Concerning the Mass Effect Simm idea from the Monthly Report

[Gunnar]

I think a Mass effect simm could be quite fun, if done right. I know from personal experience however that Biotics are a pain in the ass to run in a text style simm, there like mages and they are easily considered SHS as anyone who played ME will use singularity non stop, as its a END ALL BE ALL Capability. It would also make the point of an Engineer and Soldier pointless in a text style game.

Also with running an Engineer or an Biotic if use the abilities straight from the game itself, there is alot of mechanics that are going to cause alot of headaches. Drones, Singularity, Warp, Throw, Pull, All have there headaches specially in a writing type environment.

Now im not saying a ME simm is a bad thing, Im saying the mechanics of all the abilities are going to be the headache.

However, Cerberus had the right thing going in ME3, Shields that resist throw that makes biotics impossible to get past and reliance on bullets to overcome your adversaries. If ME started out with this concept of realism I think the game would have gone along way. Cerberus side of things theres no mechanics of the powers I mentioned above.

They relied on heavy mechs, and there engineers relied on setting up turrets with remote controls to take down bad guys. In a simm world, this is the BEST! way to go for anyone doing an ME simm. Throw out the powers thing that the Game provided the player and go with a realistic avenue for the fun. If done right with teh Cerberus concept and a few tweaks, you got yourself a simm with very little headaches.

I know if I ever joined a ME simm, I could have so much fun with an Android concept.

Thoughts anyone ?

[Treymiar]

It would be crucial to clearly define the scope of the simm in advance.

My perspective is, mechanics and minutiae are not as important as story telling. TOS Constitution or a futuristic Perception giant? My answer is, it doesn't matter. It's a vehicle to travel the stars. Its enemies must be dangerous, otherwise it will be a boring story. SHS applies to technology as well as characters. A good story will stand on its own regardless of the setting. It matters not whether you have an uber-krogan shredding dozens of killer robots at once or if you have an old style, hide-behind-a-rock gunfight with lasers. It's the personal conflict which is important. Cool special effects and the latest upgrade to Type XXV phaser banks will always grow old, and rather quickly. The age of Gygax taught us, retire your godlings and start with realistic low level personalities.

Another problem is simpler. There aren't nearly enough players to sustain all of the simulations out there. There's an old expression, "Too many chiefs, too few Indians". Complicate that with the fact that RL demands upon our lives significantly hamper simm metabolisms.

Oh heck yes, ME would be fun. Biotics and Tech would be fun. Well... until red sand poisoning comes along. But. I think that focusing upon game mechanics instead of storytelling would be a painful mistake.

My2Cents - PSF

[GVLB]

I believe that while ME biotics may be more in your face then what Star Trek has offered us (that wasn't completely overboard wacko), like anything, it's a question of story and player responsibility. People walk around with phasers that can destroy buildings in pretty much every star trek sim, and yet somehow we don't spend our time doing it ;OÞ

True the universe is different as well as the way the characters within it interact with it. Your Krogan Battlemaster with a bad temper might be tempted to blow up half the building every other day, but that's a question of giving a clear indication of what type of sim your going for, and accepting characters that fit within that view so everyone can have fun.

I say it can be a lot of fun, and I'd be very happy to join if it were to happen.

[Treymiar]

From what I could see about ME, the one thing that bugged the daylights out of me was, any cover that you ducked behind, shielded you! Office cubicle, escalator plexiglass... That was just... weird, considering the raw power that these weapons were supposed to have. And what about smart bullets that they have in our day and age? They go over/around obstacles and then explode.

At least the black hole roto-rooter and the hand atomic cannon had mass area effect.

[Gunnar]

I was more inclined with the gun that shot Explosives . Put a scope on it and snipe with it , its fun watching cerberus heads explode and very affective against the heavy mechs. As for the plexiglass, dont hide behind it LOL.

[GVLB]

Do we know if this will actually go somewhere or?

[Gunnar]

No we dont GVLB, Pegasus fleet from what I understand is 100% Star trek, but Alex said we could discuss here about opening it up to beyond Startrek........like home for people who want to run MAss effect games, Stargate, Starwars, that kinda thing. Right now its talking about Mass effect game and our thoughts on allowing an ME game to the fleet.

[GVLB]

Well then ... *clears her throat and taps on the mic to make sure it's open*

To all those concerned, I find it would be a great idea! Mass Effect rocks!

There... i said my piece. And will argue it's merits with anyone!

[JasmineSomers]

Heard of the game seen it advertised, but as I have never played it I will remain neutral in my choice, but whoever starts the sim up, good luck to you.