325 réponses à ce sujet

[Meltemph]

That the plot device(The laser beams that actually made the action) existed and that it could magically make those changes. I dont care that Shep died at all. I am more concerend with the Mass Effect universe(franchise) and how this plot device did not fit in the game, based on everything up to that point.

How did you make sense of the fact that such a device existed in the ME universe and that it could effect the entire galaxy.

I'm not saying that you being ok with the philosophy of the ending is wrong at all. I am asking you how you made sense of the tech(Plot device, the crucible and what it could do) or did you just accept it at face value and ignroe the implications of that tech? If you just ingorned the implications of the tech, then I understand your stance on the ending. But at least for me it is the fact that, that specific plot device did not fit with the rest of the game, based on the information the game gave us(codex/lore/current tech in the game, including the reapers). I could not ignore the plot device and I think for a lot of people that is the problem.

Thing is, you dont even have to get philisophical about the ending... The lasers dont make sense. To me it isnt even about the philosophy behind the laser beams, it is the fact that they exist and that they(the writers) thought this was the best way to take care of the reaper threat

[Nobrandminda]

Biotic Sage wrote...

I've seen some fair criticisms of the endings (most that I disagree with but they are fair), and then I've seen some criticisms that have not been thought out at all.  Here are the three that annoy me every time I see them:

1. "Obviously the Catalyst is wrong in thinking that synthetics will always destroy organics because look at what's happening with the Quarians and the Geth!  They are getting along!"



2. "Nothing mattered!"


3. "Bioware got lazy!"

1.  By your logic, every eventuality is inevitable.  The catalyst claims that the created will always destroy their creators.  This is contradicted by the three major synthetic life forms we encounter: the Geth, EDI, and the Reapers themselves.

2.  Yes.  Shepard touched the lives of thousands of people, millions even.  He made hundreds of decisions leading up to this grand climax.

And then he led them to death by starvation as they drain the Sol system of its resources and/or try desparately to make it back to their homeworld on standerd FTL travel.  Oh, and that fate does a nice job of nixing many of the decisions you made up to that point (Quarian homeworld? You mean that one waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay over there?)

3.  The "multiple" endings involve three different pallet swaps of the same cinematic.  If you don't want to call that lazy, you are more generous than I am.

Modifié par Nobrandminda, 12 mars 2012 - 06:08 .

[PsydonZero]

Just because they happen to be working together at the moment doesn't mean that an organic genocide at the hands of synthetics isn't an inevitable eventuality.

It also doesn't mean that organic genocide at the hands of synthetics is an eventuality.

No obviously, the Quarian/Geth situation doesn't prove anything either, it doesn't prove the Catalyst right.  But don't use it as emprical evidence that the synthetic uprising eventuality scenario is false, because that is illogical.

In absolute terms, yes, but let's look at this  from a narrative perspective. At what point in Mass Effect does an entire race of synthetics rebel against their creators and begin to slaughter them? Never. It never happens. There are isolated incidents, like the Luna VI, but the very scenario the Catalyst was programmed to stop never happens at any point in any of the three games. In fact, nothing anywhere close to it happens. The Reapers are different because of their purpose and also because they predate the current cycle. There is very little evidence that supports the reasoning behind the Catalyst's mission. However, there is very strong evidence to the contrary in the geth and EDI. Obviously the Catalyst prefers that the scenario not take place, such is its mission, but how are we to take the Catalyst seriously when the plot does almost nothing to support its mission and instead undermines it?

It doesn't matter who "starts it."

Yes it does. The Catalyst's mission is to prevent a synthetic uprising. "The created will always rebel against the creators." The geth fought the quarians in self-defense. Not once did they rebel or question their duty to the quarians even after the Morning War. All Shepard had to say to the Catalyst was "No they won't." That an organic had reached the Catalyst for the first time had nothing to do with the flaws in its plan.

[wrdnshprd]

Biotic Sage wrote...

I've seen some fair criticisms of the endings (most that I disagree with but they are fair), and then I've seen some criticisms that have not been thought out at all.  Here are the three that annoy me every time I see them:

1. "Obviously the Catalyst is wrong in thinking that synthetics will always destroy organics because look at what's happening with the Quarians and the Geth!  They are getting along!"

This does not disprove the Catalyst's assertion.  Just because they happen to be working together at the moment doesn't mean that an organic genocide at the hands of synthetics isn't an inevitable eventuality.  Hell, they could get along for hundreds of years, thousands of years, but if they eventually end up destroying organics then the Catalyst assertion holds.  No obviously, the Quarian/Geth situation doesn't prove anything either, it doesn't prove the Catalyst right.  But don't use it as emprical evidence that the synthetic uprising eventuality scenario is false, because that is illogical.  Another thing on this argument that people say: "The Quarians started it!"  It doesn't matter who "starts it."  I'm sure that if the inevitability is true, then it can play out in a number of different ways.  The point is that the ultimate result is the same: organics dead at the hands of synthetics.  Now I personally reject this, which is why I chose the destruction ending, but there is nothing to prove or disprove the assertion other than my own beliefs and way of thinking.

2. "Nothing mattered!"

You may as well extend this logic to real life.  If everything ends, including life itself, and infinite continuation is necessary for you to feel something "matters," then nothing you do in your real life matters either.  None of the relationships you have, none of the decisions you make, nothing.  Everything mattered in Mass Effect; Shepard touched the lives of thousands of individuals, and some on a very personal level i.e. Love Interest and squad/crew. 

As for our choices in the game resulting in direct consequences, we saw these consequences throughout the game.  Throughout the entire game we saw the consequences of our actions over the past 2 games.  We saw the result of the relationships we've nurtured, we saw the result of saving the council, saving Wrex, or keeping our crew alive in ME2.  Granted, the Collector Base choice from ME2 could have been integrated better, but we saw a great deal of direct consequences.  Now, the end game, that's a huge decision.  All 3 decisions may look the same with a wave of energy, but just think of the ramifications for the future of the galaxy.  I like that Bioware left that part, the part after Shepard's story, up to us.  And yes, the ripples of your decisions are still going on even though you don't get to personally witness them.  The Krogan are either cured of the genophage or doomed to extinction.  The Quarians could be alive to rebuild or dead since the middle of the game.  This is huge, and I scoff at anyone who says "nothing mattered."  Just because you'd like to see more direct evidence of what you do (which is a fair criticism) doesn't mean that "nothing mattered."

3. "Bioware got lazy!"

Whether you agree with the ending or not, how can you call something that was so masterfully crafted lazy?  When I hear people say "Bioware got lazy!" all I am hearing is them saying (in a whiny voice I might add) "I disagree with the direction Bioware took with the series!"  That's fine, you can say that.  But don't insult them by saying they "got lazy."  The team poured so much energy into this project and it was of such high quality in so many areas that I'm sure they just want to burst into frustrated tears when they read something like that.  I guarantee you they didn't "get lazy;"  that's how they wanted to end their magnum opus, and I guarantee you if they were going to cut corners anywhere in the game it damn well wouldn't be the final 5 minutes.

My Take on the Endings
Destruction - Implies you reject the Catalyst's premise because organic society is going to rebuild and eventually create synthetics/AI again.  This means that if the Catalyst is correct, you are dooming future generations to extinction.  But that's why I chose it, because I don't think the Catalyst is correct, and I am giving organics a chance to
treat AI with dignity and respect and trusting AI to value all forms of life as well.  My experiences with the Quarians and the Geth shaped my Shepard's thinking here.  That makes it even more sad that the Geth and EDI have to die in this ending.

Control - Implies that you don't know what to think about the Catalyst's premise.  The Reapers will be around
anyway, just in case some Reaping needs to be done, so it's the "safe" option if you aren't sure.  I considered it "unsafe" because I don't want Reapers around anymore, period.

Synthesis - Implies that you accept the Catalyst's premise and that in order to get out of the fatalistic doom of synthetics rising up we need to create a new paradigm for life in the Milky Way Galaxy.  Or conversely that you just believe this is the next natural step in the evolution of life.

I'm sure there's a lot of facets that I've missed too.  There's just so much to think about!

good read!  and i agree with you mostly.

my one concern is with the destruction ending.. how do the quarians live?  doesnt technology die, along with synthetic life?  if so, how do the quarians survive without their suits?

[Phaedra Sanguine]

 OP, you deserve a pat on the back. Finally somebody here is thinking with reason. I, too, chose the "destruction" ending because it was the ONLY ending that made real sense, to me. Although, I wiped out the Geth. The only thing I really felt bad about was that I had spent time uniting Joker and EDI, only to kill her. 

I was glad to see Tali alive when she came out of the ship on "Eden," but wondered where Liara had gone. This part made me feel a bit sorrowful as well. At the beginning of the mission, right after Mars, Liara asked me what it is that I wanted from her. She asked about my relationship with Tali. I told her that we needed to simply be friends.

And then I come to find that she is possibly lying in the ruins of London, where I had originally been nearly beamed to death by a Reaper. 

But, in my decision, I freed the galaxy, "took back Earth," and gave organic life a chance to pave their own path. I may not have gotten a "real" goodbye to the people I cared about, but to them, I'm a legend.

[Meltemph]

You know, we also assume that that kid is telling the truth with how everything works. The kid just could be bull-crapping most of the stuff to try and push Shep into a decision he approves of. Either way, my point still stands that the plot device is nonsensical, and out of place in the ME universe.

Modifié par Meltemph, 12 mars 2012 - 06:13 .

[RocketManSR2]

The Angry One wrote...

Nice choice of words there. The relays are not deactivated. They are ripped apart. How that isn't going to lead to a massive release of energy is beyond me.

They shut down before self-destructing. The Alpha relay did not.

[RocketManSR2]

Sage, it's good that rage hasn't swallowed BSN whole, at least not yet. I can almost see what Bioware was going for in the endings. We've come to love EDI and Legion as characters and we're very attached to our Shepards. Do you sacrifice one for the other? I'm still wrestling with that. Yea, I spoiled the endings for myself, but I'm still thinking about it.

[Rane7685]

I created another thread before I found this one I thought Id add my criticism of the ending first before I talk about the endings themselves

Rane7686

So I just finished the game last night and drew the game to its conclusion. Im aware that a lot of people hate the ending and have petitioned to change it and when it finished I was a little dissatisfied but I couldnt work out why. Some people wanted their Shep to live, I am not one of them Shep really needed to die imo but I would probably have preferred him to die reaching for that button (pressing it though) his last act ending the reapers. I didnt need the choice, Im actually ok with no choice of finale the whole series has been about stopping the reapers so there is no problem in having all the endings end with that.

Nevertheless we got summoned by the catalyst (music was awesome why was this not on soundtrack!!) I think the problem I had was it taking the form of the boy. Godly intellect sounds contrived from a child but thats just me personally. I wouldve rathered someone like vigil.

However after much soul searching I realised what it needed

It needs an epilogue in the vein of DA:O; what happened to Liara, Garrus Vega and the others that survived this with me. I kind of got to see something of joker and edi (i dna sythesised) but even then I still wouldve liked something along the lines of with a compatible genetic code Joker and EDI had children lived happily ever after or something. Mass Effect has made us invest heavily in these characters but Mass Effect 3 only ends Sheps story. As we arent coming back here tell us what the future holds for those we love

Before I talk a bit more about the endings I have to say this game has forced me to pick the middle option; I love EDI too much and want to see her happy but thats my own personal shortcoming anyway....
A few extra thoughts on the endings;

Control: Based on the colour scheme the implication is that this is the paragon ending which I found strange but w/e. It seems that Shep kind of lives in this ending essentially usurping the catalyst. I initially couldnt see this as having any merit for a 'good guy' but on further thought it actually is and I like it more now.

Think about it we saw more about the geth they arent the marauding killers we thought they were a la ME1. In fact they have been incredibly reasonable merely holding the world for their creators etc etc. EDI has proven herself to have truly genuine emotions and be an incredibly caring 'person'. The destruction of ALL synthetic life could be considered particularly unfair especially when you have a viable alternative.

Synthesis: If you accept the catalysts logic then this is the only real solution to pick. However it can be argued that you are essentially destroying everything. A complete re-write of all organic and synthetic life could be construed as total annihilation and replacement. You could be essentially making everyone and everything mini reapers only with photocopied memories/identities. However this also implies edi/joker have compatible genetic make ups and can live happily ever after with mini robot babies so yay

Destruction: Death is a certainty the reapers mean to destroy all organic life. If you can destroy them first you take it no chances. The loss of geth/edi is unfortunate but necessary. The reapers must be destroyed to save the galaxy. The catalyst asks if you think you can control us. There is a chance you cant. Synthesis could be regarded as wrong to as listed above the only guarantee is destruction.

Finally I wouldve liked Shep to say some final words. So if you pick destroy as you raise the pistol Shep goes "EDI, Legion, Im sorry/forgive me", As you run to jump into the crucible "LI forgive me" As you take control "LI I love you" or something like that

[macroberts]

ssyyllaarr wrote...

GoblinSapper wrote...

 Copypasta I go once again.

-----

Mass Effect has, since it's beginning, been an experiment into the concept of continuitous player agency - that is, that players will have the decision to make large or small changes to the story and it's details as it progresses along it's narrative arc, and that these decisions will be respected over the course of the trilogy. This has been the expectation from day one and thus far has been the most successful of Bioware's forays into continuitous player agency. Dragon Age followed a similar idea thread but did not center on a central character which the player maintains agency over, rather it is a set of different tales and different characters placed in the same World Setting in which player agency has ripple effects on that setting.

One of the problems of course, with any game that focuses on Player Agency, is that the same thing will mean different things to different people. People have expectations based on 'their' story, and the way you avoid stepping on 'their' story is to maintain player agency and give them the free will to choose their outcomes. This creates certain limitations on you as the author - you must maintain contingency plans for every player agency point you provide. Certain narrative and organizational devices can make this much easier, such as a binary 'morality' system (paragon/renegade points) and condition flags (companion loyalty/approval). This allows you to frame the narrative arc that your players will undergo while providing the illusion of complete choice. While this form of Player Agency is by design limited (your arc of control is more akin to 180 degrees than 360 degrees of movement, if you follow) it is an effective way of allowing your players to exercise their agency over the narrative while still establishing a general story arc which you can follow and plan for.

Over the past three games Bioware has done what, in my opinion, can be considered a masterful job of faithfully representing the continuity of player agency, referencing player choices in meaningful and meaningless ways via datapoints. Mass Effect 3 was the penultimate example of this, borrowing choices from the previous two games to almost completly form the narrative arc of the third - that is, your choices have finally become the definition of the setting (wether or not you saved the council, the rachni, etc) influences the characters that appear and how events play out in these games. Mass Effect 3 is exceptionally well polished (barring some frustrating bugs and annoying UI and quest tracking issues) and represents the continuity nerds wet dream - a universe of their own creation, the punultimate choose your own adventure.

However...

In the last 10-15 minutes of the game there was an abrupt genre convention shift (more in line with the metaphysical pulp sci-fi of the 1900's than the Space Opera / Military Drama we had thus far experianced), a fundamental violation of one of the tenants of the Writer-Reader contract. This abrupt genre shift has left fans feeling disoriented, confused, and dissapointed - which swiftly leads to bitterness and anger. Their suspension of disbelief and expectations have not been adequatly serviced, and thus the ending causes the story of Mass Effect - from beginning to end, from 1-3 - to fail. Many are now observing plot holes and inconsistancies - those plot holes were always there, but were forgiven. However a bad ending damns a story, it causes a blowback in the reader where their tension and emotional involvement does not achieve catharsis and they're left to take it out on the author.

And this is why, I, and many thousands of other individuals have been so upset by the ending to Mass Effect 3. Our genre expectations and player agency have been violated, the finale of the story is uninfluenced by the continuity of our decisions and follows an unfamiliar narrative trend. 

This^^^ 

Good points, well analysed and reasoned, and I completely agree. But migawd, this is a gaming forum, not a university English faculty discussion board on literature theory. =P

To translate that to simpler terms, essentially you the player has been so invested into the trilogy, both through your decisions and your emotional attatchment to the characters and the world, that come the end, when you're looking for that release of bottled emotion that's built up from Virmire (the catharsis), you're left with instead something that seems disconnected to the game. 

Or even simpler, you trip out and sit confused at the ending. =P

I've pretty much posted the same things in too many different threads. I feel the themes in the ending are good themes to explore, and aren't necessarily entirely unrelated to the trilogy. It's just that the player's main focus has been to combat the Reapers, and it was never in their minds to solve some synthetic/organic dichotomy or problem. This can be put down partly to the fact that, as a game, and an action game to boot, you're actually doing the fighting, and it distracts you from any higher themes in the story. So when we come to space-child-god, we are entirely unready, unprepared, and ill-equiped to make that final decision. 

I entirely agree with most of OP's words and GoblinSapper's reasons. I just wanted to add my two cents.

[Meltemph]

^The fact that Shep can live after the destroy option means that the kid was being less then honest. I wouldnt fully trust everything that green goober said. Think about it, Shep is as much synthesis as about anyone you are going to get. If he could supposedly survive after taking out all synthetics... Either the kid was straight up lying or Shep had surgery on himself and with all the dead bodies up there, did a few transplants...

Seriously, think about it.

[Tony208]

All three choices are horrible but destroying the reapers and the Geth/EDI is the lesser of three evils.

As many have pointed out, the series has always been about stopping the reapers. When has Shephard or anyone else for that matter ever comtemplated how to solve some organic-synthetic problem?

Modifié par Tony208, 12 mars 2012 - 06:29 .

[Rane7685]

Meltemph wrote...

^The fact that Shep can live after the destroy option means that the kid was being less then honest. I wouldnt fully trust everything that green goober said. Think about it, Shep is as much synthesis as about anyone you are going to get. If he could supposedly survive after taking out all synthetics... Either the kid was straight up lying or Shep had surgery on himself and with all the dead bodies up there, did a few transplants...

Seriously, think about it.

The kid never actually said you would die if you picked the destroy item it said it would destroy all synthetic life and reminded you that you were PARTIALLY synthetic. 

Also people complained that Shep always died but this ending kind of proves thats not true. I still think an epilogue would fix all these problems its not the endings that are bad its the follow-up what happened to my squadmates Liara, Garrus etc. Does Garrus become a wandering vigilante, does Vega become an N7 elite etc etc. If Shep survived does she retire to the terminus with his/her LI a la Revan/Bastilla.

[Laurcus]

My main criticisms for the ending are as follows. It is either a fake ending, or it contains plot holes, allow me to explain.

Option 1. Plot holes: There are inconsistencies shown in the ending.

The final conversation with the Catalyst appears to take place under open space. That should be a zero oxygen environment, yet Shepard is just fine without his helmet.

The armor that Shepard wears is partially destroyed by Harbinger's laser. This is inconsistent with Mass Effect 2. Shepard's armor survives the explosion of the Normandy, orbital reentry, and a fall into the ground that had to have been at terminal velocity. Yet a shot from a laser that didn't even make a direct enough hit on Shepard to kill him somehow destroys his armor?

There is no way The Illusive Man could have gotten there. Where did he come from? How did he reach the Crucible when all of Hammer failed to do so? He would have had it extra hard, consider he would have had to avoid Reaper and Alliance forces. He is also not seen on the final approach.

Anderson is there, and that presents many of the same problems as TIM being there. He's not seen on the final run to the Crucible. Anderson is also only a few second ahead of you, judging by the radio chatter, yet you can't see him until the console is in view.

According to The Illusive Man's file found in Lair of the Shadow Broker his suit is designed to withstand close range weapons fire, yet one possible conclusion is him being shot in the chest and killed with a basic pistol.

The synthesis ending makes very little sense, and seems to go against Newtonian mechanics. And unless I'm mistaken, Mass Effect follows the typical laws of physics aside from the exception of Mass Effect fields. The synthesis ending makes all organics and synthetics into organic/synthetic hybrids. It makes no sense that an energy wave can create physical synthetic components and implant them accurately in every organic being in the galaxy, and vice versa for synthetics becoming more organic. This is creating something out of nothing, which is the realm of gods and magic, not science.

Why does Harbinger not finish Shepard off? Unless I'm quite mistaken, don't Reapers have powerful short range sensors? Wouldn't Harbinger be able to tell that Shepard survived his first attack? Why then wouldn't he finish the job with a second shot aimed at the helpless Shepard.

Perhaps this is a gameplay mechanic, but why does the pistol at the end have infinite ammo?

Maybe this one is more of a character flaw than an actual plot hole, but the Catalyst's logic is based on logical fallacies and dis proven conjecture. He uses a circular logical fallacy. As distasteful as the yo dawg meme is, it illustrates this point perfectly. Synthetics kill organics to prevent synthetics from killing organics but it's okay because they turn your biomass into a synthetic. He also claims that synthetics will always destroy organics. That has been dis proven as absolute fact by one of the potential resolutions of the Quarian/Geth conflict, as well as the fact that the Geth let the Quarians live at the end of the Morning War.

The dark energy subplot explored in Tali's recruitment mission on Haestrom in ME2 was not mentioned in ME3. This is called a dropped plot point, and is a type of plot hole.

I'm sure there's more plot holes I could think of if I gave it time, but this will do for now. Now on to option 2.

Option 2. Fake Ending: The game isn't over yet. Everything that happened after being shot by Harbinger is a dream sequence. This dream is Shepard being indoctrinated. This explains all the impossibilities, such as breathing in space and the infinite ammo gun. This would mean that 2 of the 3 endings are actually the Reapers winning with Shepard being full indoctrinated. The control ending is Shepard agreeing with the Illusive Man, in his warped indoctrinated logic. As Javik said, each cycle has indoctrinated people that believe controlling the Reapers is the only way. The synthesis ending is agreeing with the Reaper's philosophy, merging organics and synthetics, salvation through destruction. By accepting that Shepard becomes indoctrinated and the Reapers win.

The destroy ending is the most interesting one. It is the only ending where Shepard can survive. Rejecting the Reaper philosophy and killing them with your gun. That seems a lot like shooting the infected Reaper code with the infinite ammo gun in Legion's mission, thus freeing the Geth from Reaper control. Same concept here, what Shepard is actually doing is freeing himself from Reaper indoctrination.

So why does Shepard live in this ending with enough EMS? Simple. When Harbinger sees that his attempt to indoctrinate Shepard has failed, he kills him. With enough EMS your forces drive Harbinger away or destroy him before he has the chance. This solves every inconsistency, and even has a chance to resolve the dropped dark energy plot as we don't yet know the Reaper's true motivations because the conversation with the Catalyst wasn't real.

However, the ending is incomplete. The Crucible hasn't been fired yet, and the battle is still going on. Thus, fake ending that hasn't been finished yet.

[Voidster]

I have so many questions about this ending i could prob write a book. I think its so the dev's can create lots of dlc "if" this is indeed the final one of the mass effect franchise.

my questions that stick swith me is who the heck is the child avatar? He lives in the citadel? What is he? what species? Did It die when my shep picked destruction(and got the animation of living through it..)? What happened to the thousands upon thousands of ships in the sol system? Dont tell me all the reapers were vaporized to the point where we couldnt strip em down for parts n resources and rebuild our own jump gates.

I do admit though, the emotions for this sim were very high. Heh, i was yelling at the screen "GET UP! MOVE! AAAAHH!" Even had a tear or two for the sacrifices being made. I wish it had a warning about the depressing side effects though. Stupid PTSD heh.

[Rane7685]

I havent read your whole reply but regarding conversation taking place in open space it could be that the catalyst has generated a mass effect field to protect you from the vacumn of space

[panamakira]

Well I'm glad at least some people enjoyed the endings. I can't say the same about me however.

I enjoyed the story well until I got to the end. They didn't make much sense to me or I at least wanted OTHER options besides those we got. There could've been other ways to end the series that would've fit in better with the rest of the series.

But I guess we all have our opinions.

[Meltemph]

Rane7685 wrote...

Meltemph wrote...

^The fact that Shep can live after the destroy option means that the kid was being less then honest. I wouldnt fully trust everything that green goober said. Think about it, Shep is as much synthesis as about anyone you are going to get. If he could supposedly survive after taking out all synthetics... Either the kid was straight up lying or Shep had surgery on himself and with all the dead bodies up there, did a few transplants...

Seriously, think about it.

The kid never actually said you would die if you picked the destroy item it said it would destroy all synthetic life and reminded you that you were PARTIALLY synthetic. 
stilla.

Remember in ME2? There is a LARGE chunck of his body, including nueral implants in his brain that are synthetic.  If that laserbeam truely destroys synthetics, Shep should be dead, period.  If that beam is accurate and smart enough to figure out what is geth through-out the entire galaxy, it sure as hell can find all the extra crap in Shep's body.

[Hanabii]

The answer to all Gun Related inconsistency. It's a Carnifex! That is no average gun, it is a national treasure!

[Hanabii]

"CARNIFEX! The Gun that destroyed the reapers. Now don't you wish YOU had Carnifex at YOUR side?"

[Legendaryred]

How come if you chose the destroy ending, you can see EDI walking out of the normandy with joker, PLOTHOLES bro.

[Rane7685]

Voidster wrote...

I have so many questions about this ending i could prob write a book. I think its so the dev's can create lots of dlc "if" this is indeed the final one of the mass effect franchise.

my questions that stick swith me is who the heck is the child avatar? He lives in the citadel? What is he? what species? Did It die when my shep picked destruction(and got the animation of living through it..)? What happened to the thousands upon thousands of ships in the sol system? Dont tell me all the reapers were vaporized to the point where we couldnt strip em down for parts n resources and rebuild our own jump gates.

I do admit though, the emotions for this sim were very high. Heh, i was yelling at the screen "GET UP! MOVE! AAAAHH!" Even had a tear or two for the sacrifices being made. I wish it had a warning about the depressing side effects though. Stupid PTSD heh.

The child is the master of the reapers. An AI construct it seems, the reapers are its solution to what it perceives to be the inevitable annihilation of organics. When Shep picked destruction it died. It destroys synthetic life not machines. I dont think it is comparable to a galactic wide emp pulse but rather deletes specific forms of code that code for intelligence. Basically machines work intellect gets erased. The reapers probably will get stripped for parts and attempts will be made to reverse engineer but that will take time

If you get From Ashes Javik suggests that the Catalyst is the creator of the reapers. Whether the catalyst is in fact distinct from reapers or not is unclear. The salient point is that the catalyst controls them, a position you can usurp if you pick control option (you essentially become the catalyst)

[Rane7685]

Legendaryred wrote...

How come if you chose the destroy ending, you can see EDI walking out of the normandy with joker, PLOTHOLES bro.

She didnt in my one maybe a bug but she didnt walk out with joker in my destroy ending. In control ending she walked out but not with joker it was only in synthesis that they lived happily ever after

[Rane7685]

Meltemph wrote...

Rane7685 wrote...

Meltemph wrote...

^The fact that Shep can live after the destroy option means that the kid was being less then honest. I wouldnt fully trust everything that green goober said. Think about it, Shep is as much synthesis as about anyone you are going to get. If he could supposedly survive after taking out all synthetics... Either the kid was straight up lying or Shep had surgery on himself and with all the dead bodies up there, did a few transplants...

Seriously, think about it.

The kid never actually said you would die if you picked the destroy item it said it would destroy all synthetic life and reminded you that you were PARTIALLY synthetic. 
stilla.

Remember in ME2? There is a LARGE chunck of his body, including nueral implants in his brain that are synthetic.  If that laserbeam truely destroys synthetics, Shep should be dead, period.  If that beam is accurate and smart enough to figure out what is geth through-out the entire galaxy, it sure as hell can find all the extra crap in Shep's body.

Aye but perhaps those pieces of tech are redundant now. The human body is capable of healing esp with medical advances many years in the future. As an example if you break your leg you get a cast to keep you walking around while it heals. When it heals you no longer need the cast. In ME2 the implants might have been needed to 'get you off the ground' so to speak but as time goes on these pieces of tech have a diminishing level of importance