ME3 over Christmas or something? 🤔

Whilst I don't think the games have been the best thing since sliced bread as they're oft hailed as... I have enjoyed them far more then I expected too given I'm not that much of a sci-fi space opera kinda gal. Really enjoyed them in fact.

I can actually see why the series has fans... Unlike Dragon Age by Bioware which is ironically more my thing but I think is a load of old tosh. Even if I actually enjoyed Inquisition

@HallowMoonshadow Haha, as a superfan of Mass Effect, I've also never been able to get into Dragon Age despite attempts on two several occasions. Both times it was with Origins however, so maybe I'd get along better with one of the more modern entries. Makes me happy to hear that you gave this trilogy a shot in spite of that! I have no choice but to say: get to the third one as quick as you can! The pay-off in it is incredible if you enjoyed following the narrative thus far. I'd also be interested in hearing some of the major choices you've made so far if you want to share!

@HallowMoonshadow I second everything @Tjuz is saying about Mass Effect and the third one. It is only natural that the games will have a lesser impact on new players today than they did when they first came out as other games have managed to replicate a lot of what made them good in the time since. The first one is almost 20 year old! Yowza

No... don't say the quiet part out loud. I'm still too young to be made to feel like this!