7052 réponses à ce sujet

[V431]

This other thread nicely sums up the changes that fans would like: http://social.biowar...ndex/10528782/1.  It’s well worth a read.  My personal preference would be the Indoctrination Theory, since it would work exceptionally well.  I still hope that the Indoctrination Theory was Bioware’s intent and that this whole ending fiasco is just a PR stunt that backfired.

A lot of people would also like to see a final boss battle, a final showdown with Harbinger, so here is my idea.  A while back, one of the developers mentioned that the Reapers’ cuttlefish appearance is just an outer shell.  Each Reaper’s core is made in the image of the species from which it was created.  Since then, I was expecting that at some point Shepard would need to kill a Reaper from the inside, but so far, we have only seen the human Reaper.If the Indoctrination Theory is correct (or if Bioware decides to make it correct), then Shepard is still in London.  If he resists indoctrination and gets to the beam, he should meet up with Captain Bailey and fight to the control room to open the arms.  Then we could see that all our work on the Citadel mattered, since we could see civilians and C-Sec fighting Reaper forces.  Once we get to the control room, Shepard opens the arms, and the Crucible is moved into position.

Meanwhile, Harbinger is heading to the Citadel to stop the Crucible (or perhaps to turn it to the Reapers’ advantage, which would be an interesting twist).  Shield (Hackett’s Shield, not Maurader Shields) tries to stop Harbinger.  If your EMS is too low, then Harbinger isn’t damaged, and the Reapers win.  If your EMS is sufficient, Shield cripples Harbinger’s outer shell as it latches onto the Citadel’s central tower and closes the arms.  Perhaps your EMS could also affect the difficulty of the final battle, rather than being just sufficient or insufficient.

Though Harbinger’s shell is crippled, Harbinger itself is still working on taking control of the Crucible.  Shepard and his squad run up the tower and enter Harbinger through a rift in the hull.  They battle hoards of Reaper troops to get to the core, where they have their final showdown with Harbinger.

Giving us this kind of boss battle would hearken back to the ending battles of ME1 and ME2.  I loved running up the outside of the Citadel tower in ME1, and it would be great to have another fight in a vacuum.  It would also allow us to see the form of the aliens who presumably created the Reapers, since Harbinger seems to be the oldest Reaper.

Modifié par V431, 26 mars 2012 - 02:26 .

[TheMadLieut]

first of all sorry for my non-perfect english, it's not my prymary language as you can se...i hope this won't make any problem to understand what i'm gonna writing...

Here's my version of the endings, to me there is no need to cut all the citadel part or make a brand new ending...what we really need is an ending that make sense...so, here we go:

citadel's part:

let's starting to say that shepard has really reached the citadel, let's pick a little part of the indoctrinaction theory, shep make his way to the control room, but anderson and TIM are not really there, it's all in shep's mind, there is no need to modify anithing here, it's perfect, even the god/child part is ok...except for a little, but basic change, after shepard made his choice we'll see the eyes of the chidls starting to glow yellow, like all the indoctrinated peoples we've found in all the games, and he'll say 3 different things (depending on the choice) with the harbinger voice

now the cinematic begins, but without the relay's destruction or the normandy part...

and here's what we're gonna add instead of those 2:


before start let me tell that there will be 2 different cutscenes, 1 in for the devastated earth cases, and 1 for the non-devastated earth, let's begin

option 1 (devastated earth)

we can see the earth from a window...we're inside an alliance cruiser...we can see hacket's back (he's looking the earth), a marine is coming in his room, while they're start to talk we're going back to earth, some alliance transports are deployng paramedics  and help, they're looking for suvivors, none is alive...the normandy land on earth too, joker make his way to search the normandy's crew (edi in particular of course ) he'll see that they're all dead (this doesn't need to be specific....he can see ashley/kaidan helmet boken, few things like this...) he then find edi's body, in the synthesis/control endings he will run to hug her's body, in the destruction case he will doing something else (standing there sad, or still looking for shepard...), meanwhile some paramedics will find anderson's body, he's dead by the conduit entrance, he never reached the citadel

while we're seeing all these things we heard hackett and the marine talking:

hackett ask the marine if there are survivors

the marine say no

hackett then ask about anderson

the marine will tell him that his body has been found nearby the conduit

then hackett ask about shepard

the marine will tell him that they didn't found it yet

hackett then understand it was shepard whomade the reapers leave/destroyed them, then he'll say something about him, he was a hero, he saved them all...etc..


option 2 (earth is ok)

there will be the same scene with hackett and the marine, and always the transports and the normandy landing on earth, but in this case they will find a lot of  survivors, joker will look for the crew and he'll find them, all alive, maybe a couple of them injured but alive, he will go to hug EDI standing there with the crew (control/synthesis endings) or he will go hug her dead body (destruction case) and one of the crew will try to cheer him up a bit, anderson is injured but still alive, he will say something like "shaprd made it" before collapse

hackett/marine dialogue:

hackett ask for survivors

the marine tell him a number or a percentual (maybe we can base it on the war asset?)

hacket ask about anderson

the marine will tell him that he is alive, they found him nearby the conduit and what he said before collapse

hackett will then ask about shepard

the marine will tell him...

option A (control and synthesis)

shepard is Missing in action, they connect what happend on the citadel and what anderson's said and they will understand that shepard was on the citadel during the explosion, then hackett will say some good words about him...meanwhile on earth we'll see all normandy's crew looking the sky...there are no reapers, but there are lot of spaceships, of all the kinds and races, it's a new dawn for the earth and for all the species

*one particular scene that there will be only in the case that shepard had a romance:

the romance will cry thinking about shepard is dead, a couple of team member will go cheer her/him up will looking the dawn


option B (destruction with enough War assest to save shepard)

shepard is missing in action, the scene is the same...then it's pitch black...we heard someone breathing, then a little light and someone screaming "i've found one alive here!" we're getting more light until we can see the n7 symbol, it's shepard!, while the romance heard the scream he/she fell something and will run for that place hoping it's shepard, now we'll see with shepard's eye...with a blur effect we'll se the romance's face happily crying, now back with large camera take, the romance an one of the crew (maybe a random one from the last mission) will help shepard to stand up, the romance will lifts shepard's arm around his/ner neck, and they will look into the sun with all the crew nearby




what this ending(s) solve:

• anderon will not teleport himself into the control room...he just never reach that...
  
• we'll understand the god/child is the harbinger, the cycle thing is cool, but we don't really need to know who made the reapers...it can remain a mistery to me...
  
• the portals aren't gonna be destroyed
  
• the normandy's last scene gonne be cutted...it's prettry nonsense think that all the crew gonna die alone in a remote planet without nothing to eat and it's even more creepy that the romance smile just after losing shepard forever...

and let me add a last note about the destruction ending...i have no problem with EDI and geth's deaths...they have part of reaper's code in their programs, so it seems legit to kill them along the reapers, what i did not like its to destroy ALL the technology, this mean that all the aliens are stucked on earth and all the spaceships will fall on the earth...to me it's better if only the reapers, edi and the geth gonna be destroyed...

[ThomanCoston]

I am thinking that the child AI is actually harbinger. When Shepard opened the citadel arms. harbinger must have realized that one or more organics have reached the beam and have entered and compromised the citadel aka the catalyst. Shepard passing out gave Harbinger the chance to create that holo child AI based on his scan on Shepard's memory about that child on earth and pretended to be the catalyst.

Shepard in the citadel, the crucible has been connected to the citadel, the reapers have lost unless it can trick Shepard into not destroying the reapers. Control and Synthesis options sounded good, especially synthesis. A huge evolution leap for everyone..a tempting offer that is too good to be true.

The destroy options sounded to be the worse to me, the child AI that claimed to be the catalyst threatened Shepard , if he/she destroys the reapers then he/she will also commit genocide on all synthetics including geth and of course also murdering EDI. A bit suspicious when I think about it, the only option where the reapers die, is threatened to be also a genocide on geth. It could very well be harbinger lying, to stop Shepard from choosing destroy...

Would be an interesting ending, if after destroy option, Shepard wakes up in the rubble and saw the crucible activated but needs time to charge before firing. In mean time harbinger makes one last desperate attack -> final boss fight -> proper closure. No turned chicken normandy running away with 2 random squad mates, silly crash non sense.

Modifié par ThomanCoston, 26 mars 2012 - 02:49 .

[lordmorbus]

 I think Bioware should of gave shep a apartment on the presidium commons...maybe by the alliance or the council. One with a hot tub... lol "shep in a lot of stress you know"

That way kelly or thane etc could of had private time somewhere nice
I mean Kelly! in some metal box surrounded by sick people, some maybe dieing and we are going to go at it next to them!?!? eww
I think that would fix some of LI problems. Hell even have the ones that never come to the ship move in.

[GayShep]

Dear Bioware,

First of all I want to say THANK YOU for possibly the greatest gaming experience of my life. I joined the Mass Effect universe with the release of ME2 on PS3, and up until ME3 (which I’ve played through twice now), no other game had ever made me feel so involved with a fictional world, so passionate about the fate of its characters and so accountable for the choices I’ve made along the journey. Heavy Rain, Uncharted and Metal Gear Solid all came close on one or two of those, but you guys nailed them all. And in my opinion, ME3 obliterated ME2 in practically every way.

Picking just one favourite moment is tough, but

- Mordin’s humming as he sacrificed himself
- Shepard and Kolyat’s prayer by Thane’s deathbed
- Legion’s sacrifice
- The view of Reapers tearing through the Turians at the moon while Palaven burns
- The dream sequences where characters who died because of me whisper to me
- The whole assault on the Illusive Man’s base
- The galactic armada attacking the Reapers at Earth

… were a few of the ones that really got under my skin for one reason or another. Just incredible.

I also have to give you huge credit for something else. I’m a gay man, and up until ME3 I’ve never, ever played a videogame where I can save the day with a boyfriend (Kaidan) by my side. I’ve been a massive gamer for 20 years, and with the exception of maybe a couple of bisexual side characters or villains there’s been NOTHING! Not only did you make the Mass Effect adventure MY adventure through choice and consequence and more intricate conversation trees than I dare think about (seriously, how the hell did you do it??), but you also made it a story that I for the first time could actually relate to for real (albeit a story with Turians, Protheans and Reapers). I want to genuinely thank you for that. The only thing that could possibly have made that part of the experience better would be for you to release a patch that lets me romance Kaidan all the way back in ME1 (in my case a dialogue option in the interactive comic) so I can build that relationship throughout the trilogy.

About the ENDING:

I wasn’t a big fan. Like countless others in this thread, I would’ve liked to see options where, based on my Galactic Readiness/EMS, my Shepard and my squad lives or dies. Had I made a crappy job in uniting the galactic races and sending resources to the Crucible, I think the Reapers should totally win.

My suggestion:

Very Low EMS:
Galactic forces not enough to even deliver the Crucible. The Reapers destroy the weapon before it can dock with the Citadel, Shepard dies, the crew dies, Earth is destroyed and the galaxy too. Before dying, Shepard faces a hologram of Harbinger declaring that ‘you have failed’. Liara’s memory shard is found and played by a foreign race in the epilogue.

Low/Medium EMS:
The Crucible fires, but lack of preparation and calculations makes the blast take out the entire Sol system. The explosion is forwarded through the Mass Relay network, effectively killing most systems in the galaxy. The Reapers are destroyed and the cycle broken, but everyone dies. Liara’s memory shard is found and played by a foreign race in the epilogue.

Medium EMS:
The Crucible fires and take out the Reapers, Geth and short circuits the fleet in the Sol system with a giant EMP, which then spreads to other systems through the Relay network. Normandy blasts Harbinger all the way to hell. The Reapers are gone and the systems are spared, but the Citadel explodes, killing Shepard. Crew lives.

Medium/High EMS:
The perfectly calculated EMP takes out the Reapers only. Normandy blasts Harbinger all the way to hell. Systems are cleansed of Reapers but remain intact, crew lives and Citadel is spared but Shepard dies from his injuries.

High/Max EMS:
The Reaper threat across the galaxy is wiped out by the EMP, the cycle is broken and civilisation goes on. Normandy blasts Harbinger all the way to hell. Before passing out watching the victory from the Citadel front seats, Shepard sees a blurry LI running towards him, with the rest of the squad right behind. End scene sees an alive Shepard with his LI in a setting they’ve talked about throughout the adventure (having drinks at Kaidan’s folks’ place in Vancouver, building a house with Tali on Rannoch etc)

There you have it. I’m really glad you guys are taking the time to adjust the ending. Even without it, I regard ME3 as an incredible piece of science fiction storytelling and a fantastic game. But like so many others, I feel that the end of Shepard’s saga deserves a little more closure and variation than what’s currently there. The Reapers as they were pre-God Child explanation seemed like a much more terrible force, one that almost fight the evolutionary force that Javik refers to time and time again. I’d much rather see Shepard facing a holo-proxy of Harbinger, explaining the purpose of the Reapers. I’m sure you'll figure it out, you’re are clearly a very talented bunch.

Best regards,
A massive fan

Modifié par GayShep, 26 mars 2012 - 03:14 .

[elguapo64]

 A couple of things.  First, a letter I wrote to Bioware while resolving some errors in my account that prohibited my posting.


I'm certain this inbox has likely been flooded from fans responding with
input on this matter.  I'm also sure some have been more civil than
others.  I, frankly, feel a little foolish in adding my voice to theirs,
but there were several things I wanted to say.



First, and foremost, thank you.  I want to thank Bioware and the team
behind this game for doing such an amazing job.  The only reason you are
seeing such a backlash, including the more negative responses, is
because people have become so invested and attached to the characters in
the story you all have drawn out for your customers and fans.  The lack
of resolution complaint isn't simply that "we don't know what happened,"
it's more specific.  You see people phrasing questions like "Why would
Joker be running away?"  People know Joker, they know the character
you've created.  They know that, without some explanation, high-tailing
it out of battle and leaving Shepard and the others behind is an
anathema to Joker's personality and conviction.  That leaves everyone
asking - "what was his reason?"



That's just one such example.  As I said, people only care about this
ending because you all have done such a spectacular job over the course
of these three games.  Again, you have my thanks.



That being said, I understand everyone's disappointment.  Having beat
the game Thursday night, I couldn't concentrate at work on Friday.  I'm
an attorney, and I have a pretty heavy caseload.  Still, rather than
contemplating a six-figure mediation on Tuesday, I kept finding myself
wondering where the Normandy ended up.  What did it mean that Shepard
gasped?  What about the different militaries stranded in earth's
system?  Then, of course, came the news and blogs.  I found myself
desperately reading into the "Indoctrination Theory" and other takes
positioning the ending as a dense symbolist dream.  Even these,
ultimately, are unsatisfying.  The fact your fans have delved so deep as
to either discover a very subtle plot device - or craft a very well
pedigreed theory supporting such a device's existence - implementing an
indoctrination battle should speak volumes about how much your fans
don't want to leave their - and I use this word because I don't know of
any other - "friends" in the game behind.  At least not without a more
respectable modicum of closure.



I'm not one of the voices asking for an ending rewrite.  If you all
disagree and think that's best - then so be it.  However, I am asking
that you all please address what happened with the crew.  I'm not asking
that we have some forced roll call of every important and semi-important
character in the game, but I hope you understand how seeing Joker, the
Normandy and whatever relevant LI walking out of a crashed and
previously fleeing Normandy onto a jungle planet - potentially and
presumably outside the reach of any help - while my mostly-dead Shepard
is gasping in a pile of rubble that may have been a miracle crash
landing of the citadel or the breaking of a period of
indoctrination...   It is unsatisfying.  Are those members simply doomed
to die?  Were they simply in intra-system FTL travel?  Were they in a
Relay?  If so, why?  If stranded mid-relay, does that mean that no one
will ever find them?  Can you even disengage flight without terminating
at a relay without dying?



I'm sorry to add my voice to so many others, but you all did request fan
input.  Please take this as a more reasonable fan's request.  I don't
want to damage your own vision of this story.  Your vision is the one
every fan has come to love.  Its the reason why now, almost two days
later, I'm spending my free morning writing an email to a bioware
"contact" account.  This means a lot to a lot of people, and I want to
thank you for requesting our feedback.  I just hope you all will help
explain a little more as to where our characters and crewmembers ended. 
Not all stories have to have happy endings.  That being said, I wouldn't
complain if you all allowed a happy ending to come from this, but I
understand that sometimes the darkness makes things more poignant. 
Still, even tragedy requires some amount of explanation.  Please give
that to us.





------

Let me add this to the above letter, given another 36 hours to reflect.  I find the ending haunting and unsatisfying.  If your desire was for me to not stop thinking about it, mission accomplished.  However, I don't think it has remained in my mind for the reasons that you'd desire.

I accept any ending - even a tragedy - so long as there is a modicum of explanation.  Please understand that some actions you all have put in place (why was it necessary for Joker to be running away in the first place?) are what demand explanation.  I'm not asking for snippets of what happened to Conrad or to Jacob's lady friend.  I do want to know - how did Wrex (assuming he ever did) get back home?  What happened to the Quarians now that the Geth are DOA?  Call me a romantic, but I remained faithful to Ashley in ME2.  Having her go from my squad, along with Garrus, to being stranded on some unnamed planet crashed into after that unsuccessful FTL travel sequence is, to be kind to the narrative, enigmatic.  

You people are very smart.  You are excellent story tellers.  You all are much, much better than this.  I can only suppose important material was left on the cutting room floor for the sake of poignancy and brevity.  Please accept that, in my humble opinion, whatever you gained in poignancy and brevity was smashed against the cruel rocks of plot holes, unresolved actions and an unsuccessful attempt to channel Shamylan's "twist" ending.  Please, let us understand what happened.  That's not a rewrite, it's simply a request to insert the reasons I'm sure you had for having Joker flee.  For having Shepard gasp.  For having the entire galaxy's military stranded in the Sol system with only (relatively) short range FTL travel.  How did you all account for that?  

Your world is so rich we actually care about what happened to those fleets.  We're concerned for the Turians, Quarians, Asari, et al.  I actually felt dirty for killing the Geth as a species, like I betrayed Legion.  You were able to elicit those emotions - please give us something concrete to justify why we made those hard choices.

And I will say this also - I'm not asking for a rewrite, but would it have killed you guys to throw one (incredibly difficult) sappy ending in there?  No medal ceremonies necessary, but maybe a little victory celebration with the LI wouldn't have killed anybody, would it?

There, that's off my chest.  I hope somebody at Bioware reads this.

Modifié par elguapo64, 26 mars 2012 - 03:19 .

[Provo_101]

If the Indoc theory holds true, I want Shepard to wake up completely covered in rubble, and have to dig his way out with the crystal Eve/Bakara gave him. It'll go well with what she said too.

Make it happen, Bioware!

[Jackal82]

I think Bioware should use the indoctrination theory as it seems to be the only way to get rid of that ending. I also would like to Harbinger assume his rightful place as that reaper leader since he was built up to be in ME2 only to be replaced by some virtual kid get rid of the kid. This would mean epic boss battle with Harbinger I personally would like success in battle to be determined by your wars assets (so if you have low War assets reapers win medium assets Shepard wins with heavy casualties including some Squad mates and high assets means victory with few casualties) it give them some purpose other than barely changing the ending. Another thing that should be changed is the terrible illogical explanation for the reapers I like the idea of not explaining them to keep their villainous and mysterious nature or something like this after the battle with Harbinger a dying Harbinger will once again speak to Shepard saying “My defeat changes nothing”. Shepard will reply saying “Maybe not, but hopefully the crucible will”. Then Harbinger will reply “Even if you defeat us your species destiny is to become us”. Shepard will say “What is that supposed to mean”. Then Harbinger will basically say that the Reapers were the original intelligent organic species of the galaxy a lot like humans weak without their technology and that all intelligent beings seek to improve themselves(Exactly what TIM wants to do for humans) and seek perfection. The reapers achieved this perfection by fusing themselves with synthetics and they left galaxy to allow for other species to evolve and return to “perfect them” since they wished to spare the other species long painful process. This would explain why the reapers made the human reaper and bother creating all their minions such as collectors, husks and etc. That is a quick summary after that Shepard can argue back with either a paragon argument saying that reapers have forgotten what living is all about or a renegade which says that reapers are making an excuse an they’re really here because they need to increase their numbers since they can no longer reproduce (forgot to mention that in explanation) and they are afraid another race will rise to challenge them. After all why does a “perfect” race need to bother with others?  Following that Harbinger will be impressed with Shepard and if paragon or renegade is really high will order the reapers to leave also will need very high war assets. Then Shepard will head to the citadel see a standoff between TIM and Anderson if Shepard did not convince the reapers to leave you have two choices control assuring human dominance and result in having to kill Anderson or destroy the reapers causing many casualties when they explode and having to kill TIM. If you did convince them to leave you have third choice have faith that Reapers will not return, let them leave, and not get your revenge. Both TIM and Anderson will not like this choice but Anderson will accept it and you will have to kill TIM. Also controlling the reapers only works if you saved the collectors base so if the reapers agreed to leave and Shepard decides to control without saving the base then the reapers come back and win.
I think that presents a philosophical debate Bioware was attempting but failed miserably. It also makes a bitter sweet ending as Shepard won but Harbingers words about one of the species of the galaxy are destined to become the next reapers will be looming over (Salarians being likely choice short lifespans and depended on technology) and if you let reapers go then the possibility of their return is out there (perhaps the reapers left because they feared the crucible an sought to leave to find a way to counter it). Also would have epilogue to show effects of choices such controlling reapers results in a human empire. A little long but you get my point basically scarp the current ending make a new one.

[Haergar]

Here is one promise that was broken that I feel "NEEDS" to be honored. Multiple online previews and wiki entries on ME3 state that you promised you wouldn't need to play the multiplayer component or the tie-in games on iOS in order to get the best endings. But my math shows that the best you can do is get 7,000 out of 10,000 war asset points needed when your galacitc readiness is at 50% from not playing multiplayer. So it isn't possible to get the best ending without multiplayer. I play the multiplayer component and I enjoy it, but a broken promise is a broken promise.

[jefinley]

Here's a link to a different thread with an ending we can be happy with, or at least I can be happy with.  If it has already been posted here, then it needs to be posted again.

social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/355/index/9833130/1

[Joran Anduril]

I would just like to take the time to echo the terrific comments and suggestions everyone has made in this thread. I just finished the game Friday, and like many who are taking a bit longer to complete the game, I'd heard the uproar about the ending, but dutifully avoided spoilers and hoped that it was just some "whiny fanboy" reaction to not getting some random detail exactly as they'd imagined. I really wish I'd been right.

First of all, I commend you for inviting fans' comments. To avoid a TLDR, I'll just reiterate that I think DLC needs to be released that will substantially alter the ending in the following ways:

1. Either by going with the indoctrination theory or just adding extra options to refute the AI Godchild, we need MORE and DIFFERENT and BETTER ending choices. Let our decisions throughout the trilogy matter - if I've brought all the races together for the final war push AND have a maxed out renegade/paragon meter, I should be able to get the "perfect" ending, which ends with Shepard living, destroying the Reapers, and a nice epilogue with my LI and showing what happens with my squad mates and the other races of the galaxy. There should be a variety of other endings, requiring various levels of sacrifice (either Shepard dies, squadmates die, LI dies, or various war assets are decimated) according to how prepared you are and/or how charismatic Shepard is and is able to refute the Godchild's arguments. At least six different endings should be possible here, ranging from total victory (reapers destroyed, Earth saved, galactic victory, Shepard lives and rides off into the sunset with LI) to total defeat (Reapers win, everything dies).

2. To that end, a new ending sequence and new epilogues need to be recorded, with actual interaction and voice work by the voice actors - the ending was so disappointing and so inconclusive that I don't think a text only montage can fix things. At least more dialogue/gameplay choices are needed to determine what happens on the Citadel, and then a brief ending dialogue sequence akin to the dialogue with Anderson/the Council at the end of ME1 and the dialogue with TIM at the end of ME2 - show Shepard with his/her LI, a couple of loyal companions, and have a brief discourse about the consequences of his actions (ex: "Shepard, it's really over, let's go home" or "That came at a high cost" or whatever). Then, have a montage set to whatever ending music, much like the one that we actually got at the ME3 endgame, but with content that's actually relevant - show the asari rebuilding Thessia, or the Geth and Quarians working together on Rannoch, etc. The game could then end with one last shot of Shepard, if he/she is alive, wherever he/she ends up - a scene of him happily ever after with the LI, or gazing pensively at the galaxy if no LI, or show Joker if Shepard is dead. If everyone is dead because the Reapers won, show some sorrowful montage of the Reapers annihilating everything.

I won't go into the reasons the ending needs changed because others have done that far more eloquently and persuasively than I can. But I will say: I reject the idea that the ending we were given was "bittersweet" and therefore more artistically of value than a "happy" ending would have been. The ending we got was not bittersweet; it was just bitter. There was little to no reason for optimism or hope shown in any of the three endings, and what optimism there may have been is overshadowed by the implications of a massive galactic dark age and deprivation. Nothing "sweet" was added to mitigate the bleak despair. And, frankly, I think it's a sad commentary on society when hope, love, faith, and triumph are virtues so easily dismissed as "childish," "naive," "immature," "puppies and rainbows." This is not only a nihilistic philosophy that - as evidenced by the outrage - most ME fans reject, but it also ignores the entire point of a heroic epic saga. Heroic epics aren't about postmodern angst and bitter defeat. They are about the triumph of the human spirit against all odds. They are about hope and love defeating evil, fear, and death. Those are the themes in every popular and seminal epic saga of our time, from Lord of the Rings to Star Wars to Harry Potter. Mass Effect deserved to be among those giants, but the ending robbed Shepard of his chance to truly earn a heroic, decisive victory over darkness. I truly hope you fix the ending along the lines that people here have suggested and give this truly wonderful series its proper due as a giant of the modern heroic epic genre.

Well, so much for this not being a TLDR post, but I'd just like to add that I thought Mordin, Thane, and Legion's deaths were all pitch perfect and beautifully rendered, and I can and do appreciate the need for sacrifice and sadness when the story calls for it. The big difference is that each of those characters had a story arc that demanded a redemptive death or an ultimate fulfillment, and that's why their tragedies worked so well and were so perfect in context. With Shepard, there is no sense that his sacrifice is *absolutely necessary for his story arc* - depending on how you played him - and that's why his death, along with the unavoidable destruction and the vague and confusing aftermath, is such a bitter pill to swallow for the vast majority of dedicated ME fans.

Thanks for listening. You really have created a wonderful, memorable, fantastically riveting story. Now give it the conclusion it needs and deserves.

Modifié par Joran Anduril, 26 mars 2012 - 04:35 .

[csmokey]

fix the ending of course, the journal, explain the keepers role, expand on the rachni, I want to see Rachni in the final battle(I saved them for that reason) give me the option to save Morinth, I want to visit the batarian planet with the possible addition of a batarian squadmate, same for a volus(he could be the gimli of mass effect) and the option to recruit Thanes son, plus romance options for traynor and aria for male sheppard, and cortez and joker for female sheppard, plus explain what happened to that big creature that escaped on the salarian world, also what happened to that inmate that was gonna come after me, also this one is for mass effect 2 but fix the comic to include feros, those two asari(feros and Virmire) and conrad, shouldnt be hard to fix those, also take back omega

multiplayer give me more characters to fight, like the eclipse mercs, blue suns, blood pack, kai leng and his forces. and a huge reaper you can battle with your friends kinda like lost planet 2, more levels for multiplayer, new chartacters, and past battles, collectors, turians during the first contact war, and saren

[Barict78]

First of all Id like to say that there has not been one single game that BioWare has put out that i have not purchased and im talkin from Baulders Gate on up Even MDK the only one i dont own is SWOR and i WAS gonna purchase that too but money problems and now This. Every game you make is Excellence personified especially ME2 and i think that may be where the core problem lies: The Excellence leading up to this gave us no preperation for the Utter Confusion that is the end of ME3.

I Believe we as fans and buyers of games wanted what was already established to at least shine thru. And the end HAD to be at least as good as ME2 i kept thinking that the whole time and that i was gonna get to control War Assets cuz hell i collected them all but sans that i would AT LEAST get to see my Assests kik reaper ass as the ending stands 90% of what we see are human forces well if thats all we needed then why did we collect all those sweet ass war assets? We most definatly wanted to control our whole squad ME2 style at the end that was so freakin awesome.

And the endings themselves ar 97% the same we definatly dont want that and the choices are cut and pasted directly from Deus Ex, i know cuz i beat it a month b4. And u cant promise us we wont have an A B C Cookie cutter ending and then give us just that and not expect some sort of reaction. and i was most dissapointed to find out my Galactic Readiness would not move one iota without online play and my Net sux so bad i get kiked out of 60% of my games halfway thru.... not to mention the promise that online play would affect offline play none.

Also the Endings are in no way Bittersweet you effectivly destroy more people in 10 seconds than the reapers did since ME1 started cuz by destroying every relay u take out the corrisponding Solar System and youve Stranded TRILLIONS on earth with Zero means of survival so factor all that in with the galaxys reliance on the relays for food and trade and youve sentenced most remaining people to a slow death i mean its genocide on an Epic scale that Shepard would never take part in. hell hed blow his brains out all over "GodChilds" face before hed agree to any of those solutions.

And the whole GodChild thing Really? He just busts out the last 7 min and basically tells u "ur stupid and heres how it is now do what i said cause i said it so it must be correct" Really? Do you Actually think for one instant that SHepard would just be like "DUH Ok That sounds Reasonable lets go with that cuz im a total follower and NEVER ask questions and NEVER just do what i think is right. Thats Exactly what Shepard and the Game are all about: Choices and the consiquence of said choices not being told what to do and railroaded into 3 choices.

ANd How in the name of all thats Holy did ur squadmates get bak to the Normandy? And Under NO circumstance would Joker and whomever was on the ship have ever left the fight or you much less have done it early enuf to get that far away. Also Seein ur LI from the last 3 games stranded with a buncha dudes wanting to Procreate isnt exactly Ideal either...But niether is much from the END so..

Nowto fix these things and all the glaring Plot Holes and left out facts and Utter nonsense that is the StarChild and shepards actions after meeeting him the End would have to be totally redone from the point of Jumping into the Sol System and since im totally certain this will not happen i dont know what to tell you besides Please dont Just release a ten or twenty dollar DLC that "explains things more and shows a few more squad mates after the battle" becuz very few will be satisfied or even receptive to that. I dont like to make statements that will be mistaken for threats but as of now and after about 15 years of loyaly buying all BioWare products i have utterly no desire to ever purchase another thing again and i know you think im just one customer but no its really really much much bigger than that. I really do hope something is done or at the very least that we are treated like Human Beings from now on and not all shoved into the Angry Aggro Gamer Geek corner as we basically have been so far and that the Execs at BioWare stop talkin as if the problem all lies in us for not "grasping" their wonderful ending but i dunno if it will. And if we just couldnt Grasp tor Handle the ending do you Really think it would be This MANY people Upset about it ? Cause thats basically calling ALOT of people Dumb... But Again im sorry if you See this as a Negative and Attacking Post cuz it is most certainly not meant to be im just trying to lay it all out on the table for u to see and at times the language that has to be used to describe it is coming from someone who is Shocked and Distraught so may seem to be angry but no im not attacking you. and Know that if it is some how Rectified i will return to buying every product of yours i can get my hands on. If not thats fine too its your game and your company and i wish you luck with it in all honesty and perhaps one day we can see eye to eye again! Heres to hoping for great things and a Happy Resolution to all this!

[Dewitt667]

I say expand the Normandy's campaign so it feels like many months or
years pulling all this together ,but leave the "ending" as is using an
atempted/partical indocternation of Shepard and comtinue the story/war
from there. I say this because Harbinger in ME2 alive and i think it
would still.

Have the Crucible be just a elaberate "Trojan Horse"
to draw the "paragon"s of each cycle together and use them the
indocernate thier people and Crucible is a giant indocernation emiter
but they need these "paragon"s like legion was use to control the geth.

I would like to see more push back against the reapers rather than just Tuchanka being reaper free.

[ducentar]

I thought the ending was good, but it just wasn't a Shepard-esque ending.  Most ways to really change would require a major reworking of the game so kind of hampers many decisions that could fix it. Maybe after being hit by Harbringer's beam that the following events are more of a dream state in the possible minutes before death.  The events of the citadel would be more of Shepard's consciousness being blended with harbringer and ultimately with the Catalyst.  Depending on his decisions think of his consciousness more of a virus than anything or reverse indoctrination.

Now the three decisions and events on the Citadel would not need reworking as they still serve the same purpose as they always did. They are Shepard's ultimate decision of degrees of sacrifice or defiance.  However a fourth decision could be introduced which is the realization of the fact it is a dream and ultimately  Shepard's rebellion against it.  Instead of accepting the three choices presented Shepard dictates their own and turns on the Catalyst in typical Shepard fashion which would lead to the Catalyst's destruction.  

Control and Synthesis he would still die as die in a dream die in reality but would still have to same effect as if he made it on the citadel. Harbringer would be outside these possibilities as see below.  

Destroy and Defy would give Shepard the ability to live depending on war assests etc.However, due to the comingling of Shepard's consciousness with that of Harbringer, Harbringer would be outside of any possible control, synthesis, destroy, or defy option. 

This would lead to regardless of what ultimate choice you make a final
boss fight to end reapers available at a later date due to the need for
regrouping, finding Normandy,  etc. Possibly after persay the retatking
of Omega as it would be needed as a base of operations. The final
Harbringer fight would be a free dlc other's would be pay.


Unfortunately i do not see any way to save the relays with the way the
game unfolded which I had the greatest issue with.  The mass relays were
what really gave this universe it's uniqueness now it feels more like
darker, grittier Star Trek in many ways to me.  Not knocking it just changes the allure of the universe. 

Still keep original cutscenes as is just either add a cutscene of the true death of Shepard or rescue of him/her instead, the exodus of Harbringer with either battling him on earth or space as he retreats, and then a fade to black followed by the words three years later...

Here is where people's decisions from the games come to their pinnacle:

Variations of Paragon would have him/her with their LI with children or not depending on who it is or lack there of. With his/her death  either way a conversation with Hackett about there still being threats and the new rise of Cerebus etc. Any decision whether he lives or dies would have either Shepard or a former squad member tell Hackett that it is time for a new hero to rise and that the fight must be put on new shoulders possibly with pictures of all that were lost along the way.and that burden quite visible on Shepard's shoulders if he is still alive.

Varations of Renegade would be much the same only if  he lives the possiblitly that unbeknownst to Hackett Shepard is the new head of Cerebus.

This gives you at Bioware plenty of time to create a fitting end to Shepard's story and plenty of dlc's that will actually sell and people will want to pay for to get the final complete story of the the three year gap making it win/win and the added benefit of a seamless transition to new mass effect universe games.

[Nolorfin]

A) Deliver the same kind of awesome endings as ME2: from perfect white to perfect black, including all shades of gray, based on EMS and decissions taken during the trilogy. I honestly think, commercially speaking, you have shot yourselves in the foot with ME3. It has nearly zero replay value right now. With a good amount of varied endings like ME2, people would be playing the whole trilogy forever.

Turn the London Level into a sort of Suicide Mission, where each stage requires us to take relevant decissions on where to assign our War Assets and Squadmembers. Change the difficulty of each part dinamically based on our EMS, by receiving assistance from specific Assets we got during the game. For example: more Banshees in the last fight if our EMS is low, but assistance from a Rachni company if we saved the queen. The possibilities are endless and all of them would be extremely engaging for the players ("Look, the Aralakh company is coming to help, I'm so glad I saved them!").

EXAMPLE ENDINGS

1) Perfect White
Only possible with 100% Readiness, 5.000 EMS and other obscure requirements (like destroying the Collector's base).

Shepard rejects the God-Child argument: "[Paragon] No, you are wrong. Organic and Synthetic life can coexist peacefully / [Renegade] Nonsense! Look up, kid, you see those fleets above? Those are Geth and Quarians, fighting together. The only threat here is your damn "solution"!

Shepard decides to let the Galactic Fleet fight the Reapers. Let's see that EMS in action. Amazing cutscenes follow, showing all our Assets in action. They destroy the Reapers in every front. Shepard retires with LI. Kids. Home. We see the consequences of all the alliances we have built. A new era of peace and tolerance begins. All life is truly elightened. One century later, the new Galactic Council, formed by Humans, Salarians, Asari, Turians, Elcor, Volus, Krogan, Quarians and Geth, meets. They start the session by remembering the Shepherd, whose statue presides the hall.

2) Perfect Black
Lowest possible EMS to start the battle.

Shepard is either indoctrinated and we see him staring with Husk eyes at the Earth, or he is painstakingly unable to change the events that follow: the Reapers destroy everything. After their victory, they leave for Dark Space. We see a few young species, equivalent to primates or Cromagnons, staring in awe at the Reapers as they fly away. Harbinger shows up a last time to remind Shepard his words during the trilogy: "I told you, Shepard. The cycle is inevitable. Etc." Shepard uses Javik's Memory Shard to leave a beacon message for the new cycle. Shepard dies afterwards, alone, defeated.

3) Shades of Gray
Mid-range EMS

Use your imagination!

Modifié par Nolorfin, 26 mars 2012 - 04:51 .

[Wes Mordine]

Happy Ending. LI reunited. Blue babies. Butterflies!

Nah, you can edit out the butterflies. But everything else must be an OPTION.

[Nighleth]

I had a sad feeling after the ending of ME3. I had 5600 GWA with 78% GR, used one of the characters I used since ME1, did every side quest, 100% paragon about 33% renegade, saved Earth's buildings, saw three crew emerge from a wrecked Normandy, but no, I somehow did not get to see Sheppard live, although everything else points that he should have. Then I thought what happened to my best bud Garrus, how did Tali get on the Normandy? Why didn't Joker come back for me? Why did Sheppard die?

I can't tell you how good these games are and how great I felt after DAO, ME1, ME2, but ME3 left me feeling very sad. There was so much buildup, and *hope* in the game, so much emotional character investment, I had to play through several times to make sure everyone survived and it was very fun and fulfilling in ME1 and ME2. I have a high stress, fulfilling career IRL, but in the game I can be a hero.

I was so amped to save the universe, what a great idea, bought ME3 on release day to be sure to get it on release day. I only had an hour or so each day to play so it took me till Saturday night (3/24) to finish and as Sheppard was running down that ramp I was like "This is going to be so awesome!" the buildup was intense, the cut scenes were better than any movie experience I had to date.

Then the choice, I heard the choice and thought, hmm, they are really pushing the middle option, it's like sugar coated and eerily enticing. Then I said, "Oh snap, indoctrination!" he's hallucinating the ghost child and other two options, go for the destruction of the reapers of course. So I went for the destruction option. And I was so sad that I didn't see any rescue, I didn't get to reunite with Garrus, or Tali on her home world, but I really am sad that, that silly impossible fantasy was not there. Save the universe for today, maybe it's all doomed anyway, Geth are dead after all that time and effort I put into getting that family to reunite. Then the Relays have to blow up, either I'm killed or the relays and Geth die and no one can get home to reunite with their families in their lifetime at FTL.

Anyway, maybe I'm making too much out of this, I may be asking for too much, but this is what *I* would like to see and I'd pay another $20 for it. The analogy is Broken Steel for FO3. I'm able to sandbox the game like after ME2. Happily play DLC and multiplayer till the next ME game.

Would love to see: (would make me feel better about playing the game again, I just lost hope to play it again for now, too sad)

1. All the team mates can be saved even if I have to do everything 99% of perfect including Sheppard.
2. At least one choice kills reapers but does not destroy mass relays or Geth unless there is at least one relay standing that can teleport everyone to their home worlds to rebuild and reunite.
3. At least some of the people I saved previously send me emails saying that they survived and at least some of their family is alive and they were reunited.
4. I know the DLC does not make sense after the destruction of the reapers, that's ok, make that only available before earth is saved then.
5. I can't see Tali and Garrus on some uncharted world eating the same food as the rest of the crew in a garden world, so I hope they can be rescued and brought back to civilization and eventually to their home worlds.

Nice to have:

5. Wouldn't it be great if the multiplayer was accessible through the game and not in some separate world, even after defeating the reapers. Like you could fly the Normandy to a location where there are known resistance holdouts, that would be so immersive, even if Sheppard had to have a stand-in body if it is too hard to emulate all that.
6. Some type of planetary exploration DLC like hammerhead and the original truck.



I have been a loyal fan of BIOWARE DAO, ME1, ME2, ME3 all downloads all, save one or two armor packs DLC for ME. I absolutely loved the series. I am depressed now and it really sapped my creative and enjoyment energies for a lot of my real life. The games were inspirational and as the ending stands I'm drained of motivation. I bought the DLC for ME3 but I didn't play it because I was so excited to finish the 1st play through in original glory, but now I'm so sad, I just can't look onto Garrus's face knowing I'll never see him again, he'll never get to tell me he's too busy calibrating those guns he loves so much, Tali can't tell me how she has to get the engine cleaned up.

[-REDACTED-]

I know we're almost to page 210 here, but I'd like to throw my hat into the ring. First of all, I think a lot of issues that people had with the endings can be alleviated with some simple fixes:

1.) Keep the endings *mostly* the same.

What I mean by this is have everything leading up to the star child remain the same. When Shepard does go up on that platform, have the dialogue be expanded upon. For example, touch upon the peace between the Quarians and the Geth, ask why the cycle has to exist at all, give reasons why the citadel is the catalyst to begin with. Basically fill any logical or lore holes that cropped up within the conversation with Shepard.

2.) Clearly Define the Consequences of Each of the Choices

Tell us whether or not control leaves the mass relays available or not. Tell us if the Reapers ever have a chance of coming back again. Did Shepard get absorbed into the Catalyst? Or is he some sort of all knowing god over the Reapers? For synthesis, does it mean that every race has been homogenized into one giant collective cyborg race? Or are there still individual characteristics from each species? Because with the ending we have now, it seems that all the diversity and uniqueness of galactic civilization that we fought for has now been reduced to conformity. Finally for destroy, does this send the galaxy into a technological dark age? Did it only target synthetics and leave the ships and drive cores alone?

3.) Either get rid of the Normandy crash-landing or provide a damn good reason why Joker was leaving and how your squad mates got on board.

This is by far and away the biggest issue that needs to be addressed. The final cutscene provides the majority of the plotholes in the ending, and in my opinion is the main reason why people disliked the ending so much. How did my squad mates who were running to the citadel with me not only survive the blast, but then manage to get picked up by Joker, and then get caught up in the gigantic shock wave? Why was Joker running away? And if he wasn't running away, did every ship get caught in the blast?

4.) Provide some Closure

I'm not talking about a 90 minute cut-scene like MGS4 had. All I want is maybe a funeral for Shepard (providing he died), and a scene of the reapers leaving every planet that was featured in the game. Have the Asari cheering like the human soldiers did when the reapers get destroyed/leave, have the Krogan scream out a battle cry on Tuchanka, have the Geth and/or Quarians watch as the Reapers leave Rannoch. Finally, address what the future of the galaxy holds without Mass Relays. All it would take would be a simple speech from Hackett or someone giving the traditional, "we will rebuild what was lost" kind of thing with the hope that the relays will be rebuilt.

TL;DR: Provide closure, fill plot holes, and explain final cutscene of the Normandy crash-landing. Sorry for the wall of text!

[Pkxm]

i just found out about this tweet

twitter.com/#!/masseffect/status/182188923588579329

if bioware considers changing the ending an insult, should we even bother giving feedback that involves changes to the ending?

[Raynulf]

Disclaimer: Storytelling is a passion of mine, but an amateur one. I'm not professionally trained in literature (aerospace engineering is another matter, and I admit to nerding out frequently when they get physics right in the ME fluff text), and those who are have already written a host of articles over the issues with the ME3 ending.

Also, while Bioware isn't obliged to fix the ending, however from an artistic* and economic perspective, they probably should.

After further thought, despite my own preferences (Director's Cut, for lack of a better word), jumping on the Indoctrination bandwagon is the most likely to fly:
- It has player buy-in already
- It's quite plausible/believable (more than the existing ending)
- It provides a very specific framework in which to work, allowing focus of effort
- Customers are more likely to accept the final product in the light that it is constrained to work within what currently exists (which is actually the main one).


Mass Effect 3 has offered the least amount of choice of the series so far, and it does concern me that Bioware have given statements indicating they feel a 'happy' ending would discredit Shepard's sacrifices to date.

Shepard, as has been stated innumerable times, is not a tragic hero. He has no tragic flaw (and if the kid dream sequences were supposed to be that, not only is that a complete about-face of the character, but utterly out of keeping with the previous games in terms of allowing the player to choose who Shepard is). The point of having divergent endings is so that different characters have different outcomes. A tragic end is very possible given the stakes, but it is utterly against Shepard's character and the theme of the series for it to be mandatory.

The player should be able to choose to make the Ultimate Sacrifice (e.g. to prevent Anderson sacrificing himself to achieve a goal - against Anderson's objections), but it should not be forced.

Key things to address:
1) What happened to the people in the Citadel, and what was the impact of all the 'reinforce C-Sec' missions.
2) Can Cerberus be commandeered / redeemed?
3) What was the impact of saving/destroying the Collector base (no, really)?
4) What are all those war assets you gathered doing for you?
5) What is the crucible really (yes, most people will have expected this to be "the twist" because it was too implausible for it to be as advertised).
6) Reinforce the key themes of the series: Player choice, strength in unity of different peoples, challenging the assumption that something is impossible.
7) Who Shepard is depends on the players - this is a roleplay game. Greater freedom of choice is a must.
8) Resolution. People need to know what happens, and specifically what happens to the characters.
9) Be true to the characters. Characters should not act in a manner inconsistent with their established personality.
10) Avoid unnecessary religious symbology (Adam & EDI in Eden, The Shepard etc) which is utterly inconsistent with the games to date, and is distateful to a lot of players.


*As an aside, since "artistic license" has been mentioned a few times: Games can be art. Freeware games, produced for the express purpose of creating something different can very much be 'art for art's sake', subject only to the creator's whim. Mass Effect is not this. It is commercial art, which has had thousands of copies pre-sold based on statements and advertising by the developer. As someone married to a commercial artist, I can tell you that ensuring customer expectations line up with what you are producing is paramount.
 
If you make promises and do not deliver as an individual, this usually results in the client demanding satisfaction - either their money back, or the work done as agreed. And the artist can refuse... as long as they don't really want to have a career in art.

[Mighty_BOB_cnc]

Almost all of Mass Effect is a masterpiece--the entire trilogy that is--which makes it a terrible tragedy for it to fall flat in its final moments. I hope that with this post I can point out flaws that can be corrected to make ME3 one of the strongest beacons of storytelling and gameplay in recent memory.

I will note that I intend on editing and updating this post
probably a few times to make my feelings and ideas more clear.

RaenImrahl wrote...
The developers are looking for what *you* think. Emphasis on *you*. If you see a piece of video, a pie chart, or a flow chart online that helps articulate your point, then by all means reference it. But the best way to make your argument is not with a link... it's with a statement. Explain *why* you think that video/text/chart/poll has validity. Use it as supporting evidence, sure, but *you* should make *your* case.

Let me put it another way... this isn't about showing the developers that there is a multiplicity of dissatisfied voices... it's about coming up with the widest and deepest swath of ideas.

Also, if you want to quote a passage from someone's post, it would be helpful if you only quote the section needed to support your case. As I've said before, this thread is naturally going to include some walls of text... but there's no need to replicate entire walls of text to make your point, necessarily.

Another option is to use the "link" function on a post you like to refer back to it.

Why? Why is it an illegitimate statement to link to someone else's better-reasoned, more-eloquent, passionate thesis and say 'I agree with that and think it is an exemplary example'? I am by no means a mental slouch but I am also not a writer or literary scholar by trade (I am a 3D artist by trade) but several recent postings are from people who are, and as such they are able to organize their thoughts into a coherent form in less time than it would take me to do so. I cannot split them up or quote single passages (for the most part) because each must be read completely to avoid losing its meaning. Taken together these all show a whole that is greater than the sum of their individual parts.

We elect political leaders to articulate and represent the whole of a nation, and equivalently the Retake movement rallies behind a common set of ideas presented in eloquent fashion by others who are gifted in the art of writing and analysis.

Therefore these are my thoughts. That's right, Carl Jung's concept of the collective unconscious says so.

• On the betrayal of hope in Mass Effect 3's endings
• Why you enjoy art and the one problem with Mass Effect 3
• All That Matters is the Ending, Part 2: Mass Effect 3
• Musings of a Screenwriter: The Ending Thread
• An interesting post from the Penny Arcade forums.
• My thoughts on the ending as a writing/literature teacher and retail veteran....
• Why I Hold the Line - Words From a Literature Grad Student
• In Depth Thematic Analysis of ME3 Ending pt 1: the Frankenstein Complex
• Mass Effect Three- A Study of Shell Games (Warning: Long. And Wordy.)
• A credentialed literature major, and his take on the ending.
• "maintain[ing] the ... artistic integrity of the original story" =...
• My open letter to ME3 writers
• Colour-coding morality: the inherent problems of 'choice' in Mass Effect

What is the takeaway from all of this? How do we actually take the critiques and turn them into actionable suggestions? Stay tuned for post edit #2. I know most or possibly all of these links have already been shared in this thread but I think right now it is imperative that the people in charge see and read these. I just wish they could all be grafted into one of the 1st page posts because they're important.

Edit #1:
Okay the ending is obviously a big mess but here is a list of non-ending things that can be addressed (I should note that I am speaking of the PC platform but some of these apply to all platforms):

-The Journal. It's a wreck. It desperately needs a system for showing your progress on each mission (i.e. have I found that object for my side quest yet?)

-The controls. I have a keyboard BioWare. There should not be 6 things bound to one key.

-Speaking of controls and the journal, add a hotkey for the journal screen and the squad screen. ME1 had it. Why is it missing in ME2 and ME3?

-No ability holster your weapon? Add it back. I have heard this was cut due to PS3 RAM limitations and animations but it should be present for other platforms.

-Film grain. Add it back. There has always been an option to turn it off for those who don't want it.

-The face import bug. I hear this has already been fixed and is only awaiting certification. I hope this is the fix we need, but it brings up another point:

-What happened in your QA department? That is such a basic pillar of the game that it should not have slipped past them. There are also reports of dead love interests coming back to life for the romance scene (such as Tali after she has thrown herself off the cliff), animation pops and invisible characters during conversations, and characters looking elsewhere in the room when they should be looking at each other (such as in Liara's room on the Normandy. There is a conversation where the drone speaks up and both Shep and Liara look over at it, but then never look at each other again for the rest of the conversation.) and same thing with Liara's head-tracking monitors.

-Text chat. Add it back. Deaf people like to play too and can't use voice in multiplayer.

Modifié par Mighty_BOB_cnc, 29 mars 2012 - 08:29 .

[tikibadger]

 I've never posted on your forums before, and I may never do so again.  But if there's even a chance that you can do something about the ending, well... I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in.

Mass Effect 3 was a great game.  A brilliant game in a lot of ways.  It was incredibly atmospheric, it did a wonderful job of making me feel like I had a monumental impact on the rest of the galaxy.  Most of the characters were spot on, but I'd particularly reference Mordin's sacrifice, Legion's sacrifice, Thane's sacrifice, Tali's romance, and everything that ever involved Garrus as points where you guys nailed it.  Rannoch might be my favorite series of missions in any Bioware game I've ever played - and I've played most of them. Your team definitely deserves a lot of credit for that.

But the ending... well.  After finishing the game, my first reaction was extremely negative.  I thought about it for a bit to see whether it grew on me, and it didn't.  So I googled the ending to find out if I was alone, and I discovered many people had the same reaction, although not everyone had the same quibbles I did.  I appreciate that you're listening to us, and maybe this will all make sense in hindsight if you have some kind of secret plan for a follow up expansion or something.  But right now, the ending just makes me feel... drained.  It's all build-up and no cathartic release.

I could write quite a lot about this, so in the interests of brevity I'll move to bullet points and try to keep it short.

• War assets don't seem to matter, except in the loosest most abstract sense.  We never see them in action, so it doesn't really seem to make a difference if I managed to recruit the Rachni and bring both the Quarians and the Geth to the table.  Apparently they factor into whether you can get the Synthesis ending, but that makes no sense to me.  If the Catalyst is the one presenting me with options, why should it matter how strong my fleet is?  That would have made more sense to me as a Paragon/Renegade check.  So basically I never hear or see why my fleets matter in a narrative fashion, and the mechanical way they matter doesn't make much sense.
• There is no way to lose.  To really, truly, lose.  This seems like a strange thing to ask for, but more than any other factor this cheapened my Shepard's achievements.  I wanted it to be tough to win, tough to get even pyrrhic choices.  But instead, everyone gets the same three choices with minor changes.  I would have preferred an ending in which the reapers wipe the floor with your fleet, kill everyone, and the last shot is some unknown race (or known - maybe the Yahg?) finding one of Liara's black boxes.  It's a dark ending in that you failed, but there's a glimpse of hope for the future.  That makes sense to me.  That is bittersweet.  And it reinforces the value of the War Assets, because not having enough of them means real disaster.
• There is no resolution to anyone but Shepard.  Yes, Shepard dies and his/her story ends.  But what happened to the fleets above Earth?  To galactic civiliation without the Relays?  To the Krogan?  The Quarians and/or Geth?  Squadmates?  Why does the Crucible's blast destroy the Normandy but not any other ships (that we know of)?  Sure, I could just imagine what happens, but that's incredibly unsatisfying.  It's like watching a movie cut to black moments after the bad guy is dead without ever even hinting about what happens to the kingdom and whether the hero marries his love interest.  Resolution doesn't have to be long, but it does need to be there.  I'd point to the end of Mass Effect 2 or Dragon Age: Origins as great resolutions that paid homage to your choices without taking too long.
• The breath at the end of the Destroy ending, and the Starchild/Grandpa scenes are vague and unsatisfying.  I know they were probably meant to be hopeful, but lacking any other kind of resolution it just comes off as forced and pointless.
• Shepard's death doesn't feel heroic.  I don't mind Shepard dying, per se, but my sacrifice seemed very bland next to Mordin, Thane, and Legion.  To be honest, I'm not entirely sure why I felt that way.  Maybe it was because there was no urgency to the scene.  I wasn't given a deadline, I wasn't under fire, there was no cost to hesitation.  I had a slow conversation with the starchild-thing, totally devoid of any tension or conflict between Shepard and the self-proclaimed Reaper creator, and then limped my way to one of three choices.  One could argue that Shepard's decision had bigger ramifications than any of my former squadmates dying, but it felt very poorly executed.  Shepard's death scene was important, but not epic, not heroic, and that was reinforced by a total lack of clearly displayed consequences.

There are also a number of troubling unanswered questions which bothered me during the ending.  I'll make a little sublist for them, but they're less "suggestions for how to improve the ending" and more "things you might want to explain".

• Synthesis makes little sense to me.  I'm sure you've heard this a million times by now, but I don't get how it works or how it guarantees peace.  How does it stop my new hybrids from creating new synthetic life that then surpasses and destroys them?  Is it really okay for my Shepard to just cavalierly decide to completely invade/alter every living thing the galaxy?  What happened to the reapers after I chose this ending?  At least with Control and Destroy I've got a bit of a road map as to how it might work.  Synthesis isn't talked about at all prior to the final scene except in very vague terms, like Shepard's cybernetic nature.  In addition, Saren seemed to preach a very similar doctrine only to get slapped down repeatedly by Shepard.  There are definitely differences (Saren's solution wouldn't have changed the Reapers, while the Catalyst's solution did), but the idea of Synthesis seems antithetical to the "embrace differences" idea espoused by the Council and reinforced by Javik talking about the strength of this cycle.
• The Starchild doesn't explain things very well.  How did the Crucible open new options for it?  If it controls the Reapers and lives in the Citadel, why were Sovereign and The Keepers needed in Mass Effect 1 to activate the Citadel Relay?  Why does Shepard's presence show that the Catalyst's solution doesn't work?  Shepard was collapsing on the floor, badly injured, and the Crucible wasn't firing.  The Reapers had won.  So why does Shepard's failure mean that they actually lose?  This might also factor into why Shepard's death doesn't seem heroic.  By all accounts, Shepard failed.  It's only because the Catalyst decides that Shepard should choose another path that the Reapers don't win.
• The choices the Reapers make at the end are never adequately explained.  Why do they move the Citadel to Earth?  Are they using it to build a Reaper?  Do they consider it a more defensible location?  If they're really worried, why don't they just leave it in empty space somewhere?  And if they could take it so easily, and knew that it was the heart of galactic civilization, why didn't they take it sooner?  What happened to everyone on the Citadel that I just spent most of the game helping and preparing?  It seemed wrong to me that there was never a chance for Shepard to contest the Citadel against the Reapers, and that the Reapers moved it to Earth at all.  Even if they did, why the beam?  Because without that, I don't see any way that Shepard wins.  Clearly this can be explained any number of ways, but it never is.
• Why does Harbinger have such a small role?  I mean, he's the one Reaper we have a personal connection with and he's sidelined for essentially the entire game.  As a character, he's practically built to be a formidable boss fight (or at least a constantly present antagonist near the end).  Instead his one cameo is over quickly and amounts to nothing.
• I'm sure you've heard this a lot too, but the Normandy running away scene is baffling on a number of levels.  Where are they going?  How did my squadmates get back onboard?  Why does the energy burst destroy the ship?  Where do they land and can they ever leave?  Because if they're trapped on that planet, either Garrus and Tali starve or everyone else does.
• Does the destruction of the Relays destroy the system they're in?  This is an easy issue to handwave with some explanation about the energy being different or something, but it's never handled and all the fluff we have suggests that destroyed relays wipe out star systems.  Which would make Shepard, no matter the choice, a mass-murderer.  In which case I'd rather have my Shepard do nothing at all than pick one of the three options so he can leave room for the next cycle to maybe find another way.

I've taken up enough space with comments you've probably heard a million times, but I feel pretty strongly that the end of Mass Effect 3 doesn't do justice to the rest of the series, or even just the rest of the game.  I'm not sure what's feasible or what your plans are, but you could make this disappointed fan a lifelong advocate by addressing these issues and helping me play my favorite video game series again without feeling like it's pointless because it always ends in the same three poorly-explained places.

I know you've heard a lot of threats about people not buying your games anymore, and that would be a shame because you really have made some great games.  And even if nothing changes, I'm not going to blacklist your entire company from all future purchases.  But as is, I can't see myself ever buying DLC for Mass Effect 3 the way I bought every extra piece of Mass Effect 2.  What would be the point?  They won't make a difference at the end of the game anyway.

I look forward to hearing what you have to say in April.  Until then, I'll hope for the best and Hold The Line.

[Sc2mashimaro]

 This may have already been posted, but THIS writer is putting what I've been trying to say about the ending in a very clear and eloquent manner: (PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE READ THIS ONE)

http://jmstevenson.w...mass-effect-3/ 

Modifié par Sc2mashimaro, 26 mars 2012 - 06:02 .