978 réponses à ce sujet

[chris2365]

To be fair I think there were other, if not more, complaints about wanting the whole thing to make sense, have better story telling, not flip themes at the last second, etc.

 

I totally agree. There were threads and responses appearing every two seconds about the endings, it's themes, how it should have been done, why the people at Bioware are incompetent, how they created such an abomination, long blogs, etc. The request for a Refuse ending was just one thing I remember from that time 

 

The extended cut fix the problem? No. It was the same crappy endings with a sugar coating. It got rid of the "wasteland" feel but that was it. It still left me with an empty feeling. Did it allow people to move on from the fiasco? Well people did anyway. Halo 4 came out, and most of the people who bought ME3 were playing something else by that time.

 

It's your opinion. You are certainly entitled to it. I'm not saying the endings are perfect either, but for some people it was enough. Just getting epilogues and a memorial scene was enough to smooth over whatever was left from that fiasco. And another element you mentioned, was time itself. It probably would've gotten the job done in due time, but the EC certainly helped some in that process, regardless of whether it was actually good or not.

 

Personally, when I first experienced that original ending, I got that empty feeling as well. Only thing is, it never quite bugged me. I spent the next few nights going over different scenarios over the future of the galaxy, state of the species and characters, etc and I really enjoyed that. I think it all really came down to the Catalyst scene. I think the concept Bioware was going for (''Speculations for everyone!'') was a good one, they just badly botched the execution. I notice it, it just never bugs me. If they took a different approach in terms of the Reapers motives (I'd prefer not for them to be revealed), the Catalyst's explanations (maybe have it assume different forms, like dead team mates), and being able to talk, debate, and outright deny the Catalyst's assumptions (maybe even change his opinion), it might have worked. Alas, we will never know

[ImaginaryMatter]

It wouldn't, but the Organic vs Synthetic problem is removed, which is all it cares about.

 

The specifics it addresses in the EC Investigate options don't sound like they'll even out the playing field much, or really even help.

 

Anyway, off topic, yes; but I keep hearing the idea that Synthesis leads to some utopia and I'm not sure where it's coming from (perhaps the epilogue?).

 

And another thing, although this is super speculating but something I've been thinking about. As we see in the ending only living creatures seem to be effected by the green; things like basic plastic, metal, stone, and clothing remain unchanged. And in this future people would probably still want to build servants for cheap labor, or to be space janitors, or hubris -- something like that. And because of this wouldn't regular AIs eventually make a come back? And since all this happens after the blast they wouldn't be mixed, since the materials they would be constructed from wouldn't be. It seems like they would just be run-of-the-mill AIs unless there was some lingering aura to transform them when they became alive. Taking this further don't organic species all start from inorganic materials that are spurred on by something like a lightning strike hitting a puddle of primordial ooze? Like the new AIs, wouldn't these new organics also be regular organics since they were made post-blast?

 

So sometime down the road in this new world wouldn't there be both new organics, new AI, and the older mixed life? How would the Catalyst react to this?

[SardaukarNL]

Where in the epilogue did it say that Shepard would be controlling the evolution of the galaxy? A Renegade Shepard might, based on his dialogue of imposing order and general ''my way or no way'', but what about Paragon Shepard? He's always compromising, diplomatic, etc. While we all know power corrupts, this might not be a problem.

 

AI Shepard (Paragon) helps the galaxy rebuild to where it was before, then crashes the Reapers into the Sun. He realized, through his memories and experiences, that the Reapers have been nothing but trouble and suffering. The best way for this galaxy to move on is to have a fresh start, and that means no more reapers. You might not live, but you do spare the only AI to have truly cooperated with organics that we know of. The organics vs synthetics conflict has occurred millions of times. We might be able to get some of the Geth and EDI were in a post destroy world, but it won't be the same. The synthetics we create will most certainly end up doing what they always did, rebel against their creators (not to mention when they find out that an organic ''used'' them to fight the Reaper War, only to kill them while there were other choices available.) We might have a unique chance, a special set of variables and events that made this synthetic-organic cooperation possible, and you want to throw perhaps our one chance, our one shot at true peace, just so you can live?

 

I made my Shepard so he can give the galaxy the best possible shot vs the Reapers and beyond. If that means sacrifice, so be it.

 

Admittedly it's nowhere being said that Sheplyst will control evolution, but defacto he IS.

And I disagree on your take of Geth and EDI in a post desctruction world. I mean, in ME2 we managed to recreate Shepard and imho that is far harder then recreating a synthetic. Also the organic vs synthetic conflict has been repeated many times, but this was the first time it actually ended in peace (I mean the Quarian-Geth conflict).

The fact that the Geth might not be there anymore doesn't change that and now that Shepard has fully learned the background I'm expecting him to make sure that even if the Geth do not return he will make sure that anoter synthetic creation will not spark a organic vs synthetic war again.

And I'll admit that I was selfish enough to want my shepard to survive.

[Original182]

And another thing, although this is super speculating but something I've been thinking about. As we see in the ending only living creatures seem to be effected by the green; things like basic plastic, metal, stone, and clothing remain unchanged. And in this future people would probably still want to build servants for cheap labor, or to be space janitors, or hubris -- something like that. And because of this wouldn't regular AIs eventually make a come back? And since all this happens after the blast they wouldn't be mixed, since the materials they would be constructed from wouldn't be. It seems like they would just be run-of-the-mill AIs unless there was some lingering aura to transform them when they became alive. Taking this further don't organic species all start from inorganic materials that are spurred on by something like a lightning strike hitting a puddle of primordial ooze? Like the new AIs, wouldn't these new organics also be regular organics since they were made post-blast?

 

So sometime down the road in this new world wouldn't there be both new organics, new AI, and the older mixed life? How would the Catalyst react to this?

 

EDI has shown more facial expressions, affection to Joker by putting her arm on his back, etc. So synthetics have become almost organic-like in their understanding.

 

And the Catalyst will then have to wait and see what happens in a post-Synthesis world, because this is a new thing.

[Farangbaa]

Anyway, off topic, yes; but I keep hearing the idea that Synthesis leads to some utopia and I'm not sure where it's coming from (perhaps the epilogue?).

Epilogue, yes.

And another thing, although this is super speculating but something I've been thinking about. As we see in the ending only living creatures seem to be effected by the green; things like basic plastic, metal, stone, and clothing remain unchanged. And in this future people would probably still want to build servants for cheap labor, or to be space janitors, or hubris -- something like that. And because of this wouldn't regular AIs eventually make a come back? And since all this happens after the blast they wouldn't be mixed, since the materials they would be constructed from wouldn't be. It seems like they would just be run-of-the-mill AIs unless there was some lingering aura to transform them when they became alive. Taking this further don't organic species all start from inorganic materials that are spurred on by something like a lightning strike hitting a puddle of primordial ooze? Like the new AIs, wouldn't these new organics also be regular organics since they were made post-blast?

Eh. A material being organic only means that it has carbon in it, even a diamond is organic. You probably mean compounds coming from animate or inanimate objects... which is not a good distinction, cause the molecule doesn't care where it comes from, it does the same thing regardless of it coming from an animal or not.

New synthetics that'll be build will probably be built with the 'new DNA'. Which is absolute bollocks, but so is 'essence', which is in every part of the series (Cipher, Baby Reaper, Synthesis)

So sometime down the road in this new world wouldn't there be both new organics, new AI, and the older mixed life? How would the Catalyst react to this?

(I take it you assume the Catalyst survives Synthesis?)

If Synthetis was thorough enough (hitting every planet in every system), I doubt new organic life would be much of a problem for billions of years. If truely new life would evolve, it would be probably be on a planet that has yet to be formed.

[Iakus]

People wanted a Refuse ending. Bioware gave it to them. Like I said, they couldn't really do anything more than a "Rocks fall, everyone dies" ending without risking upsetting a portion of the fanbase, as if they needed to do so any more after what had happened. It also helped address the false advertising of ME3, since it was originally promised that the Reapers could win.

 

They gave us that choice. It's what we were complaining about all along, wasn't it? The lack of choices. They addressed that. Whether we like it or not isn't a reason to be ungrateful of the time and effort they put into the EC. For free. We wanted fixes, they did them. Was it to the liking of the entire fanbase? Absolutely not, and no ending for Mass Effect 3 ever could've been. Did it patch things up, improve them slightly, and allow everyone to move on from that fiasco? Yes. 

 

"Pick a color or the galaxy dies anyway" isn't really giving the players a choice.  It's just emphasizing the options already given.  The ones players raged over in the first place.  It's ignoring that, you know what, maybe these players have a point and we didn't do right by them.  It's instead saying "Frak you, hater"

 

And no, no "ending" would please everyone.  No ending can.  Endings, plural, however, can please a lot more people.  We wanted more options.  Including more upbeat ones.  But Bioware, in its infinite wisdom, didn't think a choice-based RPG which advertised a myriad of possible outcomes, warranted anything but a narrow definition of "bittersweet".

 

Refuse didn't allow people to move on.  Time did, and other games, as Julia pointed out.  But when MENext gets officially announced, you can bet those endings will be remembered and brought up again. 

 

Count on it

[Iakus]

This machine god has seen eons worth of civilizations, seen the Reaping numerous times, has tried to find numerous solutions to the synthetics wiping out all organics which kept happening over and over again despite their best efforts to solve it.

 

Pretty sure the Catalyst has more insight to the universe than someone whose lifespan is only about 80 years. So if the Catalyst says the synthesis is the ultimate solution to true peace, I think no one else can prove him wrong.

And hasn't a single shred of proof that anything it says is accurate, or the result of some programming error or corruption.  Or simply It's right because it says its right.  And we have firsthand evidence that organics and synthetics can coexist.

 

making everyone the same cannot ensure peace wiuthout doing some really dark and disturbing things to everyone's free will.  Krogan and salarians are both organic beings, so they should get along and never fight, right?  Oh, wait...

[SwobyJ]

I think the writers have gone to considerable enough lengths to explain the scale of conflict that happens with synthetics and organics. Krogan aren't exactly capable of what synthetics can do. They can wreck worlds and galactic regions at their peak, but I don't think anyone can think that they'd be capable of exterminating all non-Krogan life in the galaxy.

 

But explaining isn't the same as showing. We get all this krogan stuff, but we never really saw the extent of (non-Reaper) synthetic devastation. The Geth of ME1 followed Sovereign. The Geth and AI of ME2 were a secondary thing. The Geth and AI of ME3 were one of a bunch of primary stories. And the Geth is a bad example of this specific issue, because they ended up 'only' really killing off one planet and staying hidden, instead of there being a long war that nearly exterminates all organic life in the galaxy.

 

My point is that the logic of the Catalyst may even be entirely solid, but because this cycle is supposedly 'different' (and even the whole Reaper cycle itself is a control mechanism to keep things from spiraling?), we didn't get to see the big big big mistakes anyway, so we're supposed to take the word of other characters (this includes Javik) on it.

 

And when you try to include the Reapers in this dillemma, its very easy for players to just go 'Oh you're just the evil synthetics that started all this, you Reapers!', instead of seeing them as the 'Old Machines' that they more likely are (Reaper just being a label to personify them).

 

 

We're missing a lot of info that would have helped in our decision making, so the ending at least rightfully shows Control as a grasping for power and Synthesis as a leap of faith. Shepard, the character, can understand just enough to make these decisions, and he certainly knows more than Saren or TIM did before their deaths, but it isn't like he knows exactly what's up. He goes on maximum hope for the galaxy in Synthesis, forgoing his old conceptions and better logic. He goes on a presented logic in Control, but it isn't as absolutely sure-of-himself as he looks in Destroy.

 

You gotta accept uncertainty with the two other options. Its okay to. I don't think Bioware wants you to pick them knowing you did the right thing. There is the theme of hope. Mass Effect isn't over.

[SwobyJ]

And hasn't a single shred of proof that anything it says is accurate, or the result of some programming error or corruption.  Or simply It's right because it says its right.  And we have firsthand evidence that organics and synthetics can coexist.

 

making everyone the same cannot ensure peace wiuthout doing some really dark and disturbing things to everyone's free will.  Krogan and salarians are both organic beings, so they should get along and never fight, right?  Oh, wait...

 

Synthesis is treating all life in ways that you treated both organic and synthetic life if you cured the genophage and uploaded the Reaper code to the Geth.

 

Its seeing us all as one and the same in this.

 

It isn't like all Geth would have accepted the the upgrade if given the 'individual' choice, but it happened anyway. Because enough did.

 

It isn't like all Krogan believed that the cure for the genophage was the right way, but it happened anyway. Because enough did.

 

The difference with Synthesis is that a Shepard might be used to seeing others make decisions for everyone by this point (just especially if going Cure/Upgrade), that he does it himself. And we have a galaxy that isn't largely wanting a peace with the Reapers. So yeah. But its at least implied that Synthesis doesn't really do anything (in this matter) other than open everyone's minds up to each other enough that understanding of both sides is possible. But yes, it means alterations of everyone. The Cure did that too, but you could say that was more of a reversal of functional impairment (sterility). The Upload did that too, but you could say that the Geth worked this way all the time anyway.

[Original182]

And hasn't a single shred of proof that anything it says is accurate, or the result of some programming error or corruption.  Or simply It's right because it says its right.  And we have firsthand evidence that organics and synthetics can coexist.

 

making everyone the same cannot ensure peace wiuthout doing some really dark and disturbing things to everyone's free will.  Krogan and salarians are both organic beings, so they should get along and never fight, right?  Oh, wait...

 

You are now breaking the 4th wall, of course there is no proof that anything it says is accurate, because the game writers didn't put that proof in the game. It doesn't make sense for the writers to say that the Catalyst say that synthetics will eventually wipe out all organics, then say the Catalyst, a machine god who has been there since the beginning, "could be wrong".

 

So you have to take it at face value, that the Catalyst is right, because the writers put those words in there. And if an omnipotent machine god said that he has seen synthetics wipe out organics numerous times, then it's true.

 

The minute you question whether what the writers write is wrong, you might as well say the entire Mass Effect story is not true because it could be a very elaborate dream of someone who is in a coma due to a car accident.

[Farangbaa]

The minute you question whether what the writers write is wrong, you might as well say the entire Mass Effect story is not true because it could be a very elaborate dream of someone who is in a coma due to a car accident.

 

Second time today, been a good day

[SwobyJ]

The minute you question whether what the writers write is wrong, you might as well say the entire Mass Effect story is not true because it could be a very elaborate dream of someone who is in a coma due to a car accident.

 

I dunno...

 

Director: A writer wrote it, so it must be true.

 

Citadel DLC, the gift the keeps on giving.

[Iakus]

You are now breaking the 4th wall, of course there is no proof that anything it says is accurate, because the game writers didn't put that proof in the game. It doesn't make sense for the writers to say that the Catalyst say that synthetics will eventually wipe out all organics, then say the Catalyst, a machine god who has been there since the beginning, "could be wrong".

 

So you have to take it at face value, that the Catalyst is right, because the writers put those words in there. And if an omnipotent machine god said that he has seen synthetics wipe out organics numerous times, then it's true.

 

The minute you question whether what the writers write is wrong, you might as well say the entire Mass Effect story is not true because it could be a very elaborate dream of someone who is in a coma due to a car accident.

I don't have to accept anything at face value.  Least of all from a being known to use mind control technology on its victims.  If the Catalyst is "right" then we have to see evidence that it is so, not have it argue from authority (which is in fact a fallacy)

 

If I'm supposed to believe this is true, it has to make sense within the story itself.  Not because this is where the writers' steam-of-conciousness took them

[Iakus]

Synthesis is treating all life in ways that you treated both organic and synthetic life if you cured the genophage and uploaded the Reaper code to the Geth.

 

Its seeing us all as one and the same in this.

 

It isn't like all Geth would have accepted the the upgrade if given the 'individual' choice, but it happened anyway. Because enough did.

 

It isn't like all Krogan believed that the cure for the genophage was the right way, but it happened anyway. Because enough did.

 

The difference with Synthesis is that a Shepard might be used to seeing others make decisions for everyone by this point (just especially if going Cure/Upgrade), that he does it himself. And we have a galaxy that isn't largely wanting a peace with the Reapers. So yeah. But its at least implied that Synthesis doesn't really do anything (in this matter) other than open everyone's minds up to each other enough that understanding of both sides is possible. But yes, it means alterations of everyone. The Cure did that too, but you could say that was more of a reversal of functional impairment (sterility). The Upload did that too, but you could say that the Geth worked this way all the time anyway.

There is certainly an argument to be made with the geth, as Legion unilaterally decided "Reaper code!  Om nom nom!"  However, in this case it isn't Shepard but Legion that made that choice.  All Shepard has to decide is whether the quarians should kill the geth before that happens. But yes, I do agree that the geth siddenly developing a Pinoccio Complex was one of the lamer moves of ME3.

 

As for the genophage, I'd say deploying it in the first place is a closer parallel.  Altering an entire species to fufill another's vision of whaat should  be.  And, somewhat ironically, with disasterous results for the species.   Curing the genophage is restoring the krogan to their original state (or a closer approximation, at least)  And it is something the krogan want.  And fight alongside Shepard to achieve.

[SwobyJ]

Iakus, I generally agree.

 

I don't think Synthesis is nearly as great as it seems to some, even with Extended Cut.

 

If there is a form of sequel - well, you've read my posts - I think there will be a blowback from picking Synthesis (even as there may be some good outcomes).

 

But Control too. And just the least from Destroy (but still there).

 

Bioware positioned us to face unknown machine god enemies, then let us have our own beliefs about how to counter them. It seemed that 'fighting them conventionally' was off the table. Okay... but why? If this is the end of Shepard's Story, where do things go now?

 

Whatever they decided to do, its gonna happen now. Reboot, AU, sequel, prequel, anything else, etc. How would Synthesis lead to a future story - what's the point? How would Control lead to a future story. How would even Destroy lead to a future story.

 

The disgraced Commander Shepard.

 

 

At the very least, Bioware is communicating certain artistic messages.

 

 

[chris2365]

"Pick a color or the galaxy dies anyway" isn't really giving the players a choice.  It's just emphasizing the options already given.  The ones players raged over in the first place.  It's ignoring that, you know what, maybe these players have a point and we didn't do right by them.  It's instead saying "Frak you, hater"

 

And no, no "ending" would please everyone.  No ending can.  Endings, plural, however, can please a lot more people.  We wanted more options.  Including more upbeat ones.  But Bioware, in its infinite wisdom, didn't think a choice-based RPG which advertised a myriad of possible outcomes, warranted anything but a narrow definition of "bittersweet".

 

Refuse didn't allow people to move on.  Time did, and other games, as Julia pointed out.  But when MENext gets officially announced, you can bet those endings will be remembered and brought up again. 

 

Count on it

 

Fair enough. I see your point. I myself wished we could have had a wider range of endings in terms of themes, impacts, consequences, etc. I am content with what we got in the EC, but more choice, like MEHEM which I also enjoy, should never have been cut out of the endings. If anything, this was their chance to really go all out, do a million and one different possible endings ranging from total victory to utter defeat, since they wouldn't have had to worry about the future of the storyline. It's weird how they backed themselves in a corner so much with ME2, the Suicide Mission, etc., but when it came to the endings it was ''Speculations for everyone!'' (Like I said, not against the concept, but it needed better execution and more options)

[chris2365]

Admittedly it's nowhere being said that Sheplyst will control evolution, but defacto he IS.

 

Ok slight logic leap there. If Shepard immediately disappear into dark space after rebuilding the galaxy and never returns, how exactly is he controlling evolution? Renegade Shepard I agree with you. For Paragon Shepard, see my explanation in the post you quoted.

 

And I disagree on your take of Geth and EDI in a post desctruction world. I mean, in ME2 we managed to recreate Shepard and imho that is far harder then recreating a synthetic

 

We didn't recreate Shepard. Shepard's brain survived the fall through the atmosphere in ME2. His memories, experiences, talents, and abilities are all the exact same as before. The only thing he needed was some advanced cellular reconstruction (get the cells working again) and some bolts and screws to patch him up. It was complex and expensive, yes, but it was doable.

 

What you want to do now is take an brainless Shepard, and ask scientists to recreate him exactly as he was before. It's impossible. It's the sum of experiences that makes and defines someone. And technology is nowhere near capable of recreating brains (clones yes, people no). I'd be the exact same thing for the Geth. Keep the bodies, but try and put hundreds of years worth of experiences and variables (if that's even possible with ME technology), back into all geth. Good luck.

 

The fact that the Geth might not be there anymore doesn't change that and now that Shepard has fully learned the background I'm expecting him to make sure that even if the Geth do not return he will make sure that anoter synthetic creation will not spark a organic vs synthetic war again.

 

I have no doubt that Shepard fully knows the way Synthetics work. It's all the others I don't trust. Do you really think that Shepard will be there to babysit all sort of AI research? And when Shepard is gone? Will the organic races be able to resist making AI again? Past cycles say 100% chance it will. And without the Geth (first synthetics to have peace with organics) and a special Shepard to unite them all, there is a 100% chance another war will happen again. To quote the Catalyst: ''... but soon, your children will create synthetics, and the chaos will come back.''

 

And I'll admit that I was selfish enough to want my shepard to survive.

 

Fair enough, that's your decision. I just value a chance at peace in this galaxy with synthetics more than my own my life.

[JasonShepard]

@chris2365:

 

I agree. One my primary reasons for picking Control is to preserve the chance that peace at Rannoch has given the galaxy. Rannoch peace might not last, but Organics and Synthetics working together without one side controlling the other is unprecedented in the known history of the MEU. For that reason alone, the Geth deserve to live.

[Fufunette]

But geth could be repaired ?

[Original182]

 

Second time today, been a good day

 

Only "second"? I expected more.

[JasonShepard]

But geth could be repaired ?

 

If your hard-drive gets burnt to a crisp, you're not getting your saved games back. By the same logic, you could probably make more geth, but you couldn't repair the ones that died. And the new ones you built wouldn't have the shared knowledge of the Geth Consensus that Destroy destroys.

[ImaginaryMatter]

Eh. A material being organic only means that it has carbon in it, even a diamond is organic. You probably mean compounds coming from animate or inanimate objects... which is not a good distinction, cause the molecule doesn't care where it comes from, it does the same thing regardless of it coming from an animal or not.

 

Oh sorry, I'm getting mixed up between the Catalyst definitions of organic and synthetic and the actual ones.

[von uber]

People who headcanon control shep sending the Reapers into the sun really are having their cake and eating it there: no more loss of life, no destruction, everything repaired and then destroy the Reapers! Rainbows and Unicorns all round.

Control Shep would control the galaxy making sure there are no conflicts or fights.. on pain of destruction one would suppose. Would raise an interetsing question if the Geth suddenly decided to renage on their love for organics.. which side would control shep support, which side would be threatened with destructin if they didn't desist?

hardly a fun utopia, removes all free will. A bit like synthesis; except there you get to hire a banshee as a baby sitter. Invite your recently huskified mate over for dinner to talk about the good old days when they weren't some eldritch abomination.

So destroy.. if Bioware didn't throw the Geth and EDI arbitarily under the bus, would anyone chose anything different? Unlikely, which explains why they do.

 

As for me, iI chose the ending where the Reapers are destroyed, the Normandy turns around after not being the only ship in the galaxy to be affected by the wave, and comes back to find Shep.

[ImaginaryMatter]

People who headcanon control shep sending the Reapers into the sun really are having their cake and eating it there: no more loss of life, no destruction, everything repaired and then destroy the Reapers! Rainbows and Unicorns all round.

Control Shep would control the galaxy making sure there are no conflicts or fights.. on pain of destruction one would suppose. Would raise an interetsing question if the Geth suddenly decided to renage on their love for organics.. which side would control shep support, which side would be threatened with destructin if they didn't desist?

hardly a fun utopia, removes all free will. A bit like synthesis; except there you get to hire a banshee as a baby sitter. Invite your recently huskified mate over for dinner to talk about the good old days when they weren't some eldritch abomination.

So destroy.. if Bioware didn't throw the Geth and EDI arbitarily under the bus, would anyone chose anything different? Unlikely, which explains why they do.

 

As for me, iI chose the ending where the Reapers are destroyed, the Normandy turns around after not being the only ship in the galaxy to be affected by the wave, and comes back to find Shep.

 

Well I like cake, so there.

 

As for the Destroy option including all Synthetics, I wouldn't be surprised if part of the reason for including them was to dissuade people from choosing it; however, I see EDI's and the Geth's inclusion as something more. The Catalyst introduces an entirely new central conflict to the story, so I don't view the choices as arbitrary functions the Crucible can do that in someway stop the cycles; instead I see them as abstract solutions for the way society can deal with AI. We can Destroy them in which case the inclusion of the AI characters makes sense thematically. We can Control or restrict the technology (pre-EC the description is vague enough to make it sound like Shepard would be controlling all Synthetics). Or Shepard can choose Synthesis which removes the differences between AI and Organic life.

[Iakus]

Well I like cake, so there.

 

As for the Destroy option including all Synthetics, I wouldn't be surprised if part of the reason for including them was to dissuade people from choosing it; however, I see EDI's and the Geth's inclusion as something more. The Catalyst introduces an entirely new central conflict to the story, so I don't view the choices as arbitrary functions the Crucible can do that in someway stop the cycles; instead I see them as abstract solutions for the way society can deal with AI. We can Destroy them in which case the inclusion of the AI characters makes sense thematically. We can Control or restrict the technology (pre-EC the description is vague enough to make it sound like Shepard would be controlling all Synthetics). Or Shepard can choose Synthesis which removes the differences between AI and Organic life.

 

A pity there's no "Live and let live, deal with the monsters trying to kill us all" option.