Mass Effect Andromeda

[Positive Touch]

pc only fml

[Trent Dole]

pcmr y'all ayy lmao
It'll be 20 everywhere by like, holiday season.

[Let's Cyber]

http://kotaku.com/the-story-behind-mass-effect-andromedas-troubled-five-1795886428
 

TL;DR: A lot of early production was spent working on procedural planet generation. Game was scaled down from hundreds of planets, to 30 planets and eventually just 7. All the procedural stuff was scrapped. Original director left early on. Frostbite was a nightmare to work with. Engine was good for combat and vehicle stuff but tough for everything else. Bulk of the game was developed in the 18 months before release.
 

[Rufus]

5 years well spent. Shame.

[Positive Touch]

still blows my mind how many people think randomized landscapes are fun for exploration. by design the fucking maps are going to be repetitive and unmemorable; it really only works in games where the focus is on something else, like the action. the thrill of exploring comes from finding something unique, which of course has to be crafted by hand. just a damn shame that they wasted so much time on something that seems so obvious.

also they said that the bulk of the story wasn't written until near the end which, like, jesus christ guys you had five fucking years.

[Great Rumbler]

The 7 planets that ended up in Andromeda were, for the most part, decently designed with good artistic direction. Replacing those with 30 less interesting, more same-ish planets would have been a horrible decision.

[Let's Cyber]

I think procedural generation does have a place especially as a tool to help developers behind the scenes.

That said, the story and characters absolutely should have been the foundation when creating a RPG. I appreciate that they wanted to focus on exploration but obviously the concept they were working on was too broad and undefined. Considering they didn't really have strong, consistent leadership with a clear vision at the top (original director dropping out) and they struggled with the engine, it really isn't surprising the whole thing fell apart.

I'm kind of impressed that the game was mostly developed in less than 24 months tbh. Sounds like the combat and Nomad were the only things kept from early production.

The 7 planets that ended up in Andromeda were, for the most part, decently designed with good artistic direction. Replacing those with 30 less interesting, more same-ish planets would have been a horrible decision.

Yeah I think the planets we got were pretty good.

[Positive Touch]

I think procedural generation does have a place especially as a tool to help developers behind the scenes.

it definitely does, but the whole "you can go ANYWHERE" thing doesn't work that good unless the landscape is punctuated with unique content. running around endless hills and caves and shit is boring unless its in a loot game or something.

[Joe Molotov]

Good article with an unsurprising conclusion: that this game was rushed as hell.