The entire co-op campaign is part of a larger system called The Galaxy at War. While the details to this are still completely under wraps it appears that doing certain extra things like playing co-op, participating in a social game, or other similar things can effect what happens during the ending sequences of Mass Effect 3 much like doing the loyalty missions in Mass Effect 2 effected the ending of that game. The following review may contain mild spoilers for Mass Effect 3. If you're sensitive to such things, please skip to the Co-Op portion of the review which begins on page 3. The Reapers have come. I’m very interested in the concept of multiplayer that BioWare has put forth in Mass Effect 3. I’ve heard that you do not need multiplayer to achieve the ultimate ending, it’s just and “easier way out”. Overall I think the game’s multiplayer should have the ability to create custom characters as that is what an RPG is all about.
A bountiful space-cache of Mass Effect 3 co-op details has been opened.
Mass Effect Andromeda Coop
They come from the mouth of Mass Effect 3 producer Jesse Houston, who was interviewed by BioWare's social media coordinator 'Erika'.
The only answers out of place below are those about PC DRM and whether decisions in ME1 and ME2 affect Galactic Readiness in ME3. Galactic Readiness, remember, is what you can contribute towards by playing Mass Effect 3 multiplayer co-op.
'Mass Effect 3 PC will require the internet connection when you initially launch and authorise it,' said Houston of DRM, 'but then you will no longer require the connection.'
'The choices from ME1 and ME2 will have an effect of the overall Galaxy at War system,' added Houston, 'but not directly on the Galactic Readiness level.'
Mass Effect 3 co-op...
- Does not support Kinect.
- Will offer some way to deal with griefers. 'Just know that we are putting systems in place that will let you deal with people that you don't want to be playing with.'
- Has playable races besides Krogan, Asari and Drell that 'you may not expect' - 'they wouldn't normally be looked upon as characters who are for the fight'.
- Will get playable character DLC. 'We'll be releasing more and more characters through DLC later.'
- Has characters that aren't involved in the single-player Mass Effect 3 campaign at all.
- Has leaderboards.
- Has its own Achievements, Trophies.
- Has matchmaking based on skill level - no word on how the latter is computed.
- Is on the main game disc. 'Somewhat sizeable, but not so much that it affects the SP experience.'
- Can't be played locally - yet. 'It is definitely on the table as something we might add.'
- Won't support user-run servers or offline severs 'any time soon'.
- Will be tracked by the BioWare Social Network website. 'There will definitely be a lot of BSN integration. What the final list of things is, we don't really know yet.'
- Won't have friendly fire - to begin with. 'Maybe later as some sort of modifier to the game, but not at release.'
- Has 'slightly different' - and 'in many ways more' - weapon and armour customisation. 'They are structured differently so stats don't play the same way.'
- Has a story: 'At a high level, Shepard is marshalling the troops on behalf of the Earth Alliance so you are technically fighting for the Earth Alliance. From a story perspective, a lot of these groups have come together as a loose fighting force to stop the reapers therefore they don't fly the same type of banners that would have existed in pre- reaper invasion days.'
- Will one day be taken offline - i.e. there is a 'sunset plan'. 'Yes, absolutely. We won't be taking the servers down until we realize that there aren't enough players playing to warrant keeping them up and when we do take them down, we will make sure there are options so the players who are playing don't feel abandoned. If anything is a good example, you can see today that Neverwinter Nights is still supported and we've kept a lot of our servers live on it. So I wouldn't be too worried about us taking down the servers any time soon.'
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Forgotten your details?Mass Effect 3 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
It's remarkable to me still just how passionate BioWare's fans really are.
The controversy surrounding Mass Effect 3 and the game's ending in particular has died down to some degree - the game was released nearly two months ago, after all - but the Retake Mass Effect and Hold The Line movements continue to pay close attention to any development in the Mass Effect 3 saga.
When EA and BioWare announced an extended-cut DLC for the Mass Effect 3 ending, fans were cautiously optimistic that the developers were listening to their concerns. That the expanded ending would be free DLC was certainly a token of good faith.
I wrote at the time that it wasn't necessarily a victory for fans, largely because we can't predict the future and won't know whether the expanded ending really does bring clarity and closure to the series until it's released. Various company murmurings about 'artistic integrity' rang a few alarm bells - but overall, the decision was a good sign for upset customers.
Many Mass Effect fans remain skeptical. In an effort to keep reminding BioWare just how much they care about the ending of the popular sci-fi RPG, the group has staged several publicity events - from sending BioWare cupcakes to raising money for charity, all in an effort to shine a light on the disappointing ending to the trilogy.
Now fans are staging a protest that takes advantage of EA's Origin service, which can track how many people are playing the single-player campaign.
The group is asking players to turn on their single player game during a set period of time, tweet a message to EA and BioWare, and then turn it off at a set point in time and tweet EA and BioWare again. This will show EA and BioWare how many fans still care about the single-player campaign and its ending according to the event's organizers.
From the site itself:
- Turn ON the Mass Effect 3 single player campaign at some point during Saturday, April 28th (Pacific Time/GMT -7). It does not need to be on for the entire 24 hour period.
- Tweet Bioware/EA (#turnMEon) to let them know you are playing in order to show them the number of fans who support them. Post an after action report on the BSN.
- Turn OFF Mass Effect 3 and do not play either single or multiplayer for the entirety of Sunday, April 29th (Pacific Time/GMT -7). The game must be shut off for the entire 24 hour period. Do not log in to the BSN forum during this time. If you own an iPhone or iPad, turn off the datapad app using the orange Origin circle in the upper right hand corner.
- Tweet Bioware/EA again (#turnMEoff) to let them know you are demonstrating their potential loss of customers. This would be a good time to let them know if you are happy with clarification or want new endings.
This latest digital protest also has a Facebook page.
Basically fans are worried that the original announcement over the extended ending was too vague, and that as the controversy dies down so too will the priority placed into creating a satisfactory finale. "If EA is presented with clear evidence that the quality of the Ending DLC will mean the difference between regaining supportive fans and driving away their customers, we believe they will finance a better product," according to the event FAQ.
What's interesting to me still is simply the level of consumer participation in all of this. Mass Effect fans really, really care about this game, and want the best possible product when the extended DLC comes out. I think part of it is actually symbolic: a lot of disappointed people want to remain fans of BioWare, and see this as a possible bridge to that goal.
The bad blood between the developer and many gamers is an unfortunate side-effect of a series of events that began with EA's acquisition of the company. Many people want to let bygones be bygones and move on, but they maintain that the only way to do this is to have their concerned listened to and acted upon.
The extended ending is certainly one big step in the right direction.
One way or another, it's interesting - and I think healthy - to see this sort of consumer involvement in a product. It may be bitter gruel for the folks at BioWare and EA, but there's a sweetness to it if you look closely enough.
Few companies command such fan loyalty or passion, after all.
Mass Effect Co Op
Think about it - this whole controversy is unique. Did Bank of America customers react to debit card fees by mentioning over and over again how badly they wanted to remain Bank of America customers? Did they ever describe themselves as fans of the bank?
Of course not.
What BioWare has is something that any bank would kill for: a passionate following - maybe a deeply jaded passionate following, but groupies nonetheless. Game developers are like rock and roll bands in this regard - they can inspire a whole different kind of customer loyalty - and backlash - than any other type of company. It's a perpetual energy source if you know how to use it. Just look at the success of CD Projekt Red and how they built that success (a topic I'm hoping to cover in depth soon) for an example of how to tap into this fan momentum.
Right now, the potential for cultivating a long-term fan-base out of the wreckage is very real and very poignant.
Follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Read my Forbes blog here.
'>It's remarkable to me still just how passionate BioWare's fans really are.
The controversy surrounding Mass Effect 3 and the game's ending in particular has died down to some degree - the game was released nearly two months ago, after all - but the Retake Mass Effect and Hold The Line movements continue to pay close attention to any development in the Mass Effect 3 saga.
When EA and BioWare announced an extended-cut DLC for the Mass Effect 3 ending, fans were cautiously optimistic that the developers were listening to their concerns. That the expanded ending would be free DLC was certainly a token of good faith.
I wrote at the time that it wasn't necessarily a victory for fans, largely because we can't predict the future and won't know whether the expanded ending really does bring clarity and closure to the series until it's released. Various company murmurings about 'artistic integrity' rang a few alarm bells - but overall, the decision was a good sign for upset customers.
Many Mass Effect fans remain skeptical. In an effort to keep reminding BioWare just how much they care about the ending of the popular sci-fi RPG, the group has staged several publicity events - from sending BioWare cupcakes to raising money for charity, all in an effort to shine a light on the disappointing ending to the trilogy.
Now fans are staging a protest that takes advantage of EA's Origin service, which can track how many people are playing the single-player campaign.
The group is asking players to turn on their single player game during a set period of time, tweet a message to EA and BioWare, and then turn it off at a set point in time and tweet EA and BioWare again. This will show EA and BioWare how many fans still care about the single-player campaign and its ending according to the event's organizers.
From the site itself:
- Turn ON the Mass Effect 3 single player campaign at some point during Saturday, April 28th (Pacific Time/GMT -7). It does not need to be on for the entire 24 hour period.
- Tweet Bioware/EA (#turnMEon) to let them know you are playing in order to show them the number of fans who support them. Post an after action report on the BSN.
- Turn OFF Mass Effect 3 and do not play either single or multiplayer for the entirety of Sunday, April 29th (Pacific Time/GMT -7). The game must be shut off for the entire 24 hour period. Do not log in to the BSN forum during this time. If you own an iPhone or iPad, turn off the datapad app using the orange Origin circle in the upper right hand corner.
Mass Effect 3 Coop Campaign 2017
- Tweet Bioware/EA again (#turnMEoff) to let them know you are demonstrating their potential loss of customers. This would be a good time to let them know if you are happy with clarification or want new endings.
This latest digital protest also has a Facebook page.
Basically fans are worried that the original announcement over the extended ending was too vague, and that as the controversy dies down so too will the priority placed into creating a satisfactory finale. 'If EA is presented with clear evidence that the quality of the Ending DLC will mean the difference between regaining supportive fans and driving away their customers, we believe they will finance a better product,' according to the event FAQ.
What's interesting to me still is simply the level of consumer participation in all of this. Mass Effect fans really, really care about this game, and want the best possible product when the extended DLC comes out. I think part of it is actually symbolic: a lot of disappointed people want to remain fans of BioWare, and see this as a possible bridge to that goal.
The bad blood between the developer and many gamers is an unfortunate side-effect of a series of events that began with EA's acquisition of the company. Many people want to let bygones be bygones and move on, but they maintain that the only way to do this is to have their concerned listened to and acted upon.
The extended ending is certainly one big step in the right direction.
One way or another, it's interesting - and I think healthy - to see this sort of consumer involvement in a product. It may be bitter gruel for the folks at BioWare and EA, but there's a sweetness to it if you look closely enough.
Few companies command such fan loyalty or passion, after all.
Think about it - this whole controversy is unique. Did Bank of America customers react to debit card fees by mentioning over and over again how badly they wanted to remain Bank of America customers? Did they ever describe themselves as fans of the bank?
Of course not.
What BioWare has is something that any bank would kill for: a passionate following - maybe a deeply jaded passionate following, but groupies nonetheless. Game developers are like rock and roll bands in this regard - they can inspire a whole different kind of customer loyalty - and backlash - than any other type of company. It's a perpetual energy source if you know how to use it. Just look at the success of CD Projekt Red and how they built that success (a topic I'm hoping to cover in depth soon) for an example of how to tap into this fan momentum.
Right now, the potential for cultivating a long-term fan-base out of the wreckage is very real and very poignant.
Follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Read my Forbes blog here.