Development on the upcoming new Mass Effect game seems to be progressing smoothly, with developers from BioWare and the game's director Michael Gamble regularly assuring fans that things are going well despite internal shake-ups at the studio. While players have yet to see any definitive footage of Mass Effect 4, it's worth pointing out that the lead team members on the game are all Mass Effect series veterans with experience working on the core trilogy as opposed to Andromeda. Mass Effect: Andromeda was an ambitious title that earned a mixed response from fans, but it had one unutilized idea that should bear fruit in Mass Effect 4: procedural generation.
Procedural generation of planets was an original goal of the Mass Effect: Andromeda team, but difficulties working within the Frostbite Engine resulted in the idea being scrapped. However, since the release of Andromeda, several other space-faring sci-fi games — most notably, No Man's Sky and Starfield — have utilized procedural generation to great effect, with the technology itself having grown leaps and bounds since Andromeda's development began in 2012. Though many departures from the series Andromeda introduced are perhaps better left in the past, Mass Effect 4 should pick up where it left off with procedurally generated planets rife with opportunities for exploration and emergent gameplay.
Mass Effect 4 Should Look To the Original For One Feature
Little is known about Mass Effect 4's RPG mechanics, but it ought to bring back a long-forgotten feature from the first game in the series.
How the Mass Effect: Andromeda Team Originally Hoped to Implement Procedural Generation
Notably, the team behind Mass Effect: Andromeda had originally hoped to implement procedural generation for its open-world exploration of the galaxy, but ended up scrapping the idea mid-development. The original Mass Effect trilogy had been developed in Unreal Engine 3, but the switch to EA's proprietary Frostbite Engine presented a slew of difficulties that made incorporating procedural generation difficult. Still, the general premise is strong enough to warrant a second look, especially when examining how the team was planning to use it in Mass Effect: Andromeda.
According to a report compiled in 2017, which included input from members of Andromeda's team, one of the original ideas for the game was to utilize procedural generation to create near-infinite numbers of worlds for players to explore. However, concerns over how such an approach could allow for the implementation of a BioWare-style narrative, as well as technical hiccups with its implementation in the Frostbite Engine, ultimately led to the team abandoning the idea after making some significant progress. But to many, the idea of No Man's Sky-style exploration with BioWare's production values and narrative delivery could present the ideal Mass Effect game.
Mass Effect 4 Could Pick Up Where Andromeda Left Off With Fewer, but Denser, Procedurally Generated Planets
In a post-No Man's Sky and Starfield world, both of which have heavily leaned on procedural generation to populate their interactive galaxies, it's perhaps now the perfect time for Mass Effect to circle back on the idea of procedurally generated environments. Each Mass Effect game has taken a different approach to how it handles the act of exploring the "final frontier" of space. Advancements in both graphical fidelity and processing power, coupled with procedurally generated planets, could see Mass Effect 4 making a claim for the best exploration in the series.
Of course, using procedural generation isn't a catch-all for making exploration interesting, which is one area where Mass Effect 4 could shine where Starfield stumbled. While Starfield had an impressive number of procedurally generated planets, many were barren of anything worthwhile to see or do. Instead, Mass Effect 4 could utilize procedural generation to produce fewer but more densely populated worlds that give way to thrilling emergent gameplay elements and worthwhile resource gathering.
Mass Effect
- Created by
- Casey Hudson
- Video Game(s)
- Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
- Creation Year
- 2007
- Developer(s)
- BioWare, Edge of Reality, Demiurge Studios, Straight Right
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts, Microsoft Game Studios