Inside Mass Effect Andromeda's New, "Sexy" Approach To Vehicle Design
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- Опубліковано 10 січ 2025
- In this exclusive Game Informer interview, Mass Effect Andromeda's art director Joel MacMillan talks about two key collaborators helping out with the new game's art direction. Learn what MacMillan took away from the Mass Effect trilogy's art director Derek Watts and the team's new collaborator vehicle designer Daniel Simon, who is known for his work on the film Oblivion and designing the light cycles for Tron: Legacy.
To learn much more about Mass Effect Andromeda, check out Game Informer's exclusive content hub - www.gameinforme...
Yea, because if theres one thing I want, it's my off road vehicle driving over the top of my nice ship.
Reminds me of Star Trek Nemesis
They scare me when they say things "It would have been cool if we could put the cargo bay on the top." While the aesthetic merits of that are questionable, the more important issue is that it doesn't make any sense. One of the cool things about Mass Effect is the science in the science-fiction. It helps inform the story telling. The original Normandy was more than just a sexy design (and boy was she that!). She was a collaboration between the Turian and Human fleets, a sort of fix-it baby, if you will. As such she featured elements of both Turian and Human design (both militaristic, and practical), and hinged on a technological innovation that addressed a problem rooted in physics. She wasn't just sleek curves. She had personality, and a story, just like pretty much everything else in Mass Effect. I hope y'all haven't forgotten that. Keep up the good work. The new designs look great.
They stopped caring about that shit in ME2, when all of the science & limitations changed. AI didn't work as it did in ME1, nor did the weaponry, nor did communication. By ME3, they had also changed how holograms work.
I totally agree with Jordan Williams. When I heard him say that, I couldn't listen anymore and was just thinking "but... but, why?"
Yeahhhhhh, but did you not see this guys work? Absolutely stellar stuff!!! You didn't get to see the design for this ship in the video. I bet it was amazing if they considered putting it into the game, but finding out that it was too hard for the games limitations. When you "couldn't listen anymore"...that's a slap in the face to yourself. These are developers of a game that you appear to be interested in enough to watch the dev vids and comment on them. So respect them. They're clearly pouring their heart and soul into this franchise. You can tell by how adamantly this man is talking about the game.
"Relax Draper, you're gonna give yourself an ulcer."
Ugghhhhh. Okay -_- lol
I recently started playing the trilogy and I can't believe I went this long without ever playing it
Bori Gaming same
Don't ya just love it :))
Devin Walters i am loving it.. completed me1, played me2 with all sidequests.. completed in 25hrs.. paying me3 rn.. 30hrs in game and still going LOL... and the best thing is i never loved rpg games.. but i fell in love with game because of less rpg elements.. no need to craft and scavenge shit
Yeah well wait till the 3rd one happens. Don't come in with good expectations or you might end up heartbroken.
went into the third with high expectations, came out thoroughly satisfied. Great game.
I can't wait to see CrowbCat do a compilation of this interviews.
It is pretty much inevitable.
Normandy sr-2 is love
Normandy sr-2 is life
Darío Gómez Normandy sr-2 is sexy
+bullsheet88 , like big girls?
Maybe. But if Tempest is the hot blonde we meet at the bar after love is over, I'll take it.
"This game would have been totally bitchin. But then we decided it was too hard. Be sure to pre order!"
its not like their targeting a new young male audience....
To be honest, the whole "cargo-bay on the top of the ship" idea, while maybe out-of-the-box and sexy, is kinda ridiculous. I mean... why? Why would an engineer working on a budget would do that? Why build such a complicated ship design when a good old regular cargo bay design can do the job, and probably do it better too?
It's not like there's already a hundred things that can go wrong when you build a spaceship, nevermind a ship that can travel to another galaxy...!
@JohnHolmstheSecond: Where do people get the impression that this is what he said? He only ever refers to the difficulty of implementing a top-mounted cargo bay on the Tempest, which to be honest feels rather tacky and unnecessary to me. I'm glad they didn't go through with it.
ppl bitch about shit no matter how hard ppl try to impress them ... i wouldn't bother with guys like that
Trying to watch this but a keep getting distracted by his weird tooth
George Aquino oh man shut up for God's sake.
Tom Riddler What is your problem?
He cares greatly about the guy's tooth.
Cannot unsee it now 😂😂😂
Ive seen worse, like mine
Which is funny that Oblivion reminded me of Mass Effect. Game is looking good.
oblivion and mass effect are nothing alike
bobby jager the music and the equipment (gun, vehicles, etc...) that's where the similarity ends.
Don't forget about the gigantic AI...
I almost thought you meant Elder Scrolls Oblivion LOL
as long as there are no loading screens i'm okay.
Yes! Bring back the elevator!
The elevators in ME1 were in all practical sense a load screen. This is why they moved at different speeds depending on which platform you played on.
Play it on PC with an SSD and loading times will be much shorter guaranteed.
Daniel Simon's work is incredible
Derek Watts is a genius. Oh man that music. Not only did ME1 have the best story it had the best music by far. This series of videos are getting me so hyped!
The ships in Oblivion were probably the coolest part of that movie. That designer's got awesome vision
The constant "him and I" was crazy-making. My cousins from deep in the hollers of Kentucky say that, and hearing it with a Canadian accent makes me feel like I'm experiencing Doctor Strange levels of vertigo as the world folds over on itself.
no mans sky totally ripped off those "bubble ships"
I really can't wait for this.
but you have to, boo hoo.
Cargo bay on top of the ship would have been awesome = (
The Nomad could have been an extra turret at the top of the ship ...
Yeah why again didn't they do that? Cause the game engine isn't capable of it? How does that make sense?
Looks cool but it's a pretty stupid engineering design...
He didnt say it was impossible. I imagine its got something to do with driving on the Tempest being difficult to program.
It wouldn't make sense for it to be designed that way. I mean why overcomplicate things when you could simplify and have it on the bottom with a lot less moving parts.
what would be amazing is if they made it so it has the planet exploring mechanic like no mans skys.( exploring multiple planets and cataloging new species of plants and animals)
I love that background music. Nostalgia.
A mass effect trilogy remastered using the frostbite engine would make me so happy.
3:42 "Our mind was blown by that suggestion! Didn't put it in the game though..."Maximum trolling engaged.
Thank god that the cargo bay was not placed on top of the ship. It would have been just weird to watch a ship like that.
1st December... You can expect some ;)
Much as i love the creativity behind the concept, practicality reasons really say that having the cargo bay on the top is as stupid as engineering designs can get indeed.
Please say we get a truck that drives like the Mako.
we get a new truck the nomad. but no it will not drive like the mako because the mako has the handling of a rubber egg. i just started replaying ME1 and i forgot how bad the Mako was damn.
***** That's a bit disappointing (I love how shit the Mako handles)
Thats good it would suck if it handled like the mako
From What I heard the new land vehicles are just gonna use a jury rigged version of NFS arcade style handling cause asset pack of that exist for the frostbite engine and EA owns both.
And I'm okay with that. NFS handling is not realistic by any means but as far as I remember, it was still smooth
Mako is love, Mako is life.
mass effect toothdromeda ?
lol dude... No chill
xtension xward I get that now that's fucked up
I screamed at this comment dammit😂😂😂
GREAT VIDEO!!! Keep them coming please!!!
Good vibe from this video, lots of care and attention to the little things. thats wot made ME series great. Everything felt thought out and even the art style fit the story in a way. Glad to see this process is still there going forword. Take as long as you need for this game, plz dont rush it out the door.
scripted much?
Tron vehicles!?!?!
Awesome, love that movie! :D
anyone else notice Darth Malak from KOTOR in the background?
You can't make the mako sexier.
i just started to play the trilogy this year...and im already a fan of this game...waiting for ME Andromeda
I need to do concept art. I love the ideas people come up with. I'd love to throw my ideas at a game like this.
in the blue background, is that a guy riding a thresher maw?
Your had me at Tron: Legacy and Oblivion.
Looks great, hope we can add tally mark like items to our vehicles.
Would love to see that new cargo design at some point
That dude needs to stop chewing on rocks.
berzu21 No, but I'm willing to bet it's yours.
cant wait for this game to come out. im really happy that bioware not remastering the mass effect 1-3 games cause even they said they would rather move forward then remastering games. so thank u bioware i cant wait for mass effect Andromeda to come out
Big Bossgameing they brought the mass effect trilogy to xbox one
marckery blanchard they just made it backwards compatible
one question can we finally control a space vehicle
*Hears the word sexy* *TRIGGERED*
I love when devs talk about "honoring some erlies games or fans" as an excuse to not do something new...
I think one of the biggest challenges in starting Mass Effect Andromeda was making sure we were honouring the original trilogy and hoping to god we are doing good enough job of it so the fans might forgive our huge fuckup with Mass Effect 3's rancid ending.
I'm playing mass effect 2 on pc maxed settings, 1080p 60 fps, with the Xbox one native mod and it's fucking amazing !
david garcia cool
What's the Xbox one native mod?
Guy On The Moon nope, it didnt have xbox 360 native support, but a mod made it so it works for controllers its mostly 360 but i use my xbox one controller, its just exactly the same as when i played the game on 360 but with much better graphics and fluid gameplay.
have you tried the Alot Texture mod it makes the game look so much better.
***** i havent let me look for it
Anyone else notice Darth Malak on his wall?
I'm so excited for this game!
"The guy that made the trilogy was awesome. I soaked up some of his style but I'm nowhere near his level. I think this will show once the reviews come out. Please don't expect too much from me. By the way, pre-order Mass Effect Andromeda now."
they better have Garrus like character
Or what?
***** "Garrus like character"
this guys needs that ship designer to work on his teeth lol
I am very curious about where the bridge is located within the ship. Anyone know?
will this game still be open world and adventure? like will you be able to pick up different and weapons and do side quest or will it be just story line play through stuff with no customizable options
How does that ship not topple over? what kind of design is that?
im not sure about cargo bay on top.While its feasible in planet land situation, can imagine performing combat drop with new "mako" coming from top of the ship, with lower speed than ship itself. Collision course plotted in :p.
Well, it's not in the game so I guess that won't be an issue.
Richard Strong
how come? I thought that ME:A will have land based vehicle...i guess that there wont be "combat drop" like the ones from first ME.
ApocGuy I'm not talking about the mako. Their alternative design for the ship is the thing they dropped.
oh, my bad than. as beautiful as tempest is, i dnt think that it can replace lovely SR1/2...
"Here's this awesome idea that our new vehicle designer had. . . .But it doesn't work, so we're not using it."
COME ON, BIOWARE
Holy shit I hadn't noticed till now how small the Tempest was. I(t's just a scout ship. I thought it'd be a Cruiser or Frigate.
See new Andromeda video: "Aw, cool, Mass fuckin' Effect!"
(one minute later)
"Tooth, tooth, tooth, tooth, tooth..."
I hope Bioware does a Mass Effect trilogy HD remaster for the PS4 and Xbox One.
looking forward to see this
Just waiting to hear if Quarians/a Quarian squad member is in it.
He needs to be able to surpass the past Mass Effect games. Add more interesting enemies and new alien races. Add something to some of the new species in Mass Effect Andromeda.
When did Snowden start working on Mass Effect?
So instead of letting BioWare stick with an engine they were familiar with (Unreal) and forcing them to use the signature EA 'Frostbite' engine, they couldn't pull off this incredibly creative idea.
Would have loved a mecha for world exploring.
Did you guys edit this? like in the first half they're shots of guys talking that don't match with the audio at all. Even though it's clips of guys the narrator is talking about, its just kinda jarring.
I'm kinda glad that they didn't go with the "Top Cargo" idea. It just doesn't really make any sense, honestly. There is a reason that cargo is suspended under the ship, especially when vehicles are on and off-loaded.
To go through the whole convoluted process of tilting the nose of the ship down in order to load or unload vehicles and gear is just silly, really. And, no, calling it "unique" doesn't make it less silly.
*I'm not hating on the game, or the devs, I'm just saying that that concept is dumb.
this is how not to do a game in 2017, I have a feeling it's going to be another Destiny fiasco !
well this aged well
Derek Watts isn't the art director anymore? :(
Damn that sucks we'll never get to see the nomad come out the back it would have been awesome
pleeeease let us be able to paint or have vehicle skins
Disappointed that there is no weaponry available on the Nomad, seems like a short sighted decision honestly.
Shit, I can't wait to see the "new" Tron Legacy! Fucking Hyped! 1:48
No Gameplay here...
No shit sherlock...
Daniels30 Ok Watson..
TheBrownBomber i dont care, i want GAMEPLAY!!! who the fuck cares about the new hot wheel or the concept art of the mew alien race??? i just want gameplay 😢😢😢
TheBrownBomber im at least hoping for
TheBrownBomber Ok :)
#spacebearinitiative
i have a bad feeling with this game
Skooma Much fxck yo feelings. sap ass boy. It's going to be a great game.
You really did, didnt you. Here's hoping they will get their shit together for the next one.
They should do a dlc where you go back to the Milky Way galaxy.
Thats awesome im soo pumped for this game! Really hope they port the trilogy to ps4 someday.
Well i sure hope the cargo bay won't end up on top of the ship. while the idea is quite a fun one, it definitely ain't a practical one. & as cool as it might sound having the Nomad roll out like that, it would definitely end up making the ship look stupid.
It wouldn't bend the ship. It would just lever it forward on the front gear, I'd wager, by extending the rear gear. That said, it would be a bit awkward for anyone inside as the gravity shifted. Unless the mass effect field could overcome that. But, why bother? More moving parts means more points for failure. Looks good, but impractical from all points.
This is how 343 should have approached Halo, nor just changing it without care of the fact that it's not their game.
The Tempest reminds me of a Macaroni Penguin.
''come inside me''
- tempest to nomad
i still I Sexually Identify as m35 mako
I miss the Citadel...
I was already sure this game would be rock solid by virtue of being Mass Effect, but this interview was so painful to watch that I'm starting to think twice
Oh sure, they've honored their fans with ME3 ending, alright.
this is a new galaxy they are going to. I can understand why the human ship etc looks like something from the citadel because humans like other species based their technology off of the reapers like every other race before them. But they are taking about the citadel making the new galaxy look like that as well but reapers made the citadel so um....wtf. did the reapers go to the new galaxy as well.
New galaxy , new enemies. change the alien galaxy to reflect that. Do not lean on the old.
But in all honestly , I am looking forward to it. I only concern is , what enemy could there be that is a greater threat than the reapers were?
don't forget that this is science fiction. SCIENCE fiction.
is this game set before the mass effect trilogy or after ?
after. some 500 or so years after original trilogy. But story wise i think its nested somewhere between first and second ME...
ApocGuy We leave after ME2, but before ME3.
my bad :( . sorry for miss informations.
I think that the story essentially starts after ME2 but the mission begins a few years after ME3, then the characters wake up afew hundred years later at the edge of the Andromeda galaxy (with technology that is familar to us) and the new adventure begins.
I doubt the story fully starts during ME2 due to the Reaper threat (don't think a full exploratory mission would be sanctioned when the galaxy is under threat).
ApolloXL5 No, dude. They leave after ME2, it's confirmed. When we arrive, ME3 is long gone.
So something more like the Bebop, more or less. That would have been awesome!
A lot of information to... chew upon... in this interview.
THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE MAKO
except that it handles like a rubber egg. it spends more time awkwardly bouncing around than actual driving.
You just can't handle it.
Mako is the sexiest vehicle around.
maybe im weird but i've never looked at any spaceship or vehicle and thought *thats sexy*.
Joker did.
well i played all three games and i am pretty excited for ME Andromeda through i hope its not completly cut of from the story of the original games. If they encounter the reason why the inteligence created the reapers that would be great maybe an reason even the Leviathans didn't knew about since the leviathan story was always kind of stupid in my opinion. Something like described in the "being of light" theory would be awesome. Then the Cargo hold at the top of the ship? That sounds kind of unique but also highly impractical i hope they bring us an good logical reason why that would be nice for an ship like that. If they have a good reason then its an realy great idea. An reason could for example be that the ship was docked with the upper side to one of the arks so the vehicles and stuff could be loaded to it in the same gravitational field so they didn't stand on top like it would be if the cargo hold would be on the bottom. Or maybe the engines would be in the way to dock with the bottom of the ship to the ark. Also i hope the new ships interior is build with more love i mean the SR1 didn't even have crew quarters... The SR2 was in that point much better but still had only one tiny quarter and too much unused space and to less usefull starship things i could think of for example an security room with arrest cells instead it had an whole stupid room for weapons... And of coarse the exterior should match the interior. The SR2 had from the outside way more Windows as from the inside thats kind of strange.
This... this and The ESO... that's it I'm gone... no one could ever disagree...
"technically very challenging to pull off in engine so it's sadly not in the game." That's why you trust in Star Citizen, no publisher and they have the money and balls to pull off something like this.
It's also rather tacky and quite needlessly complicated even for a setting like Mass Effect, hence I'm glad they didn't put it in. Cargo bays are mounted on the bottom of a craft for a reason, and that is so that they have easy access to the ground with only ramps and the minimum of equipment required. Putting the cargo bay at the very top of the ship and then designing an entire landing system just to tip it over is utter lunacy in design even in fiction.
God I hope this game doesn't suck. It's starting to look more and more like a "hipsters rendition of mass effect."
> "we changed from UE3 to frostbite because it's c00l and powerfull, srly guyz!!1!1"
> "aaand no, that's not doable in the engine"
WTF
garrus is love. garrus is life
hype, hype, hype, hype... all the hype usually ends in disappointment
I love Mass Effect but Bioware truly made a bad choice when you can only choose a male lead in the Andromeda game. If Mass Effect wants to be truly great let us choose main character from different races in the Mass Effect universe.
lol "yeah let me give this example of something really cool we thought of and then imediately say the cool thing is not in the game" lol
citadel from mass effect 3? citadel from mass effect you mean
[Ids5621-Retro] Well the citadel in mass effect 3 felt different than in ME1 and 2, It had a different atmosphere and the design was different so I guess that is what he meant
Ice Gray i think he misspoke. If anything, i think the ME3 citadel was trying to me more like the ME one than the ME2 one
Hopefully the nomad handles better than the mako.
These people clearly knows what they're doing can everybody just chill, I love the franchise and I'm super excited for the game and it upsets me to see people bitch and whine about a game people worked so hard for. Everything looks find to me, yall are just spoiled
Why the fuck a cargo bay would be on top of a ship? It's stupid no matter how cool it looks.