275 réponses à ce sujet

[eoinnx03]

Hey fans. Watch this Bull

[Vasarkian]

Mx_CN3 wrote...

Vasarkian wrote...

Salarians have several fleets, did you forget Kirrahe's line?

 

There were SOLDIERS and there was the FLEET.

They are a council race, this means they are required to provide Citadel Defense forces and have a large number of dreadnoughts and a fleet too.

I never said they  didn't have a military, I said they didn't have much of one.  Which is said by the salarians themselves.  Mordin, I think it was, in ME2.  The SPECTREs were modelled after STG, which was used extensively because Salarians could never compete militarily against pretty much anyone.

You can bet they're doing something.  It's probably very secret, as that's how the Salarians work.  Also, it probably has little to no bearing on what Shepard is doing.  Shepard's goal is to build alliances and gather a fleet, not to fight on the front lines of every battle.

Vasarkian wrote...

As for Palaven, I very much figured
that we could at least destroy the Reaper forces on Palaven it'd still
be a wreck but it would be okay.

The Reapers cannot be defeated conventionally.  If Palaven was retaken, this would undermine the Crucible as being the last hope.  Whatever you feel about it, there was a reason for it.

When you have Reaper weapons on your side from reverse engineering you're no longer fighting conventionally.

As for their fleets, they very much do have a large military, but it's their cultural form that they're not very good if they don't strike first, that doesn't mean their massive fleet can't still shoot.

Modifié par Vasarkian, 14 mars 2012 - 05:50 .

[blee717]

This is my first time ever joining a forum specifically to say how bad a product is. Usually it's from such a good product I wanna stay updated so here it goes. First, I'm on board with the general fanbase right now. We didn't pay $60 ($80 For Collector's if I remember right) for a 50 cent ending. Mass Effect 3 itself was great and it built up those intense moments in the end until you see Bioware's dirty little secret, laziness. Casey Hudson himself can't really sit down, play this game from beginning to end, and say this ending explains it all and gives closure. The choices made in the first 2 games make little to no impact in the finale so it was the equivalent of playing Mass Effect 1 & 2 and then throwing them out the window without importing to Mass Effect 3. That's cool. I spent 5 years or so playing a series only to have the last one tell me I don't care what you did and these are your choices. Where's the closure? And he wants an "unforgettable" ending. Yeah I'll never forget Bioware can't or EA won't let them create a proper closure to a series. Honestly the ending sequence of Gears of War 3 would've made more sense than this pile of poop juice you call and ending. Seriously, just show the reapers one minute then cuts to the COG celebrating their victory. That would've tied in way better. By "unforgettable" did you mean an ending that would be talked about for decades or ending that starts an uproar in gamers and created a gamer raging s**tstorm you call a fanbase? Bioware was so much better before they joined up with EA. KOTOR, Bulder's Gate, Mass Effect 1. KOTOR was the reason I became a Bioware fan. Mass Effect 3 might be the reason DA3 will fail. You see how a 5 minute sequence at the end can ****** off a lot of fans Bioware/EA? That's it. Go ahead flame me whatever. You're taking this way too seriously blah blah blah. I don't care. I'm not replying to anything so do what you want with this.

[kbct]

blee717 wrote...

This is my first time ever joining a forum specifically to say how bad a product is. Usually it's from such a good product I wanna stay updated so here it goes. First, I'm on board with the general fanbase right now. We didn't pay $60 ($80 For Collector's if I remember right) for a 50 cent ending. Mass Effect 3 itself was great and it built up those intense moments in the end until you see Bioware's dirty little secret, laziness. Casey Hudson himself can't really sit down, play this game from beginning to end, and say this ending explains it all and gives closure. The choices made in the first 2 games make little to no impact in the finale so it was the equivalent of playing Mass Effect 1 & 2 and then throwing them out the window without importing to Mass Effect 3. That's cool. I spent 5 years or so playing a series only to have the last one tell me I don't care what you did and these are your choices. Where's the closure? And he wants an "unforgettable" ending. Yeah I'll never forget Bioware can't or EA won't let them create a proper closure to a series. Honestly the ending sequence of Gears of War 3 would've made more sense than this pile of poop juice you call and ending. Seriously, just show the reapers one minute then cuts to the COG celebrating their victory. That would've tied in way better. By "unforgettable" did you mean an ending that would be talked about for decades or ending that starts an uproar in gamers and created a gamer raging s**tstorm you call a fanbase? Bioware was so much better before they joined up with EA. KOTOR, Bulder's Gate, Mass Effect 1. KOTOR was the reason I became a Bioware fan. Mass Effect 3 might be the reason DA3 will fail. You see how a 5 minute sequence at the end can ****** off a lot of fans Bioware/EA? That's it. Go ahead flame me whatever. You're taking this way too seriously blah blah blah. I don't care. I'm not replying to anything so do what you want with this.

Another one bites the dust. Lots of people feel the same way.

[Pairikas]

www.abload.de/image.php

I really cant this guy taken serious, not after all the Lies and the **** with the End.

[99DP1982]

Farbautisonn wrote...

Arcanus5 wrote...

First of all, thank you for a very interesting post...and I mean that without the usual sarcasm found in forums...
Glad to see there is another pol sci guy here (got my M.A. degree in Germany, although I avoided polling and statistics wherever I could, kinda hate numbers).

-And likewise. Germany is a very good place to pick up a pol-sci degree. It was considered the top place to get a degree in Copenhagen where I studied. We ofcourse consider ourselves a close second

You´re right, 40k votes is an impressive number. But my guess, although I don´t know that for sure, is that the people posting on internet forums are the mainly same people participating in these polls, so it is still not respresentative for the whole clientbase, it is more representative of the (larger) fanbase opinion.
It is not like Bioware called these people (regarding age, gender, income etc. like in political polls) and asked for their opinion, here we have people actively looking these polls up. And, like I stated, these active participants are only a small percentage of the real clientbase. And we all know that dissatisfied people always voice there opinion much louder than satisfied costumers :-)
We had such a case recently in Germany, where the whole Internet community was against a project, then the local government let the people vote on it, the result being the majority voting in favor of the project, leavin the internet community baffled. So, although it is an impressive number, I´m not sure you can call it accurat...

-Which in my humble opinion only makes it worse. Because then its a sign that the "loyalists" are in uproar. Your "safe bread and butter" as it were. As for the term "real" clientbase... sorry for nitpicking... but thats a logical fallacy (sided in Rhetoric).  I suppose you could call it the "overall" clientbase and be right though. However they are a significant target group. They are the ones you usually take for granted. Alienating them is not a good idea, especially in a time of fiscal crisis. Any first year student of economics should be able to figure that out. And sure. The internet community isnt infallible. We have the same issue here. The "left" is traditionally very strong and outspoken in the electronic media, however the "right" has an electorial foothold that has forced the current leftist government to lead a "rightist" policy. It has cost them. Dearly. They campained on a ticket of traditional socialist values and have not delivered on one single promise. The rightist opposition leader was on holiday for 3 months and came back as the most popular politician in half a decade. Thats unheard of in politics here.

You sure? Aren´t these the guys thinking: Oh, it´s just a bunch of nerds nitpicking and bashing a 40h game because of a 10 minute cutscene ;-)

-Pretty sure. Because the campaning and the lobbying against the whole of their game has snowballed from nothing to something in a week. Ten days perhaps. Regardless of how they feel about it, they have to act upon it. If they do not act, things will likely only get worse. Not better.

Sometimes sacrifices are in vain :-), just like in real life. But I get what you mean...

-I know what you mean. I wrote whitepapers on sub sahara (specialized in mid east studies... dont speak arabic, or farsi though) and the mid east. Most sacrifices are in vain. But thats in real life. In fiction we want something that gives us a sense of accomplisment, a reward a sense of closure. We were not given such.

I apologize for the huge qoute box, but it'd be hard to refer to these posts otherwise.

First of all, good job on some ineteresting exchange of viewpoints... really... it's a rarity on internet forums.

Now going back to the contents of the discussion.

1) The active fanbase is not a representative group for any statistical excercise. It's like saying that all the people who like only apples would claim that the fruit basket is worthless for all, because it does contain very little apples.

2) PR responses is what it should be - making the best face you can, even though you are aware of the ****storm

Now on EA/Bioware actions

They actually had some good idea with enforcing the Origin. It's basically a veiled CRM system. I assume that every next product from EA will require registration with Origin, otherwise it'll be worthless.

They'll have a customer database and they'll know preferences of their customer base. I admit, I'm curious how it will work out for them and if they will be able to make reasonable decisions having it.

The Bioware's stunt with the ME3 is something yet to be evaluated. They've made a risky decision of showing a middle finger to the most loyal players, but they've opened for a much weider audience. Audience that comprise of people who will play any game once or twice and move to another.

Let's be honest, longveity of a product does not necessarily cash in well. It's strongly visible in the high tech industry.

I think that they've decided to push a day 1 DLC, because they were well aware, that delaying it, could turn into less sales of it, given the replayability value of the game. I expect that most of the DLC content will be around MP and looks. Maybe they'll try to go with a one SP DLC, with higher quality, similarly to DA2, but that will be it. The series is completed, so not really much point in spending a lot of money on it.

The people on the forum also forget about one simple rule of business. Your product does not have to be perfect. It's enough if it's better than what competitors offer. Now, having this in mind, are you able to point a better action/RPG product, with a high quality narrative part (living world, memorable characters, etc.)? The only product which I can think of currently is The Witcher, but that's a fantasy theme, and not a sci-fi theme.

Personally I do not like the direction in which the Bioware is heading, but I certainly understand it from a buisness perspective. At the end of the day it's the EBITDA that matters and the ability to show shareholders that they've invested money in a company that can provide a solid return on that investment in the future. I do think though, that the marketing part consumes too much money on their projects. They could probably do also get same sales, but with less costs. My guess is that in their organization the marketing leader is much stronger than their finance leader, and that never ends up well for any company.

I'll just miss the experience I've loved, because very few companies can deliver a good story content.

I still have hopes fo Obsidian products (if only they were having better budgets), and next projects from the creators of The Witcher.

[dsl08002]

He certainly is right about that the ending won´t be forgettble, no one will ever forget a terrible ending like that.

And by the way: how could they possibly continue the franchise if the realys are destroyed, then it ain´t mass effect. And all are stranded in the system on earth.

And they cannot go back in time because then your choices wont matter from ME.

I have faith in casey hudson and the productionteam but.........

Sorry Casey hudson but that ending was actually painful for us all to watch and experience sheperds end.

It would be in best interest for the fans and for bioware itself is to give exactly an alternativ ending to ME3. Because then We fans might still yet want to follow ME.

Actually the ending that could be excellent for ME3 is actually this. After the ending of ME3 i felt terrible right here in my Heart, and after reading this i felt a whole lot better. Please bioware make the ending of ME3 like this: First entry

http://social.biowar...index/9792751/1

Modifié par dsl08002, 14 mars 2012 - 06:20 .

[Sebbe1337o]

http://gamingsraptur...dlc-on-the-way/

http://imageftw.com/...0314/PLEASE.png


This will be relevant to everyone's interests.
Seriously, look at the vid and the picture.

[PiEman]

Saw the thread. REALLY hoping this is real...

[Vasarkian]

Sebbe1337o wrote...

http://gamingsraptur...dlc-on-the-way/

http://imageftw.com/...0314/PLEASE.png


This will be relevant to everyone's interests.
Seriously, look at the vid and the picture.

Based on the actual response from BioWare itself, I'd have to say it's not. Else they'd of been making different statements rather than, hah we're right and you're wrong.

[Adzcriz]

99DP1982 wrote...
I apologize for the huge qoute box, but it'd be hard to refer to these posts otherwise.

First of all, good job on some ineteresting exchange of viewpoints... really... it's a rarity on internet forums.

Now going back to the contents of the discussion.

1) The active fanbase is not a representative group for any statistical excercise. It's like saying that all the people who like only apples would claim that the fruit basket is worthless for all, because it does contain very little apples.

2) PR responses is what it should be - making the best face you can, even though you are aware of the ****storm

Now on EA/Bioware actions

They actually had some good idea with enforcing the Origin. It's basically a veiled CRM system. I assume that every next product from EA will require registration with Origin, otherwise it'll be worthless.

They'll have a customer database and they'll know preferences of their customer base. I admit, I'm curious how it will work out for them and if they will be able to make reasonable decisions having it.

The Bioware's stunt with the ME3 is something yet to be evaluated. They've made a risky decision of showing a middle finger to the most loyal players, but they've opened for a much weider audience. Audience that comprise of people who will play any game once or twice and move to another.

Let's be honest, longveity of a product does not necessarily cash in well. It's strongly visible in the high tech industry.

I think that they've decided to push a day 1 DLC, because they were well aware, that delaying it, could turn into less sales of it, given the replayability value of the game. I expect that most of the DLC content will be around MP and looks. Maybe they'll try to go with a one SP DLC, with higher quality, similarly to DA2, but that will be it. The series is completed, so not really much point in spending a lot of money on it.

The people on the forum also forget about one simple rule of business. Your product does not have to be perfect. It's enough if it's better than what competitors offer. Now, having this in mind, are you able to point a better action/RPG product, with a high quality narrative part (living world, memorable characters, etc.)? The only product which I can think of currently is The Witcher, but that's a fantasy theme, and not a sci-fi theme.

Personally I do not like the direction in which the Bioware is heading, but I certainly understand it from a buisness perspective. At the end of the day it's the EBITDA that matters and the ability to show shareholders that they've invested money in a company that can provide a solid return on that investment in the future. I do think though, that the marketing part consumes too much money on their projects. They could probably do also get same sales, but with less costs. My guess is that in their organization the marketing leader is much stronger than their finance leader, and that never ends up well for any company.

I'll just miss the experience I've loved, because very few companies can deliver a good story content.

I still have hopes fo Obsidian products (if only they were having better budgets), and next projects from the creators of The Witcher.

Jjust a mention in regards of their shareholders, judging by the stock market atm, EA are -4.2% down trading at 16.68 there inabouts, the press releases appear to be appeasing them, as it appears to be quacking in their boots, trading at even a lower price then the SWTOR fiasco fall.  hence im taking the press release with a pinch of salt.

Modifié par Adzcriz, 14 mars 2012 - 06:31 .

[Vasarkian]

Also, a lot of things he said as being done in ME3 weren't actually done nor was the ending the best in the entire series, so... I'd have to say that a lot of this isn't true or is very one-sided perspective-based reporting.

If the other content is just "sugar on top" that is "entirely optional", then that doesn't bode well for the completionist of the series itself.

Modifié par Vasarkian, 14 mars 2012 - 06:36 .

[durasteel]

MICHELLE7 wrote...

Yeah that "remembered" line was what stuck out to me as well...and that's exactly what I thought too...worse ending of all time.

As for the interview it really does sound like "between the lines" there is no plan for an ending dlc... like they like the controversy and discussions as to what it was really all about...that if it provoked any kind of emotion good or bad then it achieved its purpose...to them that is a well written ending. Or at least that's what I made of the interview.

If they wanted to be remembered for controversy, I wish they had just put in some more alien boobs or semi-explicit pseudo-lesbian encounters. Then their fan base would be defending their artistic license, not sharpening pitchforks and soaking torches in oil.

[Eski.Moe]

lol, manages to superficially gloss over the issues.
That isn't why your ending is being talking about bud.

[99DP1982]

@Adzcriz

Interesting info. I'd need some time to get their Financial Statements from SEC sites, as currently I can only guess what's behind that.

It matters little to me though at this moment, as apparently they've stopped delivering products I liked. I'm not on their payroll either

[RocketManSR2]

loungeshep wrote...

really?

.....REALLY?

OMG if people think they should take legal action over a video game ending then it's time to either get your priorities straight,or seek help, or something.


Cuz that is just....wow.


I miss the rational people who were unhappy with the ending.

We're still here. I've not said anything bad towards BioWare since this started. I understand it's their ending, but it still left me sad and confused as to why they chose to end this amazing series that way. I'll give them a month to say something, anything that isn't PR spin. Then anger might begin to set in. 

[ArbitorEAAcc]

Honestly, with the way bioware is looking with the ME series I'm going to forever be a "Wait and see" customer. With Mass Effect 2 I didn't have the hardware needed to run it till late and that was a brilliant game and epic ending in my mind. So when ME3 rolled out I wanted to be right out the gate playing it, just to be disappointed at the "Unforgettable" ending they have crafted.

I think it'll be "Unforgettable" for the wrong reasons. I'll remember the ME series except the last 10-20 minutes of commander shepards story, of which I'll be happy to forget. I'll wait and see what Bioware does for the community in the coming months, and weigh any DLC purchases compared to putting my money in other areas.

[Adzcriz]

99DP1982 wrote...

@Adzcriz

Interesting info. I'd need some time to get their Financial Statements from SEC sites, as currently I can only guess what's behind that.

It matters little to me though at this moment, as apparently they've stopped delivering products I liked. I'm not on their payroll either

i dont follow EA's share prices too closley as i dont need to (Not stupid enough to buy shares in EA) but what i am concerned with, is that IF (big IF) ME3 is behind this fall in price, the shareholders may start to grumble, which is a bad thing. Knowing Bioware and picking up on hints etc, i have a suspicion that BW has something pretty big planned, knowing they have a flair for the dramatic, and IF they do have something planned the market turbulance could negativley affect that, personally i want to see how things play out, and see exactly what they have cooking, they have a decent track record (barring DA2 - which in my mind never existed) and have earned the benefit of the doubt as we say here.

problem is patience isnt wildly abundant in the younger generation, but to be fair labelling people as "Entitled brats" isnt very encouraging

[ArbitorEAAcc]

Adzcriz wrote...
problem is patience isnt wildly abundant in the younger generation, but to be fair labelling people as "Entitled brats" isnt very encouraging

I can wait ages if I'm told something is coming down the pipe. But if left to wild speculation it becomes a waste of my time and resources to hold my breath in regards to something happening.

"Entitled" in this day and age is a word thats becomming overused.

[Sentr0]

eoinnx03 wrote...

Hey fans. Watch this Bull

"...when you finish mass effect 3, you're gona get the most definitive and climatic ending we ever done..."


FFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

[Farbautisonn]

[quote]99DP1982 wrote...

I apologize for the huge qoute box, but it'd be hard to refer to these posts otherwise.

First of all, good job on some ineteresting exchange of viewpoints... really... it's a rarity on internet forums.[/quote]
-Thankee.

[quote]1) The active fanbase is not a representative group for any statistical excercise. It's like saying that all the people who like only apples would claim that the fruit basket is worthless for all, because it does contain very little apples.[/quote]
-I am sorry but I do not undestand that analogy at all.

[quote]
2) PR responses is what it should be - making the best face you can, even though you are aware of the ****storm[/quote]
-I beg to differ. If you come right out and say you made a miscalculation but you are listening to the fanbase and will take their input into into consideration into a future, no timehorizon given DLC or patch, you could have avoided the ****storm all together. Instead we now have a situation where Bioware/EA is denying the elephant in the room even if its rageing around and crapping on the floor, causing people to leave. Thats not good because Bioware has recently had several elephants run around and causing crap, and the guests are getting tired of the host denying it is there.

[quote]They actually had some good idea with enforcing the Origin. It's basically a veiled CRM system. I assume that every next product from EA will require registration with Origin, otherwise it'll be worthless.[/quote]
-Doesnt matter. It alienated a part of the fanbase and it could have been sugarcoated significantly more, by say, saying: "Yes its needed but for your patience and undestanding you get a special DLC weapon/item". We are cheap. We are loyal. Most would likely have jumped at it. We are ridiculously easy to bribe.

[quote]They'll have a customer database and they'll know preferences of their customer base. I admit, I'm curious how it will work out for them and if they will be able to make reasonable decisions having it.[/quote]
-They allready know the preference. They built a company of it: "Story and dialogue driving games with RPG elements". The Client database could be used to cater further to the client base but again it was not presented as such. Again you catch alot more flies with a sugar than with vinagre. Aside from that they have plenty of client input from internet fora.

[quote]The Bioware's stunt with the ME3 is something yet to be evaluated. They've made a risky decision of showing a middle finger to the most loyal players, but they've opened for a much weider audience. Audience that comprise of people who will play any game once or twice and move to another. [/quote]
-We covered this. Sure. They cater to a wider audience now, but so did Westwood, Origins and Bullfrog after EA took over. Those studios are no more. The latest EA revamp of a Bullfrog original title "Syndicate" is little more than a pew pew with the most flimsy excuse for a story ever told. It resembles in no way the original game neither in theme or story. Giving the finger to loyal fans in a time of fiscal crisis is stupid. Because if they loose the loyalists then they are at the mercy of the pew pew and novelty crowd who do not buy a DLC 2 months after release because they are playing something else. The Loyalists will buy up to a year plus later.

[quote]Let's be honest, longveity of a product does not necessarily cash in well. It's strongly visible in the high tech industry. [/quote]
-Wrong analogy. The product with the longest and most popular longivitiy in human history (Aside from beer and foodstuffs) is one of storytelling. IE the Bible. Bioware tells stories and has built a fanbase on that. Several of Biowares games would likely sell DLC even if they were years old.

[quote]I think that they've decided to push a day 1 DLC, because they were well aware, that delaying it, could turn into less sales of it, given the replayability value of the game. I expect that most of the DLC content will be around MP and looks. Maybe they'll try to go with a one SP DLC, with higher quality, similarly to DA2, but that will be it. The series is completed, so not really much point in spending a lot of money on it.[/quote]
-Thats a possibility, and one that I actually support. The series is completed yes but the fanbase feels gutted.That will translate to poor sales and a greater dependence on the pew pew crowd later. The pew pew crowd crave massive PR efforts, billboards, posters, trailers, demos etc. The loyal fan needs only a notic on a website and word of mouth. Hell the loyal fan might start campaining the game himself.

[quote]The people on the forum also forget about one simple rule of business. Your product does not have to be perfect. It's enough if it's better than what competitors offer. Now, having this in mind, are you able to point a better action/RPG product, with a high quality narrative part (living world, memorable characters, etc.)? The only product which I can think of currently is The Witcher, but that's a fantasy theme, and not a sci-fi theme.[/quote]
-This game is by no means perfect but there are several games outthere that looks like it and a few that do quite a bit better. GoW presumes to be a storydriven shooter. As does the Fallout Franchise. The FO franchise right now shows more promise than the ME franchise. Deus Ex is a scifi rpg shooter.  Hell, even "Hitman: Abasolution" is a steath shooter with a (decent) story. Skyrim is an action/sandbox/rpg. There is plenty of competition. The Pure RPG has faded, true and whilst there are indie studios and minor studios with their own projects so far only the Witcher is what might be labelled a purebred traditionalst Crpg. If Bioware looses its only edge vs a vs these game "a better story" then they loose market shares if they cant push their product in significant numbers in a short time.

[quote]
Personally I do not like the direction in which the Bioware is heading, but I certainly understand it from a buisness perspective. At the end of the day it's the EBITDA that matters and the ability to show shareholders that they've invested money in a company that can provide a solid return on that investment in the future. I do think though, that the marketing part consumes too much money on their projects. They could probably do also get same sales, but with less costs. My guess is that in their organization the marketing leader is much stronger than their finance leader, and that never ends up well for any company.[/quote]
-Games are not a traditional investment. They have a long development time, cost alot to produce and have high rates of failiure. Its a risky investment at best. You have to be good and produce consistently good products preferably to an expanding client base. I undestand the business move toward a wider4 audience... but abandoning the old is not a good idea.

[quote]
I'll just miss the experience I've loved, because very few companies can deliver a good story content.[/quote]
-I very much agree.

[quote]I still have hopes fo Obsidian products (if only they were having better budgets), and next projects from the creators of The Witcher.[/quote]
-From your mouth to gods ear :innocent:

Modifié par Farbautisonn, 14 mars 2012 - 07:24 .

[Giga Drill BREAKER]

I can Hackett wrote...

 An interview with Casey Hudson asking about the endings http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/exclusive-mass-effect-3s-director-addresses-the-games-controversies/


I hope these arent the kind of responses we can expect from Bioware he basically avoids the question

That was the worst interview ever, reminds me of the interviews Bioware gave when Dragon Age 2 came out.

[Sentr0]

This Casey Hudson is so trolling... cannot belive he lied so much...

[heathxxx]

Well, judging by the responses to my earlier post, I guess I'll just have to experience the ending for myself.

Seems that much of the actual gameplay is great, but the finish and how everything is tied together is bad? That's the main impression I'm getting.

[Vasarkian]

heathxxx wrote...

Well, judging by the responses to my earlier post, I guess I'll just have to experience the ending for myself.

Seems that much of the actual gameplay is great, but the finish and how everything is tied together is bad? That's the main impression I'm getting.

Basically, though the ties that bind also relate to the beginning and mid and end, so when you get past the end you'll basically see how nothing you did mattered. At that point you just hate the entire game.