Mass Effect troubleshooting

[Orion]

So I picked up a DVD copy of Mass Effect 1 the other day, on the theory that anything PhoneLobster hates that much must be pretty good.

I can't get it to play, so since I know several on the den have it, I figured I'd see if anyone has played it successfully on a newish PC.

I have a Dell Inspiron 1545, which has a built-in Intel graphics card. I've flashed my BIOS, installed the latest graphics drivers from the dell site, installed the Bringing Down The Sky update, run in XP compatibility mode, run in Vista compatibility mode, disabled User Account Control, reinstalled, and nothing works.

the unpatched version crashes when it tries to run the config, while the patched version crashes immediately after the splash screen.

[PhoneLobster]

...on the theory that anything PhoneLobster hates that much must be pretty good.

I can't get it to play

Thats the universe blatantly demonstrating you were wrong.

edit: Try these guys maybe? Oh and if you make it work have "fun" with the buggy mini game. And I don't mean the one where the program is buggy and you need to fix it.

[Orion]

So, the system requiremenets explicit specify which NVidia and ATI cards are compatible. I didn't think about this when I bought it, but my new computer has Intel rather than NVidia.

Any idea how to find out whether my graphics card will work?

EDIT: Hmm. I've been able to confirm that my new laptop does NOT have "hardware transform and lighting" which might be a problem. Also the box says laptop video cards "may work but are not supported".

[Surgo]

An integrated graphics card probably isn't going to work. To play a game like that, you really need a discrete (read: ATI or NVidia) graphics card. The Intel ones basically provide enough power to run the latest version of Windows and that's about it.

If it's any consolation, you can probably get one for cheap (provided you have a desktop).

[Ganbare Gincun]

Mass Effect is infected with SecuROM, which means that not only is the game itself bound to be unstable, but it is likely to cause your system to become unstable. This is why I never played the original Mass Effect - or indeed any other games infected with SecuROM. However, both Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age have a far more benign disc check system that doesn't rootkit your system.

You can always do what I did: skip straight to Mass Effect 2 and download a PC savegame from http://www.masseffectsaves.com]. You can also download new faces for Mass Effect 2 at the [url=http://www.masseffect2faces.com/]Mass Effect 2 Faces Database.

[Ganbare Gincun]

Mass Effect is infected with SecuROM, which means that not only is the game itself bound to be unstable, but it is likely to cause your system to become unstable. This is why I never played the original Mass Effect - or indeed any other games infected with SecuROM. This may not be the source of your current problem, but I feel it bears mentioning.

However, both Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age have a far more benign disc check system that doesn't rootkit your system. And thank god for that!

You can always do what I did: skip straight to Mass Effect 2 and download a PC savegame from http://www.masseffectsaves.com]. You can also download new faces for Mass Effect 2 at the [url=http://www.masseffect2faces.com/]Mass Effect 2 Faces Database.

[Ganbare Gincun]

Hmm. Forum is acting VERY strangely right now. Maybe it's infected with SecuROM? lol

[NineInchNall]

There is a securom issue with the dvd version, and it will fuck you in the ear if you have a virtual drive of any sort.

Other than that ...

I'm going to chime in with the others that you need a real video card.

Initial internal monologue: "Integrated Intel graphics? Are you joking?"

[Orion]

Yeah. My old laptop had a pretty decent NVidia and I just sort of assumed this one would as well, since it's marketed as the direct upgrade. It wasn't until after I posted I thought about what I had actually written.

[Crissa]

I might point out that ATI and nVidia also make non-discreet graphics chipsets.

Anyhow, play the console version. Some PC games are just written on a shoestring and not meant for prime time. That's one of them.

-Crissa

[TarkisFlux]

What? Mass Effect was updated and had numerous minor things revised for the PC, and everyone I know who has played both vastly prefers it there. The console one was fine, but if you can get it to work on the PC it's a better experience.

[cthulhu]

It's not bad on the PC, I'm playing it now. The only real issue is the vehicle sections, but my housemate who played it on xbox assures me that they are terrible cross platform.

The cover based elements are not so great but they are workable and if you don't like them you can just approach it like a conventional shooter on the PC which is what I do most of the time as I'm playing an infilitrator (I cannot walk away from the sniper rifle option)

[Ganbare Gincun]

On a somewhat related note, Kabuto The Python put out two songs about Mass Effect 2 on Tindeck. Because, you know, you're not nerdy enough and need more nerdcore in your life.

[Blicero]

This is probably an unnecessary question, but I'm assuming that copies of Mass Effect purchased via Steam are free of any weird copyright protection issues?

[PhoneLobster]

Steam IS a weird copy protection issue.

[Crissa]

...And now it's going to be available for the Mac. I wonder if it'll be worth it? I play on the Mac, I'm not used to buggy games ^-^

-Crissa

[Ganbare Gincun]

This is probably an unnecessary question, but I'm assuming that copies of Mass Effect purchased via Steam are free of any weird copyright protection issues?

Negative. You get a delicious helping of both Steam AND SecuROM. It doesn't use SecuROM, but it installs all of the files and makes your system just as vulnerable as if you bought a physical copy. Bon appetite!

[Blicero]

Well, that's...unfortunate. To put it lightly.

[Ganbare Gincun]

Well, that's...unfortunate. To put it lightly.

It is quite unfortunate. And alas, the same thing applies to any SecuROM-infected game you purchase on Steam.

[Orion]

So, as expected, I love this game to pieces.

Oh, PL's complaints are pretty much all true, at least the one's I remember. Inventory management and lockpicking are both painfully stupid, and the elevator rides are a flagrantly unnecessary irritation. But I don't really care.

This game is love.

[PhoneLobster]

And ultimately it's that uncritical undiscerning client base that the gaming industry abuses in order to not get any better.

Yes Orion, I blame YOU for Mass Effect 3 still sucking.

[Blicero]

I purchased the gam on Steam, and, as far as I can tell, it didn't install any weird protection software. I've never had to validate the game or anything.

The game itself isn't bad, honestly, although I'd probably say it's my least favorite of Bioware's games after the original Neverwinter Nights. The combat is fun enough, the dialogue is typically well-written, and the plot is decent enough (if kinda threadbare). The world is impressively detailed, and although I'm not a huge fan of this type of sf, it's still pretty engaging.

My main problems are thus, though: the sidequests that don't take place on the Citadel, by and by, blow utter chunks. They're way too repetitive (land on a planet, find the warehouse or mine, go inside, kill whomever's inside, and leave). Also, the only one of my squadmates I am even remotely interested are the blue chick and wrex. Everyone else is just so...blah. And the mako's handling is every bit as bad as I've heard.

I'm not especially far into the main plot, but what I've played of the main missions has shown me that they are much better designed than the sidequests, which is a good thing. And, in spite of all its flaws, I've still already played like 22 hours, which is impressive.

[ckafrica]

I liked the game as well. I even found myself enjoying driving the Mako sometimes, despite how ridiculous it is.

[Blicero]

I'd say it certainly can be fun to just drive around the worlds, seeing as they're rather aesthetically pleasing. Even climbing up hills can be fun, if only to see the absurd traction the Mako has. But the minute you have to turn, everything turns to shit.

And the mako battles are really tedious in that all you ever do is get as far away as possible from the enemies and still be able to see them and then liberally apply rockets, as you apparently have the only missiles capable of traveling more than three km/hr in the entire galaxy.

[Orion]

The Mako fights are a lot more fun if you try to get full XP by finishing the enemy on foot: Use a few rockets to soften up a turret, then try to drive close enough, dodging enough rockets, that you can hop out and take it out with circle-strafing small arms. For Armatures, trying to park on top of them is entertaining.

I have to admit, I hadn't done many of the non-citadel sidequests yet. I probably never will, and will stick to replaying the main story with different characters (and/or to get to 60 for exporting).