7052 réponses à ce sujet

[MrBowdzUnit]

 First of all, thank you to Casey, Jessica, and Chris for responding to the fanbase. Everything meaningful has been said before much more eloquently than I could ever put it, but I will give my quick opinion. 

• I would love to see you guys take with the indoctrination theory and run with it. Whether by design or not, you have a great tool available to please the fanbase and provide a more satisfying suite of ending. The theory not only fits perfectly with the themes and lore of the universe, but it is very fleshed out throughout ME3 allowing a future DLC based off of it to not seem forced or out of place. The fanbase connected the dots in a really brilliant manner and it would be great to see Bioware's writers take over from here.
• Make players choices matter. It would be great to see endings that are varied and based on your actions in the game. Having happy endings, sad endings, and every thing in between. Not only does it empower the player and fulfill the promise of the trilogy, but it provides an incentive for players to not only replay ME3, but the entire trilogy.
• Provide closure. This is such a unique series because, through no small part of the fantastic character backstories and dialogue, players have been able to connect with characters over half of a decade. It is simply not satisfying for players to not know their fate as they are as central to the series as is Shepard. There is a time and a place to let players ponder the outcome of various actions, but it is certainly not the finale of a trilogy. Most people want to see the outcomes of their decisions, see the fate of their crews, and see the fate of the galaxy beyond speculation about their demise. More than anything else, this is what's lacking from the current endings and it makes it very hard to walk away from the game satisfied.

I am currently in the middle of my second playthrough of the game and it is just as enjoyable as the first. The game is absolutely fantastic with the exception of the last ten minutes which is a shame because it is often hard to remember the great moments when you walk away with a bitter taste in your mouth. I honestly had no plans of even giving ME3 a chance after reading the story leaks last year, but I am so glad I changed my mind. I truly am impressed by what the development team was able to pull off only hope that you are able to craft a set of endings that live up to the quality of the rest of the game. 

[Colancio]

Some things I want, things to change / or to be explained later:

1. The normandy flying who knows where.
2. The "teleport" of the squadmates into the normandy after the beam run.
3. The nonsense explanation of the kid, and why is a kid and not a reaper.
4. The "far beyond our comprehension thing" that Sovereing told you, explained in a few lines by the kid
5. The almost chance to fight harbinger and then he flew away without saying nothing. (including a Boss fight)
6. The suicide of TIM, cheap copy of ME1 Saren's death.
7. An Epic dialogue between Shep and a Reaper / Harbinger
8. What happened to all the fleets stuck in the Sol's Relay if the relays are destroyed-
9. In the beginning I wanted to saw the trial to Shep and to have the possibility of dialogue options in order to defend Shep from the acusations from the council of the events of arrival.
10. More dinamic sidequest, like ME2. Not just "go to planet X, scan and find the item for the quest and bring it back to the citadel."
11. More dialogue option and less auto-dialogue.

That's all for now, my apologize for the bad english.

Modifié par Colancio, 17 mars 2012 - 04:36 .

[lordnarvinye]

jcmccorm wrote...

Suggestion:

Identify the internal people who warned you in advance that you are making a terrible mistake with the ending. Promote them.

THIS.  OMG THIS.  GO BACK TO YOUR PRIOR VISION BIOWARE.

[acidic-ph0]

THE ONLY thing that needs to be changed is the ending, from nonsensical space-magic to a realistic and logical conclusion. We don't need philosphical BS or religious symbolism as an ending to the Mass Effect story. ME1 and ME2 didn't need that, and neither does ME3. The story is just not that complicated!  You wouldn't pin a "Matrix style" conclusion to the end of Star Wars would you? Mass Effect follows a very  practical, down-to-earth style of story-telling and trying to turn it into something it's not at the very end of the last entry in the series has only proven to confuse and enrage nearly your entire fanbase.

_______________________


Okay, I for one would love Indoctrination theory to be true and have EVERYTHING after the Harbinger beam to be a dream/halucination of Shepherd and when he wakes up in the "end" we will actually take part in the REAL battle. I think nearly everyone will agree that the synthesis and control endings are not explained well at all and pretty much border on SPACE MAGIC as an excuse to just end the game in about 10 minutes. How the hell will Shepherd control the reapers? How can the crucible do something so complicated as rewrite the entire genetic code of every organic being in the galaxy? HUH? WHAT? Please explain the chemistry/biology/physics behind that... because maybe I'm just really stupid, but the idea of rewriting all genetic codes in the galaxy to one type of techno-DNA sounds absolutely stupid. Hell, the Turian groundskeeper in the citadel explained it best...The Galaxy loves diversity, lets keep it that way please. 

________________________


So here's how I would like the endings to pan out. Note the specifics scenes I mention are only possible examples. I don't claim to be an expert writer, these are just my suggestions! But please just at least give the general ideas some thought!

_________________________


1) The crucible/catalyst relationship should NOT require "Deus ex Machina". Introducing the Startchild to us as some brand new character to make winning the impossible battle possible  is a deus ex cop-out and an extremely poor writing decision. You don't need to be a literature major to understand that, and having an ending with this scenario is insulting to anyone with a working brain. What should happen is that the crucible should activate and work like expected, weakening the Reapers enough so that they are vulnerable to conventional war tactics and NOT destroy the Mass Relays and doom the galaxy to suffer through a new dark age. From here the endings will differ rapidly depending on your choices!

Also, let's have Shepherd actually deal with Harbinger and TIM personally. These characters have been harassing us for too long and we need to face them down once and for all. Hell we can fight TIM as the avatar of Harbinger, much like when we fought Saren as Sovereign's avatar. By defeating TIM/Harbinger we allow the rest of the game to play out based on our War Assets. Hell, I'll be honest, I do think that boss battles in games serve a real important purpose. They give the player a true sense of badass accomplishment and closure and sadly I missed not being able to feel those emotions in end of this game like I did in ME1 and ME2

_______________________


2) After the reapers are weakened from the crucible now your War Asset scores comes into play much like how the loyalty missions and upgrades effected your ending in ME2. If you  maxed your war assets above 5000 EMS you get the perfect ending where Shep lives and the galaxy is saved from the reaper threat. A cinematic mixed with in-game footage will show all the fleets you've been able to recruit successfully fight the reapers both on the ground and in space. The lower your EMS score the more casualties you will take and the worse off Earth will be, and if your score is low enough Shepherd may also die as a heroic sacrifice, but the reapers will still be defeated but with extremely heavy losses. You could even do a montage similar to film "Independance Day," Showing the united fleets ridding the galaxy of the now weakened reapers after you've successfully taken back Earth! It doesn't have to be all happy either... Hell these scenes could be filled with heroic sacrifices and emotional imagery. It's war, I'm sure you can figure something out... But the fact remains that in these endings, the galaxy ultimately stays intact as a civilization and the Reapers will be defeated.

_____________________ 


3) If your EMS is truly abysmal and you have not prepared enough war assets then LET THE REAPERS WIN! I'm really surpirsed this isn't an option, cause hell... you were more than willing to kill off everyone in ME2!!! Show us just how horrible a full on galactic harvest can be... Husks invadings residential homes, people being dragged by the thousands to harvester ships, show images we will sympathise with, churches, schools, homes and families being destroyed accross the entire galaxy! Make us feel like we should have prepared more and that our lack of effort truly doomed the galaxy. Hell, even go a step further and show Liara 100 years later walking through the ashes of a ruined Thessia with a photo of commander Shepherd in her hand... Show her crying as she lets the picture go symbolyzing her loss of all hope as she gazes on the ruins of her homeworld. Make us absolutely miserable with the Reapers winning to show that YES if you don't prepare, you will suffer the consequences, Much like the worst possible ending in ME2. Granted it doesn't have to be THAT corny... but seriously... I actually think showing the reapers winning would be a perfect way to motivate people to save the galaxy... Because as it stands now... You really can't loose! Every one of the current endings shows the reapers loosing no matter what you do, or how much of a paragon/renagade your Shep is. As it stands, there is NO variety in the endings other than changes in color.

___________________


4) Epilogue... Let us see how the battle worn galaxy recouperates from such a devastating war. Show us exactly what the consequences of all of choices added up to once the Reaper threat has been taken care of. Show each planet rebuilding, and rising from the ashes stronger and united! How will the Krogan behave now that they have a cure (or don't?) under Wrex or Wreave? If you were truly paragon you'd see the Krogans under Wrex and "Eve" uniting the Krogan into a bright and glorious future! If you went Renegade with Wreave and still cured the genophage you could show them planning revenge on the Turians and Salarians after the battle with the reapers is won... Or if you lied to them, you could show the Krogans planning revenge against you and Earth!

How will Palaven turn out? If you didn't romance Garrus will he return and reuntire with his family and help rebuild his homeworld? WIll a new Council form to help the galactic rebuilding process as a whole? Show us some order being born out of all this chaos please!

How will the Quarians begin colonizing their homeworld with the Geth or not depending on how you handled the situation? Let's see how our surviving squadmates end up... What will happen with Joker and EDI? Will Shep and his/her LI finally find peace? Will Javik finally be able to avenge the Protheans and return to the ashes from wence he came? I personally would love to see Javik take Liara with him to witness the last moments of the Prothean empire as he ends his life... 

If Shepherd dies during the war, you can have a scene where his crew honors his death by engraving his/her name into the Normandy's memorial wall, and perhaps have an emotional moment with his/her LI visiting his/her grave after the fighting is over.


However if you failed to gather enough assets and the Reapers win then the bright ray of hope in this ending would be seeing Liara's blackbox land on some uncharted planet. Show a timelapse of the the years fly by as the box sits there waiting to be found... And then thousands of years later a new alien species (the rulers of the next cycle) examine the artifact to see all the information about the galaxy, the Reapers, and everything you've accomplished... ending with the small hologram of Shepherd slowly fading away. You may not have been able to beat the Reapers... but because of your actions... maybe the next cycle will have a chance! 

____________________
 

Either way we just want CLOSURE to the characters and Galaxy that we know and love. With an ending that takes all of our choices to heart from this game and the last two.

Basically, you proved that this concept would work because you totally nailed the endings of ME1 and ME2 PERFECTLY. The same formula should work for ME3 just on a grander scale!  Basically If the formula you used for the last two games isn't broken then don't fix it!

[evisneffo]

Like a lot of people I would not complain about the vast majority of the game. I generally enjoyed the way things were done - in particular I enjoyed the inter-crew chatter (although more interaction between Shepard and each crew member would have been enjoyable, but that's probably out of the question) and the sense of atmosphere built up by the game. And that music of course.

Aside from things that are obviously bugs, I would not really pick on much to be changed in the main game. Except the journal, maybe: it would help a lot if side-quests updated as they did in the previous games.

My main concern is with the ending:

- The choice of ending comes out of nowhere. Deus ex Machina is the closest description I know. It doesn't make sense and it isn't satisfying. The problem with the choice given is that it throws out the window almost everything a player has done up to that point, leaving a choice that must be based solely on information given in the last ten minutes. This is what diminishes the value of playing any of the games again. Unfortunately I don't really have any concrete suggestions here, but if you decide to keep the requirement of making a choice, I would think that the required choice and the potential outcomes should flow logically from what has happened during the rest of the game, rather than being some arbitrary options thrown up by an unfathomable entity. That kind of ending may work in some instances but it just doesn't fit this series.

- Speaking of which, the second and simpler complaint is with the range of possible endings. Have bittersweet endings as an option, by any means (provided they make sense), but I don't think there's much to lose by having a happier ending that people could work for, or heck, even a complete failure ending. You have a spectrum of "16 possible endings" which is a fine idea but limited by a very narrow spectrum. I think you could make a lot more people happy just by broadening that spectrum.

- Lastly, a bit of mystery and room for speculation is fine, but I would appreciate a little bit of closure. This pertains more to the current endings than anything that might be changed in future, I suppose. Leave things too open-ended, and ... well, people obviously don't like that. I don't mind filling in the blanks, but filling in a blank page is a different thing entirely. We don't have to be shown everything down to the last detail, but when we get something like the current short series of unexplained scenes (near-identical between endings, hence the feeling that we haven't really chosen anything), that elicits more confusion than desire to speculate.

Sorry for the wall o' text.

EDIT> Also, I shouldn't forget my manners here. If you're reading this, thanks for taking this into account. I'm just sorry that such a great game has ended up this way.

Modifié par evisneffo, 17 mars 2012 - 06:24 .

[I. C. Wiener]

Excuse my English, but I am Italian I do not speak English well :/

I think it would be enough to put a happy ending very difficult to get to (galaxy and allied forces to the maximum 100%) where Shepard hitting the boss fight Harbinger and the galaxy in the sense that partially saves reepers are defeated, but it turns out to be still present in the universe dark and the treatment that has undergone the Milky Way galaxy has been suffered by them as well with other organic life (so he would leave alive the possibility of a Mass Effect 4 larger with new races and places)

In this final over to win and save the Milky Way Shepard would end his days with partner chosen by the player and the other characters could be described in their future through the final frame style Dragon Age
Origins

All this could be connected to the current final if it were all an indoctrination of reepers that seen in the citadel.

Sorry again for my English ..

[Paparob]

A detailed epilogue. Mr Hudson I truly do not mean to impune your character but you promised in pre-release statements to provide answers to everything. Whether you meant something else or not wasn't made clear so the natural assumption that there would be a detailed epilogue explaining what happened to Shepard's companions and what happens to the civilizations of the galaxy. This would ideally reflect the choices I made during the course of the series. A perfect example of what I mean is the epilogue for Dragon Age: Origins. At the end of that game I understood what the Warden's impact was on the people he helped and the ones who traveled with him. Shepard stopped the Reapers, a truly epic achievement, but there was so much else Shepard had done that was not explored. For me personally the failure to explore these aspects sours an amazing game. I'd request in the least that any sort of epilogue covers the major quests through the three games and the important supporting characters.

I would like to add that the decision to not have an epilogue wouldn't be such a big issue for me if it wasn't for the destruction of the mass relays. It would have been disappointing but I could have drawn my own conclusions. With the mass relay destructions however as a fan I cannot extrapolate what happens to the crew of the Normandy and the rest of the galaxy. This is not because of a lack of imagination its because the manner in which its done leaves so much unanswered any conclusions can be reached on my own. If I can't reach a valid conclusion, I can't firmly answer the questions in my mind, and that leaves me with no closure on the series. Intentional or not your statements lead people to believe this would not happen but it has for myself and many, many others.

Modifié par Paparob, 17 mars 2012 - 04:38 .

[VelvetStraitjacket]

What a lot of us are asking for is the choice for a truly "happy" ending. An ending where Shepard lives without having to sacrifice the Geth and EDI. Yes, it's a war and sacrifices will be made. But we've already seen a lot of sacrifices during the story. Hell, entire planets and countless lives have been sacrificed so that we could come up with a way to Destroy the Reapers. Giving the Geth freedom and making EDI feel "alive" were amazing, touching moments but having to sacrifice them in the end just so our Shepard can live is just heartbreaking. And even then, we get a 5 second clip of him/her taking a breath...
Mass Effect is all about player choices and a lot of us want the CHOICE for a well developed, truly happy ending that offers us closure and a good send off to all these characters that we all love and care for.
Also, please note that some of us have "Forever Alone" Shepards and they deserve a happy ending with their friends just as much as the Shepards that romanced someone.

[Zatorus]

First of all, thanks to everyone at BioWare for all the hard work they spent on making the Mass Effect series. Even now that it's over, the trilogy is unprecedented in its ambition to involve the player in the story.

My first critique of the ending begins with that issue.  Mass Effect has always been built around player choice.  It is what makes the star child scene so jarring.  Here we are forced to accept one of three options, all of which lack the proper context to make an informed decision.  I still have no idea what the synthesis ending means for the Mass Effect universe, or how it happens.  The star child says the destroy ending will kill all synthetics, yet Shepard can survive even with his implants.  I suppose you could say that Shepard's mind isn't thinking clearly becuase of his injuries, but I think the conclusion should be a chance for us to reinforce everything our Shephard stands for, not blindly take some AI at its word.  If you're going to stick to this formula, which I would prefer you did not, at least expand on what they mean. 

Furthermore, given the wide range of decisions and consequences throughout the series, the endings need to reflect that as well.  All through the game, Mass Effect 3 does a very good job of showcasing your decisions.  Through my friendships with Mordin and Wrex I was able to cure the genophage, but lost Salarian support.  I was able to unite the Geth and Quarians with Tali and Legion's help.  The ending should have been the culmination of everything I had worked so hard to build.  The galactic readiness numbers were useful to have a breakdown of all your united forces, but at the end they just became a number.  It would be so much more powerful to actually see Geth and Quarians fighting side by side against the Reapers.

Returning to the subject of the endings and choice, the endings need to have more immediate variety, ideally by reflecting your combined forces in action.  Fundamentally there are really only three endings and while I get that they may make the galaxy a very different place a hundred years from now, it is hard to see what makes them different in the short term.  Casey talked about a desire to have a bittersweet ending, and I am going to respectfully disagree.  Because of the lack of closure, it's hard to get any "sweet" out of the ending.  I am just left feeling confused and hurt.  If Shepard sacrificed himself to save the galaxy, his death needs to mean something.  Mordin's death was bittersweet.  It was heartbreaking to see him go up there alone, but it was obviously important to him and had a real impact.  Rather than being left with a message of hope, or rising against impossible odds, the trilogy ends in sorrow, a sudden shift in theme.   Without the mass relays, it seems like things are going to get much worse before they get better. 

However, the idea of a bittersweet ending is not itself a problem.  I would just hope that there would be more variety in the potential outcomes.  Ideally, I would like to see everything from Shepard dying and failing to defeat the Reapers up to a true "happy" ending where Shepard can just find some place quiet with his friends and loved ones to live out his days.  It is disheartening to spend so much time crafting a unique Shephard only to get railroaded into dooming a large segment of the races you tried so hard to save.

Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up the plot issues in the current endings.  It has been said before, but I'll just reiterate that it is hard to fathom how the crew that would follow Shepard to hell and back is fleeing at his darkest hour.  The catalyst's logic is hard to follow as well.  If the player unites the Quarian and Geth it would seem to contradict the star child's basic premise.

I'm not sure if Indoctrination Theory is the best way to go, or how possible it is to edit the existing endings.  I can say that while I respect the idea behind leaving an ending where the players are able to speculate, it is misplaced in a video game like Mass Effect.  In a game in which so much is dependent on the player's choice, more than anything else the conclusion needs to do a better job of reflecting that.

Despite everything I brought up, I would just like to emphasize that much of Mass Effect 3 is brilliant.  That is part of what makes the ending so frustrating.  The series deserves a proper sendoff, one that equals the quality of everything that came before it. 

Modifié par Zatorus, 19 mars 2012 - 05:13 .

[Spectre Impersonator]

JohnShepard12 wrote...

Jessica Merizan wrote...

This is not a constructive response guys. Be specific in your needs and I'll pass that to the team.

1. The ending should be fully explained, instead of being full of strange plot holes, such as Joker and crew inexplicably flying away from battle, the logic behind maker the Reapers to stop organics from making Reapers, and how Ashley got onto the Normandy when she was running to the beam with me a few minutes earlier. Also, why should we feel accomplished if the Citadel gets blown up (with all those innocents we helped) and all the races of the galaxy are stranded at earth to die slow, messy deaths in a struggle for resources and all the geth die after we united them with the Quarians?

2. The ending should NOT be a cliff-hanger. I was particularly insulted by the shot of Shepard's torso taking a breath because that's the kind of thing that sets up a sequel, not that closes out an epic, multi-hour trilogy.

3. There should be multiple endings of VARYING emotional tones. Many, including me, would like a happy ending, to see our hard work rewarded, to see Shepard get a deserved break (not that getting there shouldn't be a difficult/painful struggle). Every single one of the current endings feels equally miserable, confusing and lame to me.

4. The Reapers should be the bad guys. Why change the objective from the past three games in the last ten minutes? We've been trying to stop/kill the evil Reapers for five years and that's how I want to end it. Also Harbinger has been built up as the main Reaper villain, yet he made no impact on the game at all.

5. To me, the ending lacked in shots of all the characters and races contributing in the final battle. I wanted to see all the war assetts I collected doing their thing: Jack's biotics, Grunt and his squad of bad asses, some of the good Rachni, Major Kirrahe, Samara, Miranda, Jacob, Anderson, Wrex and my squadmates all contributing. Surely they aren't just sitting on the sidelines while Shepard and his team of two go fight the Reapers, right? Show us what they're doing, it will give us something to fight for, raise the stakes, possibly open up more opportunities to make decisions about the ongoing battle that could have consequences...

I'd like to add that despite the fact that the devs did not fully deliver on the promise to give us many different endings affected by our choices and decisions, I'm still willing to pay extra for a proper finale, for two reasons.

1. The Mass Effect series means a lot to me and I really don't want it to end on this bad note. As it is, all I can think of is the weird ending when I consider the series and it saps my will to play through it again.

2. I respect Bioware far over any other developer because of how they listen to their fans and almost always release stellar products with a strong story and writing. I make a special exception where my money's concerned for Bioware products, and if they continue to take their fans' feedback into account and aim to create a pleasing product, I will keep on making that exception.

[Mr.BlazenGlazen]

lordnarvinye wrote...

jcmccorm wrote...

Suggestion:

Identify the internal people who warned you in advance that you are making a terrible mistake with the ending. Promote them.

THIS.  OMG THIS.  GO BACK TO YOUR PRIOR VISION BIOWARE.

Agreed.

[WULONGmerc]

I ran across a pretty considerate poll made by a polite perso nand was wondering if Bioware could utilize it for the fans:      https://docs.google....TOWIxbVFZSFE6MQ

[defenestrated]

ArchAngel6190 wrote...

Ryan546 wrote...

this thread says it all  social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/355/index/9851623 

And honestly there is nothing wrong with an ending where shepard lives and gets reunited with his LI/crew

For the love of god please do not go with the indoctrination theory bioware, please!  It's a good theory but only that.  I would be devastated for you guys to work on an epilogue just to have it so shepard was dreaming/mind-controlled.  I would much rather have it retconned and just take reaper god kid out, or have a fourth option to disregard him

Just to maybe put your mind at ease, For the indocrination theory, Im pretty sure if they went with it they would establish the "Wake up" aspect of it fairly quickly.  What i mean by that is somewhere between the hill run and the "End" is where Shepard would "wake up" and then the new ending would ensue.  It be pretty pointless to make a whole new ending to only have it be all part of the indoctrination.

Absolutely, the indoctrination theory allows the current ending to exist as a stepping stone to a new ending. I don't think anyone is asking for a new ending where we find out Shep is indoctrinated and the game ends there.

[Paparob]

Modifié par Paparob, 17 mars 2012 - 04:37 .

[KeilxKey]

lordnarvinye wrote...

jcmccorm wrote...

Suggestion:

Identify the internal people who warned you in advance that you are making a terrible mistake with the ending. Promote them.

THIS.  OMG THIS.  GO BACK TO YOUR PRIOR VISION BIOWARE.

Agreed. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[qdust]

 The things I liked in no particular order

A. The background noise.  Particularly in the hospital after the coup.  It really pulled me into the moment.
B. The romance with Liara.  If there had been an option I think taking one small ship and getting lost in the stars with her would have been very tempting.
C. The absolute hands down best moment of the game: Near the very end when Hacket calls Shepard.  Beaten, bleeding sitting next to the corpses of her first ally and her greatest foe the first words out of her mouth are "What do you need me to do."  I would never have thought that one line could sum her up so completely
D. My Black Widow sniper rifle.....just for the pure thrill visceral thrill.
E. More generally the drama.  Mordin, Grunt, Tali, and Legion all had emotionally powerful stories around them.

The thing I didn't like....the ending

A. After all the struggle against the geth heretics, against sovereign, against cerberus, against the reapers suddenly in the last two minutes of the game an new and all powerful antagonist is introduced.

B. The inconsistencies

    -If the creator/controller of the reapers is on the Citadel the whole time, why did Saren need to find the conduit to break in the back door?  Couldn't the Ghost Child just open the arms for Sovereign

    -If the Ghost Child was in the Citadel the whole time why did the reapers even need Sovereign

    -How and why did my squad get suddenly back onto Normandy and begin to flee the battle

    -The synthesis ending seems....well the jokey term on the forums for it is "Space Magic."  How does a wave of energy instantly graft synthetic bits onto organics and organic bits onto synthetics?  I don't know how to say it better than this. "It just doesn't make sense." On top of that it sort of means the end of humanity.

    -The destroy ending has its problems too though.  A killswitch to disable all reapers makes sense.  I can believe the Ghost Child would have one of those, but why would you have to shoot it? If the Ghost child is willing to let you do it why wont he just fly the reapers into the center of the sun for you? (Same question about the control option actually)  And, and why would it destroy everything with even a trace of technology related to the reapers.  They do make a point of saying that the Geth, are no longer connected to the reaper network.

    -The control ending while it makes the most sense is the least appealing.  I don't understand why that would destroy the mass relays, and I don't understand why Shepard wouldn't use the reapers to help rebuild.

    -The Crucible and the Catalyst.  It makes sense that the races currently building the Crucible don't know what the Catalyst is.  (That part of the file was missing or damaged, or too hard to translate)  But how could the races that designed the Crucible have done it without knowing what the Catalyst was?

    -I'm sure there are more, but those are the ones that really bothered me.

C. That in the end all the choices you made throughout all three games mattered very little if at all. (Big one)

D. Generally the last few minutes just didn't feel like Mass Effect.  You had a brand new antagonist, and whoever your Shepard was for the last five years was gone and replaced by an unrecognizeable woman (or man) who meekly did what she was told.

Thank you for listening and thank you for the entire rest of the game.

[Draco2fox]

and how 'bout a purpose for the CE robot dog (but definitely endings first).

[Singu]

I'm going to start feedback with a quote from Casey Hudson's post about Mass Effect 3's conclusion:

Casey Hudson wrote...

We always intended that the scale of the conflict and the underlying theme of sacrifice would lead to a bittersweet ending—to do otherwise would betray the agonizing decisions Shepard had to make along the way. Still, we wanted to give players the chance to experience an inspiring and uplifting ending; in a story where you face a hopeless struggle for basic survival, we see the final moments and imagery as offering victory and hope in the context of sacrifice and reflection.

My complaint is quite short. But hopefully you can take some of it to heart.

There's no payoff at all for me compared to my hopes and dreams for how this series would end. Litterarily up to the final charge on the beam at earth I had hopes that the designers would shepherd me to a place where I felt a sence of finality and accomplishment over my feats during the three games.

The whole atmosphere of the remaining part of the game actually felt like it was done by a different gamestudio. I'm not going to critisese the actual gameplay that lead up to the final cutscene, but instead comment on the actual end of the cutscenes, the place that is 100% identical for everyone that played the games.

The Normandy crash(again might I add) and the dialogue between the "Stargazer" and the kid is the weakest payoff I could possibly imagine. I think I would have prefered the game going into a black screen like the end of Soprano's after my shepard is dissolved in the Blue, Green ending or blown up in the Red ending. Not even a single line of text, video or image of a civilization getting back on it's feet. Soldiers being reunited with their family and people after somehow getting back to their system from the battle of the Crucible.

My input into this game and all my hopes connected to that input have been pretty much ignored in the conclusion you, Bioware, chose for the Mass Effect saga.

My hopes that you somehow will rectify this is however not there anymore. If that was so you would've stated it by now. Instead Mr. Hudson, in todays statement, confirmed that this is your imagination of how you wanted it all to end.

I might be tragically optimistic and romantic as a person. But I have to say that your ending is the bleakest and most sad tale ever told. It physically hurts me to think that I will roleplay a character to end up in such a sad existance.

This is the most constructive critisism I can manage to give you, and I relaize that it goes against your core vision for how you saw it ending. So, like I wrote in the other thread. This is it for me as far as being a customer with you. If you're capable of imagining this would be a good idea I can't really give you my money and take a chance at playing your future games.

For those still reading this post, I've been a loyal fan of your gamestudio since I was shuffling around all my CD's playing Baldurs Gate. And I've played every title you launched ever since, except Jade Empire and SW:TOR. I've been guilty of introducing a lot of my friends, collagues and family to your games - and rightfully so.

Thanks for many good rides, and I honestly hope you take this critism from your fans to heart. Both for the remains of content made for ME3, and for future titles.

[redhead1979]

Would be nice if the journal imparted more information, such as more detailed locations of missions (cluster + system), as well as updated when a specific item was found, i.e. change from "Find Pillars of Strength at X" to "Return Pillars of Strength to X".

What I love, love, love were the elements that fell into the non-standard combat sections such as turrets, piloting big robots, chase scenes, heavy weapon areas. They really broke up the regular combat, like adding frosting to a delicious cake! Plus they really enhance the cinematic feel of the missions.

More missions like the Suicide Mission from ME2. What really made that stand out was that your entire crew was involved in some way, even if they weren't in your squad. A way to have all of your crew engaged in missions is much more involving than leaving half of them behind on your ship, plus I love hearing the dialogue!

More trinkets to put in my Quarters and around the ship. Gives it a nice feel of personalization! I love the idea behind the ship models. It's simple, but makes me smile whenever I see them in my quarters.

I love the new melee abilities. Could never hurt to add more animations for sneaky kills, different take downs, punching different areas, grappling, using an enemy as a shield, etc...

The most exciting parts for me were when the environment got in on the action, such as deformation, buildings exploding around you, ground falling out from under you, etc. Those scripted events really add to the immersion.

[SamFlagg]

*columbo style*

Oh and one more thing.  If the result of this does end up producing a solid satisfyng meaningful personal DLC ending.

The achievement name for finishing it really needs to be "Hold the Line"

[DCYNIGR8]

So this was posted over in the "On the Mass Effect 3 endings. Yes, we are listening" thread by a user by the name of bwFex.

Just thought i'd leave it here as well as it sums up my thoughts perfectly and much better than I could have on why the ending was so dissapointing and how the indocrination theory, if true, would be awesome.

bwFex wrote...

I really have been trying to let myself get over this nightmare, but since you guys promise you're listening here, I'll
try to just say it all, get it all out. I have invested more of myself into this series than almost any other video game franchise in my life. I loved this game. I believed in it. For five years, it delivered. I must have played ME1 and ME2 a dozen times each.

I remember the end of Mass Effect 2. Never before, in any video game I had ever played, did I feel like my actions really mattered. Knowing that the decisions I made and the hard work I put into ME2 had a very real, clear, obvious impact on who lived and who died was one of the most astounding feelings in the world to me. I remember when that laser hit the Normandy and Joker made a comment about how he was happy we upgraded the shields. That was amazing. Cause and effect. Work and reward.

The first time I went through, I lost Mordin, and it was gut-wrenching: watching him die because I made a bad decision was damning, heartbreaking. But it wasn't hopeless, because I knew I could go back, do better, and save him. I knew that I was in control, that my actions mattered. So that's exactly what I did. I reviewed my decisions, found my mistakes, and did everything right. I put together a plan, I worked hard to follow that plan, and I got the reward I had worked so hard for. And then, it was all for nothing. When I started playing Mass Effect 3, I was blown away. It was perfect. Everything was perfect. It was incredible to see all of my decisions playing out in front of me,
building up to new and outrageous outcomes. I was so sure that this was it, this was going to be the masterpiece that crowned an already near-perfect trilogy. With every war asset I gathered, and with every multiplayer game I won, I knew that my work would pay off, that I would be truly satisfied with the outcome of my hard work and smart decisions. Every time I acquired a new WA bonus, I couldn't wait to see how it would play out in the final battle. And then, it was all for nothing.

I wasn't expecting a perfect, happy ending with rainbows and butterflies.In fact, I think I may have been insulted if everyone made it through just fine. The Reapers are an enormous threat (although obviously not as invincible as they would like us to believe), and we should be right to anticipate heavy losses. But I never lost hope. I built alliances, I made the impossible happen to rally the galaxy together. I cured the genophage. I saved the Turians. I united the geth and the quarians. And then, it was all for nothing.

When Mordin died, it was heartwrenching, but I knew it was the right thing. His sacrifice was... perfect. It made sense. It was congruent with the dramatic themes that had been present since I very first met Wrex in ME1. It was not a cheap trick, a deus ex machina, an easy out. It was beautiful, meaningful, significant, relevant, and satisfying. It was an amazing way for an amazing character to sacrifice themself for an amazing thing. And then
it was all for nothing.

When Thane died, it was tearjerking. I knew from the moment he explained his illness that one day, I'd have to
deal with his death. I knew he was never going to survive the trilogy, and I knew it wouldn't be fun to watch him go. But when his son started reading the prayer, I lost it. His death was beautiful. It was significant. It was relevant. It was satisfying. It was meaningful. He died to protect Shepard, to protect the entire Citadel. He took a life he thought was unredeemable and used it to make the world a brighter place. And then it was all for nothing.

When Wrex and Eve thanked me for saving their species, I felt that I had truly accomplished something great. When Tali set foot on her homeworld, I felt that I had truly accomplished something great. When Javik gave his inspiring speech, I felt that I had inspired something truly great. When I activated the Citadel's arms, sat down to reminisce with Anderson one final time, I felt that I had truly accomplished something amazing. I felt that my sacrifice was meaningful. Significant. Relevant. And while still a completely unexplained deus ex machina, at least it was a little bit satisfying.

And then, just like everything else in this trilogy, it was all for nothing.

If we pretend like the indoctrination theory is false, and we're really supposed to take the ending at face value, this entire game is a lost cause. The krogans will never repopulate. The quarians will never rebuild their home world. The geth will never know what it means to be alive and independent. The salarians will never see how people can
change for the better.

Instead, the quarians and turians will endure a quick, torturous extinction as they slowly starve to death, trapped in a system with no support for them. Everyone else will squabble over the scraps of Earth that haven't been completely obliterated, until the krogans drive them all to extinction and then die off without any women present. And this is all assuming that the relays didn't cause supernova-scaled extinction events simply by being
destroyed, like we saw in Arrival.

And perhaps the worst part is that we don't even know. We don't know what happened to our squadmates. We didn't get any sort of catharsis, conclusion. We got five years of literary foreplay followed by a kick to the groin and a note telling us that in a couple months, we can pay Bioware $15 for them to do it to us all over again.

It's not just the abysmally depressing/sacrificial nature of the ending, either. As I've already made perfectly clear, I came into this game expecting sacrifice. When Mordin did it, it was beautiful. When Thane did it, it was beautiful.
Even Verner. Stupid, misguided, idiotic Verner. Even his ridiculous sacrifice had meaning, relevance, coherence, and offered satisfaction.

No, it's not the sacrifice I have a problem with. It's the utter lack of coherence and respect for the five years of literary gold that have already been established in this franchise. We spent three games preparing to fight these reapers. I spent hours upon hours doing every side quest, picking up every war asset, maxing out my galactic readiness so that when the time came, the army I had built could make a stand, and show these Reapers that we won't go down without a fight.

In ME1, we did the impossible when we killed Sovereign. In ME2, we began to see that the Reapers aren't as immortal as they claim to be: that even they have basic needs, exploitable weaknesses. In ME3, we saw the
Reapers die. We saw one get taken down by an overgrown worm. We saw one die with a few coordinated orbital bombardments. We saw several ripped apart by standard space combat. In ME1, it took three alliance fleets to
kill the "invincible" Sovereign. By the end of ME3, I had assembled a galactic armada fifty times more powerful than that, and a thousand times more prepared. I never expected the fight to be easy, but I proved that we wouldn't go down without a fight, that there is always hope in unity. That's the theme we've been given for the past five years: there is hope and strength through unity. That if we work together, we can achieve the impossible.

And then we're supposed to believe that the fate of the galaxy comes down to some completely unexplained
starchild asking Shepard what his favorite color is? That the army we built was all for nothing? That the squad whose loyalty we fought so hard for was all for nothing? That in the end, none of it mattered at all?

It's a poetic notion, but this isn't the place for poetry. It's one thing to rattle prose nihilistic over the course of a movie or ballad, where the audience is a passive observer, learning a lesson from the suffering and futility of a character, but that's not what Mass Effect is. Mass Effect has always been about making the player the true
hero. If you really want us to all feel like we spent the past five years dumping time, energy, and emotional investment into this game just to tell us that nothing really matters, you have signed your own death certificate. Nobody pays hundreds of dollars and hours to be reminded how bleak, empty, and depressing the world can be, to be told that nothing we do matters, to be told that all of our greatest accomplishments, all of our faith, all of our work, all of our unity is for nothing.

No. It simply cannot be this bleak. I refuse to believe Bioware is really doing this. The ending of ME1 was perfect. We saw the struggle, we saw the cost, but we knew that we had worked hard, worked together, and won. The ending of ME2 was perfect. We saw the struggle, we saw the cost, but we knew that we had worked hard, worked
together, and won.

Taken at face value, the end of ME3 throws every single thing we've done in the past five years into the wind, and
makes the player watch from a distance as the entire galaxy is thrown into a technological dark age and a stellar extinction. Why would we care about a universe that no longer exists? We should we invest any more time or money into a world that will never be what we came to know and love?

Even if the ending is retconned, it doesn't make things better. Just knowing that the starchild was our real foe the entire time is so utterly mindless, contrived, and irrelevant to what we experienced in ME1 and ME2 that it cannot be forgiven. If that really is the truth, then Mass Effect simply isn't what we thought it was. And
frankly, if this is what Mass Effect was supposed to be all along, I want no part of it. It's a useless, trite, overplayed cliche, so far beneath the praise I once gave this franchise that it hurts to think about.

No. There is no way to save this franchise without giving us the only explanation that makes sense. You know what it is. It was the plan all along. Too much evidence to not be true. Too many people reaching the same conclusions independently.

The indoctrination theory doesn't just save this franchise: it elevates it to one of the most powerful and compelling storytelling experiences I've ever had in my life. The fact that you managed to do more than indoctrinate Shepard -
you managed to indoctrinate the players themselves - is astonishing. If that really was the end game, here, then you have won my gaming soul. But if that's true, then I'm still waiting for the rest of this story, the final chapter of Shepard's heroic journey. I paid to finish the fight, and if the indoctrination theory is true, it's not over yet.

And if it's not, then I just don't even care. I have been betrayed, and it's time for me to let go of the denial, the anger, the bargaining, and start working through the depression and emptiness until I can just move on. You can't keep teasing us like this. This must have seemed likea great plan at the time, but it has cost too much. These people
believed in you. I believed in you.

Just make it right.

Modifié par DCYNIGR8, 17 mars 2012 - 04:45 .

[JoeLaTurkeyII]

jcmccorm wrote...

Suggestion:

Identify the internal people who warned you in advance that you are making a terrible mistake with the ending. Promote them.

[Iylara]

 I just want to be able to have Turian-Human babies with Garrus! I demand a different ending where my FemShep can retire on a tropical island with Garrus after saving the galaxy and destroying the Reapers. I want an actual happy ending. I want my FemShep to live. 
The other little glitches are fine to deal with. I just want a happy ending. <3 Please go with The Indoctrination Theory so that I can kick ass with FemShep and then retire with Garrus after LIVING!

Modifié par Iylara, 17 mars 2012 - 04:47 .

[chosen_trekie]

First off I would like to thank you for your hard work on Mass Effect and for taking the time to read this.

1.  I would like Dragon Age: Origions style epilogues:
     - I would like a small epilogue for every living squad member (current and former), just something telling me how they moved on with thier lives.
     - I would like an epilogue for all the major races in the galaxy, just something telling me how they managed (i.e. Did the Krogan threaten the galaxy after I cured the Genophage?)

2.  I would like more varied endings with the worst ending being the Reapers win and the best ending being that you win, Shepard lives and get to be with his/her love intrest.  I think the best ending should be something you really have to work for though.

3.  I don't think you should have to play multiplayer to get the best ending.  I do like the idea of promoting multiplayer characters into war assests, but I don't think your galactic readiness rating shoud affect the sigal player. 

4.  If you could put holstering weapons back in that would be cool but it's not really a big deal.

Once again, thank you for you time.

[ADLegend21]

Alright then.

I would like Jacob to be altered if you romance dhim in Mass Effect 2. He should not be with Brynne Cole and should instead be happy to see you since when we last saw hi he told femshep that he loved her and was going to be there for her. not ditch her because the alliance puts her under house arrest. It seems jarring that Jacob would go to a cerberus cell after the Normandy crew quits Cerberus with Shepard. It would also show that the people who pursued the JAcob romance, despite Hale's predatorial voice acting and Jacob's reputation as being boring on the BSN, that we were not forgotten and that we get the satisfying ending like the "popular" romances of Tali, Garrus, Liara, Kaidan, and Ashley.

speaking of that, Thane deserves to be a paramour achievement romance. The dialogue of a shepard who isn't with Thane and a Shepard who is is too similar and the latter should be alot more eotional seeing as her lover is dying in front of her.

I would also like to have an ending where the Mass Relays are not destroyed and Shepard is found wherever they are in the "Shepard lives" ending after you destroy the reapers so that the alliances can move into their post war stages.


Also, Femshep romance path for Ashley, like Kaidan having a romance path with maleshep please!

Modifié par ADLegend21, 17 mars 2012 - 06:38 .