ME3 wish list. Mass Spoilers of 1 and 2.

Stworca · Post by **Stworca** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 6:44 am

Since there aren't too many hard facts known to the public about ME3, and the forum population seems to dissolve more and more on a daily basis (probably thanks to my poorly written, narrow-minded posts) let us try to spark a discussion about what we want, and what we do not want in the last part of the series of ME.

I'll obviously start. Hopefully i won't be the only one who bothers with it, although it is probable.

NPC's

. Tali & Garrus are two npc's that are absolutely required in the third part of the series. Not only are they major part of the story, made sacrifices to stay with Shepard, but also they are also great characters.
From the second ME i guess Legion, and the DLC ones of Kasumi and Zaeed are the most interesting ones, that could benefit you the most. Perhaps Grunt for beign straight-forward, and a pure-krogan with pure-krogan quests.
Also Jack.
From non-joinable NPC's.. I guess Aria, Chambers, the reporter making [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFM-PvXWcqo#"]disingenuous assertions[/url] aswell as [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RMFwzoxCUM&feature=related"]snide insinuations[/url] is a must
last, but not least..
"Ah yes, Reapers" council member, and the option to rub it in his face. He doesn't have to be alive, really

.

. The two humans from ME1. Kaidan and Williams, shouldn't re-appear as joinable NPC's.
Miranda shouldn't appear as joinable NPC.
Same as Liara, but in this case story-wise.
Mordin shouldn't re-appear as joinable NPC if you gave him the quest to work on genophage.
I'd rather not have a hanar or one of the wall-mart aliens ( " Emitionlessly ; welcome to wal-mart" )
Non joinable, i don't care, as long as you can kill most of them should they annoy you.

Combat

. ME 2 combat system was very, very good. A bit too focused on cover however. So while i'd like a full import of ME2 combat system, i'd also like much, much more agressive and larger number of enemies.

. ME1 combat system.

. I'm not sure about ammunition. I liked the overheating of ME1, but i also liked having to kill with every shot (insanity ME2, infiltrator)

Difficulty

. ME2 "Insanity" should be "normal" difficulty in the third part.

Mini games

. An option to disable them on your second playthrough

.10 levels of dos mario for every lock you want to pick + annoying music.

Main Plot

. All the decisions you made to come back (this will probably be the case). Many more decisions to make.

.Cheesy method of getting rid of the reapers.

. I bet a penny that Shepard will die at the end of ME3. No way around it.

Paragon / Renegade

. ME2 had very nice renegade interrupts. The more the merrier.

Side quests

.A lot, all of them optional.

Grinding

.None.

Regards!

Belthan · Post by **Belthan** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 12:21 am

I agree with just about everything you said.

Definitely agree Tali & Garrus should be back, and that decisions from the 1st two games should carry over and impact the story in ME3. Maybe goes without saying, but the Illusive Man should be on the list of non-joinable NPCs who should be back.

I really liked the weapon heat management in ME1, which made it seem very distinctive. While the thermal clips in ME2 made sense in context, they make it more like every other shooter. Maybe there could be a hybrid approach in ME3 - if you keep your rate of fire down you never have to reload, but if you need to put a lot of rounds down range in a hurry, you can swap out heat sinks.

Mini-games should be less annoying. For example, if there has to be a hacking mini-game, make it related to hacking instead of a bad Tetris rip-off. And please, please, no planet mining. Starships have crews for a reason. Scanning a planet and launching probes personally makes me feel like Shepard is Dilbert's pointy-haired boss, micromanaging the engineering department.

One difference: I'm not sure I want "normal" difficulty to be any harder. My first play through of any RPG is usually on an lower difficulty setting so I can focus more on the story elements. Concentrating on the game mechanics and my controller skills tends to kill the immersive quality of a game, at least for me. If the game is good enough that I want to play it again, then I kick up the difficulty.

Stworca · Post by **Stworca** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 7:44 am

I see your point, although i prefer the highest difficulty for.. the exact same reason. Let me elaborate.

The collectors are kidnaping entire colonies, and reapers are behind the collectors. No colony was able to put up any resistance. No one want's to help Shep. Fate of countless lives depend on his success.. It has to be challenging, or even impossible, because there has to be a reason for Shepard to do it and not, say, this guy over there, at the bar.

Plus, the only challenging part in ME2 (on insane) was in Archangel mission, when you had to shut three passages. The right one was tough as nails.

Belthan · Post by **Belthan** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 7:53 pm

Oh yeah, I definitely agree too easy breaks the mood as bad or worse than too hard. Facing impossible odds to save the galaxy loses its impact if it feels like I could do it in my sleep. I don't mind replaying a failed mission because I missed something or made bad decisions, I just get a little frustrated when Shepard is doing something in-game that he's supposedly the best at, but he fails because my real-life thumbs were too slow.

I did eventually beat ME2 on insanity, and the right passage was no picnic, but I thought it was harder keeping Archangel alive when the Blue Suns attacked. He kept breaking cover and jumping in front of sniper rounds. And the final battle in Tali's recruitment mission probably took me 10+ attempts with different weapons, tactics & squad members before I found a combination that worked.

Rad · Post by **Rad** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 11:40 pm

Stworca wrote:Plus, the only challenging part in ME2 (on insane) was in Archangel mission, when you had to shut three passages. The right one was tough as nails.

Do you know why that segment was so hard? Because it was laid out like a room, with multiple paths they could take to get to you (and Krogan and Varren with a nasty habit of using them), and cover placed in places that made sense. Not a tube with bits of cover sprinkled around that funneled the enemy to you.

ME2 was so easy, from a game play standpoint, because of level design.

As far as hopes/wants for ME3, I just want an EPIC story (like ME1), not a small one (not like ME2). I can forgive game play shortfalls for a good story.

Stworca · Post by **Stworca** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 5:19 am

Rad wrote:Do you know why that segment was so hard? Because it was laid out like a room, with multiple paths they could take to get to you (and Krogan and Varren with a nasty habit of using them), and cover placed in places that made sense. Not a tube with bits of cover sprinkled around that funneled the enemy to you.

Yes. This. There were a few other open rooms, but this was the only one where you HAD to move forward.

And i liked this part! That's why i wrote :

ME 2 combat system was very, very good. A bit too focused on cover however. So while i'd like a full import of ME2 combat system, i'd also like much, much more agressive and larger number of enemies.

Rad · Post by **Rad** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 10:47 am

To expand on my story gripe. I want ME3 to have a story where I don't have almost all of the answers right away. I want to have the story unfold slowly.

Yes, we know the Reapers are attacking Earth and we need to stop them. They were barely able to stop ONE Reaper, let alone hundreds. I want THAT part of the story to unfold gradually. I don't want to know what I have to find, what it is, and what it does right away.

I also don't want to be forced to do things a certain way in order to advance the main plot (like in ME2 where you had to recruit some squad-mates, and after wards the main plot would advance).

Stworca · Post by **Stworca** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 12:06 pm

Yeah, i hope they won't go all gothic 2 on the plot, and reveal it all in the very first dialogue

Xardas "Hi. Dragons are attacking, you need eye of innos, it's in Khorinis, go."
mmmkay
Xardas "You've killed many of them, but there is one left, on an island in the middle of nowhere, kill it"
mmmkay

Rad · Post by **Rad** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 12:32 pm

Stworca wrote:Yeah, i hope they won't go all gothic 2 on the plot, and reveal it all in the very first dialogue

And ME2...

The Collectors are kidnapping the colonies, you have to go through the Omega 4 Relay to stop them. Now go recruit some people so I can tell you what you have to do next...and all of this was revealed during the second mission...

Stworca · Post by **Stworca** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 12:49 pm

True, true. But i didn't know what a collector is until the first mission, if you don't know what a dragon is.. well, you had the picture on the cover of gothic 2

I wonder what makes many companies ruin the sequels.. Icewind Dale 2, Gothic 2, ME2, NWN2, all poor sequels to great games.

At any rate.. Combat in ME1 was pretty bad. The enemies were aggresive - sure, but 20 krogans with shotguns spamming immunity and beating you to death is just bs.

So i guess an open-room policy would be preffered. Although this is not a common thing in ANY fps except Delta force and the old, original operation flashpoint. So i'm affraid ME3 will be even more linear when it comes to locations

Rad · Post by **Rad** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 1:19 pm

Stworca wrote:Combat in ME1 was pretty bad.

True, but mostly because it was trying to be a RPG, not a shooter. So I keep in mind what kind of game it is, and give it a pass there.

Stworca wrote:The enemies were aggresive - sure, but 20 krogans with shotguns spamming immunity and beating you to death is just bs.

True that. That is why I only ever played ME1 on insanity once. It wasn't more difficult, just annoying.

Stworca wrote:So i guess an open-room policy would be preffered. Although this is not a common thing in ANY fps except Delta force and the old, original operation flashpoint. So i'm affraid ME3 will be even more linear when it comes to locations

Unfortunately, I have to agree. If they went with more locations like the Archangel loyalty mission, the "average" gamers might complain the game was too hard and not accessible...to that point, did you notice there are no enemy snipers in ME2? Snipers kill me more often than anything else in ME1...

Stworca · Post by **Stworca** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 1:31 pm

Ah yes, snipers. I noticed that there were none in ME2, but i play a sniper in all games that give you any scoped rifle, so i hadn't problems in ME1

Hell, i was sniping at point-blank range.. yep, i'm a tard.. but it works!

Still if you played.. Iron Storm was it? Snipers taking you out from ten miles away, when a pixel of your shoe was visible from around the corner were a unique experience. I'd prefer open rooms over snipers, and above everything else : No auto-healing while in cover!

Why watch out when you can take a shotgun blast to the face, and be at full health in five seconds.

Rad · Post by **Rad** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 1:41 pm

Stworca wrote:Ah yes, snipers.

"Ah yes, [air quotes]snipers[/air quotes]. We have dismissed that claim."

Sorry, couldn't help it....:laugh:

Stworca wrote: Why watch out when you can take a shotgun blast to the face, and be at full health in five seconds.

Oh don't get me started there...

Stworca · Post by **Stworca** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 1:58 pm

So we have agreed that it should be tougher, but not by adding 20 damage immune krogans

Ah i just got another "demand" / wish.
That they never reveal Tali's face. No matter how she looks it will be a dissappointment.. Well, unless.. [url="http://i327.photobucket.com/albums/k441/trickster2127/IDEK.jpg"]click[/url] or the "Enchantment?" dwarf from Dragon Age.. that'd be bomb

Also i hope they won't add female npc's with bigger breasts and butts.. aka Samara deluxe and Miranda gold versions. It's getting tiresome.

Rad · Post by **Rad** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 2:13 pm

Stworca wrote:So we have agreed that it should be tougher, but not by adding 20 damage immune krogans

Sounds like it.

Stworca wrote:Also i hope they won't add female npc's with bigger breasts and butts.. aka Samara deluxe and Miranda gold versions. It's getting tiresome.

If you look real close, you'll notice Femshep got a boob job as well. Talk about catering to the lowest common denominator...

I'd like to see the companions wearing armor (in a certain case, wearing SOMETHING) again. How about wearing full coverage suits when in vacuum/toxic/"clean room" environments?

"ENCHANTMENT!"

Stworca · Post by **Stworca** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 2:17 pm

Rad wrote: I'd like to see the companions wearing armor (in a certain case, wearing SOMETHING) again. How about wearing full coverage suits when in vacuum/toxic/"clean room" environments?

Like in ME1 on hazardous planets. In me 2 i always wondered how did Shep get the fluid through the helmet when in[url="http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/9592/sheparddontdrink.jpg"]omega bar...[/url]

Speaking of [url="http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/055/5/9/Ah_yes__Shepard____by_channet.jpg"]"Ah yes, reapers"[/url]

Rad · Post by **Rad** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 2:19 pm

Stworca wrote:Like in ME1 on hazardous planets.

Do you know how long it took me to realize that if you wear certain armor suits in ME1 you don't have issues with level 1 hazards (and less of an issue on level 2 hazards) in ME1?

Stworca wrote:In me 2 i always wondered how did Shep get the fluid through the helmet when in omega bar...

I can answer that: ENCHANTMENT! (it's your fault. you started this)

Stworca · Post by **Stworca** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 2:23 pm

Rad wrote:Do you know how long it took me to realize that if you wear certain armor suits in ME1 you don't have issues with level 1 hazards (and less of an issue on level 2 hazards) in ME1?

Oh? I don't know that even now that you've told me.

I can answer that: ENCHANTMENT! (it's your fault. you started this)

Well, i'll end this right here! [url="http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/341/e/0/another_tali_unmasked_by_pookiedawuzzle-d34fzjk.jpg"]BEHOLD[/url]

edit : [url="http://nerfnow.com/comic/image/435"]THIS[/url]moment absolutely HAS to be added in ME3

Rad · Post by **Rad** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 2:26 pm

Stworca wrote:Oh? I don't know that even now that you've told me.

From the Mass Effect Wiki: "If any member of the squad is wearing Survivor, Explorer, Liberator, or Thermal Armor, it will negate the timer on environments with Level 1 environmental hazards and slow down the timer on Level 2."

Stworca wrote:Well, i'll end this right here! [url="http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/341/e/0/another_tali_unmasked_by_pookiedawuzzle-d34fzjk.jpg"]BEHOLD[/url]

Ok, THAT made me laugh :laugh:

Stworca · Post by **Stworca** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 2:31 pm

What's your opinion on the mini-games? If they continue the way they did, we'll have this in [url="http://www.deviantart.com/download/191879467/mass_effect_innovations_2_by_madmapper-d368n57.png"]mE3[/url]

Now, while i don't mind having to actualy hack a PDA or unlock a door myself, i'd love an option to disable this part of the game on 2nd playthrough.

This wouldn't be such a problem in any other game, but ME series are nearly un-modable. Everything is protected and hard coded. It's not even funny.