New Mass Effect Being Developed with Frostbite 2

BioWare has today revealed the first true details on the forthcoming fourth title in the bloodline series of the Mass Effect franchise. Currently in development at BioWare Montreal, Mass Effect will make use of the technology available to the studio under the Electronic Arts umbrella, namely the Frostbite 2 engine.

[Godmars290]

So what does that mean to getting planetary exploration back? Adding starship combat?

Is this going to make it a better sci-fi RPG, or TPS with a sci-fi skin?

[NYC_Gamer]

I doubt Mass Effect will ever go back to being an rpg..

[Jinkies]

I know right....back to what it was

I mean all I want is, at least, THE OPTION to have the cool down weapons back, they really seperated it from other games with the same old ammo/gun gameplay.

"and of course rich, cinematic storytelling"

LOL

[fossilfern]

Yeah with the success of ME2 and 3 theres no reason for them to go back to RPG which is a real shame :/. I have been playing through ME1 again with the high res texture mod on PC and have forgotten how great that game is!

Very much doubt we will get the RPG back .

[nukeitall]

I keep hearing about how bad ME and Bioware has become, yet their game sells the best it has ever been.

Are we in danger of becoming a niche?

[ljh217]

Nukeitall, I think we are already a niche. When was the last good tactical/classic RPG? Dragon age origins? That was three years ago..

[Nimblest-Assassin]

I started the ME series with 2.... and I never felt like they were RPGS.... more like a TPS with KOTOR like dialouge trees

[Peppino7]

I love Frostbite 2. Imagine ME4 with destructible environments!!

[Blacklash93]

I honestly thought the gameplay of Mass Effect 1 was a snoozefest and a chore at the best of times. I welcomed the changes to 2 and how they were expanded on in 3. It was less number-crunching RPG, but it was also far better and tighter TPS gameplay. I wouldn't mind them continuing to make the shooting better whilst deepening the RPG systems somewhat closer to 1 like they did from 2 to 3.

Story, the dialogue system, and galaxy map exploration were still a huge flop in 3 all-around, though. They really need to improve on that.

[Irishguy95]

I also think 2 is the best game, but ME1 was better in a lot of ways.

[Double_O_Revan]

Taking a quick look at the types of games that use Frostbite engine:
8 FPS
1 3rdPS
1 Racing
1 RTS
1 RPG

Yea, I'd say its not looking good for an RPG ME4. =(

[Tei777]

lol, since when did an engine dictate the genre of a game? Dragon Age 3 is also using frostbite 2. Expect all future EA titles to use it, its beautiful engine which was initially intended for next gen systems, so expect this games visuals to blow your mind.

[bwazy]

@Tei777

It doesn't matter how great or stunning the visuals are when the underlying game has (considering its current standing) a pretty good chance at being absolutely terrible.

[Knight_Crawler]

Mass Effect died for me along time ago when EA bought Bioware.

[Anon1974]

Really? Mass Effect was launched the same month as the EA buyout and the PC version was launched under EA's watch. The EA buyout was the point I think Bioware became relevant again. I was a fan of Baldur's gate and Neverwinter Nights, even MDK but I thought the company took a detour with games like Jade Empire and Knights of the Old Republic (I wanted to like the game but I found it just...so...boring!)

After EA bought them the Bioware people I spoke to were excited but nervous given EA's reputation at the time of running developers into the ground, an image that EA was working hard to change at the time. It's my understanding that, at least initially (I don't know about now) EA was very hands off Bioware to let them do what they wanted, simply offering more resources than Bioware had on their own.

And during this period they launched Mass Effect and Dragon Age, then ME2 which many view as the company's finest game. Now these were in development before but they were finished and released under EA's watch. Not too shabby, if you ask me. And back then, Bioware was forcing their views on EA, insisting that DLC was the future while EA was fighting against it, wanting physical releases of all DLC. This caused a bit of friction internally I understand from an employee who has since moved on.

I don't see how EA has hurt Bioware in the slightest.

[ATi_Elite]

I along with many other gamers said this long time ago.....EA was gonna have Bioware or Frostbite 2 attached to all it's games and it's NO surprise that Mass Effect 4 is gonna be on the Frostbite 2.

Seeing how M.E. is no longer an RPG but more like Gears of War but with a dialogue tree.......

I'm gonna say there will be a Special Limited Edition Mass Effect 4 Pre-Order bonus with a "Space Age Karkand Map" attached to it!

yep you heard it here first!

[Hellsvacancy]

So its gonna be this http://www.youtube.com/watc... but using the Frosbyte 2 engine

[WolfLeBlack]

To be fair, Mass Effect wasn't really an RPG either, it was a hybrid.

Personally, I don't see the point in trying to label the games as an RPG or shooter. Why can't they just be what they are. Why can't they just be Mass Effect? Slapping genre labels on things adds contraints and expectations for certain things that don't really need to be there.

[Brownghost]

Mass effect stopped being an RPG since mass effect 2.

[DOMination-]

Can somebody explain these rpgs elements to someone who has probably put 300 hours into the trilogy? Because to ne i feel 3 had the same as 1 which is very little.

[Jek_Porkins]

E.A really has a tight grip on their developers, everything they own is starting to use that engine because they don't have to pay licensing fees to Epic Games.

I've enjoyed the series greatly, but I wonder how this will affect the game?

[Pandamobile]

Well why the hell not? You've invested millions into an engine of your own, which is arguably better than the one you've used previously.

Now you can save money by not paying licensing fees.

[Jek_Porkins]

Well they created a fan base using the Unreal Engine, not only are the two top guys at Bioware not there anymore, but the quality of the games have gone done since EA bought them out.

This seems more like something forced on Bioware, as opposed to their own decision.

[ginsunuva]

Breaking News: Every EA game in the next 6 years will use Frostbite 2

[JsonHenry]

I could think of worse engines to use..

[Npugz7]

Not a bad thing since the engine is one of the best out there!!

[MYSTERIO360]

Great news glad to hear mass effect 4 will be using FB2, i always kind of felt that the UE2 was holding them back visually. Can't wait to see aliens races and another normandy like ship using the gorgeous FB2 engine. Just hope this new team adopts and fixs the gameplay mechanics that was used in ME3 by using a lot more of the RPG elements present in ME1.

[v0rt3x]

sorry but I just can't feel excited for anything by BioWare at the moment...

ME3 was a let down.
SWOTOR was a let down.
Founders left.

Meh.

[Pintheshadows]

What about the Cryengine (is that what it's called?). It seems EA is intent on pushing FB2 but not Cryengine 3.

[Dark_Overlord]

That may be due to Crytek owning the Cryengine, EA only helps publish their games :)

[Pintheshadows]

OK, that makes sense.

I'd like to see more games use it as I thought it would be Unreal techs biggest rival. Maybe one day we'll see a new Timesplitters game utilising it. Or Haze 2. Ok, not Haze 2.

Thanks for clarifying that though.

[TisMayo]

I think Mass Effect 2 had the perfect balance between RPG and TPS. If they could go back to that with some tweaks and added customization I am sure that this game will be on the right track.

Either way I am looking foward to more information about the story.

[ziggurcat]

however the game turns out, i certainly hope it's not another whine fest...

[MrDead]

As long as I can see what effect all the choices I made in the last three games come to fruition they can use any engine they want.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Well that just makes sense. I mean Frostbite 2 is owned by EA... Unreal engine that they used in the previous Mass Effect games is not. Its all about saving some $$... plus if used well Frostbite 2 could make for an amazing ME game.

[konnerbllb]

Frostbite is owned by DICE. They are an independent studio and are not owned by EA.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

In November 2004, Electronic Arts announced their intent to purchase all outstanding shares in Digital Illusions. The board of directors of Digital Illusions CE recommended that the company's shareholders accept the offer. Electronic Arts owned 62% of Digital Illusions CE on March 31, 2005.

On October 2, 2006, EA completed the acquisition of Digital Illusions CE was renamed EA Digital Illusions CE.

Why do you think the Frostbite 2 engine is being used by EVERY EA game of late? EA owns DICE and they own Frostbite 2. moving on

[Braid]

That'd be great.

What Crytek's updated CryEngine 3 is capable of is yet to be seen in their next release "Crysis 3", but as of right now, Frostbite 2 is my favorite game engine. It did wonders in BF3, made a gorgeous looking racing game with NFS The Run, and even Medal of Honor: Warfighter is a great looking game in terms of graphics on PC.

Frostbite 2 turns everything into a shining gorgeousness if you have the right configuration.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Well we know ME4 will look stunning. And we also know it'll be on PS4 and 720. I just hope Bioware gives us true and true exploration. Like galaxies that you can explore all across the universe. The ME games didn't really feel that way. It felt limit, very limited in that front.

Also it would be nice to have it MMO styled in away but with out taking anything away from the great story telling. Say you make a hard decision and your friend is next to you so you can conversate and help make those difficult decisions.

Start a army or a alliance of your own in ME. Meet ppl all across the galaxy to bond friendships with or rival, everyone is unique and matters in the world of ME.

Sorry ranting there but that's some stuff I wanna see.

[pandehz]

Oh yea

FB2 with ME universe vehicles, ships etc bring it on

Unless its just purely cosmetic then stfu

[konnerbllb]

Frostbite? lame. Get ready for patches with small changes that are 2gb in size. The engine is not good at patching.

[Pandamobile]

Most of those 2 GB patches you're talking about from BF3 are the result of content patches (expansions).

[DivineAssault]

PLEASE for the love of all things rpg, go back to how part 1 & 2 were to some extent.. I dont want gears of war (aliens n humans) w powers just mindlessly shooting away.. I wont buy anything from them again if EA taints biowares notorious work.. I want side quests, deep combat upgrades with abilities & gun customization.. One can only dream tho cuz i doubt its gonna happen.. What happend to traveling to different planets n driving around huge areas looking for the bases, exploration exp, etc?

[deletingthis34675334]

BioWare in a nutshell: "Less RPG elements and more pew pew pew. Sorry loyal BioWare fans we already told you all we don't need any of you anymore. The Call of Duty kids are all ours now. Enjoy another playthrough of Baldur's Gate II."

[Thefreeman012]

Frostbite does look better than Havok .... Havok has always looked a little odd to me anyways.