Orikon

Orikon's Revised Galaxy Gameplay (ORGG) has managed to escape development hell, and is now releasing on February 17th. ✅ Designed as a spiritual successor to Expanded Galaxy Mod (EGM) ✅ Launches as a Beta, with 3 modules: 1⃣ Enhanced Galaxy Map: Tons of restored cut content + new, original additions like: War Assets, Clusters, quest revamps for Barla Von and the Elcor, Star Charts, new quests and interactions (say hi to Randall Ezno!), quality of life improvements, and much more... 2⃣ Enhanced DLC Integration: Citadel, Leviathan and Omega DLC woven into the overarching story; DLC enemies distributed across base game content; easier access to DLC weapons and gear. 3⃣ Consequential N7 Missions: New conditions to access the N7 side missions, with corresponding rewards. ✅ Huge roadmap for post-release content updates, including a fourth module. ✅ Actually compatible with Expanded Galaxy Mod's Visitors, Normandy, and Squadmate Modules. Due to the (unexpected) challenges I faced during development, the release state and the future roadmap had to be adjusted. But we're still moving forward! And yes, February 17th is still New Year. Maybe it's the Chinese one... but technically I didn't lie. 😛 #MassEffect #bioware

Brief Essay ✍️ There's a common belief that Javik was "cut out and sold as Day 1 DLC". Bioware, naturally, claims that's not true. So what's the truth, and what was the scope of Javik's original involvement? Having spent thousands of hours modding the trilogy, I have an answer: Cross-referencing both the game files and a late stage version of the original script allows one to put together the puzzle pieces. Pictures with examples are attached. ⭕️ Yes, Javik was originally heavily featured in the story. ⭕️ Eden Prime was very different: 1. During the flashback sequences, you play as Javik and fight the Collectors. Harbinger also returned. This is further confirmed by game files, as a "combat" version of Javik gets setup before each flashback. 2. Kai Leng leads Cerberus on Eden Prime. After they realize Shepard reached Javik first, Leng gives the order to massacre the colony. Eden Prime is gone, and the massacre is framed on Shepard. The framing also ties into how much Ashley/Kaidan trust you later on. 3. Due to Shepard's ties to Cerberus and limited evidence, the Council is very skeptical. Udina's future betrayal is foreshadowed as he immediately votes on having Shepard arrested. You watch the debate and must defend yourself. Failing to convince the Council results in your Spectre Status being STRIPPED. ⭕️ In the game files, most situations where your Spectre Status is called upon actually have a (working) branch in case it was stripped. ⭕️ After the Coup, the Asari Councilor brings up Thessia specifically because she hopes Javik can interact with the beacon and find the Catalyst. ⭕️ On Thessia and afterwards, Javik has Vendetta's role. He enters a "trance state" while interacting with the beacon, and gets abducted by Kai Leng who wants to finish his job from Eden Prime. ⭕️ On Cronos Station, you rescue Javik and he helps you fight against Leng. After the DLC-ification, voice lines referencing "Javik" were re-recorded to instead reference the "Prothean VI". The call from the Asari Councilor on the Normandy was also (poorly) rewritten. #MassEffect #bioware

Thread 🧵 The original Omega questline before it was retconned: What was lost, and gained, by turning it into DLC Most people don't know that the initial plans for Omega in #MassEffect 3 were completely different. They even featured Zaeed and the Omega 4 Relay. Luckily for us... ...#bioware left the majority of details and dialogue in the original script. The remaster even came with corresponding beta files that the devs used for testing. Let's dive into it. Brief summary: ⚠️ PART 1 ⚠️ 1. Aria is determined to stay neutral in the Reaper War. She has an uneasy truce with Cerberus and allows them to keep salvaging the Collector Base in return for peace. 2. Shepard convinces her that both Cerberus and the Reapers will inevitably betray her, and that it's better to face them now -- early in the war, and on her own terms. 3. Aria agrees, but Shepard will owe her a big favor. Omega attacks Cerberus, who in return attempt to destroy the station's shields, thus leaving it vulnerable to asteroid/meteor impacts. ❗️ First mission ❗️is defending Omega from Cerberus landing parties and protecting the Shield Generators. ⚠️ PART 2 ⚠️ 1. Aria calls in her new favor. Shepard has to go back beyond the Omega 4 Relay and recover some extremely valuable cargo, which will allow Aria to commit Omega's fleet and Element Zero stockpiles to the Reaper War. 2. Cerberus starts starving the station by blocking supply lines. Upon Shepard's return, Afterlife is described as visibly changed, reflecting the dire situation. 3. Aria requests that Shepard boards the Cerberus command ship and sabotages it. ❗️ Second mission ❗️is recovering the cargo. After returning from beyond the Omega 4 Relay, you infiltrate the main Cerberus ship and sabotage it, thus lifting the supply blockade. ⚠️ PART 3 ⚠️ 1. Colonel Armitage, renamed into General Oleg Petrovsky in the DLC, has fled Omega with the remaining Cerberus forces after the supply blockade was lifted. 2. His ship was damaged during the escape, and crash lands on a planet in the Caleston Rift. The planet is described as having huge boiling lakes. Aria offers Omega's best mercs in exchange for capturing Armitage, but warns that his bodyguard is very dangerous. 3. You land, fight through Cerberus defenses, reach Armitage/Petrovsky... only to find Zaeed serving as his bodyguard. You FIGHT ZAEED, and afterwards get a choice: Either finish him off, or Charm/Intimidate him into helping you. Either way, Armitage is captured. ❗️ Third mission ❗️is a traditional Mass Effect level. Land on a planet and fight through enemies. Zaeed is the final boss. You can either kill him, or convince him to join you.

Shameless self-plug but in my defense you did ask about mods that restore some of it 😅 nexusmods.com/masseffectlege… Jokes aside, most parts/levels in the game have some. But the final mission has most. Originally it was supposed to be similar to the Suicide Mission, with various characters/allies helping you in combat, but it was progressively downscaled until we got the release version -- which was barely a skeleton. There's also Javik before his DLC-ification: x.com/masseffect_peo… The Rannoch chase sequence and subsequent boss fight was much different until very late in development: x.com/masseffect_peo… 3 missions were also cut from the game. One major, two side missions. The major mission featured Kal'Reegar and his Fire Team Taurash: x.com/masseffect_peo…

Happy Mass Effect Monday! What feature do you hope the next game has the most? #MassEffect