Mass Effect

[Undead]

Haha I feel ya. There's some pretty tough choices in ME that just don't feel right. Such as gunning down all of Zhu's Hope for a super Renegade boost.

[JakeDuck]

Exactly. Also, I saved the hostages from the Batarians this time around because I wanted to see what would happen, but I forgot about the points that come with it. Plus I wanted to get all of the people on Zhu's Hope because I didn't do it the last time, again forgetting about the points. Then came saving Wrex, and come on, who would't? Basically, I'm just a good guy who happens to be an asshole in conversation. 

 

Also, I decided to romance Ashley this time around. I may go for Miranda in ME2 then decide which to choose in ME3.

Edited April 13, 2014 by JakeDuck

[Undead]

I followed that same romance path my last playthrough ago. However I stuck with Miranda in 3. Needless to say, there's fewer romance opportunites in that case.

 

Edit: 

 

Gah! 4 playthroughs later, and I STILL tear up between watching Shepard just... vaporize and watching their romantic interest, pin Shepard's name up on the normandy. D:

[JakeDuck]

I finished ME1 on Veteran, moving on to 2! Playing as an Adept will be really fun in 2 and 3!

[Undead]

I'm trying to decide what to try out for my next playthrough. I really enjoyed the Vanguard one so far.

[Slade]

@Undad

Played through 1 as Vanguard, currently on 2 with Soldier. (both Insanity) I've heard that Sentinels and Adepts kick ass.

 

Probably made the wrong choice here.

I hate how the game conflicts with nvidia cards. in-game (FX)AA isn't supported with nvidia cards, and ultra textures aren't supported with nvidia's overwrite settings.

i.e. I can either: run the game without anti-aliasing at 4K textures, or use the game's standard textures with forced on AA by nvidia.

Forced on AA looks bad and runs terribly, but then again having no AA and the game's standard textures looks bad also.

 

This was taken with 4K textures, no anti-aliasing and some file tweaking to set up shot.

 

[JakeDuck]

I think I'l add some 4k textures on my next run, I have a pretty beefy AMD card. Where's the best place to get them?

 

I forgot to mention, I picked up Stolen Memory and Lair of the Shadow Broker for my current playthrough. Mass Effect has really sucked me in, I'm a massive fan of the series! I'll probably get From Ashes and the Citadel DLC for ME3 when I get there.

[Slade]

http://www.moddb.com/mods/mass-effect-1-new-texture-updatesimprovements-mod

Here's a complete texture overhaul for ME1.

Makes everything look so much better, especially NPC clothing and characters. Also enhances the terrible film grain.

Important: You need install ME1's 1.02 patch (else the game will crash on certain loading screens), and download and apply the LAA (large adress aware) 

 

Here's the 4K textures for ME2. It's only for characters and requires Texmod, instructions provided.

http://social.bioware.com/forum/Mass-Effect-2/Characters-and-Fan-Creations-Spoilers-allowed/Higher-resolution-textures-for-characters-PC-Mod-5314761-1.html

 

Great to hear, Jake.

I just played through Stolen Memory.

It's very short, but quite fun and Kasumi has some very amusing things to say post-mission.

 

Lair and Citadel are definitely the best ME DLC out there.

I recommend playing Lair after the main story quest, as it's originally intended to be played after completion.

[JakeDuck]

Thanks! I appreciate it. I'll get those all ready as soon as I have a stable internet connection. Right now I have a painful 1mbps from my hotel, it took a few hours just to get Kasumi. Totally worth it though!

 

I love playing ME2 on Veteran, it's been a ton of fun. Difficulty is far superior here than ME1. And the autosaves, oh the autosaves! 

[Undead]

Yeah Citadel and Lair are easily the best DLC in the series. Especially Citadel, man I loved every second of that DLC.

[JakeDuck]

I'm nearing the end of ME2, I'm already thinking about my next playthrough. I think I'll play as an Infiltrator, but going through ME1 a second time was pretty painful. Should I use Genesis to skip it or is it worth playing as an Infiltrator?

[Undead]

You thought so huh? I enjoy each ME in their own way. ME has the best story IMO, ME 2 and the most to offer and 3 was the pinnacle of the story. Then as far as ME goes, it's just remembering to save often for me. Unless you just import and existing character then you're already a beast and rarely die lol. Hell, I can clear ME in about 6-7 hours tops. I've done it in one sitting once lol. And Infiltrator is the most fun on the first game anyways. Because Snipers.

[Slade]

I'd definitely say play through 1 again. I didn't even mind the combat the second time around.

1 will always remain very special and has some excellent story.

2 had imo the best plot-twists and pacing, and 3 like Undad said is the pinnacle of the story. (Seriously, the conversations with TIM throughout 3 were some of the best parts of the trilogy)

Also ran some tests with ME3. 

 

 

 

 

 

E3 guys. Here's to the announcement of a second, new, trilogy. 

[Undead]

Do enlighten us, Slade. I've heard confirmations of ME 4, but that's about it.

 

And the thing I'm most curious about, is they specifically said hanging on to your save files would be highly recommended. Which makes sense, I'd assume by Shepard's final actions   on Earth kick starts the story on ME 4 accordingly.

[JakeDuck]

Well, I'm a little upset with Mass Effect 2. I had another perfect playthrough, but Mordin died for absolutely no reason. I think it's tied to the characters I used when selecting certain roles. I used Tali for the vents, Garrus for both squad leaders, Jack for the biotic, and Zaeed for the escort. Not to mention I had all upgrades. Apparently this exact setup causes Mordin to die, as someone else with the same choices had the exact same outcome. This is from way back in 2010 too. http://social.bioware.com/forum/Mass-Effect-2/Official-Campaign-Quests-and-Storylines-Spoilers-Warning/Mordin-died-suicide-mission-spoilers-934017-1.html

 

Welp, looks like I'll be replaying the mission AGAIN! I love the cinematics in this game, but they just get spoiled when you have to see them again in the same playthrough.

[Slade]

Use Mordin for the escort.

He's ex-STG.

[JakeDuck]

I fixed it easily, I just brought him along with me on the last fight. There was no problem with the people I chose, just a random death. I picked the exact same people the second time, I just kept Mordin with me. Now I just have Shadow Broker to go, then I'll go to 3!

[Undead]

Good to know despite how prepared you are, there's still some "bad" choice results just within the last mission.

 

I always felt secure having Tali or Kasumi in the vents, Garrus and Miranda as leaders, Samara as the biotic then Mordin or Zaeed to escort. Those two just seem to be the vulnerable ones.

[JakeDuck]

I love the Citadel DLC, it is just incredible. It felt a bit like Saints Row + Mass Effect. Awesome overall.

[Undead]

Heh, isn't it great? I love all the reference humor amongst the crew.

[JakeDuck]

I love how James said, "Why don't I ever get picked?" after I chose my squad members. Grunt's scenes made me laugh more than anything, that hospital scene is just too good. I totally called who the Mysterious Figure was when I first saw it, I loved the banter between them.

[Undead]

Welp, as I near the end of my... 6th? playthrough, I have to say going full Renegade has it's heartbreaking moments. Especially with the whole Genophage thing. I went through with sabotaging it this time. I regret it completely. 

 

But, I guess on the other hand, I've basically had a relationship with every character I've wanted to so far. I'd say the best one was still Liara, (who was the first I went with once I realized you could). Mainly because of the story. Liara is a bit boring, especially in 3 but it was the most in depth romance story. Especially considering she takes a notice and will point it out in 2 and 3 if you romanced her in the first game, but then chose someone else in 2. (An example being, I romanced Liara in 1, then Tali in 2 once I did the Lair of the Shadow Broker, you can bring up what's going on between you two after eliminating the Spectre Asari and Liara makes some jealous remarks). 

 

However I enjoyed the femshep x Garrus, Garrus is overprotecting and the part at the club during the Citadel DLC? Priceless. 

 

But I'd say Shep x Tali was the most adorable. The constant  suggestive flirting back and forth during the mission to save Legion was also priceless.

[Undead]

I kinda neglected Jack the most through all my playthroughs thus far, suppose I made up for that:

 

http://imgur.com/jbpEAMP

[Tasha]

Sweet drawing as always, Cody ! 

 

Jack gets neglected all the time. : ( I secretly want to romance her so badly though. Or Kasumi, mmmm. 

[Undead]

Too bad you can't romance Kasumi... much less actually have a convo with her. She just sits on her sofa and makes comments about everything lol