Remember Those Terrible 'Mass Effect: Andromeda' Animations? BioWare Is Fixing Those (And Romance Options)

In the past two weeks since #MassEffectAndromeda's anticipated-but-controversial release, fans have voiced several concerns, both technical and creative - and it seems BioWare is listening.

In particular, the discovery of a planned-then-scrapped romance with Jaal for male PC Scott Ryder, prompting the fan-made Twitter hashtag #MakeJaalBi. Supporters cited disproportionately few male/male romance options, and the removal of a prominent alien squadmate in particular. Another concern for LGBT fans was questionable writing in the introductory dialogue for first in-game transgender woman Hainly Abrams.

Last week, BioWare released this statement, assuring fans their feedback was being heard, and promising forthcoming announcements.

The Twitter hashtag and requests received some silent/indirect support from #BioWare staff in the form of likes, and some direct confirmation that they were indeed listening. Meanwhile, a major announcement was set for the 4th that would address several Andromeda issues, possibly including this one.

As announced, this week BioWare's General Manager Aaryn Flynn released an official statement on Thursday's upcoming patch, as well as additional patches set to roll out over the next two months.

Reading over the bullet points here and in the patch notes blog post, we have several technical adjustments, pretty standard post-game patch. (The ability to skip Galaxy Map autopilot animations and fix for disappearing party banter are likely crowd-pleasers.)

And, especially notable for would-be Scott/Jaal romancers, these points are included for the future patches:

Hainly Abrams' conversation adjustment is another much-requested point, after LGBT fans felt that revealing the old or "dead name" of #MassEffect's first canonically transgender woman character was distasteful and socially unrealistic. She isn't BioWare's first canonically trans character (Krem from Dragon Age: Inquisition), but a respectful portrayal in BioWare's popular franchise is still significant, and requires graceful handling.

Further reading in the patch notes includes "improved logic, timing, and continuity for relationships and story arcs." These, and the upcoming improvements for Scott's male love interests are general and open to speculation, but it's significant that the phrasing wasn't "existing romances," or in the singular. And in terms of development ease, returning Jaal to his previous programming actually seems to be the simplest solution.

Such a maneuver would satisfy several fan desires in one swoop - a prominent male, squadmate, alien romance for Scott - and be comparatively simple for #Andromeda developers. A Jaal/Scott relationship arc wouldn't require creating any new plotlines or recorded dialogue, as they largely already exist. However, improvements for existing romances Gil and Reyes aren't off the table yet, and time will tell if we see enhanced content for them as well.

Mass Effect: Andromeda was released on March 21st and is available for purchase.