‘Mass Effect: Andromeda’ Patch Improves Facial Animations, Future Update To Address Gay Male Romance Options

This week a new patch for Mass Effect: Andromeda will launch on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Patch 1.05 will address a number of single-player campaign and multiplayer mode issues. Animations, inventory, decryption keys, and much more are adjusted in the upcoming update. Additionally, a number of balance changes are expected to launch with the patch when it begins rolling out on April 6.

BioWare also revealed that they will be working on making a number of improvements to Mass Effect: Andromeda in the coming months that should address many complaints fans have had about the game. Among the changes, the developer will be working to address complaints that gay male romance options were lacking for Scott Ryder. While Andromeda gives players the chance to enter into an intimate relationship with a number of characters, including several alien races, some users have been somewhat disappointed by the fact that the male protagonist only has two same-sex romance options and both of those choices are for supporting characters. This leaves these relationships to be less fleshed out that what can be seen in the title’s other romances. Fortunately, BioWare has already confirmed that they will be improving the male romances for Scott Ryder with an upcoming update.

Before that happens however, Patch 1.05 for Mass Effect: Andromeda will concentrate on many players’ most requested changes. The patch will reduce the cost of remnant decryption keys and increase their availability on merchants, and the inventory item cap will be increased. The option to skip autopilot scenes will be added, and several animations will be touched up in the patch.

Specifically, facial animations and lip-syncing in many scenes will be enhanced, while eyes on humans and Asari characters should look better after the update. Players will also see a more natural animation when Ryder runs in a zigzag pattern according to the patch notes on the BioWare blog.

“We’ve introduced a number of balance changes to single player and multiplayer, and resolved some issues with saves not working properly. We’ve also improved lip-sync and facial acting during some conversations, and have implemented a much-requested change that allows players to skip the autopilot sequences in the galaxy map.”

Clearly, the multiplayer option in Mass Effect: Andromeda will also see a few changes and fixes in the update on Thursday as well. Aside from balance changes which will be detailed in an upcoming post, matchmaking and latency will be improved. A bug that left players unable to interact with objects in multiplayer will also be fixed with patch 1.05.

Patch 1.05 is the first patch to Mass Effect: Andromeda since its launch two weeks ago. A day-one patch was deployed alongside its release on March 21 that addressed a few issues in both single player and multiplayer modes. As the Inquisitr reported, the previous 1.04 patch fixed a few character interactions, rectified some quest problems, and patched up an audio issue in the game’s multiplayer mode.

Of course, past and immediately upcoming patches are just part of the post-launch support for Mass Effect: Andromeda. Today, changes and fixes coming to the game within the next few months are also detailed. As noted on the game’s official website by BioWare general manager Aaryn Flynn, several improvements and changes are planned for the RPG in several different areas.

First, players are likely to see more customization options for Ryder in the future. New, and free, customization options are planned for the protagonist, but there is no mention that players will be able to adjust an existing Ryder with the new options at this time. Additionally, the way many other characters look is going to be updated with overall improvements to hair and appearance.

Where would you settle? pic.twitter.com/8w6s3DRw01

— Mass Effect (@masseffect) April 3, 2017

Future updates will also touch on a few points of contention for some players. Conversations with the Hainly Abrams character, for instance, will be altered. Players using Scott Ryder as their protagonist will also see improvements to male romance options in upcoming updates. Not to mention, the effort to clean up and enhance cinematic animations will also continue in forthcoming patches. Finally, in addition to the many single player changes, the multiplayer in Mass Effect: Andromeda will also see new content in the coming months.

“For multiplayer, over the same timeframe, we’re going to continue to build on the APEX missions that have been running since launch. We’ll be adding new maps, characters, and weapons. On Thursday, we kick off the first of three new chapters centered around The Remnant Investigation.”

Players should see these listed changes and improvements over the next two months of patches to Mass Effect: Andromeda. As previously stated, patch 1.05 for Mass Effect: Andromeda is scheduled to begin launching on platforms starting on April 6.

[Featured Image by BioWare]