Junior Adventurer's Guild: January - Mass Effect

[Oyster Sauce]

Yup. Also the reason the ship in ME2 sends you down in a shuttle each time, since it's bigger.

I never gave them enough credit for that being the actual reason, but if so, that's good. Didn't care about that in ME3 thought, if that's true.

Normandy is able to land planetside just fine.

I think they send you down in the shuttle because it's more stealthy, since the Normandy is like 2-3 times bigger.

What would it land on? It gets held up by big suction cups in the Citadel.

[logincrash]

Yup. Also the reason the ship in ME2 sends you down in a shuttle each time, since it's bigger.

I never gave them enough credit for that being the actual reason, but if so, that's good. Didn't care about that in ME3 thought, if that's true.

Normandy is able to land planetside just fine.

I think they send you down in the shuttle because it's more stealthy, since the Normandy is like 2-3 times bigger.

What would it land on? It gets held up by big suction cups in the Citadel.

Good question. It always hovered in the air when landing directly onto planets (like Virmire) in ME1 and, as you can see in the screenshot, it also just hovers in the air indefinitely in ME2. They just connected it with the airlock sleeve or whatever the **** it's called. It doesn't even bob up and down or hum or give off a mass effect field visual. Just a weightless object in the middle of a city.
At least in ME1 they always made sure to use the "suction cups" when you landed in a space port. Citadel, Feros, Noveria - they all had them.

[Magick]

Yup. Also the reason the ship in ME2 sends you down in a shuttle each time, since it's bigger.

I never gave them enough credit for that being the actual reason, but if so, that's good. Didn't care about that in ME3 thought, if that's true.

Normandy is able to land planetside just fine.

I think they send you down in the shuttle because it's more stealthy, since the Normandy is like 2-3 times bigger.

That one's got a proper docking station, though.
Then again it is near the buildings so who knows.

I still liked the airlock better than the shuttle.

[Stanko]

Yup. Also the reason the ship in ME2 sends you down in a shuttle each time, since it's bigger.

I never gave them enough credit for that being the actual reason, but if so, that's good. Didn't care about that in ME3 thought, if that's true.

Normandy is able to land planetside just fine.

I think they send you down in the shuttle because it's more stealthy, since the Normandy is like 2-3 times bigger.

That one's got a proper docking station, though.
Then again it is near the buildings so who knows.

I still liked the airlock better than the shuttle.

Airlock bad 'cause it makes my ADD *** walk all the way from the galaxy map to the dock all the time.

[logincrash]

That one's got a proper docking station, though.
Then again it is near the buildings.

It's the same on Omega. The Normandy just hovers there.
And in the cinematic that it's revealed for the first time, it's also hanging in space without any supports. You're not supposed to notice that because there's a shiny new toy in front of you and epic music is blaring, but it's hilarious.

► ME2 prologue spoilers

Put it under a spoiler since it's the ME1 thread. Should've probably put all the previous details about ME2 under a spoiler too.

[Magick]

Normandy is able to land planetside just fine.

I think they send you down in the shuttle because it's more stealthy, since the Normandy is like 2-3 times bigger.

That one's got a proper docking station, though.
Then again it is near the buildings so who knows.

I still liked the airlock better than the shuttle.

Airlock bad 'cause it makes my ADD *** walk all the way from the galaxy map to the dock all the time.

As it should be.

[Magick]

Ahh I was still correct:
https://masseffect.fandom.com/wiki/UT-4 ... op_Shuttle

The larger mass of the Normandy SR-2—nearly twice the mass of the original—meant that it could not land on the surfaces of most planets with ease and had to be provided with one of these shuttles for ease of travel.

So planet pictured it's high up in the sky so not really "landed". Presumably it can't easily ground-land like the SR1 could, without a proper docking area.

[Stanko]

Ahh I was still correct:
https://masseffect.fandom.com/wiki/UT-4 ... op_Shuttle

The larger mass of the Normandy SR-2—nearly twice the mass of the original—meant that it could not land on the surfaces of most planets with ease and had to be provided with one of these shuttles for ease of travel.

So planet pictured it's high up in the sky so not really "landed". Presumably it can't easily ground-land like the SR1 could, without a proper docking area.

SR-2 landed just fine on the Earth during the beam rush. Earth is on top once again.

[Magick]

Ahh I was still correct:
https://masseffect.fandom.com/wiki/UT-4 ... op_Shuttle

The larger mass of the Normandy SR-2—nearly twice the mass of the original—meant that it could not land on the surfaces of most planets with ease and had to be provided with one of these shuttles for ease of travel.

So planet pictured it's high up in the sky so not really "landed". Presumably it can't easily ground-land like the SR1 could, without a proper docking area.

SR-2 landed just fine on the Earth during the beam rush. Earth is on top once again.

I don't think the devs cared much at that point.
If the Normandy (and other ships!) could easily come down like that, then why the shuttle? Also why didn't it use its cannon? Lol

[Stanko]

Ahh I was still correct:
https://masseffect.fandom.com/wiki/UT-4 ... op_Shuttle



So planet pictured it's high up in the sky so not really "landed". Presumably it can't easily ground-land like the SR1 could, without a proper docking area.

SR-2 landed just fine on the Earth during the beam rush. Earth is on top once again.

I don't think the devs cared much at that point.
If the Normandy (and other ships!) could easily come down like that, then why the shuttle?

Well' it's obvious. Other planets aren't as good as the Earth. Other planet's won't accomodate every alien ****** who wants to land.

Also why didn't it use its cannon? Lol

During the rush? Why would it? I would assume it's pretty hard to damage a reaper unless it's shooting the beam and is vulnerable (That's a short window when it does shoot).

Also, wouldn't they hit allied soldiers with the blast from that?

[logincrash]

Ahh I was still correct:
https://masseffect.fandom.com/wiki/UT-4 ... op_Shuttle

The larger mass of the Normandy SR-2—nearly twice the mass of the original—meant that it could not land on the surfaces of most planets with ease and had to be provided with one of these shuttles for ease of travel.

So planet pictured it's high up in the sky so not really "landed". Presumably it can't easily ground-land like the SR1 could, without a proper docking area.

Ahh I was still correct:
https://masseffect.fandom.com/wiki/UT-4 ... op_Shuttle

The larger mass of the Normandy SR-2—nearly twice the mass of the original—meant that it could not land on the surfaces of most planets with ease and had to be provided with one of these shuttles for ease of travel.

So planet pictured it's high up in the sky so not really "landed". Presumably it can't easily ground-land like the SR1 could, without a proper docking area.

SR-2 landed just fine on the Earth during the beam rush. Earth is on top once again.

Neither the SR-1 nor the SR-2 actually "landed" (as in "touched ground") in any of the games. ME1 always conveniently cut off when they had to land the Normandy. In ME3 the Normandy hovers without landing both at the start and the end of the game.
I don't think they even modeled any sort of landing gear for the Normandy. The one time we see it properly "grounded" is when it's MAJOR LITERAL ENDGAME SPOILERS (for the two people actually unfamiliar) crashed on some unknown planet after the Crucible wipes out all tech in the galaxy in a cinematic.

[Magick]

Ahh I was still correct:
https://masseffect.fandom.com/wiki/UT-4 ... op_Shuttle

The larger mass of the Normandy SR-2—nearly twice the mass of the original—meant that it could not land on the surfaces of most planets with ease and had to be provided with one of these shuttles for ease of travel.

So planet pictured it's high up in the sky so not really "landed". Presumably it can't easily ground-land like the SR1 could, without a proper docking area.

Ahh I was still correct:
https://masseffect.fandom.com/wiki/UT-4 ... op_Shuttle



So planet pictured it's high up in the sky so not really "landed". Presumably it can't easily ground-land like the SR1 could, without a proper docking area.

SR-2 landed just fine on the Earth during the beam rush. Earth is on top once again.

Neither the SR-1 nor the SR-2 actually "landed" (as in "touched ground") in any of the games. ME1 always conveniently cut off when they had to land the Normandy. In ME3 the Normandy hovers without landing both at the start and the end of the game.
I don't think they even modeled any sort of landing gear for the Normandy. The one time we see it properly "grounded" is when it's MAJOR LITERAL ENDGAME SPOILERS (for the two people actually unfamiliar) crashed on some unknown planet after the Crucible wipes out all tech in the galaxy in a cinematic.

Yeah they probably couldn't be bothered to model it.
I always imagined (the SR1) landing on "feet", like the Millennium falcon etc.

The SR2 being a bigger cruiser, does apparently need "dock / assistance" to take off from being fully landed on ground. So I guess being on Earth satisfies that.
I think in that universe the SR1 size frigates are around the largest ships that can properly "land" and take off on their own without assistance.
Dreadnoughts can't at all.

They put soooooo much effort in fleshing out the codex in ME1, then ****** most of it up in ME2 for stupid "gameplay mechanic" reasons to "appeal to a broader audience".
Such a stark difference in gameplay, and also narrative style. Blergh the snarky redditness.

[Norfleet]

It's the same on Omega. The Normandy just hovers there.
And in the cinematic that it's revealed for the first time, it's also hanging in space without any supports.

It's an old game. The detail is too low for you to see the wire.

[wndrbr]

Those were both my favourite. I loved discovering them and reading the codex entries etc. And that was the biggest part of the immersion for me.
Some with the Volus(?) in their weird lil pressure suits lol.

Voluses (Volusi?) are just space ****.

actually it's the quarians who are space ****.

Voluses are the goofy stereotypical greedy **** who like money, Quarians are the hateful warmongering semites who got kicked out of their land by the golems they have created, so now they create problems for everyone around them. Also their home star system is called Tikkun.

lmao if you help the quarians to re-settle Rannoch, Tali starts talking about the expensive beachfront properties.

[Reichspepe]

Bernd Shepard reporting victory!

[Kalarion]

Finally done.

I completely forgot about this happening


Mostly Renegade

I tried to do a minimal run, but it still took me a little less than 20 hours. I chalk it up to several things. First, I'm not used to shooters anymore. I got merked a bunch because I suck at keeping situational awareness. Rockets kept initiating surprise buttsex on me. Second, and compounding the first, J1M's build, though extremely fun, takes a bit to get going and requires decent aim, which I didn't have. Finally, understanding how the Mako controlled was very counterintuitive. It took me a bit. Related, several times during the longer Mako stretches I got turned around without realizing and doubled or tripled my time to objective. The first 10 hours or so were a slog.

I went full Paragon on my first and only completion prior to this playthrough. Renegade was fun, and letting the Council die after all their petty bickering and obstructionism was very satisfying. But there were several times I groaned inwardly at the Renegade dialogue options and went for neutrality instead. I of course romanced Best Girl Ashley.

I don't get complaints of clunky gameplay. In my opinion it's held up admirably well over the years. Once I got used to the controls again (a tall order, see above), I was working pretty smoothly. I didn't bother using most of the companions, sticking with Ashley and Wrex throughout. I tried having Garrus along at first, but the overlap with my skills combined with a need for Biotics for tougher fights made me change my mind.

Vigil was a highlight. Interacting with it was the only time the entire run-through that I actually exhausted all dialogue options.

All in all I had fun, but I probably won't bother playing it again.

GIB BADGE!

[logincrash]

I got merked a bunch because I suck at keeping situational awareness. Rockets kept initiating surprise buttsex on me. Second, and compounding the first, J1M's build, though extremely fun, takes a bit to get going and requires decent aim, which I didn't have. Finally, understanding how the Mako controlled was very counterintuitive. It took me a bit. Related, several times during the longer Mako stretches I got turned around without realizing and doubled or tripled my time to objective.

unc is cooked
Old Man Kalarion
Also,

I didn't bother using most of the companions, sticking with Ashley and Wrex throughout. I tried having Garrus along at first, but the overlap with my skills combined with a need for Biotics for tougher fights made me change my mind.

Wrex is the worst Biotic companion. He doesn't have Lift or Singularity.

[Valter]

I didn't bother using most of the companions, sticking with Ashley and Wrex throughout. I tried having Garrus along at first, but the overlap with my skills combined with a need for Biotics for tougher fights made me change my mind.

Wrex is the worst Biotic companion. He doesn't have Lift or Singularity.

Still, if he's taking Ashley we can assume the other guy got killed, so it's either Wrex or Liara for biotics... By the way, why does Wrex even have biotics? I do not recall that ever being mentioned out of combat. A magic krogan, it's just so odd.

[Tweed]

I didn't bother using most of the companions, sticking with Ashley and Wrex throughout. I tried having Garrus along at first, but the overlap with my skills combined with a need for Biotics for tougher fights made me change my mind.

Wrex is the worst Biotic companion. He doesn't have Lift or Singularity.

Still, if he's taking Ashley we can assume the other guy got killed, so it's either Wrex or Liara for biotics... By the way, why does Wrex even have biotics? I do not recall that ever being mentioned out of combat. A magic krogan, it's just so odd.

He has barrier and some other thingies, but he's p.basic. This is why you should always be the biotic, so that your brogan can hulk smash.

[logincrash]

Still, if he's taking Ashley we can assume the other guy got killed, so it's either Wrex or Liara for biotics... By the way, why does Wrex even have biotics? I do not recall that ever being mentioned out of combat. A magic krogan, it's just so odd.

As much as I hate Liara, I do have to admit that she's top-tier combat companion because biotics break ME1. Lift lets you disable Geth tanks and the final boss with ease. Singularity disables huge crowds of enemies.
Wrex has neither. He has (listed from best to worst): Barrier, Throw, Warp, and Stasis. He's a Krogan Battlemaster and those are supposed to be peak warriors. But it is indeed really weird how Wrex's biotics are never mentioned, nevermind used even once is a cutscene throughout the trilogy. Liara, Samara, Jack and even Miranda all use biotics in cutscenes all the time. I also don't remember Kaidan nor Thane using biotics in cutscenes.

He has barrier and some other thingies, but he's p.basic. This is why you should always be the biotic, so that your brogan can hulk smash.

The squad AI is pretty poor in ME1. Wrex has all these tank abilities and like +200% melee damage bonus but the AI never ever uses that. So, he just ends up being good only at standing there soaking up bullets. His damage output is low.
At least they made Grunt in ME2 charge into enemies to melee them. But that's pretty useless because the enemy accuracy is overtuned in ME2 to the point that they basically laser you the microsecond you pop your head out of cover, especially on Insanity.

[J1M]

He has biotics because game design dictated one companion of each class flavor.

[Valter]

Still, if he's taking Ashley we can assume the other guy got killed, so it's either Wrex or Liara for biotics... By the way, why does Wrex even have biotics? I do not recall that ever being mentioned out of combat. A magic krogan, it's just so odd.

But it is indeed really weird how Wrex's biotics are never mentioned, nevermind used even once is a cutscene throughout the trilogy. Liara, Samara, Jack and even Miranda all use biotics in cutscenes all the time. I also don't remember Kaidan nor Thane using biotics in cutscenes.

Just checked some videos. In Mass Effect 3's Citadel DLC when every biotic companion gathers around to bully James Vega, Wrex is completely absent. Really feels like his powers are not canon and were just shoehorned to even out the ME1 teammates' abilities. Not that I particularly care, but it is a curious discrepancy.

[1998]

DONE. First time playing it since release, was surprised how short it is.

[Tangerine]

Did you avoid as many sidequests as possible?

[1998]

Did you avoid as many sidequests as possible?

Dont think so. Tried to play it real, but was surprised its already ending.

[1998]

Wait? The **** is going on with my GEOLOCATION????

[stormvermin]

Did you avoid as many sidequests as possible?

Dont think so. Tried to play it real, but was surprised its already ending.

How long did it take you? I went for as many sidequests as I could and it took about 30 hours but I think there were some sub 8 hour screens posted.

[1998]

Did you avoid as many sidequests as possible?

Dont think so. Tried to play it real, but was surprised its already ending.

How long did it take you? I went for as many sidequests as I could and it took about 30 hours but I think there were some sub 8 hour screens posted.

31.2h

[logincrash]

Dont think so. Tried to play it real, but was surprised its already ending.

How long did it take you? I went for as many sidequests as I could and it took about 30 hours but I think there were some sub 8 hour screens posted.

31.2h

That's about right. My full immersion "skip no dialogue, read everything (and I mean everything - from codex and planet entries to item descriptions)" run took me 35 hours. Mass Effect is surprisingly short.
Dragon Age Origins is paced much better, I think. It took me nearly 70 hours to beat the base game campaign during my "skip no dialogue, read everything" playthrough and it never felt like it was dragging on. The one exception might've been the Fade.

[1998]

How long did it take you? I went for as many sidequests as I could and it took about 30 hours but I think there were some sub 8 hour screens posted.

31.2h

That's about right. My full immersion "skip no dialogue, read everything (and I mean everything - from codex and planet entries to item descriptions)" run took me 35 hours. Mass Effect is surprisingly short.
Dragon Age Origins is paced much better, I think. It took me nearly 70 hours to beat the base game campaign during my "skip no dialogue, read everything" playthrough and it never felt like it was dragging on. The one exception might've been the Fade.

I played it right around release, I remembered it being much larger, like BG scale. Its still OK tbh