Mass Effect 2 [thread contains spoilers]

[Mav]

Maybe, but ME2 isn't going to have a very large modding scene, considering BioWare didn't release any tool kits or anything.

[DarthParametric]

There are some config file edits for the PC version going around that allow you to change some of the "casual" outfits you can wear. The only other sort of mods for both ME 1 and 2 are texture overrides using TexMod. Nobody has managed to repack the cooked files as yet that I am aware of, making large-scale modding impossible.

[Liverandbacon]

There are some config file edits for the PC version going around that allow you to change some of the "casual" outfits you can wear. The only other sort of mods for both ME 1 and 2 are texture overrides using TexMod. Nobody has managed to repack the cooked files as yet that I am aware of, making large-scale modding impossible.

 

Exactly. Pretty much the only thing one can do is mess around with the coalesced.ini. Luckily, there's actually a fairly large amount of stuff you can change in it (run speed/duration, max fuel/scanners, weapon properties, etc), but it's not nearly as nice as a fully moddable game.

 

Though from what I gather, Bioware has messed with the Unreal Engine 3.0 so much that it would be next to impossible to release a toolkit with any degree of user-friendliness.

[Tysyacha]

I kind of hate to do this, but if anyone will help me do a "Celebrity Shepard Lookalike" sidequest, your help would be PHENOMENALLY appreciated! Here's a reference shot--Gemma Arterton as Strawberry Fields in Quantum of Solace:

 

[Pavlos]

I just finished the game tonight, or this morning as it now is. I played through most of it over the last two days after secreting myself away from my housemates. For anyone who hasn't yet, I'd really, highly, super-duper(ly) recommend playing it; a vast improvement on the first game. That's all I can say really.

[Mav]

Did you probe Uranus Pavvy?

[Liverandbacon]

Did you probe Uranus Pavvy?

 

"Really, Commander?"

 

I really do love EDI, especially during the

part when she's guiding Joker through the Normandy during the attack. "I like seeing humans on their knees."

 

[Pavlos]

Source

 

In response to complaints from their fan-base BioWare have announced that they will be reintroducing RPG mechanics to Mass Effect 3. Speaking at the GDC, Christina Norman spoke of how, in an attempt to introduce an "intense feel" to Mass Effect 2, the development team stripped out the inventory, streamlined the GUI, and placed the emphasis on the shooting mechanics above other gameplay elements. After a backlash from fans, Norman said that BioWare had been focussing their attention on "richer RPG features" and "more combat options" for the next instalment in the science fiction series.

 

Also promised is the merciful excising of the mining minigame which was a feature so mind-numbingly dull it could only have come from the mind of one ingenious enough to think up the concept of unexplored worlds and the fascinating proposition of driving a vehicle over a vast, featureless expanse before jetting off to explore another vast, featureless expanse.

[JediAthos]

I'm in the middle of my first play through and I definitely agree about the mining...it makes me want to cry it's so damn tedious. If I didn't have to do it to get resources for upgrades I wouldn't spend any time on it at all.

 

I actually miss the different armor and upgrade choices from ME1 but I do like the customization available on Shepard's armor and off duty outfits and wish they extended to the other characters as well.

[Liverandbacon]

Source

 

In response to complaints from their fan-base BioWare have announced that they will be reintroducing RPG mechanics to Mass Effect 3. Speaking at the GDC, Christina Norman spoke of how, in an attempt to introduce an "intense feel" to Mass Effect 2, the development team stripped out the inventory, streamlined the GUI, and placed the emphasis on the shooting mechanics above other gameplay elements. After a backlash from fans, Norman said that BioWare had been focussing their attention on "richer RPG features" and "more combat options" for the next instalment in the science fiction series.

 

Also promised is the merciful excising of the mining minigame which was a feature so mind-numbingly dull it could only have come from the mind of one ingenious enough to think up the concept of unexplored worlds and the fascinating proposition of driving a vehicle over a vast, featureless expanse before jetting off to explore another vast, featureless expanse.

 

Excellent. Mass Effect 2 definitely felt a bit over-streamlined at points. Of course, as long as I can bind "Journal" to a key, like I could in ME1, instead of having to go to the menu every time I wanted to open it, and have "use" and "sprint/cover" be two different buttons, I'll be happy.

[DarthParametric]

I don't really get this. They stripped out the RPG elements to appeal to the mass market shooter audience, a move they had to know would alienate their more traditional RPG fanbase. Now they turn around and say they are going to put it back in again? God, I wish they'd just make up their mind who they are pitching this game at.

 

And how the mining "mini-game" got through 2-3 years of development and testing without anyone pointing out how crap the concept and implementation was boggles the mind.

[stoffe]

Speaking at the GDC, Christina Norman spoke of how, in an attempt to introduce an "intense feel" to Mass Effect 2, the development team stripped out the inventory, streamlined the GUI, and placed the emphasis on the shooting mechanics above other gameplay elements.

 

The inventory in Mass Effect (1) was torturous to use so I have a hard time understanding how anyone could actually want to have that back.

 

Maybe I'm not a backlashing fan, but I actually found the game better without the time consuming inventory management, and tedium of having to pick up everything that wasn't bolted down and selling it to the nearest fence vendor to get some credits. Just getting to pick up stuff you would have an actual use for lets you focus on the story and quests instead. Some RPGs tend to go overboard throwing useless trash at you that you need to pick up and haul off to be able to afford the stuff you actually need to outfit your crew later. Mass Effect (1) and Ðragon Age were both major offenders in that regard.

 

That said, the weapons selection screen and the armor selection screen could have been turned into a form of inventory instead I guess. I just hope they don't reintroduce classic "RPG" inventory management since that would be a step back, in my opinion.

 

It's worth remembering that some great RPG-ish games like Vampire the Masquerade:Bloodlines and Deus Ex had a more spartan inventory/loot system and still managed to be fun and interesting to play.

 

Also promised is the merciful excising of the mining minigame which was a feature so mind-numbingly dull it could only have come from the mind of one ingenious enough to think up the concept of unexplored worlds and the fascinating proposition of driving a vehicle over a vast, featureless expanse before jetting off to explore another vast, featureless expanse.

 

At least most of the planet scanning was optional since there are 10 times as many resources available to mine in the game than what you'd need to fully upgrade everything. In my last playthrough I was just mining the planets that had side quests on them and still ended up with more mineral resources than I needed in the end.

 

Of course, as long as I can bind "Journal" to a key, like I could in ME1, instead of having to go to the menu every time I wanted to open it, and have "use" and "sprint/cover" be two different buttons, I'll be happy.

 

If you have the PC version of Mass Effect 2 you can at least add some things like that yourself by editing the INI file. I hope they don't actively continue the trend of trying to take away your ability to tweak things in the game in Mass Effect 3 (like they did from ME1 to ME2 by removing the debug console and making the game only read the coalesced INI file).

[Quanon]

The inventory in Mass Effect (1) was torturous to use so I have a hard time understanding how anyone could actually want to have that back.

 

It was annoying to use, but ditching it all... found it rather boring in ME 2 that I couldn't tweak armours and guns for each squad mate.

 

I enjoyed that aspect very much in each RPG. So for me, the inventory in ME 1, its more a GUI problem then really the inventory thing on it self.

 

I don't understand why they did away with it completely. One of their reasons seem to be you got 12 friends to equip, which could get tidious and time consuming. But I'm sure they've could have found a middle ground somewhere.

 

Oh, well, lets wait ME 3, see what they alter in there. Third time is a charm? Isn't that a saying?

[stoffe]

It was annoying to use, but ditching it all... found it rather boring in ME 2 that I couldn't tweak armours and guns for each squad mate.

 

Just shows that you can never please everyone.

 

I felt it was an improvement that you didn't have to get and upgrade good equipment for your party members for them to be useful in combat. In Mass Effect that more or less forced me to stick with the same two sidekicks throughout the whole game since there wasn't enough good gear to be had to outfit everyone optimally. In Mass Effect 2 I'm switching around who I bring along depending on who would fit best for a particular assignment (or just for variation in some cases ), so pretty much the whole squad except Jacob sees regular use there (since he's kind of useless at anything but dying repeatedly).

 

Still, while the party-wide upgrade system did reduce that problem it would be nice to be able to tweak the individual guns for each party member too, to specialize your squad further for certain tasks.

 

And it would be nice if you would have the same armor customization abilities that Shepard had in ME2 for all party members (if they would start wearing any armor in ME3 again, that is. Only Shepard and Garrus who had combat hardsuits in ME2, oddly. Even grunt had exposed skin in his body armor.)

[Revan 411]

Am I the only person here who prefers the game-play style of Mass Effect 2 over Mass Effect 1? This is basically BioWare saying ''Oh, our fans are whiny douches so we'll listen to what on what they have to say because we love them so much, we really do!''

 

The stream-lined combat system in Mass Effect 2 is a huge improvement over number 1. One of the things I hated about Mass Effect 1's combat system was the fact that Medi-Gel (If you use in a combat situation, it'll load up until you can use it again.) took forever to load up and by the time it was done, you'd have successfully killed the enemies, or would have died trying. I prefer the health regeneration in the second game to be honest. Along with the ammunition system over the recharge one and the leveling up improvements made in the second game. (Why did we have to upgrade our skills with weapons in Mass Effect 1?)

 

Either way, I seriously hope that Mass Effect 3 won't contain the same problems as Mass Effect 1, and continues on with the improvements from Mass Effect 2. And I'll be pissed off if BioWare announces ''We're bringing back the elevators!''

[Quanon]

Just shows that you can never please everyone.

Hahaha, true, mind it wasn't something I was terribly let down by.

I even enjoyed cruising around with the Mako on planets.

 

Missed that a bit to in ME 2, though it seems I'll get a DLC for that

Ofcourse, doing only empty planets wasn't that much fun.

 

But they replaced it by scanning planets, which after a while gets boring aswell. I'm not sure if they need to come up with yet something else though.

 

Perhaps lessen it further? Don't know, I'm sure a big group of people enjoy that stuff.

 

Am I the only person here who prefers the game-play style of Mass Effect 2 over Mass Effect 1? This is basically BioWare saying ''Oh, our fans are whiny douches so we'll listen to what on what they have to say because we love them so much, we really do!''

 

No you're not. I think the shooter action in ME 2 is great. They shouldn't do away with that.

 

All I'd like to see is some more armours&guns and possibility of tweaking it again. Cause I found it stupid to see Garrus running around in the same broken armour all the time x-D

[Elite Duck]

Got the last Mass Effect 2 achievement by completing it on Insanity. Keelah, that took me forever to do the (YOU-KNOW-WHAT-FIGHT-WITH-YOU-KNOW-WHO). But I have done everything!

 

By the way if you want to know how to get the Geth Pulse Rifle, complete Tali's recruitment mission. In the room after you kill the Colossus, go into the room you find her. It's on the floor next to a Geth. Make sure you do this on Hardcore or it won't work.

 

BTW, Keelah se'lai!

[ChAiNz.2da]

Am I the only person here who prefers the game-play style of Mass Effect 2 over Mass Effect 1?

Nope. I'm with ya'.

And I'll be pissed off if BioWare announces ''We're bringing back the elevators!''

I miss the elevators

I felt it was an improvement that you didn't have to get and upgrade good equipment for your party members for them to be useful in combat.

Agreed. I love RPG's and customizing (Morrowind junkie here ) however when you have several party members and EACH of their weapons and armor can take individual upgrades (all dependent on a WAY too random occurrence).. then yeah, micro-managing killed some of the fun in ME1 compared to ME2.

The inventory in Mass Effect (1) was torturous to use so I have a hard time understanding how anyone could actually want to have that back.

Agreed. (see above)

 

In my last playthrough I was just mining the planets that had side quests on them and still ended up with more mineral resources than I needed in the end.

Exactly how I do it now. Platinum is still a bugger sometimes.. as you find enough, but the side-quest planets aren't revealed to a later time in the game. but there's enough plat on other planets to make up for it just by a "Rich" scan or two.

[Totenkopf]

Nope. I'm with ya'.

I miss the elevators

 

Only problem I really had about the elevators was that you'd sometimes get unwanted missions added to the que. Didn't like having that clog up my "to do list" after the first playthrough. Music was a little "musaky" (sp?) too. Re the combat, no problems with it, beyond running out of ammo in inconvenient place or times.

 

Agreed. I love RPG's and customizing (Morrowind junkie here ) however when you have several party members and EACH of their weapons and armor can take individual upgrades (all dependent on a WAY too random occurrence).. then yeah, micro-managing killed some of the fun in ME1 compared to ME2.

Agreed. (see above)

 

Yeah, that was a PITA at times.

 

 

Exactly how I do it now. Platinum is still a bugger sometimes.. as you find enough, but the side-quest planets aren't revealed to a later time in the game. but there's enough plat on other planets to make up for it just by a "Rich" scan or two.

 

I've noticed that. Though launching seemingly endless probes doe get a bit tedious. Still, at least I don't have to keep finding upgrades for everything like in ME.

[ChAiNz.2da]

Anyone DL the Arc Projector yet? ("free" with Cerberus Network)

Did the other day and I have a new favorite toy

 

Utterly destroys YMIR mechs (2-3 shots). Granted it's not as sweet as head-shotting one and enjoying the benefits of the explosion afterwards, but meh, it's a fun little toy.. hehehe

 

Also annihilates husk hordes (or any hordes for that matter) ... lurvin' it.

[Astrotoy7]

@chainz - thanks for the heads up The hammerhead DLC shouldn't be too far away either I imagine.

 

Does anyone know if that will be free for the cerberus network folks(ie. those who bought the collectors edtiion)??

 

mtfbwya

[Quanon]

This is what's on the site of ME 2 about the DLC:

 

Firewalker Pack

 

2010.02.25 | Posted by Nickmo

 

The Hammerhead assault vehicle is coming to the Cerberus Network in late March!

 

Free to all Cerberus Network members, the Firewalker pack includes 5 all new missions featuring the Hammerhead. Hovering over the battlefield at up to 120 kilometeres per hour, the Hammerhead also boasts a guided missile system ensuring accuracy even during aggressive maneuvering.

 

Additionally we will be revealing a new heavy weapon available to all Cerberus Network members very soon. Stay tuned for more info on this new addition to the Mass Effect 2 arsenal, coming this month!

[Astrotoy7]

Super Stuff! Cheers Quanon

 

Whilst Im here I might as well put a plug in for the N7 hoodie I recently received. It's pretty damn nice. I also have an N7 t-shirt but it's kind of flimsy - a couple of washes down the line and I'm sure it will only be fitting our chihuahua puppy

 

But the hoodie is cool - you can get one from Bioware's store if you like the look of 'em. What I like about it is that unless someone knows about ME it passes for a nice top either way.

 

Fig.1 The closest I could get to smiling at 4am Oz Time

 

Now all I need to do is get an Ezio Audiotore Da Firenze Outfit and I'll be set

 

mtfbwya

[leXX]

I was thinking of getting one myself, what is the quality of the material like? Looks cool as hell.

[Astrotoy7]

I was thinking of getting one myself, what is the quality of the material like? Looks cool as hell.

 

It feels nice and substantial is the best way to describe it The logo/strip are printed on, and whilst looking nice - it isn't something you'd wanting to be subjecting to excessive washing/detergents IMO.

 

From what I hear about your laws over there Lexxy you may want to keep the hoodie down in public places!

 

mtfbwya