Discussion about Mass Effect: Andromeda has been hot during the past few days following the release of several scathing impressions articles. Primary of the complaints are the game's animations, which have been featured in dozens of gifs that showcase how jarring they can be.
Despite the overwhelming evidence that this is simply the way Andromeda presents itself, some fans have held onto hope that the game's day one patch will improve the animations, at least to some degree. Unfortunately, as stated by lead designer Ian Frazier, "No, that ship has sailed. We'll have more patches later on, but exactly what goes into them is still in discussion".
The idea that any animation improvements would be included in a patch was far-fetched in the first place. Animations are complex structures that are large in file size and not given attention after they are created during the final months of development. You just don't see animations included in patches no matter the scope of the game. In the case of Andromeda, which is a massive RPG, even small work on the animations shouldn't be expected.
With that, it's safe to say that not only will the day one patch not include improvements to animations, but it shouldn't be expected in future patches, either. Instead, they are likely to fix bugs, improve PC performance, and eventually add content.
Early impressions have noted that Andromeda is a huge shift for the franchise that emphasizes action and exploration at a scale the franchise hasn't seen before, inspired by Dragon Age: Inquisition. It was a risky move on the part of EA and BioWare, especially given Inquisition's lukewarm reception by gamers, but by the time that game launched Andromeda had already been in development for over two years; there was no going back.
Although early impressions have been mixed, Andromeda does retain many of the qualities that made its predecessors great. It's still fun to shoot enemies and utilize powers to bulldoze your way through waves of alien enemies within a beautiful sci-fi environment. Stay tuned for our review on Monday.
