7055 réponses à ce sujet

[BoneNinja]

Numdenu wrote...

LuckyNumberN7 wrote...

Kittenpirate wrote...

I want my blue babies.

That is all.

You are NOT the only one my friend... (;

My only problem is, having romanced Kaidan, having blue babies would be really awkward....

I want my little pink babies with Kaidan too.

[Kenta Shuuichi]

MrAtomica wrote...

Warning! This is reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally long. And probably more than a little dry. Bear with me, please, it took some time to write all this down.

Here are some of my proposed changes, in a more understandable than usual (for me) format:

Destroy

Option 1 (Regression) - Agree with the Catalyst's notion that advancement of technology necessarily leads to synthetic life surpassing organic life. In order to "save" the galaxy, sentient technology must be wiped out. By releasing the energy of the Catalyst and Crucible, advanced technology is completely wiped out. EDI, the Geth, Mass Effect tech, the Relays, everything remotely related to the Reapers.

It's extreme, more than slightly reprehensible from a moral standpoint, yet still justifiable. Because the Catalyst may have a point. There is no guarantee that the problem at hand is solved; in fact, it is likely just as prevalent after this, as synthetics can and will be rebuilt. Yet, you give the universe time, at least in some of the outcomes.

Permutations: Depending on War Asset counts, different outcomes are reached.

• Low (<3000) - Earth is consumed by the blast. The relays send out enormous pulses of energy, creating supernovas comparable in size and strength to the Alpha Relay blast. This is repeated in every system with a relay. Shepard dies, life is largely ended. Normandy is destroyed, your crew dies.
• Medium (3000 to 5000) - Earth is partially consumed by the Citadel's energy wave. The relays do not go supernova, but they do cause widespread damage from the pulses. The energy takes out a sizeable chunk of each system, but leaves a fair reserve of life behind to carry on. The Normandy manages to take shelter on the far side of Earth, so the crew survives. Shepard is killed on the Citadel by the blast.
• High (>5000) - Earth is fine. The relays disintegrate, but do not explode in any violent way. The pulse still wipes out all advanced technology, but leaves organic life behind. The galaxy is spared, and the Normandy survives with no trouble. Shepard is beamed back the Earth by some means or other, and survives.

The Reapers are destroyed, life is saved, but at great cost. Whether the ends justify the means is up to you. The Catalyst and the Reapers may not be correct in their means, but their purpose is certainly an interesting one. In the end, Shepard chooses to follow this purpose through to its conclusion. The ultimate goal of removing the Reapers is reached, though you acknowledge that they may have been correct. War Assets aren't really addressed properly here, but it is what it is.

Option 2 (Dissension) - Disagree with the Catalyst. Using EDI, the Geth, and the fatalism of his own argument against him, Shepard refuses to accept the Catalyst's destructive solution to ending the war. By dealing with the situation in a new way, this removes the need to sacrifice the Geth and EDI, as well as the relays. The problem of tech singularity is not solved any morseo than in the first scenario, but Shepard trusts organic life to adapt to the situation, and devise a new solution. He or she sees no benefit in killing sentient machine life.

The Catalyst, unwilling to be defied, calls Harbinger back from the main fleet to engage Shepard before he or she can succeed.

Again, war assets lead to different outcomes, after the main choice:

• Lowest (<2000) - Harbinger easily punches through the Sword battle, and begins to launch an incredibly powerful indoctrination attack on Shepard's mind. Shepard is unable to resist for long enough to achieve his or her goal, and is convinced by Harbinger to commit suicide. The game ends with a slowly dying Shepard watching, in horror, as everything they have fought for is extinguished. The Crucible is destroyed, the cycle is carried out, and all that you know and love is gone. The Catalyst is the last thing you ever see, smirking down at you with a look of sinister delight.
• Low (2000 to 4500) - Harbinger meets some resistance from Sword, and is delayed long enough for Shepard to get a hold of Admiral Hackett. There is not enough time for a proper solution, so Hackett devises a desperate plan. He will send the Crucible's core into critical overload, thus detonating the device and destroying the Citadel. Harbinger arrives at the scene just as the Crucible explodes, sending jolts of energy throughout the Citadel. Shepard dies, as does Hackett and everyone on board the Crucible, and the resulting battle claims even more lives as the combined fleet fights back the now weakened Reapers. In the end, losses are quite heavy, but victory is achieved. The Normandy sustains heavy damage from Harbinger's beams, and crash-lands on Earth.
• Medium (4500 to 6500) - Harbinger is blocked by fierce resistance from Sword, and cannot reach the Citadel in time. Shepard uses the extra time to argue with the Catalyst about his assertions. Unfortunately, it becomes clear that he has no intentions of listening to reason, so Shepard contacts Hackett to propose a new tactic. Since the fleet is too heavily engaged to allow for a direct assault against the station, and time is running out, the two decide to overload the Crucible, and order the device to be evacuated immediately. Calling in the Normandy, Shepard orders Joker to carry Hackett and the crew to safety. Hackett tries to argue with Shepard about sacrificing him/herself, and Shepard is given the choice of either carrying out the plan themself, or allowing Hackett to do so. The Normandy collects the survivors, and escapes the area, just as reports come in that Harbinger is rapidly approaching. Harbinger breaks free from Sword and rushes to stop the detonation, but cannot reach the device in time. The Citadel is destroyed, and the combined fleet mops up the remaining Reapers will far fewer losses than would have been possible otherwise. Shepard or Hackett die, but the Normandy and significant portions of the fleet survive.
• High (>6500) - Harbinger is blocked from attacking. Hackett reports that the fleet is holding its own against the Reaper armada, and actually gaining ground. Hackett and Shepard decide to divert a portion of the main offensive to physically destroy the Citadel's control area. The Destiny Ascension or some other large dreadnought leads a small strike force in to attack the Citadel. The Normandy swoops in, picks up Shepard and the rest, and returns to the scene of the battle. As they retreat, the dreadnought and its escort open fire on the control hub, causing the Citadel to fracture and the Catalyst to perish. The Normandy cuts into the fight and punches a Thanix round through Harbinger's shell, destroying it. The galactic fleet easily destroys the remaining Reapers, and the day is won.

This branch of solution really plays into the value of War Assets, and how they could affect the outcome of the final battle. Furthermore, this option could be made dependent upon Shepard's feelings toward synthetic life, as it would require him or her to be at least trusting enough of synthetics to allow them the chance to freely evolve alongside organics. Thus, making peace between the Geth and Quarians, and teaching EDI to view life in a new way would be necessary triggers. This is a good way to reward player choice. Since destruction is the ultimate end, this would suit a Shepard who agreed largely with the values of Anderson and Hackett.

Control

Option 1 (Continued Enslavement) - Again, the Catalyst's arguments hold enough weight to sway Shepard to choosing to utilize his presented choices. Though TIM was seen as a villain, and though Shepard feels that his methods were too extreme, the ultimate result of his conviction about controlling the Reapers makes sense. If a singularity event is going to come, the Reapers should remain, to allow the cycle to continue, if it must.

• Fail (<3000) - Shepard grabs the power conduit, and sacrifices his or herself to gain control of the Reapers. However, something does not properly fire inside the Crucible, and the energy released causes significant devastation to Earth and the combined fleet. The Reapers are preserved, but much life is lost in the process. The Crucible's beam causes an overload of the relays, sending dangerous energy waves across the galaxy, damaging countless systems. The Normandy is severely crippled, and some of the crew dies from the rough landing on Earth.
• Pass (>3000) - The Crucible fires properly, and the change in leadership happens without hindrance. The Reapers are placed firmly under Shepard's control, and are sent back to Dark Space, where they await the calling of their new master. Though Shepard has no desire to repeat the Catalyst's atrocities, he or she recongizes the value and necessity of the Reapers as a tool against synthetic annihilation.

Again, I'm not an enormous fan of this path. It's far too unclear as to how exactly Shepard would go about becoming the Catalyst, and it leaves too much room for corruption. However, it still provides a choice, for those who may agree with the necessity of the Reapers. Furthermore, it allows organic and synthetic life to exist in much the same way as the modified Destroy options, albeit with a greater sense of impending doom in light of failure. I do not feel that there should be more than one outcome for this choice, but that would remove any sense of having done something. The control energy wave really shouldn't cause any damage at all, but War Assets should count for at least a small something in every decision.

Option 2 (Sacrifice) - The Reapers are not a justifiable evil. In spite of their supposedly noble purpose, Shepard does not accept that the cycle must be perpetuated, even if this means allowing a singularity to occur. Rather than keep the Reapers in reserve, Shepard takes control for the sole purpose of ending the threat once and for all.
Because Shepard is choosing to defy the Catalyst's wishes, he uses mental combat to try and break Shepard's will. Asset values determine the outcome.

• Fail (<5000) - The Catalyst bombards Shepard with images of a burning fleet, decimated by the Reapers. With each ship that falls, Shepard loses a measure of resolve. The Catalyst relentlessly assails Shepard's psyche with a perpetual nightmare of failure, every planet engulfed by Reaper forces. Finally, the Catalyst taunts Shepard with a vision of the Normandy being vaporized, its entire crew being instantly erased from existence. Shepard's will is broken, and he or she cannot resist any further. The Catalyst beats Shepard into submission, and wrests control back from him or her. The Crucible is unable to release the energy that it builds up, and implodes. The cycle continues on, and the Catalyst prepares to crush all resistance.
• Pass (>5000) - Shepard successfully resists the Catalyst's attempts to retain dominance, forcing the other being into submission. After taking control of the Reapers, Shepard deactivates them completely, leaving them wide open to destruction from the fleet. In a final act of selflessness, Shepard release the Crucible's energy directly back into the Citadel, destroying it completely, but also removing the essence of the Catalyst from the Reapers. The blast of energy from the Crucible deactivates the Reapers completely, allowing the allied fleet to wipe them out with impunity. The energy passes through the mass relays without harming them.

I felt that an option like this ought to have been possible. Not so much a peaceful solution, or an overly aggressive one, but a meaningful sacrifice. Instead of just flatly destroying the Reapers, and risking fighting a losing battle, Shepard resorts to giving his or her life in a selfless attempt to spare more lives. Ironically, this proves to be even more difficult, as the War Assets score must be markedly high to resist the Catalyst's indoctrination attempt. Still, Shepard's sacrifice would serve a noble purpose, in this case, and offers a more sympathetic view of a TIM-style ending. By succeeding, however, much of the galaxy is saved, while the Reapers are removed.

Synthesis

The current path leaves room for only a single focus - using the Crucible to obey the Catalyst's wishes. While combining DNA into a synthetic-organic hybrid may be one way to go about Synthesis, there should be another way to deal with the issue as well. War Asset scores, again, should play a part in how to achieve a specific ending.

Option 1 (Forced evolution) - After hearing the Catalyst's opinion, that Synthesis is the "pinnacle of evolution", Shepard is persuaded to agree. Though the end result sounds suspiciously like altering all life into Reaper form, the ability to combine the best parts of organic and synthetic life into a supposedly higher form is too tempting. Whatever may come from this drastic action, Shepard believes that lasting peace is far likelier if all life becomes uniform.

• Threshold (4500) - Shepard combines his or herself with the Crucible's beam, sacrificing his or her life to bring life to a higher plane of existence. As Shepard's essence is absorbed, a powerful pulse of energy erupts from the Citadel, covering Earth and the rest of the Sol system. The Reapers, covered in tendrils of the power, retreat from Earth. The beam that fires from the Citadel travels through the relays, saturating the galaxy with a soft green light. The Citadel begins to explode, breaking into pieces and falling away from the Crucible. The Reapers, driven by the final will of the Catalyst, retreat to Dark Space, never to be seen again. The Normandy leaves the allied fleet and returns to Earth, its crew paying silent respects to their beloved Captain.

The actual consequences of Synthesis are not entirely clear in this scenario, but that may be for the best. The question of whether forcing all life to evolve at once is right or not, is not simply answered. Instead, let the player reach their own conclusion about the results herein. Since the crew of the Normandy is safe, the relays are intact, and Earth is spared, there is a sufficient sense of having actually won. Nonetheless, the fallout of such a choice is potentially enormous.

Option 2 (Coexistence) - Of all the potential outcomes, this is perhaps my favorite idea. Since we are now presented with evidence that the Reapers have never actually partaken in the cycle of their own accord, as they have always been under the will of the Catalyst, freeing them is a logical choice. They may choose to perpetuate the destruction of organic life, but they may also choose not to. The beauty of this option is that it affords a measure of respect to the Reapers, on account of their being living beings trapped within an obedient shell. For organic life, freedom is paramount.

To achieve this path, Shepard must successfully convince the Catalyst of the ridiculousness of its "solution". To do so, certain choices must have been made, and Shepard must have expressed a willingness to allow synthetic life the chance to coexist with organic life. By using the Geth and EDI as examples of successfully charting the personal development of synthetic life, Shepard begins to shred the Catalyst's foundation. The cycle, Shepard posits, is illogical and contradictory. The Catalyst himself, by his own admission, is (at least mostly) synthetic, and is utilizing an army of synthetics to annihilate the very life he claims to defend. Not only are his means wrong, but his ultimate end is also wrong. Synthetic life is every bit as precious as organic life; with the right amount of patience and understanding, synthetic evolution can lead to incredibly positive results (The Geth helping the Quarians rebuild Rannoch).

By proving the Catalyst to be incorrect, Shepard is able to push him into a new solution. Release the Reapers and allow them to make their own way. If they attack, so be it, but they are also capable of choosing not to. The Catalyst, dumbfounded by the optimism of the idea, wearily agrees to acquiesce. Giving the commander time to radio the Normandy and secure his or her escape, the Catalyst causes the Citadel to self-destruct, simultaneously releasing his grip on the minds of the Reapers. What happens next is War Asset dependent.

• Low (<4500) - Harbinger, freed from the Catalyst's control, nevertheless refuses to allow peace to occur. Communing with his comrades, the Reaper general assures them that the resistance fleet is too weak to survive their onslaught. Some of the Reapers, those that do not wish to fight any longer for a cause they do not support, attempt to destroy their brethren. Unforunately, Harbinger's forces prove too powerful, and the fleet is crushed. The Normandy is destroyed by Harbinger's attacks, and the cycle continues on without the Catalyst. This time, however, there is nothing stopping the Reapers from utterly ending all life. Rather than leave primitive organic species to their own designs, Harbinger announces that he has no wish to allow any life, primitive or no, the opportunity to rebuild. Everything, he claims, must be purged.
• Medium (4500 to 6500) - Harbinger chooses to continue the mission of the Catalyst, and attempts to sway his forces to the same conclusion. Many of the remaining Reapers side with him, but a comparable amount choose instead to resist him. These Reapers, inspired by the show of incredible unity from the combined fleet, turn on their former allies en masse. The ensuing chaos is brutal and bloody. The fleet eventually wins, but the devastation is horrifying. The Reapers' civil war has torn apart the landscapes of many planets, and filled space with huge amounts of debris. Still, the galaxy is saved. The Normandy survives, as do the relays, and life is free of the Reapers.
• High (>6500) - Harbinger is given pause by the enormous force opposing him. The allied fleet contains representatives from every race across the galaxy, and remains more than large enough to cost the Reapers heavy losses. Conversing with his allies, Harbinger comes to the conclusion that organic life is worthy of continued existence. The proof lies in the indomitable will and steely determination of Sword and Hammer, as well as the reports of fierce resistance from other theatres. The Reapers break off the attack, and Harbinger communicates with the Normandy directly, leaving the choice of how to proceed up to Shepard. At this point, Shepard is left with three distinct options -

1. Renegade: Convince the Reapers to sacrifice themselves for the greater good of the galaxy. Rather than destroying them outright, Shepard tells Harbinger to let go of his twisted form of existence and find rest in the oblivion of death. The Reapers, led by Harbinger, willingly submit themselves to Shepard's directive. One by one, the massive machines detonate their cores, releasing their essence into the void of space. This end is violent and extreme, but safe. The Reapers can never again become a threat to galactic civilization.
                            
2. Neutral: Tell Harbinger to return to Dark Space, leaving organic and synthetic life to their own devices. Agreeing, the Reapers slowly leave the galaxy, massing near the far reaches of space to begin the long journey back to their point of origin. As a final farewell, Harbinger pays his grudging respect to his adversary, warning Shepard that whatever peace may come from this, it is not a certainty. The dire events predicted by the Catalyst may yet come to pass, and the Reapers will no longer meddle in the affairs of organics even if they do. From this point on, life is to fend for itself. Shepard acknowledges the danger, but remains resolute.

3. Paragon: Shepard believes so strongly in the notion that all life has value, regardless of its appearance or history, that he or she proposes that Harbinger and the Reapers atone for the sins they committed beneath the Catalyst. They are to remain in the galaxy, and integrate themselves into organic society, with the goal of improving the life of both organics and synthetics. The vast amounts of knowledge possessed by each individual Reaper open up near unlimited possibilities for advancement of life, and the wisdom that has come with years of accumulated consciousness provides the means to judiciously make use of said knowledge. Intrigued by this proposal, Harbinger agrees to Shepard's request, for the time being. He and his ilk decide to spread themselves across the galaxy, attaching themselves to pockets of life everywhere, sharing their experiences and power with their living counterparts in an attempt to correct the looming threat of technological singularity. This avenue is far brighter, at face value, than convincing the Reapers to commit mass suicide. On the other hand, however, this also carries the capacity for the Reapers to become a threat once again. There is little guarantee that their cooperation will last, nor is there any evidence that their help will be of any use. Ultimately, though, Shepard strongly feels that this path is the most promising for a brighter future. The wounds of the Reaper War will persist for long after, but the progress that comes will help to assuage that to some extent.

Refusal

Much of Mass Effect 3 is devoted to the construction of the Crucible. Yet, this device should not have been the only means of victory. Though there is a pervading theme of the Reapers being "too powerful" to fight conventionally, their advantages are actually slimmer than is presented. At its core, the Reaper fleet is more deadly in an individual sense, but it is not invincible. For a Shepard who has no desire to deal with the Catalyst, and no wish to unleash the Crucible, winning the war through force of arms *must* be an option. This is the classic "massive space battle" wish, and it is a justifiable one. However, because the Reapers are incredibly powerful, this option should only be available at much higher levels of total asset value.
After the Catalyst is finished speaking to Shepard, he or she can walk back to where the elevator carried them up, and communicate with Hackett. At this point, he must be convinced of the viability of conventional warfare. If Shepard has collected enough assets, Hackett cautiously decides to trust the commander's judgement. This conversation could easily be a Paragon or Renegade check, and also based on Reputation score.

• High (5000 to 7000) - Shepard manages to talk a stubbornly unwilling Admiral Hackett into removing the Crucible from the Citadel, and instructing the combined fleet to hold their ground. The ensuing battle is nearly lost, as the Reapers seem incapable of being pushed back. With a sudden surge, however, allied forces gain momentum. Thousands upon thousands of ships and lives are lost to the ultimate victory, but the Reapers are beaten without the help of the Catalyst or the Crucible. Much of the galaxy suffers horrific amounts of damage, and many planets are scarred by the fighting. But the organics have won on their own terms. Part of living is being free to choose your own path, and Shepard has carried this proverb to fruition. History will not remember the outcome of the Reaper War as a "win"; the cost of both lives and livelihoods is too great to even consider such a pat statement. Yet, life goes on.
• Insane (>7000) - Admitting that the allied fleet is far more impressive than anyone could have dared to hope, Hackett is in careful agreement with Shepard's assessment of their chances. Removing the Crucible, he orders the galactic fleet to engage the Reapers in straight combat, as the cost of using the Crucible (and trusting the Catalyst) is simply too great to justify. Shepard has assembled such a robust fleet that the Reapers begin to wither under its combined assault. Motivated by the tremendous gain in headway, the fleet cuts a swathe through the Reapers, and surges into the remaining enemy ships. On the ground, row after row of disparate races come together to destroy the encroaching Reapers in a steady hail of gunfire, biotics, and artillery. Losses are heavy, but the Reapers are broken by the incredible show of strength from the galactic community. The Normandy flits in and out of combat, blasting chunks out of Reaper armor, steadily carving her way through the melee. When the last Reaper has been taken down, the Normandy docks with the Crucible, and collects Hackett. When the admiral and Shepard have exchanged congratulations, the Normady returns to Earth.

______________________

Well, that's all of them. I put a lot of time into this, so I hope someone bothers to read it. This is how I imagined the game should have ended, with various choices to be made, each with positives and negatives. The outcomes, as they are, allow for a full spectrum between utter defeat and total victory. Some may find the "lack" of sacrifice insulting in some of the higher asset ends, but this should not be an issue. In order to collect so many assets, a player must have put a considerable amount of time and thought into playing the game. In that case, we'd like to feel like we actually won, not like we reacted to what the Catalyst told us to do. His options weren't necessarily bad, but they shouldn't have been the only choices. I feel that it is a betrayal of Shepard's character to expect him or her to simply lie down and accept what they are told. That is not how we have dealt with the Reapers in the first two games, and it seems just as wrong now. My options at least give Shepard (and the player) the feeling that, if they made enough effort to collect their strength, they can make a better tomorrow.

Speaking of which, the War Assets system needs an overhaul. Get rid of Galactic Readiness. It's a contrived system implemented purely with the goal of forcing people into playing multiplayer. This feels too much like a DLC pitch, and not like a fun diversion. Multiplayer is simply not the focus of Mass Effect, and that should be reflected in the singleplayer portion. By getting rid of Readiness, or even allowing us to raise it by completing multiplayer-style sessions in the singleplayer galaxy (maybe have N7 missions contribute to Readiness, instead?), players wouldn't feel so betrayed - after all, we were promised that multiplayer would not encroach on singleplayer.

In the end, though, I'm still more concerned about changing the endings. Look at my ideas, and maybe I can provide a helpful thought or two. I don't claim to be wise in the ways of writing, but the overall themes of each of my proposed endings mesh well with your artistic vision. These would not require as major an alteration as Indoctrination Theory or scrapping the entire Earth mission. If anything, you could just add on to your existing ideas.
Sorry for the poor formatting!

You, my friend, are AWESOME.  If Bioware somehow decides to turn those into the ACTUAL endings, I would feel so invigorated as to never doubt them again.  Those are magnificent ways for Shepard to go and I think going by your suggestion would make Bioware much more succesful than any other, though I'm starting to get accustomed to being in awe from what I read here.

Seriously, an impressive job. I FULLY support this.

[chujwamdotego]

BoneNinja wrote...

I want my little pink babies with Kaidan too.

Hahaha, I want mine also pink but with Ashley

Speaking of which I find Ashley Madeline Williams nicest virtual being ever (remainds me my lovely wife)...

[Kenta Shuuichi]

*Continuing

If anything, the only problem I'm seeing with it is that the endings do not address the aftermath of the battle, what happens to our companions, etc. Hell, I'm in love with the idea of Shepard spending the rest of his life in Rannoch with Tali, but I would like to see it as an epilogue, fully animated if possible, text if not. Either way I would be pleased. Of course, this should be contextual: Different decisions through the game call for different consequences, and everybody else should have their own personalized "endings". In doing so, Bioware would ensure an adamantly loyal fanbase for years to come and further entice more people into joining this marvelous fanbase. Its a win/win scenario.

[Chris-1983]

Dear Bioware,
first I want to thank you for the unbelievable emitional, heart taking and thrilling moments in ME3. 99% of ME3 were like I expected and hoped it would be. In these 99% you brought me an even deeper connection to my comrades I began to love since the beginning with ME1. I cried more than one manly tear when I lost a team member.
The last 1% of the game where the biggest disappointment in my whole gaming career. The whole game you proclaimed the principle of trust and friendship. By that principles you can unite the turians with the krogans, the geth with the quarians. The last 10 minutes of ME3 were not like a typical ending from Bioware. My decisions didn`t matter, my paragon decisions didn`t matter, hope didn`t matter and I feeled everything I achieved was useless. I especially didn`t like the starchild/stargazer as it felt for me as a simple deus ex machina solution. The ending left me empty and depressed. As mentioned by other fans, the ending(s) felt like space magic. Why did Joker flee from the battle, why were there my friends and LI as they fought before with me on the earth. Why were in all possible endings the mass effect portals destroyed? Espically the destroying of the mass effect portals was depressing for me, as it stole all hope for a bright ending for me. I want the the saved races have after all that death and losses a bright future with hope. With the to me presented endings I lost hope in the whole Mass Effect series and Bioware.
To bring the ME series to a worthy end I would like to explain my expectations I have in you:
- If possible change the ending with the catalysator/Starchild, as it felt for me not worty to a Bioware and ME ending
- Allow a happy ending, where Shepard can survive and has a future with his LI. It would work my ass of to reach this possible ending. Trust me, I would to everything.
- Bring Epilogues to my squad mates and the races I saved. It feld really depressing that I didn`t learn what happend to my friends and the races I have grown attachted to.
- As mentioned by redraven19 I would also accepted a scene like this "Scene that has shep with Love interest at fallen squadmates graves; or Love interest at Shep's grave. Then skip ahead to what planet they are on. Ex: Rannoch for those who romanced Tali, Palaven for those who romanced Garrus, Etc."
- If you promise closure, bring please a close what brings back the principle of trust and hope. That our decisions matter and you listen to your fanbase.

[Kiauze]

 Fair warning, this will be lengthy. It started out as an attempt at writing a blog post, however it got waay too big for it.  Since we were asked for ideas, I decided to throw this in here, just in case.

Sorry for the narrative style of the text but again, it was meant as a blog post. I felt it would be the best form to not only share ideas, but also feelings on the events of the ending of this fantastic game. Cheers to all and hold the line!  

(I copy&pasted this from LibreOffice, so I already saw that it screwed the formatting..)

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

Like a Citadel citizen
that heard a rumor about a mysterious aggressor know only as a
“Reaper” that had attacked the Batarians and Earth, I also began
hearing rumors about an awful ending to the amazing series of games
know as Mass Effect. I didn't have any details on it, but decided to
ignore it until I got more information on it directly.

And so, I kept turning my
game back on, helping my awesome FemShep (thanks BioWare for all the
tweaking I had to do to import my beloved facecode) to gather some
allies, war assets and finding out the reasons behind Cerberus'
actions. I helped her reunite with allies, I saw her assure seemingly
impossible alliances and bring all of her friends to kick some Reaper
behind out of her beloved blue dot called Earth.

So let's cut the
narrative down to the part that brings me to write these lines: the ending! And by that I mean everything that happens after you
stop the Illusive Man and meet the Child. I will go into details on
the points that really ticked me off about this.

We are greeted to an AI
(at least, from the inferred age, I assume it's an AI and not a VI)
that drops the bomb: it is the creator of the Reapers and calls them
“the solution”. As it explains, “the created will always rebel
against their creators”, meaning that organic life will create
synthetic life that will eventually rebel against them. So, in order
to combat this trend, this Child created the Reapers (a synthetic
lifeform, mind you), to basically cull all advanced space-faring
species every 50 thousand years, incorporate their forms into the
Reapers and allowing other primitive species to advance... until they
reach “maturity” and are harvested again before they can create
synthetic life that... kills them before the Reapers? Wait... what?

Let's analyze this: the AI
starts by stating that the created rebel against the creators. This
is true with us humans and we have a real-life example of this as we
watch teenagers rebel against their parents. It's natural to knock
down barriers established by the previous generation, it's how we
evolve as individuals. Doesn't mean we go off on a killing spree,
though. Its speech clearly indicates that it is the only path it can
conceive, even though it lacks any sort of practical proof that will
happen in every single situation.

As we're talking to an AI,
it's safe to assume that it is speaking out of experience, having
wiped out their own creators. It is entirely possible that they
recognized it as a fault on their behalf and set out to avoid that
from happening again. And yet, their argument and proposed resolution
seems... child-like. At this point, I remember the mission where
you're inside the Consensus with Legion, in which we discover that
the Geth allowed the Quarians to escape, with Legion explaining that
they (the Geth) were in their infancy, so it was impossible for them
to determine the outcomes of performing genocide upon their creators.
Faced with uncertainty, they chose to spare them. What if this AI
didn't take that action and instead wiped their creators out, before
they themselves reached maturity. Imagine being the sole intelligent
being in the galaxy, technologically advanced... but with a child's
maturity. No one to challenge your decision, so you go with what is
logical to you at the moment: in order to avoid others of making the
same mistakes as you did, you cut out their choice all together.

This might've worked out
perfectly and logically for them at first, but this cycle has been
going on for millions of years, so... wouldn't you think that maybe
they had the chance to reevaluate their stance on this? Well, that's
doubtful if there was no one that confronted the Child before...
Shepard is the first organic to face it and all other organics
throughout time only knew of the Reapers and that was *after* they
had already seized control of the Citadel.

Even though the Child's
logic is deeply flawed and it was unable to establish this by itself,
let's go with it for a bit. However, this does bring up a question:
if the AI is the Reapers' creator *and* the Citadel is part of it,
why did Sovereign even need to invade it in order to call in the
Reaper forces that were in dark space, once it was established that
the Keepers weren't being triggered? Couldn't the AI itself do it
when it detected a problem?

The Child then goes on to
explain that the Crucible has presented new opportunities to solve
the conflict, leaving us wondering if the AI could just issue a
killswitch command (which would make really great sense if it did
create them... I mean, following its logic, the Reapers could rebel
against it). There's still the question if the Crucible began with
the Child's creators or if its construction began on a later cycle,
but that is somewhat irrelevant now. We are presented with 3 options:
destroying the Reapers will effectively destroy not just them, but
all synthetic life in the galaxy, Geth included, and probably most
technology, with the added bonus that Shepard will probably also die
due to the resurrection trick performed by Project Lazarus on Mass
Effect 2; taking control of the Reapers will make them obey Shepard,
but killing our beloved hero in the process; jumping onto “the
Lifestream” as I nicknamed it, allowing Shepard's DNA to merge with
the AI's databases (I assume), allowing it to effectively change the
DNA of all living organics and synthetics onto a common framework,
basically forcing an evolutionary leap. We are also told that any one
of these options will destroy all of the Mass Relays throughout the
galaxy.


Let's analyze the choices
for a bit. I believe we all noticed that taking control of the
Reapers has the blue light, indicating it is a Paragon choice, and
destroying them has the red light, indicating the Renegade choice.
Synthesis has a green light, the missing element of the RGB trinity,
to symbolize a new choice, a different path.

In destroying the Reapers,
it makes sense that our final score influences the degree of
destruction the Crucible deals. And that is implied in the
conversation with the Child, your score dictates some of the
side-effects it states. From my point of view, the best score should
allow you to only destroy the Reapers or, in other words, issue that
dang killswitch command I talked about earlier. As your score got
worse, so would the side-effects. And only on the possibly worst
score should the destruction of the Mass Relays be considered. As a
side note, let me state that the destruction of the Geth, if your
score isn't high enough, seems justified *IF* you let them upgrade
themselves with the Reaper code. The killswitch might also affect
them.

In controlling the
Reapers, the best score should allow you to issue some sort of
“fall-back” command, ordering the Reapers to go away for good,
allowing them to migrate to some other galaxy and start their own
lives there. As the final score got worse, the amount of sacrifice
required to perform this would increase, culminating with Shepard's
sacrifice, as we see it now. Speaking of which, at about midpoint
through the game, I started accepting the idea that Shepard's
sacrifice might be inevitable under some conditions. And I would be
fine with it, it would be a hell of a sendoff... but let's not just
kill him/her for the sake of killing the hero. Let's only do it if
actually necessary. We spent over 90 hours of game time building a
better galaxy... our hero should also have the option of living to
see what they worked for.

In synthesis, I can see
how the writers thought it might be the different path, not Paragon
nor Renegade. The problem is how they see the actual issue. The
problem between organics and synthetics isn't about what stuff you're
made of, it's about how the creators fear what they've created, try
to control it and the created rebel to save themselves. The problem
lies within what people think and how they react. Personally, I
would've done this quite differently. Assuming the best score, the
green path would open up but with the following description: since
organics and synthetics are inherently at war with each other, but
since Shepard has experience in how to respect and be respected by
synthetics (in regards to the Geth/Quarian conflict), the Child would
offer for Shepard to sacrifice him/herself in order for his/her
thoughts to be echoed throughout the galaxy, using a sort of modified
indoctrination. And here lies the essence of the green choice, being
the midpoint between a Paragon and Renegade standpoint, not actively
brainwashing people into doing your bidding, but presenting your idea
(ok, forcing it a bit) for everyone to reflect on it (anyone familiar
with the movie Stargate: The Ark of Truth? Same thing with the Ark).


Now, let's talk about the
Mass Relays. Maybe I've been watching too much Science-Fiction, but
when we were introduced to the concept of the Crucible, I figured out
that the only possible way for it to work (in a ME game) would be to
do some sort of advanced area-of-effect thingy. And, following up on
that, the Mass Relays would play some part in it, being that they are
the easiest way to distribute said effect across the galaxy. Again,
if you're familiar with Stargate SG-1, this won't seem different at
all from the way that SG-1 destroyed the replicators at the end of
season 8, by dialing all the Stargates in the galaxy at the same
time, sending through an energy wave that destroyed them (at this
point I feel that I should stress that I'm not pointing fingers at
BioWare, saying that they “stole” the idea; far from it. If they
did get the idea from it, I think it's a beautiful homage).

So, I can back up this
idea of using the Mass Relays, it makes total sense. My issue is with
their destruction. Though I can get behind the idea of them being
destroyed (or heavily damaged, let's not openly contradict one of the
Codex entries in your own game, BioWare!) with a bad score, I see no
reason why they should be damaged at all with the good endings.
Destroying the Mass Relays means that, wherever anyone in the galaxy
is at the moment... that's where they'll stay. It means that galactic
civilization will never be the same again. It means that Shepard
basically rallied every single fleet in the galaxy to their doom.
It's the ME2 suicide mission through the Omega4 relay all over again,
except that you spent over 30 hours getting all the needed support
only to find out you couldn't upgrade your ship and everyone dies.
That's not a bittersweet ending... that's a BAD ending, whichever way
you cut it! Damaging would be ok, since that would require group
efforts to rebuild, but still.

Speaking of which, what
about the Citadel? That's the one thing I can get behind on the
destruction. Even though it is the seat of power in the galaxy, by
the end of ME3 it would be too much “tainted” by everything that
happened. Assuming that they didn't get an early warning of Cerberus
tipping off the Reapers, it would probably mean that every single
soul of the 13.2 million inhabitants would have been killed.
Everyone. Even Kelly, if she was still onboard.


Ok, so I believe I've
ranted enough about what goes on with Shepard and the Child... now
let's talk about what goes on outside.

One thing I simply can't
understand is how little the alliances we conquered throughout the 3
games echo in that final battle. As they jump in, we get the “all
wings report in” standard scene, we get that scene down on Earth
talking to all the allies and seeing how everything came together,
but then... nothing. We know that they are there, but I find it
amazing how BioWare simply left out the characteristic visual
evidence of our choices. In the first game, during the battle of the
Citadel, we had to make choices (like saving the Council or not). In
this one, it's understandable that we didn't have to make choices
but... why not put in the visual evidence of our results? Putting
Turians fighting alongside Krogans, Geth ships protecting a Quarian
one, Rachnii down on Earth fighting their cyborg “brothers”, a
squad from Zhul's Hope performing a demolition action against Reaper
forces, Jack and her “kids” using their biotics... stuff like
that, you know? What we like to call “attention to detail”. It
enriches your game and increases our satisfaction and loyalty towards
you.

I'm not even going into
the joker-running-away part, because I believe it has already been
sufficiently flagged for inaccuracy, from the actual point of him
running away, to how our squad, that supposedly was with us at the
time Harbringer attacked, would actually choose to go back to the
Normandy and run away (assuming they had time for that) over licking
their wounds and running into the beam of light, following Shepard
and Anderson to the Citadel.

I also feel the need to
point out that I believe Mass Effect 3 is absolutely superb. You had
me on the edge of my seat throughout the game, you gave me tears at
some points and it was a fantastic conclusion to the trilogy. The sad
part is that the entire experience is being sullied by a crappy
ending. And make no mistake: as it is, it's a crappy ending. And yes,
it ruins the game experience. It feels rushed, as if you ran out of
budget. To be perfectly blunt, it feels an insult to every gamer that
supported the Mass Effect trilogy. You only have to gain by listening
to the fans and making the necessary changes to give Commander
Shepard's adventure a proper conclusion.

We don't want to see a
“Stargazer” and some kid looking at an alien sky and talking
about “ the Shepard”. We want to see stuff like Garrus chilling
out on a beach with (or without) Shepard. We want to see how Wrex
would raise his family, how Grunt's life is like after the war, how
either Quarians, Geth or both rebuild Rannoch. How Javik lives out
the rest of his days, how Miranda and her sister live in freedom...

Bottom line: we want a
decent conclusion for the characters and galaxy we came to love, not
cookie-cutter endings.

Thank you for your time in reading this.

Modifié par Kiauze, 24 mars 2012 - 12:28 .

[Fruxie]

Just in case people are still reading this, Bioware many of us want more than just clarifications to the confusing endings. We want more, better endings, extended endings. We want to feel like our choices mattered. Some of us are very concerned that you have misheard us.

Please don't just tack on a datapad that says "And here is what you didn't understand. And here's why Joker fled and left you on Earth"

I have already made a contribution to this thread but I want to see a bad ending, an ending with sacrifice and a happy ending. I think giving greatly varying endings will improve the replay value of the game. "I think I want to see this outcome..." etc

I personally think (in some circumstances) that Shepard and the ME universe deserves a lot better than it got. I would love to see all the species returning home to rebuild, and Shepard and his/her love interest.

I look forward to what you are coming up with, I just hope it isn't some after game text. I want to see Shepard win, or lose and the series wrapped up nicely as a result of my actions and choices.

Thank you for your time and efforts in this matter. You have no idea how much it means to some of us that you are trying and I appreciate all your hard word.

[MC_Loki]

I'm relatively late to the party (posted a few pages ago in this thread and I don't have it in me to plow through all 190+ individually), but I present another option for Bioware to consider.

Dear Bioware: Do not do DLC. Press something like a "Hold the Line Alternate Content"game disc that would retail around ~$15-$20 or so, so those without access to the interwebs can partake in the revision. The amount of work needed to really do good by the fans is definitely going to be expensive on the development end to "properly" wrap things up, and going with a disc is going to give you plenty of space to work with. I, for one, would be willing to pay a moderate amount if things were retcon'd properly from the Harbinger blast forward, and despite all of the anti-Bioware bluster going on here on the forums, it's safe to say a majority of us would despite all the talk supporting boycotts.

There is already a disc swap prompt before the final missions on the 360. Copy/paste current content pre-Harbinger blast, then go nuts on revamping. We've all spent countless hours in your universe and want a solid ending that matches your otherwise stellar standards when it comes to game content.

Having skimmed more than a few of the posts in this thread, your fan base has presented more than enough material to get you started. Even if it takes us until the summer or fall to get the ending we all feel the Mass Effect universe deserves, we will wait.

Do not let us down again.

[Newnation]

I really liked everything until you get to the Catalyst but I did wish you got to see more of the ground forces recruited besides asari, krogans, salarians, and turians.

One of my main issues is that when talking to the Catalyst is that after three games of fighting the reapers Shepard really has no argument against them than "You'll never understand." I think if you had the AI create the reapers then they should be twisted in some way. Its killing and destroying countless civilizations to preserve them the way it sees fit. I think if you go in this direction you can have Shepard point out depending on the assests like whether or not the Geth were either wiped out, made peace with the qurians, or wiped out the qurians and joined you against the reapers. Depending on those three decisions Shepard could also point out that Synthetics destroying organics isn't always the case, especially if the Catalyst points out that he/she is the first organic to make it to him.

I'm also not a fan of all the mass relays being destroyed and the Normandy crashing on a planet. Also, why was the Normandy in the middle of a relay jump anyway?

Multiplayer shouldn't also affect the main game to the extent it does now. Some players don't have access to the internet or an xbox live gold account.

I think the ending should actually take its cue from Dragon Age: Origins and Awakening. In those games the endings were dependant on the choices made throughout the games and the epilogue gave you more choices about what your character and his squad would be doing after the game to give you closure. One example could be that if all your key choices were pure renegade in all three games than humanity would dominate the other races after the war and further the mistrust other races have against them.

Also, please give the indoctrination theorists an actual Shepard gets indoctrinated ending so they can stop going on and on about it not being a theory.

Modifié par Newnation, 24 mars 2012 - 12:51 .

[Kazurath]

I'm not sure if any BW reps of any kind are still reading this page, but I'll hold out hope.

To get it out of the way, I start by saying the ending as it is has about one error every 15 seconds according to the game itself as reference (See: FTL codex, Mass Relay codex, in-game physics examples, crew integrity, etc). I won't list them because... hell, you've probably read them a couple hundred times over by now. However, I'm holding my breath that the true end is yet to come. I'll try to believe in you, Bioware, I really will.

That being said, my (PERSONAL) opinions on the following:

The fight for Earth.
It was grand to see what we've seen. The armada we pulled together was awe-inspiring. I rarely get vocal during a game, but when the Mass Relay's familiar arrival warp sound hit a machine-gun tempo I started to hear Two Steps From Hell's "Strength Of A Thousand Men" and cheered for the pixels on my screen. I was ready to get hot-dropped on the front line! However that front line wasn't there really. I was REALLY looking forward to seeing an Elcor squad or two forming a WH40K Basilisk-esque firing line. I was hoping to see a Krogan charge, or at LEAST a true rally- maybe even a battle song- instead of just a passive little speech given by Wrex (in my case) while the troops stood in formation. Where were my mercs, fighting dirty? Where was my Vorcha cannon fodder? I was hoping to see all this in our final push. Instead we were given... some of those GOD-awful Mako tanks to serve as pathetic mobile walls for a few feet. Feh to those tanks I say, FEH! ... ok, that was bias, but you get my drift.

Aside from that, all my other grievances concerning the end can only be handled by a "true ending" DLC.

The game overall.
Loved it. I loved nearly every single minute right up to when the charge gets blasted by Harbinger.
The only moments I didn't love, or actually like that much, was listening to Kai Leng. Seriously, was his script and voice acting done to sound like a taunting ****** you find in most online PvP games? I understand he was meant to be arrogant, but the game catered to him- I ducked behind a pillar in the Asari temple to avoid his fire support and get a clear shot on him, but his shield was scripted to recharge stupidly fast.
This brings me to my only other issue about the game overall: it felt it was narrowly scripted in many parts. The whole opening? Doesn't really matter what I say to Anderson, Ash/Kaiden, or the board, it all pretty much sounded the same. I personally wanted to just say the line "You pompous, incompetent, pathetic fools. I freakin' TOLD YOU SO! " Every conversation with Ashley felt scripted for her to HATE Shepard. After telling her THREE TIMES I wasn't with Cerberus, after being under house arrest for months, after stealing Cerberus' best ship, and after defying TIM, she STILL has the BALLS to point a gun at me on the Citadel?! What The Flying !@#%?! I wanted to shoot her! I play a paragon (with a little renegade on the side) Shepard, and I wanted to put a bullet in her shoulder then her hand, THEN Udina's head. I WANTED to like Ash, I really did, but she was just dumber than a sack of drowned rats.

Javik.
I. Hated. This character. Honestly, if I didn't buy the CE, I wouldn't have bought the DLC. Seriously, ANOTHER warrior-type personality? Because, we don't have any of those. Oh wait... Wrex, Grunt, Zaeed, Vega. Stereotypical imperialistic, stereotypical advanced technological race, and stereotypical advanced evolutionary race mentality. Instead of damn near ANYONE else, we're given someone that's about as clueless as the rest of us. Every time he opens his mouth he's either telling us we're "lesser beings", "going to die", "fools for this-that-n'-other." BORING. I got him, listened to his (sarcasm) oh-so-inspiring (/sarcasm) comments when necessary, and benched him. I didn't even use his rifle.

The side missions felt slapped-together and extremely impersonal. I mean, I didn't even TALK to these people and I did stuff for them. It also got really annoying to hear someone on a personal comm saying "yeah, I wish we (did that thing) to get (MISSION ITEM) out in (ITEM LOCATION)." I got to talk to Amy Wong, I got to talk to Schells, Conrad Verner, etc etc etc for little side missions. On the Citadel, I was the creepy eavesdropper that randomly showed up with things in "docking bay D24." I honestly started to hear "I have red sand, get in the drop ship" after the first wave of side missions.

My final complaint is that the Citadel, like in ME2, felt small. We get 7 areas, one of which was fairly large, but they're only connected by the elevator. While I hate the elevators of ME1 with a passion, the citadel felt SO much larger. I still wish I could take a stroll through the presidium where we were in ME1. I understand it's time consuming to make very large areas, but it just didn't make the Citadel feel right since we were so limited.

This is where my grievances end with the solo player game, I won't even start on how much I hate nearly every aspect of the multiplayer. So, on to what truly stood out for me!

The new look.
I love what was done with the hardware. The "old" Normandy feel, the new Kodiaks, the War room... ok, one last bark- what was with having to go through the TSA screener EVERY time? I'm Commander Shepard, and this is MAH... and Joker's... and EDI's... SHIP! Anyhow, still love how it all looked and felt. Awesome job.

The Armory.
A literal armory. Not just a handful of guns and a bunch of spares, but a well stocked armory for whatever your flavor might be. Want to snipe? Ok, we got fast, medium, slow, and extra-slow for when you just need to make heads vanish in a cloud of mist. Shotguns? Ooooh we got shotguns. ARs? We've got spray-and-pray, chopped down snipers, and would-be boomsticks. The mod system, while better than static, unseen, upgrades, became more of a cosmetic thing for me. Loved it, but it didn't feel like it made enough of a difference combat-wise for me to bother with.

Old Friends.
Dr. Chakwas! I missed her on my first play through, but found her by accident on my second. Why couldn't more squad mates have her attitude about what we did to Cerberus, and what we're trying to do? She was awesome, even though she had so little to say.

Wrex. Loved his reasoning why he didn't have a window like Liara. Great to see him again.

Jack. MOAR! Christ, I wanted MORE of Jack. I really didn't like her in ME2, but the transformation was very well done and she was a lot of fun for the brief time we were with her. I could feel her trust when she barked demands.

Kasumi. Her actions and commentary made me snicker all the while I did her side mission.

Grunt. He beat Ravagers to death with their own cannons and wanted something to munch. I mean... c'mon, that says everything right there.

Mordin. While I don't like the no-win scenario, I was moved by how Mordin went out like a Boss. Helped create a modified genophage, didn't (in my case) kill his way to stopping the cure, helped stop the Collectors, then created a cure to quite possibly save the Krogans and the Turian home world. Earned the respect of a Krogan clan chief and shaman. Like a Boss.

Samara. I mention Samara, even though I thought her section to be extremely short and rather boring for the most part, simply because I loved the first two sections of the monastery. The elevator shaft, and the (what looked like) dining hall. When I first heard those screams in the distance, I'll admit it: I pooped a little. (Though now they just make me groan because of all the kiting I'm about to do)

Modifié par Kazurath, 24 mars 2012 - 01:18 .

[wild04]

I think the game is great and the endings for me are fine. I just felt that it is imcomplete as is. I want to know what happens to the crew. If the salarians were right about the kroggran. So my thought is that shepard blacks out during the scene with anderson looking at earth. You get to know what happened to your teammates will you where running into the beam to the citadel. Etc. Etc. I think Shepard should live, but is handicaped in someway. You find out that the beam got alot of the reapers, but not the ones that stayed behind in dark space. So Shepard can't fight anymore, but the next game is about the new N7 team that Shepard is trainning to be Spectres and sends them on missions and finding clues that the reapers are devastated but not destroyed. You also find a reaper where they harvested everyone from earth and made a complete human reaper.

Please feel free to comment and expand on the idea. Again give some closure, and this idea is a good setup to continue the series on a good path. Shepard is around, but more like adrimal heckett.

I could go on, but want to know someone is actually listening to my comments and ideas.

Modifié par wild04, 25 mars 2012 - 08:47 .

[Graham Mikel Doudy]

You should start it off with the indoctrination theory, this way the ending will be free of the plot holes that so many fans including me are upset about. Then continue the story back at the conduit site where you get up again to try and reach the citadel, but you're woken up by your squad who also survived the blast.

As you slowly make your way to the beam you're being attacked from all sides by husks and etc. while your squad tries to hold them off. You're saved by countless alien races like rachni, krogan, and asari giving more meaning for the war assets. THEN a husk is just about to kill you when some of your squadmates from ME2 arrive to give you help. In this moment you see all of them working together and you're left with a sense of complete excitement. Unfortunately, Harbinger begins firing on once again.

Your squad begins calling for air support, but Hackett is unable to spare anyone, but then Joker begins to head towards earth. Joker uses the thanix cannon from ME2 to distract Harbinger and then there's an awesome cutscene between Joker and the Harbinger.

Joker's amazing skills at flight prove invaliable, he flies between the legs of the Reaper and manages to get some hits in too. Sadly, Harbinger proves to be too strong and gets one solid strike on the Normandy. As a result, chaos has ensued on the ship while it free falls from orbit to the earth. Joker then tells everyone to abandon ship and he begins to divert all power to the engines, but then EDI calls Joker on the comm channel.

Joker explains to EDI that there's only one option left to stop Harbinger, but EDI doesn't want Joker to sacrifice himself. Instead, she takes control of the ship abandoning her body on Earth and doing whatever possible to get the ship to work. Joker and EDI argue, but EDI doesn't want Joker to die if there's a way for him to survive. Joker sadly agrees and takes the last escape pod. Meanwhile, EDI realizes the only way to reach Harbinger is with a Mass Effect Jump, which will complete destroy the Normandy, but also Harbinger. In this moment you see that EDI is now much more than a machine like with Legion and the Normandy vanishes and is immediately follow with a gaping hole in Harbinger.

Harbinger explodes and crashes into the Earth. Meanwhile, you've finally reached the beam, but most of the support you got was destroyed including some of you ME2 buddies being killed. you grab a pistol and one of your squad mates tosses you a thermal clip and tell you that "this is as far as we go." You try and argue, but they convince you because they need to make sure no one else reaches through the beam and kills you. You enter the beam and the next few cutscenes show your two squad mates effortlessly fighting off waves of Reaper enemies along with Jack, Jacob, Samara, Zaeed, etc. They eventually begin to be overwhelmed, but then Wrex and Grunt come charging in with dozens of Krogan to help fight them off. Your Love Interest has no idea that a husk is behind them and then Anderson shoots it in the head with his pistol. He stagger to the ground and asks, "Where's Shepard?"

Back on the Citadel, the Conduit fires and you're thrown into the water. You swim to the railing and look up at it beginning to see the previous tricks by harbinger. Back on the ground the eyes of Harbinger activate for a brief moment and suddenly you collapse while in the elevator (This is a second attempt of Harbinger trying to control you, but he shuts down again). You eventually get back up and reach the citadel control panel. You let out a breath of exhaustion, but the Illusive Man shoots you in the back and you fall while he begins to activate the citadel and take control of the Crucible. You regain consciousness and slowly crawl to your pistol, you grab it with your last reach, but the Illusive Man stomps on your hand then aims at your head to fire. He says, "Goodbye Shepard..." - BAM! But it isn't the illusive man, it was Garrus on the far side of the Council Chambers using a sniper rifle. You then take you chance and tackle the Illusive Man back and after a small struggle you fire once in his head. You think it's almost over, but there's still one last challenge.

Harbinger comes back to life and this times goes all out trying to take control of your mind. Your squad and Anderson rush to help you, but they don't understand the gravity of the situation. You unwillingly turn and shoot Anderson and he falls giving a gasp of breath. Then the Harbinger is outraged, "Shepard! How can you still resist?! How have you been able to see through what all others would accept?!" Shepard replies, "Because of an idea! And that idea can never be taken or destoryed no matter how many reapers you throw at me!"

"Very well..." replies Harbinger.

You again unwillingly begin to move while aiming your pistol at you love interest, the Harbinger code locks the citadel with you so you're no the only one that can activate the arms. Then he begins to forces you to raise your pistol to your head. "Even now Shepard, you try to resist what ultimately inevitable, you. will. DIE!"

"No!!!" cries you love interest

You then tilt your head back dodging the round and then you waiste the rest of the ammo and throw the gun to the wall shattering it. Harbinger finally dies with his last efforts proving to be pointless because he couldn't break your will. Knowing how the Harbinger locked the citadel you again take control of the arms and the Crucible alligns with the Citadel. You limp over towards Anderson with your squad looking over and he says "You did good son, I'm proud of you..." (Just like in the original sequence) and as he dies you shake him screaming "Anderson I'm Sorry! Anderson? Anderson!"

The citadel begins to make odd echoing noises and then it starts to fall apart. Garrus asks Hackett whats happening.

Hackett replies, "The Crucible seems to be taking too much power...you need to get out of there now!"

Garrus asks, "how much time do we have?"

Hackett answers, "Minutes at best...now get out of there now!"

Shepard tries to bring Anderson with him, but your squad tells you he's gone we have to go.

Garrus then uses the radio, "I need a shuttle at the presidium!"

Joker replies, "I'm here Garrus!"

You all rush to the shuttle while the Citadel begins collapse, you reach the shuttle and fly past falling walls and levels of the citadel. The Citadel then doesn't give off a blue light, a red light, or a green one, but instead a white light showing that Shepard made his own decision. The Citadel finally fires destroying the Reapers and then is sent through the Relays like before, but doesn't destroy them and the Reapers throughout the Galaxy are wiped out.

Finally, You have a Shepard narrative as he and the surviving crew and friends attend the funeral/memorial of those that gave everything they had to bring hope: Mordin, Thane, Anderson, Kaidan, and the list will go one. You then see images of the quarians and the geth restoring Rannoch, the Turians and Krogan shaking hands, the Rachni finally being accepted to society instead of casted out...they help rebuild. Then you see your squadmates.

Garrus and Tali are together on Rannoch, James is finally made an N7 soldier by Shepard, Liara is seen on the citadel finally finding peace and stability perhaps with a love interest of sorts like James idk, Joker is seen barrying EDI's "corpse" with a look of loss in his eyes, but also of gratitude towards EDI because SHE gave him something more to live for.

Finally, It's just you and your love interest (In my case Ashley) and as you hold eachother you then both look out towards the Horizon and you realize that it's all finished. But what is the end of one thing is the beginning of another and now Shepard will be able to settles down and explore a future bright with hope and possibilities. The screen finally fades out....

THE END

This is just my idea as to how it should end, but what I would take from it is including Harbinger more and making the last three choices from the previous games as just test of you will power.

I hope you read this and take this seriously and I'm a greatful fan that you're considering of views now even though it may have been a little late....we all make mistakes eventually.

Modifié par Graham Mikel Doudy, 24 mars 2012 - 01:38 .

[Flytricks]

Really all I wanted was an ending where I understood my options at the end. Maybe star child threw me for such a loop that I didn't pay close enough attention to my options and which light represented which option. Therefore it felt rushed and I assumed (yes I said ass-u-me-d) the developers released an unfinished ending due too lack of time before release or going over budget costs. (which is known to be a common problem in the industry.) Hence releasing an unfinished product. But Bioware insists it was an artistic choice. After thinking about this and listening to GI's thoughts on the whole fiasco ( imo the only major game reviewer who at least tried to look at it from both sides) I can see it being an artistic endeavor. Sloppy story telling yes but it is art and as such should not be changed unless by the ones who wrote it if they so choose. Almost all great art is flawed in some way. A few examples are the Mona Lisa and her big nose, the Venus having no arms, or David and his little peepee. I wonder if those artists intentionally made these flaws or if becouse they were great artists and great art has flaws it just happened that way. Now not everyone perceives the games ending as flawed and not everyone perceives Mona Lisa's nose as too big. What I'm trying to say here people is if their intentions truly were to create a piece of art rather than an epic story (which we can all agree it is) with a mediocre rushed and incomplete ending (up for debate) than it would be unethical, immoral, and a disservice to our generation to not only ask them to change it but to tell them how to write it.

Now this may seem sarcastic to some or make sense to others. It may even be passed up and never read by anyone. That being said this is the truth...
IF THE ENDING TO THIS EPIC TRILOGY IS CREATED BY ANYONE OTHER THAN THE ONE'S WHO WROTE THE STORY IT WOULD BE IMMORAL UNETHICAL AND A GREAT DISSERVICE TO ALL GAMERS/WRITERS EVERYWHERE.

That being said I would very much like to see a patch or dlc that would allow the player to change their facial features from the normandys med bay. Mona Lisa's nose might look good on Mona Lisa but not on my Shepard and I really don't want to do all those citadel quests over. Ashley won't stop staring and jokers got that look like he wants to crack wise but he knows he'd better not.

[Fubarman]

I just want my choices to show. My war assets and my crew. Have them do something.

[GeniousG]

As many already described
i want the perfect ending to be so that shepard and his or her love interest will survive.
(in my case i wanna have blue little kids as well)
some endings to all surviving characters: for exampe - wrex with his people having kids - looking into a good future on their planet (if genophage is cured,...)
garrus being the new leadter of the turians etc....

so please give me an endinig where shepard can stay with his/her loveinterest
--> id usually be open to bad endings - but mass effect is going on for so long (meaning in days of gameplay) where you want to have the perfect hollywood everythings good ending!

best regards

[pharsti]

Another suggestion, acually more of a request, would it be possible to insert the real scenes as flashbacks?

Its awkward to only see Liara and Kaidan when my love interests were Tali and Garrus

[Graham Mikel Doudy]

Modifié par Graham Mikel Doudy, 24 mars 2012 - 01:40 .

[DragonWyrd]

While I know I posted earlier, I thought I’d give it a second shot mainly because I realize I might not have come off too well initially.  My intention is not to insult the people who worked on this game because it’s notable how much blood, sweat, and tears went into this game.  For the most part, Mass Effect 3 is beautiful - tugging and twisting at our emotions and making us feel even more invested in the characters and their stories.  I can’t even count how many times I cried while playing it.

With that said, there are some issues that make my experience a bit less than ideal.

First off, it seems as though the ball was dropped a bit when it came to the romances from a good number of the Mass Effect 2 crew.  It’s very noticeable that a lot of time was spent when it came to Liara, Kaidan, and Ashley, as well as two of the 2nd game’s love interests who also had been in the first game - Garrus and Tali.  I understand that many people looked through the art on deviantArt to see where the wind blew as far as the so called ‘popular’ characters, but they were all popular. 

Joker has an enormous fan base.  While I like that the writers have ‘humanized’ EDI more, I don’t see how he would go from considering her to be like a mother, finding her explanation of their relationship to be a symbiotic one creepy, to wanting to romance her as soon as she has a body that would be more appropriate in the videos and stills that he filled up a few zettabytes of space with.  Many of us would have loved to have seen him as a romance option because he’s always been there for Shepard.  I can easily see them working through his guilt over believing he caused Shepard’s death and working toward something deep and meaningful.  I mean heck, a
picture that a good friend of mine drew for me for a fanfic that I write made Judge’s Favorite during the SDCC - it was of my Kara Shepard and Joker sharing a kiss.

Thane - how do I put this into words?  Many of us felt deprived of any true time between him and Shepard if we romanced him in Mass Effect 2.  As Aislinn Trista said in an earlier post, would it have taken much more time to allow him on the Normandy for some time alone with Shepard, allow them a few deep conversations, instead of a hot make-out session in public in a hospital lobby?  With someone as honorable as Thane is, assassin or not, that just seems out of character for him to do something like that.  So much more could have been done with him,
especially with the fact that he was basically the Mass Effect 2 poster boy.

Poor James Vega.  All he gets to do is flirt with Shepard but he never gets to go any further.  More should have been done with him.  He’s ending up with as large of a fan base as the more popular love interests.

Secondly, the endings, while they didn’t upset me as much as they did many others, were just way too similar no matter what decision you made to control, synthesize, destroy, or the decisions you made up to that point.  While having an ending that makes us think and wonder isn’t a bad idea, the way this was handled left us with more questions than answers and gave us no closure.  Do I have any suggestions on how to fix it?  No, other than asking that you please answer the questions that left us scratching our heads (such as how our party members ended up on the Normandy when they had been with our Shepard on Earth, whether Earth is still there after we make our decision, how the destruction of the Mass Relays in any of the choices didn’t end up destroying the majority of the Milky Way, was that entire scene after Harbinger’s attack a dream sequence or not, will our Shepard ever have a happy ending of a sort, etc.).

Thirdly - please don’t make Multiplayer mandatory to get the best end result.  That’s basically how things worked out.  If you want a better EMS you have to play multiplayer, purchase Mass Effect Infiltrator, or download the Mass Effect 3 Datapad.  For people who don’t have the necessary platforms for the applications, or who are not interested in the multiplayer aspect of the game, being stuck at 50% readiness really hurts the game play.  If anything, have it so that by doing multiplayer or having the applications, you can be rewarded with upgrades or extra war assets, but please change it so that people don’t feel obligated to participate in a part of the game that they might not otherwise be interested in just so they can increase their readiness percentage rating.

Lastly, for the moment - what happened to Shockwave?  I was so excited to import my adept into ME3 because that is one of my favorite skills just to find that it really doesn’t do anything anymore.  It looks impressive (love the graphics for it) but even when fully leveled up (including the option to add the lift to it), very rarely does it seem to make a difference.  More often than not I can send a shockwave toward a hostile NPC and it barely even stumbles or slows down.  Add the lift ability to it and maybe 1 out of 7 NPC’s actually end up being lifted into the air.  I miss it being able to do actual damage - watching husks flying this way and that is a great example.  If you have a Shepard running around with L5 implants, they should be able to do a lot more damage with that skill than what
they’re currently doing.

Again, the entire series is just wonderful.  I’d just like to see a few things tweaked here and there to make this last game in the trilogy even more epic than it is.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

(Edited thanks to my post borking when doing a copy/paste from my word processing document.  Computer, y u hate me so?!)

Modifié par CeltWolf79, 24 mars 2012 - 01:48 .

[alx119]

Hello BioWare, I'd like to give a little suggestion regarding the kid and the dream sequences, it's not actually mine but from a user called Lumenadducere:

"Maybe having the very first dream be about the kid and then the subject changing to other squadmates that we'd lost would have been better. The constant use of the kid was more aggravating than anything else."


I really really like this idea. It preserves the integrity of the kid, but it offers the possibility that the next dreams have your friends in them instead of the kid, and thus making the whole dream scene flow better.

The whole thread is full of people who did -not- like the kid as a whole (not only because of the ending, I must point out), take a read here: http://social.biowar...ndex/10487213/6

[The Mercenary55]

 I hope this gets noticed by a member of the bioware team. I have been following the media and threads about the ending for over a  week, I find myself checking everyday to see if you(bioware) have any updates on the ending. I want to start off by saying that I was greatly impressed and pleased with Mass Effect 3 overall. I've replayed through mass effect 1 and 2 and find myself very emotionally invested in this breathtaking universe you have created. Throughout the trilogy they've only gotten better and Mass Effect 3 is hands down the best RPG i've played. There were moments where I was in awe like the reapers moving through the city in the beginning, seeing palaven burning from its moon and seeing Grunt walk out of the tunnels covered in blood, to moments where I was saddened to the point where I was alomst in tears like mordin humming his song as he cures the genophage, participating in a prayer with thanes son and speaking to ashley while shes unconcious, to moments where I felt inspired and hopeful seeing the geth and quarians aid each other and seeing the fleets that I had banded together arrive through the Charon relay. You have created a game that has stirred emotions in me that other games could come nowhere close to. So for that you will always have my thanks.

As I said I thought  the game overall was incredible until the point where you awake from being hit by the laser and travel up the beam to the citadel. In my honest opinion it starts to get strange from there and its from here where I disagree with the ending. I kinda understood the scene with andreson, the illusive man and shepard. I thought when anderson and shepard look out at earth and talk was very moving. Then you get taken up this elevetor and I quickly started to think "what?" I quickly thought why does this projection look like the child from shepards dreams/nightmares. He tells you he created  the reapers to control chaos and presents you with three choices. This then quickly brought questions to mind like "Why cant i disagree with the kid?" or "Explain the cooperation between the geth and quarians contradicts his logic?" or " Why cant I question him if there was any other option?" Anyway I chose the destroy ending and was left unsatisfied, confused, kinda depressed and felt terrible for having destroyed the galaxies form of communication and transportation effectively cutting everyone off from each other. I thought about the ending for days but couldn't get my head round it. As the credits were rolling I found myself wishing I could have tried to fight the reapers conventionally rather than destroying the mass relays, I hated having to destroy the relays. Things i was confused about were the shepard we've created wouldnt accept this projections solutions, I felt it goes against everything the character stands for. Why doesnt Harbinger have a bigger role? Why does using the crucible blow up the relays? I thought the destruction of a relay led to the destruction of its system. Now that the mass relays are gone what does this mean for  the galaxy?  Why would Joker, a loyal and commited member of your crew be fleeing the fight and how did he manage to make it to the mass relay before you made your decision? And how did the squad I chose for the fight get to the normandy? Did characters I have grown to love and care about abandon me and  the mission? Whats this planet we see the normandy crash on? What happened to my squad and crew? What happened to the fleets I collected? Were they all destroyed or did some survive? As you can see the ending/s sparked alot more questions than answers unfortunately.

I must admit I had a lingering suspicion that shepard might not be making it out of this one and I was ready to except that but I was hopeful if I made the right choices or gained enough war assets or gained the right allegiances that the odds of survival would improve. To this end I was both surprised and deeply disappointed when i replayed the ending choosing the other two options and finding them far to similar. Another issue I had was there wasn't one ending where shepard lives. I know its said heros cant survive through these kind of situations but through this trilogy we have defied odds and overcome the impossible, if any hero has the potential to survive its shepard! I also couldn't believe that no matter how many decisions i had made throught this amazing trilogy that when it came to going up that beam, none of it mattered. It destroys the replay value having a pre-determined ending. My choices throughout all three games didnt influence the final moments in the slightest. I was expecting an ending where the decisions and choices I made in this fantastic trilogy whether those choices be good or bad would have an impact in the end. That impact could range from whether overall I succeeded or failed, whether i lived or died, which squadmates would live or die if any, how the normandy would perform in the final conflict, major outcomes like that i expected in the ending.That was a hard hit for me to take and probably the most important problem with the ending in my opinion, that my choices didnt matter.

While the ending you chose to run with i'll admit was very sad and emotional, I feel it wasn't the ending that this trilogy deserves, in areas it felt rushed which upsets me because you've proven in your previous games both mass effect and others, that you are more than capable of not just pleasing the fans but sending this spectacular trilogy that has touched the hearts, minds and imaginations of countless fans off wiith the bang it deserves.

Suggestions for change (preferred options at top):
-Creating two or three more endings where player choices have an impact on the outcome to increase replability
-Maybe one ending where shepard lives, even if you have to put in more effort for it
-Even if not intented, pick up the indoctrination theory and run with it, from where shepard takes a breath, provides excellant grounds for an expansion  without changing the current ending
-Closure, explain what happens to your crew, the galaxy, earth, the fleets etc...

A little longer than I planned but I hope it provides some useful feedback to what some fans may want to see. I hope this finds its way to a member of the bioware team. Btw I would gladly pay for an ending or endings where my choices through the games have an impact on the outcome and if shepard has the possibility to live would be a bonus. Or at the very least for some closure.

On any note thanks for creating an otherwise spectacular game and trilogy that managed to pull on my heart strings more times than I can count. I hope this isn't the end of the mass effect universe.

[MrAtomica]

alx119 wrote...

Hello BioWare, I'd like to give a little suggestion regarding the kid and the dream sequences, it's not actually mine but from a user called Lumenadducere:

"Maybe having the very first dream be about the kid and then the subject changing to other squadmates that we'd lost would have been better. The constant use of the kid was more aggravating than anything else."


I really really like this idea. It preserves the integrity of the kid, but it offers the possibility that the next dreams have your friends in them instead of the kid, and thus making the whole dream scene flow better.

The whole thread is full of people who did -not- like the kid as a whole (not only because of the ending, I must point out), take a read here: http://social.biowar...ndex/10487213/6

Kudos to you both for bringing this up, it's a great idea! Not only would it solve the issue of the kid being more annoying than powerful as a storytelling device, it would actually make the choices even deeper. Perhaps have the chosen image depend upon which path you are moving towards, or which option you are considering. Depending upon whether you are able to defy the Catalyst or not, he could even take on the appearance of your LI in an attempt to appeal to your loyalty to them.

It's not really an original idea, from a fictional standpoint, but it's overused because it WORKS. Take what we care about most, and use it against us.

The only issue I can see with this is the overarching problem with some of the decisions in Mass Effect 3; new characters, those introduced within the framework of this particular narrative, are less alienating toward new fans. This is why Vega was created, why Allers exists, and why a large portion of the characters we grew close to in the other games were cameo'd. I'm not saying that Vega is a bad character, he's not, but that IS his purpose (don't get me started on Allers, for your sake). The Starchild's existence is much the same.

But that's no reason why this couldn't still work. Have the child's model be used for non-imported Shepards, and change the Catalyst to use recurring characters if the Shepard is imported. Problem solved.

Modifié par MrAtomica, 24 mars 2012 - 02:00 .

[fafnir magnus]

Well hi there moderator .

If you'd like my honest, uncut, 100% honest opinion of what must be done to the end of Mass Effect 3 to make it stand up as the best in the series, then be prepared; I'm fairly unreasonable.

The entire earth sequence needs a serious rework in order to properly provide full representation of all major war assets acquired throughout the game, including some form of impact on the ground-side gameplay scenarios. In the current state-of-play, all war assets are inconsequential, and thus side missions are simply there to be side missions. Unfortunately, without the war assets, the side missions throughout the game are not of suitable quality to merit bothering with doing them, as everything comes down to how people will help your final push.

As far as the actual catalyst/crucible sequence goes, you've had your ears talked off about it. I'd just like to point out that if you had handled the war assets with more care people might not have taken the catalyst portion as hard.

[Cross429]

Please, please,

If you haven't already (which is moderately unlikely, but was perhaps abandoned): at least consider the Indoctrination ending for the current set. What a revolution in the aristry of games! Look at all of us: Indoctrinated!

Consider adding on to the current game not only the impact of the decision taken under Indoctrination (i.e. who Shepard becomes....in the worst case maybe torn by the "TLC representation" and having his perceptions shaped throughout the DLC finale), but also the REAL impacts of all the War Assets and decisions (character- and plot-based) throughout the series). I don't care if this thing's 5 minutes long: spend it resolving Shepard's Indoctrination and giving a complete ending to each potential character (a sum total of all the decisions and interactions).

You could make gaming history with this. The controversy is just advertising if you do it right.

[Seracen]

Someone did an amazing job of tweaking the story and resolving the plot in a satisfying way. The changes are subtle, yet poignant...

http://arkis.deviant...set=20#comments

Basically, here are the bullet points...

1) calling out the god-child on the flawed logic in dialogue options

2) choosing "refuse" and allowing war assets to be used up

3) readiness rating and various choices determining whether you break the Reapers or not

4) Shepard watches it all unfold.

Additionally, I think it'd be cool to use the Crucible as a focal point for disrupting the Reaper signal (as Illusive Man tried to do at Sanctuary)... not for control, just for allowing the fleet to acheive victory. This is similar, thematically, to using Maelon's data to cure the genophage (life saving knowledge through ill-gotten means). It also redeems and validates all of Cerberus' inclusion in the story, besides just "we became what we beheld." I like the idea of Cerberus actually unwittingly contributing to saving the galaxy and/or Shepard (again).

[Luzarius]

Two Thoughts

1. What happened to the normandy? Taking damage? The jungle planet? What is going on?
2. How did shepard get back down to the rubble on earth to take that breathe?

Other than that I was highly entertained and loved every second. By the time the credits were over I thought it would of been nice to have an epilogue that talked about all the other characters or what the after math was like when the mass relays were destroyed (something like the end of DAO).

Conclusion?

A little bit more explanation & closure would of been perfect, no need to change anything. Just need more info please.

Luzarius
www.twitch.tv/luzarius
"no death ruleset"

Modifié par Luzarius, 24 mars 2012 - 02:28 .