Mass Effect is back. The legendary edition of BioWare’s beloved trilogy launches on May 14, and Shepard’s aging space adventures have never looked better. We have a lot of details on all the upgrades this remaster brings to Mass Effect 1, 2 and 3 below.
But, of course, there is more to this impending revival than all that. As we sit down with BioWare to discuss the changes and look to the future, the fact that Mass Effect is all the way back on the schedule seems like something worth celebrating given where the franchise seemed to be a few years ago. left. For fans, news of whether Mass Effect would continue has been anxiously awaited, until the twin announcements late last year – of the remastered trilogy and a brand new (still very distant) continuation of the series – let fans breathe easy again. We also talk to BioWare about all of that below.
First of all, a few details. The legendary edition of the Mass Effect trilogy includes 4K support and HDR compatibility, plus 60 FPS on PC and consoles from PS4 Pro / Xbox One Series X and above. On PC, it adds support for controllers and 21: 9 widescreen displays. As expected, all three games and all single player DLCs are included. There is no multiplayer mode, no additional story elements and no version for Nintendo Switch (yet).
By far the most dated looking in the trilogy, Mass Effect 1 has undergone a particularly extensive reworking, with dramatic improvements to some of its environments. The results on planets like Eden Prime, Ilos and Feros seem much closer to a full remake at first impression. ME1 has seen other tweaks as well, including fan-requested improvements to the Mako vehicle’s often wildly erratic driving experience, several combat changes, and much faster Citadel lifts (thank goodness).
Differences throughout the trilogy include remastered character models, an extensive universal character builder, and the option to use ME3’s standard female Shepard model throughout. There are noticeable improvements in Shepard’s range of skin tones, hairstyles and makeup options available, for a more diverse range of possibilities. Overall, BioWare says there are “tens of thousands” of updated textures, shaders, visual effects and lighting changes, plus a new bokeh-like depth of field.
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Work on the Legendary Edition began in early 2019, when a small team within BioWare finally got the green light. There had been tentative talks in the studio for half a decade to get a trilogy remaster off the ground – some of which went further than others – but it was the return of studio boss Casey Hudson, a veteran of Mass Effect, who finally got it. project.
“Are we going to do it?”, “How about now?”
“I was probably in half a dozen meetings for probably almost as many years asking ‘are we going to do it?’, ‘How about now?’,” Recalls Mac Walters, the writer, producer and now project director of Mass Effect. of the legendary edition. I would say at least that Casey Hudson was back in the studio at the time, he was clearly very passionate about the trilogy for obvious reasons and he was very supportive of it. I think that really helped to get it over that. get through initial slowness, [where you just] has to get something moving and then you do it. And it just seemed to click this time and we were off. “
Where to start with such a huge project? BioWare soon decided not to create new content or add anything previously left on the cutting room floor to preserve the experience people remember. The studio also discussed with Epic Games the possibility of moving the entire trilogy to Unreal Engine 4, although they rejected that idea after realizing that many of the game systems would no longer be compatible. Walters compared the first months of the project to starting the restoration of a classic car – and then discovered “that car was buried in cement, and every time you tried to dig it out, you were worried about staining the car. paint or the tearing of a mirror “.
In Spring 2020, work on the Legendary Edition was in a “baseline” state where everything was working and BioWare’s first batch of enhancements had arrived. Mass Effect’s famous cast of characters had been a particular focus, with enhancements to modeling, eye shaders and lighting, along with new visual techniques such as tone mapping, ambient occlusion and subsurface scattering. The team had spent time discussing the need to keep character design improvements consistent throughout the trilogy, as well as reflecting on the changes each character is going through. A look at an updated model for Liara from ME1, for example, shows that she’s stepped up a gear, a change that better reflects the direction of her character arc and model across the three games.
The Legendary Edition was now complete too, with a new single launcher to pack all three games into one, plus all respective DLCs and other unlocked items. It’s worth taking a moment to note that the list of included add-ons here is nothing short of the full single-player pack, from simple mission packs to full expansions like Lair of the Shadow Broker, from individual promotional weapons to squad and collector’s costume packs. items. edition bonuses. If it’s relevant at all to the trilogy’s single player, it’s included. Even the catch-up Genesis comics are there.
Gameplay changes in ME2 and ME3 sound relatively minimal, although there is a whole list of differences to remove “friction” from ME1. Aim assist adds adhesion to hold you on to enemies, while a “zoom snap” lets you move your focus to a target while aiming. Each ME1 pistol is balanced and has been given an individual feel similar to those in later games. The Mako has received a speed boost and updated physics, while the hidden loading screens in the game’s elevators have been drastically shortened in length. Comparative footage of a ride to the Citadel’s presidency level takes just 14 seconds in the Legendary Edition, instead of 52 seconds in the original.
But even with the baseline changes in the trilogy, it seems clear that Mass Effect 1 is still lagging behind the visuals of the other two games. Instead, did the levels require a full remake to fit the rest of the trilogy, or was there a middle ground? “We didn’t want to throw them out and start over,” explained Kevin Meek, director of environment and characters, recalling that for him the layout of the original areas was an integral part of the experience when he launched the game. first played before he joined. BioWare more recently to work on Anthem. So the team enlisted Derek Watts, art director of the original Mass Effect, to paint over the images of ME1 as they stood with new details and effects, and then proceeded to create those. For example, Eden Prime now has new lighting to showcase its fuller skybox and suppressed textures, along with additional effects such as smoke, ground fog, burning ash and scattered debris.
A list of other ME1 improvements mentions AI changes to enemies and squads, the removal of class-based weapon restrictions (although only a few allow training to higher levels), an XP redistribution so you can hit the game without New Game Plus, more consistent auto-save points, encounter improvements to the boss, reduced first aid cooldown, fewer minigames, and a modernized HUD.
“By opening editors and looking at the content as it was, I realized how impressive – especially when you look at Mass Effect 1 – what we could achieve there [was]”, Walters recalls, when I ask him what it’s like working on the franchise after a few bumpy years.” I remembered how innovative and a little bit scrappy we were … This feels like it kind of got that indie vibe, that we’re a little bit scrappy, and we’re going to make this work. Everyone wears different hats and we are constantly solving problems, it reminds me of the development back then.
“This feels like it has kind of an indie vibe, that we’re a little bit scrappy, and we’re going to make this work.”
“When I was on Jade Empire and Mass Effect 1, we often do [did that]. I was a writer, but I worked with the music team, the film team. We often dipped our toes in multiple things. I love it and start troubleshooting. And that’s how it felt again. I was excited to do it. I wasn’t necessarily keen to be brought face to face with content I created at the time as you can only see the flaws, but overall it’s actually a lot more positive than any negative. “
On Switch, Walters doesn’t rule out the Legendary Edition for Nintendo’s console (perhaps if it has more powerful hardware to showcase the trilogy’s new visuals?), But said the remaster project had taken off on PC and existing consoles, and BioWare’s mission was to make it work first. “I personally would love it,” he said. “But in the end I think we’d mapped out a path and it was like, let’s finish that and see where we are.”
The next new Mass Effect game is still a long way off – further away than Dragon Age 4, which itself isn’t coming before 2022 – but with the legendary edition of the trilogy on the horizon and the future of the franchise seemingly reassured, I wanted to know what it felt like to have the series back on a solid foundation after years in the wilderness. Did Walters ever think Mass Effect might just have run its course?
“You come back and have clearly fresher eyes, and you are not burnt out from whatever the last project was.”
“I try to attend as many conventions as possible,” he says in response, “and if there is one thing, it is this: there is a passion for this franchise to carry on both within the studio and with our fans. never doubted the franchise would somehow survive. I’m pretty excited. ”
“The momentum of the IP isn’t something that just stops,” Meek adds, “BioWare has these big IPs, fairly well-known brands. But sometimes I think people think we’re bigger than we might be. A handful of projects on the way. and we need the team to get to one project, maybe one of the IPs is inactive for a year or two, but as developers, that time flies because you’re busy working on something and then you have a little break you come back and you clearly have fresher eyes, and you haven’t burned out from whatever the last project was. Those are the kinds of things I think people should be you every now and then, right? And it’s not the end of the world. ‘
So what about the future of the Mass Effect, I ask? Will there be any hints for it in the Legendary Edition, even just the odd note that remains and points to a future storyline? No, is the short answer. “I think it’s easier for the future of the franchise to look back and take advantage of it,” Walters concludes, “than trying to chart a course for something that will take time to conceive and act on our own. Bloom.”