7052 réponses à ce sujet

[icedphobos]

I'll be quick. The problem, in my point of view, is that most of the decisions we've made is turned into a number (EMS), when the ending is concerned. This is valid for major plot decisions, including Rachni or survivors in ME2.
We don't even see a text or video telling us who did it or didn't survive the final battle, how did they fight or what effects those decisions have had in the galaxy.
We're forced to see a video that doesn't tell us anything, and it's extremelly difficult to make sense of it.
It seems like, in the end, the only reason for playing the whole trilogy was for getting a high EMS, end even that EMS doesn't have a meaningful impact in the ending.

[cheeseburg]

A lot of people seem to be on board with indoctrination theory. You've got a lot of backing for that. Going that route, at this point, may be the safest option, and then expand the endings. One where the reapers kill everyone, with an epilogue of Liara's archive-thing and some unknown race in the future. Another where Shepard settles down with LI, another where Shepard dies but everyone lives. Hell, you can keep the Mass Relays as being destroyed, but stay true to the ME universe. Without going into specifics, remember the Alpha Relay.

My ideal perfect ending looks like something in this picture:  http://i.imgur.com/kyCGO.jpg Of course for obvious reasons not everyone in that picture is actually there () but you get the idea.

You change that ending, I'm a happy camper.

Until then, we will hold the line.

[utaker1988]

I will state that I'd like something that made sense, a sense of closure with a more detailed epilogue. How did my choices really effect the races in the end. Or does it not matter because I've just committed galactic genocide. Now that I've stranded the Quarians in the Sol relay with only FTL to guide them to the homeworld I just won back for them, do they run out of fuel and just not make it. If they stay on Earth what effect does our food source have on them? Things like that. Ah yes, Joker and the Normandy. Just why was he near a Mass Relay to begin with? I shouldn't have to assume that he just felt like it, someone ordered him too, or he just hated my Shep so much he felt she deserved to be left behind. The only way I can wrap my head around the concept that any of this makes sense is that it was all a dream/hallucination/indoctrination.

The dialogue choices/auto dialogue this really messed up my Shepard. It was like this was a totally different character I had spent 5 years building. She was saying things I would never have her say. I found no fun in role playing her, it was not mine any longer.

ME2 LI's, ok I get that there were now so many to consider. But somewhere I read that they would get equal treatment. They did not. I didn't romance Jacob but for someone who chose him this one way path he was put on, wasn't fair to those who did choose him. And Thane, what did you do him? This was NOT the romanced Thane. This was the friendship Thane.

What happened to him was wrong on so many levels. You had the option to pick him over Kaidan and then he doesn't count. One conversation and it's mostly about his illness and then NOTHING until he fights Kai Leng. Then his death scene, it was great for a non romanced Thane but a romanced one. My Shep looked like stone. No final chance to at least tell him she loved him. Far from equal treatment there. The hints thrown around about a treatment in 2 and yet nothing to be had here. Not one person mentions him after he dies, unless you count that awful taunt by Leng on Thessia. Can't say that people didn't know about Shep and Thane. In 2, they did. At the very least Liara, Kasumi, Mordin, and EDI (those instructional vids Mordin sent) knew. If that wasn't painful enough, Shep was like a revolving door of people hitting on her after the fact. Tacky. I stopped talking to my crew and squadmates. Then the end, my Shep's final moments and her last flashback is Liara! What was that? Trust me, Liara is the last thing on my mind when I'm about to meet my Maker. A final slap in the faces to the ones who chose ME2 LI's.

So, let's say my Shep wants to move on (she doesn't and won't) but the choices are so few it's insulting. Ok, Thane died. I shot Kaidan. So that leaves me with Samantha, Diana, and Liara. Not ONE man? Sure, I could not have shot Kaidan but since I chose Thane over him, it's safe to say I was done with him. What if Ashley was my survivor? Still, the choices are still the same. Vega should have been put on the table. FemShep was discriminated against.

Journal entries, to not have them update is awful. What if I forgot I picked something up already? Then I waste time running back to the Citadel to check or go back to that system to check. The pausing of Shep to get scanned when trying to leave that one room on the Normandy. Pointless and it's there just to waste time.

[crimzontearz]

repetita juvant

please, better/more hopeful ending for shepard and the crew

we had millions dead including loved ones for some (like Thane) it's OK if the hero lives and finds some peace and a modicum, it will not detract from the bitterness of the war ravaged worlds.

at least give us the freaking option

[DoctorCrowtgamer]

chris fenton wrote...

I need to feel my choices mattered.

I don't feel that, and it's incredibly disappointing.

I need the ability to have a happy ending, because let's face it: This is a hard world, and occasionaly people need a shelter. Video gaming is my shelter, and it feels as though my shelter just collapsed on my head.

I would also like an ending where the galaxy 100% loses.

If I play lazy, I should get ****.

If I play hard, I should get a happy ending.

I appricate the respones Bioware, truely. I hold hope you're listening.

yes well said! Oh and Playing hard should not mean having to log on to multiplayer that some people still can't get. Putting in about 120+ hours over five years to get everything set up just right should be enough to earn the happy single player ending.  Pleas listen to this Bioware. About 10% of the country can't get highspeed and I can't believe I am the only one who if feeling the pain in ME3 single player and even if you don't care about me what are other people supposed to do once most gamers move on in a year or two?  They will have part of the game they paid for locked out forever.  Please listen and fix this with a patch.

Hold the line as long as it takes people.

[Hylndur]

Since it's hard to see what has been said, Here are the things i would have preferred to see in short points

1. There are too many plot holes for the ending to be credible. All of the characters that we've grown to know and love are ALL not themselves. Joker running away from battle, leaving his commander to die while picking up what seems to be everyone else. Shepard going along with everything and not bothering to question why, or choosing to do otherwise. Shepard being on the verge of death and then once she gets lifted, being all of the sudden quite alive.

2. The ending, no matter which you chose, left at least me with a feeling of demise. All of these fleets coming to help earth and then all of a sudden all of them being stranded and eventually sentenced to their own death from starvation since not all species can survive with our food sources. It left the feeling that all we've done in this game and past games was all for nothing. Why save the counsel? they're all going to die anyways. Why should we cure the genophage? most of the race is off on other planets fighting a war.And a big one.. why take back the quarian home world? Almost all of their fleet is now stranded in earths solar system. Sure there may be some people left on those home worlds, but it all leaves a major MAJOR stain of depression and hopelessness.

3. There was no option. All of the things we've done in past games gave us no option of what we can do. You can go down this lane, this lane or this lane. That's it, no questions asked. You choose death and stranding your crew all three times.

[S Atomeha]

fix the ending, have it make some sense at least.

[WazTheMagnificent]

GET RID OF THE STARCHILD. COMPLETELY.

After that an improved ending should come naturally.

[WhiteVV1ings]

 First off choices, the entire series gave you choice but in the end the lack of choice was an insult. This is why, everything I did felt in vain with the cuurent endings. I always play the good guy and do my best to do a perfect paragon playthrough so I believe there should be an option for a happy ending that gives closure but based on your war assets gained in either single player or multiplayer or both together.

Many people have given their feedback and have said more than I could but I will add more. If it is possible despite EDI being of reaper tech I believe Joker and EDI should have a life together after the fight and more prefareablly a happy ending. I have grown to love every character I've came across even the ones I hated for their actions but still the emotional attachment is a strong bond as with many fans here. In all I just want an ending worth fighting for, one that matters and yes in war there will be casualties but those lost in the fight should not be in vain by a current bad ending. 

The endings must be vastly different, sure some may be similair in a minute aspect but not 95% identical with little varaition. If an individual wants to achieve a bad ending then give them that option, if one desires an happy ending where their Shepard emerges victorisoly and gets back with his or her love intreast and crew to then help with rebuilding followed by several scenes showing the rebuild of galatic society to then end off with a celebration of some type then sure I all for that. These are few examples, and many of my fellow gamers have touched on adding more endings that are different and fullfil what each indivdiual desires to do. In all make the series replayable again where and indivdual can make changes in ME1 to see how that would effect ME3 as was promised. 

Many people as myself replayed both ME1 and ME2 before ME3 experimenting with  various choices to see how our varibles would effect the conclusion of the ending. That is what we were promised, not a current ending that does not acknowledge or weighs in every choice you made up to ME3 that puts everything you achieved to vain. This is my feedback, I'm not angry in any way but am deeply disappointed and hurt to some degree. Thank you for taking the time to here me and also my fellow gamers. 

[SpockLives]

Please do not go with indoctrination theory. I feel it would be a contrived deus ex machina that would not improve the quality of the ending.

Things I liked:
Improvements over ME2 in powers and weapon customization.
The individual parts of the main quest and the major side missions.
The ability for Shepard to make major choices in the major conflicts before the final push.
Overall, this was a fun game, but see below.

Things I disliked:
Too much auto-dialogue. I want to choose what my character says.
Too many cut-scenes, most of them could not be skipped. There is no excuse for making a cut-scene that can't be skipped. Cut-scenes also interrupt me from actually playing the game.
The Journal was severely lacking.  Quests needed to be split into Main and Side, and quests needed to be updated and have more accurate descriptions.
The ending was poorly written and full of plot-holes.

My specific problems with the ending:
An ending can be tragic, but must be well written. There are many flaws in the Catalyst's logic, and Shepard has no opportunity to argue with him. If the Catalyst will not give us answers, then at least let us try to argue with the Catalyst and reveal the flaws in its logic.

My choices mattered during the game, but not at the end. All Shepards, regardless of the choices they have made have the same 3 options at the end. Granted, there are small differences in the ending cut-scenes as to how much of the earth is destroyed (all, some, or none) when the Catalyst is used, but those differences only depend on number of war assets, not the choices Shepard made along the way. Paragons and renegades got the same three choices.

The aliens will fight to the death over earth, and the turians and quarians will die no matter what. In ME2, Thane describes the fate of his planet and quotes Thomas Hobbes about how in the end, war provides for all, either through victory or death. There is no way there is enough food for all of the aliens in ships orbiting the earth. With the mass relays destroyed, they could never return to their home systems before running out of rations. That means they will fight to the death over earth's resources. The turians and quarians can't eat earth food, so they will simply die. This is not a tragic ending, it is an apocalyptic ending. This is not a bittersweet ending, it is just depressing.

Lastly, why did the Normandy flee? How did the Normandy flee? How did people who were on the surface of Earth manage to get back aboard the Normandy before it fled? Why did the Normandy crash?  The other ships orbiting the earth are not shown crashing.

Modifié par SpockLives, 17 mars 2012 - 03:22 .

[K-J4y]

Well, what is enjoyable? YES, to go on and beyond Love interest!
That gave the whole LI thingy something serious. Well done.
But... this imprecise ending is a little weird. Oh well, I did think about the ending and actually it's not that bad at all, but why didn't you come up with something serious, like the improvement of your Love Interest?

It's tempting to claim that fans are simply suffering from a letdown by unrealistic expectations.
But BioWare employees promised that kinda stuff.
As recently as January, Casey Hudson was telling Game Informer 

www.oxm.co.uk/37677/mass-effect-3-citadel-is-bigger-than-ever-endings-will-be-more-sophisticated/

Quote:

"This story arc is coming to an end with this game. That means the endings can be a lot more different. At this point we're taking into account so many decisions that you've made as a player and reflecting a lot of that stuff. It's not even in any way like the traditional game endings, where you can say how many endings there are or whether you got ending A, B, or C."


So, whether Mass Effect 3 is an Epic game with a very good ending at all, or it's the Epic game with some unsatisfying ending, it all comes down to the expectaions of the costumors. Which you have promoted all along.

Basically, an excuse would be appropriate in my opinion.

People got used to the Mass Effect universe, and you let them down. Disappointing

Modifié par K-J4y, 17 mars 2012 - 03:19 .

[Esc.Hatch]

SamFlagg wrote...

(Posted in this thread because I totally was taking to long and ended up after the lock in the other one)

Jessica,

First apologies for what I'm sure is the wall of text
flying back and forth which is contributing to the discussion being so
unhelpful right this second.  I would say people have to adjust to
actually having someone here.  Many of the articles laid out by some of
the posters do include the generalities of what we currently think was
wrong, but I can offer some concrete suggestions that reflect my
thoughts, and hopefully reflect the thoughts of others.

While the endings our our primary concern I'd like to address Earth and then a couple quality of life issues as well.

1.) War
assets - Many of us feel rightly or wrongly that we logically expected
war assets to appear either in game or in cutscenes during the take back
of Earth.  And the war assets I'm referring to aren't the space ships
above (Though those are awesome) they are the ones on the ground.  We
really really did want to see Elcor Living Tanks and bands of Krogans
charging reapers.  We wanted to see scenes of our ME2 squad mates
holding there own somewhere on the battlefield.  We expected the battle
on Earth itself to be so much grander

2.) I think a lot of us
expected Earth to be far more similar in tone to the ME2 suicide mission
where we could task crewmates and have their survival depend on our
choices previously in the game.  With the number of times Commander
Shepard is told that he was going to lose people, it was surprising that
no one on his current squad met that fate, and the ones who typically
would (Thane and Mordin) had already been heavily foreshadowed to
finding redeption through death (For the record, Thane Mordin and
Legions deaths were so pitch perfect that we find how perfect those were
out of balance with how much of a problem we had with the ending)

3.)
The section where you sprint towards the beam of light and harbinger
attacks all the way through having Anderson die next to you is
beautiful.  It's all emotional, and most of all it's personal.

4.)
Our main issues lie with the God-Child, we find his arguement
uncompelling because we don't see his logic, and we are angry most of
all because Shepard has been a character of definance against the odds
for 2.99 games.  And in the darkest hour, he does not have the option
really to simply reject the assertion that synthetics and organics will
always be at war (And the entire Geth Quarian plot line seems to make it
far more likely that Organics will try to wipe out synthetics than the
other way around.  We find fault with his reasoning and are for the
first time in the series unable to challenge it.)

5.) The ending
consequences for Shepard come down to three shades of death (discounting
the breathing), and the mass relays destroyed in all of them.  While
there may be an underlying philisophical discussion about destroying the
reapers controlling the reapers or merging all synthetic life, this is
far overshadowed by the very immediate practical problem of destroying
all relay travel and stranding fleets in the Sol system.

6.) I
believe this could have been handled better by having some options where
Shepard lives, but relays are destroyed, or shepard dies, but the
relays go on, or even Shepard picks the control option and the reapers
leave earth and the relays alone but go and reap the rest of the
galaxy.  The practical consequences of the three options are so similar
that their philisophical difference becomes irrelevant.  (To that end I
think many would've been happy for an option to be defiant, sacrifice
yourself, have the crucible simply bring down the reaper barriers and
make them easily destroyed by the assembled fleet, and hey if you have
enough EMS you can even save shepard.)

7.) Closure.  In this it
could've been done with a heroes funeral, or if he survived a simple pan
and scan of the area with his surviving squad mates and a "Let's go
home" moment.   We feel that many of the plotlines that were apparently
solved are undone because all the people necessary to good outcomes
(Like having Wrex on Tuchanka) are stranded in the sol system.  We're
not all asking for a Star Wars Medal Ceremony, we'd be perfectly fine if
it could be a bittersweet view of all we lost, but also at what we
still had.  (And if there are enough varient endings someone can get the
star wars medal ceremony, but that's the point we wanted the endings to
be divergent)

8.) The cut scenes were 80% the same.  There really isn't a way to not be unhappy about that.

The
other quality of life issues are: The Journal, The Face Import,
Multiplayer having too much of an impact on readyness, and the Shepard
Shame Talk  (when the models actively look away from each other while
talking)

Now I will point out that this depth of feeling is
because of a real sense of attachment to all of the characters in the
universe.  The deaths for the characters who had them were all pitch
perfect, which is why the lack of sacrifice in the last part of the game
of anyone on the most dangerous battlefield followed by destroying the
entire relay system is so jarring.

This guy really nailed it.  I was so pumped going to earth thinking "the ME2 suicide mission was so good and involved so many choices and consequences of earlier choices that there's no way they won't top that with ME3", and I was severely disappointed.  I know it's really too late to remedy that, but at least you could do something where all those war assets we gathered have an explicit effect on the ending beyond 2 seconds of cutscene where earth burns if you didn't have enough and getting the synthetic option if you had a ton (how are we even supposed to know that second one is due to our war assets?  Until I read spoilers I assumed everyone got it and my war assets seemed to mean NOTHING).  The final combat sequence was also disappointing: I don't want a final boss like the silly baby space terminator, but I do want more than defending some missiles from a few waves of enemies with the added challenge of laser beams from some faceless reaper a mile away.  I had been getting psyched up for a final fight to take back the citadel, and there I was disappointed as well.


As for the actual ending:

-I'm OK with the mass relays being destroyed, and I can sort of make up a story in my head that they discharged energy instead of exploding to destroy all planets in the sysem LIKE THE IN GAME CODEX CLAIMS THEY WOULD (yeah that's "uplifting") and what happened to the Batarians.  

-I need some explanation for why Joker ditched us and how he got my squadmates back on the Normandy when I thought they died with me on the final approach of the teleport laser

-actual closure.  It's the end of 100 hours I spent over 7 years.  It's cool to leave the future ambiguous and leave room for speculation - but you're asked to make this huge choice at the end and you see almost no consequences of that choice, so the whole thing falls flat and feels meaningless, especially when all the endings are just recolors that may or may not have EDI in them.  Shep makes a sacrifice and we have no idea what the results of that are, right down to:

-all of your previous choices are negated because everyone appears to be stranded in the Sol system.  It is unclear how long it would take to use in-ship FTL to get back to their home systems, if it's even possible.  So the Quarians will never see their homeworld again and the entire Krogan army will never get to pump out the babies if we cured them of the genophage.

-previous choices are also negated because you have to accept what the starchild says as gospel and cant' argue with him.  You just have to take one of his choices.  I get that each choice sort of represents acceptance/rejection of his philosophy - if you pick destroy, you are kind of also saying that you believe organics won't make the same mistakes with synthetics this cycle - but regardless of that, Shep wouldn't just stand there slack-jawed and in a daze accepting whatever THE LEADER OF THE REAPERS said to him.

Anyway, thanks for listening.  I hope you release some free DLC to improve the ending.  If you embraced the indoctrination theory and then gave us a climactic battle on the Citadel followed by a bittersweet ending where there is great sacrifice but still hope and closure for those who live and your war assets are an actual factor in a clear and tangible way - it's possible it could go down as one of the greatest endings in video game history, rather than one of the worst.

[Fattness132]

cheeseburg wrote...

A lot of people seem to be on board with indoctrination theory. You've got a lot of backing for that. Going that route, at this point, may be the safest option, and then expand the endings. One where the reapers kill everyone, with an epilogue of Liara's archive-thing and some unknown race in the future. Another where Shepard settles down with LI, another where Shepard dies but everyone lives. Hell, you can keep the Mass Relays as being destroyed, but stay true to the ME universe. Without going into specifics, remember the Alpha Relay.

My ideal perfect ending looks like something in this picture:  http://i.imgur.com/kyCGO.jpg Of course for obvious reasons not everyone in that picture is actually there () but you get the idea.

You change that ending, I'm a happy camper.

Until then, we will hold the line.

I agree. Seeing how much thought has been put into the indoc theory by a lot of people, it would'nt be too difficult to implement it along with an epilogue with what happens to everyone. Also i love that picture ( could also be seen as having a drink with garrus in human/turian heaven with all your buddies).

[nonpromqueen]

Oh and Playing hard should not mean having to log on to multiplayer that some people still can't get.

This. ME is not a multiplayer game for me. It was, once, an immersive single player RPG. So unless the multiplayer turns co-operative where a friend and I can explore the universe together I won't be playing it.

[SDW]

Hi, I'll repost my entry from this thread (http://social.biowar...623/23#10123073):
Changes?
Cut out the Catalyst. Its explanations don't go along with things we've learnt before (e.g. if it upholds the cycle, there never was a need for Saren to try and manually activate the call signal for the dormant reapers in part 1 - the Catalyst could have done that himself) and it itself is not fully explained. Who even made it? How did it manage to build reapers? etc.
Leave the mass relays whole. Their destruction strands everybody and ends the big intergalactic society my character worked for. Therefore, their explosion negates the efforts made - very unsatisfactory.

An ending and victory should feel earned. That's why the boss fights in the first two games fit so well. I read about the "Final hours" app according to which you ditched a boss fight as too predictable, but there are reasons why certain storytelling tools keep being used. When there's that last big obstacle to overcome, you feel so much greater once it has been overcome. Sounds stupid to say it out loud, but us gamers want to smile and pat ourselves on the shoulder for having accomplished it. And THEN get a big reward. It's true that the path to the end matters most, but then, the end also has to feel satisfactory, telling us (like Anderson) "You've done well."

If Shepard has to die in some way, could you make it more "awesome"? It should go along with her history (like, if she's a paragon, it should fit the theme of "for the greater good and those I love", or if she's a renegade, maybe "Who do you think you are to tell me what to do! I'll show you!!"). I'd like to have her remembered by everyone (and it showing in the ending cutscene). What that character did for that universe was pretty much superhuman.
Then again, I'd like her to live. She's made tons of friends and it would be so satisfactory to see them together in the end (especially with her LI). Please give us some scenes of them fighting the remaining husks or so (if they haven't died alongside with the reapers), having banter, laughing, rebuilding their societies.
What do her squadmates do once it's all over? E.g. there was this strong storyline of EDI finding out what to do with her freedom. She made her decision (duty, altruism, love) and I was hoping to see how that translated into some actions.
And whatever happens to Shepard, please show us the outcomes of our decisions. I made peace between Quarians and Geth, healed the genophage and rallied all the species. Surely, that must mean a bright future? In case I had decided to be a renegade, I'd also be curious to see what consequences THAT had for the galaxy. Say I killed off the Geth. How much harder does that make things for the Quarians?

In short (and similar to a post of mine in another thread): Please give us consequences, catharsis and closure.

Modifié par SDW, 19 mars 2012 - 09:19 .

[Ludica]

 Realise that this here is correct, and a possibility to rub it in Catalyst's face is needed.

P.S. Alternative: cut him. Altogether. But defeating it's offensive assertions is more satisfying imo.

Modifié par Ludica, 17 mars 2012 - 03:24 .

[Kyok]

I think a lot of us were expecting something different from the game's endings so I'll just say that I would have liked the possible endings to vary depending on choices we make (not necessarily which part of the final chamber we want to stand on).

I think if you bothered to collect all that loyalty back in ME2 you should be rewarded with squadmates in ME3 who follow you into that Citadel and help you out, (maybe by making sure you don't bleed to death) for example. I think if you bothered to broker all this peace between all the galactic races and helped everyone out that you could, they should all be bothered to come around and help out on earth; maybe even destroy the reapers with or without the crucible.

I think it would be a very interesting twist if the crucible were in fact meaningless or at the very least not what the player expects it to be (you certainly got us there already) but, heck with it you can try to win the game without it, and maybe you do if you have enough war assets yadda yadda.

The #1 fundamental problem with the ending is simply that there's no supporting cast. You say goodbye 30 minutes before you go on this suicide mission and every minute of it you get this palpable feeling of dread, which is effective certainly, but then you get nuked and you're alone and that's somewhat bland and very depressing. I found myself not really caring anymore because my two favorite squadmates were presumed dead after the laser hit and they died for practically nothing and that made the experience meaningless. The whole time I was in there I was wondering what Tali would say, or what Garrus would do. But they're dead (not dead/on some jungle planet)

I would like to refer you back to a previous game you made, the 3rd game of the Baldur's Gate series, where you had this demigod you had to kill, and when you did and you were essentially offered three choices (ascend for good/ascend for evil/stay mortal). That was pretty cool. Two of the endings were similar, sure, but the third was wildly different depending on who your LI was, and you got this feeling that even if your party drifted apart they'd still meet up at the bar on Tuesdays or exchange holiday cards or whatever, and depending on your LI you had kids/didn't have kids or still adventured around/settled down and each little "mini ending" fit the character somewhat well.

Even something as small as a page of text explaining what happens to each character (perhaps depending on how much you used them/results of their loyalty missions/LI or not) would be great. If it was voice acted, perfect. If not, I'll take what I can get.

The #2 problem with the ending is that each one leaves the same questions unanswered. This is a direct result of how similar the endings are. The questions are:

-How is a massive fleet going to survive in a star system with no natural resources left?
-How are the dextro peoples going to even live in a star system without their food type?
-How is anyone going to even survive the mass effect relay explosions, when you establish in both ME2 and ME3 (via codex entry) that a relay explosion kills the star system it's in?
-How did the Normandy even escape that explosion to get to that planet in the first place? Why would the crew of the Normandy choose to abandon Shepard in his time of greatest need, when the final crew dialogues indicate that they're there live or die?

With only a cursory knowledge of the game's lore, the general idea is that Joker and friends would have had to board the Normandy and abandon Shepard MUCH EARLIER than when Shepard got nuked to even have a chance of escaping the Sol relay's explosion, much less this chain of explosions to get to whatever planet that was, plus no crew members would have had to be there for any of the final fights, much less get hit by the laser and killed.

This was long and I hope you read it. I have one final thing I'd like to suggest, and that is please give Shepard a chance at a happy ending. You let us pick his beginning (War Hero, Sole Survivor, Ruthless) and a lot of us got this idea in our heads of the story we wanted to tell, where the ruthless Shepard meets a crew he cares about and turns Paragon, maybe, or a war hero Shepard starts breaking up when we realizes how many of his friends are dying in this war and honestly the endings such as they are end on such an utterly depressing note that it's hard to have fond memories of the series at all.

I'm sure you guys are proud of your games (and with good reasons). But the element of us being able to choose the ending is simply not there and those of us who wanted the choice for Shepard to live as something other than the invisible reaper god/religious figure of a new mechanical species were sorely disappointed.

Modifié par Kyok, 17 mars 2012 - 03:25 .

[mcbeardmcbeard]

The ending disappointed me, immensely. 

Here are a few issues I took exception to: 

Brevity: The ending itself was entirely too short for something I worked to see over the course of three games. 

Standardization: My choices and input had very little impact on the final results. I felt like 95 percent of the content was the same and my decisions had only minor input on the final outcome. Furthermore, the lack of a "dialogue-wheel" during the final conversation with that star-child-thing made me rage to no end. Lastly, I am still unclear as to what War Assets actually contribute to the ending. I spent hours scanning random planets and doing side-quests, and I have not the foggiest idea how they affect my endings. This was maddening. 

Bittersweet: I feel this is code for "Shepard has to die." This is troubling. An ending can be bittersweet without the main protagonist dying. I knew it was coming when the last dream-sequence with the star-child showed him and Shepard burning together. This foreshadowing did not please me. More generally, though, I wanted a happy ending. I played my character paragon 100 percent, and felt my ending choices should have reflected more of this spirit. Instead, I got: shepard dies 3x (2.9x?) and mass relays destroyed 3x. 

Lack of closure: What happened to all my squadmates, other races, and LI afterward? How does Shepard fit into this? 

I want to be clear: I cannot imagine a worse ending than the current-ending. I felt dead inside after finishing the game, and do not enjoy replaying the game in its current state. This is terrible, considering the high cost of the game and "From Ashes" DLC I purchased. 

TLDR: My suggestion: A happy-ending for we Paragon Shepards that includes choice, closure, and substantial content. 

Modifié par mcbeardmcbeard, 17 mars 2012 - 03:32 .

[Thatguyky]

Kittenpirate wrote...

I want my blue babies.

That is all.

Haha, I know right? A potential happy, clear, and not so pot hole ending would be great. I mean, I don't literally need blue babies, but you get the idea. An ending where Shepard/Crew/LI makes it out in one peice, and implies happiness. 

There's nothing wrong with a cliche happy ending, especially if you have to work for it. I don't play video games to make myself feel depressed (which the ending did), I'd much rather play them to make me feel good, even if the ending was a tad bit cheesy. 

Modifié par Thatguyky, 17 mars 2012 - 03:32 .

[Static Veins]

I won't make a complete rehash of my mammoth post in the ending's thread (however if you want to read it for extensive feedback from me, you can find it here: subspacedoor.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/my-thoughts-on-mass-effect-3-ending.html).

In my opinion I believe the endings are enjoyable but sadly suffer from a lack closure.

I have ZERO problem with the choices at the end of the game and their outcomes, but I feel that there is not enough explanation of what happens to the galaxy because of those choices. Mainly, what becomes of the Normandy crew (and why was the Normandy leaving through a relay?), what becomes of the galaxy now there are no relays, and what happened to the fleet surrounding Earth (it seems like they were perhaps destroyed, but I'm not sure).

I'm fine with the endings as they stand, but would be happier with an added epilogue that gives more information. Also, as the Catalyst's choices hinge on the fact synthetics will never get along with organics, I find it peculiar there is no option to rebuke those choices and prove to it that the 2 races in fact can get along (Geth & Quarian peace, EDI's developing humanity, etc.), if they're left to their own devices. So if BioWare are ever to add in an entirely new ending rather than edit the ones we have already, I think an extra choice based along that idea of refusing the initial three choices would be the logical path to go on.

Modifié par Static Veins, 17 mars 2012 - 03:28 .

[MrRoboto94]

I'm a huge fan of Bioware's work, from Baldur's Gate all the way to ME3. That said, the ending of ME3 disappointed me like nothing else (especially since 99.9% of the time playing ME1-3 has been so great), pushing me to actually write something on the Internet. Most of us know that making a comment here is an exercise in futility, but I felt the need to show some moral support and make this thread just a little longer while I hope that "The Truth" DLC is coming.

Flipping through other people's comments, I largely agree with the general direction. The comment quoted below really got it all for me. Even if there is no way such a large change is coming, the thing I just couldn't deal with in the ME3 ending was the destruction of the relays. Without any relays, the beautifully constructed fiction of the Mass Effect universe is destroyed. It cuts off any future story unless the player contorts the imagination and convinces themselves that the races of ME figure out how to rebuild everything (which the Ilos bit in ME1 suggests is not very likely). Like Star Wars, Star Trek, or other great science fiction, I think fans take comfort in knowing that after any particular story is told, the universe still exists on some mental plane, holding to the various rules and norms the writers have so painstakingly constructed. Instead, the current ending leaves most thinking that it is all lost. Please, dear BioWare, leave us with something to hold on to.

If BioWare really is planning a DLC that picks up from where Shepard takes that gasping breath amongst the rubble -- I applaud you for taking the time to get things just right, though you could have saved yourself some grief with a more blatant "To Be Continued..." rather than the current set-up which amounts to "The End...?"

I'm going to keep the faith that there is more Mass Effect to be had and that BioWare will show me that this ending is actually genius. Then we'll all look back at this time and laugh and laugh 

jb1983 wrote...

 What I liked about the game - every single thing except for the ending and possibly Tali (the Tali thing I don't care too much about). 

So, with the ending, here's what I'd like to see:

Prelude - every single option would be set up as, "Oh, the Reapers were just indoctrinating you" with exception to #3 - that one allows that what occurs actually occurs. As you wake up from the laser blast, you go up to the Catalyst with Anderson, Anderson dies (or is saved, depending on how you've played), and then the Illusive Man is taken over by Harbinger and you have to defeat him. When you do, you turn the Catalyst on, which then sends out a giant wave of energy across the galaxy that kills the Reapers (with exception to option 4). 


1) A perfect ending should actually be a perfect ending. That is, Shep lives, goes and makes little human, quarian, or blue babies with whomever he's chosen (or Turian babies if you please). Mass Effect relays stay together because in a perfect ending you've actually saved the galaxy. I mean, I figured that's what I've been working for and investing hours of gaming into. Is it cliche? Yup. Does it work? Yeah, it does. The whole point in stories, especially epic ones, is to convey the message of hope (which was the entire point of ME3!); but that message is ripped away in the end. That's why in some of the best epics of all time, there is a conclusive ending that while not 100% happy, it's conclusive and makes the hero's sacrifices look like they were worthy sacrifices. You failed at this, majorly, and I think the massive amount of fan backlash you're getting proves this.

Not to mention that you can throw TONS of DLC at this, continue the story, have a ME4 that isn't focused on Shep but still has a galaxy in place, and so on. From an artistic standpoint, it's predictable (but who cares? If perfect endings where everything works out are good enough for Lewis and Tolkein, then it's good enough for Mass Effect), but it really ties everything together. From a fan standpoint, it gives us a sense of satisfaction after investing all these hours into three games. From a marketing standpoint, you get to add tons of DLC to it that your fans will willingly buy without
thinking twice about it.


2) A less-than-perfect ending where Shep sacrifices himself, but the ME relays stay together so millions aren't stranded (which would effectively lead to mass extinction anyway - might as well have let the Reapers win). In this one, we're given cut-scenes showing what has happened to the galaxy, our team mates, maybe even have a memorial service where your LI speaks about all that you accomplished for the galaxy. In this, we get the satisfaction of ending Shepard's story while at the same time seeing a conclusion for the series. It still allows us to open up into future ventures as it doesn't close off the galaxy.

3) The endings you currently have - this is for players who just rushed through to the ending, didn't invest time in doing quests, and so on. And let's add that a few decisions from ME2 will put you in this category no matter what, meaning our decisions actually matter. Notice where I rank this - these endings are fine...for people who aren't investing time into the game and just don't care.


4) The reapers win - why not allow an ending where the reapers win? Why not allow someone to lose the game? From eternity's past, "losing" the game simply meant you had to start from your previous save point? If you want to be revolutionary, make it to where we can actually lose the game, where we fail in our objectives, and the Reaper's win. Allow that Shepard ended up indoctrinated and helps the Reapers, or simply didn't do enough to stop them. 

Those 4 options still allow for a bittersweet ending (even #1, as if your Shepard lives you could have him holding a memorial service for those who have died, remembering them) and #4 is revolutionary in that it allows the player to lose the game. 

That's what I'd like to see. 

[Starshadow2010]

Jessica, thank you for the thread.

Aside from endings i have other concerns about the game, but the endings outweight anything else, because, if left as is, personally for me they are the reason i won't run into those other concerns again (i simply won't play single player story).

1. The current explanation of the Catalyst nature and goals is unsatisfactory. If he is in control of  the Reapers, then why was Sovereign needed to send the signal to the other Reapers back in ME1? And how did the sabotage of the Keepers by the Proteans could have stopped the sending of that signal? His idea of preventing the technological singularity, to stop organics from creating the synthetics, wich will eventually destroy their creators is flawed. Like finger amputation using tactical nuke. It was hinted previously that the Reapers view organic life as short, fragile, random and unpredictable. Such worldview would be enough. Hell, even the lack of explanation is better than a nonsencical explanation. Leave the "This is beyond your comprehension" line.

2. Why does Shepard belives the Catalyst at all? The Catalyst directed the enire Harvest a few minutes before Shepard met him. It would be okay if the Catalyst presented the only option - Synthesis, and the Destruction and Control was available by some other means. Like tracing the location of the Catalyst's hardware and destroying by the fleet. EMS check for success.

3. The Normandy dissapearance. Why, where, for how long? Why your companions for the final assault is on the Normandy as well?  What happens to "team Dextro", because they will die of starvation on L-amino acid world. Why it does not depend from how your fleet fares in battle against Reapers? I wouldn't mind to see it happening in case of low/medium EMS score (in fact, would probably do this for my renegade Shepard, along with him dying), but when it happens no matter what, then it's extremly dissatisfying. After all this is the story of Shepard AND his/her team, and separating them no matter what is too much.

4. Epilogues for at least each major race in the game.

5. The fate of Conrad Verner...can be skipped.

6. Personally, i belive there should be the "happy for Shepard" ending. Where the galaxy is scarred by the war, there is long work ahead to rebuild what was lost, but Shepard is alive, together with his/her LI and in touch with his team Not all my Shepards gonna live to see this ending, but it must be in the game. At least for those, who played ME2 prior to ME3.

7. Even when i sacrifice my Shepard, i want to know, that his sacrifice wasn't in vain. There still must be the feeling of victory. Currently, the game has only one feeling: "Why the hell i ran trough all that trouble"?

8. I'm OK with the destruction of the Mass Relays (as long as it is explained, why this destruction left the star systems they located in intact). I can also justify the destruction of the Reaper code - based tech and AI, like the upgraded Geth or EDI. The destruction of anything essential for the space travel would never allow the Normandy to make the sucessful crash landing.

The issues are valid, as long as the ending is real, and not the hallucination/indoctrination of some sort.

Modifié par Starshadow2010, 17 mars 2012 - 04:21 .

[IAmZim1]

First I just want to say Mass Effect 3 is a fantastic game. There are parts of Mass Effect 3 which rival anything in ME1 or 2. The whole climax of the Tuchanka arc is really everything I wanted from a final Mass Effect game; Mordin's death being surprisingly moving. The set-up for the finale was very well-done, and the crucible being the result of countless cycles attempts to destroy the Reapers is a cool idea. But having finished it I can't help but feel empty about the whole thing.

I'm sure you guys had good intentions, but the ending felt rushed, and very vague. Mass Effect was always about creating a fully realised universe to plant yourself into; dialogue was long and often very expository, but it at least gave you a sense that you were a part of this huge Galactic society. Mass Effect 1 remains my favourite of the trilogy because of how the story unfolds, its really quite impressive how all these disparate races and ideas; the genophage, the geth, Sovereign, ect, are introduced to the player. By the end of the game a full picture has been created for the player of the kind of threat that lays ahead, and the universe you're a part of. You care.

Mass Effect 3 ends by throwing several new concepts at you all at once, without really explaining them. The Catalyst wants to prevent organics and synthetics from destroying each other due to time being cyclical. He will instead sustain organic life in the reapers, while allowing less evolved races to flourish. But we don't get the option to actually ask him any questions. What drove him to this point? What kind of race did he come from? Who created him? Why does he look like that little kid? Unlike the scene with the Prothean VI at the end of ME1 where you can ask several questions about the Protheans and the Reapers, the Catalyst just feels like an excuse for your final decision.

I chose synthesis. Controlling the reapers felt a liiiiittle too indoctrination-ey, and destroying all tech would kill my new Geth-buddies. So instead I got Mass Effects answer to the ending of Chars Counterattack; green space dust encapsulating space. To be honest, I'm not sure what this actually did. Synthesised organic and cybernetic life into one being? There's no sign of this in the final cutscene, the crew of the normandy still looks the same as they sit on that jungle planet, ready to twiddle their thumbs for a couple more years. The ending itself wasn't necessarily a terrible idea, but its a problem when i'm not given enough information to really understand what happened. Makes you feel empty.

The post-credits sequence is an even bigger slap-in-the-face. It feels out of place, more like how I'd expect a JRPG to end. That old man, is that Joker? How has society changed, other than now viewing 'the shepherd' as a legend? I'm sorry but simply stating 'Everyone loves you! You're a legend!' is not closure for me. After all the decisions I made with the Geth, the Krogan, ect, it all feels pointless. I have no idea what it has accomplished with the Mass Relays gone, and all my beloved characters stranded in one way or another. All I can picture is the Krogan dominating earth and eating everyone, which is not what I wanted my last perception of this story to be.

I do not think this is unsalvageable. Release a DLC fleshing out the ending. Let us talk to the starchild in a way befitting a Mass Effect, allow us to understand the implications and consequences of his choices. For instance, will destroying the technology along with the reapers also destroy spaceships, and their life-support systems? Will all these races be able to get home? Allow us to defy this star-child, to fight the Reapers on our own terms. If you want our party-members to be stranded on some jungle planet (I suppose with the suggestion that they will rebuild a new society) then you have to give that CONTEXT. It can't just happen out of nowhere with no explanation, there needs to be a reason for Joker flying away, we need a suggestion of what the crew will do with their lives. Before making our decision, allow Shepherd to communicate with his teammates, say goodbye to his lover, console them.

Closure is what we need. Because with what we have now I can't face even replaying mass effect 1 again, let alone getting attached to another bioware product ever again.

[TheBigShinz]

The Indoc theory seems the most popular and most acceptable in this sistuation. Otherwise we would like an alternate "happy" ending for those who spent the time and played the game instead of rushing through it.