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[Vuduu]

In thinking about the three endings to Mass Effect 3, my thoughts kept returning to the "starchild".  Like many other folks, I wasn't thrilled with this character being added right at the end of the three-game epic, to act as a deus ex machina to tie up all the loose ends.  I felt that if the starchild (or more specifically, the mind behind him) had been introduced early in ME3, we could have developed feelings about the character, and looked forward to some kind of a final reckoning with him.  But throwing him in at the end felt like a cop out. 

One good way of knowing if a character is essential to the plot is to see what happens if that character is removed completely.  Does the story still hang together?  Clearly, you can't take out Shepard, Garrus, Liara, Anderson, the Illusive Man, etc.  But can you take out the Starchild and still have a logical story?

I thought I'd give it a try.  Using footage from all three endings, I pieced together the final 14 minutes of the game without the Starchild.   At each turn, I tried to make the story take the most logical course forward:

1. Shepard has his showdown with the Illusive Man.

2. Shepard opens the Citadel.

3. The Crucible docks.

4. Shepard and Anderson have their denouement.

--- SCENES WITH STARCHILD REMOVED HERE ---

5. The Crucible fires.  It was designed to destroy the Reapers.  Since we have no reason now to think it would do otherwise (there's no reason to think it's flawed), it fires RED.

6.  The starships evacuate.

7.  Reapers are destroyed, Normandy crashes.

8.  In the rebuilding scenes, we see the Geth helping the Quarrians (we have no reason to think they would have been destroyed.)

9.  In the scene on the Normandy, EDI is watching as Garrus considers putting Shepard's name on the memorial.  Again, there's no reason now to think she would have died.

10. Shepard gasps awake at the end.

I was amazed to see how satisfied I was with the ending when the Starchild is taken out, and how well it all hangs together.  I decided to call it The Hero Ending and posted it here:  
 

What do you all think?  Is it better without the Starchild? 

[ottifant64]

I miss Starchild...

No, really.

[Pinax]

Thank you for this post, this really made me smile Of course it would be better! However I am pretty sure I won't be very satisfied if that would be the ending on the first place (unless the ending slides will differ much depending on my choices and EMS points).

The sad problem is that the original endings were so bad and broken that anything that repairs at least some weak points is better. I think this is the reason why there are so many "satisfied" people with the EC: not because it was good, but because it was better than the original horrible endings.

[ottifant64]

Pinax wrote...

The sad problem is that the original endings were so bad and broken that anything that repairs at least some weak points is better. I think this is the reason why there are so many "satisfied" people with the EC: not because it was good, but because it was better than the original horrible endings.

They didn't change the endings.

[Pinax]

ottifant64 wrote...

Pinax wrote...

The sad problem is that the original endings were so bad and broken that anything that repairs at least some weak points is better. I think this is the reason why there are so many "satisfied" people with the EC: not because it was good, but because it was better than the original horrible endings.

They didn't change the endings.

Ok, maybe I could have put it differently: the EC tried to give some explanation on many things that were not explained originally. This explanation is still no good, but considered better than no explanation.

[Apathy1989]

And this is how 99% of us expected the game to end...

[Dark_Rogue]

That's very well edited, this is what it should have been like, IMO. I think this will now replace my own headcanon for the ending xD great job!

[CptData]

Well done.

Overall, a -really- happy ending outcome. Actually, it's the one I was hoping for VERY HIGH EMS destruction ending. Also, no starchild means no issues.

Kudos ^^

Modifié par CptData, 19 juillet 2012 - 10:17 .

[Brovikk Rasputin]

That wasn't very good.

[Vuduu]

I felt the same way after I put this together. For me, this is how the story of my Shepard ended.

It's almost like we needed a "Less-Extended-Cut" ending, with stuff taking OUT rather than stuff added in!

[CHALET]

It would be better, but it still has the old issue of no choice.

[JeffZero]

I have no major issues with the Catalyst as of Extended Cut, so it just feels truncated, sorry. Still, a noble effort for the legions of fans who feel otherwise.

[AVPen]

Come to think of it, I think someone else also created an edited video before the EC was released proving that the Catalyst wasn't necessary to the ending of ME3.... oh, wait, that was me. 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXeIpjTDovY

Modifié par AVPen, 20 juillet 2012 - 10:00 .

[Shaleist]

Bleepin' Star Brat.

[xxBabyMonkeyxx]

Ahh its amazing what happens when you take out that stupid kid and his logic.

[Vuduu]

Regarding the issue of "no choice", I think there are still dozens of choices that play into the ending. Did you cure the Genophage or not? Did you ally the Geth and the Quarrians or not? Did you have enough readiness to keep the explosion from nuking Earth? Since this is a video, I wasn't able to create different versions for each possible decision. However, you could edit together a video that takes these decisions into account.

AVPen - that is a great edit! It is the same concept - you don't need the Starchild to have the ending work. The only things I did differently was to (a) keep absolutely as much of the original ending as possible, and ( not put in any footage that wasn't already in the ending. I wanted to just take the Starchild out, change only what HAD to be changed, and see what happened.

[XDavorchaX]

Great Job, just how i wished it ended!

Personally the thing that bugged me the most about the ending was the fact that there was a choice. It felt kind of forced to me (by the writers that is). I was expecting the choices you made during the rest of the trilogy, right up until you hit the beam, to be the main focus of the ending, not some grand decision in the last 5mins.

I really think having the three choices just over simplifies what i consider a universe built on having a very beliveable depth to its politics and cultures. The issues you deal with during the games (genophage, geth, rachni etc.) should have always been the keys to ridding the galaxy of the reapers...not a new character and concept introduced right at the end...

[darthnick427]

It would be perfect....if Wrex was alive.

[DWH1982]

This is better than what we got.

However, if I had my way, I would also keep the choice to control the Reapers rather than destroy them. Based on your choices and EMS, the endings would play out something like this:

1. Choose destroy with low EMS: The Reapers are killed, but Earth gets mostly nuked in the process and most of the mass relays are destroyed. The galaxy gets to look forward to a dark age lasting thousands of years. The Crucilbe and the Citadel are both destroyed. Shepard killed.

2. Choose destroy with medium EMS: The Reapers are destroyed, but with massive friendly casualities and significant damage to Earth. Many of the mass relays are destroyed, but not all. Rebuilding will likely last hundreds of years. The Cruicible suffers a massive explosion, raining debries down onto the Citadel that wipe out much of the population of the Presidium and Wards.

3. Destroy with high EMS: The Reapers are destroyed. The Crucible is spent, but does not explode in any way. Shepard survives, but is severely injured.

4. Control with low EMS, both paragon and renegade: Shepard gains control of the Reapers, but they indoctrinate him in the process - causing him to turn on everything he beleived in and instruct the Reapers to carry out their mission.

5. Control with medium EMS - (honestly have no idea about this one. Any ideas?)

6. Control with high EMS, paragon - Shepard gains control of the Reapers, but has to sacrafice his physical form to do so. The Reapers become galactic policemen who stop conflicts before they get out of hand. However, the ending hints that there are those in the galaxy who are unhappy with this situation, because, in a way, the citizens of the galaxy no longer have control over their own fate. There's peace, but it's a "forced" peace. Ending is ambiguous on whether ending war this way is good or bad.

7. Control with high EMS, renegade: Shepard gains control of the Reapers, but gives up his physical form to do so. He turns the Repaers into tools for humanity. Humans come to dominate the galaxy, and the Reapers slap down any race that steps out of line.

Modifié par DWH1982, 22 juillet 2012 - 10:07 .

[MrDbow]

Regardless on how I feel about the original ending, it's in my opinion, removing the Catalyst from the current ending (with Extended Cut attached) does nothing for me. This edit makes the current ending feel very empty. However, to each their own I say.

[LanceSolous13]

SimplyNeo wrote...

Regardless on how I feel about the original ending, it's in my opinion, removing the Catalyst from the current ending (with Extended Cut attached) does nothing for me. This edit makes the current ending feel very empty. However, to each their own I say.

I agree that its still very empty and still doesn't answer the issues of war assets and closure and ete, but it still doesn't pull stuff out of its, as I recall Mess Sergent Gardner calling it, "Butt Pucker".

[Vuduu]

One of the problems with trying to create a video of the "ending we wanted" is that there's no way to work in choice. Ok well technically there is ... I could have (and still could) create videos for several different pathways, and give a YouTube link for each one. If this is something that folks would like, I'd be happy to do it. If it turns out that the original video keeps getting shared and bumped, I'm likely to give it a shot. However, I would need to know what people want to see from a Control or Synthesis ending.

I think it's possible to do Control and Synthesis without the Starchild. Based on the choices you made in the game (not at the very end), activating the Crucible can do many things. What happens is based on the type of game you played, not on how you interacted with a last minute God character.

Regarding Urdnot Wrex ... I KNOW. And I agree! But long ago I failed to import my ME1 save game when I started ME2, and the computer decided that Wrex was dead. If someone wants to send me the full Control ending from a game where Wrex is alive, I can recut the Hero ending and get his name off the board!

(BTW, Eve died in my game too, but I edited Anderson's farewell nod over her's. )

[CptData]

Well, you could edit your savegames so Wrex is alive ... ^^

Too bad ME3 doesn't give you scenes you could repurpose as LI!reunion scenes. Well, that's not true:

- Tali's scenes on Rannoch work quite well
- VS meets Shepard in the prologue - works well too

Issues:
- most other LIs.

[Vuduu]

I wasnt aware there was a savegame editor that let you make changes like that. The last one I used was for ME2, and it only let you adjust how many resources you had, number of credits, XP, etc. Which one lets you change backstory?