Mass Effect: Andromeda

I guess we still have time to speculate and hope, but everything has just sounded so depressing on the Mass Effect front news wise.

I'd say the biggest problem is Bioware hasn't actually acknowledged the negative rumors at all, which is 'evidence' to some people.

Case in point, Capcom and the Mv C Infinite roster.

I'd argue that that's confirmation bias. Its easier to count the times its been true than it has been false.

Work on the game's first story-related DLC typically commences before the game itself is even complete. Combine that with the APEX mission report referencing the quarian ark a month ago, the fact that the voice actors are still apparently on hand (patch 1.08), and Bioware's refusal to outright deny that DLC for MEA is coming when asked on Twitter (employees respond "we can't reveal anything"), I expect at least one story-related DLC. We might possibly hear something about that at the end of June, as Amazon says that the novel about the quarian ark is due June 27. After that, who knows. The game sold decently, but its reviews were a large drop from previous games and its lack of polish led to it becoming a Fountain of Memes in a bad way.

Anyway, other trivia from the game files: character ages. Peebee is 110, Vetra is 29, Cora is 25, Tann is 40, Kesh is 200, Kandros is in his 30s, Kallo is 30, Reyes is 29, Sid is 17, Suvi is 34, Gil is 22, and Evfra is 45 (we know from lines in the game itself that Drack is 1,467, Ryder is either 21 or 22, and Jaal is 27). Also, Reyes is Chilean. I thought he sounded Castilian.

edited 19th Jun '17 10:31:37 PM by MonsieurThenardier

Huh. They really are pretty young, all around. Bioware made a fuss over how young this crew is compared to Shepard and the Normandy, but I never got that feeling while playing it. If anything, being the Pathfinder negates that, at least without the opportunity to royally fuck up at any time.

Lexi's about 300, right? I think she and Peebee say something along those lines.

Shouldn't Kallo being 30 mean that he is actually pretty old by Salaraian standards?

Mordin was 35, I think. So yeah, I didn't think Kallo or Tann were that old. Tann decidedly doesn't look it.

What does an older Salarian look like, anyway?

Like Mordin. If you get up close you can see he's got a lot of hairline wrinkles and crowsfeet that most other salarians don't have.

Well Mordin did have noticeable wrinkles around his mouth and I guess discolorations around the eys like Tann has them might be something that comes with age.

I thought Cora was in her 40s. I guess her character model just looks bad. Same with Gil. This also causes continuity issues with her backstory, though that was already illogical beyond saving, so whatever. Mordin was stated to be 50 on ME-2's website so he's significantly older than Tann.

edited 19th Jun '17 11:59:25 PM by MonsieurThenardier

I thought Cora and Gil were at least in their 30s. Cora doesn't really sound that young in how she talks or what she talks about, though I guess she'd have to be to still fit in that window when biotics were new and terrifying.

I also thought she'd known Alex a lot longer, but she couldn't have, really.

I could've sworn Mordin said he was 35. Something about 5 good years left, and I remember the average salarian lifespan being 40.

edited 20th Jun '17 12:30:25 AM by Unsung

Yeah, I call bullshit on Cora and Gil's ages.

Gil seems to young to be so accomplished and working on the Tempest. Plus, he doesn't look 22 at all. He looks like, late 20s or early 30s. I mean, it makes sense I guess with his attitude a bit, but nothing else meshes with that age to me. Not his working on the Tempest, not Jill, not his looks.

The game also kind of suggests that Cora is a lot more experienced than you are. She's trained with the best and had actual real world experience. She seemed kind of like a Shepard to Alec's Anderson and that doesn't feel right if she's only 3 years older than you. Her looks also suggested she was older to me, around early 30s.

Mordin is probably not 50 years old. Its suggested that Salarian over the age of 40 are really rare, so I doubt he could be 50 and have '5 good years left'. Which I took '5 good years' to mean 5 more years before he's medicated, bedridden, and going to die. I'd place him more at 35 to be honest. Either way, with both Tan and Kallo in their 30s, their unlikely to survive a Time Skip.

Mordin was around Shepard's age, but that's pretty old for a Salarian.

I knew that the twins were young, but I guess I never figured they were that young.

Also, I still want Drack to be my grandpa.

The twins' age is consistent with what we were expecting prior to the game coming out.

For the record, we have the year of birth of most squadmates and major characters in the original trilogy.

In 1 (2183), Shepard is 29, Kaidan is 32, Ashley is 25, Garrus is 25-27, Tali is 22, Liara is 106 and Wrex is around 1000. Oh, and Joker is 28, Anderson is 46, Hackett is 49 and Saren is 44.

In 2 (2185), Miranda is 35, Jacob is 28, Mordin is around 30, Jack is 24, Kasumi is 25, Thane is 39, Samara is around 900, Morinth is 470, Grunt is a newborn, EDI is less than 2, and Legion is 2 (but parts of them are as old as 290 years old). Everybody who survived, of course, is 2 years older.

And, in 3 (2186), James is 26-28, Kai Leng is 30, and everybody left alive is a year older.

Note: the Lost Ark novel has had its release date moved from June 27 to December 5, per the Amazon page.

...Well, that's not good.

Was that previous release date official or just speculation? Also there's another book coming out? This is literally the first I've heard of it.

June 27 was listed as its Amazon release date earlier.

June 17th was the release date for Lost Ark and then I think we had 2 more books coming out through the year.

Yikes. Is Andromeda the new red-headed stepchild of Bioware?

Probably, but that wouldn't affect anything about the novel release date schedule.