Mass Effect: Andromeda's Multiplayer Tech Test Canceled

[Lizzy Finnegan]

Mass Effect: Andromeda's Multiplayer Tech Test Canceled

Andromeda's multiplayer tech test scrapped ahead of release.

BioWare detailed its PAX East 2017 plans in a blog post yesterday [http://blog.bioware.com/2017/03/01/bioware-at-pax-east-2017/], and in between informing fans that they will have an opportunity to play Mass Effect: Andromeda multiplayer on the show floor and sharing on-site panel and livestream details, the company dropped a different kind of announcement - the "multiplayer tech test" for the game has been canceled.


"While we will have live multiplayer at PAX East, there will no longer be a multiplayer tech test for players at home," the post reads. "Thank you to everyone who signed up. We look forward to seeing you in Andromeda."

We still don't know much about Andromeda's multiplayer. In January [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/169234-Bioware-Mass-Effect-Andromeda-Multiplayer-Will-Be-Entirely-Optional#&gid=gallery_6779&pid=1], Bioware producer Mike Gamble indicated that the multiplayer will feed into a meta-story, but that the multiplayer itself is optional.

"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," he said. "Because narratively it's all connected, it makes a lot of sense."

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Mass Effect: Andromeda is scheduled to launch on March 21, 2017 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.



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[JenSeven]

Because of course it's going to have Multiplayer.
This is EA after all.

I mean, the whole of Mass Effect is build upon a single player experience, where all of the story is, as it has been in the past.
So why not cram more multiplayer into it, because that fits so well.
As it did in ME3.

 

[Imre Csete]

Because of course it's going to have Multiplayer.
This is EA after all.

It's being made by the ME3 multiplayer dev studio, of course it will feature a ton of multiplayer.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

Because of course it's going to have Multiplayer.
This is EA after all.

It's being made by the ME3 multiplayer dev studio, of course it will feature a ton of multiplayer.

I didn't know that... Wow, enthusiasm dampened even more.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Because of course it's going to have Multiplayer.
This is EA after all.

It's being made by the ME3 multiplayer dev studio, of course it will feature a ton of multiplayer.

I didn't know that... Wow, enthusiasm dampened even more.

Same. And I wasn't even going to get it to begin with.

 

[Kreett]

Am I the only one here that thinks multiplayer was Mass Effect 3's saving grace along with Tali? I am massively excited for the multiplayer almost as much as I am for the main game! People need to lighten up and not see everything as another sign of the apocalypse, cuz that's the feel these forums give me sometimes

 

[Elijin]

Am I the only one here that thinks multiplayer was Mass Effect 3's saving grace along with Tali? I am massively excited for the multiplayer almost as much as I am for the main game! People need to lighten up and not see everything as another sign of the apocalypse, cuz that's the feel these forums give me sometimes

No. The MP was wildly successful with a great fan base. This community is just a very concentrated selection of negativity. They didn't want it, so why should it exist?

 

[CaitSeith]

Am I the only one here that thinks multiplayer was Mass Effect 3's saving grace along with Tali? I am massively excited for the multiplayer almost as much as I am for the main game! People need to lighten up and not see everything as another sign of the apocalypse, cuz that's the feel these forums give me sometimes

No. The MP was wildly successful with a great fan base. This community is just a very concentrated selection of negativity. They didn't want it, so why should it exist?

Because they wanted a good ending. Instead the efforts went to the multiplayer. MP was good from the start, while the ending needed to be patched.

 

[squid5580]

Am I the only one here that thinks multiplayer was Mass Effect 3's saving grace along with Tali? I am massively excited for the multiplayer almost as much as I am for the main game! People need to lighten up and not see everything as another sign of the apocalypse, cuz that's the feel these forums give me sometimes

Nope I loved it. I also liked ME3 sp and didn't find the ending worthy of death threats.

 

[CaitSeith]

"Because narratively it's all connected, it makes a lot of sense."

Oh, no. They are going to force people play the MC-ridden multiplayer to unlock the good ending (again), aren't they? More of a reason to wait for being on sale or to buy it used.

 

[Elijin]

Am I the only one here that thinks multiplayer was Mass Effect 3's saving grace along with Tali? I am massively excited for the multiplayer almost as much as I am for the main game! People need to lighten up and not see everything as another sign of the apocalypse, cuz that's the feel these forums give me sometimes

No. The MP was wildly successful with a great fan base. This community is just a very concentrated selection of negativity. They didn't want it, so why should it exist?

Because they wanted a good ending. Instead the efforts went to the multiplayer. MP was good from the start, while the ending needed to be patched.

Yes, the studio in another country who only worked on the combat and MP could have been writing a better ending.

Do you know how petty and selfish it is to sum up your side of the argument as "I'm unsatisfied with my focus of interest so yours never should have existed. "

People like the MP. Furthermore, those same people are likely to buy the next game. Their feedback is more important than the "ending ruined it, customer lost" crowd. Go be whiny babies elsewhere.

 

[JenSeven]

"Because narratively it's all connected, it makes a lot of sense."

Oh, no. They are going to force people play the MC-ridden multiplayer to unlock the good ending (again), aren't they? More of a reason to wait for being on sale or to buy it used.

My thought as well, it's that bullshit from ME3 all over again. Do the multiplayer to unlock the 'good' ending.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

I mean, the whole of Mass Effect is build upon a single player experience, where all of the story is, as it has been in the past.
So why not cram more multiplayer into it, because that fits so well.
As it did in ME3.

Well, yes, it fitted quite well into ME3, apart from those who only played the base game early on, perhaps. It was also a rather excellent mode, created, I believe, by a separate team? Also, heaven forbid any company tries to do something interesting with integrating SP and MP.

But hey, it's a BioWare game that isn't [insert subjective slightly niche darling], right? So knives out.

People need to lighten up and not see everything as another sign of the apocalypse, cuz that's the feel these forums give me sometimes

This community is just a very concentrated selection of negativity. They didn't want it, so why should it exist?

Please... We all know BioWare kicked everyone's dog, personally insulted them, and stole their lunch money...

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

"Because narratively it's all connected, it makes a lot of sense."

Oh, no. They are going to force people play the MC-ridden multiplayer to unlock the good ending (again), aren't they? More of a reason to wait for being on sale or to buy it used.

Is...Is, would that be some sort of stealth/passive DRM then?

 

[Zulnam]

A bit shady as to why they did it. If a publisher is confident in their product they'll showcase the hell out of it. No mp demo might mean the game isn't actually ready yet.

 

[CaitSeith]

"Because narratively it's all connected, it makes a lot of sense."

Oh, no. They are going to force people play the MC-ridden multiplayer to unlock the good ending (again), aren't they? More of a reason to wait for being on sale or to buy it used.

Is...Is, would that be some sort of stealth/passive DRM then?

It uses Origin, so that would be overkill. It's more of "we hope 1 of every 10 players will buy MCs if they are exposed to them", and trying to fish some whales while they are at it.

 

[ecoho]

dear lord the amount of stupid and misinformation in this thread is just staggering. the MP in ME3 was done by a separate studio so they had no control over the story that was good save the last 10-15 mins which was mostly fixed with extended cut. now with ME:A the multiplayer is not "required" to get the best ending, it seems like it'll be like the ME3 one were yes it made getting the "best" ending easier it wasn't really required as by about the time I had to go to thessia I had maxed out my war assets and that was without the very good dlc like citadel and leviathan. honestly the hate idiots keep putting on bioware is kind of sad at this point. we get it the game wasn't your cup of tea I get it, I don't like the witcher series but I don't go saying its the worst game ever just because I don't like it.

 

[CaitSeith]

Am I the only one here that thinks multiplayer was Mass Effect 3's saving grace along with Tali? I am massively excited for the multiplayer almost as much as I am for the main game! People need to lighten up and not see everything as another sign of the apocalypse, cuz that's the feel these forums give me sometimes

No. The MP was wildly successful with a great fan base. This community is just a very concentrated selection of negativity. They didn't want it, so why should it exist?

Because they wanted a good ending. Instead the efforts went to the multiplayer. MP was good from the start, while the ending needed to be patched.

Yes, the studio in another country who only worked on the combat and MP could have been writing a better ending.

Do you know how petty and selfish it is to sum up your side of the argument as "I'm unsatisfied with my focus of interest so yours never should have existed. "

People like the MP. Furthermore, those same people are likely to buy the next game. Their feedback is more important than the "ending ruined it, customer lost" crowd. Go be whiny babies elsewhere.

Oh, so the studio put its own money and made it as a gift to EA. And I thought that game development had budgets. My mistake. Seriously, no one expected ME3 MP to be good until the game was released (they expected it to just be tacked-on like countless other games in the market). But people expected the ending to be as good as ME2 or ME1. The MP fans got lucky that EA decided to get a whole studio to work in what would otherwise been an underwhelming feature (just look at Deux-Ex: Mankind Divided MP for comparison). Even if the MP didn't make the ending worse (even though it was required to play MP to unlock one of the endings), its influence in single-player gameplay and weaponry is still palpable (for better or for worse).

And finally, the microtransactions in the MP guarantee that EA won't take multiplayer away (no matter how much "whining" happens). So, between the ME complainers and the MP defenders, I don't think the former are the ones with their heads on their asses.

PS: Did I mention that I like the multiplayer? Because I do.

 

[CaitSeith]

dear lord the amount of stupid and misinformation in this thread is just staggering. the MP in ME3 was done by a separate studio so they had no control over the story that was good save the last 10-15 mins which was mostly fixed with extended cut. now with ME:A the multiplayer is not "required" to get the best ending, it seems like it'll be like the ME3 one were yes it made getting the "best" ending easier it wasn't really required as by about the time I had to go to thessia I had maxed out my war assets and that was without the very good dlc like citadel and leviathan. honestly the hate idiots keep putting on bioware is kind of sad at this point. we get it the game wasn't your cup of tea I get it, I don't like the witcher series but I don't go saying its the worst game ever just because I don't like it.

Speaking of misinformation. Having max war assets didn't unlock the best ending before the Extended Ending DLC. It required that your effective military strength (war assets reduced by the readiness rating) to be 4000 or more. However with single-player you can gather only 3750 EMS at most, and you have to increase the readiness rating by playing MP.

The extended ending reduced the requirement to 3100.

http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/War_Assets#Readiness_Rating

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

It uses Origin, so that would be overkill. It's more of "we hope 1 of every 10 players will buy MCs if they are exposed to them", and trying to fish some whales while they are at it.

Oh right, yeah, my console peasant status does lead me to easily forget that Origin is a thing. Am a little hopeful (cautiously) for the game and with any luck they can keep the two modes separate enough. Am assuming it's going to be some sort of intergalactic battle "games" within the story, like sci-fi Rome, when they say it connects with the world, it seems the most logical route for a game to take.

Edit: oops, quoting went weird.