23455 réponses à ce sujet

[Archonsg]

And since we are on the subject of fan made ME stuff,
Tali's Song

Yeah, I am a Talimancer.
And yeah, I am pissed they used a god damned stock photo for Tali's face.

Which brings us back to the ending. So much could have been done.
*looks at 24 save games and sighs*
Played one and the rest...just don't have the heart to do so.

[3DandBeyond]

Archonsg wrote...

LiarasShield wrote...

Thought this was kinda cool

This!
I loled!  I bet Gilbert and Sulivan are rolling in their graves. 

Hilarious.  Thanks for sharing LS.

[LiarasShield]

Here is also a video of alot of the testimonies from the retake movement if you have a hour of spare time I'd suggest you look at it

[3DandBeyond]

Archonsg wrote...

And since we are on the subject of fan made ME stuff,
Tali's Song

Yeah, I am a Talimancer.
And yeah, I am pissed they used a god damned stock photo for Tali's face.

Which brings us back to the ending. So much could have been done.
*looks at 24 save games and sighs*
Played one and the rest...just don't have the heart to do so.

You know that face thing was pretty idiotic.  They used an actual picture of Liara, but couldn't make a Tali.  I have seen the 3d model half face of Tali revealed and it really wouldn't have taken much for them to create a real face.

[Redbelle]

3DandBeyond wrote...

Archonsg wrote...

And since we are on the subject of fan made ME stuff,
Tali's Song

Yeah, I am a Talimancer.
And yeah, I am pissed they used a god damned stock photo for Tali's face.

Which brings us back to the ending. So much could have been done.
*looks at 24 save games and sighs*
Played one and the rest...just don't have the heart to do so.

You know that face thing was pretty idiotic.  They used an actual picture of Liara, but couldn't make a Tali.  I have seen the 3d model half face of Tali revealed and it really wouldn't have taken much for them to create a real face.

This is one of many reasons why I feel ME3 was rushed through development. They say they use stock pictures to make other characters but those characters are then rendered in game. Tali wasn't. The only reason I can think of considering their past track record of making good games is time constraints.

[3DandBeyond]

LiarasShield wrote...

Here is also a video of alot of the testimonies from the retake movement if you have a hour of spare time I'd suggest you look at it

I haven't watched it all but I am going to.  So many of the thoughts there echo my own feelings.  Best game series ever, worst game ending ever.

What particularly hit me is people saying they have no desire to play other games.  I'm that way too now.  I got 2 games that came with my new 360, started one and thought it just wasn't great.  This leads me to believe that maybe other game companies should worry and tell EA/Bioware to get their act together (yes, other companies have their own problems) or this could impact them as well.

What Bioware did was snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.  They had us.  They had all our gaming money.  DLC, hell yeah.  ME shoes, why not?  They had us, we were theirs to lose and they did it big time.

It's because we loved the games so much that we are so upset now.

[LiarasShield]

LiarasShield wrote...

Here is also a video of alot of the testimonies from the retake movement if you have a hour of spare time I'd suggest you look at it

I definitly hope the best for the retake movement and I do feel their pain

[twinsfun]

I love all my characters so sad the ending was bad,always have my pics of my ME3 characters and my own version of the ending sigh

[Redbelle]

LiarasShield wrote...

Archonsg wrote...

LiarasShield wrote...

Thought this was kinda cool

This!
I loled!  I bet Gilbert and Sulivan are rolling in their graves. 

 

it was awesome lol

<exagerated gasp> There WAS a secret ending!!!



Ok not really but I like to share

Modifié par Redbelle, 25 mai 2012 - 11:44 .

[Redbelle]

twinsfun wrote...

I love all my characters so sad the ending was bad,always have my pics of my ME3 characters and my own version of the ending sigh

I remember somewhere someone saying to hang onto our ME3 saves..........

[Redbelle]

If anyone gets bored of the romances in ME1 2 and 3, there was another partner we may have overlooked.

[twinsfun]

My 9yr old son hates the ending also,he refuses to play the game agan,all that work is for nothing he had it maxed out to win and felt defeated at the end

[LiarasShield]

Once again this is the fan testimonies from the retake movement





This is Also a interview with the person that started the movement

[3DandBeyond]

Redbelle wrote...

twinsfun wrote...

I love all my characters so sad the ending was bad,always have my pics of my ME3 characters and my own version of the ending sigh

I remember somewhere someone saying to hang onto our ME3 saves..........

Yep..

http://www.gameinfor...ct-3-saves.aspx

[3DandBeyond]

Redbelle wrote...

If anyone gets bored of the romances in ME1 2 and 3, there was another partner we may have overlooked.

That one was more horrific than listening to Blasto's romantic adventures.

[LiarasShield]

LiarasShield wrote...

Once again this is the fan testimonies from the retake movement





This is Also a interview with the person that started the movement

I definitly will support the movement probably sign up with them if the retake movement is still going on facebook

[BlueStorm83]

--- I was thinking today at work, and figured "You know, the ending would make a crapton more sense if the starboy wasn't the Catalyst, but rather he was the CRUCIBLE."

See, a Catalyst is something you use to start a reaction. You don't make something, call it a Catalyst, and then find something that it can make react. You have two things, and then you find a Catalyst that will cause their reaction. That little D-bag called himself "The Catalyst." That's nonsense. Also, he controls the reapers? What the hell, that implies that 1) he wanted a crucible built, 2) no matter what you do he wants a change away from the cycles that he made, and 3) he basically engineered all life, synthetic and organic, so the "status quo" would change in a galaxy... where he and he alone created that status quo. What?

Ah, but if the Starboy was the CRUCIBLE! Suppose that he was the newly born intelligence of the Crucuble itself. The conversation could have gone down something like this:

Shep: "Wha- who are you? Where am I?"
Starboy: "Crucible."
Shep: "This is the crucible? Who are you?"
SB: "Crucible."
Shep: "I don't understand."
Crucible: "Crucible. To stop the reapers."
Shep: "So the crucible can stop the reapers. You can do that?"
Crucible: "Yes. No. Reapers can be destroyed. Reapers can be controlled. Reapers can be made one with organics."
Shep: "I don't understand. If you can destroy them, or control them, or make them like us, just do it."
Crucible: "Not enough. Crucible does not have information enough to affect Reapers. Purpose will go unfulfilled without focus. Without Catalyst."
Shep: "I thought the Citadel was the Catalyst."
Crucible: "No. Not complete. Citadel can magnify Crucible's effects, but is not Catalyst. Crucible requires... context. Conciousness. A mind with information of Reapers. A mind with determination to identify and destroy Reapers. A mind with will to control reapers. A mind with understanding to unify Reapers with other life. Current organic subject's mind is sufficient." (Paragon Interrupt!) or (Renegade Interrupt!) or further conversation.
Shep (Paragon): "You're saying that I could become the Catalyst, and my mind would focus the Crucible to end this war, right now, and I could save everyone."
Shep (Renegade): "Damn it, if I can stop this all, tell me how!"
Shep (Without talking skills): Do you mean that a living mind is the Catalyst?"
Crucible: "Yes. This console can link a mind into Crucible destructive engergies. Organic mind's determination to destroy reapers will cause emination. Reapers will be destroyed. Other synthetic life may be destroyed, or other organic life destroyed, if organic mind's determination falters. This console can link a mind into Crucible override signal amplifiers. If organic mind's will is greater than Reaper will, Reapers will be overwritten, and become like organic mind. If organic mind's will falters, Reapers can remain Reapers. This console can link a mind into Crucible Genesis Program. If mind can accept new possibilities, and is not bound by bias of organic life over synthetic life, Crucible will scan all known galaxy. A synthesis pulse will be released, and all sentient life found, synthetic and organic, will take on a form between organic and synthetic. If organic mind's understanding falters, all organic and synthetic life may become... organic mind's closest analogy would be 'Monstrous' or 'Abominable.' Warning. Crucible Energies will render all Mass Relay platforms inert. Warning. Any merger of organic mind with Crucible would be irreversable."
Shep: "My God. (activates Radio) Admiral Hackett, I'm at the Crucible. I can activate it, and there are three different options, but they all seem too risky."
Hackett: "There might not (explosion) time, Shepard. The Fleet's giving it all they've got,-
(Low EMS) but they can't hang on. In another two minutes, there won't be enough of us to keep the Reapers off the Crucible. You're going to have to make a choice."
(Medium EMS) but we're taking some heavy losses. If it's too dangerous, we'll give it all we've got, and try to make do by our own strength. I'm leaving the call to you, Shepard, I've got a planet to save."
(High EMS) and the Reapers are getting their asses kicked. If the Catalyst is so dangerous, then to hell with the damn thing. You've put together a fleet unlike anything this Galaxy has ever seen, and we'll run the Reapers right back into hell, Crucible or not. The ground forces made a second assault, and they've taken the conduit. Rendesvous with them on the ground, and get aboard the Normandy. I want you leading the charge. Hackett Out."
(At this point, Shepard can use a Destroy Console, a Control Console, and a Synthesis console. With maximum EMS, Shepard can also limp back down the hallway and take the Conduit back to the ground, where his squadmates would be waiting for him.)

--- And that would be my Crucible ending, wherein the Catalyst is a living being (which was actually my suspicion throughout most of the game) Destroy, Control, and Synthesis would each have 3 possible outcomes.
Destroy as a Paragon (Low EMS) would destroy Reapers and also Geth and EDI. Destroy as a Renegade (Low EMS) would destroy Reapers as well as the combined assault fleet. Destroy as either paragon or renegade with a high EMS (representing Shepard's clear mind to do what needs to be done) would destroy only the Reapers, leaving everyone else alive.

Control as a Paragon (low EMS) would infuse the Reapers with a desire to protect the sanctity of all life, with a warped means, leading the reapers to quarantine life forms on their own homeworld and colonies, and keep them trapped, almost like a zoo. Control as a Renegade (low EMS) would infuse the Reapers with the warped desire to make the organic races strong, and so Organic life forms would be inducted into a forced draft, as slave soldiers, albeit in their natural forms. Control as either with a high EMS would cause the Reapers to withdraw to Dark Space, where they would build a listening post designed to watch for any event that may cause a genocide of any race, organic or synthetic, at which point they would intervene stealthily, saving the intended victims without causing any avoidable damage to any world, moon, colony, or life form.

Synthesis as a Paragon (low EMS) would turn all life EDI-like, but not alter anyone's personalities. This would result in a rash of suicides as many could not come to grips with their new mechanical forms. Synthesis as a Renegade (low EMS) would make all life like the Integrated Cerberus soldiers, unified and single minded, but unable to be individuals. Synthesis as Paragon or renegade with a high EMS would allow each being to choose their new ascended form, retaining their personalities, memories, and, in essence, soul, while also offering them integrated mass drivers, omni-tools, and network links. As an added bonus here, for those who supported the Joker-EDI romance, we see a Five Years Later epilogue where we see Joker and Edi (Joker looking a bit like Colossus from X-men, EDI looking like a normal flesh and blood human being) walking in a garden of light producing flowers, Joker and Edi telling their two children about the way that the Commander made this all possible.

Anyone who had the highest EMS and returned to the Normandy to lead the assault is given a series of cutscenes interspersed with command decisions, where Shepard can decide which fleet asset to send against individual reaper formations. This fight can either take a heavy toll on the fleet OR end in the Normandy sacrificing itself by detonating its Tantilus Drive to take out Harbinger and a cluster of Soverign class reapers, breaking Reaper cohesion and allowing an easy mop-up by the rest of the fleet. Afterward we see either a gold statue of Shep and his crew, as a memorial, or a gold statue of Hackett and the other admirals (including Aria T'loak, that massive ****,) who all died in the assault.

There, BAM. In the course of one half hour, I've crafted eight endings, a few of which have a couple variations based on personal choice, some that end in crushing failure, some that end in partial success, some that end in total victory, some that end with blue (or bionic) babies, some that end in heroic sacrifice, some that end with monstrous abominations, and even one where SYNTHESIS BETWEEN ORGANIC AND SYNTHETIC LIFE WORKS, without sacrificing individuality or even your APPEARANCE.

Now SOMEBODY get a mutha ****a to RENDER this ****!

Modifié par BlueStorm83, 26 mai 2012 - 12:12 .

[BlueStorm83]

** Oh, and it leaves the Reapers identity as the VILLAINS of the series, and not just wind-up attack dogs, intact.

[B3A5T13]

Ksandor wrote...

B3A5T13 wrote...

I loved the game, and Just so you know I thought the Ending was BRILLIANT!
Although I must admit it took me a while to understand why so. There were many a long talk with my fellow Mass effect playing friends about it. we each noticed something different in places all throughout the game, and having read the books and comics. this led us to believe that there was more to the game than what we saw. Then we found the I.T. It took our previous theories and ended up expanding on them. after that it was clear why the Game was AWESOME. because the ending made you think.

Thank you for not force feeding me the ending, and allowing me to make connections throughout the games.
Your final product actually reminds me of 2001: A Space Odyssey. at the time no one liked it. but now years later it is regarded as one of the best sci-fi movies ever made.

Thank you BW I look forward to more ME games in the future.

Brainwashed, whitewashed, hired pro or just mainstream? Whatever... I am SO glad you liked the ending. Unfortunately the majority did not like it. The game did not sell well, company reputation is down from heroic to disliked and only that matters because... gimme casshhhhh! Now, please go and post 10.000 more positive posts. I am sure the hired pros will earn their money. Thanks.

Not Brainwashed, Whitewashed, hired pro. or mainstream. I just dont like being force fed my entertainment. I must say though how many perfect scores was BW sporting even after the realease? yes the numbers went down after the game lost some of its momentum beacuse of the exaggeration of what exactly happens in the end. I have herd stories that there was no ending, that everyone just died and nothing you did made any difference. well sorry to tell you but apparently your wrong! If you didnt like the game then why are you on a forum talking about it with other people? If you didnt like the game then why are people still buying it? Playing it? because BW did a damn good job. and they better most of them spent good money to go to school get the degree so that they could make video games like Mass Effect all of the time. then they got the job at BW. a tough thing to do as well. If all they wanted was money and not to make a good game then why all of the free DLC? If customer satisfation wasnt on their plate then why agree to extend the ending anyway. why not just tell us to go jump off of a cliff?

[LiarasShield]

BlueStorm83 wrote...

--- I was thinking today at work, and figured "You know, the ending would make a crapton more sense if the starboy wasn't the Catalyst, but rather he was the CRUCIBLE."

See, a Catalyst is something you use to start a reaction. You don't make something, call it a Catalyst, and then find something that it can make react. You have two things, and then you find a Catalyst that will cause their reaction. That little D-bag called himself "The Catalyst." That's nonsense. Also, he controls the reapers? What the hell, that implies that 1) he wanted a crucible built, 2) no matter what you do he wants a change away from the cycles that he made, and 3) he basically engineered all life, synthetic and organic, so the "status quo" would change in a galaxy... where he and he alone created that status quo. What?

Ah, but if the Starboy was the CRUCIBLE! Suppose that he was the newly born intelligence of the Crucuble itself. The conversation could have gone down something like this:

Shep: "Wha- who are you? Where am I?"
Starboy: "Crucible."
Shep: "This is the crucible? Who are you?"
SB: "Crucible."
Shep: "I don't understand."
Crucible: "Crucible. To stop the reapers."
Shep: "So the crucible can stop the reapers. You can do that?"
Crucible: "Yes. No. Reapers can be destroyed. Reapers can be controlled. Reapers can be made one with organics."
Shep: "I don't understand. If you can destroy them, or control them, or make them like us, just do it."
Crucible: "Not enough. Crucible does not have information enough to affect Reapers. Purpose will go unfulfilled without focus. Without Catalyst."
Shep: "I thought the Citadel was the Catalyst."
Crucible: "No. Not complete. Citadel can magnify Crucible's effects, but is not Catalyst. Crucible requires... context. Conciousness. A mind with information of Reapers. A mind with determination to identify and destroy Reapers. A mind with will to control reapers. A mind with understanding to unify Reapers with other life. Current organic subject's mind is sufficient." (Paragon Interrupt!) or (Renegade Interrupt!) or further conversation.
Shep (Paragon): "You're saying that I could become the Catalyst, and my mind would focus the Crucible to end this war, right now, and I could save everyone."
Shep (Renegade): "Damn it, if I can stop this all, tell me how!"
Shep (Without talking skills): Do you mean that a living mind is the Catalyst?"
Crucible: "Yes. This console can link a mind into Crucible destructive engergies. Organic mind's determination to destroy reapers will cause emination. Reapers will be destroyed. Other synthetic life may be destroyed, or other organic life destroyed, if organic mind's determination falters. This console can link a mind into Crucible override signal amplifiers. If organic mind's will is greater than Reaper will, Reapers will be overwritten, and become like organic mind. If organic mind's will falters, Reapers can remain Reapers. This console can link a mind into Crucible Genesis Program. If mind can accept new possibilities, and is not bound by bias of organic life over synthetic life, Crucible will scan all known galaxy. A synthesis pulse will be released, and all sentient life found, synthetic and organic, will take on a form between organic and synthetic. If organic mind's understanding falters, all organic and synthetic life may become... organic mind's closest analogy would be 'Monstrous' or 'Abominable.' Warning. Crucible Energies will render all Mass Relay platforms inert. Warning. Any merger of organic mind with Crucible would be irreversable."
Shep: "My God. (activates Radio) Admiral Hackett, I'm at the Crucible. I can activate it, and there are three different options, but they all seem too risky."
Hackett: "There might not (explosion) time, Shepard. The Fleet's giving it all they've got,-
(Low EMS) but they can't hang on. In another two minutes, there won't be enough of us to keep the Reapers off the Crucible. You're going to have to make a choice."
(Medium EMS) but we're taking some heavy losses. If it's too dangerous, we'll give it all we've got, and try to make do by our own strength. I'm leaving the call to you, Shepard, I've got a planet to save."
(High EMS) and the Reapers are getting their asses kicked. If the Catalyst is so dangerous, then to hell with the damn thing. You've put together a fleet unlike anything this Galaxy has ever seen, and we'll run the Reapers right back into hell, Crucible or not. The ground forces made a second assault, and they've taken the conduit. Rendesvous with them on the ground, and get aboard the Normandy. I want you leading the charge. Hackett Out."
(At this point, Shepard can use a Destroy Console, a Control Console, and a Synthesis console. With maximum EMS, Shepard can also limp back down the hallway and take the Conduit back to the ground, where his squadmates would be waiting for him.)

--- And that would be my Crucible ending, wherein the Catalyst is a living being (which was actually my suspicion throughout most of the game) Destroy, Control, and Synthesis would each have 3 possible outcomes.
Destroy as a Paragon (Low EMS) would destroy Reapers and also Geth and EDI. Destroy as a Renegade (Low EMS) would destroy Reapers as well as the combined assault fleet. Destroy as either paragon or renegade with a high EMS (representing Shepard's clear mind to do what needs to be done) would destroy only the Reapers, leaving everyone else alive.

Control as a Paragon (low EMS) would infuse the Reapers with a desire to protect the sanctity of all life, with a warped means, leading the reapers to quarantine life forms on their own homeworld and colonies, and keep them trapped, almost like a zoo. Control as a Renegade (low EMS) would infuse the Reapers with the warped desire to make the organic races strong, and so Organic life forms would be inducted into a forced draft, as slave soldiers, albeit in their natural forms. Control as either with a high EMS would cause the Reapers to withdraw to Dark Space, where they would build a listening post designed to watch for any event that may cause a genocide of any race, organic or synthetic, at which point they would intervene stealthily, saving the intended victims without causing any avoidable damage to any world, moon, colony, or life form.

Synthesis as a Paragon (low EMS) would turn all life EDI-like, but not alter anyone's personalities. This would result in a rash of suicides as many could not come to grips with their new mechanical forms. Synthesis as a Renegade (low EMS) would make all life like the Integrated Cerberus soldiers, unified and single minded, but unable to be individuals. Synthesis as Paragon or renegade with a high EMS would allow each being to choose their new ascended form, retaining their personalities, memories, and, in essence, soul, while also offering them integrated mass drivers, omni-tools, and network links. As an added bonus here, for those who supported the Joker-EDI romance, we see a Five Years Later epilogue where we see Joker and Edi (Joker looking a bit like Colossus from X-men, EDI looking like a normal flesh and blood human being) walking in a garden of light producing flowers, Joker and Edi telling their two children about the way that the Commander made this all possible.

Anyone who had the highest EMS and returned to the Normandy to lead the assault is given a series of cutscenes interspersed with command decisions, where Shepard can decide which fleet asset to send against individual reaper formations. This fight can either take a heavy toll on the fleet OR end in the Normandy sacrificing itself by detonating its Tantilus Drive to take out Harbinger and a cluster of Soverign class reapers, breaking Reaper cohesion and allowing an easy mop-up by the rest of the fleet. Afterward we see either a gold statue of Shep and his crew, as a memorial, or a gold statue of Hackett and the other admirals (including Aria T'loak, that massive ****,) who all died in the assault.

There, BAM. In the course of one half hour, I've crafted eight endings, a few of which have a couple variations based on personal choice, some that end in crushing failure, some that end in partial success, some that end in total victory, some that end with blue (or bionic) babies, some that end in heroic sacrifice, some that end with monstrous abominations, and even one where SYNTHESIS BETWEEN ORGANIC AND SYNTHETIC LIFE WORKS, without sacrificing individuality or even your APPEARANCE.

Now SOMEBODY get a mutha ****a to RENDER this ****!

Good **** blue good stuff man *high fives*

[Deltakarma]

3DandBeyond wrote...

Redbelle wrote...

twinsfun wrote...

I love all my characters so sad the ending was bad,always have my pics of my ME3 characters and my own version of the ending sigh

I remember somewhere someone saying to hang onto our ME3 saves..........

Yep..

http://www.gameinfor...ct-3-saves.aspx

He said DLC SOOOOO many times. Hahaha.

[LiarasShield]

LiarasShield wrote...

LiarasShield wrote...

Once again this is the fan testimonies from the retake movement





This is Also a interview with the person that started the movement

I definitly will support the movement probably sign up with them if the retake movement is still going on facebook

If some people can post these two links in other threads pertaining to the ending or for other threads in the single player portion it would be greatly appreciated

[3DandBeyond]

B3A5T13 wrote...

Not Brainwashed, Whitewashed, hired pro. or mainstream. I just dont like being force fed my entertainment. I must say though how many perfect scores was BW sporting even after the realease? yes the numbers went down after the game lost some of its momentum beacuse of the exaggeration of what exactly happens in the end. I have herd stories that there was no ending, that everyone just died and nothing you did made any difference. well sorry to tell you but apparently your wrong! If you didnt like the game then why are you on a forum talking about it with other people? If you didnt like the game then why are people still buying it? Playing it? because BW did a damn good job. and they better most of them spent good money to go to school get the degree so that they could make video games like Mass Effect all of the time. then they got the job at BW. a tough thing to do as well. If all they wanted was money and not to make a good game then why all of the free DLC? If customer satisfation wasnt on their plate then why agree to extend the ending anyway. why not just tell us to go jump off of a cliff?

I believe everyone is entitled to an opinion, but will say yours is wrong on many counts and ill-informed on others.

First off, and the main problem you have is your belief that we didn't like the game.  The opposite is true.  We are here because we loved it.  But we hated the ending.  Where should a person go to complain about a product if not the forum for that product?

Secondly, you incorrectly assume that perfect review scores mean much at all.  Look at who advertises review websites.  Poor reviews mean dropped ads, mean dropped revenue, means reviewer stops reviewing.  And, IGN had their ace in a hole so to speak with Jessica Chobot, complete with painted on dress, massive boobage, and fantastic (ugh) acting.  IGN score 9.5.  Anyone that knows anything understands that in order to make room for Chobot the ME series character of Emily Wong just went away. 

And reviews are not based upon complete plays of a game.  Most often they are based on what the reviewer sees of it and isn't the totality of the product.  They don't finish a game and say they liked such and such about the ending.  They rush to be the first to review and they do so much want to like titles from major game companies.  I used to watch xplay and liked Adam Sessler and the reviews seemed pretty close to the way I saw things oftentimes.  However, one year he gave a game a total 10 all the way across, though the game was said by players to have many flaws.  The next in the series came out sometime later and he said it was better than the first, far better and he gave it a 9.5.  It wasn't, but what hit me is they are just making this stuff up as they go along.

Ok as to the free DLC-I assume you mean the one free (so far) Resurgence pack for Multiplayer.  You need to understand that they hope to make money off of people there with microtransactions-they gave it to you for free partly because of the ME3 ending backlash, but mostly because they hope you will buy all those equipment packs in the game.  A lot of people do buy them so that's where they make real money.  Also, they famously released a release day DLC pack of a character that in the Final Hours app was supposed to play a major part in ME3-Javik.  They released it as a pay for DLC in order to get you to pay $80 for a $60 game.  EA admitted this.

You are under some misconceptions about the ending as well-the choices.  I can play a pretty crappy game and get far less of the war assets than you-you may get 100% of them and play the metagame to get everything you are supposed to-but I can have the exact same endings as you.  Other than perhaps the gasp ending, as long as I meet some minimums for EMS, I can have the endings you do.  No variety.  Your choices, being perfect should mean something far better than mine, but they don't.

Even so, all three choices are virtually the exact same cutscene with some minimal differences.  Oh and color-that's important.

And as to everyone dies in the end-well a good case can be made that that is what should happen.  The relays rupture which is supposed to destroy a solar system, should destroy Earth, should probably destroy all the fleets amassed at Earth and so on.  Joker running away made no sense and swooping into London and picking up Shepard's Love Interest and people Shepard was fighting with, who also decided to run away, made a lot of sense.

Shepard believes the star kid but the star kid has been sending reapers to turn people into goo.  So, yes someone had to go to college and become a brain surgeon in order to write this because it makes so much sense.  I would trust someone that wants to turn my family into goo, wouldn't you?  Heck, I think one needs a Master's Degree to write something that special.

[3DandBeyond]

BlueStorm83 wrote...

** Oh, and it leaves the Reapers identity as the VILLAINS of the series, and not just wind-up attack dogs, intact.

BlueStorm,
Good stuff, really good.

Here are some interesting definitions:

Crucible---A place or occasion of severe test or trial: "the crucible of combat"
Catalyst---A person or thing that precipitates an event.

What it seems is the kid is a Catable or a Crucibyst.  What I mean is he provides a severe test (of control over the gag reflex), as well as he precipitates events (see-through child hatred).

All along I really thought the deep meaning would be that Shepard was the Catalyst.  The Crucible could have been an arena where a test or trial took place, and maybe they did mean that to be what was happening to Shepard.  But then all that happened next just made that inconceivable.  I mean that if what was happening was a test, were the things that happened next supposed to show a win or a fail?  My Shepard failed the test miserably, if so because my Shepard made a choice.

[Iakus]

BlueStorm83 wrote...

--- I was thinking today at work, and figured "You know, the ending would make a crapton more sense if the starboy wasn't the Catalyst, but rather he was the CRUCIBLE."

See, a Catalyst is something you use to start a reaction. You don't make something, call it a Catalyst, and then find something that it can make react. You have two things, and then you find a Catalyst that will cause their reaction. That little D-bag called himself "The Catalyst." That's nonsense. Also, he controls the reapers? What the hell, that implies that 1) he wanted a crucible built, 2) no matter what you do he wants a change away from the cycles that he made, and 3) he basically engineered all life, synthetic and organic, so the "status quo" would change in a galaxy... where he and he alone created that status quo. What?

Ah, but if the Starboy was the CRUCIBLE! Suppose that he was the newly born intelligence of the Crucuble itself. The conversation could have gone down something like this:

Shep: "Wha- who are you? Where am I?"
Starboy: "Crucible."
Shep: "This is the crucible? Who are you?"
SB: "Crucible."
Shep: "I don't understand."
Crucible: "Crucible. To stop the reapers."
Shep: "So the crucible can stop the reapers. You can do that?"
Crucible: "Yes. No. Reapers can be destroyed. Reapers can be controlled. Reapers can be made one with organics."
Shep: "I don't understand. If you can destroy them, or control them, or make them like us, just do it."
Crucible: "Not enough. Crucible does not have information enough to affect Reapers. Purpose will go unfulfilled without focus. Without Catalyst."
Shep: "I thought the Citadel was the Catalyst."
Crucible: "No. Not complete. Citadel can magnify Crucible's effects, but is not Catalyst. Crucible requires... context. Conciousness. A mind with information of Reapers. A mind with determination to identify and destroy Reapers. A mind with will to control reapers. A mind with understanding to unify Reapers with other life. Current organic subject's mind is sufficient." (Paragon Interrupt!) or (Renegade Interrupt!) or further conversation.
Shep (Paragon): "You're saying that I could become the Catalyst, and my mind would focus the Crucible to end this war, right now, and I could save everyone."
Shep (Renegade): "Damn it, if I can stop this all, tell me how!"
Shep (Without talking skills): Do you mean that a living mind is the Catalyst?"
Crucible: "Yes. This console can link a mind into Crucible destructive engergies. Organic mind's determination to destroy reapers will cause emination. Reapers will be destroyed. Other synthetic life may be destroyed, or other organic life destroyed, if organic mind's determination falters. This console can link a mind into Crucible override signal amplifiers. If organic mind's will is greater than Reaper will, Reapers will be overwritten, and become like organic mind. If organic mind's will falters, Reapers can remain Reapers. This console can link a mind into Crucible Genesis Program. If mind can accept new possibilities, and is not bound by bias of organic life over synthetic life, Crucible will scan all known galaxy. A synthesis pulse will be released, and all sentient life found, synthetic and organic, will take on a form between organic and synthetic. If organic mind's understanding falters, all organic and synthetic life may become... organic mind's closest analogy would be 'Monstrous' or 'Abominable.' Warning. Crucible Energies will render all Mass Relay platforms inert. Warning. Any merger of organic mind with Crucible would be irreversable."
Shep: "My God. (activates Radio) Admiral Hackett, I'm at the Crucible. I can activate it, and there are three different options, but they all seem too risky."
Hackett: "There might not (explosion) time, Shepard. The Fleet's giving it all they've got,-
(Low EMS) but they can't hang on. In another two minutes, there won't be enough of us to keep the Reapers off the Crucible. You're going to have to make a choice."
(Medium EMS) but we're taking some heavy losses. If it's too dangerous, we'll give it all we've got, and try to make do by our own strength. I'm leaving the call to you, Shepard, I've got a planet to save."
(High EMS) and the Reapers are getting their asses kicked. If the Catalyst is so dangerous, then to hell with the damn thing. You've put together a fleet unlike anything this Galaxy has ever seen, and we'll run the Reapers right back into hell, Crucible or not. The ground forces made a second assault, and they've taken the conduit. Rendesvous with them on the ground, and get aboard the Normandy. I want you leading the charge. Hackett Out."
(At this point, Shepard can use a Destroy Console, a Control Console, and a Synthesis console. With maximum EMS, Shepard can also limp back down the hallway and take the Conduit back to the ground, where his squadmates would be waiting for him.)

--- And that would be my Crucible ending, wherein the Catalyst is a living being (which was actually my suspicion throughout most of the game) Destroy, Control, and Synthesis would each have 3 possible outcomes.
Destroy as a Paragon (Low EMS) would destroy Reapers and also Geth and EDI. Destroy as a Renegade (Low EMS) would destroy Reapers as well as the combined assault fleet. Destroy as either paragon or renegade with a high EMS (representing Shepard's clear mind to do what needs to be done) would destroy only the Reapers, leaving everyone else alive.

Control as a Paragon (low EMS) would infuse the Reapers with a desire to protect the sanctity of all life, with a warped means, leading the reapers to quarantine life forms on their own homeworld and colonies, and keep them trapped, almost like a zoo. Control as a Renegade (low EMS) would infuse the Reapers with the warped desire to make the organic races strong, and so Organic life forms would be inducted into a forced draft, as slave soldiers, albeit in their natural forms. Control as either with a high EMS would cause the Reapers to withdraw to Dark Space, where they would build a listening post designed to watch for any event that may cause a genocide of any race, organic or synthetic, at which point they would intervene stealthily, saving the intended victims without causing any avoidable damage to any world, moon, colony, or life form.

Synthesis as a Paragon (low EMS) would turn all life EDI-like, but not alter anyone's personalities. This would result in a rash of suicides as many could not come to grips with their new mechanical forms. Synthesis as a Renegade (low EMS) would make all life like the Integrated Cerberus soldiers, unified and single minded, but unable to be individuals. Synthesis as Paragon or renegade with a high EMS would allow each being to choose their new ascended form, retaining their personalities, memories, and, in essence, soul, while also offering them integrated mass drivers, omni-tools, and network links. As an added bonus here, for those who supported the Joker-EDI romance, we see a Five Years Later epilogue where we see Joker and Edi (Joker looking a bit like Colossus from X-men, EDI looking like a normal flesh and blood human being) walking in a garden of light producing flowers, Joker and Edi telling their two children about the way that the Commander made this all possible.

Anyone who had the highest EMS and returned to the Normandy to lead the assault is given a series of cutscenes interspersed with command decisions, where Shepard can decide which fleet asset to send against individual reaper formations. This fight can either take a heavy toll on the fleet OR end in the Normandy sacrificing itself by detonating its Tantilus Drive to take out Harbinger and a cluster of Soverign class reapers, breaking Reaper cohesion and allowing an easy mop-up by the rest of the fleet. Afterward we see either a gold statue of Shep and his crew, as a memorial, or a gold statue of Hackett and the other admirals (including Aria T'loak, that massive ****,) who all died in the assault.

There, BAM. In the course of one half hour, I've crafted eight endings, a few of which have a couple variations based on personal choice, some that end in crushing failure, some that end in partial success, some that end in total victory, some that end with blue (or bionic) babies, some that end in heroic sacrifice, some that end with monstrous abominations, and even one where SYNTHESIS BETWEEN ORGANIC AND SYNTHETIC LIFE WORKS, without sacrificing individuality or even your APPEARANCE.

Now SOMEBODY get a mutha ****a to RENDER this ****!

I like it. 

Pity it's not artistic enough