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[Rodus Maxumus]

Citadel space and explored space less than 1% of the galaxy, and activating a dormant relay is not done until its destination has been explored because of the Rachni war (also the reason for the First Contact War). Now it is quite likely that the other 99% of the galaxy would have other spacefaring races ranging from single races not having made contact with another race, to multiple race communities of some form, to even Prothean type empires.

When the Reapers came they would have activated all the relays to determine what races needed to be harvested. So it is also quite likely that refugees from those races may have used the newly activated relays to flee from the Reapers and that some may have come to Citadel space and when the relays were broken during the ending (please let destroy be cannon) there could be several new races stranded in or around Citadel space. These could range from a single ship, an “Ark” or to a Quarain style exodus that could be peaceful or hostile.

Modifié par Rodus Maxumus, 22 février 2014 - 01:20 .

[BioWareM0d13]

Rodus Maxumus wrote...

Citadel space and explored space less than 1% of the galaxy, and activating a dormant relay is not done until its destination has been explored because of the Rachni war (also the reason for the First Contact War). Now it is quite likely that the other 99% of the galaxy would have other spacefaring races ranging from single races not having made contact with another race, to multiple race communities of some form, to even Prothean type empires.

When the Reapers came they would have activated all the relays to determine what races needed to be harvested. So it is also quite likely that refugees from those races may have used the newly activated relays to flee from the Reapers and that some may have come to Citadel space and when the relays were broken during the ending (please let destroy be cannon) there could be several new races stranded in or around Citadel space. These could range from a single ship, an “Ark” or to a Quarain style exodus that could be peaceful or hostile.

I would think there must be other sapient species settled in the 99% of the Milky Way that is lays unexplored by the Council species. They may not necessarily be space faring however, or might be space-faring but less technologically advanced than the Council species. If so the Reapers may have left them alone.

[katamuro]

Yes, or if we turn it on its head, the weakened council races are under threat from invasion of some new alien species that were largely untouched by reapers and gained the technology from the reapers destroyed in the "destroy" ending. So you have to take ship to scout, to find out who they are, maybe find new allies. fight a Leviathan. Or do god knows what else. A lot of possibility once you take out the huge threat of reapers. Many game can be made focusing on smaller, more personal, less "galaxy-apocalypse" threats.

[Armass81]

Han Shot First wrote...

Rodus Maxumus wrote...

Citadel space and explored space less than 1% of the galaxy, and activating a dormant relay is not done until its destination has been explored because of the Rachni war (also the reason for the First Contact War). Now it is quite likely that the other 99% of the galaxy would have other spacefaring races ranging from single races not having made contact with another race, to multiple race communities of some form, to even Prothean type empires.

When the Reapers came they would have activated all the relays to determine what races needed to be harvested. So it is also quite likely that refugees from those races may have used the newly activated relays to flee from the Reapers and that some may have come to Citadel space and when the relays were broken during the ending (please let destroy be cannon) there could be several new races stranded in or around Citadel space. These could range from a single ship, an “Ark” or to a Quarain style exodus that could be peaceful or hostile.

I would think there must be other sapient species settled in the 99% of the Milky Way that is lays unexplored by the Council species. They may not necessarily be space faring however, or might be space-faring but less technologically advanced than the Council species. If so the Reapers may have left them alone.

Or they may be spacefaring but so far they havent reached citadel and are still confined to their own regions. Reasons for this might wary, they might be cautious or patient explorers, or like turians they have an interstellar civil war that slows their progress down. Or maybe like humans they just became spacefaring a decade or or couple of decades ago and so.

Modifié par Armass81, 22 février 2014 - 02:21 .

[DWH1982]

Han Shot First wrote...

I would think there must be other sapient species settled in the 99% of the Milky Way that is lays unexplored by the Council species. They may not necessarily be space faring however, or might be space-faring but less technologically advanced than the Council species. If so the Reapers may have left them alone.

Some of the planet descriptions seem to suggest that the Reapers destroy civilizations that are not advanced enough to harvest, but have still advanced beyond a certain point. I can't remember correctly, but I think the cut off point is bronze age? Essentially, the Reapers go through the galaxy and bomb out of existence any civilizations that have reached bronze age or beyond.

Perhaps I'm mistaken on this point, but if you think about it, it does make a certain amount of sense. They want to make sure that the next cycle isn't technologically advanced enough to pose a problem for them - or develop too many threatening A.I.s before harvesting time - and that means they can't have one or two civilizations in the next cycle staring out with too much of a technological advantage.

It's why I've always thought that the Yahg would not actually make it to the next cycle. They already had at least 20th century technology, so I doubt the Reapers would leave the galaxy without simply bombing them out of existence.

Modifié par DWH1982, 22 février 2014 - 02:28 .

[BioWareM0d13]

As of ME3 it was implied that the Reapers generally destroy civilizations at some point after they've attained the means to create a true artificial intelligence. That being said there was at least one Bronze Age civilization that was possibly destroyed by the Reapers. (We don't know for sure that it was the Reapers)

Assuming for a moment that the Bronze Age civilization was destroyed by the Reapers, than it isn't entirely clear what factors determine whether or not a pre-space flight civilization is spared for the next cycle.

The Reapers do spare some pre-space flight civilizations however. Their invasions don't necessarily wipe the galaxy clean of sapient life. Anatomically modern humans have been around for about 200,000 years. That would mean that not only were humans spared during the Prothean cycle, but they were spared during the Inusannon cycle as well. I'm not sure if a date is given for the cycle prior to the Inusannon, but given that the cycles average out to about 50,000 years apart it is possible that humanity survived a cycle prior to the Inusannon's extinction. The Inusannon went extinct 127,000 years prior to the events of ME1.

We also know that the Asari, Salarians, and Hanar were spared during the Prothean cycle because the Protheans were involved in studying all of them. In the case of the Hanar, it was implied that it was Prothean genetic engineering that gave them sapience.

Other than the Hanar we don't know how old any of the other space-fairing species are in the Mass Effect universe, but its probably safe to assume that most are at least as old as, or older, than modern ****** sapiens. Like humanity, they've might have survived multiple cycles.

Modifié par Han Shot First, 22 février 2014 - 06:56 .

[shodiswe]

The Asari might actualy be younger than humanity as a species since they got uplifted by the Proteans who taught them mathematics and just about everything.

The older species are likely those that had to leave their homeworld to find mass effect technology or the Relays.

Others like the Asari and the Hanar found all they needed on their homeworld.

[katamuro]

shodiswe wrote...

The Asari might actualy be younger than humanity as a species since they got uplifted by the Proteans who taught them mathematics and just about everything.

The older species are likely those that had to leave their homeworld to find mass effect technology or the Relays.

Others like the Asari and the Hanar found all they needed on their homeworld.

Krogan are probably the oldest, after all they had multiple nuclear wars before salarians uplifted them. Salarains as told by Javik were a delicacy in their time, so not sentient. Quarians also might be one of the oldest considering that even protheans considered quarians beatiful in their time. but all that is really not much help since many species arrived in space before humanity did and that includes volus, elcor even batarians. 

[DWH1982]

katamuro wrote...

Salarains as told by Javik were a delicacy in their time, so not sentient.

Well... We assume.

[katamuro]

DWH1982 wrote...

katamuro wrote...

Salarains as told by Javik were a delicacy in their time, so not sentient.

Well... We assume.

Yes, we hope, lets not forget that protheans built their empire by taking in the other races as "lesser" races and destroying everyone else. they were really a bunch of very not nice people.

[shodiswe]

katamuro wrote...

DWH1982 wrote...

katamuro wrote...

Salarains as told by Javik were a delicacy in their time, so not sentient.

Well... We assume.

Yes, we hope, lets not forget that protheans built their empire by taking in the other races as "lesser" races and destroying everyone else. they were really a bunch of very not nice people.

It's very possible the Proteans were the ultimate space N azis.
Calling someone or something beautiful doesn't mean advanced.

Modifié par shodiswe, 24 février 2014 - 09:53 .

[katamuro]

shodiswe wrote...

katamuro wrote...

DWH1982 wrote...

katamuro wrote...

Salarains as told by Javik were a delicacy in their time, so not sentient.

Well... We assume.

Yes, we hope, lets not forget that protheans built their empire by taking in the other races as "lesser" races and destroying everyone else. they were really a bunch of very not nice people.

It's very possible the Proteans were the ultimate space N azis.
Calling someone or something beautiful doesn't mean advanced.

True enough, for all we know protheans went around trying to study and uplift other species just so that they could have more slaves. Or slave armies. Doesnt change the fact that prothean empire was not really something good. (can be compared to late roman empire when the decadence and their own hubris labeled everyone else barbarians and tried to conquer them)

[SwobyJ]

The information about Prothians that we learn in ME3 is like they're the Dark Side of Turians on overdrive (though I guess a mix of a whole bunch of organic species stories, like Asari, Salarians, etc).

-Unification? More like Empire!
-Client species? More like integrated species! You are all Prothian! Or else.
-AI? Smash them entirely!

They lasted a good while (excellent at survival methinks), which allowed them to advance in tech level above this cycle, but not that much more. They were significant though, and through their longer-lasting survival of the Reaping and the desire for revenge against the Reapers in whatever way possible, they sowed the seeds of this Cycle's victories.

Modifié par SwobyJ, 24 février 2014 - 04:44 .

[BioWareM0d13]

DWH1982 wrote...

katamuro wrote...

Salarains as told by Javik were a delicacy in their time, so not sentient.

Well... We assume.

It took humanity 200,000 years before it achieved its first space flight.

Could the Salarians have reached the stars only 50,000 years after their species evolved sapience? 50,000 years is the blink of an eye in geologic terms.

I don't know. I think I'm more inclinded to think that the Salarians were sapient when the Protheans were around.

[Kabooooom]

No. The mass relay network itself only covers about 1% of the galaxy (or a little over 1%). The galaxy is absolutely massive. The network doesn't allow travel to every star in the galaxy, either directly over via short FTL. Presumably, although it isn't stated, the relay network probably encompasses all habitable, inhabited, or potential habitable worlds in the galaxy - and earth like worlds themselves are therefore rare. Think about that for a sec. If this WASN'T the case, then as you say there could be entire civilizations in unexplored areas of the galaxy that have been untouched by the cycles - technologically, they could surpass and defeat the reapers. And that is not something the reapers would leave to chance.

Could there be new civilizations behind inactivated mass relays? Yes. But the relay network itself is not as expansive as you imagine, and those civilizations would likely be wiped out by the reapers eventually during the harvest anyway

[katamuro]

No. The mass relay network itself only covers about 1% of the galaxy (or a little over 1%). The galaxy is absolutely massive. The network doesn't allow travel to every star in the galaxy, either directly over via short FTL. Presumably, although it isn't stated, the relay network probably encompasses all habitable, inhabited, or potential habitable worlds in the galaxy - and earth like worlds themselves are therefore rare. Think about that for a sec. If this WASN'T the case, then as you say there could be entire civilizations in unexplored areas of the galaxy that have been untouched by the cycles - technologically, they could surpass and defeat the reapers. And that is not something the reapers would leave to chance.

Could there be new civilizations behind inactivated mass relays? Yes. But the relay network itself is not as expansive as you imagine, and those civilizations would likely be wiped out by the reapers eventually during the harvest anyway

 

It was said that 1% of the systems on the relay network has been explored. After all there are probably thousands of them that are omni-directional and the Council only uses a small amount of them. Rachni were found in such unexplored area, other species might as well be somewhere out there unknown to the rest. If you look at the timeline of humanity, the First Contact War occured in 2157, the humanity could use the relays since 2149 so for nearly 8 years the humanity had been going around the relay network without meeting aliens. Considering that I wouldnt be surprised if there were more than a few species in 20th or 21st century technologically, maybe even further but they might not have the access to relay network or Mass Effect technology. Space is huge,  and sure the relay network probably doesnt cover a lot of it but considering how long the reapers had and before that leviathans to build it then they would probably cover all the planets with the ability to produce sentient life even if that occurs in the next million or billion years. After all they are obsessive AI with nothing but time on their hands, tentacles, whatever.

[BioWareM0d13]

Actually it was said that the current known civilizations of the galaxy had only explored about 1% of it, not that the relay system only covers 1% of the galaxy. According to the lore most of the relays have yet to be activated and link to unexplored space.

 

It is probable that the relay system covers the entire galaxy, as the Reapers were using it to guide any sapient space faring civilization that arose to the Citadel. On that note if there are other space faring civilizations out there that have yet to be discovered, they must be technologically less advanced than the Citadel races since they'd have yet to use that relay system to find the Citadel.

[katamuro]

Yeah, we have to agree that both the relay network and the galaxy are very, very, very, very large. By the latest scientific data there are around 250 billion stars and each one could have at least one planet. it depends on who you ask but the number of "habitable" planets that are more or less like Earth range from 50 million to a billion but you get the idea. The Milky Way is full of all kinds of crap and even if 1% of the habitable planets evolve life it would still provide a huge amount of potential alien species.

[Rodus Maxumus]

One way to look at it is in the 1% of the galaxy there are 20 races listed in the Wiki and then if you discount the Keepers, Collectors and the Reapers. Now if you remove the uplifted (Krogan, Drell and the Geth), pre-spaceflight and FTL (Vorcha and Yahg), races that may have needed outside help (Hanar) and leave out the Leviathans because of age. That leaves you with 11 races, but is 11 the average or an unusually high or low number. Let's ignore that it could be a low number (my maths is not that good to project that) so using a max average of 11 and a low average of 1 we could have a possible range of another 89 to 1089 post space flight and FTL races.

 

Now in Katamuro's post he said there could be 50 million to a billion habitable planets out there, and if 1% have life and 1% of them have intelligent life and 1% of them are capable of FTL space flight that could give us a range of 50 to 1000 races.

 

Some other things to think about is that the Reaper plans centred around the Citadel so the Citadel races may have taken the brunt of the Reaper attack. Also who is to say that some other race had not have advanced enough to give the Reapers a kicking, for all we know the Reapers could have been getting the sh*t kicked out of them in another part of the galaxy. (Added) Think of the implications to that, this race has just given that contingent of Reapers a kicking and the Reapers retreat into our 1%. That race knows that the Reapers have retreated through that previously inactive relay so they gather a fleet to go through the relay to find the Reapers home world and finish the job. Not long after they come through the relays all break, no Reaper home world to destroy and no way home until the relays are fixed.