Comments on: Mass Effect: Massive Interface Fail Part II

By: Design Roundup #7 « Significant Bits

Design Roundup #7 « Significant Bits — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 02:25:44 +0000

[...] – Krystian Majewski’s thorough drubbing of Mass Effect’s user interface (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3). A must-read for anyone interested in making [...]

By: DSawyer

DSawyer — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 14:46:43 +0000

had to say-now I guess that ‘Recovered’ popup’s automatic. I’d have to mod consoles for some of these games, but they’re great for the Chill/GF/Wii factor. Thanks for the heads-up on some of these things!

By: DSawyer

DSawyer — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 12:38:58 +0000

Well Tali’s bits. I just went through Eden Prime, Citadel, and half of Bring Down the Sky too broke to buy her something nice… and only now I find out what “Recovered Items” popup with no cancel button really is! My oversight..

And I didn’t expect to need fourth items for characters to swap. Then again, another symptom of the console-itis plague, plus lazy.

(On PC it’s become standard to download the Fans Own Laboriously Created UI Mod for X game. well, even if Bioware didn’t make the UI, some doofy license protection issue makes it difficult to mod. Anyway, fortunately some things can be “fixed” even if it breaks immersion.)

Personally I won’t complain about cost though, some simple console games in the 80’s cost $50. A lot with inflation.

Awesome game so far!

By: jay

jay — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 20:46:42 +0000

I bought mass effect to play thru before I play though ME 2. I completed a long chain of events and was rewarded with lots of great items at the climax. Problem? Oh I suddenly and inexplicably ran out of room and had to turn seven of them (over half) to omni-gel.

This is the worst video game experience I’ve ever encountered. Unfortunately I quick-saved after the items were put into my inventory. I’m considering throwing the game away at this point.

Great game design.

By: Drazen

Drazen — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 14:39:29 +0000

I have to agree with you on this, although ME remains a really great and awesome game for me. But, let’s face the truth, everything that you wrote about is true. It is a little easier for PC users I think, but still…
I wanted to add something to the 150 items restriction. If you already have, let’s say 149 items in inventory and you get 4 new ones, you HAVE TO reduce 3 of them to omni -gel, because you just can’t pick them and THEN decide which to get rid of (by the way, I think Bioware forgot to incorporate simple “throw away unwanted item” but I could be wrong here), or god forbid, click non-existing “cancel” button. So if I actually get 2 or 3 items that are better than I currently have, I can’t use them for anything else but omni-gel, and I can’t return for those items later, when I have more room in the inventory . Real slick.

By: Raoul Duke

Raoul Duke — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:46:31 +0000

@insane?

i hope not, because i believe i find myself in the same boat; these things always piss me off greatly, and i cannot fathom how other people can stomach them. thanks for skewering mass effect so well, it is a very cathartic read for people like me.

By: Till Pflug

Till Pflug — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:29:32 +0000

I haven’t really played the xbox version, but judging from your screenshots, the interface is pretty much the same.

Anyway, tho annoying, the interface doesn’t prevent ME from being an awesome game. Okay, maybe leave out the MAKO as well. I had no clue that Mass Effect fields make things turn to rubber .

By: Krystian Majewski

Krystian Majewski — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:27:07 +0000

Hey Till! Nice to see you here.

It’s quite reassuring that I’m not the only person having the problems. So I’m not insane. Or we both are. Also funny that the PC version seems to have the same problems even though the interface does look very different. So it’s not just a lousy console port.

As with your comment on the 150-items: I agree with you. There are games where inventory restriction can actually enhance the experience by introducing strategic challenges. They force you to micro-manage and prioritize resources. On the top of my mind – Resident Evil 4 is an excellent example. But I think we both agree that Mass Effect isn’t that kind of game and it’s the interface’s fault.

And yes, writing about is is QUITE therapeutic.

By: Till Pflug

Till Pflug — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:55:03 +0000

Really good writeup.

Most of your points annoyed me as hell, too. Especially the general lack of information and not being able to just cancel.

At least I didn’t have to fight with having to use different buttons for the same function. It was pretty much always left-click .

I like having all of my companions equipped, even if I don’t use them. But having to run back to the ship 25 times to write down ON A PIECE OF PAPER!!! the stats of their current armors almost made me cry in my pants.

On the 150 item limit: I don’t think it is generally bad to have a weight or item limit. But in other games you can choose to pick up stuff, go sell it, come back and get the rest. Instead of being forced to reduce it to omni-gel or multi-jelly. And especially wasting the additional third line with completely useless info on the manufacturer instead of displaying the three values from the inventory screen is simply stupid.

The interface of the game really is total crap. I hated it the whole time I was playing the game. Maybe I should’ve written about it, seems to help .

Eager to read part 3.

By: Kimari

Kimari — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:01:03 +0000

I thought it was experience since it was a large number….