The next Mass Effect game will run on Frostbite, and is being made by a new BioWare team led by series veterans. BioWare Montreal studio director Yanick Roy made the announcements today in a post on the BioWare blog, where he outlined his team’s pedigree with the series and gave a few hints about what players can expect to see in the post-Shepard era.

Roy said the game is built on Frostbite, and will also be “enhanced by many of the systems that the Dragon Age 3: Inquisition team has already spent a lot of time building.” DA 3 is similarly based on Frostbite, as are pretty much all of Electronic Arts’ upcoming AAA games from internal labels.

The Montreal team working on the game will take over main production from BioWare’s Edmonton studios, though series leader Casey Hudson remains executive producer. The transition has been in effect since Mass Effect 2, with Montreal responsible for the game’s N7 missions and roughly half of its cinematics. It produced the multiplayer portion of Mass Effect 3 and was also behind its upcoming Omega campaign DLC.

Roy revealed the new engine and story will bring some changes, but he hopes to retain what made the series so successful in the first place.

“[W]hile it will be very respectful of the heritage built over the course of the first three games, with the original trilogy now concluded and the switch over to a new engine, we are exploring new directions, both on the gameplay and story fronts. You can still expect the pillars the franchise is known for to be fully intact though, including diverse alien races, a huge galaxy to explore, and of course rich, cinematic storytelling.”

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“There’s great value in thinking about the story of a game as a collaboration between the player and the developers,” points out BioShock 2 writer Steve Gaynor. However, he continues, the mindset driving the ME3 protest is “not unique to games; it is unique to a certain type of entertainment media that attracts fans who feel entitled to dictate exactly how the product should bend to their desires, instead of standing as a unique experience to be enjoyed, or not, on its own merits.”

“It bothers the hell out of me,” agrees longtime games journalist and Book of Eli writer Gary Whitta: “I’ve always felt that games like Mass Effect are all about living with the consequences of your choices, no matter what they may be, and I think BioWare should do the same thing here and stick with their original choice, trust their original creative instinct.”

LucasArts veteran Chuck Jordan frames the debate in terms of one of gaming’s most persistent discussions: “Considering how much time people have spent trying to advance the idea that video games are works of art, it’s disappointing to see so many people defending the idea that games are product… Art is supposed to be an expression of creativity. If you’re invalidating your team’s ‘vision’ to appeal to the demands of players, then you’ve crossed the line.”

However, not all panelists bristle at the idea of Bioware re-doing the game’s script. “I think developers are well within their right to make positive changes to games post-release, and in the vast majority of cases this is seen by players as a good thing,” points out Supergiant’s Greg Kasavin. “This type of thing does happen sometimes… Fallout 3 got patched so that you could continue playing post-release. Many movies, including classics like Blade Runner, got director’s cuts with major narrative changes said to reflect the true authorial intent. Whether it’s appropriate is a judgment call.”

“It’s their story, they can do what they want,” argues Carnegie Mellon Professor of Entertainment Technology Jesse Schell: “This could be an awesome publicity stunt, designed to get people to talk about and pay more attention to the game.” A worthwhile consideration, considering we’re talking about a game that already went into space just to win a chunk of your coveted mindshare…

The full unedited discussion (opens in new tab) make great food-for-thought for anyone interested in the issues raised by this ongoing saga. Check it out, then come back and tell us if it’s changed your own thinking any.

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Here’s our newest multiplayer strategy clip to help you on your way this weekend with some enemy-specific tips. If Operation Goliath results in a combined total of more than 1 million Brute kills, all participating players will receive a Victory Pack, whose contents haven’t yet been disclosed. Weapons won in Operation Goliath will become unlocked 5pm Tuesday, and must be claimed within a week; EA wants players to ensure you’ve got “Upload Gameplay Feedback” set to “On” within the “Online Options” menu, or your hard work will win you naught but the thrill of working together to achieve a common goal. Which is a pretty crap reward for something you paid good money for.

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Above: Click for a full-size version. You don’t want to be squinting when teammates are counting on your sniping skills

Bioware’s also shared some neat telemetry data from Mass Effect 3’s time online so far. 1,800 years’ playtime? Usually we’d say something here like “if you guys had put that energy into trying to cure cancer, we’d all live on the moon by now,” but with multiplayer success on the Gold difficulty level still hovering somewhere below the 1% mark, this is obviously something that’s going to demand concentration…

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Like what you see? Just wait. Today, EA tweeted word that an extended cut will be ready to post in just two days. We’re crossing our fingers for more of the little kid running through the sunflowers, because that was just dang adorable.

The Take Back Earth trailer was teased last week, around the same time BioWare dropped a Mass Effect 3 demo on Xbox Live and PSN. Obviously fans are being whipped into a frenzy for the triology capper, which is said to end the current Mass Effect storyline. We say “current”, because you know EA will be publishing Mass Effect games well into the next century.

Mass Effect 3 finally lands for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC on March 6 in North America, and March 9 in the UK. You can also catch one early in select cities, as physical copies fall from space during an EA promo sometime next week.

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Savvy viewers will note the clip’s resemblance to this classic political commercial, which famously did its job despite only ever airing once; it’s fair to say the Mass Effect 3 “Take Earth Back” spot will run somewhat more times than that, most likely resulting in… Mass Effect being elected President? Let’s not even get to speculating, then, what kind of impact will result from our livestream of the new demo – or your experience of same, what with it being available to play right now. Remember to set some time aside for zombies and the new trailer come Sunday…

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Above: The Force is strong in this one

It shows up during the “Legacy” system section, which actually didn’t include any new information per se, but it did include what looked to us like a Miraluka (the blind, Republic-only race) Sith Warrior (a class that only the Sith Empire can play). Sure, it could, technically, have been a Jedi using a red lightsaber and wearing dark armor, but we didn’t think BioWare would throw something like that in the video to confuse people.

Turns out we were right. After checking with BioWare’s Daniel Erickson, we received confirmation that the guy in question was “definitely a Miraluka Sith.” While that’s not confirmation that it’s tied into the Legacy system (and Erickson wasn’t able to go into additional details), the fact that it showed up during that section of the video essentially confirms it anyway.

This is huge news for the game, and the first solid, non-cosmetic information we’ve gotten on the Legacy system. Being able to unlock different faction’s races to play on either side was rumored in the past, but this is the first we’ve actually seen it in action. The ability to play as a Miraluka Sith, a Chiss Smuggler, or a Mirialan Bounty Hunter definitely adds some fun replayability to the game, and we’re really excited to find out more.

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Flashpoints and Operations

In terms of content, the largest addition in Rise of the Rakghouls is the new level 50 Flashpoint and Operation. The Flashpoint is called “Kaon Under Siege,” and it’s focused on level 50 players exclusively (with a normal and hard mode available). Kaon is the first of a two-part story arc, with Republic and Imperial players racing to eliminate a rakghoul outbreak while attempting to forge an allegiance with the Tion Hegemony for their side.

Amatangelo told us that Kaon Under Siege would have an emphasis on story, fitting more in line with the instanced missions like Black Talon than Hammer Station, and that, moving forward, BioWare would be focusing more on the story-based Flashpoints based on the community’s response.

The Operation, which is made for either eight or 16 players, is called Karagga’s Palace, and is a continuation of one of the Operations that shipped with the game. Players will be going head-to-head with the Hutt Cartel, eventually confronting Karagga the Hutt himself and answering, once and for all, what fighting a Hutt is like (the answer, in case your wondering, involves a massive robot). “One of my favorite bits is the reaction shot in the cinematic,” Amatangelo said, “where Karagga is coming onto the scene. It does a reverse shot of the player and the jaw sort of drops as a shadow looms over you as you’re looking up. It’s pretty funny.”

Player-versus-player combat

Amatangelo said that the team was pleasantly surprised by how popular the game’s PvP was, with over half of the population actively participating in player-versus-player combat. This revelation has led to BioWare speeding up some of the plans it had for PvP. “It was so exciting for me, I just had a grin from ear-to-ear,” he said. “It helped me convince my bosses to get more traction going in those directions.”

The 1.1 update lays the groundwork for some of the future additions to the PvP, including a separate Warzone bracket for level 50 players and some changes to Ilum, the end-game PvP planet. There are also some other changes in the January 17 update to Hoth and Voss, with the shuttle room in Dorn Base Command Center on Hoth being changed to a non-contested territory and Ka on Voss being made into a PvP Sanctuary.

Past Rise of the Rakghouls

After going through all of the enhancements in Rise of the Rakghouls we talked a little about future updates, including the content patch following 1.1. Currently scheduled for a March release date, 1.2 (as we’re guessing it will be called) will add new Flashpoints, Operations, WarZones, and new game systems. It also may see the beginnings of the Legacy system updates, something that may help the end-game dramatically. While Amatangelo couldn’t actually confirm a date for Legacy upgrades he did say that BioWare would be adding them in the “near future.” Other wants, like UI customization, are also in the pipeline, as are some changes for Warzones that make us excited (awarding medals for scoring points in Huttball? Yes please!).

Bug fixes, changes, and patch notes

But, as we said in our review, there’s work to be done in The Old Republic besides throwing new content on top of the pile. There are balance issues, content problems, and bugs that need to be fixed. To see how large of a chunk patch 1.1 took out of the game’s problems click over to the next page for the full patch notes, taken right from the Public Test Server. They might change by the time they go live, but it should at least give you a good idea of what updates are coming your way…

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“Since we’re an online game we are going to continue building on the game for years to come,” wrote game director James Ohlen. “Not only are we launching one of the largest and most impressive games ever created, but we’re also excited about the prospect of continuing to work on the game so that you, the fans, will always have something heroic and amazing to enjoy.”

Above: Two evil red laser-katana are better than one

Future additions include new Operations, Flashpoints, space combat missions, and solo content; as well as new Warzones and challenges for PvP play. For guildees, BioWare is planning to roll out Guild Capital Ships, Guild Banks, and continuous Guild enhancements, so as to support what the studio believes to be one of the most crucial elements to The Old Republic’s popularity and longevity.

On the topic of longevity, BioWare will also be expanding its Legacy System. That is, beyond the ability to add a last name to a character, future patches will let players unlock unique powers, items and other perks based on their progress.

Seeing as Star Wars: The Old Republic isn’t even out yet (unless you were invited to the early access), it could be a while before intergalactic adventurers see any of these plans come to fruition. Still, it’s nice to know they’re coming, and it was a smart move on EA and BioWare’s part to advertise future features this close to the game’s release. For more details on what’s in store for Star Wars: The Old Republic, check out the full post.

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Well, we know that things will blow up, right?

Ah, we can’t even pretend to be upset – Generals was one of the best RTS in years, and we’re really looking forward to seeing what BioWare can do with the game. Maybe the story might actually be worth following this time! What do you think? Ready to wait until 2013 for a new C&C?

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Voidstar is an objective based PvP map in which teams of eight will take turns attacking and defending the data core on an abandoned ship thought to contain the schematics to a new and powerful weapon. In the event both sides are successful in breaching the core during their respective turns, the winning side will be determined by which team was better at performing its objectives.

This is the third ‘Warzone’ scheduled to launch with Star Wars: Old Republic. The others include Huttball, a PvP outing wherein two teams face-off in a deadly game of space-rugby on the Smuggler’s Moon of Nar Shaddaa; and Alderaan, an instance in which Empire and Republic players compete for control over laser cannons on the surface of the familiar Star Wars locale. More details on all three PvP events are now available on BioWare’s site.

Star Wars: The Old Republic brings the intergalactic war to PCs on December 20^th, 2011.

Oct 31, 2011

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