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[DJBare]

I've posted about this in other topics but felt it needed a topic of it's own because of the confusion surrounding the three options presented by the catalyst.

Disclaimer: I am not defending the ending to this game, in fact my statement just shows how poorly thought out the ending is.

Gamers in general expect some kind of reward for their efforts, the ultimate reward is normally being presented at the end of the game.
I have seen many posts where the player has equated the three options as some kind of reward for high EMS, I also thought the same when I first played, this goes back to players expecting the ultimate reward at the end of the game.
On reflection this is not the case, let me attempt to dissect and explain.

First off, lets get rid of the notion that the catalyst present all three option, this is an error, and here is why.

Destroy is presented by the races who aided in the construction of the crucible.
Control is presented by TIM
Which leaves, yes you guessed it, Synthesis presented by the catalyst

Note the dialogue from the catalyst for each option.

Destroy: All Synthetic life will be destroyed, even you are part synthetic.
Control: You will die, you will lose everything you have.
Synthesis: What? nothing bad to say about synthesis?

The catalyst is attempting to bias your decision making, and that bias points toward synthesis, the reapers ultimate goal, ascension.

What has all this got to do with rewards?, I'm glad you asked, here is part of the reason the ending is poorly thought out.

The EMS equates to the survival of earth and inhabitants during the use of the crucible with "destroy", that is the ultimate reward, the higher your EMS the less chance earth is destroyed when using the destroy option.
The poorly thought out part is because as we have seen, most players equate the three options as a reward when in fact only destroy is the ultimate reward for high EMS, which is confusing because you can get the destroy option with low EMS, accept you cannot save earth with low EMS, saving the earth and inhabitants IS your ultimate reward.

Edit to add on re-reading

My statement on earth being saved as the ultimate reward maybe in error, the ultimate reward is everything(accept the reapers) is saved, with the crucible functioning top level, it only targets Reaper tech, now while this affects EDI and the upgraded geth, I'm going to make the assumption the reaper tech is disable while EDI and the geth remain functional.

Modifié par DJBare, 24 avril 2012 - 06:46 .

[Allan Schumacher]

That's an interesting hypothesis and not one that I've seen yet. The motivations for doing so certainly can be rationalized when one factors in that the catalyst is the controller of the Reapers.

Although if synthesis is the goal of the Reapers, why wouldn't it always be presented. Or is there still something to be said about the Crucible's construction, in that the Catalyst won't provide an option that it knows won't work properly because we built some POS Crucible that will behave erratically?

[Allan Schumacher]

I guess if your EMS isn't high enough, you're not "worthy" to be considered viable for synthesis, as you are too weak and haven't proven to be an addition that strengthens the new race.

Yeah that's what I am wondering as well. It fits with the idea that the Crucible is designed to work with the Citadel which strongly indicates the idea behind it was present. I'm warming to the idea that it might just be a test.

Synthesis is definitely provided as an option that the Catalyst doesn't ostensibly state any negative consequences to it (even though near as I can tell, Shepard dies just the same as in the Control ending).

[Allan Schumacher]

DJBare wrote...

Ready for some speculation?, we inadvertently build it for them with high EMS, we are doing their work for them, synthesis would be the most complex of the options, the more scientists and engineers we throw at the crucible the greater the chance it gets built, remember, we don't know what the crucible does or how it functions(bit silly if you ask me, but that's the story)

Do you think it's more of a test, to have organics that are worthy/capable of synthesis?  Or in part because having it created by the organics will provide an unpredictable element that the Catalyst couldn't properly account for?

Gonna sound juvenile, but I think the following is a decent reasoning.

Lower EMS = less unity, smaller army, weak mind/will, and ultimately no display of 'respectable' force.

Lower EMS = The current generation of organics are unworthy of Synthesis with the synthetics.

That doesn't sound juvenile at all!

[Allan Schumacher]

The Crucible is nothing like that. Getting the test in the first place is a matter of luck. If your cycle didn't find the blueprints, you have no chance of passing it.

I think if you're going with the idea that it's a test, the construction of the Crucible itself is the test. The similar preparation and skill comes with acquiring the EMS value. Those that do poorly in acquiring EMS ostensibly fail the test (and eradicate their own species).