BioWare mulls Mass Effect Andromeda animation, character creator improvements
Day-one update patch detailed.
BioWare has published patch notes for Mass Effect Andromeda's day one update, as well as a previous patch which landed for Early Access players.
Chief among the changes are progression bugs and animation tweaks - although some of the game's most-commented-on scenes remain untouched. For now, that is.
BioWare hasn't gone so far as confirming Andromeda is getting a big animation do-over - and the vast majority of the dialogue you've not seen in GIFs is fine - but the company has said it has plenty of things on the list for its next patch.
"We're looking at patching lots of issues and want to strongly support the game moving forward," lead designer Ian S. Frazier wrote on Twitter last night, in response to one fan asking whether facial animations for some characters might improve. "I can't say more just yet."
One of Andromeda's areas actively being investigated for tune-up is its character creator, whose relatively limited options have upset some fans.
"Can't promise anything yet, but we're currently evaluating various options for making it better," Frazier wrote.
Last week's early access trial for the game recieved a mixed response from fans, who flooded the internet with some of the game's worst examples of bugs in GIF form.
"Many of these issues will be patched out, and most are negligible - easily forgiven as you gaze out over a gleaming, windswept icefield studded with kett outposts, or glimpse a gigantic sandworm composed of flickering black shards arching through the skies of a desert world," Edwin wrote in Eurogamer's Mass Effect Andromeda review. "But it's staggering, nonetheless, that the game made it to retail in this state."
"We're absolutely listening," Frazier concluded, writing to another fan concerned the game would be left in its current state. "Sorry I can't say more right now."
Full patch details lie below:
Patch 1.04
Singleplayer
- Fixed an issue whereby players were unable to land on Ark Natanus
- Fixed an issue whereby the game loaded to a black screen or ran as a background process when Corsair Utility Engine or similar programs were running
Multiplayer
- Fixed an issue causing players to stop hearing their character's audio and start hearing another player's instead
- Fixed an issue causing the game to crash when using the Human Male Soldier and F key
Early Access Patch
General
- Overall performance improvements
- Fixed an issue with the title only accepting input from the last controller synced when two controllers are assigned to the same profile
- Fixed various collision issues
- Fixed a few rare audio issues
Singleplayer
- Improvements to many cinematics, conversations, and other character interactions
- Improved quest rewards
- Fixed an issue whereby a door could become jammed in mission 5
- Fixed issues with objective markers not appearing correctly
- Minor performance improvements after some Tempest transitions
- Fixed an issue whereby the combat music was not functioning as designed
- Fixed some minor quest-related issues
- Fixed a small cinematic issue during the Drack loyalty quest
- Minor balancing change to the "Remove the Heart" quest
- Improvements to quest tracking and waypoints
Multiplayer
- Improvements to Strike Teams UI screens
- Additional multiplayer tutorials implemented
- Balance changes to guns, reward packs, and objectives scoring
- Improved appearance of character portraits
- Added new artwork for MP characters, armor, and challenges in menus and codex entries