Mass Effect Legendary Edition: ME1 Ep 8 – Planetary Exploration – Pt 3

We’re back in Mass Effect Legendary Edition for Episode 8, continuing our planetary exploration before heading to Feros. There’s still plenty to discover, assignments to complete and minerals to collect. Naturally, that also means more time trying to persuade the Mako to drive over mountains that really don’t want us there.

This episode gave us some challenging mercenary encounters, a particularly sad discovery aboard an abandoned freighter and two situations where talking proved much more effective than shooting. Meanwhile, the stream bots had problems of their own, and chat had plenty to discuss.

🌌 About the Game

Mass Effect Legendary Edition brings together the single-player campaigns of Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3, along with over 40 DLC packs, including additional weapons, armour and promotional content. The trilogy has been remastered and optimised for 4K Ultra HD.

We’re playing the original Mass Effect, following Commander Shepard aboard the Normandy. It’s a galaxy full of alien civilisations, political tensions, mysterious discoveries and choices that can have serious consequences. Alongside the main storyline, there are numerous planets to explore and optional assignments to investigate.

🚀 Where We Are in the Journey

We’re now eight episodes into Mass Effect 1 and continuing the third part of our planetary exploration. I’m deliberately working through the side assignments and collectibles before committing to Feros, so there’s still a fair amount of travelling between systems.

Wrex and Tali remain my preferred companions for these outings. I’m also keeping track of completed systems and outstanding assignments, because I want to cover as much as possible. The longer-term plan is to work through the trilogy and eventually tackle Insanity difficulty with a stronger character.

For now, however, there are mercenaries, mysterious signals and difficult terrain to deal with.

🪐 What Happens in This Episode

We started the stream with an unexpected problem: Streamlabs and Nightbot weren’t behaving properly. The automated announcements and timers weren’t appearing, even though the bots seemed to be present in chat. I asked everyone to try a few commands while I investigated, checked the settings and eventually tried switching Cloudbot off and on again. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to solve everything, so it was something I’d have to investigate further.

There were a few other distractions before we properly got underway, including checking the audio levels, dealing with the rather loud game menu and discovering that Mass Effect only allows forty saves. Considering how often I like to save, especially before entering somewhere suspicious, that’s not nearly enough! We also had a squeaky bottle making an appearance, while Royalty arrived to join the conversation.

Once we were ready, we headed into Gemini Sigma, starting with the Han system and Mavigon. The plan was to continue clearing the planetary assignments, collecting minerals and investigating anything we’d previously missed. I had maps available to help locate everything, although that didn’t necessarily mean I’d drive in the right direction. The Mako was already proving that having a route planned and actually following it were two different things.

With Wrex and Tali accompanying Shepard, we worked our way around the planet, collecting resources, including cobalt, and searching for containers and other points of interest. One particular crate took a little finding, but we eventually located it before continuing towards the mercenary base.

Inside, we encountered another of Mass Effect’s rather familiar facility layouts. Some of these buildings are remarkably similar, and by this point you start recognising the rooms before you’ve even finished exploring them. The mercenaries were a little more challenging than expected, forcing me to retreat and allow Shepard’s health to recover before pushing forward again. We eventually cleared the facility, collected the available equipment and picked up an Xbox achievement for reaching 250 kills.

That achievement also led to a little discussion about the longer-term plan for the series. I’d like to complete the trilogy and eventually attempt Insanity difficulty with a stronger character. For now, though, I still need to spend some time properly reviewing our equipment, weapon upgrades and skill points. The inventory has been getting increasingly full, and I keep saying I’ll sort everything out before moving on to something else.

Our next destination was the Ming system, where we investigated a derelict freighter. The ship was suspiciously quiet, and I wasn’t particularly convinced that wandering around inside was going to end well. I suspected there might be a trap, possibly even a self-destruct mechanism, so naturally I wanted to make sure the game was saved before doing anything too risky.

What we actually discovered was a much sadder story involving Jacob and Julia. Through the recordings aboard the ship, we learned that Jacob had no remaining brain activity, but Julia couldn’t accept the prospect of losing him. Her determination to keep him alive had taken a serious toll on her own health, and the situation had become increasingly desperate.

After investigating the medical equipment and understanding what had happened, we ultimately made the decision to shut down Jacob’s life support. It wasn’t a particularly pleasant outcome, but it was one of those moments where Mass Effect reminds you that even a relatively small optional assignment can involve some difficult decisions.

From there, we continued into Hades Gamma for more planetary exploration, salvage and mercenary encounters, including a visit to the base on Klensal. There were more resources to collect, containers to investigate and systems to mark off as completed. I’m trying to keep track of everything as we go, rather than discovering much later that we’ve missed something on a planet we’ve already visited.

Another investigation involved a survey expedition that had uncovered some alien technology. When we started finding suspicious-looking spikes and evidence of missing researchers, I had a fairly good idea what we were likely to encounter. Sure enough, the situation involved husks, and we ended up fighting the transformed members of the survey team.

The encounter was made slightly strange by some of the enemies apparently forgetting what they were supposed to be doing. A few seemed content to stand around rather than attack properly, which made the fight rather unusual. Whether it was an AI issue or something else, we cleared the area, collected what we could and continued exploring. There were also a few moments where our companions behaved strangely, so the enemies weren’t the only ones having difficulties.

Meanwhile, chat was providing plenty of entertainment between assignments. JD and Chrissy got into a discussion about football, which gave me another opportunity to explain that I’m not particularly interested in it. Royalty was also having problems with an unreliable connection, and we had conversations about everything from the weather and possible thunderstorms to carpets and household projects.

The channel’s egg rewards became another talking point. Everyone was comparing how many eggs they’d accumulated, discussing saving them for rewards such as scarves and cards, and wondering whether Twitch had changed how quickly points were being earned. The little notification box also acquired the name “egg carton”, which seems rather appropriate. We even had a few interruptions from the cats while we were supposed to be concentrating on exploring the galaxy.

Back in the game, things became considerably more urgent when we encountered a hostage situation involving Chairman Burns and a group of angry L2 biotics. They were furious about the treatment they’d received and the lack of compensation for the debilitating side effects associated with their implants.

This assignment was particularly stressful because there was an actual countdown involved. We had to get through the hostile enemies and reach Burns before the situation became any worse. After the initial fighting, however, I wanted to see whether we could resolve the confrontation without anyone else being killed.

Fortunately, Shepard managed to persuade the captors that Burns could reconsider their compensation claims if they released him. The biotics eventually surrendered, Burns survived and the situation ended peacefully. We later received confirmation from the Alliance praising the outcome, so that was a satisfying result after the rather frantic beginning.

While checking our remaining assignments, I also spent some time investigating why certain missions and systems weren’t available yet. Some assignments, including Besieged Base and The Negotiator, have Paragon or Renegade requirements, so they aren’t necessarily accessible at this stage of our playthrough. Rather than spending time searching for something we couldn’t currently reach, I made a note of what we’d need to return to later.

There was also the usual confusion with the galaxy map controls, including pressing the wrong button when trying to navigate. Between checking the journal, marking off explored systems and searching asteroid belts for additional resources, there’s certainly plenty to keep track of.

Our next major assignment arrived when Admiral Hackett contacted us about Major Kyle, a former Alliance officer who had gathered a community of biotic followers. They now referred to him as Father Kyle, and Alliance representatives who’d been sent to investigate the settlement had disappeared.

Hackett was understandably concerned about what might happen if the situation escalated. Before heading in, I wanted to understand more about Kyle’s background and why his followers were so devoted to him. We learned about his troubled history with the Alliance and the community he’d established around himself.

We travelled to Presrop and approached the compound cautiously. Rather than immediately fighting our way inside, we managed to persuade the guards to allow Shepard to speak with Kyle. Once inside, we investigated the settlement, checked the available containers and eventually reached Kyle himself.

During the conversation, Kyle admitted responsibility for the deaths of the Alliance investigators, although he believed his actions had been necessary to protect his followers. Shepard challenged that reasoning and explained that his people shouldn’t have to suffer because of the decisions he’d made.

Thankfully, the conversation worked. Kyle agreed to surrender to the Alliance, asking only for enough time to explain his decision to his followers before leaving. I accepted those terms, and we were able to leave the settlement without turning the entire situation into another firefight.

After returning to the Normandy, Hackett contacted us again to confirm that Kyle’s followers had dispersed and that he had surrendered without further violence. Considering Hackett had been concerned that the whole situation might end in a bloodbath, that was a very good outcome.

It also meant we’d managed to resolve two potentially disastrous confrontations through persuasion during the same stream. I was rather pleased with that, and it certainly made the investment in Shepard’s dialogue abilities feel worthwhile.

Of course, our planetary exploration still wasn’t finished. There were additional survey markers and resources to investigate, which meant spending more time dealing with the Mako and Mass Effect’s occasionally frustrating terrain.

One particular journey involved repeatedly trying to find a workable route over steep hills while avoiding the edge of the operational area. I tried different approaches, reversed when necessary and checked the map to work out where we were supposed to be going. At one point, I even considered whether firing the Mako’s cannon might help propel us uphill, similar to a tank stunt from a film.

Unfortunately, the terrain wasn’t particularly cooperative, but we eventually managed to reach the remaining locations and finish exploring the system. It took rather more effort than the map initially suggested it would.

Before finishing, we returned to the Normandy and reviewed the journal to see what was still outstanding. We’d made good progress through several systems, completed a number of assignments and collected plenty of resources, but there were still writings, medallions, emblems and mineral deposits left to find.

We also discussed the mysterious suspicious cow, which we’d heard about but hadn’t actually encountered during this stream. That’s something to investigate when we eventually make our way towards the Kepler Verge. There are also other assignments waiting for us once we’ve met the necessary requirements.

The final part of the stream was spent chatting about possible raid destinations, including some more relaxing farming games, and whether anyone might manage to collect a few extra eggs along the way. After thanking everyone for joining us, I mentioned that the following stream would feature something a little more relaxing.

Overall, we managed to get through quite a lot. There were some difficult fights, an upsetting story aboard the derelict freighter, two dangerous situations resolved peacefully and plenty more planetary exploration completed. The bots still needed attention, the equipment inventory still needed sorting, and the Mako continued to make simple journeys considerably harder than they ought to be.

But we made progress, and there are fewer outstanding assignments to deal with before we eventually head to Feros.

🎬 Watch the Episode

If you missed the livestream, you can catch the complete session here:

Watch ME1 Episode 8 – Planetary Exploration Part 3

You can also visit my YouTube channel or follow the Mass Effect Legendary Edition playlist to catch up on the series.

If you enjoy the episode, consider leaving a like, sharing your thoughts in the comments and subscribing for more.

🔴 Join the Adventure Live

The Normandy isn’t finished exploring, and there are plenty more decisions waiting for us. If you fancy helping me keep track of everything, offering advice or simply joining the conversation while I struggle with the Mako, come along to a livestream.

You can find me live on Twitch and YouTube. There’s always room for another member of the crew, especially when the stream bots decide not to cooperate.

🔗 Community & Links

There’s more happening beyond the Normandy. Whether you want to join the live conversations, keep in touch between streams or explore my other projects, you’ll find everything here.

Live — Join the crew for the next livestream:
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Support — Help keep the streams and other projects going:
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More — Discover my other work and projects:
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🌌 The Mako Survives Another Planet

We made good progress this time, clearing several assignments, collecting resources and resolving two dangerous situations peacefully. The stream bots remained troublesome, and the Mako continued to make planetary exploration more difficult than necessary, but we eventually reached our destinations.

There’s still more to investigate before Feros, including that suspicious cow, so our exploration isn’t finished yet.

Thanks to everyone who joined me live, contributed to the conversations and helped make the evening enjoyable. I’ll see you in the next one!

— Dr Ravenholm