7052 réponses à ce sujet

[hyperforce99]

eghbdgdsgh wrote...

THIS should be useful for Bioware...

https://docs.google....xa1VqZk9oMGc6MA

Thanks.

Ah very nice, can we still vote on that?

[Emptypockets319]

For the most part the game is awesome but in my opinion needs a few fix in the game and a big fix at the end.

In the beginning:
-For those of us who pick Anderson for the council and then see him as an admiral at the beginning there could have been one or two lines of dialogue to explain the change.
-Explain Vega with a few lines just to clarify how we know him .

On the Citadel:
-Don't know if this is just me but Barlo Van disappears after the first meeting. Afterwards the map states he's on the citadel but I can't find him.

Ending:
-The war assets beyond the green bar seem to mean nothing, would like to see some of them used in some capacity.
-If the ghost kid is sticking around give us some dialogue options to talk him down, prove him wrong, or let us just be a dick to him or whatever just give more choice.
-Give us the Great ending with everyone happy and all that but make it hard to get.
-Add an epilogue.

There are other things but they have been said in other posts.

[Remington]

The longer I watch this video (see link below), I support his idea. I do not believe that the actual ending is possible, I would support another proposal: Cut the whole Citadel scen out of the game. Let Shepard run towards the beam, until team hammer gets entirely wiped out. Then you manage to dock the Crucible to the Citadel... and nothing happens. Your entire ground forces wipe out, the fleets collapsing... and then nothing happens. That would be the most powerful moment of the whole series.

THE CRUCIBLE I JUST ANOTHER TRAP BY THE REAPERS TO GATHER ALL THE FORCES IN THE GALAXY FOR EASY PREY.

The catch this time is, that Shepard really did the impossible. For the first time in the history of the galaxy all the forces of all species stand together, and depending on the war asset rating you might be able to give the Reapers the fight of their life. You yourself would be down on Earth, facing Harbinger instead of the child in final conversation.

The single most-important element of the Mass Effect series was about forging alliances and fellowships, and you should live up to it during the ending. Give the Reapers the fight of their lifetime, and fight them with starships. Fight them with starships and blow Harbinger to hell an back.

Here is the review to this idea:

Modifié par Remington, 18 mars 2012 - 07:38 .

[RJDio]

jspiess wrote...

tobito113 wrote...

https://docs.google....k9oMGc6MA#gid=0

This link has several polls of what people want from a new ending DLC, over 2700 members of BSN, its a VERY usefull tool for feedback.

good read

I am captain Anderson and I agree with this statistics.
 

[wolfeye7]

I'm sure all of what I'm about to say has
already been posted on this thread and likely in better writing, but I felt I
needed to add my voice to the others. I also feel that this will help draw more
attention to these issues

Unfortunately I cannot speak about the
multiplayer, as I was planning on doing that on my second play through, yet have
decided to boycott playing the game since seeing the ending.

 

To make it easier for people to read (and
possibly skip through;)) I will divide this post into two parts: pre-ending
and ending (in this post, the ending starts from when Shepard got struck
by the Reaper beam on Earth). Finally, in the end I will add my ideas on how to
improve the ending.

 

Pre-ending

The majority of the game was very well done.
Several places quite exciting, emotionally moving and some tough choices were
presented. Since there were so many, I will stick to the ones I remember most. (Some
of the things mentioned appear in both the positive and negative section, as I
saw a bit of both in some).

Exciting places for me


[*]·        Reaper fights on Tuchanka and Rannoch[*]·        Final fight with Kai Lang[*]·        When I saw my assembled fleet warp into the Sol system I felt in awe. The ensuing
battle scene was amazing[*]·        Almost the entire battle sequence on Earth (as well as Thessia) was rewarding, fun and
exciting. [*]·        Saving the council from Kai Lang - I actually sprinted almost the entire way to the
lifts, leaving many enemy troops alive. I knew it wouldn't actually change
anything, but I felt the urgency.

Emotional places for me

[*]·        Mordin's sacrifice on Tuchanka[*]·        Thane's fight scene and death[*]·        Grunt's fight with the rachni [*]·        Primarch Victus' son's sacrifice[*]·        Talking with your crew on Earth felt good[*]·        Legion's sacrifice [*]·        Talking with Liara after Thessia (as a love interest)[*]·        Hearing how the geth and quarians were working together[*]·        Shooting bottles with Garrus. Just knowing what he has been through and to still have
him by my side...wow...


Small things that added flavour


[*]·        I liked to see my squad and crew members move around the Normandy and appear on
the Citadel. It gave a feeling of them being more alive. [*]·        Being able to use my spectre authority to authorise and fund different things. [/list]

I did however feel that certain things were lacking.

[*]·        The journal was difficult to read at times and didn't update adequately[*]·        I felt in many discussions there was a lack of investigatory dialogue  [*]·        I felt the game lacked the RPG element at times. I would have liked more
paragon/renegade actions. Also, many of the renegade/paragon dialogue options
were only available during the BIG choices (e.g. geth vs quarians).[*]·        Love interests. In the previous games it felt right, that the romance aspect came into place near the end of the game. You had just met these people and each game had its own love interests. In ME3 however you
can continue a romance. Why hold back? If you are going to put romance into
your game flesh it out more. Give me more dialogue specifically with my love
interest (this could even be a DLC). If I romance Liara, why do I get to talk
more with Garrus?[*]·        The entire game seemed to focus on combat more than the story and Shepard's
interaction with other people. This seemed out of place in a Mass Effect game,
as I, and many others, play Mass Effect for the story. We want to learn more.
Make decisions that matter...etc[*]·        The escape from Earth seemed odd - we just escape out of a window and knew where to
go from there[*]·        Using my spectre authority felt hollow, as I rarely saw any of the results. [*]·        The absence of vehicle based exploration and/or combat was a missed opportunity in
my mind. Personally I would have loved one last ride in the Mako, even with its
terrible handling and likelihood of doing a sideways 360. [*]·        While the battle scene in the Sol system was exciting, I felt so disconnected from
it. It seemed like nothing I had done mattered. Sure, they mentioned the
different forced I had assembled, but I would have liked to see a visible
difference (e.g. in ME2 when the Normandy was fighting the Collector ship,
Joker mentioned how the new upgrades helped). [*]·        The new system of finding side-quests in hub areas was a bit off - just listening
to people talk, finding something and returning it to them. I understand it
would help with replay value and people who don't care about the story, but it
seemed out of place. I don't just listen to people in the street and then help
them without actually talking to them first. [*]·        The places where you could just interrupt someone's conversation and change their
mind was odd. Why would they listen to me anyway (unless the indoctrination
theory is true)? I also rarely saw it change ANYTHING. [*]·        The galaxy was being consumed by the reapers, yet it felt like Cerberus was the
bigger threat. There was no one-on-one conversation with Harbinger or any other
reaper, like there was in the previous games. The antagonist was the Illusive
Man. Why was some indoctrinated, delusional man so important? [*]·        Diana Allers - she often seemed out of place and
just weird. But most of all, I feel the developers missed a MASSIVE OPPORTINITY
to add real RPG elements. The first interview we did started off well. I could
use my paragon dialogue and answer a tough question...and then it cut to black.
Adding more questions that the character could answer would have been amazing. Like
the interview in ME1. [*]·        The lack of squad member specific mission was a let-down. I would have enjoyed
something like the "shooting bottles with Garrus" for every squad
member. Not just talk to them in one spot on the Citadel. Real friends go
places, do stuff, etc.


 

Ending

To start off I will talk about the plot holes of the ending sequence and then debate why the ending was a failure.

Plot holes


[*]·        How could I survive the Reaper beam, when failure to jump away from it resulted in
instant death during previous reaper battles? [*]·        How did Anderson get to the control panel before me? The walls were not moving and
I came out of the only possible passage.[*]·        Where did the Illusive Man pop out of?[*]·        Why did TIM look so indoctrinated now (physically) when the process was supposed to
be slow? I just talked to him not that long before and he looked fine. [*]·        Why is there an omnipotent god-child controlling everything that happens?[*]·        Why does Shepard meekly obey his logic? [*]·        Shepard is a strong and assertive individual who will do anything necessary to complete
their goals. If the options presented are not good enough, Shepard always
manages to find a different solution. Seeing my Shepard meekly obey the
god-child seems wrong on so many levels.[*]·        The Citadel is the Catalyst? I thought it was a device to warp in the Reaper fleet.[*]·        If the Citadel IS the Catalyst, why didn't the reapers destroy it? No doubt they
knew about the Crucible. I mean the protheans had been building their own
version of it. Didn't the god-child tell them this? [*]·        Why was Joker flying away from the fight? I know my crew and they would have stayed
with me until the end. They didn't even know I was about to die. [*]·        How did my squad get back on the Normandy? The Normandy was in space. The shuttle
was shot down (though Cortez did survive). Also, they would have had to reach
the Normandy right after I reached the Reaper beam. Why would they do that?[*]·        Joker ran from the relay explosion. I thought it was stated recently, that these
explosions were not as destructive as the one in Arrival and could not wipe out
Earth. But it chased the Normandy into another star system. Does that mean it
also wiped out the fleet I brought into the Sol system?

 

In addition to the plot holes mentioned above(I've also heard of many others), the vagueness was something that stuck out. In an epic like Mass Effect, people are not looking to interpret their own ending - they want their own choices to matter and make sense. They want closure which comes from a concrete ending (look at DA: O - the epilogue shows what happened and why, yet still left things a bit open by stating that the Warden would yet
have more adventures).

A vague ending


[*]·        What happened to Earth?[*]·        What happened to the fleet I brought into the Sol system?[*]·        What happened to the other species?[*]·        What happened to my crew?[*]·        What happened to my love interest?[*]·        What happened to Shepard?[*]·        Did the galaxy starve? I read the descriptions of many planets and saw that a large
amount depended on supplies from other worlds to sustain its population. With
the relays gone it would take FTL drives years to reach these worlds. And where
would they get the fuel to supply such journeys?[*]·        What does synthesis mean? Do the geth grow skin? How does the
DNA of organics change? Will we all become susceptible to EMP? Do we lose our
humanity and emotions?[*]·        Why does destroying theReapers mean destroying all synthetics? Reapers are part organic part synthetic if I recall correctly (ME2 ending). Why are the geth and EDI affected?[*]·        How do I control the reapers? Why would
they just leave with me in charge? Why doesn't the god-child just do that on
his own? Didn't he create the reapers?[*]·        Why is nothing explained?

As already stated, perhaps an epilogue would
have been best. DA: Os epilogue worked out great. It answered the questions
players had, it showed the impact we had made. We don't want an open ending. We
want (and were promised closure).

 

A hollow victory

Mass Effect 3 was an epic game. Indeed the entire trilogy was bad-ass. Yet the ending, which some might call a victory, most find to be empty.

[*]·        Regardless of what you do the galaxy is doomed. [*]·        The relays are destroyed[*]·        In two of your chosen endings the Citadel and everyone on it explodes.[*]·        Worlds are isolated and burning. I heard that with FTL drives it would take 22 years
to cross the galaxy. It would take a year or more to get supplies to some
planets (provided supplies are even sent), during which time countless people
would starve to death. [*]·        Your crew is stranded (it looks like Garrus and Tali are going to die from a lack of
food)[*]·        The god-child who made all this happen gets off scot-free! [*]·        All you did in the game seems pointless!

Again, an epilogue of some sort, which explains
what happens, would have been great.

 

A lack of repercussion to your choices.

The Mass Effect series (like most other Bioware
games) prides itself on multiple choices and the varied outcomes of those
choices. Yet in the end, your decisions count for nothing. You are given a
multiple-choice ending, to choose between things you don't even fully
understand (scroll up to "A vague ending")


[*]·        All the endings are virtually the same. When we see the replays explode, the
Normady crash and Shepard die, we don't think about how damaged the Earth is or
what colour the explosion is. [*]·        Uniting the galaxy (geth and quarians, krogan and turians) didn't change anything. [*]·        Everything seemed in vain.

 

What I would like to see in the ending

[*]·        Harbinger as the final boss! Harbinger was the antagonist on ME2
and would have made a very satisfying final boss for ME3. Defeating him would
have given a sense of victory. Instead, when Shepard receives news that
Harbinger and other reapers are approaching London you are told to run to the
Citadel. [*]·        [color=red">Remove the god-child Why is there such a powerful and all-knowing being in a game like Mass Effect? The reapers are supposed to be the enemy here. The endings[/u][/b]


[*]·        One of the ending should certainly be an ultimate sacrifice. Shepard dying and
dragging the Reapers down with him in a blaze of glory.[*]·        Another ending should be one of utter failure, where the reapers win and the galaxy is
doomed (the payer failing)[*]·        In addition there should be an ending where Sheaprd becomes a reaper (whether this
would result in him leading the reapers in harvesting the galaxy or leading
them away is up to the developers, but both options would be nice). [*]·        There should also be an ending where Shepard takes control of the reapers and uses
them to make humanity the dominant race (this is if he throughout ME2 and 3 has
supported TIM and his views and in ME1 supported humanity and was generally a
racist)[*]·        [color="#ff0000"]Finally, there should be a happily-ever-after ending with Sheprad and the crew living, Shep and the chosen LI being together (e.g. little blue children), the galaxy rebuilding, relays and Citadel intact, etc. Yet this should only be the ending when the player had done everything right, has ridiculously high readiness rating and so on. It should be VERY had to get this ending[/color]

I know full well that I will not see all of these areas improved within the
game. Quite possibly none of them... But I still maintain hope that Bioware
will figure out a way to fix/extend the ending in way, that the players who
have always been the most loyal and dedicated, who have almost always bought
all of the DLC and novels will be satisfied.

Truly, the indoctrination theory is grand and
if Bioware would run with that, it would actually make for an amazing ending.

 

Until then I will hold the line with the rest
of you. And if we do not see the ending this magnificent franchise deserves, I
feel I must take my patronage elsewhere.

 

HOLD THE LINE!

Modifié par wolfeye7, 18 mars 2012 - 08:06 .

[charliekrad]

after seeing the ending makes me feel real sad in that everything from ME1 through ME2 and the epic moments in ME3 all led up to this crap ending that is well terrible and depressing tbh

[bazzag]

If i think of the ending as indoctrination, then its absolutely brilliant, but will need some dlc to follow it up.
I would also like to see the me2 characters and unused me3 ones involved more on earth with the war assets.
Catalyst boy needs to explain the choices bit clearer because first time it didn't sink in.
Make vega a LI for femshep, as there is only one human romance for a hetero femshep.
Have more husk variants (salarian, elcor,drell quarian etc)
If shep is a spacer, lets finally meet his mummy!
Apart from those, loved it.
As for future dlc, take us to other homeworlds. Khaje, Irute, Denuuka(the elcor one) and the drell one(4get its name). Lets help Aria take back omega, Lets land on Palaven, and lets have the reapers attack sur'kesh.

[Aldragorian]

Issues I have with the endings.

1. Not enough variety of how things played out, from the moment you hit Earth to the ending, its basically all the same with very little in the way of changes.  I would like to see some of the things we did in the entire trilogy affect how that section changes.

2. This is especially true after the elevator at the end, there is so little change as to what happens it does not register as different endings, simply the same one played out in 3 different colors. While its a personal opinion, and doesn't have to happen, I would also like a "happy" ending where Sheperd definitively survives. 

3. 86 the normandy crash landing in favor of some real closure on what happens to your crew, as well as the other major players in the trilogy.  You did a good job definitively wrapping up Thane, Legion, and Mordin, and Tali's suicide if thats the path you took.  Give that closure to the rest of the amaing characters, don't leave them in limbo.

4. Continuing from the previous point. Make some of the choices you made count here as well. Its a galactic war, you aren't going to save everyone, but make your choices earlier in the story affect who lives or dies, perhaps with some mutually exclusive options.  I think this would be a great way to underscore the fight you have on your hands, as well as to provide storyline options. It also means there isn't a "best" ending, which I would find appropriate.

5.  Make the ending really make sense, and relate to the rest of the trilogy.  This is the big one, I could probably live with all the other issues if I felt like the last 10 minutes had anything at all to do with the rest of the story.  As it is, you get a huge disconnect the minute you take the elevator.  The AI shows up, with no explaination, railroads you to accept his beliefs as facts, without the option to disagree, or refute his statements, and then forces you to make a choice thats probably completely outside the character of the Sheperd you've been playing for 3 games. 

Also, a last personal quibble, I would have liked some more face-time with your ME2 crew, but thats something that could actually be fixed well by DLC.  Not that I have any interest unless something is done with the way things stand on the ending.

[alienatedflea]

Reign Tsumiraki wrote...

 Ah, perfect! I already wrote up what I think would solve the problem...

*copypasta*

1.  Only change the ending starting from the last scene with Anderson/Shepard/TIM. Everything about the ending before that stays the same, with a few changes. 

2. Completely ignore the God-child-spirit. It conflicts and contradicts the "Protheans fooled the citadel" basis in ME1. This was important. Cut it out entirely.

3. Make several choices based off of war readiness, and how many assets went into the Crucible. Such as:

Very low: Launch a giant EMP burst that destroys all Reapers, AI, Citadel, Relays, most technology, ect, as well as sacrificing earth. Shepard dies. Normandy crashes, and everyone aboard dies.

Low: Same, but without damage to earth. Shepard dies. Normandy Crashes. Crew dies.

Medium-low: Burst that only destroys all AI. Shepard dies. Normandy Crashes, Crew dies.

Medium: Burst that destroys all AI in the Sol system, and the Reapers. This allows the Geth to live, but EDI dies. Saves the Relays, but not the citadel. Shepard dies. Normandy crashes, crew survives.

High-Medium: Releases a burst that disables the Reaper Shields across the galaxy, allowing the fleet to easily kill the rest(Reapers are weak without their shields, as ME1 shows. A single torpedo from the Normandy killed Sovereign without it's shields) Shepard lives. Normandy damaged, but does not crash, and the player is treated to a small cutscene of the Normandy and the fleet blowing up a few reapers. 

High: Sends out a burst attuned to the Reaper core (The Geth provide the information. They studied reapers, remember. If they are not available, the Quarians provide it, having researched the Reaper corpse on their planet) causing the Reapers' reactors to overload and die. However, the Reaper core just happens to be identical to the Core of the Citadel as well. The Citadel overloads and blows up. Shepard lives. Relays stay intact. Player is treated to a cutscene of the Reapers blowing up, troops on the ground rejoicing, as well as the Normandy picking him and Anderson's body up before Citadel explodes.


Very-high: Sends out a pulse that kills only Reapers. All tech stays intact. Shepard lives. Relays intact. Citadel intact. Player is treated to the cutscene above, minus the citadel explosion. 

In addition, the endings shown in the "original" game would be available. These would be available on the left side of the dialogue wheel, while the ones I have proposed would be on the right. Synthesis would be unlocked at the Very-High level, and Control would be unlocked at the High-Medium level. Destroy would be available no matter what.

To complete the Synthesis, Destroy, or Control ending, the player takes the elevator up to where the Original ending takes place. This way, they do not have to design an entirely new environment. The animations and flashbacks for these endings would stay the same. The only difference in the cutscene after this would be no Normandy crash.

The options of the three highest unlocked options would show up on the right of the wheel on the right side. For instance, someone who had Medium assets would get the option of killing all AI everywhere, all AI in the Sol system, or all technology everywhere without damage to earth.

The dialogue wheel would look like this, if someone had 100% of all assets.
                                Synthesis              Take down Sheilds
                                                __________/ 
                                               (                       )
                 Destroy    --------(                          ) ---Kill reapers, Destroy Citadel
                                               (                       )
                                                -----------------
                                               /                      
                                      Control                Kill all Reapers
4. Include a small, text and scene ending. Small clips of certain occations from the various decisions made will show. This will vary by ending.

EXAMPLE: Geth and Quarians rebuilding, all species rebuilding the invaded home planets, ect.

5. A small scene with Anderson and Shepard before Anderson dies, about what Shepard will do if the Crucible works. Shepard can then respond in a variety of ways depending on what options he is presented with because of the war assets claimed. Anderson then says the whole "I'm proud of you" spiel, wishes you luck, then dies.

EXAMPLE: 

Retiring and living in peace, finally, with LI(or alone, if that is the case).

Saying “This device will probably destroy the citadel and kill us, so it does not matter.”

Continue to pursue peace and justice as a Spectre.

Become a diplomat/politician and guide humanity

Ect.

6. Any teammates that were with you at the time you got shot by the reaper will run towards the teleport-beam and make it to the Citadel ahead of you, thinking that you died, and that they need to finish what you started. Upon arriving there, you meet up with them and get to the console. They also get manipulated by TIM, but only you are able to "break free" by shooting or talking down TIM. 



Anyway, that's my whole view on it. 


THIS WAY:  
Players can get the endings they want, the player can still sacrifice themselves to get the endings they want, the Devs can have the endings they want, and originally intended. The only thing this really cuts is the stupid spectral Ghost-child-God thing, which was ridiculous in the first place. 

How does this sound? I tried to address every concern and viewpoint, and combine them into one good ending that I think would please everyone. 

This.  I really like this...

[Noone of Importance]

ME3 repeatedly established a theme of one sacrificing for sheppard and the galaxy

Mordin, Thane, Legion,

ending should have among other issues had Anderson do the same so sheppard could escape, if Anderson is dead due to sheppard incompetence then sheppard dies,

normandy would not abandon sheppard,

a galaxy rebuilding and wrap up similiar to DA:O would be a minimum acceptable

[paul2e]

98% of the same was utterly fantastic. There wasn't one point in it which I can flaw and I'm sorry I can't provide anything better than that, but it was just great.

Then the assault on the column started. From there it went all wrong. No real interaction with the story line, and no matter what it ends up in the same ending. Reapers are gone, Mass Effect Relays go bang, Normandy crashes. Depending on it was a "good" ending or a "bad" ending some people die, or some don't. But overall after finishing the game I didn't fell like I won, and I would have thought this would have been the ending for if I had poor war assets.

Paragon / Renegade choices through ME1,ME2,ME3 doesn't seem to have many any difference either.

[Lambchopz]

No idea if it's been posted yet, but here's an image of a fan made diagram imagining how choices in ME3 could have mattered in the ending. Posting because somebody asked me to.

You need to zoom in to get a better idea of it.

i.imgur.com/JhtqY.jpg

Modifié par Lambchopz, 18 mars 2012 - 08:02 .

[saintjon]

I'll try to keep this concise. There was a lot I liked about the ending that was there.

My first big problem is that the Normandy thing makes no sense whatsoever. If Joker's in a Mass Relay could we at least have a reason? If they've got to be crash-landed somewhere do the Mass Relays have to get blown up? This is a big problem for me because the "happy" ending is ruined by it.

What's good about putting the work in so Shepard can supposedly survive (one gasping breath doesn't exactly inspire confidence) when all his friends are stranded god-knows-where out in deep space? There's a difference between creating a bittersweet evocative moment and throwing the baby out with the bathwater (the bathwater in this instance being happiness I guess?)  

Other than that I just think the destroy ending needs a bit of a tweak. The catalyst is demonstrably a liar about various things so why not just have it that he lied about ALL AI being wiped just to try and dissuade Shepard? What is necessary about destroying the Mass Relays when there are no more Reapers around? They seem like a wonderful thing to have if you don't have to worry about giant murder-bots from dark space harvesting the galaxy. 

Here's an idea, if you guys must have bittersweet even in the best possible ending why not show Shepard at the end of his life as it he lived a normal lifespan. He has had children (or not depending on what you told your LI) and in the moment's before his death find himself ruminating on the terrible choices he did make (there really is no way around all of them) and thus you see that even though he lived and did the impossible it has taken a toll on him that he will never fully live down. Seems thematically appropriate to me. 

Finally, you could get around having to methodically spell out the details of what happens in every plotline by NOT destroying the Mass Relays. I guess that really is the biggest problem. If the Mass Relays don't blow up then the player should know pretty well how things pan out post Reaper because the shape of things to come does become kind of evident from the important choices you do make (I suppose the big exceptions here are the Assari, they were kind of left hanging after the Thessia mission and the Rachni). 

Other than that I love this trilogy above and beyond all others. I think Mass Effect is a towering achievement in the sci-fi genre and video gaming and will inspire the work of future generations. Thank you. 

[AshenSugar]

All I can do as this stage is add to what scores of other fans are requesting within this thread.

1) Multiplayer should not be required to obtain the 'best possible ending'. We were promised that this would not be the case, that promise was broken. It is currently impossible to get the 'best possible ending' without playing multiplayer.

I myself completed every single side quest in the game, scanned every planet, had every possible faction and race add their strength to the final battle via in-game decisions made, and had a maxed-out Paragon rating. I was unable to get my Effective Military strength beyond 350+ Needless to say, I was denied the 'best possible ending'.


2) Quest journal is completely broken, almost to a game-breaking degree. It should not be required for me to have to use online reference sources and a pen and paper to keep track of completed missions, or to pinpoint the location of mission objectives. The journal needs to update upon obtaining, or fulfilling a mission objective,

The journal used in Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 was perfect - why was it changed?


3) The choices I make in Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 should have some kind of impact on Mass Effect 3's ending. Currently, these choices have absolutely no impact whatsoever, as the same three choices are offered regardless of my actions.

4) The consequences of my decisions and actions need to be reflected within the closing scenes so as to gain an overview of what I achieved/failed to achieve. This was executed perfectly in Dragon Age Orgins during the epilogue. At present there is no method of gaining any kind of closure within Mass Effect 3.

5) There needs to be some method of reaching a satisfying conclusion within the ending. As a gamer, who ultimately plays for purposes of escapism,  I need the emotional experience of sitting back in the knowledge of a job well done upon completing the game - even if all did not go as perfectly as I would have wished, there still needs to be some method of gaining victory, however costly.

I am not saying that the current endings should be removed, or replaced, I am simply asking for additional choices beyond the three ultra-nihilistic scenarios currently in place.

If I work hard and put plenty of effort into achieving the ultimate objective of defeating the Reapers, I need, as a gamer, to be REWARDED FOR MY EFFORTS, rather than being left with the choking sensation of misery and failure that is is the only current 'reward'. Similarly, if I am lazy, thoughtless, inattentive, or needlessly narcisstic, I expect this to be reflected accordingly with a poorer, or more destructive ending.

Ultimately, what I am really asking for here is choice, and the ability to have my actions reflected within the game, so as to make the effort put into those actions seem worthwhile.

Thank you for listening.

Modifié par AshenSugar, 18 mars 2012 - 08:07 .

[RJDio]

It will be epic and awesome if in the final battle take a part all shepard`s crew from trilogy including Zaid,Kasumi,Weks,Samara and other and Joker on Normandy.

And add an ending at which Shepard dies and reapers win.

And give us chance to save Anderson and Shepard.

[lashrouxed]

A must read! The game was fantastic but the ending for me was heartbreakingly terrible. Full of plot holes and poor writing... Here is why https://docs.google....?pli=1&sle=true

[FoxyB]

I completely support the Indoctrination Theory! Whether intentional or not, it actually makes sense out of a nonsensical ending and allows BioWare to change the outcome without "ret-conning" anything. The ME3 writers are an amazing team - the first 99% of the game proves that. It's also what also makes the giant plot-holes and random metaphysical explanations of the current ending impossible to accept.

Things I would like to see:

• A real showdown with Harbinger. When it relinquished control of the Collector General at the end of ME2, I felt such sadness and empathy for what the Protheans had become and I made a personal promise to the CG that I would avenge him. Harbinger needs to go down and we need to see it/make it happen.
• Battle scenes where you see your War Assets in use, i.e. the Kakliosaur mounts or Jack's biotic students creating barriers for the ground troops. I loved seeing my crewmates have their moments to shine in ME2. Something like that would be fantastic!
• An actual range of final outcomes. Give us the bad, good, and mixed endings! Make the "good" ending really, really, really hard to achieve, even! And I don't mind if Shepard dies in most endings if I get a chance to choose/affect how she dies. Heroically in a blaze of glory comes to mind - certainly not the sad, lonely end she currently gets no matter what you did up to that point.

It says a lot that I haven't played ME3 again since I first beat it. When I finished ME1 for the first time, it was 10pm and I couldn't run out and buy ME2, so I immediately started up a brand new Shep. Within days, I had bought ME2 and imported my first ME1 playthrough. As soon as I finished ME2, I booted up ME1 to continue working on my 2nd Shep. I pre-ordered the N7 edition of ME3, added next-day shipping, and couldn't wait to see all of the amazing things in store for both of my beloved Shepards. And it was amazing... and heartbreaking... and wonderful, right up until the last 10 minutes.

I also haven't picked up ME1 or 2 again. Before playing ME3, I was redoing my Renegon playthrough so that all my choices would be just so before importing, but why bother when none of those choices will even matter? All of the best moments in the ME trilogy are just painful now, knowing the bizarre, depressing "solutions" that await me.

I really hope that some kind of arrangement can be made for more DLC endings. Right now, my Shepards' stories feel completely hollow and pointless, and I can't in good conscience recommend the game to anyone who asks. 

Modifié par FoxyB, 18 mars 2012 - 08:11 .

[hanar05]

I was just reminded of another point.

The fact that you must play multiplayer in order to have all war assets made available.
I thought we were promised that multiplayer would have no effect unless we want it to?

Not only do some people not want to be forced into playing it, I have many friends who have bad internet connections. It is difficult for me to play multiplayer, it is almost impossible for them.
I don't think we should be punished in singleplayer for not playing multiplayer.

That being said, I've heard multiplayer is great!
Just keep them separate, please?

[xcomcmdr]

wolfeye7 wrote...

Finally, there should be a happily-ever-after ending with Sheprad and the crew living, Shep and the chosen LI being together (e.g. little blue children), the galaxy rebuilding, relays and Citadel intact, etc. Yet this should only be the ending when the player had done everything right, has ridiculously high readiness rating and so on. It should be VERY had to get this ending

This ! Yes it should be very hard to get, but for my canon Shep it would be what I dreamed of. Please !

[Talhydras]

Were it up to me...

SINGLE PLAYER COMMENTARY:

 * Most Importantly: The Endings. I'm certain I have next to nothing to add, but this is a great starting point for any revamped ending. The more stuff you can tie into the ending the better. Make me want to replay to see all sorts of different stuff show up here! Let me take pride in those choices, or regret them as necessary. 

* Have a maskless Tali model for some of the romance scenes where it would make sense. I'd also have her removing some of the equipment, get down to a jumpsuit-type layer that still protects her but wouldn't be as annoying to try and lie down in. You ever try to sleep with a utility belt on?


 * More content for the second-tier romances: I admit that in the case of a Tali fan this might be getting greedy, but there's definitely way more stuff with the Virmire survivor and Liara than there is with Tali and Garrus, and way more stuff with Tali and Garrus than there is with any of the ME2 survivors who don't return to the crew. A special mission just for Shep and their LI, in the vein of ME2's loyalty missions, would be a great way to add some serious meat to all of these relationships. If these missions were different for each romance and unavailable unless you were romancing that person it'd give people a reason to replay, too - to see all the missions!

 * Hollywood Tactics need to go: I'm more tolerant of them in the space battle sequences even though there the offenses are more grievous, but Priority: Earth makes no sense at all from start to finish. Why don't we use the targeting laser from priority: rannoch to target the Destroyer? Why doesn't anyone use their mako jump jets to get over the rubble and skirt the Destroyer's field of fire instead of charging across open ground? Why don't we bomb Harbinger to death when he drops his shields to land? Why are we launching "Thanix Missiles", which we've never heard of before and make no sense considering what Thanix cannons are when we could be launching disruptor torpedoes which were shown in Mass 1's Battle of the Citadel scene to be able to kill reapers? Why aren't we using the Conduit on Ilos to completely bypass the entire Reaper fleet?

 * Mako or Hammerhead Mission: Make a mission with a forking path: one that goes through heavy defenses over land, or one that has lots of impassable broken terrain with AA defenses. Ask shepard which path sounds better, then give him either a Mako (ground defenses) or Hammerhead (air defenses). Great way to call back to Mass 1 and Mass 2.

 * One more passive skill: Thinking about it I would like another passive to put points into - an Electronics analogue from ME1 maybe that offers a boost to shields and bypass time maybe? Or maybe a skill that just grants passive damage reduction? This wouldn't be compatible with MP's math at all and that's fine; but around level 50 my Sheps always run out of stuff to put points in and I end up with a massive reservoir of skill points just hanging around sheepishly.


 * Tali's class skill should boost her shields: I don't know why this didn't happen in Mass 2, but I miss shield-tanking with Tali. Quite a bit actually...


MULTIPLAYER COMMENTARY:


  * MP Weapon Balance is desperately needed: It's worth it to do some data mining and figure out what weapons are used exclusively in high end MP and what weapons are underused, then buff / nerf accordingly. The automatic ARs and SMGs are support weapons at best compared to the HP and SRs. In general I find that player frailty is such a problem that even if ARs and SMGs had twice the DPS of HP and SRs they would be too much of a liability because you would die before you could capitalize on that damage output.

 * Cobra Missile FX: This one I know is a nitpick, but: cobra missiles look like modern rockets. Modern rockets do not score kills on armored targets with a near miss. If the cobra missile INSTEAD used biotic-explosion like effects indicating it was a miniaturized disruptor torpedo (which would make much more sense with the lore) it would explain why it has equal or even greater damage at the edges of the shear effect as it does in the center. Just food for thought, really.


* Geth Armatures, recon drones, shock troopers, and hoppers for the Geth MP enemy faction. I'd like a bit more diversity, and frankly something to break up the solid wall of hunters and pyros in later waves on higher levels.

 * Playable Rachni brood warriors for MP in Vanguard class designed as throwback to Mass 1 vanguards. Barrier as class power instead of Charge, greater than krogan levels of shields and health and some innate DR, throw, the works. Can do a combo with barrier detonate -> throw, perhaps a carnage-like acid spit attack that pierces barriers/shields? We can have Quarians in MP and they might get wiped out during Priority: Rannoch. Why not some Rachni even though they could be extinct too? I think some of the "rachni singing" as their battle chatter might be pretty cool, actually, though I can understand that animating them might be prohibitive.

* More MP enemy types: Collectors seem like a no-brainer as they're mentioned in the Codex: Reaper War several times and their roster from Mass 2 shouldn't be very hard to update for ME3. Adding in a merc raider faction would be neat too - either they're indoctrinated units or under command of indoctrinated leaders. Maybe they're just pirates trying to make a quick buck in the end of days. Either way you'd be able to bust out some more Mass 2 assets for this enemy type.

 * More MP maps using Mass 1 and 2 assets and music: I would LOVE to see some mass one maps adapted as multiplayer stages using mass one music. It'd be a great throwback to the first game, and mass effect one music.  Ilos, Therum, Virmire, Haestrom would all be awesome places to revisit musically and visually.


 * Explosive Ammo: As a mod for shotguns / SRs perhaps? To replicate the boosted heat thing from Mass One, they'd use double ammo per shot but have a little AOE and physics? Or they reduce capacity in the same fashion extra thermal clips increase capacity? Might have a chance to break Banshee grabs? I just miss the hell out of this stuff.

  * Barrel Extension Art pass: A fair number of these look more than a little goofy and out of place - Pistol Barrel 5 looks like the barrel of a revolver for example. Since ME weapons are coilguns, it would make sense in some cases for the sides of the weapon to be bulked up representing more powerful accelerators. 

 * Citadel MP map: If enemy type is Cerberus, it's obviously happening during the Coup attempt. If enemy type is Geth or Reapers, it's obviously happening during the Reaper conquest of the Citadel. You could add special objectives - instead of disable four weapon triggers, you could first-aid four injured VIPs using the exact same mechanics. 

 * Cumulative bonuses for promoting MP characters: +2% xp and credits for each promotion. Should encourage promotion without giving too many immediate rewards. Another option is to give diminishing returns up to a maximum of +100% xp and credits after 100 promotions?

 * Customizable facial patterns for MP turians: Asari can customize face patterns. Why not the same for Turians? In general more customization would be nice, but I can understand if efforts would rather be spent elsewhere.

 * Combat Drone art pass: I know the holographic drone thing is here to stay, but I find it looks goofy. I'd much rather have an animation like the MP quarian engineer turret deploy where we throw out a little robot pod that activates a thruster and then flies around blasting people. I'd also like to eventually run a flock of them, but that may just be me. I'm mostly coming at this from the angle of the old codex, where drones were used in swarms as support units and force multipliers.

 * Saturation effects on Adrenaline Rush / Marksman / Krogan Rage can get irritating: I'd love it if the effects were halved - they'd still be noticeable but they wouldn't mess with my situational awareness and targeting as much. Firebase: Reactor has enough shadows that the saturation changes can make it difficult to see what's going on. 

Modifié par Talhydras, 18 mars 2012 - 08:19 .

[NovaM4]

If you let shepard die Bioware..! If will never replay Mass Effect again because all the choices you have made don't count. If you still let Shepard die...

Well then.. I only have to say that you guys will lose a lot of customers..

(You guys may call me a "Whiner" but i say this is the truth. People don't want to see Shepard die. All the hard work they put into Paragon or Renegade endings and all that.

[PanicxBoss]

Let me first say that I loved the game throughout. Mass Effect still is one of my top 3 favorite franchises, despite the somewhat off-putting events of the ending. I honestly loved every moment of the game up until Shepard met the "Star Child." From the deep and humorous interactions with Garrus to the touching moments with your romantic interest to the UNBELIEVABLY -AWESOME EPIC SPACE BATTLES, the game was an absolute blast to take part in.  I've never been more emotionally involved in any form of media before, and I loved it.
Since we were asked to provide feedback about what (little) could be improved, there are a few things that I'd care to mention, since we are being given a great opportunity to voice our opinions.

1. Miranda/Shepard: I loved what went on with this romance for the most part. It was excellent, though it felt a bit lighter than the other ones, to be honest. I understand that Miranda was introduced in the second game and might not be one to be tapped for a "featured" romance like say, Ashley or Liara, but having seen one of my friends play through the game with the Liara option, I felt a slight bit left out.  Don't get me wrong, I was very happy with how it was, but since we're talking improvements, I feel like maybe a few more conversations with romantic angles in them (instead of the somewhat "they could be interpreted either way" ones they are now) could have been added at the very least.

2. Armor Customization Pre-Mission: This one is kind of trivial, but it would be really nice to have had a screen pop up before going on a mission where you could potentially change your armor configuration alongside the skillpoints and weapons modding one.   I'd often find myself forgetting to go to my cabin or the shuttle bay (both areas that are sparsely populated in terms of crew interactions, which is what a lot of gamers base their visits on, I'm sure) to get that new piece of armor configured and then regret being stuck in armor that was not really what I had in mind.  Again, nit-picking.

3. Priority Revive Actions: I've noticed that when you get close by to a downed party member, and you press A, it is really rather difficult to actually revive that person. Instead, I will dive to cover or roll over their body or be trapped in a strange form of limbo where my Shepard seems to have forgotten what he wanted to do.  I don't know if this is possible, but if you could somehow make revive the "priority" action when close by to a squad member, that would be cool.  Maybe I'm just bad at context-sensitive button pressing, but I've always had problems reviving them in and out of combat.

4. The Ending: My opinion is the same as many others, and likely overdone, so I'll keep this one brief.  I understand that this is Bioware's story, their IP, their choice to make things how they want, and I'm happy to support that, because for the most part, you guys write awesome stories.  However, when this, the final installment of the trilogy, was announced, it was heralded with numerous claims that "your decisions will affect the ending" and that "no two endings will be the same." I believe one of the developers even came out and said something along the lines of "the ending is not even in any way like the traditional game
endings, where you can say how many endings there are or whether you got
ending A, B, or C."
So, I was kind of disappointed when I found out that there were three distinct endings: not A, B, or C, but Red, Green, and Blue.  Hundreds of hours of immersive gameplay that ended in virtually-identical ten-minute cutscenes, with no explanation of an aftermath.  I'm not saying I want a happy ending or anything like that, but I would have enjoyed a bit more explanation than what the present ending offered.  It felt as if none of the storylines were wrapped up satisfactorily. Rather they were ignored.  And maybe some choice in what the ending might be would be nice... right now the choices look like "Die, Control the Reapers (Maybe)" "Die, Create Synthesis Race," and "Die (Maybe?), Destroy All Synthetic Life (Maybe)."
There was no closure for any of the wonderful storytelling of the previous 2.95 games, just a palette-swap cutscene and an old man talking to his grandson... Not what I would have expected given the advertisement promising otherwise, comments made by the developers saying otherwise, and literally everything else that we've all come to know and love about Bioware and the Mass Effect writing team making us believe otherwise.
I can live with the ending(s), sure. But I don't particularly like it, as it cheats the player out of an explanation of the consequences his/her choices had on the galaxy. Something the previous games all provided were a sense of making a difference, of overcoming the odds, no matter how great and achieving a meaningful ending.  There was not really a meaningful ending here, at least in my small opinion.  Changing that, even in some small way, would mean the world to this fan.

[xxskyshadowxx]

First of all, if anyone at Bioware is actually reading this thread, thank you for hearing us if nothing else. And I am sorry for the HUGE outcry over the ending (I am one who is very vocal about it--ahem). We are shouting and banging our fists against the wall not because we hate you, but because we love your work, we love the world you created. It doesn't even feel like the same people who wrote the series and most of ME3 wrote the ending. It's that staggering.

I kind of like the flowchart that's floating around the boards; there are a lot of good ideas there. I hate that I hate the ending because everything else was so well done up to that point, and I feel bad telling the writers that they ruined their game.

Others have better suggestions than I do, but here's my thoughts:

First...it was claimed that there would be 16 vastly different endings. Develop and release those please. That's the game we paid for.

If Shepard has to die in all 16 endings (I'd like to see at least one where she lives, with some LI epilogue chatting together/hugging/whatever or something scenes, but I get it if that doesn't fit with the theme of sacrifice in the game--oooooo maybe Shepard lives and has to deal with her LI not making it...) make it be for something. Right now Shepard dies in all possible endings for nothing. It invalidates the sacrifice she made...that's not okay. And it's very damaging to the beautiful work you've done.

Make a decent length epilogue. Right now it feels that more effort was put into the advertising videos. I get it...those videos drive people to buy the game, and puts money into the pockets of the business...so those videos had better be good, that's just good business sense. But the folks who did buy it shouldn't feel slighted. You made us love your characters (so this is your fault! Hehee), so give us resolution with those charatcers.

Reread your lore...heck just read your Desperate Measures codex entry in ME3. Go on read it, I'll wait. Back? Okay, now do me a favor and go read it again please. *whistles* All right, you're back? Good, good. Third time's a charm, go read it again. *waits* okay, cool thanks. It should be very clear now why people hate the ending with the Relays being destroyed, at best everyone except Normandy's chicken crew starves and dies, at worst Shepard is Hitler and committed mass Genocide...and also wiped earth out instead of taking it back. And Shepard, depoite KNOWING what destroying a mass relay causes, and having had to live through the consequences of destroying just one, doesn't even question it? No. That needs to be reworked entirely.

Or...maybe they aren't actually destroyed even though Star Child said they were; maybe they're just perminantly deactivated, or the chips just get irreparibly fried, and you know this but we don't because it wasn't disclosed. if that's the case a simple dialogue can be patched into the game without rewriting the ending completely:

Star Child: Deus Ex ending babble (cuz it's taken the form of a kid who liked Squaresoft games before the Reapers blew him to hell).

Shepard: That's B.S., you're telling me that my ONLY choice is to commit mass genocide by destroying all of the mass relays? That's not an option. It's better I just lay down and die and let the armada take their chances.

Star Child: Incorrect. The mass relays will not explode. Genocide will not occur, however the relays will no longer function, thus they are destroyed.

Shepard: And what about all the lives who came here? You've nearly destroyed earth; it can't support them all.

Star Child: Most will die. Some will find a way to survive. They will have a chance. It is more than they have now, unless you feel it is better to allow the ascension to complete this Cycle.

Shepard stares at Star Child for a few moments, clearly displeased and wrestling with the decision, then looks up at her A, B, C choices with resolve. Player makes the choice and the ending cinema occurs in whatever color was chosen.

It's still a bad ending, but it doesn't completely go against Shepard's character like the current ending does....and doesn't punch the player in the gut by forcing them to make a choice that makes Shepard as bad if not worse than the Reapers.

Modifié par xxskyshadowxx, 18 mars 2012 - 08:23 .

[sistersafetypin]

RJDio wrote...

jspiess wrote...

tobito113 wrote...

https://docs.google....k9oMGc6MA#gid=0

This link has several polls of what people want from a new ending DLC, over 2700 members of BSN, its a VERY usefull tool for feedback.

good read

I am captain Anderson and I agree with this statistics.
 

 I like these stats, but I don't think we should force the Indoc theory any more than Bioware should force their colors on us. The theory is a direct result of an unreasonably bad ending. Why keep one if we're doing away with the other? I think those endings need to be nuked, and Bioware needs to build us a proper ending.

And Bioware.. Here's more Feedback

The more I think about the fact that you abritrarily decided that in an RPG.... Our Heros final moments are stagnant and lead to death. Or rather, "sacrifice." However, going to sleep and mulling over the "Tragic/Ambigeous endings You DID like Thread.." I've come to realize that was honestly no longer your choice to make. 

If in a Fantasy world like DA:O you provide the means for a, flawed and ultimately doomed by darkspawn blood... Warden a means to survive that final battler... When for all intents and purposes the Warden is a classic example of a Tragic Hero; Why would you then go to Mass Effect.. Directly contradict yourself and turn our classic 'Epic Heros' into something they weren't? The endings as they are make sense.... For a Pure Renagade Shepard

After all, they are a by any means neccessary type of hero. And it would follow that they would end up like Saren or TIM and gladly take the StarChilds ultimatum 

But a full Paragon Shepard... Especially a full Paragon Spacer... Who it would follow has spent her entire life amongst the stars and dealing with aliens...  The endings literally go against everything we've built our characters to represent. Making their deaths and more importantly the total ender holocaust of the rest of the galaxy... Meaningless and Trite

Words I never thought I'd use for Bioware or the ME series.

I hope people at Bioware are actually listening. 

Modifié par sistersafetypin, 18 mars 2012 - 08:38 .

[Leninsaurus]

A logical breakdown of why the Mass Effect 3 ending makes no sense

This is a very thorough and GOOD read on why the Mass Effect 3 ending, taken at face value, makes absolutely no sense, and why the Indoctrination/Hallucination-theory is the only way to somehow explain it.

I said earlier that I'll touch the topic of the endings, and now I will.
I am with all the thousands of other fans who consider the ending a slap in the face and a disgrace to the whole series and all the money and hours we spent reaching this point. I for one feel ripped off paying all together over 150 € for the games and the DLC just to reach this illogial, inconsistent and plot-hole ridden excuse for an ending.

It has been said before and has been discussed to pieces, but I'll say it again. The ending is such a source for anger and frustration because it renders everything the player has accomplished completely irrelevant. All the choices you've made, whether you played as a Paragon or Renegade, which characters lived or died.. it all doesn't matter in the ending, and while the Mass Effect - trilogy has always been a science fiction - roleplaying game in the last few minutes it suddenly shifts it's whole genre and becomes a (highly illogical) philosophical statement... that doesn't even make any sense and is followed up by a message that asks us to keep on to our saves because there will be more DLC to come! This is simply insulting, nothing less.

I think we all have come to an agreement that the ME3 ending should take all our previous choices, of ALL THREE GAMES into consideration and reflect them and build upon them. It does not necessarily mean that every single thing we did within the three games is important for the outcome and if we suceed in defeating the Reapers, BUT it should be acknowledged by the game and be reflected. In an epilogue, playable or not, but most definitely as rendered cutscenes or conceptpaintings. 
We have followed the fate of our Shepards we have created, and their comrades, friends, lovers and enemies, we WANT to know what became of them. We want to know if the Quarians and the Geth really manage to live in peace, we want to see Wrex and Eve rebuild the krogan race, we WANT to see Shepard being celebrated, and celebrating together with their friends and LI.
But we also want to see Wreav leading a bloody war, or Shepard dying if we didn't rally enough fleets or alienated to many from our cause, or seeing the Reapers continue the cycle of extinction. And maybe a glimpse into the next cycle, as lifeforms that have discovered space-travel stumble upon Liara's memento and switch it on.
What I'm trying to say is that we want closure. We want to know that all our efforts and all our time was not completely wasted because no matter what we did and how we chose, it ends the same. You promised us an ending that takes everything we did into account, so please fullfill your promise. I want to finish Mass Effect 3 with my personal Shepard and then immediately start a new game because I want to know how different my ending will become if I make different decisions.

But what makes the ending - for me personally - so awfully depressing and unforgivable, that no matter what you are choosing of the nearly identical choices, you are practically finishing the Reaper's work, because all of the mass relays are destroyed in the process. And besides the fact that this means that the combined fleets of all aliens are trapped on Earth and therefore millions of different species have to make due with wants left on a planet that has been crippled by war, it also means that ALL of the homeplanets are getting destroyed in the blast of the relays. Because as it has been established in Arrival, the explosion of a mass relay rivals the force of a supernova, destroying everything in range. And all the homeplanets are directly located in clusters with relays, and the explosions are so immense they can be observed lightyears away. They aren't turned off, they EXPLODE.
So it doesn't even matter if you destroy the Reapers, you are practically killing of the whole sentient civilisation of this cycle, and probably some more primitive races too that are linked to Mass Relays but have not discovered spacetravel yet.
Yeah, there might be the colonies, but they are only a fraction of the original population and many of them relied on imports and haven't had the military force and strength to attempt space-traveling without the relays.
THIS is what hurts me the most. I have come to love all those different races, I've invested so much into finally saving the galaxy of this threat, and then I practically deliver the killing blow. That is just... bitter. There is no sweet to it, it is only bitter and painful.

Your effort to make your game unforgettable because of it's ending is completely falling flat. People are loving the ME - series for the choices and their consequences, which you played amazingly well with ME2. Everything, every interaction with the characters mattered and was important in the outcome of the suicide mission. Things like these, and the characters and storytelling are what makes people replay your game so often. But with the ending, you have taken away all the choices we have made and instead gave us an illogical mess of an ending that plays out no matter what. People are so disgusted and angered that they will not play any of the three games in the future, because why invest AGAIN hundreds of hours into three games if it all doesn't matter in the end anyway?
I have said it before, your games will gather dust in some cupboard and be forgotten BECAUSE of the ending, BECAUSE it makes everything we have done prior to it in the games completely irrelevant. But your customers will not forget the blatant insulting treatment and how you butchered their favourite franchise. We will become weary of your games, cautious, and many will probably never buy one of your games again, or only used so you won't profit from the money. This is what people will remember, and I don't think THAT was your intention.

I don't know where exactly you can go from here, if it is possible to rewrite the ending at all, but my suggestion would be to seize upon the Indoctrination-theory and make Shepard wake up back on Earth if they chose destroy, and if they didn't, well... give us at least a cutscene on how the destruction of the Reapers continues. But if Destroy is chosen, make Shepard wake up, and NOW make everything that has happened before count. Show us the fleets we have established, show our former comrades and friends push the attack, and make all the war assets and choices count. If we have enough, the Reapers are pushed back. It doesn't need to be the ultimate victory, but they are severely crippled and have to retreat. Maybe a years-long struggle happens after that and thousands give their life in the process, if you really need that BITTERsweet ending, but SHOW us if we really managed to unite all the races, that they eventually suceed in defeating the Reapers.
And if you are really insistent on that BITTERsweet ending have Shepard bleed out on Earth, in the rubble, no matter what. It all would depend on the united forces in the end, but because Shepard was the one who led them to the fight, united, they suceed.

I personally think Shepard doesn't need to die and it also should be optional. But maybe because I think that our world is horrible, cruel and painful enough as it is and I don't exactly have to relieve this struggle and pain in an alternative universe as well, and maybe because I think the characters I've grown to love so much, including my Shepard deserve their happy ending. In their journey they have sacrificied and suffered enough, they deserve peace and the blue babies or little adopted baby krogans or whatever!


All what I have suggested now of course is only the worst way to let it end. THE BEST WAY to let the series end is what has been established in this very good chart that has been floating around. Ditch the whole Crucible/Starchild - theory completely, because it is simply idiotic and condratics everything that has been established in the lore. Give us the war on earth, and make the outcome of it dependent on how we have chosen to play the three games. And then give us closure. Closure for our Shepard, for Earth, for the alien races, for our friends and squad, for all the decisions we made. This would require rewriting the whole ending, but I think we all agree that this would be the best solution, even if it is the hardest to pull off.