Mass Effect is back. The Legendary Edition of the beloved BioWare trilogy will be released on May 14, and Shepard’s ancient space adventures have never been better. We have lots of details about all the updates this remaster brings to Mass Effect 1, 2 and 3 below.
But, of course, there is more to this impending revival than all of that. Sitting down with BioWare to discuss the changes and look to the future, the fact that Mass Effect is back on the schedule looks like something worth celebrating, considering where the franchise seemed to have been left a few years ago. For fans, there was an anxious wait for news about whether Mass Effect would continue, until the twin announcements at the end of last year – of the remastered trilogy and a new (still very distant) continuation of the series – let the fans breathe easy again. We also talked to BioWare about all of this below.
First, some details. The Mass Effect trilogy Legendary Edition includes support for 4K and HDR compatibility, plus 60 FPS on PC and consoles from PS4 Pro / Xbox One Series X onwards. On the PC, it adds support for 21: 9 widescreen controllers and monitors. As expected, all three games and all single-player DLCs are included. There is no multiplayer mode, no additional story elements and no version (yet) for Nintendo Switch.
Mass Effect 1, by far the most dated aspect of the trilogy, has undergone a particularly extensive rework, with dramatic improvements in some of its environments. The results on planets like Eden Prime, Ilos and Feros look at first impression much closer to a complete remake. ME1 also saw other adjustments, including fan-requested improvements to the Mako vehicle’s often erratic steering experience, several combat changes and much faster Citadel elevators (thank goodness).
Differences across the trilogy include remastered character models, an expanded universal character creator, and the option to use the standard ME3 female Shepard model. There are noticeable improvements in Shepard’s range of skin tones, hair styles and makeup options, for a more diverse range of possibilities. Overall, BioWare says there are “tens of thousands” of updated textures, shading, visual effects and lighting changes, as well as a new depth of field in the bokeh style.
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Work on the Legendary Edition began in early 2019, when a small team from BioWare finally got the green light. There have been attempts at conversations within the studio for half a decade to launch a remastered trilogy – some of which have gone further than others – but it was the return of studio head Casey Hudson, a Mass Effect veteran, who finally pushed the project into being .
“Are we going to do this? ‘,’ How about now? ‘”
“I have probably been to half a dozen meetings over probably almost so many years asking ‘are we going to do this?’, ‘How about now?'” Recalls Mac Walters, writer, producer and now Mass Effect project director. of the legendary edition. “If anything, I would say Casey Hudson was back in the studio at the time, he was obviously very passionate about the trilogy for obvious reasons and was very supportive. I think it really helped to overcome the initial inertia, [where you just] you need to do something move and then you’re doing it. And this time it seemed to click and we left. “
Where to start with such a huge project? BioWare quickly decided not to create new content or add anything previously left in the editing room to preserve the experience that people remember. The studio also discussed with Epic Games the possibility of moving the entire trilogy to Unreal Engine 4, although it discarded that idea after realizing that many of the game’s systems would no longer be compatible. Walters compared the first months of work on the project with the start of the restoration of a classic car – later discovering that “that car was buried in cement, and every time you tried to dig it up, you were worried about getting the paint dirty or pulling out a mirror “.
In the spring of 2020, work on the Legendary Edition was in a “basic” state, where everything worked and the first round of BioWare improvements was underway. Mass Effect’s famous cast of characters had been a particular focus, with improvements in models, eye shaders and lighting, along with new visual techniques such as tone mapping, ambient occlusion and subsurface scattering. The team spent time discussing the need to keep the improvements in character designs consistent throughout the trilogy, although they also reflect the changes that each character goes through. A look at an updated model for Liara from ME1, for example, shows her sharp vision a bit, a change that better reflects the direction of her character and model arc in the three games.
The Legendary Edition was also in full content, with a new single launcher to wrap all three games in one, plus all of their respective DLCs and other unlocked items. It’s worth taking a moment to note that the list of additions included here is nothing short of the complete single-player package, from simple mission packages to complete expansions like Lair of the Shadow Broker, from individual promotional weapons to costume packages. squadmates and collector editing bonuses. If relevant to the trilogy’s single player, it is included. Even the Genesis comics are there.
The gameplay changes for ME2 and ME3 sound relatively minor, although there is an entire list of differences to remove ME1’s “friction”. Aiming assistance adds grip to keep you locked on enemies, while an “instant zoom” will move your focus to a target when aiming. Each ME1 weapon was balanced and given an individual feel similar to those found in later games. The Mako gained an increase in speed and updated physics, while the game’s hidden loading screens in elevators were drastically reduced in length. The comparison of images from a trip to the level of the Presidium of the Citadel lasts only 14 seconds in the Legendary Edition, against 52 seconds in the original.
But even with the baseline changes throughout the trilogy, it seems clear that Mass Effect 1 is still lagging behind the look of the other two games. Did your levels need a complete remake in order to match the rest of the trilogy, or was there a middle ground to be found? “We didn’t want to throw them away and start over,” explained environment and character director Kevin Meek, recalling how for him, the layout of the original areas was an integral part of the experience when playing the game for the first time, before entering BioWare most recently to work at Anthem. The team then called on Derek Watts, art director for the original Mass Effect, to paint over the ME1 images with new details and effects, and then started creating them. Eden Prime, for example, now has new lighting to show its fullest skybox and compressed textures, along with extra effects like smoke, fog, burning ash and scattered debris.
A list of other ME1 improvements mentions enemy and squad AI changes, removing class-based weapon restrictions (although only a few allow training to higher levels), an XP rebalancing so you can reach the limit of the game without New Game Plus, more consistent automatic save points, improvements to the boss meeting, reduced waiting time for first aid, reduced minigames and modernized HUD.
“Opening up the editors and looking at the content as it was, I realized how impressive – certainly when you look at Mass Effect 1 – what we were able to achieve there [was]”Remember Walters, when I ask him what it’s like to be back at work in the franchise after a few turbulent years.” I remembered how we were innovative and kind of disconnected … It seems like there is an indie vibe to it, that we are kind of disjointed, and we’re going to make it work. Everyone is wearing different hats and we are solving problems all the time, it reminds me of the development of that time.
“It looks like it has an indie vibe, that we’re a little bit disjointed and we’re going to make it work.”
“When I was in Jade Empire and Mass Effect 1, I often [did that]. I was a writer, but I was working with the music team, the film team. Often, we kind of dip our feet in various things. I love it and solving problems. And that’s how it looked again. I was excited to do that. I was not necessarily excited to come face to face with the content I did at that time, because all you see are the flaws, but overall, it has been a lot more positive than any negative. “
On the Switch, Walters doesn’t rule out the Legendary Edition for the Nintendo console in the future (maybe when it has more powerful hardware to help showcase the trilogy’s new visuals?), But said the remastering project started on the PC and consoles. existing, and BioWare’s mission was to make them work first. “Personally, I would love to,” he said. “But at the end of the day, I think we had a defined path and it was like, let’s finish this, so let’s see where we are.”
The next Mass Effect game is still a long way away – farther than Dragon Age 4, which won’t come until 2022 – but with the Legendary Edition of the trilogy on the horizon and the future of the franchise apparently secured once again, I wanted to know how it went having the series back on a solid foundation after years in the desert. Did Walters ever think Mass Effect could have just taken its course?
“You can come back and, obviously, have some fresher eyes, and you won’t be exhausted by whatever the last project was.”
“I try to go to many conventions when I can,” he says in response, “and if there’s one thing I know, it’s this: there is a passion for this franchise to continue both within the studio and with our fans. I never had any doubt that the franchise would continue to live in some form or style. I’m very excited. “
“The momentum of IP is not something that will just stop,” adds Meek, “BioWare has these big IPs, well-known brands. But sometimes I think people think we’re bigger than maybe we are. And if we have a handful of ongoing projects and we need the team to jump to a project, maybe one of the IPs will be idle for a year or two. But as developers, that time flies because you’re busy working on something and then you’ve had a short break , you can go back and obviously have some cooler eyes, and you won’t be exhausted with whatever the last project is. Those are the kinds of things that I think people should expect from time to time, right? the end of the world. “
So, what about the future of Mass Effect, I ask? Will there be any hints for that in the Legendary Edition, even just a strange note left out there pointing to a future plot? No, it is the short answer. “I think it’s easier for the future of the franchise to look back and get out of it,” concludes Walters, “than trying to set a course for something that needs time to come up with and flourish on its own.”