Mass Effect PC will 'Bring Down the Sky' at launch [Updated]

by Alexander Sliwinski { Apr 10th 2008 at 2:25PM }

~~Don't expect to play Mass Effect's "Bring Down the Sky" downloadable content on the day the game releases for PC.~~ Developer BioWare tells IGN that the DLC will not be included in the PC release, though there will be an "announcement soon" about "additional content" for it. Update: The DLC will not be included in the box, but will be offered for free to BioWare community members

BioWare dodges the question about whether future DLC will be staggered and released on Xbox 360 first, followed by PC. Either way, the PC gamer race is sure to giggle with delight as they experience less texture popping and shorter elevator rides when Mass Effect launches May 28.

Tags: bioware, bring-down-the-sky, DLC, mass-effect, masseffect

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jeff @ Apr 10th 2008 2:33PM

Loads of Xbox 360 users bitched about it on the official forums. I'm figuring they screwed us PC gamers over. Thanks.

God knows PC gamers don't pay for Horse Armor-- if they tried to sell a tiny little expansion like this, no one would *buy* it.

I'm guessing we'll get something similar, perhaps with some tiny feature removed so that they can give it a different name... and it'll be free.

FatalisticDread @ Apr 10th 2008 2:41PM

I would guess that Bioware/EA would put all the DLC into one expansion pack for PC. Whether that means it will all be on the 360 first or not will be the question.

Jeff @ Apr 10th 2008 3:02PM

That's a great theory also. They did mention that the announcement was forthcoming, though, and I don't think they have a complete expansion in the works...

Just give us a toolkit, and we'll make our own.

Carl Abrams @ Apr 10th 2008 2:39PM

Shorter elevator rides?

But - when else would I have time to finish reading War and Peace?

Seriously - that needs a patch of some kind to speed it up - especially the ride when you're on the Normandy.

Microswirl @ Apr 10th 2008 2:45PM

I guess I'll wait for the special edition in 2010, when the game is finally "finished". By then you should be able to pick up the game, including B.D.T.S. and the other 4 DLC packs, for about $40. Plus, by then I'll have a PC that can actually run it!

scoob @ Apr 10th 2008 2:57PM

It's finished just fine now, guy. You keep waiting, though. The rest of us have already played the best gaming experience of 2007.

Microswirl @ Apr 10th 2008 3:06PM

@scoob

I've already beat the game on 360 and am on my 2nd playthrough. I was referring specifically to the PC version of the game, which by all accounts looks to be a more polished game.

Jeff @ Apr 10th 2008 3:18PM

Honestly, I doubt its a more polished game.

Sure. The elevator rides will be shorter, and there won't be texture popping.

... Everyone likes to bring up how expensive PCs are when putting them down, but when complaining that PC gets something that they don't it's totally forgotten. Of course we won't have texture popping-- our systems are better. That has little to do with polish.

Microswirl @ Apr 10th 2008 3:29PM

Yeah, plus the whole game can be installed. That's gotta make it a helluva lot faster. However, a game still has to be programmed to take advantage of those features. I would argue that Gears of War is an example of a polished game (at least graphically), and is visually leaps and bounds above Mass Effect, despite the fact it's running on the same hardware.

Jeff @ Apr 10th 2008 4:09PM

I haven't actually seen Mass Effect in action, but I imagine the maps are much larger than those in Gears of War?

Particularly on memory-limited systems (all the current-gen consoles), big things are difficult to render, and complex LOD systems cause some trouble.

Of course, probably does have a bit to do with polish... not to contradict myself. Bioware probably can't work UE3 as well as Epic =P

Microswirl @ Apr 10th 2008 5:01PM

Exactly, Jeff. It all goes back to the competency and judgement of the developers. For example, if those maps are so large then why doesn't Bioware just make them smaller? If textures are still loading during a cutscene, why not have a load screen up for a little longer until all the resources are in place? Rather than throwing too many particles and polygons up on the screen, why not cut back a little, and design the game around having a solid framrate first and foremost?

There are also non-technical problems with the game. Why inform the player that their inventory is full, present them with a screen (which has no cancel button) where they can reduce items to medi-gel, yet fail to show stats for said items (y'know, so you can decide if you wanna instead remove a less powerful weapon that is already equiped and therefore not on the list). At one point I had removed so many items from my inventory that I had 1390 medi-gel, yet the game has medi-gel cap, so the next time I went into inventory it reverted to 999 medi-gel. It's just dumb game design.