Bioware: Mass Effect: Andromeda Multiplayer Will Be Entirely Optional

[ffronw]

Bioware: Mass Effect: Andromeda Multiplayer Will Be Entirely Optional

//cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/1373/1373446.jpgIf you've wondered how much of Mass Effect: Andromeda's will be required, Bioware has an answer: None of it.

One of the complaints that many gamers had about Mass Effect 3 was that you were required to play the multiplayer in order raise your readiness, which meant that more characters would survive in the end. In effect, you needed to play multiplayer to get the best ending in the single-player. Happily, Bioware has revealed that you won't need to play the multiplayer in Mass Effect: Andromeda at all, unless you want to.

Speaking with Kotaku Australia [http://www.kotaku.com.au/2016/12/what-mass-effect-andromeda-is-doing-about-multiplayer-mods-and-dedicated-servers/], Bioware producer Mike Gamble explained how the single-player and multiplayer work together.

"There's a system that we use called the Strike Team system, and fundamentally it allows you to go between single-player and multiplayer within the game," Gamble explained. "And it's packaged around a meta-story of what's going on in Helios."

The multiplayer will feed into a meta-story, but that meta-story can be finished without participating in any multiplayer at all. Gamble said that while the transition from single-player to multiplayer is "pretty seamless," it isn't instantaneous. "I can tell you that there's a loading screen - it's not entirely seamless - but it won't require you to stop your game and restart in a different mode. Because narratively it's all connected, it makes a lot of sense."

There are a few other interesting bits in the conversation, including the news that Andromeda will ship with an unlocked frame rate and support for ultrawide screen (21:9) monitors. Also of interest was Gamble's comment on mods. While the game won't ship with mod support, Gamble did say that "as we see the reaction to these things those plans can change very quickly," indicating that the door may be open to mod support down the road.

We'll hopefully find out more about Andromeda in the coming weeks, as there's been little information shared up to now. Mass Effect: Andromeda is scheduled to launch on March 21, 2017 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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[Neurotic Void Melody]

Wait, what? I completed the game without knowing the multiplayer had any effect on my readiness at all. Ehh, so long ago I can't even remember who survived in the end anyway. Once is enough, don't need perfect runs through repetition. Inquisition didn't have this too, did it?

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Methinks you are missing a word in that opening sentence there, Mr. Author. ;-)

Wait, what? I completed the game without knowing the multiplayer had any effect on my readiness at all. Ehh, so long ago I can't even remember who survived in the end anyway. Once is enough, don't need perfect runs through repetition. Inquisition didn't have this too, did it?

It only affected your galactic readiness level if you got a character all the way leveled up and then transferred them to the front line, thus adding a few extra points. Honestly, before the DLC came out, the only reason to do this was so that you could get the bonus scene at the end of the Destroy mission where Shepard takes a breath. It was entirely possible to have everyone survive the mission just fine if you did everything in single player--you just didn't get the extra scene.

And Inquisition did have multiplayer, but it had no affect on the single player as far as I know.

 

[HomuraDidNothinWrong]

Wait, what? I completed the game without knowing the multiplayer had any effect on my readiness at all. Ehh, so long ago I can't even remember who survived in the end anyway. Once is enough, don't need perfect runs through repetition. Inquisition didn't have this too, did it?

The patch they released a few months after release changed the readiness requirements to make it possible without multiplayer. And Inquisition's multiplayer was completely separate from the base game, it was pretty much it's own game.

 

[Saelune]

This is one of those cases of a forward step in the reverse direction.

Seriously "You dont have to play multiplayer anymore! Woot!" ....the fuck?

Maybe make a single player game that is single player instead of tacking on unnecessary multiplayer.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Ah alrighty ho then! Thanks for replies! I missed the DLCs completely for the trilogy, seems like a bad decision in retrospect.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Oh, more Mass Effect multiplayer.

It sounds a bit like drop in co-op (I hope it's that), in which case great. If it's a repeat of that loot box grinding horde mode from 3 then I've no doubt it will be as terrible as that was.
"as we see the reaction to these things those plans can change very quickly,"
For want of a better phrase, balls. EA is the company that threatens to close entire Origin accounts for interfering with their game code even a little bit. This will be like the Gamespy shutdown and Battlefield mods, they have a plan and the plan is do nothing.

Wait, what? I completed the game without knowing the multiplayer had any effect on my readiness at all. Ehh, so long ago I can't even remember who survived in the end anyway. Once is enough, don't need perfect runs through repetition. Inquisition didn't have this too, did it?

On 3's release, without playing the multiplayer you could only get a maximum readiness of 50, meaning you were buggered. Even if you played a lot of the multiplayer your readiness would decay whenever you stopped.

Needless to say that was all patched out.

 

[Jadak]

This is one of those cases of a forward step in the reverse direction.

Seriously "You dont have to play multiplayer anymore! Woot!" ....the fuck?

Maybe make a single player game that is single player instead of tacking on unnecessary multiplayer.

Or, keep the multiplayer because that was one of the best parts of ME3.

 

[pearcinator]

This is one of those cases of a forward step in the reverse direction.

Seriously "You dont have to play multiplayer anymore! Woot!" ....the fuck?

Maybe make a single player game that is single player instead of tacking on unnecessary multiplayer.

Or, keep the multiplayer because that was one of the best parts of ME3.

Yep! I put 400 hours into ME3 multiplayer (and zero hours into Dragon Age: Inquisition's MP). It was really fun and I actually like the RNG loot boxes. It gives a similar feeling to gambling (which is not a good thing)

 

[American Tanker]

ME3's multiplayer was garbage, with the worst of it being those damned loot boxes.

Hell, ME3 in general was just trash compared to its predecessors.

And NO, I'm still not going to bother with this turd. If I can't have an actually cute Asari on my crew, what's the point?

 

[Diablo2000]

You guys remember when they said the same about Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer only to turns out that you pretty much did need it to get the best set of shitty endings? (Pre-Extended Ending anyway) I do, so I am sorry for not taking their word for it. However, for what is worth I found to be pretty fun and I almost sure that will still be an solid multiplayer nonetheless.

 

[EnigmaticSevens]

It's all rather amazing how negative perception, especially a shared negative perception, colors the memory. It's especially amazing that this reaction persists when the lot of you live in a society that has ad libitum access to moderately reliable sources of untarnished data. What silly, emotional creatures we be....

A quick jaunt to a wiki might've reminded some of you that the only ending avoiding ME3's multiplayer like the plague denied you was the little clip of Shepherd's death rattle / post mortem spasm tacked on the end of the Destroy option (calling that proof of a living Shep introduces more plot holes vastly larger than any of the sins committed by the original endings). If you didn't play the multiplayer, the game forced you to commit to near every single side quest if you wished to acquire the most "desirable" ending, you know... like damn near every RPG ever. The multiplayer allowed you to be lazy.

Suffice it to say, if you're going to whinge, at least whinge about what actually happened. But when has this lovely community ever missed an opportunity to ***** about something Bioware/EA/AAA related? Aaaaah, correction. When have we ever missed an opportunity to be miserable period?

 

[Fox12]

Fuck me, am I supposed to be impressed that a single player game doesn't require multi-player?

 

[cthulhuspawn82]

Multiplayer becoming a larger and larger focus in games over the years really baffles me. "You know what would be great for a hobby that has a large appeal for socially awkward loners? Forced socialization!"

 

[Mortuorum]

Or, keep the multiplayer because that was one of the best parts of ME3.

Yep! I put 400 hours into ME3 multiplayer (and zero hours into Dragon Age: Inquisition's MP). It was really fun and I actually like the RNG loot boxes. It gives a similar feeling to gambling (which is not a good thing)

According to N7, I put in about 140 hours. I remember being annoyed at the "mandatory" multiplayer, until I realized:
1) It wasn't actually mandatory. (You could get the "best" ending by - you know - playing the game.)
2) It was really a lot of fun.
3) It wasn't the same ultra-competitive players you'd find in other multiplayer games. Even when I was relatively new and (to put it kindly) not the strongest asset to the team, people were almost always supportive and friendly.

I'm certainly willing to give Andromeda multiplayer a try. If it sucks, I won't play it.

 

[Elijin]

Good!

Now the whiny babies can just ignore the excellence that was Mass Effect MP instead of whining on the internet every about it.

Crossing my fingers and hope they recreate what made ME3MP good. Because DA:I used the exact same format and was freaking terrible due to the gameplay itself (not actually an action game, all AI aggro's at once in spite of it clearing being designed for clever/stealthy engagements. All enemy attacks including projectiles tracking, making combat a numbers game instead of based on player actions).

 

[Imre Csete]

Good!

Now the whiny babies can just ignore the excellence that was Mass Effect MP instead of whining on the internet every about it.

Crossing my fingers and hope they recreate what made ME3MP good.

And what made it good?

All I can understand that people liked it because it was more Mass Effect, so yay for that.

A quick jaunt to a wiki might've reminded some of you that the only ending avoiding ME3's multiplayer like the plague denied you was the little clip of Shepherd's death rattle / post mortem spasm tacked on the end of the Destroy option (calling that proof of a living Shep introduces more plot holes vastly larger than any of the sins committed by the original endings). If you didn't play the multiplayer, the game forced you to commit to near every single side quest if you wished to acquire the most "desirable" ending, you know... like damn near every RPG ever. The multiplayer allowed you to be lazy.

And if you had truly read the wiki, you'd know that wasn't the case on release, the EMS requirement got changed with the Extended Cut DLC.

 

[Elijin]

Good!

Now the whiny babies can just ignore the excellence that was Mass Effect MP instead of whining on the internet every about it.

Crossing my fingers and hope they recreate what made ME3MP good.

And what made it good?

All I can understand that people liked it because it was more Mass Effect, so yay for that.

Disclaimer: The gameplay was third person shooter/caster hybrid set in a wave based horde mode. If you don't like 3rd person or horde gameplay, don't pretend its bad because, accept people like different things.
The gameplay was satisfying. The range of weapons and abilities was neato, and most everything made a decent impact in the "Feeling fun to wield" category. The enemies were varied both in multiple factions, and within the factions themselves. The map design was pretty solid for the gametype it supported, and the learning curve was nice. Add in co-op and a pretty solid community that was mostly absent of the type of MP toxicity that populates AAA games and you've got yourself a fun gaming session. Oh and free content updates throughout its lifetime.

But hey, its the Escapist, I fully expect someone to quote me saying it was a bland 3rd person horde mode with microtransactions, because "letting people enjoy things" seems to be heading towards being a lost art.

 

[Imre Csete]

Disclaimer: The gameplay was third person shooter/caster hybrid set in a wave based horde mode. If you don't like 3rd person or horde gameplay, don't pretend its bad because, accept people like different things.
The gameplay was satisfying. The range of weapons and abilities was neato, and most everything made a decent impact in the "Feeling fun to wield" category. The enemies were varied both in multiple factions, and within the factions themselves. The map design was pretty solid for the gametype it supported, and the learning curve was nice. Add in co-op and a pretty solid community that was mostly absent of the type of MP toxicity that populates AAA games and you've got yourself a fun gaming session. Oh and free content updates throughout its lifetime.

But hey, its the Escapist, I fully expect someone to quote me saying it was a bland 3rd person horde mode with microtransactions, because "letting people enjoy things" seems to be heading towards being a lost art.

Do you play multiplayer games in general, if yes, what kinds of mp do you prefer?

Mass Effect multiplayer has potential way beyond barebones horde mode. With MP affecting the single player experience (on launch anyways), I didn't play that much, so I'm just curious why people loved it so much that some consider it the best part of the game. So easy on the salt, overconsumption is unhealthy.

 

[Elijin]

Do you play multiplayer games in general, if yes, what kinds of mp do you prefer?

Mass Effect multiplayer has potential way beyond barebones horde mode. With MP affecting the single player experience (on launch anyways), I didn't play that much, so I'm just curious why people loved it so much that some consider it the best part of the game. So easy on the salt, overconsumption is unhealthy.

I don't get your point. You're judging it based on what its not? Because that seems silly. It could have been many things, but it wasn't and being hung up on what it wasnt didn't stop me from enjoying it. It was fun, and I enjoyed that fun, with many others.

Also, a few quips is hardly salt, just a familiarity with the complaineruser base and a sense of humour ;P