audemus-n7:
All New Screenshots
Editions on Origin:
Standard Edition -
Box Art
-Price $60
Deluxe Edition - Box Art
-Price $70
-Pathfinder Casual Outfit
-Scavenger Armour
-Pathfinder Elite Weapon Set (4)
-Pet Pyjak
-Digital Soundtrack
-Multiplayer Deluxe Launch Pack (1)
Super Deluxe Edition - Box Art
-Price: $100
-All Deluxe Edition Content
-Multiplayer Super Deluxe Booster Packs (1 per week for 20 weeks)
Collector’s Editions
Diecast Nomad ND1
-Price: $99.99
-Nomad ND1 Metal Diecast Model (1:18 scale)
-Limited Edition SteelBook Case
-Does not include a copy of the game (A bundle that includes the game is available)
R/C Nomad ND1
-Price: $199.99
-Nomad ND1 Remote Control Toy (1:18 scale. App Controlled)
-Limited Edition SteelBook Case
-Does not include a copy of the game (A bundle that includes the game is available)
Voice Actors Announcement
-Alec Ryder - Clancy Brown (Hades in God of War III)
-Scott Ryder - Tom Taylorson (Octodad in Octodad: Dadliest Catch)
-Sara Ryder - Fryda Wolff (Narrator in Civilization: Beyond Earth)
Official N7 Day 2016 Cinematic Reveal Trailer
-The Hyperion’s arrival to Andromeda does not go smoothly. Contact with the Nexus is lost.
-Despite the claims that each Ark houses one species, it seems that we
might be sharing the Hyperion Ark with the Asari (Possibly other species
too).
-Ryder becomes the new Pathfinder (Their father was before them, so it doesn’t bode well for poor Alec).
-Like before, your squad is made up of you and 2 companions.
-A hostile species named the Kett is there in Andromeda.
-We mess with some ancient Remnant technology. Bad shit goes down.
-The Kett seem to be interested in this Remnant technology, possibly leading to a race to uncover its secrets first.
-The thing from the N7 Day 2014 image has tentacle claws now.
-The first gameplay reveal will be at The Game Awards 2016 on December 1st.
Andromeda Initiative - Orientation Briefing
-Completing all 6 training programs at the Training Hub unlocks an in-game helmet. Currently only one can be completed.
-The Andromeda Initiative is a civilian project, privately funded and operates independently from the Alliance.
-Their goal is to settle permanently in Andromeda and create a reliable route between it and the Milky Way.
-The scene from the ‘Join the Andromeda Initiative’ trailer is holographic. They’re actually standing in one of the cryo bays.
-The Andromeda Initiative was founded in 2176 and launches in 2185, a year before the Reapers invade.
-A woman called Jien Garson is the founder of the Initiative.
-She mentions the undertaking as a major milestone for humanity and
“every other species in the milky way galaxy” suggesting that all of
them are coming along for the ride in some capacity.
-The Initiative has scanned the Heleus Cluster to find planets to colonise when they arrive.
-Their goal is to find and settle on these potential ‘Golden Worlds’ in the Heleus cluster.
-Each Ark is led by a pathfinder for their species.
-Alec Ryder (your father) is the pathfinder for humanity. He is an N7
operative who was a member of Jon Grissom’s team that first travelled
though the Charon Mass Relay.
-There are multiple arks, including the Hyperion Ark and Nexus Ark. The
Hyperion is a smaller Ark while the Nexus is significantly larger,
resembling 2 Citadel arms.
-On N7 Day, the in-universe date of the program is currently the 25th
July 2184. Over the coming months leading up to launch, more info will
be revealed and access to more training programs will be made available.
GameInformer Coverage
-December issue covers for BroRyder and SisRyder here. (Note that Ryder is wearing N7 armour here, not AI armour).
-More information is going to added over the coming days and weeks, so keep checking the link for more news.
-It’s important to BioWare that Andromeda honours the original trilogy.
-It’ll feel like ME1 again in many ways, because so much of it is new and based around exploration.
-There’s more humour, the crew is younger and less experienced.
-Andromeda will be adventurous and special. It’s a big game.
-Loyalty missions are returning. One for each companion.
-The Loyalty missions are much more optional than in ME2 and don’t
affect the ending this time. They can be completed whenever you want,
even after the main story.
-Their cover story in the issue is already out with a ton of more info, most of which is listed below in the NeoGaf post.
NeoGaf Post (Thanks, shinobi602!)
Story…
-There are 4 Arks built. One for each major species. (I’d assume the council races).
-The Andromeda Initiative do not leave because of the impending Reaper invasion.
-The Heleus Cluster is chosen for having a significant number of ‘Golden Worlds’.
-Turians are confirmed for Andromeda.
-None of them have any idea what happens in the Milky Way after they leave.
-You become the new pathfinder early in the game, even though you are untested and unproven. You have to grow into this role.
-Mass Effect isn’t necessarily Ryder’s story from now on. Andromeda is
their story but they may move onto other stories in the future.
-There will be more customization options than ever before.
-You can customize Alec Ryder and your sibling, but not as extensively as the one you play as.
-The ‘Nexus’ is a forward command center staffed by multiple species. It arrives first to pave the way.
-The Hyperion doesn’t arrive at the correct location, causing it to crash and lose contact with the other Arks.
Combat…
-The global cooldown has been replaced with individual cooldown timers.
-Powers are now hotkeyed for quick use. No more relying on the power wheel and pausing the game.
-The cover system is dynamic (Like TLOU).
-The game is still a cover based shooter like before, but you’ll be moving around the battlefield more.
-The jetback allows you to move with more variety (Quick dash, jump, hover etc).
-You can punch people out of cover using your jetpack, or look around the battlefield.
-There’s less emphasis on very obviously combat oriented environments where you can tell a fight is about to happen.
-GameInformer have played the game for a bit and say the combat has a ‘clearer identity’ than before.
-You can still queue up attacks and order your squad around.
-All the main elements of ME3 combat are there, but it’s been tweaked to
encourage more experimentation and a wider range of ability use.
-There are no classes anymore. You can mix and match skills from
Soldier/Tech/Biotic backgrounds. This is so you can experiment with your
combat approach without being forced down a path from the start.
-You can still specialise in a certain background after putting enough points into it that unlock bonuses for that playstyle.
-The old class names and styles will ‘resurface’ in these specialisations. (Vanguard, Infiltrator etc).
-If you invest points into multiple categories you unlock the ‘Explorer’ profile.
-The reason your character is able to mix and match these skills is driven by the narrative.
-You can customise all aspects of your armour in more extensive ways than before (Helmet, shoulders, arms, legs etc).
-Many familiar weapons return, such as the Carnifex and Avenger, as well as melee weapons like swords/hammers.
Enemy/Environments/Crafting…
-The Kett are the primary antagonistic force.
-This is the first time you’re able to witness humanity encountering a truly new species.
-The Kett aren’t simply generic bad guys. BioWare want you to empathise with them.
-The Nexus is a hub word, the equivalent of the Citadel.
-Explorable planets are not ‘linear slices’. You can explore the surface and underground as well.
-The structure of the game is like before. Critical missions, optional planets, hub areas, loyalty missions.
-The new exploration vehicle, the Nomad is fast, has boosts and is very maneuverable.
-Need for Speed developers helped them design the Nomad.
-The Nomad is just an exploration vehicle, there are no weapons.
-You can customise the Nomad’s speed and appearance.
-BioWare don’t want to have mineral nodes, debris and identical outposts scattered across planets like in ME1.
-There are points of interest like combat encounters, puzzles and narrative beats like in Dragon Age.
-One planet, called ‘Elaaden’, is flagged as a possible habitat zone,
however the surface is hazardous (no water, extremely hot); you can be
pointed in this direction in multiple ways, for example, a Krogan can
request the Pathfinder to find a missing colony ship or you can just
choose to land on the planet yourself and see what you find.
-When exploring planets, one priority is to scout for drop zones that
drop ‘forward stations’ that help establish a foothold on that planet.
-These stations let you fast travel and customise your loadout, amongst other things.
-Planets can have hazards like acid pools and severe weather that can potentially kill you.
-Most planets have at least one major enemy base.
-Some areas and enemies are too tough for you to handle at first. You’ll have to come back later to deal with them.
-You can scan things in your environment to send for analysis, unlocking new technologies.
-These technologies allow you to obtain blueprints to craft gear.
-You can craft a lot of different stuff, including new Andromedan tech.
-Some plot missions lead you across multiple planets.
Squadmates…
-Peebee (Nickname). She went off on her own after arriving on the Nexus
and described as having a “bubbly personality”. She’s smart and not
concerned with social norms and “niceties”.
-Liam (Dad-Pants from Tech Video). He arrived with the Pathfinder,
former police officer and described as having a “light attitude”,
bringing levity to situations.
-Drack is a Krogan who was mentioned in the now legitimate survey leak.
-Cora is a human female who was also mentioned in the leak.
The Tempest…
-The design harkens back to the Normandy.
-There are no loading screens as you move about the ship.
-The Galaxy map is more immersive. You interact with the interface
instead of piloting a mini-tempest on the map. You can see the ship make
the jump towards that planet in the bridge window.
-The whole exploration sequence is seamless. There are no visible
loading screens as you fly to a planet, go to the cargo hold, get in the
Nomad and drive off the ship.
Relationships and Characters…
-There are more relationships in this game than any BioWare game to date.
-The squadmate with the least lines of dialogue in Andromeda has more lines than Liara did in ME3.
-Due to complications in the awakening process, your sibling won’t join
you in combat but you can interact with them and build a relationship.
-Most of the interactions with your sibling are optional, but allow you to discover more about the Ryder family.
-The story is not the traditional ‘Hero’s Journey’ trope, the details in the story make this clear.
-The loyalty missions are not critical to the ending of the game. They
exist to explore your squadmate’s backgrounds and can be completed after
the main story if you wish.
-Relationships will not simply culminate in a sex scene. Some will jump
into bed with you immediately, others will want more long term
relationships and others aren’t interested at all.
-BioWare wanted to capture more “Shooting bottles with Garrus” moments, of which there are plenty.
Multiplayer…
-It’s a more evolved and refined form of the MP in ME3.
-There’s a card based economy where you earn XP and credits.
-There will be microtransactions, but it’s not play to win. You can unlock things without paying.
-You set the map and enemy type but can also activate modifiers that
make things harder for more reward or easier for less reward.
-There are plans to release specific missions with unique modifiers that can’t be changed by players.
-These custom missions give you points to buy specific items instead of being at the mercy of RNG for loot.
-These items are only available for a limited time, as they cycle through (Like Xur in Destiny).
-In MP you play as the “Apex Force”, an elite strike team from the Nexus.
-Different enemies require different tactics (Shields, Biotics etc).
-Playing MP will tie into the single player, giving you advantages, but will not affect the ending in any way.
-With several types of characters, you earn regular XP and Prestige XP.
The prestige XP goes into every character of that ‘type’, for example
‘tanky’ characters. Earning enough prestige can grant you added health
for all tank characters, etc.
Choices…
-The Paragon/Renegade system is gone.
-There is more nuance and subtlety in your decisions, giving you more
freedom to express yourself without relying on building up either
Paragon/Renegade points to unlock more conversation options.
-You can agree/disagree with someone without being punished or cornered into a morality choice.
-Dialogue options have tones (Heart, Head, Professional, Casual).
-Interrupts return in a new way. Instead of a Paragon/Renegade icon, the
game will tell you an action you can do (Such as ‘Point your Gun’ or
‘Punch Him’).
-Your decisions aren’t necessarily right or wrong, there will be pros and cons to both .
The Future…
-Mass Effect: Andromeda leaves the door open for more games without necessarily being the start of a new trilogy.
-New Game+ allows you to switch to the other sibling if you choose.
-The endings will play out ‘differently to the trilogy’.
Additional Information (Various Sources, mostly Twitter)
-Mass Effect 2 and 3 are now backwards compatible on Xbox One.
-A multiplayer tech test is coming soon for Xbox One and PS4. You can sign up here.
-Multiplayer will have free updates like in ME3.
-The codex will be expansive, including information from the Milky Way, the Initiative and Andromeda (@macwalterslives).
-A lot of stuff is going to be shown at the gameplay reveal, not another
Tech video. “We’re pulling out all the stops for the big night”
(@macwalterslives).
-@InsertCoins is working with BioWare and EA on a Mass Effect range –
great for UK fans who struggle with the shipping costs from the bioware
store.
-If you don’t want to buy the Collectors Edition but still want the Nomad model, you can buy a 1:64 scale version for $10 here.
-As expected, same sex romances are avaliable for both Ryders (@macwalterslives).
-The Nexus is seperate from the other arks. “It’s its own thing” (@macwalterslives).
-The helmet isn’t the only goodie you can get by signing up for the Andromeda Initiative (@gamblemike).
-There’s a few other reasons to sign up as well (@yanickrroy).
-Jien Garson is not Ryder’s mother (@macwalterslives).
-“Aliens kisses for boys and girls as well” (@macwalterslives).
-The bad guy at the end of the trailer is not necessarily a ‘He’ or
'She’. Insert 'did you just assume my gender?’ jokes here.
(@macwalterslives).
-There’s a much better balance of RPG and shooter in the gameplay than before (@macwalterslives).
-The Ryder story is being developed both in the game and in the expanded universe (@macwalterslives).
-More details about the Arks and the Nexus coming in a few weeks (@macwalterslives).
-The Reapers are strictly a Milky Way issue. Andromeda has its own secrets (@macwalterslives).
-There will be non-wilky way aliens on the team (@gamblemike).
-They’ve been alternating between BroRyder and SisRyder in the trailers. The next one will feature SisRyder (@gamblemike).
-This is easily the biggest Mass Effect game ever (@gamblemike).