Spotted on RPS, there's a Steam sale for Mass Effect Legendary Edition,
which is the 2021 update. All three games with the 4K graphics updates
and all DLC for 6€, $6 or £5, until May 13th.

Hard to resist. I played ME2 quite a lot and ME3 too so not that
interested in a replay. But it's been a long time since 2007 and the
original Mass Effect. I even played it on an Xbox 360 since it was the
dark times of PC gaming and there was no word about a PC version even
though it did come out in mid-2008.

On 5/7/2024 5:33 AM, Anssi Saari wrote:
>
> Spotted on RPS, there's a Steam sale for Mass Effect Legendary Edition,
> which is the 2021 update. All three games with the 4K graphics updates
> and all DLC for 6€, $6 or £5, until May 13th.
>
> Hard to resist. I played ME2 quite a lot and ME3 too so not that
> interested in a replay. But it's been a long time since 2007 and the
> original Mass Effect. I even played it on an Xbox 360 since it was the
> dark times of PC gaming and there was no word about a PC version even
> though it did come out in mid-2008.

That's *very* tempting. I have them all on CD, so they're not on steam,
and I never got the DCLs. I doubt I'll ever want to play them again
though. Andromeda is also $6 I see, which I never played, that's a bit
more tempting.

--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
(\_/)\
`-'\ `--.___,
¶¬'\( ,_.-'
\\
^'

On Tue, 07 May 2024 15:33:11 +0300, Anssi Saari
<anssi.saari@usenet.mail.kapsi.fi> wrote:

>
>Spotted on RPS, there's a Steam sale for Mass Effect Legendary Edition,
>which is the 2021 update. All three games with the 4K graphics updates
>and all DLC for 6€, $6 or £5, until May 13th.
>
>Hard to resist. I played ME2 quite a lot and ME3 too so not that
>interested in a replay. But it's been a long time since 2007 and the
>original Mass Effect. I even played it on an Xbox 360 since it was the
>dark times of PC gaming and there was no word about a PC version even
>though it did come out in mid-2008.

On the one hand:
I'm pretty sure I already own this on Origin (or EA App,
or whatever the damn thing is called now)

On the other hand
I never open Origin (etc.), and it would be nice to see
in my Steam library.

On the gripping hand,
Even if I do re-buy it on Steam, it will /still/ require
Origin (etc.). And I've had a lot of problems playing
Origin games when installed/launched from Steam....

Still.. it's only $6 USD... and I have been thinking about re-playing
the trilogy again. Plus, nobody ever said I was wise with regards tp
my spending habits.

I'd say it's quite a tempting deal.... except I already finished the
purchase before I got to the end of this post. ;-)

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote in
news:42qk3jpojbfkb0kevear686scmd2e2u9in@4ax.com:

> I'd say it's quite a tempting deal.... except I already finished the
> purchase before I got to the end of this post. ;-)

Yeah, I own the original, but I went for the LE too. The graphical improvements are most
obvious for the first game, and I really wish they had retooled all the games to use the same
user control interface.

It *is* nice to have all the DLC (except the one they lost the code for) all included, even if I
*loathe* everything about the hammerhead missions.

The mako in the first game is still as awful to control as it ever was, too.

Hope you have fun with it ;�~

Mark.

Anssi Saari <anssi.saari@usenet.mail.kapsi.fi> looked up from reading
the entrails of the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the
signs say:

>
>Spotted on RPS, there's a Steam sale for Mass Effect Legendary Edition,
>which is the 2021 update. All three games with the 4K graphics updates
>and all DLC for 6€, $6 or £5, until May 13th.
>
>Hard to resist. I played ME2 quite a lot and ME3 too so not that
>interested in a replay. But it's been a long time since 2007 and the
>original Mass Effect. I even played it on an Xbox 360 since it was the
>dark times of PC gaming and there was no word about a PC version even
>though it did come out in mid-2008.

Never played any mass effect games so this looked like a really good
deal.

Right up until: Incorporates 3rd-party DRM: EA on-line activation and
Origin client software installation and background use required.
Requires 3rd-Party Account: EA Account

NOPE!

I trust EA about as far as I could throw Jupiter out of the gravity well
of a black hole.

Xocyll

Xocyll <Xocyll@gmx.com> writes:

> Never played any mass effect games so this looked like a really good
> deal.
>
> Right up until: Incorporates 3rd-party DRM: EA on-line activation and
> Origin client software installation and background use required.
> Requires 3rd-Party Account: EA Account
>
> NOPE!
>
> I trust EA about as far as I could throw Jupiter out of the gravity well
> of a black hole.

Indeed. I have some freebie/cheapie/oldie EA games from their store and
used to have their Origin client which has apparently been renamed to
just EA at some point. I guess last time I played anything there was
when I got the Command & Conquer remastered edition. Wasn't as much fun
as I had hoped.

Another downside for this Mass Effect Legendary Edition, it's all the
games and DLC in one and it takes 110 GB of storage and the download is
almost as big at around 97 GB. Here I thought I could just quickly
download the first game and have a go.

On Wed, 08 May 2024 20:22:16 -0400, Xocyll <Xocyll@gmx.com> wrote:

>Right up until: Incorporates 3rd-party DRM: EA on-line activation and
>Origin client software installation and background use required.
>Requires 3rd-Party Account: EA Account

In fairness, the Mass Effect PC games have /always/ either required
Origin or had some sort of online activation. It's not a new addition
to the Legendary Edition.

Not saying it's wrong to avoid games because of that but it's an
argument decided a long 16 years ago when the first "Mass Effect" game
was released.

Xocyll <Xocyll@gmx.com> wrote at 00:22 this Thursday (GMT):
> Anssi Saari <anssi.saari@usenet.mail.kapsi.fi> looked up from reading
> the entrails of the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the
> signs say:
>
>>
>>Spotted on RPS, there's a Steam sale for Mass Effect Legendary Edition,
>>which is the 2021 update. All three games with the 4K graphics updates
>>and all DLC for 6€, $6 or £5, until May 13th.
>>
>>Hard to resist. I played ME2 quite a lot and ME3 too so not that
>>interested in a replay. But it's been a long time since 2007 and the
>>original Mass Effect. I even played it on an Xbox 360 since it was the
>>dark times of PC gaming and there was no word about a PC version even
>>though it did come out in mid-2008.
>
> Never played any mass effect games so this looked like a really good
> deal.
>
> Right up until: Incorporates 3rd-party DRM: EA on-line activation and
> Origin client software installation and background use required.
> Requires 3rd-Party Account: EA Account
>
> NOPE!
>
> I trust EA about as far as I could throw Jupiter out of the gravity well
> of a black hole.
>
> Xocyll

Yeah, any kinda third party account or third party drm is an instant
nope for me. I went out of my way to buy the 3DS Phoenix Wright games bc
the AJ Trilogy was under Denuvo on Steam.
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> looked up from reading the
entrails of the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs
say:

>On Wed, 08 May 2024 20:22:16 -0400, Xocyll <Xocyll@gmx.com> wrote:
>
>
>>Right up until: Incorporates 3rd-party DRM: EA on-line activation and
>>Origin client software installation and background use required.
>>Requires 3rd-Party Account: EA Account
>
>
>In fairness, the Mass Effect PC games have /always/ either required
>Origin or had some sort of online activation. It's not a new addition
>to the Legendary Edition.
>
>Not saying it's wrong to avoid games because of that but it's an
>argument decided a long 16 years ago when the first "Mass Effect" game
>was released.

New to me, but then I do not think I've let an EA game through the
firewall in over 20 years.

I have no fucking interest in playing a game in single player, that
requires me to have an account somewhere or some spyware installed on my
system.

Diablo3 was the last one with that nonsense, all the downsides of being
online (lag, disconnects, trouble connecting at all, etc) to play a
single player game.

Xocyll

Xocyll <Xocyll@gmx.com> wrote at 19:27 this Friday (GMT):
> Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> looked up from reading the
> entrails of the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs
> say:
>
>>On Wed, 08 May 2024 20:22:16 -0400, Xocyll <Xocyll@gmx.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Right up until: Incorporates 3rd-party DRM: EA on-line activation and
>>>Origin client software installation and background use required.
>>>Requires 3rd-Party Account: EA Account
>>
>>
>>In fairness, the Mass Effect PC games have /always/ either required
>>Origin or had some sort of online activation. It's not a new addition
>>to the Legendary Edition.
>>
>>Not saying it's wrong to avoid games because of that but it's an
>>argument decided a long 16 years ago when the first "Mass Effect" game
>>was released.
>
> New to me, but then I do not think I've let an EA game through the
> firewall in over 20 years.
>
> I have no fucking interest in playing a game in single player, that
> requires me to have an account somewhere or some spyware installed on my
> system.

Agreed. The only maybe exception would be Minecraft, but that at least
has a point. And you don't need constant connection.

> Diablo3 was the last one with that nonsense, all the downsides of being
> online (lag, disconnects, trouble connecting at all, etc) to play a
> single player game.
>
> Xocyll

Don't forget the microtransactions!
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

On 5/7/2024 2:33 PM, Anssi Saari wrote:
>
> Spotted on RPS, there's a Steam sale for Mass Effect Legendary Edition,
> which is the 2021 update. All three games with the 4K graphics updates
> and all DLC for 6€, $6 or £5, until May 13th.
>
> Hard to resist. I played ME2 quite a lot and ME3 too so not that
> interested in a replay. But it's been a long time since 2007 and the
> original Mass Effect. I even played it on an Xbox 360 since it was the
> dark times of PC gaming and there was no word about a PC version even
> though it did come out in mid-2008.

your post inspired me to finally install and run that Mass Effect
Legendary Edition I got from Humble ages ago. So far I am 4h into the
first game and... it's a pretty clunky game, isn't it?
I feel the mechanics are awkward, the layout of places is needlessly
complicated, pacing of the story is slooooow, and I don't care about any
of those characters at all.
I would say it's because the game is so old, but I remember GOOD games
from that time that had a gripping story.

candycanearter07 <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid>
looked up from reading the entrails of the porn spammer to utter "The
Augury is good, the signs say:

>Xocyll <Xocyll@gmx.com> wrote at 19:27 this Friday (GMT):
>> Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> looked up from reading the
>> entrails of the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs
>> say:
>>
>>>On Wed, 08 May 2024 20:22:16 -0400, Xocyll <Xocyll@gmx.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>Right up until: Incorporates 3rd-party DRM: EA on-line activation and
>>>>Origin client software installation and background use required.
>>>>Requires 3rd-Party Account: EA Account
>>>
>>>
>>>In fairness, the Mass Effect PC games have /always/ either required
>>>Origin or had some sort of online activation. It's not a new addition
>>>to the Legendary Edition.
>>>
>>>Not saying it's wrong to avoid games because of that but it's an
>>>argument decided a long 16 years ago when the first "Mass Effect" game
>>>was released.
>>
>> New to me, but then I do not think I've let an EA game through the
>> firewall in over 20 years.
>>
>> I have no fucking interest in playing a game in single player, that
>> requires me to have an account somewhere or some spyware installed on my
>> system.
>
>Agreed. The only maybe exception would be Minecraft, but that at least
>has a point. And you don't need constant connection.

Never played that either.

>> Diablo3 was the last one with that nonsense, all the downsides of being
>> online (lag, disconnects, trouble connecting at all, etc) to play a
>> single player game.

>Don't forget the microtransactions!

The day that I hit a wall in Diablo3 and could not progress (cause the
drops were tuned to force you into the RMAH,) was not the day I gave
into Blizzard's transparent scheme and gave them more money, it was the
day I uninstalled Diablo3.

Diablo2: on and off my machine(s) for a decade. (More on than off.)
Diablo3 got maybe a month, uninstalled, no desire to ever reinstall.
Haven't bought a damn thing from Blizzard since.

The best game in the universe isn't worth playing if it comes with a
bunch of unnatural attachments and requirements.

Xocyll

On 5/12/2024 5:43 AM, Xocyll wrote:
>
> The best game in the universe isn't worth playing if it comes with a
> bunch of unnatural attachments and requirements.
>
Wouldn't the inclusion of a bunch of unnatural attachments and
requirements by definition make it NOT the best game in the universe?

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

Kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> writes:

> your post inspired me to finally install and run that Mass Effect
> Legendary Edition I got from Humble ages ago. So far I am 4h into the
> first game and... it's a pretty clunky game, isn't it?

I suppose, I haven't actually played the PC version before now and I'm
maybe four hours in like you, or a little less. But an Xbox 360 game
ported to PC in that era, what else could it be? Even with mouse and
keyboard support added back then and whatever improvements they did for
the 2021 release.

> I feel the mechanics are awkward, the layout of places is needlessly
> complicated, pacing of the story is slooooow, and I don't care about
> any of those characters at all.

Shrug. That's in the eye of the beholder. I can't say I remember what I
felt about the story back in 2008. Liked it well enough to play the
sequels, especially Mass Effect 2.

On Sat, 11 May 2024 22:33:57 +0200, Kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote:

>On 5/7/2024 2:33 PM, Anssi Saari wrote:
>>
>> Spotted on RPS, there's a Steam sale for Mass Effect Legendary Edition,
>> which is the 2021 update. All three games with the 4K graphics updates
>> and all DLC for 6€, $6 or £5, until May 13th.
>>
>> Hard to resist. I played ME2 quite a lot and ME3 too so not that
>> interested in a replay. But it's been a long time since 2007 and the
>> original Mass Effect. I even played it on an Xbox 360 since it was the
>> dark times of PC gaming and there was no word about a PC version even
>> though it did come out in mid-2008.
>
>your post inspired me to finally install and run that Mass Effect
>Legendary Edition I got from Humble ages ago. So far I am 4h into the
>first game and... it's a pretty clunky game, isn't it?
>I feel the mechanics are awkward, the layout of places is needlessly
>complicated, pacing of the story is slooooow, and I don't care about any
>of those characters at all.
>I would say it's because the game is so old, but I remember GOOD games
>from that time that had a gripping story.

Mass Effect's appeal - at least for me - was its setting. It was well
thought-out, and beautifully presented. The characters were pretty
forgettable, though; they were the standard Bioware tropes. So too was
its storyline; it was popcorn-movie bombast but not really all that
engaging beyond that.

The gameplay was a bit rough, but I still enjoyed the original's more
than the sequels'. That first game hewed closer to CRPG mechanics,
whereas the later games increasingly focused on twitch-based action.
You can still see remnants of "Knights of the Old Republic"
influencing both the combat and adventure aspects of the game.

Not so immediately evident in the first game - but an intriguing
promise from the start - was the idea that the characters and choices
from the first game would carry over to the second and third. Although
not original to "Mass Effect", it was still fairly novel. It's a shame
that the ultimate resolution in the third game never quite lived up to
the hopes of its developers (and the fans).

Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote at 15:25 this Sunday (GMT):
> On 5/12/2024 5:43 AM, Xocyll wrote:
>>
>> The best game in the universe isn't worth playing if it comes with a
>> bunch of unnatural attachments and requirements.
>>
> Wouldn't the inclusion of a bunch of unnatural attachments and
> requirements by definition make it NOT the best game in the universe?

Yeah, because it wouldn't be "perfect" until you bought everything..
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> looked up from reading the
entrails of the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs
say:

>On 5/12/2024 5:43 AM, Xocyll wrote:
>>
>> The best game in the universe isn't worth playing if it comes with a
>> bunch of unnatural attachments and requirements.
>>
>Wouldn't the inclusion of a bunch of unnatural attachments and
>requirements by definition make it NOT the best game in the universe?

Ahh but it could have been the best game in the universe _before_ those
unnatural attachments and requirements.

Kinda like Ready Player One's Oasis, and the plans the evil dickwad had
for it if the 101ers got the keys.

What was that line: "Our studies show that we can fill up to 80% of
someone's visual field (with ads) before we induce a seizure."

Xocyll

On 5/11/2024 1:33 PM, Kyonshi wrote:
> On 5/7/2024 2:33 PM, Anssi Saari wrote:
>>
>> Spotted on RPS, there's a Steam sale for Mass Effect Legendary Edition,
>> which is the 2021 update. All three games with the 4K graphics updates
>> and all DLC for 6€, $6 or £5, until May 13th.
>>
>> Hard to resist. I played ME2 quite a lot and ME3 too so not that
>> interested in a replay. But it's been a long time since 2007 and the
>> original Mass Effect. I even played it on an Xbox 360 since it was the
>> dark times of PC gaming and there was no word about a PC version even
>> though it did come out in mid-2008.
> > your post inspired me to finally install and run that Mass Effect
> Legendary Edition I got from Humble ages ago. So far I am 4h into the
> first game and... it's a pretty clunky game, isn't it?
> I feel the mechanics are awkward, the layout of places is needlessly
> complicated, pacing of the story is slooooow, and I don't care about any
> of those characters at all.
> I would say it's because the game is so old, but I remember GOOD games
> from that time that had a gripping story.

You might like the other ones better then. I rather enjoyed the
original ME, it felt unique and a good space action rpg at the time. If
I'm remembering correctly anyway. I wrote in one of my comments here
that it felt like KotOR with the numbers filed off, and KotOR is
probably the best sci-fi RPG.

The next two made it increasingly bland and same as every other game,
consolized, less RPG and more FPS. Which made them more popular of
course. I didn't care for ME2 much, I did finish it at least, so
there's that. I never bought ME3 as it looked to go even further in
those directions I didn't like. It's possible I'd like it now as I've
cooled a bit on not liking consolized.

Here's my "bombing" of ME2 here, though a lot of my complaints probably
stem from my relatively behind the times computer at the time.

https://groups.google.com/g/comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg/c/HNtLwmkxt5Y/m/Jqo2fVyedkAJ

Now I'm tempted to get the pack of them so I can play ME3 and Andromeda.

--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
(\_/)\
`-'\ `--.___,
¶¬'\( ,_.-'
\\
^'

On Mon, 13 May 2024 09:56:28 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>On 5/11/2024 1:33 PM, Kyonshi wrote:
>> On 5/7/2024 2:33 PM, Anssi Saari wrote:
>>>
>>> Spotted on RPS, there's a Steam sale for Mass Effect Legendary Edition,
>>> which is the 2021 update. All three games with the 4K graphics updates
>>> and all DLC for 6€, $6 or £5, until May 13th.
>>>
>>> Hard to resist. I played ME2 quite a lot and ME3 too so not that
>>> interested in a replay. But it's been a long time since 2007 and the
>>> original Mass Effect. I even played it on an Xbox 360 since it was the
>>> dark times of PC gaming and there was no word about a PC version even
>>> though it did come out in mid-2008.
>> > your post inspired me to finally install and run that Mass Effect
>> Legendary Edition I got from Humble ages ago. So far I am 4h into the
>> first game and... it's a pretty clunky game, isn't it?
>> I feel the mechanics are awkward, the layout of places is needlessly
>> complicated, pacing of the story is slooooow, and I don't care about any
>> of those characters at all.
>> I would say it's because the game is so old, but I remember GOOD games
>> from that time that had a gripping story.
>
>You might like the other ones better then. I rather enjoyed the
>original ME, it felt unique and a good space action rpg at the time. If
>I'm remembering correctly anyway. I wrote in one of my comments here
>that it felt like KotOR with the numbers filed off, and KotOR is
>probably the best sci-fi RPG.
>
>The next two made it increasingly bland and same as every other game,
>consolized, less RPG and more FPS. Which made them more popular of
>course. I didn't care for ME2 much, I did finish it at least, so
>there's that. I never bought ME3 as it looked to go even further in
>those directions I didn't like. It's possible I'd like it now as I've
>cooled a bit on not liking consolized.

Your appreciation of ME2 really depends on how much you like the whole
'loyalty-quest' mechanics the game introduced to the genre (you know
the ones: a new NPC joins your party, and you do a specific series of
quests that earns their undying loyalty... and maybe the ability to
romance them). Those quests take up more of the game than the actual
main story. The main plot is okay, if a bit railroady for my taste.

ME3 is - as released - very bare-boned, but it becomes a lot more
enjoyable if you have all the DLC. That was a game very obviously
stripped of core content so it could be resold later as expansions. It
still isn't a fantastic game, but without all the expansions it feels
a lot like an online shooter with a few single-player side-missions
tacked on. With the expansions, it actually starts to feel like a
quest.

On 13/05/2024 17:56, Justisaur wrote:
> On 5/11/2024 1:33 PM, Kyonshi wrote:
>> On 5/7/2024 2:33 PM, Anssi Saari wrote:
>>>
>>> Spotted on RPS, there's a Steam sale for Mass Effect Legendary Edition,
>>> which is the 2021 update. All three games with the 4K graphics updates
>>> and all DLC for 6€, $6 or £5, until May 13th.
>>>
>>> Hard to resist. I played ME2 quite a lot and ME3 too so not that
>>> interested in a replay. But it's been a long time since 2007 and the
>>> original Mass Effect. I even played it on an Xbox 360 since it was the
>>> dark times of PC gaming and there was no word about a PC version even
>>> though it did come out in mid-2008.
>>  > your post inspired me to finally install and run that Mass Effect
>> Legendary Edition I got from Humble ages ago. So far I am 4h into the
>> first game and... it's a pretty clunky game, isn't it?
>> I feel the mechanics are awkward, the layout of places is needlessly
>> complicated, pacing of the story is slooooow, and I don't care about
>> any of those characters at all.
>> I would say it's because the game is so old, but I remember GOOD games
>> from that time that had a gripping story.
>
> You might like the other ones better then.  I rather enjoyed the
> original ME, it felt unique and a good space action rpg at the time. If
> I'm remembering correctly anyway.  I wrote in one of my comments here
> that it felt like KotOR with the numbers filed off, and KotOR is
> probably the best sci-fi RPG.
>
> The next two made it increasingly bland and same as every other game,
> consolized, less RPG and more FPS.  Which made them more popular of
> course.  I didn't care for ME2 much, I did finish it at least, so
> there's that.  I never bought ME3 as it looked to go even further in
> those directions I didn't like.  It's possible I'd like it now as I've
> cooled a bit on not liking consolized.
>
> Here's my "bombing" of ME2 here, though a lot of my complaints probably
> stem from my relatively behind the times computer at the time.
>
> https://groups.google.com/g/comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg/c/HNtLwmkxt5Y/m/Jqo2fVyedkAJ
>
> Now I'm tempted to get the pack of them so I can play ME3 and Andromeda.
>

It's definitely going back a bit since I played them but I think I
preferred 2 over 1 although why I can't remember although I think the
way that resources could be mined from planets being made less of a
grind helped.

Number 3 I never played as I think it was tied to another launcher or
maybe not even on Steam and although I enjoyed the first two games I
can't say I thought they were must haves.

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> writes:

> Your appreciation of ME2 really depends on how much you like the whole
> 'loyalty-quest' mechanics the game introduced to the genre (you know
> the ones: a new NPC joins your party, and you do a specific series of
> quests that earns their undying loyalty... and maybe the ability to
> romance them). Those quests take up more of the game than the actual
> main story. The main plot is okay, if a bit railroady for my taste.

Wasn't there also a skill or level boost to the NPC if you did their
loyalty quest(s)? Can't say I remember ME2 very clearly other than
putting the band together was a big part of the game.

On Tue, 14 May 2024 15:11:32 +0300, Anssi Saari
<anssi.saari@usenet.mail.kapsi.fi> wrote:
>Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> writes:

>> Your appreciation of ME2 really depends on how much you like the whole
>> 'loyalty-quest' mechanics the game introduced to the genre (you know
>> the ones: a new NPC joins your party, and you do a specific series of
>> quests that earns their undying loyalty... and maybe the ability to
>> romance them). Those quests take up more of the game than the actual
>> main story. The main plot is okay, if a bit railroady for my taste.

>Wasn't there also a skill or level boost to the NPC if you did their
>loyalty quest(s)? Can't say I remember ME2 very clearly other than
>putting the band together was a big part of the game.

I don't recall if there were specific bonuses. I do remember you got
nifty matching uniforms for the band if you did their quests. More
importantly, the end-game results of "Mass Effect 2" were heavily
dependent on whether or not you did the loyalty missions. "Un-loyal"
NPCs tended to die... and only by saving all the NPCs did you get the
'best' ending.

The game itself wasn't really that dependent on stats anyway. It moved
the franchise away from dice-rolls and became a lot more dependent on
the player's skill than the characters.

My biggest gripe with "Mass Effect 2", though, was how obvious the
game made it than the vehicular sections were intentionally removed to
be sold as DLC. The original game came with settings for vehicle
controls, even though there was no vehicle in the base content (you
needed to buy the "Firewalker" DLC to get ground transport). This was
especially egregious since Electronic Arts had -shortly before the
release of "Mass Effect 2"- pledged it wouldn't be cutting content
from its games to later market as DLC (e.g., all DLC would be
'expansion' material created after the original game published that
was never intended to be included with the base game). Even for EA,
that degree of blatant hypocrisy was a bit much.

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote at 14:17 this Tuesday (GMT):
> On Tue, 14 May 2024 15:11:32 +0300, Anssi Saari
><anssi.saari@usenet.mail.kapsi.fi> wrote:
>>Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> writes:
>
>>> Your appreciation of ME2 really depends on how much you like the whole
>>> 'loyalty-quest' mechanics the game introduced to the genre (you know
>>> the ones: a new NPC joins your party, and you do a specific series of
>>> quests that earns their undying loyalty... and maybe the ability to
>>> romance them). Those quests take up more of the game than the actual
>>> main story. The main plot is okay, if a bit railroady for my taste.
>
>>Wasn't there also a skill or level boost to the NPC if you did their
>>loyalty quest(s)? Can't say I remember ME2 very clearly other than
>>putting the band together was a big part of the game.
>
> I don't recall if there were specific bonuses. I do remember you got
> nifty matching uniforms for the band if you did their quests. More
> importantly, the end-game results of "Mass Effect 2" were heavily
> dependent on whether or not you did the loyalty missions. "Un-loyal"
> NPCs tended to die... and only by saving all the NPCs did you get the
> 'best' ending.
>
> The game itself wasn't really that dependent on stats anyway. It moved
> the franchise away from dice-rolls and became a lot more dependent on
> the player's skill than the characters.
>
> My biggest gripe with "Mass Effect 2", though, was how obvious the
> game made it than the vehicular sections were intentionally removed to
> be sold as DLC. The original game came with settings for vehicle
> controls, even though there was no vehicle in the base content (you
> needed to buy the "Firewalker" DLC to get ground transport). This was
> especially egregious since Electronic Arts had -shortly before the
> release of "Mass Effect 2"- pledged it wouldn't be cutting content
> from its games to later market as DLC (e.g., all DLC would be
> 'expansion' material created after the original game published that
> was never intended to be included with the base game). Even for EA,
> that degree of blatant hypocrisy was a bit much.

Dang, you'd think they would at least hide those settings before
release.. of course, it could be considered advertising.
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom