Improving the appearance of eyes for humans and asari characters

Improving localized voice over lip sync

Over the next two months we’ll be rolling out additional patches which will go even deeper and look to improve several areas of the game:

More options and variety in the character creator

Improvements to hair and general appearance for characters

From conversations with nearly a dozen people who worked on Mass Effect: Andromeda, all of whom spoke under condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk about the game, a consistent picture has emerged. The development of Andromeda was turbulent and troubled, marred by a director change, multiple major re-scopes, an understaffed animation team, technological challenges, communication issues, politics, a compressed timeline, and brutal crunch.

Improved Character Creator

We’ve expanded the options available in the character creator, giving you greater control over your Ryder’s appearance. Two new heads were added, one male and one female, as well as a new complexion option and a greater range of available skin tones. We also unlocked all hairstyles for both sexes, and added a new bald option.

For players wanting to adjust their look mid-game, we added the ability to change your character’s appearance onboard the Tempest.

And for fans of Alec Ryder’s iconic appearance, you can now choose to keep the default Alec, rather than having his appearance be based on your custom Ryder.

Expanded Male Romance Options for Scott Ryder

Scott Ryder can now pursue Jaal as a romance option. There are several important reasons for this change:

Scott Ryder did not have a same-sex squadmate available as a romance option, nor could the achievement for completing three romances be achieved with only male same-sex partners. And as the angara have expressed their fluidity in how they perceive gender, it seemed only natural that Scott could have a relationship with Jaal.

However, we understand that a character’s orientation is an important part of what makes them feel real. The relationships with your crew are some of the most loved and cherished parts of our games, so we wanted to make sure we got it right. We consulted with members of the LGBTQ community, both externally and within our own studios. After carefully considering all feedback, we decided this was an important change to make, and one that made sense for Jaal, Scott, and the angara.

Our writing, editing, and animation teams worked together to ensure this change made sense for Jaal’s character, and the result is a relationship we hope feels as fulfilling and memorable for Scott as it does for Sara.

You can find a full list of changes and improvements in the patch notes below.

Single player

• Ryder’s appearance can now be changed onboard the Tempest
• Expanded the range of options available in the character creator
• Jaal can now be romanced by Scott Ryder
• Dialogue for Hainly Abrams was adjusted to change the flow of personal information she discusses with Ryder.
• Fixed issue with Nomad upgrades Shield Crafting quest
• Nexus level and cryo pod points are retroactively granted
• Vendors now carry weapon mods for Level 60-71 players
• Vendors now sell weapon augmentations for automatic fire, burst fire, and single-shot fire
• Improved clarity of descriptions for augmentations
• Plasma Charge system now works properly for shotguns
• Beam Emitter augmentation now causes guns to fire a constant beam with scaling damage based on the weapon’s damage per second
• [PC] Added experimental support for Dolby Vision™ technology

Multiplayer

• Stealth Grid challenge now increments properly
• Fiend no longer sprints when within 10 meters of target, and will decelerate to base speed
• Enabled movement correction during Fiend attacks to reduce incidence of players seeing Fiends attacking in the wrong direction
• Improved movement prediction for some enemies in tight spaces to reduce appearance of teleportation
• Fixed issue that prevented melee attacks if the revive icon was near center screen
• Fixed issue where ammo pick-up audio incorrectly played
• Fixed issue where Backlash could malfunction while moving
• Using Stealth and Recon Visor together no longer increases duration of invisibility for Turian Agent
• Fixed issue where weight reduction modifications wouldn’t reduce weight
• The Revive Pack Transmitter now displays the revive radius in the loadout screen
• Equipping the Cobra RPG now interrupts reloading
• Player turns to Adhi when getting synced to avoid teleportation issue
• Fixed issue where enemies would occasionally enter T-pose when hit
• Improved visual and audio cues for player ready status in Multiplayer lobbies
• Added “Lights” option to customization options