Skip to main content

Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Mass Effect Andromeda patches to improve lip-syncing, trans character dialogue

More romance options for male Ryder.

Jeffrey Matulef avatar
News by Jeffrey Matulef Contributor
Updated on
82 comments

Mass Effect Andromeda has received a lot of criticism since its launch last month and BioWare has been listening. The studio just announced its plan to address the game's most damning flaws.

Hainly Abrams may no longer introduce themselves with an awkward explanation of their gender identity.

BioWare general manager Aaryn Flynn noted on the Mass Effect blog that updates over the next two months will improve the lip-syncing, as the game's facial animations have left something to be desired.

Furthermore, BioWare will tweak the dialogue with Hainly Abrams, a trans character with a tone-deaf expository method of introducing themselves.

Future updates will also add further romance options for Scott (i.e. male) Ryder. Ostensibly this will add more gay romantic possibilities, as the game was criticised for an Achievement/Trophy (The Matchmaker) that unlocks for romancing three different characters when the gay male Ryder only has two options to choose from. As such, if you wanted that Gamerscore you'd have to make Scott Ryder gravitate towards the opposite sex in at least one playthrough - if you wanted to romance someone different each time.

In the meantime, this Thursday's patch 1.05 will include more technical improvements, like the ability to speed up interplanetary travel in the galaxy map along with various bug fixes and performance enhancements.

The full patch 1.05 notes are as follows:

  • Improved tutorial placement.
  • Single-player balance changes: Ammo crates, armor, weapons, nomad, profiles, attacks, and progression.
  • Multiplayer balance changes: Weapons, cover, and enemies (check back for detailed notes on balance changes).
  • Added option to skip autopilot sequences in the galaxy map.
  • Improved logic, timing, and continuity for relationships and story arcs.
  • Improved lip-sync and facial acting during conversations, including localised VO.
  • Fixed various collision issues.
  • Fixed bugs where music or VO wouldn't play or wasn't correct.
  • Fixed issue where global squad mate banter sometimes wasn't firing on UNCs.
  • Fixed issue where player was unable to access the Remnant Console Interface after failing decryption multiple times.
  • Fixed issue where fast travel is sometimes disabled after recruiting Drack until the player reloads a save.
  • Fixed issue where Ryder can become stuck in the start of Biotic Charge Pose.
  • Fixes issues related to some saves.
  • Fixed issue where objective sometimes becomes un-interactable for players in multiplayer.
  • Streaming and stability improvements.

Looking ahead, further updates will address the following issues over the next two months:

  • More options and variety in the character creator.
  • Improvements to hair and general appearance for characters.
  • Ongoing improvements to cinematic scenes and animations.
  • Improvements to male romance options for Scott Ryder.
  • Adjustments to conversations with Hainly Abrams.

Read this next