Orikon
@OrikonMods • 2,132 subscribers
An outspoken Croat who channels his love for game design by improving flawed masterpieces. NexusMods: https://t.co/2H8iDzOOz5
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"Harbinger was reduced to a brief cameo at the end." "Shepard's antagonist was forgotten about." A classic and valid critique. Let's fix it, do justice to the character, and give him a looming presence across the entire game. Coming on #N7Day2026 for PEOM and OICF are two (optional) modules. Used together, they recontextualize Harbinger's cameo and (help) retain his status. It ain't perfect, but I'm very happy with the result. (TL;DR AT THE END) Some basic info first: 1⃣ Priority: Earth Overhaul Mod (PEOM can also stand for Prologue: Earth Overhaul Mod) - Harbinger leads the attack on Earth. He is now the first, and the last, Reaper you see in Mass Effect 3. - Module is also packed with restored cut content and (huge) visual improvements to Vancouver. For older fans of my work, yes, this is what you've been requesting. 2⃣ Orikon's Integrated Collector Faction - OICF now makes Harbinger speak while possessing Collectors that you fight during Eden Prime, the Leviathan DLC, and Priority: Earth. - Mistakes from Mass Effect 2 are not repeated. I programmed strict control over his speech, and hand-placed each line. Unused or rare lines are also included. 3⃣ OK ORIKON BUT HOW DOES THIS HELP?!?! Consider how well the following components synergize: 1. Harbinger leads the charge in Vancouver. The first Reaper you face. We establish a nice parallel between the game's first and final mission. 2. You soon encounter your first Collectors on Eden Prime. I picked the lines so that he actually *talks* to Shepard instead of throwing generic taunts. 3. Leviathan takes place later, but on Rannoch, the defeated Reaper name-drops Harbinger. So he's there. 4. During Leviathan, he's clearly more aggrevated (reflected through his lines). During Priority: Earth, he is furious as Shepard keeps getting closer to victory. He will talk a LOT while you defend the Thanix Missiles. 5. You beat the Collectors. Again. Just like in ME2. The Reaper is dead, and Hammer is going to the Conduit. Harbinger finally loses patience and comes down to direct things personally since his minions failed. He lands and drops a single line: "We are not finished." TL;DR: His cameo is now a culmination of his encounters with Shepard throughout ME3, during which he becomes increasingly mad. Parallels with Vancouver, where he narrowly misses Shepard a few times, give it a cohesive feeling. Collector encounters are spread across the game, and so Harbinger maintains an overarching presence. Thank you for your attention to this matter. #MassEffect #bioware
Orikon27,299 просмотров • 8 дней назад
Preview of the restored E3 2011 cutscene when Shepard attempts to take out the Reaper base on Rannoch. Despite being 90% completed, the cutscene was removed from the final game, and EDI's lines played ambiently. Coming soon to Optional Content Restorations. #MassEffect #bioware
Orikon36,783 просмотров • 4 месяцев назад
Mass Effect fans sometimes call Drew Karpyshyn's departure one of Bioware's biggest mistakes. But a far less-known exit, that of Chris L'Etoile, had an arguaby worse impact. His vision for the Reapers was dropped last-minute, and it could've made Destroy a very unpopular ending. 🔴 In Reaper lore, there's often mention of "Harvesting". On rare occasions, Reapers, the Catalyst, and EDI use vague descriptors like "processing", "essence", and "preserving". But beyond that, the nature and details of Harvesting are never fleshed out, despite its key role in Reaper cycles. 🔵 After all, what exactly Reapers are and how they function has always been a debated topic in the fandom, due to the conflicting writing in Mass Effect 1, 2, and 3. 🟡 Chris L'Etoile, who was in charge of writing AI, had a more specific idea. See attached media for proof. Reapers are strictly machines, but they are merely a platform - a "bank" built with the purpose of hosting billions of people whose consciousness was digitalized and uploaded onto a neural network, complete with their personalities, experiences, and memories. Think Mikoshi from Cyberpunk, or the "Virtual Aliens" from Mass Effect's own lore. This was explained by EDI upon finding the Human-Reaper. Voice acting and WIP cutscenes were also done. After Chris left, his work was discarded except for Legion and EDI. 🟢 Going into Mass Effect 3, anyone can see how Chris' original vision could've added tons of depth and complexity to our antagonists. Each time a Reaper is destroyed, billions of uploaded minds are also killed. Whether these people are alive or not lets Mass Effect explore similar transhuman themes as Cyberpunk does with its engrams. The concept can be reinforced by having the Catalyst emphasize what he only hints at in the final game: That Reapers preserve all science/culture/technology. With digitalized people, they're total civilizational repositories. This all throws a wrench into the morality of Destroy. There've been tens of thousands of Reaper cycles. The Catalyst's form/voice can even change based on which uploaded civilization "holds the mic" at the moment. As a cherry on top, Chris' Reapers would've played nicely into ME3's existing exploration of whether AI is alive or not (e.g. EDI's character arc, and Geth during Rannoch). #MassEffect #bioware
Orikon31,757 просмотров • 4 месяцев назад
Apparently, early on, an artist wanted the outer ring in the Catalyst's area to spin. But the lighting was baked after he already disconnected the animation (hence the rings looking too bright now), and the antennas he put afterwards also clip through. So I won't be restoring this. Still, I appreciate his idea. The area could use more ✨motion✨ #MassEffect #bioware
Orikon21,640 просмотров • 4 месяцев назад
Eagle-eyed fans might've spotted that the Reaper chase was different at E3. After the Reaper gets hit, it doesn't transition into the boss fight. Instead, he gets up and continues the pursuit. This is exactly what I talked about in this post: The chase was originally a LOT longer and more dramatic. You shot down rock formations that fell on the Reaper, eliminated missiles he fired at you, and fought off other Geth who also pursued you on their own vehicles. Despite being one of the earliest levels the studio worked on, it was still subjected to huge content cuts just like most of the game. #MassEffect #bioware
Orikon20,319 просмотров • 4 месяцев назад
6 months ago I announced that if Jondum Bau was recruited, he and another Spectre would appear on Earth. I proceeded to confidently release the update. Today I find out that this feature was bugged the whole time. Nobody ever actually saw him. Ugh. Fixed. #MassEffect #bioware
Orikon11,381 просмотров • 4 месяцев назад
In vanilla, this Mako gets inexplicably destroyed. Makos aren't exactly made of paper, nor was there any kind of missile or mine. According to the game, the Reaper Blackstar is, quote,"used by Reaper troops to destroy armored vehicles". And that's exactly what I just implemented. Shepard also reacts accordingly by shielding their face in case you, the player, happen to be looking at the explosion. Showing the Reapers actually using the Blackstar for its intended purpose also helps to portray how and why Hammer forces are struggling. Finally, you'll be able to find this Blackstar heavy weapon later in the mission and use it against the Reapers. #MassEffect #bioware
Orikon12,669 просмотров • 6 месяцев назад
Here we go. Small changes, but it's another addition to PEOM's growing collection of polished and refined cutscenes. 1. New Arrival scene: a) Other vehicles now arrive with Anderson and Shepard - minimizing the ludonarrative dissonance from Vanilla. b) Harbinger shoots his beam (originally meant to be in the scene; possibly left out by accident!). c) Applied Depth of Field across the scene, slowed the crane shot, and better synced the music -- hopefully making everything more "cinematic". Oh yeah, and: 2. Conduit Run improvements a) For narrative consistency, additional Reapers land in the distance. b) Turians and Krogan/Salarians run down with you. NPC appearance is also randomized upon each respawn (no more clones!). c) For immersion + foreshadowing, whenever Harbinger almost hits Shepard, your shields take damage. Grime also appears on your armor. d) For immersion + visual consistency, vehicles that get destroyed no longer vanish whenever a cutscene starts (lazy programming, Bioware!). e) For visual consistency, your squadmates also have a "jumping down" animation at the beginning. f) Bug fixes to Gunship animations and mechanical polish; e.g. Shepard's reactions to certain explosions are now distance-based (sloppy programming, Bioware!). Oh yeah, and: 3. Changes to the APC Ride scene: a) New facial animations for Shepard + bug fixes and polish to animations for other characters. - A more abrupt ending, but that's a 100% subjective change, as I dislike the "perfect timing" trope in cinema. #MassEffect #bioware
Orikon15,864 просмотров • 1 год назад
Most people don't know that the ending of Leviathan, which is normally silent, was actually meant to have a unique soundtrack - fully tailored to the scene. It has now been restored as part of our Enhanced DLC Integration module, and is coming tomorrow. :) #MassEffect #bioware
Orikon12,565 просмотров • 10 месяцев назад
In the upcoming update, the Omega DLC and the base game will complement each other. Bray (Aria's assistant from the DLC) is now in Purgatory. You can trigger some brief and previously unused dialogue where he introduces himself to Shepard. The DLC itself now requires agreeing to Aria's proposal. If you don't want to play it, just tell her no. If you do agree, you'll first need to help Aria seize control of the Blue Suns, Eclipse, and Blood Pack by finishing base game quests. Those mercs will then show up during the DLC, which unlocks after the Citadel Coup. #MassEffect #bioware
Orikon10,417 просмотров • 8 месяцев назад
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