HoveringCheesecake Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Well, I beat Mass Effect. It was very good, but like most games it has a few flaws. I didn't like how every uncharted planet was a hilly, craggy mess. The Mako is full of glitches as well - I don't know how many times I ran over an enemy only to have them stuck in my grill and alter the physics of the Mako. It's alot of fun to be floating sideways while the Geth walkers blow you to pieces. My one other beef revolves around omni-tools, dropped items, and credits. I ended up with 999 omni-tools and 9,999,999 credits... What is the point? I experienced the same thing with credits when I played the KOTOR games. It has no value when you can sell the thousands of items dropped by dead enemies or discovered on dead corpses/probes/ruins. The omni-tools and credits revolve around the dropped items (at least for me), so I think if they toned that down the game would be much better. Fancy armor and weapons should be coveted, but instead you find a better one five minutes later when a dead Geth drops fifty upgrades and you find three assault rifles stashed in a crate. I think I read that there were two endings. Is that just the one regarding the Council during the final fight, or is there an entirely different ending depending on Paragon/Renegade? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eugimon Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 ... I think I read that there were two endings. Is that just the one regarding the Council during the final fight, or is there an entirely different ending depending on Paragon/Renegade? the endings: paragon/paragon end paragon/renegade end renedage/paragon end renegade/renegade end each ending is slightly different with the big difference being between paragon end versus renegade end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Hingtgen Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Could you explain (as spoiler-free as possible) what/where the split is? I assume I got Paragon/Paragon. The "choice" for the first one is really obvious what it is if you've seen the end with really obvious Paragon/Renegade implications. Is the second choice "who" you pick way near the end? I wouldn't really class that as Paragon/Renegade. Plus there's the fact that you can also do a "neither" option so there should be 6 really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eugimon Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 the neither option is the same as renegade. Actually, I over simplified, so there are 3 determinants to the ending. how you played the game (paragon/renegade) How you end the game (save or let die) Who you choose at the end of the game. how you play the game will affect political stance earth makes at the end of the game How you end the game will affect the political makeup of the council who you choose will affect the specific military stance of the council. So, say you do: renegade/paragon/politician: your ending would go: Earth-centric, human led council with strong diplomacy. renegade/renegade/military: earth-centric, human dominated poiltical war machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apollo Leader Posted January 2, 2008 Author Share Posted January 2, 2008 Because of all the hype on here about Mass Effect I almost got it last week, but I went with the Orange Box instead. Maybe I'll get Mass Effect when it dips below $50. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikuro Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Orange Box is my choice, but for online play only, I'm not interested in Half-Life's storyline. I have gotten alot better in First Person Shooters though, espically Halo...I use to suck in LAN parties and was horrible for the first week of online play....but gotten much better since my promotions have been occuring left and right in the last 2 days that I've sat down and actually played. So now I'm a first grade Corpral and I've got alot of badges....I was even surprised to see that I had a killing spree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoveringCheesecake Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 (edited) Sorry about the missing spoiler tag. I just re-formatted and IE6 crashes when I try to open the "More Options" button. Edited January 2, 2008 by meh_cd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apollo Leader Posted January 2, 2008 Author Share Posted January 2, 2008 Orange Box is my choice, but for online play only, I'm not interested in Half-Life's storyline. I have gotten alot better in First Person Shooters though, espically Halo...I use to suck in LAN parties and was horrible for the first week of online play....but gotten much better since my promotions have been occuring left and right in the last 2 days that I've sat down and actually played. So now I'm a first grade Corpral and I've got alot of badges....I was even surprised to see that I had a killing spree. When I was playing Halo 2 a lot on XBL back during 2006, my highest skill level I ever got was in the low 20's. Showing how much better I am these days, I got my skill all the way up to 40 a few weeks ago while playing Lone Wolves. For the most part I've been around 37 since. I did drop down to 34 briefly last night, but a few great games quickly got me back to 36. Fingers crossed I'll reach 45 or 50 someday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLoneWolf Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 In no surprise to anyone, a Konami rep disclosed that Metal Gear Solid 4 will be coming to the 360, but it'll be released about a year after the PS3 version. After the incredibly insipid story that MGS2 featured, it won't be hard for me to wait until either version hits the $9.99 bin. No, the rep will not be named, but this is pretty concrete. Speaking to a Konami rep at an undisclosed distribution meeting, I was told, after a lot of nagging, that yes indeed MGS was in development for the 360. The rep stated that Metal Gear Solid will be released for the Xbox 360 between 12 to 14 months after the PS3 version hits shelves. This is not a rumor. I contacted Microsoft's own John Porcaro via email shortly after I spoke to the Konami rep to see if I could get anything from Microsoft's public relations team. Below is the response I received. Needless to say it's the most I've ever gotten out of MS PR team member. "Thanks for the heads up, [name removed]. For anything that resembles any shift in strategy, or product announcement, or even news of something happening with a third party, we're always going to stick with "we haven't announced anything about " Every day we see rumors, most false, but some true, and we can't confirm/deny everything out there for any number of reasons. I appreciate the note. I certainly will share everything I can, and I'll often rattle enough cages to get to an acceptable answer. In this case, there's really nothing we can say other than the obligatory "no comment."" http://xboxfamily.com/xf/index.php?option=...23&Itemid=2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mriboy Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 The Mako needs headlights, so do you in some instances its to dark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeszekely Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Sorry about the missing spoiler tag. I just re-formatted and IE6 crashes when I try to open the "More Options" button. To reduce the need for further reformats, I strongly recommend upgrading to IE7, or switching to a new browser all together. I kinda like Firefox with the "View in IE Tab" plugin for those last few sites that require IE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JsARCLIGHT Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 The Mako needs headlights, so do you in some instances its to dark. I never had any trouble seeing in ME and I felt the game was over lit most of the time. What areas are you having a hard time seeing in? It could be your display settings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoveringCheesecake Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 To reduce the need for further reformats, I strongly recommend upgrading to IE7, or switching to a new browser all together. I kinda like Firefox with the "View in IE Tab" plugin for those last few sites that require IE. Oh don't worry, I usually use Firefox. When I say I reformatted, I literally meant that I had just reformatted. It's funny you mention that, though. IE is the reason I had to reformat. Long story for another thread however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Hingtgen Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 I usually just do it manually. Just have "spoiler" in brackets, then "/spoiler" in brackets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mriboy Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 On some planets and a mine map. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoveringCheesecake Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 I'm going back through and reading your guys' post from when ME came out and so far I haven't read much about texture pop up with the environments. Did any of you experience that? I get it on both characters and environments on my new 360. Any ETA on the DLC? (lol) I don't have Live, so I'm not sure where I would go to find info on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eugimon Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 I'm going back through and reading your guys' post from when ME came out and so far I haven't read much about texture pop up with the environments. Did any of you experience that? I get it on both characters and environments on my new 360. Any ETA on the DLC? (lol) I don't have Live, so I'm not sure where I would go to find info on it. yeah, texture pop is a big technical problem. I've read some ideas ranging from the UT engine is the SUX or that it's a memory limitation of the 360. Basically that the 360 can't pruge its memory so that after you've been to more than a few locales the 360 can't purge the tectures for the old locations from memory and is forced to load it from the disc. I kinda agree with that theory.. I usually notice the texture pop after I've done a bunch of side quests and then land on a main quest planet. Rebooting the 360 seems to help and after that, I get a few hours of more or less smooth sailing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Hingtgen Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 I really only saw environment pop-up on the Normandy--mostly displays/screens on the bridge etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoveringCheesecake Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 (edited) yeah, texture pop is a big technical problem. I've read some ideas ranging from the UT engine is the SUX or that it's a memory limitation of the 360. Basically that the 360 can't pruge its memory so that after you've been to more than a few locales the 360 can't purge the tectures for the old locations from memory and is forced to load it from the disc. I kinda agree with that theory.. I usually notice the texture pop after I've done a bunch of side quests and then land on a main quest planet. Rebooting the 360 seems to help and after that, I get a few hours of more or less smooth sailing. Nah, I don't think the engine sucks. They just need to use a cache on the hard drive like you guys were suggesting farther back in the thread. I really only saw environment pop-up on the Normandy--mostly displays/screens on the bridge etc. Consider yourself lucky. I have it everywhere. However, I did have Kaidan in my party so perhaps that had something to do with it. He's going to sit in the Normandy during my next playthrough. Hey look at that, I have an account at BioWare. Haven't used it since 2003... wow. Edited January 2, 2008 by meh_cd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB0 Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 I had texture pop EVERYWHERE. ANY time the scene changed. NOT exaggerating here. Sometimes just driving around a map. I'd find mineral deposits that the game just didn't texture until they came into view. And I was playing Ashley/Tali. Not Kaidan's fault. I don't buy the purge argument. Obviously it CAN purge the old textures from RAM, or there'd be no place to load the new ones and the game would become nothing but gradients. Sidenote: I'm curious what things would look like if the hardware designs had continued a push for ultra-high untextured poly counts and more accurate lighting models instead of changing direction for reduced poly counts and texture maps(and other "fake detailing" features that've been added since the original paradigm shift). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowlightman Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 In no surprise to anyone, a Konami rep disclosed that Metal Gear Solid 4 will be coming to the 360, but it'll be released about a year after the PS3 version. After the incredibly insipid story that MGS2 featured, it won't be hard for me to wait until either version hits the $9.99 bin. http://xboxfamily.com/xf/index.php?option=...23&Itemid=2 I'd hardly call that a solid source, but everyone know's it's going to happen anyways, so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoveringCheesecake Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 I had texture pop EVERYWHERE. ANY time the scene changed. NOT exaggerating here. Sometimes just driving around a map. I'd find mineral deposits that the game just didn't texture until they came into view. And I was playing Ashley/Tali. Not Kaidan's fault. I don't buy the purge argument. Obviously it CAN purge the old textures from RAM, or there'd be no place to load the new ones and the game would become nothing but gradients. Sidenote: I'm curious what things would look like if the hardware designs had continued a push for ultra-high untextured poly counts and more accurate lighting models instead of changing direction for reduced poly counts and texture maps(and other "fake detailing" features that've been added since the original paradigm shift). Yeah, same here. You get used to it after a while, but it is still disappointing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Hingtgen Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Oh yeah. Mineral deposits. Those suffered from severe texture pop up. I swear I could have the things scanned and be driving away, THEN the final details would load. Worst in the game. Asides from that, water, and Normandy consoles, environments did pretty well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mriboy Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Playing on Hardcore mode now so I can hit lvl60 love being a sniper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishimaru Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Not sure if this interests anyone but... http://stuff.tv/News/BIG-IN-2008-Xbox-Ultimate/ Integrated WiFi, HD-DVD built in, 320gb hard drive, and a near silent system operation. *tear* Microsoft why didn't you do this in the first place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eugimon Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Not sure if this interests anyone but... http://stuff.tv/News/BIG-IN-2008-Xbox-Ultimate/ Integrated WiFi, HD-DVD built in, 320gb hard drive, and a near silent system operation. *tear* Microsoft why didn't you do this in the first place? god, look at all the flak sony gets for having blu-ray tacked on to the PS3... and think of all the rabid fanboy hatred there already is for MS. If MS launched the 360 like this, there would have been universal clothes tearing and teeth gnashing that MS was bullying themsleves into the home electronics market and that they were typically bloating up their hardware just like they do their software. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JsARCLIGHT Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Hasn't MS been denying that they were going to do this for the longest time? If this does indeed pan out and it is actually quieter, cooler and and actually supports all the stuff it's claiming to then I might upgrade to this... for no other reason than to get the better audio output. Then again this could just be internet speculation run rampant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLoneWolf Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 http://stuff.tv/News/BIG-IN-2008-Xbox-Ultimate/ Integrated WiFi, HD-DVD built in, 320gb hard drive, and a near silent system operation. *tear* Microsoft why didn't you do this in the first place? It's just speculation. I doubt MS would ever release something like this because it would be more expensive than the PS3, and one of the primary reasons that the PS3 is struggling is due to its hefty pricetag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeszekely Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 It's just speculation. I doubt MS would ever release something like this because it would be more expensive than the PS3, and one of the primary reasons that the PS3 is struggling is due to its hefty pricetag. Aren't they also speculating that it won't be around until fall? Honestly, if Sony can finally afford to sell Blu-ray, HDMI, and wi-fi on a $400 machine, I don't see why Microsoft can't do HD-DVD, HDMI, and wi-fi for about the same. The hard drive is the only thing holding them back. My guess would be, if this turns out to be true, that there will be price cuts on the existing skus, possibly with the the 20GB Pro being entirely phased out, and the 80GB Elite turning white and going by "Pro," with the new HD-DVD wi-fi 360GB units coming out black with the "Elite" label. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mriboy Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Hey any of you guys get disc read errors while playing Mass Effect. It would happen sometimes when loading to new location on map, and its killing me due to the fact I didnt save for awhile. Now I save like every 5 to 10 min. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chowser Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 man, MS just keeps doing it. I'm done, I already have a Pro and a Halo edition. I'm about to pick up a PS3 once I get my Dell Gift Card. On Mass Effect, is it my system? During conversations, the shadows on the faces suck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JsARCLIGHT Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 On Mass Effect, is it my system? During conversations, the shadows on the faces suck. Nope, it's just the way they do real time shadows. The DMap shadows are just too low resolution which results in that grainy nastiness. It looks good at a distance (mostly because it simply becomes a hue or gradient that far back) but not up close. I never looked but does ME give you an option to disable self-shadowing like Oblivion does? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoryHolmes Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 The only problem with bringing out an Xbox Ultimate like that one descirbed is that MS has consitantly stated that there will be no HD-DVD games for the 360, and no hard drive required. Any stock Xbox will play any Xbox game, they say. In that case, is there really an advantage to pushing this Ultimate other than to try to increase HD-DVDs penetration into the market Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLoneWolf Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Aren't they also speculating that it won't be around until fall? Honestly, if Sony can finally afford to sell Blu-ray, HDMI, and wi-fi on a $400 machine, I don't see why Microsoft can't do HD-DVD, HDMI, and wi-fi for about the same. The hard drive is the only thing holding them back. That's true, but I think it's still safe to say that Sony is selling the PS3 hardware at a loss whereas MS has finally begun to turn a modest profit off 360 hardware sales. Adding an HD-DVD drive, internal wi-fi and a larger hard drive would set them back if they want to sell it at a competitive price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Hingtgen Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 CES starts monday. All will be revealed then. Plenty of rumors of Bill Gates "announcing something big" for the Xbox. Could be a new 360 with HD-DVD built in, or it could just be a rumor. Or yet another "exclusive content on Live" deal nobody but MS really cares about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts