15168 réponses à ce sujet

[Arijharn]

I have no doubt that Shephard could work out something in regards to Aria, but there must surely be many more people in the Terminus Systems who are a) Capable Willing to try and get a leg up on Aria and c) Don't give the slightest stuff about Shephard.



Also, I'm not sure how much influence Aria wields outside Omega.

[Kronner]

SimplyNeo wrote...

Yannkee, This picture seems super high-res to me.  Are you using something or a mod to bump up the visuals?

Cheers!

Seems to me that DepthOfField is set to false in that screen. I love DoF=False, but unfortunately it screws up certain effects (such as charge on impact) so I have to stick with DoF=True.


By the way, that omni-tool Miranda picture is awesome!

Modifié par Kronner, 17 janvier 2011 - 01:07 .

[Elyvern]

That is truly an amazing piece of fan art...

Arijharn wrote...

Except, the Council would have a higher chance of being sussed out due to the fact that it's a political system rather than an actual covert agency. Not to say that they can't perform stealth, but if they are ever discovered they would suffer pretty extreme consequences, far greater than anything that would happen against Cerberus.

If the Council was discovered, it could mean war, which would be something Shephard for sure would be keen on preventing prior to Reaper arrival at all costs. If Cerberus was discovered, then it wouldn't be nearly as catastrophic. And that's at the worst side, at best, the Terminus Systems would withdraw further from the Council, which would be probably something just as bad in terms of potential co-operation against the Reapers. True, that might not be likely, but there's no point potentially burning bridges.

In this case, it's actually an advantage to utilize Cerberus' 'avowed enemy' status, because it becomes a useful cushion if the cat gets let out of the bag.

Thanks for your feedback, Arijharn. But I do think you're exaggerating the potential for flare up here. Entering the O4-relay is primarily a goal of scientific investigation and research. There is no need to send a show of force through the relay. Aria in Redemption has been shown to have an adversion to the collectors. The Alliance or the Council can easily negotiate for passage through the system once Aria is made to "understand" the need to study the base. An unmarked ship shadowed by Aria's forces to ensure it goes through the relay without a hassle will not create an incident. I don't see how it would unless you posit a worst case scenario. 

As Ieldra says, the political issues, especially pertaining to Cerberus, will continue to crop up in my fic. It coincides with my aim to write the story as realistic as possible.  

Modifié par Elyvern, 17 janvier 2011 - 09:32 .

[Arijharn]

There is always a need to have a sizeable force in the Terminus Systems, because it's the 'wild west' with lots of differing nation states continuously at war with each other. Even in your scenario you've just written above you are basically having the Council attempting to pull the wool over Aria's eyes in regards to mentioning the Collector's, but that's only the half truth, and if Aria finds out then the 'escort' she provides wont be quite so friendly.



Since the Council is a political animal that is seemingly democratic in many ways, a degree of transparency would be needed. Even if Liara could be depended on not passing that information on, I don't think we should preclude other species in the Terminus for not having some spies or people on their payroll simply because to me at least (maybe you feel differently) the Terminus Systems and the Council always seem as if they are having their own private cold war, with neither side trying to openly rock the boat.



If the Council/Systems Alliance felt that some species in the Terminus Systems might risk interstellar war for a Prothean beacon on Eden Prime (which, iirc, is near the 'border' so to speak - but clearly within Council space) then I think it would be safe to assume that they'd be even more willing to make a grab for the Collector Base. Especially since the Council can't cry foul over them taking something that they shouldn't really have in the first place. It would be as if the United States built a high tech submarine base in Antarctica, they couldn't really cry foul if Argentina decides to 'invade' and successfully captured it.

[fongiel24]

Arijharn wrote...

If the Council/Systems Alliance felt that some species in the Terminus Systems might risk interstellar war for a Prothean beacon on Eden Prime (which, iirc, is near the 'border' so to speak - but clearly within Council space) then I think it would be safe to assume that they'd be even more willing to make a grab for the Collector Base. Especially since the Council can't cry foul over them taking something that they shouldn't really have in the first place. It would be as if the United States built a high tech submarine base in Antarctica, they couldn't really cry foul if Argentina decides to 'invade' and successfully captured it.

I was always under the impression the Terminus Systems were a no man's land separating Citadel space from non-Council aligned powers, not an area where those non-Council powers were located themselves. Just as you're unlikely to see a turian or human warship poking around the Terminus, you're probably equally unlikely to ever see a batarian warship. I basically think of the Terminus Systems as being like the high seas. If a Council-flagged ship were attacked by a flagged warship from a non-Council power, the Council would have a legitimate bone to pick because the Terminus belongs to neither side.

I'm going to go offtopic now and address the Antarctica example. Technically, both the United States and Argentina would be at fault since by international treaty Antartica is supposed be demilitarized. The United States would be at fault for building its submarine base there (provided it was for military applications), Argentina would be at fault for attacking it using military force. Ultimately though, the U.S. probably would be able to cry foul because Argentina is attacking either a U.S.-flagged ship (if the base is being classified as such) or U.S. government property in neutral territory that belongs to neither side.

[Arijharn]

fongiel24 wrote...
I'm going to go offtopic now and address the Antarctica example. Technically, both the United States and Argentina would be at fault since by international treaty Antartica is supposed be demilitarized. The United States would be at fault for building its submarine base there (provided it was for military applications), Argentina would be at fault for attacking it using military force. Ultimately though, the U.S. probably would be able to cry foul because Argentina is attacking either a U.S.-flagged ship (if the base is being classified as such) or U.S. government property in neutral territory that belongs to neither side.

You know as well as I do that they wouldn't be able to get a diplomatic way out of this due to the very nature of it being demilitarized. They can't go to say the International Court to demand that Argentina removes itself from the base they aren't supposed to have there in the first place.
For example, in Australia criminals can't use the law to protect themselves from other criminals if they committed a crime. For example; a drug lord who makes his own ecstasy tablets can't use the law to stop another drug lord from committing criminal acts against his drug operation.
In the Antarctica example above; both the US and Argentina would suffer heavy sanctions, because, as you said, they are both contravening the treaty.

Modifié par Arijharn, 18 janvier 2011 - 07:34 .

[Sporothrix]

Dunno if someone noticed that before, but that whole idea of Miranda's "reshaping her father's Y chromosome" was rather ignorant.

Y chromosome is basically damaged X chromosome - those few genes that remained in it are mostly homologous to genes on X chromosomes, and those which are not, are connected with male sex development - with creation of testicles and spermatogenesis. Obviously it was propably cut for Miranda. Then not much left. Whole genetic material had to be taken from somewhere else.

And because women (most of them - there are many conditions that result in XY female) have two X chromosomes, and both of them cannot be active at the same time, thanks to random X inactivation, every cell (including neurons) has functioning one chromosome. That means that female bodies are mosaics with different genes functioning in different cells. Here's more detailed info:
http://en.wikipedia..../X-inactivation

That leads to question: is this really sensible to modify only half of the genes (one X chromosome)? Only logical way would be to make direct copy of first X chromosome, so Miranda would have two exactly the same X chromosomes. Normally such thing could be risky (intensified inbreeding results after few generations in very similar two X chromosomes, so if there were any recesive genes with some diseases, they would show their full glory), but since Miranda is genetically modified, I assume she has only the "perfect" genes.

Modifié par misoretu9, 18 janvier 2011 - 11:16 .

[Ieldra]

An interesting detail, misoretu.

I'm sure Bioware's writers were unaware of the specifics of chromosomal functionality beyond the fact that XX makes a female and XY a male as a rule. Perhaps they should've done some research before writing about such details, but really, it's not such a big deal. I do agree that considering the process of X inactivation, Miranda will most likely have two identical X chromosomes to make sure that the modified versions become active in every cell.

IMO the writers put that detail about the Y chromosome in to strengthen the genetic connection to her father, which is weak because so many of her genes are modified or created from scratch, never taking into account that her father also provided the X, and doubling the modified version instead of adding a mother's would likely strengthen the connection enough. Perhaps that was also considered too much scientific exposition for the average player.

Anyway, it's nice to know. I was unaware of it myself. But that it's taken a whole year for something like this to appear on this thread should show that it's not a big deal.

Modifié par Ieldra2, 18 janvier 2011 - 12:08 .

[Elyvern]

They did try to circumvent that by saying that the rest of her genetic material was an amalgamation from other sources, although the way it was phrased suggests that it was trivial, when in actual fact, Miranda's genetic template probably contains far less material from her father than we are supposed to assume.

It still makes sense that her father would be the only true parent she has, since at least fully half of his genetic template is still present in her.

[Loki330]

Miranda mentions she's not the first; could be because of the reasons misoretu9 gives. Miranda notes she 'was only the first he kept' so it's possible she was the first successful one to bypass that problem, since all she says is the genetic modification was 'extensive'... which could of course mean practically anything.

[Rykoth]

So uh... did anyone else watch the new episode of Chuck? >.>



Just as my Mass Effect mood was waning, the face/voice of Miranda threw me back in.

[MsSihaKatieKrios]

When you need fail, just rely on the Bioware writing team.

[Sporothrix]

Elyvern wrote...

They did try to circumvent that by saying that the rest of her genetic material was an amalgamation from other sources, although the way it was phrased suggests that it was trivial, when in actual fact, Miranda's genetic template probably contains far less material from her father than we are supposed to assume.

If she's gene engineered (heh, reminds me Technocracy from Mage, anyone played?), then propably she has very little in common with her father, even when we're talking about "his" modified X chromosome.

Adding to that different X chromosome really doesn't make sense, since it would not be addition per se, but competision - half of the cells with perfect functional DNA, and the rest with different DNA. And since there's also process called "skewed X inactivation", there's a chance that unperfect cells would surpass those perfect ones even in more than 90%.

Modifié par misoretu9, 18 janvier 2011 - 01:48 .

[Ieldra]

misoretu9 wrote...

Elyvern wrote...

They did try to circumvent that by saying that the rest of her genetic material was an amalgamation from other sources, although the way it was phrased suggests that it was trivial, when in actual fact, Miranda's genetic template probably contains far less material from her father than we are supposed to assume.

If she's gene engineered (heh, reminds me Technocracy from Mage, anyone played?), then propably she has very little in common with her father, even when we're talking about "his" modified X chromosome.

Actually, she'd have about 98% in common with her father, since those 98% are what makes us human instead of something else. So it makes more sense to take an existing genome and modify it instead of creating the whole thing from scratch. Which suggests that her father did take his own genome and modified it to specification.

And yes, I'd run an MTA campaign for years. Freeform magic. Rather demanding for the GM.

Adding to that different X chromosome really doesn't make sense, since it would not be addition per se, but competision - half of the cells with perfect functional DNA, and the rest with different DNA. And since there's also process called "skewed X inactivation", there's a chance that unperfect cells would surpass those perfect ones even in more than 90%.

Or her father's scientists could have learned how to control gene expression, making X inactivation non-random. That would give them another set of genes to play with. It would make sense.

[Caihn]

After the amazing fanart of yesterday, we've got a new one today :




http://punisher357.d...randa-193953601

[JeanLuc761]

Yannkee wrote...

After the amazing fanart of yesterday, we've got a new one today :

-snippy-

Well...damn

*makes note of the black leather and works on adding it to mod*

[Silentmode]

Yannkee wrote...

 A new amazing art by patryk-garrett (Patryk Olejniczak seems to be his real name) :



http://patryk-garret...randa-193679655

Personal art of Mass Effect featuring Miranda Lawson

The reason wihich led me to do more Mass Effect work was simple - I wanted to make one of the best fan art (which would also work as promo or poster art) to be had. Inspiration came from an outstanding Sunshine OST created by John Murphy, and Underworld, which I recommend listening to in order to feel the right vibe/atmoshphere.

No photo tracing, overpainting or 3d models were used here. However, I used some references (that also includes ME2 screenshots), and textures. I don't even know the exact earth hours spend on this piece, but I can assure it was alot - I really wanted to do the justice to the character. The original size is A4 with 300dpi. This is the fan and"skills-showing" portfolio art, so no copyright infringement was intended.

Firstly, WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is an amazing piece of art! Secondly what is Miri doing in this shot... is that a sleeping pod?

[Spartas Husky]

Does anyone has a good size poster of the miranda posters or lithos w/e they are claled bioware put out?

[Caihn]

JeanLuc761 wrote...

Yannkee wrote...

After the amazing fanart of yesterday, we've got a new one today :

-snippy-

Well...damn

*makes note of the black leather and works on adding it to mod*

Well ... the black leather is very slick on this fanart.

I think your last preview was great. 

[JeanLuc761]

Yannkee wrote...
Well ... the black leather is very slick on this fanart.

I think your last preview was great. 

You're too kind.

I am making some slight changes from the "canon" appearances, but nothing drastic.

[Caihn]

 Some details of the last fanart, posted by the artist on deviantart :



http://punisher357.d...t.com/#/d37hro2

[MsSihaKatieKrios]

Just went on YouTube and saw the trolls on the Miranda videos. Some people seriously need to get jobs...or go back to school...

[Spartas Husky]

So anyone has a pic of miranda's bioware poster?

[Paraxial]

MsSihaKatieKrios wrote...

Just went on YouTube and saw the trolls on the Miranda videos. Some people seriously need to get jobs...or go back to school...

Trolls are not always uneducated or young, trolls by definition are people who know full well what they are doing and do it to illicit a response out of people who are easily angered or flustered. Stop being so jelly and ignore them.

[MsSihaKatieKrios]

Bible Doctor wrote...

MsSihaKatieKrios wrote...

Just went on YouTube and saw the trolls on the Miranda videos. Some people seriously need to get jobs...or go back to school...

Trolls are not always uneducated or young, trolls by definition are people who know full well what they are doing and do it to illicit a response out of people who are easily angered or flustered. Stop being so jelly and ignore them.

I know. But a truly successful troll is a delight to watch, and trolling used to be an art in my day. But every American kid with a computer thinks he/she can be one these days. Sigh...and I'm gonna be puddi.