831 réponses à ce sujet

[Vorodill]

Bump. Great post. Again.

[Garbloxx]

Oh wow. I wanted a happy ending, but if I had the chance to drive a truck of missiles into Harbinger's face, I'd gladly make that sacrifice AND mourn the loss of my hero. Bravo.

Modifié par Garbloxx, 05 avril 2012 - 11:13 .

[Eternalsteelfan]

Garbloxx wrote...

Oh wow. I wanted a happy ending, but if I had the chance to drive a truck of missiles into Harbinger's face, I'd gladly make that sacrifice AND mourn the loss of my hero. Bravo.

Haha, thanks. The right amount of badassitude makes any sacrifice complete.

On a different note, I'm cautiously optimistic about the new Extended Cut DLC. I think it's the best we could have hoped for, a full rewrite of the ending would be lengthy and costly, and hopefully what is added will push the narrative in directions we the fans have voiced we want.

[SovereignWillReturn]

Your ending rocks.

[jer79]

Great post! Thanks for the clarity and alt ending. (Btw, 'decimated' means 10% [hence the 'deci-' part] of what is being referenced is destroyed, coming from the Roman practice of killing 10% of a village's population. [I can't imagine that 90% of the city remains unscathed within the radius of the crater. :) ] Although its abuse is starting to shift its meaning in our vernacular language. But, I digress.) I especially liked your point about Shepard not being a tragic hero and the comparison with Mordin. The sense of closure and resolution from your alt ending is palpable given the gaping hole left by the game. Really enjoyed the read.

[1ndm3chm4tt]

You can have all of my internets!

[Meltemph]

Everytime I read this, I realize how well put together it is.

[dbl219]

Le bump.

[An English Gamer]

 OK I am just going to pretend that I understood all of that :Bad Poker Face:

That is again a brilliant ending that Bioware might have the opportunity to use but won't due to pride issues.

[Ieldra]

OP, I can't believe I missed this for almost a whole month. Great post. Subscribed.

[Mholl704]

Eternalsteelfan wrote...


1.

From Anderson's death and Hackett's call that nothing is happening with the Crucible:

Shepard collapses against the control panel - it whirs and lights up with activity. Shepard weakly pulls his head up then backs away - a display of immeasureable data fills the vantage point of Earth. Amidst the constantly flickering and cycling data, one constant: a blueprint-like image of Harbinger. Shephard, perhaps do to the cipher, seems to understand.

The player is able to investigate some of the data through Shepard and learns:

• The Crucible isn't a weapon but a beacon attuned to recieve and transmit the collective history of every cycle that has been Reaped. (Beacon/cipher bookend with original Mass Effect) (transmission contained in dark energy?)
• Every cycle completed their own Crucible which recorded their war against the Reapers and inevitable defeat / where they went wrong.
• No previous cycle had ever been able to unify all of their diverse spacefaring races under one banner against the Reapers in time. (Reinforcement of Javik statement in regards to the Protheans and the theme of unification and cooperation against a universal enemy)
• Passed down through every cycle and every completion of the Crucible is the information necessary for defeating the Reapers: "The Catalyst" is Harbinger, the original Reaper and de facto leader who resided over the creation of every Reaper and exerts it's will over all of them (indoctrination writ large?)

After finding this information, Harbinger enters. It attempts to finish off Shephard while mocking him. Still critically wounded, Shepard must avoid the laser and make his way to whatever may consititue an exit beam.

2.

Shephard's injured squadmates and the small remnants of Hammer have made their way down to the Citadel beam; Shepard is transported in front of them with the beam closing behind him. He radios Hackett and fills him in on the situation: Harbinger must be destroyed at all costs. Hackett informs Shephard that Harbinger is headed back down for another attack before giving the order for all allied forces to focus on Harbinger. (Bookend with Mass Effect and Sovereign)

3.

The fleets are hammered by Reapers as they break off their current attacks and bring all their guns to bear on Harbinger.

4.

Harbinger's shields withstand the impacts as it reenters the atmosphere and descends towards Shepard. The Normandy, Destiny Acension (If it survived Mass Effect), and a handful of other ships follow.

5.

From high above, Harbinger begins raining fire down on Shepard and Hammer. The player must survive as every shot bringers Harbinger closer. The better the player's EMS the shorter the battle, eventually Harbinger is overcome: if the Destiny Ascension is present, it sacrifices itself to deal the damaging blow, otherwise, the Normandy makes the final attack with an EMS check; failure results in the Normandy's destruction with Joker flying into Harbinger to bring it down, success sees the Normander crash land safely.

Harbinger is irreparably damaged and crashes into the city with a large explosion and shockwave, leaving it lying in a massive crater with a radius of barren land. (Harbinger's antagonistic vendetta against Shepard provided a unique opening that left it more vulnerable than in any previous cycle)

6.

After a moment of victory with Hammer and his squadmates, Shepard sees off in the distance that Harbinger is still functioning.

7.

Most of the allied fleets are in ruins, the Reapers' victory is at hand. Hackett's ship and what's left of his forces try to hold off the Reapers.

8.

Shepard is radioed by Hackett that Harbinger is still moving down there but the fleet is helpless to finish it. A desperate plan is hatched: a Thanix missile battery from Hammer has survived but Harbinger's weakpoint is protected from fire inside the crater; the battery is rigged to explode and someone must drive it into the crater while resisting the still active Reaper's indoctrination attempts.

It's a one-way trip and the player must choose either Shepard, Liara, Garrus, or VS for the sacrifice. (Each volunteer and Liara is always alive up to this point so the player always has at least one alternative). The chosen character recieves a send off from the others.

9.

The chosen character drives across the decimated plain as Harbinger tries to indoctrinate them. If Shepard, the player can choose dialogue responses to Harbinger, otherwise the chosen alternative responds uniquely to it's attempts. With sufficiently low EMS, an alternative to Shepard can fail, becoming indoctrinated and detonating the missiles prematurely - bad ending.

Success sees the payload delivered and the chosen character sacrificing his or her self. Harbinger is finished in a dramatic explosion.

10.

Above, in space, Harbinger's influence wanes: most Reapers, products and engines of genocide for untold cycles, begin to exhibit free will and, recognizing themselves as monstrosities, turn on each other to break the cycle once and for all (reinforcement of synthetics as living, free beings with a "soul", organic components reject Harbinger). Some of the oldest and largest Reapers stay true to Harbinger's motives and resist but are overcome by the others. The Reapers have destroyed themselves, with a scarce independent few peacefully departing for unknown destinations, they are free.

11.

Visual epilogue; character, race, and location fates determined by player choices throughout the series with EMS factored into survival.

Fantastic. Thank you.

Modifié par Mholl704, 13 avril 2012 - 02:10 .

[StElmo]

Sorry, but synthesis is a deus ex machina, because it uses space magic. It's not required to continue the ending, but it is an option that is not explained at all.

[Myskal1981]

Eternalsteelfan wrote...


1.

From Anderson's death and Hackett's call that nothing is happening with the Crucible:

Shepard collapses against the control panel - it whirs and lights up with activity. Shepard weakly pulls his head up then backs away - a display of immeasureable data fills the vantage point of Earth. Amidst the constantly flickering and cycling data, one constant: a blueprint-like image of Harbinger. Shephard, perhaps do to the cipher, seems to understand.

The player is able to investigate some of the data through Shepard and learns:

• The Crucible isn't a weapon but a beacon attuned to recieve and transmit the collective history of every cycle that has been Reaped. (Beacon/cipher bookend with original Mass Effect) (transmission contained in dark energy?)
• Every cycle completed their own Crucible which recorded their war against the Reapers and inevitable defeat / where they went wrong.
• No previous cycle had ever been able to unify all of their diverse spacefaring races under one banner against the Reapers in time. (Reinforcement of Javik statement in regards to the Protheans and the theme of unification and cooperation against a universal enemy)
• Passed down through every cycle and every completion of the Crucible is the information necessary for defeating the Reapers: "The Catalyst" is Harbinger, the original Reaper and de facto leader who resided over the creation of every Reaper and exerts it's will over all of them (indoctrination writ large?)

After finding this information, Harbinger enters. It attempts to finish off Shephard while mocking him. Still critically wounded, Shepard must avoid the laser and make his way to whatever may consititue an exit beam.

2.

Shephard's injured squadmates and the small remnants of Hammer have made their way down to the Citadel beam; Shepard is transported in front of them with the beam closing behind him. He radios Hackett and fills him in on the situation: Harbinger must be destroyed at all costs. Hackett informs Shephard that Harbinger is headed back down for another attack before giving the order for all allied forces to focus on Harbinger. (Bookend with Mass Effect and Sovereign)

3.

The fleets are hammered by Reapers as they break off their current attacks and bring all their guns to bear on Harbinger.

4.

Harbinger's shields withstand the impacts as it reenters the atmosphere and descends towards Shepard. The Normandy, Destiny Acension (If it survived Mass Effect), and a handful of other ships follow.

5.

From high above, Harbinger begins raining fire down on Shepard and Hammer. The player must survive as every shot bringers Harbinger closer. The better the player's EMS the shorter the battle, eventually Harbinger is overcome: if the Destiny Ascension is present, it sacrifices itself to deal the damaging blow, otherwise, the Normandy makes the final attack with an EMS check; failure results in the Normandy's destruction with Joker flying into Harbinger to bring it down, success sees the Normander crash land safely.

Harbinger is irreparably damaged and crashes into the city with a large explosion and shockwave, leaving it lying in a massive crater with a radius of barren land. (Harbinger's antagonistic vendetta against Shepard provided a unique opening that left it more vulnerable than in any previous cycle)

6.

After a moment of victory with Hammer and his squadmates, Shepard sees off in the distance that Harbinger is still functioning.

7.

Most of the allied fleets are in ruins, the Reapers' victory is at hand. Hackett's ship and what's left of his forces try to hold off the Reapers.

8.

Shepard is radioed by Hackett that Harbinger is still moving down there but the fleet is helpless to finish it. A desperate plan is hatched: a Thanix missile battery from Hammer has survived but Harbinger's weakpoint is protected from fire inside the crater; the battery is rigged to explode and someone must drive it into the crater while resisting the still active Reaper's indoctrination attempts.

It's a one-way trip and the player must choose either Shepard, Liara, Garrus, or VS for the sacrifice. (Each volunteer and Liara is always alive up to this point so the player always has at least one alternative). The chosen character recieves a send off from the others.

9.

The chosen character drives across the decimated plain as Harbinger tries to indoctrinate them. If Shepard, the player can choose dialogue responses to Harbinger, otherwise the chosen alternative responds uniquely to it's attempts. With sufficiently low EMS, an alternative to Shepard can fail, becoming indoctrinated and detonating the missiles prematurely - bad ending.

Success sees the payload delivered and the chosen character sacrificing his or her self. Harbinger is finished in a dramatic explosion.

10.

Above, in space, Harbinger's influence wanes: most Reapers, products and engines of genocide for untold cycles, begin to exhibit free will and, recognizing themselves as monstrosities, turn on each other to break the cycle once and for all (reinforcement of synthetics as living, free beings with a "soul", organic components reject Harbinger). Some of the oldest and largest Reapers stay true to Harbinger's motives and resist but are overcome by the others. The Reapers have destroyed themselves, with a scarce independent few peacefully departing for unknown destinations, they are free.

11.

Visual epilogue; character, race, and location fates determined by player choices throughout the series with EMS factored into survival.

Very nice.

[JustinS1985]

I would consider the crucible a deus ex machina for the mass effect series, not necessarily for ME3 itself though. Regardless it's kind of silly to find a giant reaper off button

[JadedLibertine]

Thanks for that OP. You have given ME3 the ending that it deserved.

[An English Gamer]

This thread deserves more attention. To many pointless threads are staying on page 1 whilest meaningful threads like these are ignored.

[Dawson14]

Wow, very impressive

[sa55y_cl1k]

This is the most eloquent and well constructed conclusion for Mass Effect 3 that I have read thus far!!! How Hudson and Walters allowed that 'blackhole' of an ending into the final product is beyond me...Have to agree with Eternalsteelfan about being 'cautiously optimistic' about the Extended Cut DLC...Here's hoping

[Thracecius]

Eternalsteelfan, you have validated many a lengthy discussion on the ME3 endings by the creation of your original post, and on a personal level, I've learned a lot about the mechanics of great storytelling in a way that is digestible. I plan to revisit this analysis, and example for a correction, in the future. Thank you, Eternalsteelfan.

For what it's worth, I credit the blog essay linked below for directing me to this thread.

http://www.themetaga...oblem-with.html

The author addresses and explains why people are so upset in a generalized, philosophical, manner, and I think it's a must read for any fan of the franchise.

P.S. Thank you so much for using Mordin as your example. I think that perhaps he is my favorite character in the whole series for the very reasons you stated, even though it is hard to choose between so many beloved characters.

[Eternalsteelfan]

Thracecius wrote...

Eternalsteelfan, you have validated many a lengthy discussion on the ME3 endings by the creation of your original post, and on a personal level, I've learned a lot about the mechanics of great storytelling in a way that is digestible. I plan to revisit this analysis, and example for a correction, in the future. Thank you, Eternalsteelfan.

For what it's worth, I credit the blog essay linked below for directing me to this thread.

http://www.themetaga...oblem-with.html

The author addresses and explains why people are so upset in a generalized, philosophical, manner, and I think it's a must read for any fan of the franchise.

P.S. Thank you so much for using Mordin as your example. I think that perhaps he is my favorite character in the whole series for the very reasons you stated, even though it is hard to choose between so many beloved characters.

Thank you, and thank you for linking that blog.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's a message I was asked to post from someone who'd like to contribute:

From Jak_Burton

I have been thinking about the Mass Effect series is art and should not be subject to change position – aka the “It’s art!” defense.

If feel that the Mass Effect series is not art it is a product. It has been planned, packaged and devised as a product from the beginning and as such it is subject to all the consumer rules. DLC was created during and is being created after its production.

Anyone looking at the credits list will be fully satisfied in the confirmation that that this is a business and this is the product that they have produced.

An Example of this is ice cream being sold along with all its DLC – chocolate topping, nuts, sprinkles etc. So if the ice cream is dislikedand consumers get frustrated, angry etc. they will want a refund, they do not care if it sold a bunch or a little their personal experience is what counts.

If there is enough interest in offering a different ending for the Mass Effect product then it should be
available. Standing on high ground and declaring “It’s art!” will not improve their dissatisfied customers experience.

I largely agree with you in this regard; I don't have a problem with video games being called art, but I don't think such an "art" status somehow exempts it from critical scrutiny and calls for change. Works of art have undergone changes and edits before.

Modifié par Eternalsteelfan, 15 avril 2012 - 06:15 .

[ev76]

Good read.

[Nefylym]

mmmmmmmmbadda BUMP!!!!!!!!!

well said!

[Cheopz]

/bump

[optimistickied]

So rather than support your colleagues, rather than provide insight into the professional creative environment, you construct this long, self-aggrandizing condemnation for the Mass Effect 3 ending writers, and use your alleged credentials to support a position that has been repeated ad nauseam since release day?

Modifié par optimistickied, 18 avril 2012 - 12:34 .

[Eternalsteelfan]

optimistickied wrote...

So rather than support your colleagues, rather than provide insight into the professional creative environment, you construct this long, self-aggrandizing condemnation for the Mass Effect 3 ending writers, and use your alleged credentials to support a position that has been repeated ad nauseam since release day?

This topic was made a month ago, not long after release day, unlike your post it was timely.  The idea was to bring attention to the technical failings rather than the emotional responses most players had, I succeeded in that sense. As for "self-aggrandizing", it's a nice parthian shot but I'd appreciate if you could point out such moments.