BioWare Finally Confirms and Details Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer

[Normandyfoxtrot]

While I don't mind the co-op multiplayer, I'm not liking how it's implemented. This implies that in order to guarantee said "perfect ending", you're more or less forced into doing the side missions (much like how you were railroaded in to doing each character's personal missions if you wanted everyone alive in ME2 - while they were of course optional, you probably weren't gonna like the results of going into the final mission if you skipped them).

I may have to skip this (the multiplayer), but we'll see what happens.

Your insistence on nothing short of perfection isn't role playing. If it was railroading you would be required to do them to continue.

 

[VulakAerr]

I'm shocked (not really, this is the internet after all) at the lack of understanding (or is that "reading") in this thread.

So for all the arseholes who can't read the article, tl;dr:

1) It's optional. Nothing you can do to the story by playing multiplayer is barred if you stick to single-player.

2) Another studio did the multiplayer. It's as if they're shipping a separate multiplayer game based on the same universe from a different studio. The normal Mass Effect team ONLY did singleplayer.

3) Nothing is ruined. You can ignore it. As we can now ignore you.

Thanks.

 

[Abedeus]

It's funny, considering I wrote this little bit earlier in the day;

"Outstanding co-op" - We couldn't get the A.I to work even at the most basic level, so we are forcing you to play with someone else.

Mass Effect is one of those strong story driven single player experiences. Putting in multiplayer is like forcing a 5th wheel on a car that runs fine with four.

You can however use the 5th wheel to turn in place. Saw this in one car, where dude would use it for parallel parking - drive into a spot front-first, then engage the 5th wheel and turn sideways.

 

[everythingbeeps]

I couldn't be less interested in multiplayer for ME3. I may give it a try, but I doubt I'm gonna stick with it. I still haven't really bothered with Portal 2's multiplayer.

On the other hand, it's nice to see they're at least trying to have it make sense and not just shoehorn in some arbitrary deathmatch or whatever.

 

[putowtin]

These efforts will have a direct impact on the player's "Galactic Readiness" meter, which shows how well-prepared the Galaxy is to fend off the Reaper assault. Thus, success in the co-op mode will also provide players with an alternative way of getting a perfect ending in the single player game.

Ehh? so it will affect the main story if I don't go online and take part in a multiplayer game I have no interest in?

This sucks:-(

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Wait. So I have to shell out $60 for the game, then extra for an xbox gold membership just so I can get the good ending? Seriously? What the hell Bioware?

Apparently the word 'optional' isn't in some people's vocabulary.

Indeed.

Ever feel like you're trying to run misinformation control in a cattery?

i'm about to spam repost that jackie chan image of "my head is full of fuck" right now.

how do this many people not understand IT'S COMPLETELY FUCKING OPTIONAL??!?! THE CO OP DOES NOT AFFECT THE SINGLE PLAYER UNLESS YOU WANT IT TO, BOTH COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT VARIABLES!!!!

jesus christ, i can't believe i am getting this annoyed over it, but jesus christ i swear some people here are worse than WBC when they go on a rant in threads.

 

[Zeraki]

These efforts will have a direct impact on the player's "Galactic Readiness" meter, which shows how well-prepared the Galaxy is to fend off the Reaper assault. Thus, success in the co-op mode will also provide players with an alternative way of getting a perfect ending in the single player game.

Ehh? so it will affect the main story if I don't go online and take part in a multiplayer game I have no interest in?

This sucks:-(

Read what you quoted again. It says it is an alternative way to get the perfect ending. You can still get all the endings through single player. And it is 100% optional. You can completely ignore its existence if you wish.

 

[putowtin]

These efforts will have a direct impact on the player's "Galactic Readiness" meter, which shows how well-prepared the Galaxy is to fend off the Reaper assault. Thus, success in the co-op mode will also provide players with an alternative way of getting a perfect ending in the single player game.

Ehh? so it will affect the main story if I don't go online and take part in a multiplayer game I have no interest in?

This sucks:-(

Read what you quoted again. It says it is an alternative way to get the perfect ending. You can still get all the endings through single player.

cheers! Serves me right for reading the escapist when I should be working!

 

[Laxman9292]

You know, this pisses me off for a number of reasons. The first, and largest, as that these companies need to learn that not every freaking game needs some kind of co-op of multiplayer mode! Mass Effect, in my opinion, is one of the best examples of games that was perfect with just single player. So for them to go ahead and shit all over that by adding multiplayer? It sets a bad example for other developers who may throw in similar modes that actually do poorly affect the rest of the game. Plus, I'm doubtful of how well this will work anyways. Having two separate studios working on different parts of the game often makes the entire experience feel at least somewhat disjointed.

And for those who say 'oh, the multiplayer is completely optional,' from the sounds of things it likely isn't. It sounds like the multiplayer mode will have it's own story and characters. That isn't a bad thing, mind you, but it also means I, a single player gamer, am cut off from the rest of the content. That could be fixed if they allowed for AI teammates, but that barely helps. In fact, in most cases, forcing AI teammates into the mix makes things much, much worse (*angry glare at Resident Evil 5*). But having no teammates, depending on how they handle things, could make actually playing the game next to impossible due to number of enemies and enemies straight. That depends on how they do with balancing though. And I know 'I could always turn down the difficulty,' but I always play through a game on the hardest difficulty first. I'm not about to change that for one game. And why do I do that? Because I can't stand not getting the achievement for beating it on the hardest difficulty. And I hate myself for that.

TL;DR: Not every game needs to be multiplayer in some way. Mass Effect, which is one of the best examples of SP gaming in my opinion, was one of the games to help prove that. Now that it has multiplayer, other games may force multiplayer in that will likely have poor quality and effect the SP mode. And as for the 'optional' argument, it isn't optional if you want to experience the full story and game from the sounds of it.

First off grammar Nazi'ing: the multiplayer affects the story. The story changing is an effect of the multiplayer. Sorry to be an asshole but some guy a bunch of posts above you made the same mistake along with some truly atrocious butchering of spelling.

And I don't think it is as serious a problem as you think, and if you don't have friends who want to play coop then you can go online. The thing is since there is a common goal and no enemy players, just AI, then I think people are way less inclined to fuck up the experience because they are similarly screwed.

Also, your fear that Bioware is shitting all over it by adding multiplayer is a little hyperbolic. Especially since the multiplayer is being handled by a different studio, i.e. the single-player experience is the sole focus of the studio that has been crafting it for the first two games. I think the multiplayer mode can be one of ME strongest plot devices by providing more depth and showing the wide scope of the war rather than a straight single player game that shows a galactic war from the perspective of one person, which is a waste of having a galactic war in the first place. Besides, a ton of ME fans have always wanted to be able to play as different species and this is a great way to develop the different species as well as gain a new perspective on the war.

TL;DR : I think the multiplayer will add lots of immersion and help make the plot more significant without a drop in overall quality. Bioware is a good developer, I have faith that they won't shoot themselves in the foot by sacrificing story and the single player portion, which is clearly their forte, to shoehorn in a substandard multiplayer experience. Especially not for the final installment of a trilogy as popular as ME.

 

[Laxman9292]

I couldn't be less interested in multiplayer for ME3. I may give it a try, but I doubt I'm gonna stick with it. I still haven't really bothered with Portal 2's multiplayer.

On the other hand, it's nice to see they're at least trying to have it make sense and not just shoehorn in some arbitrary deathmatch or whatever.

I really suggest you try it! Portal's coop was insanely fun and having double the amount of portals to work with might be even more fun than the solo game. But anyways I'm not even going to call this multiplayer, it's coop and therefore completely different from PVP (significantly less trolls). I'm intrigued by the possibilities it has for developing the story and am definitely going to try it.

 

[Laxman9292]

"Priestly also made it clear that the development of the multiplayer had not had an adverse effect on the single player mode, "

I just know this is a dirty, dirty lie.

I cannot think of a game improved by multiplayer except Halo, and that is only better when playing with your friends in the same living room.

ME1 was the pinnacle of this series, here is hoping 3 is at least as good as 2.

Portal 2, Trine, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Metal Gear Solid 4, Left 4 Dead (1 and 2), Gears of War(all 3 of them), Dead island, Battlefield series, Magicka, Minecraft, Terraria, Frozen Synapse, Starcraft series, Diablo series, every single warcraft title. That's just off the top of my head.


EDIT: Dark Souls, Demon's Souls, every single pokemon title.

Wrecked! Get some!

But seriously, I don't understand why everyone's bitching.
1. Two different studios (singleplayer studio still focused on singleplayer)
2. Optional! (Can still beat the game perfectly without playing coop)
3. Not PVP but coop! (no douchers on the other team ruining it for everyone)
4. It's Bioware (AKA the people who made the only good Sonic game since he left 2D, which is just incredible)
5. Baldur's Gate, NWN, Borderlands, Fable 3, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, X-Men Legends. (Plenty of good coop that are RPGs)
6. Bioware doesn't make bad games (and they're talking about making a sequel for Jade Empire so I'm already all over the Bioware train right now)
7. You get to play as different races with different skills (who hasn't wanted to play a Krogan at some point?)
8. The style of play is perfectly suited for coop seeing as you are already in squads (but now you get smarter teammates!)

 

[Callate]

"Alarmed question. Why are you dropping proximity mines at our spawn point?

Disgusted expletive. You aren't taking this seriously at all, are you.

Resentful bafflement. Does anyone remember how to kick a griefer?"

 

[GeorgW]

See, see, I told ya it'd be coop!
No surprise, but glad to hear it confirmed that I was right all along.
However, this galaxy thing worries and excites me. I forebode a facebook game will be the first part of it, followed by a multiplayer only game in a year or so.

 

[GameMaNiAC]

Soooo... Shepard Twincest?

The idea of Shepard twins fighting off the Reapers together would make for something pretty awesome..... I think there is a fanfic of that though......

Please read the whole article before commenting. It says you can create your own alien character (Salarian, Krogan, Turian... etc).

OT: Well, this sounds like something I can cope with. May even give it a try.

That's why I said 'the idea.' If you had been able to do multiple Shepards I would have been bouncing of the proverbial walls of the forum.

Apologies. Misunderstood your comment, then.

 

[The Critic]

Very Interesting. I'd never thought I'd see the day that Mass Effect, of all games, would get a multiplayer component. But here it is...

All I can say is WOW! It's surprising that multiplayer Mass Effect even exists, but what's more surprising is that the way it's been described actually makes it sound very interesting and, above all, fun.

I mean, really, we can play as Turians? Salarians? Krogan?!?! And we'll have several classes from which to pick from, with leveling and character progression? Sweet!

Having read the FAQ on the Bioware forums (here [http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/323/index/8481789/1]), then watching a short little video on it (here [http://www.gamesradar.com/first-mass-effect-3-multiplayer-screens-hit-web/]), I can say that any fears that I had have been, for the moment, dealt with. This new multiplayer mode might be a dud, but it has the potential to be incredibly awesome. Right now, I am inclined to believe that it may very well be the latter. At least, I hope so.

 

[vrbtny]

Soooo... Shepard Twincest?

The idea of Shepard twins fighting off the Reapers together would make for something pretty awesome..... I think there is a fanfic of that though......

Please read the whole article before commenting. It says you can create your own alien character (Salarian, Krogan, Turian... etc).

OT: Well, this sounds like something I can cope with. May even give it a try.

That's why I said 'the idea.' If you had been able to do multiple Shepards I would have been bouncing of the proverbial walls of the forum.

Apologies. Misunderstood your comment, then.

Now reading back the comment does read like that. It was my fault for wording it like a idiot. I'll go back and edit it to make sense.

Much thanks for bringing my screw-up to light/

 

[vrbtny]

Soooo... Shepard Twincest?

The idea of Shepard twins fighting off the Reapers together would make for something pretty awesome..... I think there is a fanfic of that though......

Please read the whole article before commenting. It says you can create your own alien character (Salarian, Krogan, Turian... etc).

OT: Well, this sounds like something I can cope with. May even give it a try.

That's why I said 'the idea.' If you had been able to do multiple Shepards I would have been bouncing of the proverbial walls of the forum.

Apologies. Misunderstood your comment, then.

Now I read back it does read like that. No blame on you, it was just my screwed-up wording which caused the confusion. I'll go back and edit it so that it makes sense and doesn't read like some dodgy Japanese Anime translation.

Capthca = nomympt

 

[Riff Moonraker]

Nothing I read alleviated my aggravation with this. Nothing. Its getting ridiculous how everyone feels there has to be a multiplayer with every.single.game. This game is all about my character, my decisions, and the world *I* created. There is no room in this particular world for anyone else, nor should it be.

Yeah, there shouldn't be (100% optional) multiplayer in RPGs! There's no room for that nonsense!

Actually, thats EXACTLY how I feel. In a game like Mass Effect, Fallout, Oblivion, Skyrim, etc. there is NO place for multiplayer, optional or not. These games are designed around the purchasers decisions, choices, and actions, and theirs alone. I do not want anyone stepping foot into my world in any of these games, and its ridiculous to add multiplayer to it.