Random Rants LXIX: Life is a Dismal Chore

[Commodore]

EA has finally pulled the plug on Mass Effect Andromeda and possibly the entire Mass Effect franchise. They have announced that there will no longer be any updates or additional content for the single player portion of the game, but they will continue to support multiplayer for the time being. In that announcement, EA has also stated that there are no plans to make any additional Mass Effect games and the franchise is effectively "on hiatus". Five months. That's all it took for this dumpster fire of a game to die. Five months. That is an absolutely horrendous lifespan for a AAA game from what was once a well-respected franchise from a once well-respected developer.

Thanks a lot Bioware Montreal. Thanks for killing my favorite game franchise of all time with that steaming turd of a game you put out. After that train wreck of a game, I'm glad EA shut down Bioware Montreal. Good riddance to bad rubbish I say.

 

[Akka]

I lay the blame on ME3 here.

 

[Synobun]

ME3 was amazing. All they need to do is assemble a full team and give them a realistic development period. They certainly have the finances and talent for it, just an unwillingness to give it a go.

Valve needs to start making games again as well. They're also good at it, and they certainly have the finances and talent for it too.

And yet...

 

[Commodore]

I lay the blame on ME3 here.

Nah, ME3 was the pinnacle of the series. All the best features of 1 and 2 with none of their flaws.

All they need to do is assemble a full team and give them a realistic development period.

They started work on ME:A about a year or so after the release of ME3. That was around a 4 year development period. I'd say that's a pretty realistic time period to put out a quality game. Bioware Montreal just wasn't up to the task since prior to this they were just a support studio for Bioware Edmonton and never handled any major projects on their own. EA decided to give them a shot to prove themselves as something more than a support studio and they dropped the ball big time.

 

[Akka]

ME3 ruined the franchise so much I didn't even bother to pirate ME:A. It completely killed off my interest in ME, and I hate it for that.
Yes, it had the best mechanical features of the 1 and 2, but it so completely destroyed the whole feeling of the serie, combined with such a cretinous plot and trite serie of clichés, that not even the admitedly great character interactions could make it bearable.

 

[Commodore]

combined with such a cretinous plot and trite serie of clichés, that not even the admitedly great character interactions could make it bearable.

Can't say I agree with you here, but if you have a problem with the plot, blame hackers and leakers for that. Someone at Bioware leaked the plot a few months before release, which resulted in the writing team having to completely rewrite the plot in a few months' time. That's why it comes off as sort of a rush job.

 

[Akka]

No, I won't blame anyone but the creator for producing a terribly idiotic plot.
Also, I'm speaking of the ENTIRE plot, not the ending. The ending was a crowning moment of idiocy, but the very idea that the Reapers were there and we needed to fight them was already stupid to begin with - ME3 should have been about finding an actually smart way to destroy them while they were dormant/travelling, NOT going the dumb Hollywood path of "THEY ARE HERE WE ARE FIGHTING THEM AND OH LOOK A DEUS EX MACHINA SUPERWEAPON TO SAVE OUR BUTTS !".
Also, Cerberus. So much potential wasted.

 

[Synobun]

No, I won't blame anyone but the creator for producing a terribly idiotic plot.
Also, I'm speaking of the ENTIRE plot, not the ending. The ending was a crowning moment of idiocy, but the very idea that the Reapers were there and we needed to fight them was already stupid to begin with - ME3 should have been about finding an actually smart way to destroy them while they were dormant/travelling, NOT going the dumb Hollywood path of "THEY ARE HERE WE ARE FIGHTING THEM AND OH LOOK A DEUS EX MACHINA SUPERWEAPON TO SAVE OUR BUTTS !".
Also, Cerberus. So much potential wasted.

In theory, I sort of halfheartedly agree. The solution to the Reaper problem would have been more endearing/immersive had the Crucible been mentioned in previous games. Even allusions towards it would have been great.

I'm not sure if they thought that far ahead at the time, though.

 

[Commodore]

Also, I'm speaking of the ENTIRE plot, not the ending.

So am I.

 

[Takhisis]

ME3 should have been about finding an actually smart way to destroy them while they were dormant/travelling, NOT going the dumb Hollywood path of "THEY ARE HERE WE ARE FIGHTING THEM AND OH LOOK A DEUS EX MACHINA SUPERWEAPON TO SAVE OUR BUTTS !".

I haven't played the game, but maybe it would have been better to have a glorious near-win (i.e. umltimately a failure) be the canon ending? That way you already have the sequel hook for an ME4 in which you fight these Reapers, whatever they are.

 

[Synobun]

I haven't played the game, but maybe it would have been better to have a glorious near-win (i.e. umltimately a failure) be the canon ending? That way you already have the sequel hook for an ME4 in which you fight these Reapers, whatever they are.

A near-win is the canon ending. All the end results of ME3 are... less than desirable if you're looking for a standard hero's victory.

 

[Cutlass]

Then start doing subtle little things that make life near intolerable for them so they leave on their own.

Someone from the management company the bank hires to safeguard the places came by and talked/threatened them into leaving. Hopefully they stay gone.

I just get stuff delivered to my work building if I'm worried about not being at home to receive it.

When I was in an apartment I'd have things dropped at my parents house. Which wasn't far away.

 

[Arakhor]

Unlike, say, the ME3 ending controversy, this is an issue where it's clearly EA at fault, rather than Bioware. Bioware don't get to decide to make more DLC if EA rules that it's not financially viable, they presumably didn't get a choice about which studio with which to make the game (or when or when not to release a game) and if EA starts closing down their studios and cannibalising their workforce, the workers' only option is to leave EA's employ entirely.

 

[Akka]

Someone from the management company the bank hires to safeguard the places came by and talked/threatened them into leaving. Hopefully they stay gone.

What, aren't you happy to have some diversity in your neighbourhood ?

 

[Lohrenswald]

I'm getting pretty tired of reading hypertext

 

[Cutlass]

What, aren't you happy to have some diversity in your neighbourhood ?

There's a lot of diversity in the neighborhood. This town is less then 40% white.

 

[warpus]

Nobody else on here plays Kerbal Space Program anymore. You all have kids and responsibilities and here I am playing in my pajamas with nobody to share my conquests with other than n00bs on reddit

 

[Takhisis]

Nobody else on here plays Kerbal Space Program anymore. You all have kids and responsibilities and here I am playing in my pajamas with nobody to share my conquests with other than n00bs on reddit

Or else you could switch over to Wesnoth like a pro.

 

[warpus]

I'm definitely switching games for a while after I am finished playing through this KSP career save. KSP takes up so much of my time.. I'm sort of doing a comprehensive playthrough right now, using all the skills gained over the last whatver years its been. Each planet gets a set of epic enough missions, each one incorporating something I've never done in the game. I'm not taking off from Eve or anything but screw that anyway

In any case chances are I'll jump right back into Civ or more probably I guess Cities Skylines. I have that city going in that that I haven't touched in a while.

Wesnoth though. What kind of name is that. It looks somewhat interesting, so I'm not discounting it outright, but I don't know if that's really my thing

 

[shadowplay]

I've had cold-like symptoms the last few days, nothing that bad ... but then suddenly last night, i developed severe pinkeye in both eyes. While I had conjunctivitis about a decade ago, this time it's much more painful. They both hurt like hell, and I'm really sensitive to light. Seeing the doctor in a few hours.

My eyes are still miserable, but now the infection has made its way to my throat. This is truly gross.