The dialogue wheel will be pretty much the same, but instead of clear black and white choices (paragon/renegade) there will be more 'grey' options
The protoganist is called Ryder, there is no default gender, the player chooses it
'There is more than one Ryder. There is a Ryder family, we're going to tie that in to the story.' (This wil start in character customization, which will be quite different.)
There will be some, but not much references to the old games, instead the whole point of Andromeda is creating room 'to look forward'
Multiplayer is optional and you can experience everything the singleplayer has to offer without participating in multiplayer. But when you do choose to play multiplayer, the experience will feel seamless from the singleplayer experience.
The only vehicle you can control is the Mako, no space battles for you
The game is in it's 'final stretch', now it's mainly 'polish, polish, polish'
From this IGN interview
Relations will be more realistic, they will evolve more organic
Romances will no longer be choosing the flirty dialogue options, which lead to a romance scene after a while
This also applies to non-romantic relations with squadmates, they too are more dynamic
From this other IGN interview
Big choices from the original trilogy (like the ending) won't impact ME:A
It's pretty much confirmed that the Andromeda explorers left before the ending of ME3, but when exactly isn't clear yet
Again, the game will take place hundreds of years after ME3
To prevent speculation: it's pretty much safe to say now that Ryder left the Milky Way before big choices were made by Shepard (instead of BioWare making certain choices canon)
From this Kotaku interview
When you land on a planet, you don't just visit for one single objective goal, they want you to hang around and explore
ME:A will be a bigger game 'all around' compared to previous Mass Effect games
The journey to Andromeda took hundreds of years, so the game is set hundreds of years in the future
From this Polygon interview
'This is a story about becoming a hero' (instead of a hero becoming a legend)
Ryders and his/her crew are much 'greener' than Shepard and company (but they do know how to handle a gun already)
It's a more 'personal journey' than Shepard's adventure
All technology and stuff will be 're-explained' for new players
The multiplayer doesn't(!) have a impact on the main story
From this Games Radar interview (with Flynn)
The Need for Speed team helped creating the Mako
Mako won't be doing crazy stuff anymore, like in ME1
Driving the Mako will be 'actually fun' (their words, not mine)
From this PlayStation Access interview (just Flynn)
We didn't 'warp' to Andromeda, it was a very long trip
400 years is 'not a bad guess'
The protagonist has no connection to Shepard
It seems some new species can either be friendly or an enemy based upon player's choices
The Tempest has a lot to offer inside, interactions and stuff you can do
'The Citadel looking thing' is important to the overall story
Only human is an option to play with
From this German Inside PlayStation interview (just Flynn)
Flynn says No Man's Sky is pushing boundries, and is scratching his head ('how do they do that?') and looking if BioWare can learn from it. The difference: Mass Effect is first and foremost a story. He seems especially interested in no loading screens.
You get to explore a lot with the Mako
VR is the future, I love to see Mass Effect in VR or AR
From this - terrible, but hilarious - Brazilian Canal Uplay interview (with Flynn)
There will be references/easter eggs to the old games
We're not focussing on talking about gameplay
Players can see much more exploration than in old games, it will be more 'open and free'
From this French interview with Yanick Roy, that got translated on Reddit:
The player has a bigger influence on Ryder's personality, than he/she had on Shepard's personality (with the pretty vague argument that this is because of a new galaxy)
There are loyalty quests for squadmates
The multiplayer matches will be similar to ME3's but have more freedom and chaos
The Tempest might be customizable (but perhaps only cosmetic, again pretty vague answer)
Planets will have one 'climate' (similar to Star Wars, where one planet is completely desert, the other completely ice or jungle)
You can only play human, since the game is about humanity's place in the galaxy. Having a more defined character leads to a more refined story. Still, they're trying to 'give a bit more' when it comes to character customization.
The hero must find a new home for humanity and the other races that came along, and he/she is very versatile because this job requires many qualities
Things that were already confirmed:
The female from the trailer is default (female) Ryder
You 'wake up' in Andromeda (so you're frozen/in stasis during the centuries long trip)
The new Normandy is called Tempest
Twitter stuff:
Forum-member DextroDNA asked Michael Gamble about the default male protoganist. Gamble replied that he looks awesome, that we'll see him and that Gamble plays the default male protoganist in his playtroughs.
Forum-member BioFan got a confirmation from Mac Walters that the name Ryder is inspired by Sally Ride (the first American woman in space)
Gay romance confirmed
Can't wait to pre-order a collector's edition? More news on that in the fall.
PC requirements will be similar to those for Dragon Age: Inquisition and Star Wars: Battlefront.
How we are able to communicate with new species, will be explained later
How we get to Andromeda (details on the technology behind the journey) are considered spoilers at this time
