Mass Effect 2 Thread

[Raban]

I would prefer short missions - like when you find an anomaly - to score minerals. But even searching for the anomalies is tedious, which is why I referenced something like the bounty board in Borderlands. That way we can pick what side missions want to do (some might be at an Element Zero factory, another at a Platinum facility, etc.) and it's not so dull.

If that were the case, I'm sure you're insinuating we go to these factories and shoot stuff. I don't think ME2 needs anymore shooting, so I'd rather they stay finely balanced on the aRPG tightrope instead of going straight into grind territory.

[The Fake Shemp]

You can never have enough shooting.

[Raban]

You can never have enough shooting.

I strongly disagree.

[cool breeze]

I'd like for the load times to be shorter.

Are you playing it on the PC?

When I first played the load times were pretty bad, but the fix is going into task manager, right clicking ME2.exe or w/e it's called, going to set affinity, turning off all but one CPU core (I have a dual core, so turned off the second core) then turning them on again.  Longest load times are 10 to 15 seconds.  Moving between floors on the Normandy takes between 1 and 4 seconds.

You can never have enough shooting.

Indeed.

ME2 combat is so good.  Playing it more and more, I realize that I like it more than a lot of shooters because of how well the powers work.  It even eliminates the hiding enemy problem in a lot of cover based shooters since I can curve powers.

[Great Rumbler]

I'd like for the load times to be shorter.

Are you playing it on the PC?

When I first played the load times were pretty bad, but the fix is going into task manager, right clicking ME2.exe or w/e it's called, going to set affinity, turning off all but one CPU core (I have a dual core, so turned off the second core) then turning them on again.  Longest load times are 10 to 15 seconds.  Moving between floors on the Normandy takes between 1 and 4 seconds.

You are a gentleman and a scholar, sir.

[GilloD]

I'd like for the load times to be shorter.

Are you playing it on the PC?

When I first played the load times were pretty bad, but the fix is going into task manager, right clicking ME2.exe or w/e it's called, going to set affinity, turning off all but one CPU core (I have a dual core, so turned off the second core) then turning them on again.  Longest load times are 10 to 15 seconds.  Moving between floors on the Normandy takes between 1 and 4 seconds.

You can never have enough shooting.

Indeed.

ME2 combat is so good.  Playing it more and more, I realize that I like it more than a lot of shooters because of how well the powers work.  It even eliminates the hiding enemy problem in a lot of cover based shooters since I can curve powers.

That core swapping thing really works. My load times are like 5 seconds.

[demi]

Anyone know what characters give me the upgrades to ship fuel and probe capacity?

Pretty sure it's Tali.

Thane gives the probes. Talki gives fuel.

OK, don't have them yet. Don't even know who Talki is lol.

Do you have to upgrade the mess hall and the couplings from the engineering guys to save your team later?

Tali doesnt give you Fuel, Samara does. No you dont have to do those, but you get EXP for doing them. You only need the upgrades from Miranda, Garrus, and Tali.

[Third]

I'd like for the load times to be shorter.

Are you playing it on the PC?

When I first played the load times were pretty bad, but the fix is going into task manager, right clicking ME2.exe or w/e it's called, going to set affinity, turning off all but one CPU core (I have a dual core, so turned off the second core) then turning them on again.  Longest load times are 10 to 15 seconds.  Moving between floors on the Normandy takes between 1 and 4 seconds.

Holy shit. I've played the game over 40 hours with ridicuous loading times. Thought it was normal.

Just did the fix, and the loading times are drastically shorter. It would take me over 20 seconds to get to another floor in the Normandy. Now it takes 2-3 seconds.
Going to a planet would take me 30-40 seconds. Now less than 15.
FUCK, SHOULD'VE DONE THIS SOONER

[GilloD]

[cool breeze]

I'd like for the load times to be shorter.

Are you playing it on the PC?

When I first played the load times were pretty bad, but the fix is going into task manager, right clicking ME2.exe or w/e it's called, going to set affinity, turning off all but one CPU core (I have a dual core, so turned off the second core) then turning them on again.  Longest load times are 10 to 15 seconds.  Moving between floors on the Normandy takes between 1 and 4 seconds.

Holy shit. I've played the game over 40 hours with ridicuous loading times. Thought it was normal.

Just did the fix, and the loading times are drastically shorter. It would take me over 20 seconds to get to another floor in the Normandy. Now it takes 2-3 seconds.
Going to a planet would take me 30-40 seconds. Now less than 15.
FUCK, SHOULD'VE DONE THIS SOONER

I felt bad learning about it after five hours of playing 

[GilloD]

I feel like there's a ton of stuff built into ME2 that'll really make ME3 unique. ME1 had a few key decisions: Wrex/Kaden/Ashley, Council or not to Council, Udina/Ass-to-Ass Guy. But ME 2 has tons

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Samara or Morinth, how Thane's son does, Tali's exile etc. etc.

[close]

Would pay big bucks for a 3rd person action/adventure about Thane Krios. Best Bioware Character ever.

Just finished my last loyalty mission. Almost done   Just get the IFFreciever and then whatever comes after.

I really wanna replay as a royal asshole who never upgrades the ship and see how things go.

[demi]

You guys like Thane? He's really boring... Grunt is bro

[GilloD]

You guys like Thane? He's really boring... Grunt is bro

I like Thane's writing. He's the most realized of any of the characters and those memory flash back things are always really touching/profound. Better than Heavy Rain, anyway.

[AdmiralViscen]

If you do choose to save the council at the end of ME1, does it drastically alter ME2? Or do they find some excuse to get them out of the picture anyway?

[The Fake Shemp]

Since you spend the entirety of the game working in non-Council space with a terrorist organization, it doesn't really matter.

[demi]

If you do choose to save the council at the end of ME1, does it drastically alter ME2? Or do they find some excuse to get them out of the picture anyway?

Most of the decisions dont affect your game besides dialogue and scenes. If you kill the council then aliens on the Citadel start to hate humans

[The Fake Shemp]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

His brother.

[close]

[The Fake Shemp]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

The brother likes you because you killed Wrex, thus giving him all the power.

[close]

[Raban]

You guys like Thane? He's really boring... Grunt is bro

I don't know if you read the backstory for the Drell, but that alone made me very interested in his character.

[demi]

http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/483/1265137722227.gif

Hilarious GIF of Jacob, maybe this guy isnt so bad

[The Fake Shemp]

I just noticed this game doesnt have as much music as ME1 nor is it that good.

It might actually have more music than the original, and the latter part is debatable. You'll find allies in Patel and Himuro, but I prefer the new soundtrack more - it manages to balance the synth music from the original and present a far more orchestrated score.

[The Fake Shemp]

I dug the original soundtrack, I just dig this one more. The end credits song to the original was the best, though.

[youtube=560,345]UJuDk0wfrOU[/youtube]

[youtube=560,345]WYjpfdF3pdI[/youtube]

From the end of the game:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

[youtube=560,345]PobHe526wbM[/youtube]

[close]

[The Fake Shemp]

The ambient sound effects are good though, like on the

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Collectors ship where I'm now (how much more do I have left btw?)

[close]

its just that the soundtrack of ME1 was so nice and synthy, very 80's.

Also

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Collectors are Protheans :'(

[close]

You're about three-quarters the way through, I think. Maybe more.

[Great Rumbler]

[youtube=560,345]eiL3YSlX4zs[/youtube]

[youtube=560,345]k2qCmmYifg8[/youtube]

[youtube=560,345]dUXHBImQbw4[/youtube]

[youtube=560,345]emeSBD8DvCc[/youtube]

[youtube=560,345]gOqEb-VpO7s[/youtube]

[The Fake Shemp]

Legion's track is the best.

[youtube=560,345]yZJZKk6dj8k[/youtube]

... Although, I really like Jack. I love that entire mission. Breaking out of a space prison is awesome.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

I HATED Jack

I didn't even talk to her on the ship until her personal mission opened up. And I didn't talk to her again once it finished and I had her loyalty.

I HATE JACK SO MUCH. Irrational rage arrrrrrgh

[Herr Mafflard]

Jack's got pretty cool powers, I use her most of the time along with Mordin or Garrus. I'm still missing Tali, though; so this may change.

[Herr Mafflard]

yeah, classes don't matter as much as in DA, for sure. still more satisfying to pull an enemy up with biotics and then blast him with push than just to shoot them. I like how there's different ways to combine powers like that.

[The Fake Shemp]

I meant the soundtrack, guys.

I don't really like Jack as a character, but I like the mission where you recruit her - mainly because the setting is awesome and you don't have to play with her.

[The Fake Shemp]

The warden was definitely the easiest boss.

[Fragamemnon]

Jack is terrible and her character sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the team. It's like Bioware just wanted to show that yes, they can indeed make a character more unlikeable than Morrigan.

[The Fake Shemp]

But she curses and has tattoos!

[The Fake Shemp]

I did Jack's loyalty quest as soon as it came up, not because I particularly wanted to, but because I felt so embarrassed playing the game with her default outfit.

[Herr Mafflard]

If any of you were treated like that as a child, I doubt you will come out much better!

[Fragamemnon]

If any of you were treated like that as a child, I doubt you will come out much better!

The point is not her character's behavior, it's more of why that kind of character got into the game in the first place. Even "renegade" Shepard is still basically a hero, after all.

[Stoney Mason]

Meh.

I've never been of the belief that you need to actively like or love every character in your party in an RPG. Especially when your party has 10 available people in it, in this specific case.

I didn't "like" most of my party in Dragon Age including Sten, Shale, and Morrigan (lol I typed Morinth from Mass Effect) is highly dislikable as a character also. 

As long as there is a nice mix of personalites I never complain about the couple of "unlikable" ones. Not to mention what some people find unlikable is subjective. It's pretty simple imo. Don't use her if you find her to be annoying outside of the mandatory loyalty mission you have to do with her.

The only thing I didn't really like about Jack is I found her motivation to be weak. I didn't think she was the type who would have done this mission unless there was some strong story articulated reason for doing so and I don't think they necessarily delivered on that. But honestly that is true of a couple of character in Mass Effect. (And Dragon Age for that matter)

[Howard Alan Treesong]

same, as soon as I did Jack's quest I was like "yes! clothes! thank Christ!"

[Fragamemnon]

I'd buy it more in a game like Dragon Age where the morality of the game was totally based on how you interacted with everyone else, and that the game had a wider variety of moral outcomes than ME2 does. Mass Effect and Shepard is a lot more narrowbanded in the kind of character you play-you're an action hero who may or may not be a bit of a loose cannon.

She's just out of place. I do need to finish her loyalty quest though, maybe there's some sort of chitzy Bioware redemption thing going on.

[Stoney Mason]

She's just out of place. I do need to finish her loyalty quest though, maybe there's some sort of chitzy Bioware redemption thing going on.

The redemption bit is childhood trauma which will pass muster with some people and won't with others. Which is fine. Everybody is different.

I still didn't think she was the type of character who would have necessarily went along with the suicide mission without a stronger carrot but if we start pulling at threads of the story of any RPG too hard, they all come apart.

Jack was essentially Sten to me without a vague qunari code to justify why such a disagreeable asshole (in both cases) would be rolling around with my party.

Like I said for me the difference is simply that your party is so large in Mass Effect and has duplicate character classes that it's no big deal imo to have that type of character in the game. If a section of the game audience likes that character or attitude for whatever reason they get to use her. Everybody else only has to ever do two missions with her. (Are you even forced to recruit her? I know some characters you don't have to have I believe) I like a nice diversity party and character to the game although of course the characterization of any character can be improved. 

[WrikaWrek]

I'm really trying to stay out of spoilers in this thread, just wanna ask a question. The save file i have from Mass Effect is on the 360, but i want to get Mass Effect 2 for the PC, how does it work? Can i at the beginning select a couple of choices that mimick those i made in the 1st? Or do i have to do a playthrough of Mass Effect 1...again?

[Herr Mafflard]

you can download mass effect pc save files from here: http://www.annakie.com/me/home.htm


doesn't matter which class you choose, you can change it after the prologue

[WrikaWrek]

you can download mass effect pc save files from here: http://www.annakie.com/me/home.htm


doesn't matter which class you choose, you can change it after the prologue

Thank you a lot!

[Stoney Mason]

I'm really trying to stay out of spoilers in this thread, just wanna ask a question. The save file i have from Mass Effect is on the 360, but i want to get Mass Effect 2 for the PC, how does it work? Can i at the beginning select a couple of choices that mimick those i made in the 1st? Or do i have to do a playthrough of Mass Effect 1...again?

They basically ask you like three major questions from the first game and how you answer determines the canon for Mass Effect 2. You won't be able to set nearly all the minor decision stuff which determines some minor quests, dialogue, and interactions where it goes with an assumed default canon for the things that happened in Mass Effect 1.

Of course you can also look on the net for PC game saves that mirror closesly the choices you selected.

EDIT: Beaten.

[cool breeze]

I think Jack is a good example of Cerberus' methods.  While there is the sub-plot of the group creating her going rogue, the operation to enhance children with biotics was still green lit by the illusive man and Cerberus.

[cool breeze]

I dug the original soundtrack, I just dig this one more. The end credits song to the original was the best, though.

[youtube=560,345]WYjpfdF3pdI[/youtube]

I thought both have great soundtracks.  I'll give the first game the edge, but that song right there is incredible.

When it played

spoiler (click to show/hide)

in the ending conversation with the Illusive Man, I got chills.

[close]

[Stoney Mason]

Sten was much cooler the Jack, he's just a hard nut to crack 

He was a disagreeable ahole who dissaproved of eveything I did and barely uttered two words. I never cared or bothered to figure out why he was that way. I simply ignored him for the most part and fed him the occasional gift to stop him from leaving my party. From a moral perspective he is worse than Jack. In no way did I find him "cool".

But then that is the point of generating a lot of different characters. What appeals to somebody isn't going to appeal to somebody else. Which is why I tend to discount personal observations about specific party members in games outside of them being personal reactions to certain sorts of archetypes. 

As I mentioned the character I personally hated the most at first was Samara.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

(I almost killed her when I could)

[close]

And by the end after some conversations with her, I quite liked her. So there is plenty of room for everybody.

[AdmiralViscen]

...How do I change teammate clothes, lol

[Stoney Mason]

...How do I change teammate clothes, lol

Squad select screen before a mission or when you leave the Normandy. You have to unlock it via their loyalty mission.

[The Fake Shemp]

Team Status at private terminal (or when you pick your squad before a mission), press Y on any character that you've completed a loyalty quest for.

[fistfulofmetal]

the only character i didn't like was Samara. boring and annoying character design.

[AdmiralViscen]

Thanks dudes. Can you swap Jack's standard costume with Miranda?

[The Fake Shemp]

 

[Stoney Mason]

the only character i didn't like was Samara. boring and annoying character design.

I didn't like her either at first. Her rigid moral code struck me initially as annoying but something about talking with her after the fact changed my opinion on her. And I constantly brought her along. I'm the type who used secondary characters not based on their combat effectiveness but how much I actually liked them.

Her art design is more X-men Jean Grey than Mass Effect which was a bit distracting at first but its so odd and out of place I kind of grew to like it.

[Himu]

the only character i didn't like was Samara. boring and annoying character design.

major spoiler

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Do what I did then.



Morinth > Samara

[close]

[cool breeze]

I kept wondering why everyone spoke english in this game, and in the Thane romance cutscene, Shepard mentions her translator glitching because there was a word she didn't understand.  Don't know if that's a joke or everyone just has a translator unit in their head.

[Stoney Mason]

I kept wondering why everyone spoke english in this game, and in the Thane romance cutscene, Shepard mentions her translator glitching because there was a word she didn't understand.  Don't know if that's a joke or everyone just has a translator unit in their head.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Races_and_species_in_The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy#Babel_fish

I think at this point everybody assumes something roughly like this is going on in most sci-fi Star Trek derivatives.

[Great Rumbler]

I kept wondering why everyone spoke english in this game, and in the Thane romance cutscene, Shepard mentions her translator glitching because there was a word she didn't understand.  Don't know if that's a joke or everyone just has a translator unit in their head.

No game company is going to make a scifi game with about a dozen different species that each have their own distinct language. It's just not going to happen. So, pretend that everyone's got a babelfish in their ear and just go with it.

[cool breeze]

http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?s=61a43be677a244fad1284e375380f653&t=250992

way to get all the Dr Pepper items for free in under 3 minutes

[demi]

Samara is dope as fuck, I wish you could fuck her.

[Raban]

Samara is dope as fuck, I wish you could fuck her.

Morinth is so much better