ViPeR Posted October 10, 2011 Posted October 10, 2011 So, does anyone want this addition? I'd love to see a poll because I don't know anyone who wants it.
gaggle64 Posted October 10, 2011 Author Posted October 10, 2011 Drop-in co-op would be fantastic. Horde mode would be sort of pointless. A deamth match mode would just be bizarre. So long as the main game is intact, I don't think I'll care. I don't think anybody would. Which is what makes this so odd, really.
LegoMan1031 Posted October 10, 2011 Posted October 10, 2011 So, does anyone want this addition? I'd love to see a poll because I don't know anyone who wants it. Well i certainly don't! Mass Effect is all single player for me and I just see the mutliplayer as a pointess add on, since it's going to be there I will give it a go but would have been perfectly fine with them just leaving it alone! As you have already said I hope not much time is going into the multiplayer of it coz I want the single player to be all kinds of awesome!!!!!!
Cube Posted October 10, 2011 Posted October 10, 2011 Drop-in co-op would be fantastic. A separate mode with extra levels for co-op, perhaps. I don't think it would work too well in the main singleplayer, though.
ViPeR Posted October 10, 2011 Posted October 10, 2011 The strange thing is I swear I read somewhere, not long ago, that they were planning to have seperate co-op style missions. http://www.computerandvideogames.com/307597/mass-effect-3-multiplayer-is-real-based-on-original-online-missions/ I didn't even realise that it wasn't confirmed until a few days ago. This is definitely the way to go with it.
Supergrunch Posted October 10, 2011 Posted October 10, 2011 I definitely don't want multiplayer - I wish they'd stop gradually turning Mass Effect into a standard third-person shooter.
Cube Posted October 11, 2011 Posted October 11, 2011 It's 4-player co-op that takes place outside the main game, yet still links to it somehow.
ViPeR Posted October 11, 2011 Posted October 11, 2011 (edited) http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2011/10/11/mass-effect-3-gets-4-player-co-op-missions-galaxy-at-war-system/ “Success in multi-player will have a direct impact on the outcome of the single player campaign, giving players an alternative method of achieving ultimate victory against the greatest threat mankind – and the entire galaxy – has ever faced.” There better not be story related content which is only viewable through doing this multi-player crap. Maybe it's like say you needed Wrex on your side, instead of doing his mission in single player you do it in multi-player? I could be clutching at straws....thanks Bioware. EDIT: Maybe it's not as bad as I thought. http://www.oxm.co.uk/34661/mass-effect-3-multiplayer-update-no-shepard-no-versus-and-not-compulsory/?cid=OTC-RSS&attr=OXM-General-RSS Edited October 11, 2011 by ViPeR
Cube Posted October 11, 2011 Posted October 11, 2011 http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/323/index/8481789/1 Hi Everyone Today BioWare and the Mass Effect 3 team are very pleased to announce 4 player co-op multiplayer missions and the Mass Effect 3: Galaxy at War system for Mass Effect 3 on the PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. 4 player co-op multiplayer Join your friends in the all-out galactic war to take Earth back. The universe of Mass Effect expands with the addition of new co-op multiplayer missions, playable over Xbox Live, PSN and PC internet. Players can choose from a variety of classes and races, form an elite Special Forces squad, and combine their weapons, powers and abilities to devastating effect as they fight together to liberate key territories from enemy control. Success in multi-player will have a direct impact on the outcome of the single player campaign, giving players an alternative method of achieving ultimate victory against the greatest threat mankind – and the entire galaxy – has ever faced. Mass Effect 3: Galaxy at War As a bonus to the campaign, BioWare is introducing the Mass Effect 3: Galaxy at War system, a new way for players to manage and experience the galactic war from multiple fronts, including a new 4-player co-op mode. The key to saving the galaxy is the “Galactic Readiness” level, measured by Commander Shepard’s ability to apply every possible asset – people, weapons, resources, armies, fleets – in the final battle against the Reapers. Players can impact their game’s Galactic Readiness level in multiple ways via the Mass Effect 3: Galaxy at War system, including multiplayer. Other platforms and interfaces will be announced in the coming months. It is important to note that the system is entirely optional and just another way players can have control over your game experience – it is still possible to achieve the optimal, complete ending of the game in Mass Effect 3 through single-player alone. F.A.Q. Why include 4 player Co-op multiplayer in Mass Effect 3? Being able to explore and fight alongside your friends in the Mass Effect universe has always been something we thought would be fun and compelling, and many players have asked for it for a long time as well. Mass Effect 3 is the best place for us to introduce multiplayer through co-op because of the premise of the game – all out galactic war. Why only 4 player co-op? What not a versus mode? We have always maintained that we would only add multiplayer into the Mass Effect series if it made sense and did not compromise the power of the single player campaign. Fighting together against a common threat was the multiplayer experience that made the most sense for Mass Effect 3. The way we have designed co-op as a wayto take control of key conflict zones in the galaxy is a natural extension of the premise of Mass Effect 3. Why did you decide not to include it as a part of the main campaign? Our priority and focus with Mass Effect 3 has and always will be to deliver a complete and satisfying single player experience. Does the addition of co-op multiplayer missions impact the scope or quality of the single-player experience? No. A dedicated team from our recently formed BioWare Montreal studio has been focused on creating the multiplayer game features while the main game continued to be developed by the team in BioWare Edmonton. Both teams are integrated under the same leadership group that produced Mass Effect 1 and 2, led by Casey Hudson. BioWare remains dedicated to delivering one of the most amazing single-player campaigns gamers have ever experienced. How did developing multiplayer impact the single player game? BioWare is dedicated and focused on delivering an engaging, fun, and action-packed experience for Mass Effect 3, one that lives up the BioWare standard. To reach that level of quality, last year BioWare opened a studio in Montreal that is home to designers, programmers, engineers, and other developers. Both studios work together as partners, lead by the core Mass Effect team, unified in a single vision. Under the direction of Casey Hudson and other team veterans, both studios make contributions to both the single player and multiplayer modes in Mass Effect 3. Rest assured that no compromises were made to either of these modes in the development of Mass Effect 3. Which characters can I play in co-op multiplayer? Can I play as Commander Shepard? Commander Shepard’s part in the war will take place in the single-player campaign, as will that of other beloved characters in the franchise such as Garrus, Ashley, and Liara…these characters do not appear in the multiplayer missions. In multiplayer, players will create custom characters to fight on different and unique fronts in the war. This will include the ability to play as favorites like Turians, Krogans, Asari and more… each with their own unique set of abilities. What if I don’t like multiplayer – will my experience be negatively impacted? Mass Effect 3 is a complete, standalone game that will deliver a satisfying story experience, even if you choose not to try multiplayer. The Mass Effect 3: Galaxy at War system and all of the individual components are meant to complement that amazing game and can be enjoyed on their own or as part of the Galaxy at War experience. What if I am not good at / do not like multiplayer? Will my readiness rating go down? ME3 is a story about a war against overwhelming force where the most you can hope for us survival. The more you do to fight that war, the more you can change that story into a more optimistic one. You can reach the highest levels of success in the single player experience alone, but Galaxy at War gives you alternative ways to get there. It’s about choice, and allowing players to find their own ways to stay immersed in the Mass Effect universe. Will you be adding any additional maps or modes through DLC? We can’t comment on specifics right now, but can confirm that we are planning on having DLC for Mass Effect 3. Do save games from ME1 or ME2 impact the co-op multiplayer missions? No. Do characters level up in co-op multiplayer? What is the progression system? Character progression, weapon upgrading and leveling up is present in co-op. We’ll release more information on this topic in the months leading up to launch. Is there more info about the other platforms of Mass Effect 3: Galaxy at War? We are not going into details about the other components of the Galaxy at War at this time except to say we are designing each to make sense for that platform. Each component will be able to affect a player’s “Galactic Readiness” level in a different way. Again, participation in any or all ME3:GaW elements is entirely optional. So, from the sounds of it the aim of Mass Effect 3 is doing enough to prepare the galaxy for war. You can get to the highest level in singleplayer but multiplayer (and possibly other things) will help get you there quicker. I'm actually liking the sound of it (as long as you don't automatically go into the final mission once the galactic readiness is at the highest level or something stupid like that).
ViPeR Posted October 11, 2011 Posted October 11, 2011 Yeh i'll be honest it doesn't sound bad at all. Though any multi-player playthroughs I do will be on a seperate file to my 'ultimate' one. I hope there isn't any 4 player only achievements :p
James McGeachie Posted October 11, 2011 Posted October 11, 2011 Sounds like they really tried their best to give the co-op some substantial value, i.e. being RELATED to the main game, but without actually compromising the quality of the single player experience. So going by that, I'd be willing to bet the inclusion of multiplayer at all comes back to EA's influence and them trying to push the marketability of the game to its maximum. They probably wanted a co-op campaign I'd expect and Bioware probably had to fight for ways to get the co-op influencing the campaign but without being directly included in the singleplayer story. Honestly I guess it's the best solution. I like that the multiplayer is just one option of how to progress, just like how there's different options for ways to get money/resources in the other games and you choose which ones to do.
Jimbob Posted October 11, 2011 Posted October 11, 2011 Sounds alright, but like Viper, i'll be playing the multiplayer on a different save. Not a chance in heck will i use my "custom" Shepard save on this. I want to be able to play the 3rd with all choices and decisions made from the 1st and 2nd affecting things.
gaggle64 Posted October 11, 2011 Author Posted October 11, 2011 I'll see how it fits in and if I want to use it for my main save. I love the idea of playing a Salarian character though. Feeling a bit odd about spreading the methods of progression across multiple different... things.
gaggle64 Posted October 12, 2011 Author Posted October 12, 2011 Casey Hudson detailing the multiplayer (spoiler free) in this vid. They do seem like they're trying to do something, not just jamming it in there. Having an Asari, Drell or Salarian character in play in some way definitely interests me - I hope this leads to non-human starring characters in later games in the franchise.
Jimbob Posted October 13, 2011 Posted October 13, 2011 If non-human become starting characters, it would be interesting indeed for the series. And, it would allow the series to continue past the 3rd as well.
Dan_Dare Posted October 14, 2011 Posted October 14, 2011 Personally, I'm pro co-op. I can see 'galactic readiness' being the new galaxy map meta game so it fits in nicely. Either play the meta game and secure locations or play co-op and next time you hit the SP, the location you just played is already secured and sorted. At least, that's how I hope it works.
ViPeR Posted October 15, 2011 Posted October 15, 2011 I'm seeing shades of Star Wars: Battlefront in this co-op. Minus repetitive space battles.
Sméagol Posted October 16, 2011 Posted October 16, 2011 (edited) Yeah. In short: The confirmation and the available info alleviates most of my worries. I indeed thought that, the only way to do multiplayer well is by having a seperate co-op campaign outside of the main campaign. I think drop-in / drop-out co-op in the main campaign could work as well, but it'd need some specific additions to cater for a smooth campaign*. The only fear I still have left is, that the co-op campaign will influence the main campaign too much. This is impossible to judge with the available details, but I wouldn’t like it, for example, if completing something in the co-op campaign would make things easier for commander Shepard in the main campaign. Say you do a mission on a planet, where you destroy a husk outpost or something. Then you do a mission in the main campaign on the same planet, and the enemy threat is reduced severely because of your actions in the co-op campaign. I don’t want that. But since it’s apparent it’ll be incorporated in the story of the main campaign, I’d do like the co-op campaign to influence the main campaign in minor ways, like NPC’s talking about some bad-ass gang who saved them earlier or something. To put it more precise: I don't want the game become easier (by reducing the threat level to easily), but I don’t mind minor recognitions or even some changes in the missions that may have you take a different path, but have you do just as much as you’d normally do in the end. I just want Shepard & crew to be the main gang of bad-asses to put the hurt on the Reapers, while there’s another crew just adding insult to injury. If that’s the case, I’d love to do the co-op campaign during my canon main campaign. Hmm, not that short in the end. *Basically, this is a fun opportunity for players to play some of the other cool characters, especially if they have exclusive powers. Think Kasumi. I’ll bet there are plenty of players who’d like to take Garrus or Legion for a spin for example, eventhough the story is told from Shepard’s perspective. I only have Resident Evil 5 as a base for comparision, it’s the only drop-in / drop-out co-op I’ve played so far, but say.. You look at the map. The missions for which there are other people available to play with (the hosts I guess, the players playing Shepard), will have “distress beacons” or something, making them stand out from the normal missions. You can then choose to join such a mission, looking at what characters are available (the host can opt to not care about which characters join him (as long as they’re available in his or her campaign), in which case the joining player can choose almost freely. Now here’s the thing. When playing the mission, everything is as you’d expect, except in cutscenes and any applicable npc dialogue. This will be different for every player in the session, letting each player still make their own choices as commander Shepard, while still having fun shooting husks or Cerberus soldiers with each other as any character of the crew. Edited October 16, 2011 by Sméagol
Jimbob Posted October 17, 2011 Posted October 17, 2011 (edited) Moving the convo onto Mass Effect 2 for a moment, seems the right thread to do so. Progress of this for me is great. 32 1/2 hours of play, doing everything there is to do. Mordon performing "Gilbert and Sullivan", nice touch from Bioware. Pursuing a relationship with a member of the crew Just completed Jacks mission, the one where you blow the Cerberus base up. Had to choose between either Mirander or Jack after i split the pair of them up, as only one will speak to me afterwards. You've probably worked out who the relationship has gone to. Also slightly cheated, can avoid doing a complete original play-through, changed the ending on a previous save i made. Edited October 17, 2011 by Jimbob
Sméagol Posted October 20, 2011 Posted October 20, 2011 A [thread on the Bioware forums] that’s of interest to those who want to know more about the multiplayer.
gaggle64 Posted October 21, 2011 Author Posted October 21, 2011 (edited) Demo confirmed for January - it will have both single & multiplayer sections and early access to the multiplayer section will be available to anybody who activates the Battlefield 3 online pass on any platform. A tool will be posted on the Mass Effect website that will let you check that your early access to it has been activated via your EA account. Fucking awesome. http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/324/index/8554052/1 Edited October 21, 2011 by gaggle64
Cube Posted October 21, 2011 Posted October 21, 2011 The best bit is that it will only be available to people who play Battlefield 3 new. Meaning that even if I'm tempted, I won't be able to play it and spoil it.
Jimbob Posted October 23, 2011 Posted October 23, 2011 The best bit is that it will only be available to people who play Battlefield 3 new. Meaning that even if I'm tempted, I won't be able to play it and spoil it. I'm not fussed on playing a demo, i think i'll skip and miss this until the game actually arrives. Only played the Mass Effect 2 demo to get a feel for the game series in general. Speaking of which, completed 2 earlier today. What a great game, and well worth the 40 hours i put into it. Already began a 2nd run-through, this time seeing if i can take it to 60 hours. Already have 1 noticable change, from something i did when i re-ran the 1st. Am planning a complete playthrough of both before the 3rd, if i feel like it.
Retro_Link Posted October 27, 2011 Posted October 27, 2011 IGN talk about (having played) multiplayer http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/121/1210812p1.html
bryanee Posted November 5, 2011 Posted November 5, 2011 I'm in the beta dashboard rollout (360) and the Mass Effect 3 private beta has been put up. DOWNLOADING. Has single player and multi demos.
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