Mass Effect: Andromeda liveblog (inactive)

[sincere]

There is a 50% chance that this journal will be liveblogs and the occasional rant, going forward. I almost ranted about the all-female Lord of the Flies remake this morning, but I've lost interest in it by now.

Does anyone use Discord? Maybe want a server to chat about current events and/or fictional fandoms and/or just be dorks?

Anyway, I was blackmailed by a certain person to download the trial version of Mass Effect: Andromeda, and after a few hours of playing it, all I want to do is continue playing it, even though I only have a few hours left on the trial and by god I will not buy another game before at least finishing FFXV. But here I am...


Current progress: Arrived at the Nexus

Comments

LAST TIME, ON MASS EFFECT

[sincere]

As is traditional for my Mass Effect liveblogs, namely this one, I have played it for some time before realizing that I would like to liveblog it.

So the first few comments shall be retrospective. I shall retrospect.

ETA: Okay, so... some of it will be replay. I'm making great use of my remaining hours of trial. Shut up.

[sincere]

So you pick the gender of your main character, and in a fun turn, the male and female Ryder are both people! They are twins, traveling together on this mission, and the one you don't choose ends up in a coma during the game's prologue. So you can customize both of them, and also their father (also a person), so that they can all look alike. Adorable.

Scott Ryder and Sara Ryder are the default names. It goes without saying that I picked Sara Ryder. Also, that's my middle name!

I spent probably an hour on my first game attempting to customize her appearance, because when you choose her default appearance she's a Caucasian with brunette hair but when you choose to customize her appearance she becomes Korean or something. It became a personal challenge to me to attempt to make her non-Asian. I did not succeed.

[sincere]

Ryder is part of the Andromeda Initiative, which is a project launched somewhen during Mass Effect 2, neatly bypassing the ending of the original trilogy. (That ending was Destroy, by the way.) They're off to colonize a new galaxy!

So... the 20,000 people on these "arks" have been asleep for 600 years while they traveled. Also a neat way to bypass the ending of the original trilogy.

Ryder is on the Pathfinder team on Ark Hyperion, which has mostly humans aboard. It's her job to scout out the "golden worlds" and make them safe for colonization.

[sincere]

After Ryder wakes up, there's an immediate INCIDENT where the ship gets battered by SOMETHING and everything goes haywire briefly. During the chaos, Scott Ryder's cryo capsule is damaged and he can't join us. Sorry, brother! This is my adventure!

"Cora, Ryders, report to the bridge." I think Ryders is super cute.

There's a couple of supporting characters floating around, some of whom are romantic interests, but we'll meet them in a bit.

[sincere]

The bridge is pretty panicked too. Captain somebody and Alec Ryder have discovered our "golden world" -- but Habitat 7 has been totally wrecked from what the scans told us said when we set out. What's happened in the last 600 years?

Alec Ryder is THE Pathfinder. It's his job to make sure the planet is livable. So that's what we're going to do. Pathfinder team will go down to the surface and check it out. He reassures his daughter, gives a little speech to his team and we board two shuttles to head out.

[sincere]

Liam Kosta introduces himself while the shuttles descend. I believe he is a long term party member and romantic interest, so we will keep him around. Also existent and on the team is Cora Harper, and she seems cool, but Sara Ryder can't date her, so whatever.

The surface of the world is a wreck, with alien buildings already around and lightning storms constantly over the surface. So naturally, the shuttles are hit by lightning and crash.

[sincere]

Ryder hits the ground pretty hard and the glass of her helmet is broken, and she promptly begins to asphyxiate. She uses her omnitool to repair her helmet.

Kosta is nearby but they have to hunt to find the other shuttles and the other members of their team. And we find them with some very hostile aliens... those who have survived the encounter. So much for peaceful first contact!

However, Dad has gone on ahead alone, doing his Pathfinder thing. We find a bunch of structures that the bony aliens want to keep us away from, including a mysterious artifact that Dad and his AI computer, SAM, use to clear away the storms. The planet still has a hostile alien problem and some very mysterious shit going down, but at least now we can call a shuttle to get us out of here. But there's a blast from the building behind us.

Ryder hits the ground pretty hard and the glass of her helmet is broken, and she promptly begins to asphyxiate. Dad gives her his helmet to save her life, and dies himself.

I mean, it's sweet and heartbreaking and all, but... what happened to repairing the helmet, which she did in just a few seconds a while ago.......

[sincere]

While Ryder is being clinically dead for twenty seconds on board the ship, King Bony Alien comes up and investigates the site that we used to clear up the storms. A hologram of Dad communing with the mysterious artifact is seen, and King Bony Alien mimics his posture and hand gestures, which is kind of adorable. But nothing happens. Whatever happened with Dad, it's not available anymore.

King Bony Alien seems irritated and stalks off. I'm sure that'll go well.

[pict]

I assume it's because Sara was repairing a tiny crack, whereas the later damage was basically a large chunk of glass missing. Presumably, the omnitool is limited in how much matter it can create out of thin air!

... idk.

[sincere]

Sure, we can say that! Or maybe it's like the weird tire repair kit that came in my car instead of a spare tire or donut, and it's only good for one use and they'd both used theirs.

...or maybe it's like the weird tire repair kit that came in my car, and Dad doesn't know how to use it.

[pict]

Yeah, like. A brief two second aside of him trying to use his own omnitool and it not being able to handle the repair would have gone a long way in rendering these types of questions moot! Because I know you're not the only one who pointed it out.

[sincere]

Also, MY JES!! It's been a while. I was just thinking about you, because I was thinking of games to finish so that I could contemplate Andromeda and FE:Fates was at the top of the list.

Do you use Discord. I hear that it's a thing the RP whippersnappers are using these days. I like it because it's a combination of old-timey chatrooms and old-timey forums.

[pict]

Honestly, don't... don't bother with Fates. I played through all three routes and I'm so angry about the several hours of my life that I will never get back. I have nothing good to say about it; it's a garbage game. :D

But yes, I do use discord! Find me at jesjes#5604

[sincere]

Oh wow that's not great. That's... SUCH A SWING, I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH IT. How did it hurt you, Jesyphus?

What about Echoes

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In a lot of ways! Some of them are super spoilery. Let's just say that if someone as perpetually confused as myself can immediately spot a large, gaping, crater-sized plot hole approximately two seconds after the BIG TWIST is unveiled that renders said twist infeasible, if not impossible, then you have failed at proper storytelling. But that's the cherry on top of an expansive list of things that either irritated me or degraded the game.

It's just garbage. Garbage, Kay!!

I've only played a bit of Echoes so far. I actually just started it the other day! I'm liking it a lot so far, though. c:

[sincere]

When Ryder wakes up, the team gently breaks to her the news about her dad -- and also, by the way, before he died he uploaded his AI computer SAM into your implant. So now SAM is in you, speaking in your head, the same way that he was with your dad.

That makes you the new Pathfinder, Sara Ryder. Congrats! Also, your twin brother is still in a coma. Take a few minutes to be sad, then go Pathfind.

Ark Hyperion has arrived at the Nexus -- the central station which was supposed to be the Citadel for the Andromeda galaxy. The turian ark, the asari ark, and the salarian ark might already be here! How exciting! (The quarian-and-misc-species ark was delayed in departure, so it shouldn't be beating us anywhere.)

[sincere]

At this point I'm switching back to my original Sara, I think. The default Sara is super cute, but I feel like my Korean Sara has grown on me too much. Default Sara doesn't look right.

[pict]

Yeah, I got super sttached to my first Sara as well, and I've never made a caucasian Mass Effect protag, so I'm sure as hell not going to start now.

My Sara

her brother, and yes, I did give him an amazing afro on purpose

whispers what's your PSN ID, I bought a PS4 some months ago--

[slayerofgod]

That's really impressive work on your Sara, I have to say.

[sincere]

Hah! I love his amazing afro. They're cute ♥ I didn't mess with Dad or Scott too much, seeing as how I had wasted enough of my trial time.

BUT I was able to get this screenshot of my Sara just now with the scant minutes of trial I have left.

I am kay4aday on PSN!! Come at me!!

[sincere]

It turns out that no one has beaten us anywhere. The Nexus isn't even completed yet -- it's dark, quiet, and mostly empty. When Ryder and company finally find a person, he is completely baffled to see strangers.

The Nexus has had a rough time of it. It also encountered an INCIDENT with weird galactic stuff out there in space (they call it the Scourge) which knocked them off course, and the majority of their leadership was killed in the accident without ever even waking from cryo sleep -- including the founder of the whole Andromeda Initiative. So following the chain of command, the person who ends up in charge was....... a salarian accountant. Inspiring.

He and his cohorts (a turian chief of security, a human colonial affairs director, and a lady krogan station superintendent) all hate each other. Good times.

All the colonies they've attempted to start have been thwarted because zero of the golden worlds we found 600 years ago are still viable, and also those bony aliens (called the kett) are everywhere, just straight up killing people on sight. So... you know. That's your job, Pathfinder Junior. We were kind of counting on your dad to get us some livable colonies. Hop to it.

[sincere]

I forgot to mention that the Nexus also had a mutiny. A bunch of people were exiled out into space. Just one more thing that went totally wrong for the Nexus.

[sincere]

SAM privately informs Ryder that, by the way, he's not just an AI! He's also an AI that can literally reach into your body and control you. Your dad didn't want anyone to know, but SAM can actually make you faster, stronger, a better biotic, etc.

There's some other stuff that SAM can't remember, probably because Dad locked away those memories. Cool, thanks Dad. Let's go scavenge his stuff!

[sincere]

I found MY FIRST MODEL SHIP! SSV NORMANDY, BABY! Dad, you have started my collecting.

Some of Dad's archives. He was communicating with Liara, he thought her research with ancient cultures might come in handy. (Ryder has actually worked with Prothean research teams and recalls that Dr. T'soni's theories were considered kind of far-fetched.) His last video before leaving says that he's worried about Scott. "It's times like these that you wish you'd told your kids that you loved them more. ...or ever. ...which brings me to the hard part. ...kids, if anything happens to me, there are things you're going to find out. I hope you'll understand." Dad, you still didn't say it. Jeez.

SAM remembered something, so we head back to Cerebro so that he can literally make Sara relive her dad's experiences. Not weird.

[sincere]

It's a memory from the Citadel, when he wanted to experiment with AI and the human embassy was like, "Ugh, you are going to ruin our reputation with the other species!!" and he was like, "You wanted me to find an advantage humans could have against them, and this is it. They're afraid of AIs, but we can use them!"

He thinks that the problem with the geth was that geth were separate from their creators, but you can make an AI that integrates with you, so there is no boundary between creator and created, and what benefits one benefits both. They won't take the risk.

Just sayin', but Javik told us he learned about a race that had AI implants that took over their host bodies... /eyes Ryder and her AI implant that can control her body

This isn't something no one's ever thought of before.

Then Mom calls! She's still alive! And she has a terminal prognosis. Whoops. And Dad says, "Not on my watch," grimly. ...oh boy.

[sincere]

Director Tann, CPA, gave us a beautifully-painted ship (not sure if that was the best use of Nexus's resources) called the Tempest, and a lady turian named Vectra who is desperate to get us out of here before bureaucrats slow us down. She seems fun!

It seems weirdly sunny out here in the middle of outer space. Love that clear blue sky.

[sincere]

After exploring the galaxy some and coming back to the Nexus, I see that the main docking bay is full of bright sunshine and blue sky! Again, I question the use of the Nexus's resources in creating the artificial sky -- it's not like you're already as established as the Citadel, you only had enough power to turn the lights on yesterday and who knows when you'll be able to actually feed everyone -- but, you know. Pretty.

Also, my crew.

Suvi: I could show you my research into the soil and microfauna. It's 60 pages.
Ryder: 60. That's... a lot of pages. ...about dirt.
Suvi: You don't have to be kind. I know it's barely more than a summary.

[slayerofgod]

She's talking about me RE: blackmailing, and I deny the accusation.

[sincere]

Deny all you like, but the RECORD WILL SHOW that I was a defenseless victim. Where victim is defined as "person who was told that a thing she was interested in was available in trial format for free".

[teaotter]

Hee! I've never played, but you make it sound intriguing!

[sincere]

I love the first Mass Effect trilogy for its incredible worldbuilding and the devastating pathos of the story. This is totally different from that, but there is something very engaging about the sense of crisis. They traveled 600 years to reach a place where no one can ever reach or help them and everything went wrong. They need everything. It gets me right into it.

[sincere]

Okay, let's do this. 77 minutes left on my demo. Going to Eos, the closest thing to a livable planet we've got here in Andromeda.

[sincere]

There's a signal on Eos similar to the one on Habitat 7 where we started out, and just like Habitat 7, it's covered in storms. It seems likely that the kett are fucking around with this planet just like they were on Habitat 7.

Ryder has a mysterious moment where she zones out and seems to be hearing things before snapping back to it and getting back to the Pathfinding thing.

Tempest has a slightly better landing than the shuttles on Habitat 7 did, in that we landed deliberately and are all in one piece by the failed settlement the Nexus already sent out.

[sincere]

There's a lot of cover and A LOT of ammo around here, but I'm sure we won't be having any gun fights here.

[sincere]

The world is an irradiated wasteland, but the barriers around the settlement prevent it from being dangerous. There's actually someone still here, but it is besieged by kett and save the grateful Eos settler Nexus smuggler. I get the place operational again -- or as operational as it can be, scavenged and worn by storms as it is.

I have now acquired a VEHICLE. Hello, Nomad! I hope you operate less awkwardly than the Mako!

[pict]

Yes.

I still cannot flip it over and have it stay flipped, though.

:(