The faces in Mass Effect: Andromeda come to life – Patch 1.05 has brought significant improvements!
The facial animations of Mass Effect: Andromeda have been the subject of ridicule from fans of the game for weeks, despite their otherwise high praise. The first patch, active since April 7, 2017, has not made major changes to the facial animations but has dispelled the “lifelessness” from many faces in the game.
The reason for this is a new shader specifically used for the eye areas. Pupils now appear – in most cases – no longer stiff and lifeless, as if they were simply under a spotlight. Instead, they now better account for nearby light sources and objects, allowing shadows from the upper area of the eye socket to fall into the eyes. The result is already captured by the community in many videos and screenshots and is met with excitement.
While it has not solved all the issues with the facial animations – many of them remain identical – it is a significant step in the right direction. At least the atmosphere of many conversations has become denser and most Humans and Asari no longer walk around as if someone had hit them over the head with a board to wake them up.
For the future, BioWare has further changes planned, but these will take time and will consequently only appear in a future patch. With a bit of luck, the remaining facial animations will also look the way fans have always wished.
What do you think of the changes to the eye shader? Do you prefer the new look or did you like the original?
