43 réponses à ce sujet

[cap and gown]

In thinking about the next game I am wondering if the Mass Relays need to make a return. I believe the next game will be set after the Reaper War, though what that will mean for the ending of ME3 I don't know or care (as long a everybody doesn't have green skin and eyes). But since folk were on the cusp of making their own Mass Relays during Shepard's time (indeed, the Protheans had also figured out how to make Mass Relays during their time) I could very well imagine that the technology necessary to make very, very long jumps might be further refined and made portable. Ships could simply jump from one star system to another without the need of an external Mass Relay. This is my thinking, anyway.

 

The question is: would a universe where Mass Relays were no longer in use still be the ME universe?

 

For me, the ME universe is defined by a few things:

 

1) the species we have come to know, in particular the Turians, Salarians, Asari, Krogan and to a lesser degree the Volus, Batarians and Quarians. (The Vorcha, Elcor and Hanar I could easily live without.)

 

2) A universe that is rather cosmopolitan in outlook rather than parochial and xenophobic (though touches of xenophobia continue to linger).

 

3) Biotics and other forms of space magic for use in combat, including all the elementals as well as conjuration (i.e. drones).

 

While Mass Relays have been iconic of the ME universe, for me they are not an essential part of what makes this universe what it is.

 

 

[StarcloudSWG]

Yes. Mass Relays are in fact part of the Mass Effect universe and a signature element of that universe.

 

Biotics are *not* space magic, any more than element zero itself is space magic.

 

Element zero manipulates mass, inertia, and gravity to some extent, when subject to an electrical charge. Geth *could easily* have biotics if they wanted to. Apparently they see it as impractical.

 

Everything that follows, in the Mass Effect universe, is a natural consequence of being able to manipulate mass, inertia, and gravity.

 

Magic does anything you want it to. Eezo is subject to fairly constrained rules. That's why powers such as Reave are so troubling; they break the rules with some startrekky idea that somehow 'health' can be 'transferred' between people. No, no it can't.

[Vazgen]

I agree. The tech behind mass relays is what is essential, the very notion of "mass effect". Mass relays themselves are just tools. They are iconic to the trilogy, just like N7 logo and omni-blade but they are not essential to the universe. 

Humanity not treated as special is quite an important part of ME universe for me. ME3 stepped back at this notion a little with all the "Take Earth Back" slogan but they can and IMO should go back to it. It must be easier to implement in a game focused on exploration. 

[cap and gown]

Another factor to consider is that the Mass Relays were a legacy of the Reapers. They were part of the trap the Reapers had laid for organics. If we really want to move beyond the Reapers and  make them part of our past and not something that haunts us still, then moving beyond the Mass Relays and the Citadel would be one way to go. (Actually, using the Citadel as the seat of Galactic government was always a stupid idea. One can hardly blame the Reapers for harvesting organics when they all proved to be such morons.)

 

It seems certain that the Citadel will not be in the next game. One could argue it was as iconic as the Mass Relays, yet it seems 99% likely it will be gone (at least in the sense of not being in the game, even if it "exists" in the lore.) Likely it will be replaced by the following as a hub:

 

[Display Name Owner]

I think the Relays are pretty essential, they set up the whole geography of the galaxy, if you know what I mean. I think that's important because it defines how exploration and territory and all that stuff work. 

[Larry-3]

I do not even know how Element Zero acquired its name. It is not even a element; it is a material. And even if it was an element, the fact that it possesses an atomic number of zero makes it.. questionable.

Anyway, I kind of like the Mass Relay's. I would prefer a hyperdrive like in Star Wars. Of course in Star Wars, hyperspace travel is a little dangerous. Regardless, I still think the Relay's are nice. I like making the Normandy use them.

Verrrrrr-woosh!

The Prothean's apparently had at least some knowledge of them. They managed to construct there own working prototype. Of course it only works in one direction and is many times smaller.

As for biotics, it is just manipulation of dark energy. Well, first you need to have a chip implanted somewhere on your body. I forgot where.

[von uber]

Depends whether the cut scene is skipable.

[StarcloudSWG]

I do not even know how Element Zero acquired its name. It is not even a element; it is a material. And even if it was an element, the fact that it possesses an atomic number of zero makes it.. questionable.

 

Yes. Sci-fi, real science fiction, is based on adding just a few things to the real world that are fantastic / impossible / highly improbable, and exploring the consequences. Element Zero has an atomic weight of 0. Apparently. Note that does not mean its atomic number is 0, just its weight.

[Probe Away]

I want the relays back, but as long as the game utilises mass effect technology in a prominent way (as well as bringing back most of the species we know and love) then it is still Mass Effect.

 

I'm not sure why you think the notion of using the Citadel as the seat of galactic government was a stupid idea, tho.  With hindsight it turned out to be a mistake, but why not make use of a giant, advanced, defensible space station that can be shared between the various species?

 

I also think using the relays in ME4 could be interpreted as a big middle finger to the Reapers (and starkid) - we beat you, and now we own the relays.  Not using them, or even attempting to fix them, seems like biting off the nose to spite the face.

[cap and gown]

 

 

I'm not sure why you think the notion of using the Citadel as the seat of galactic government was a stupid idea, tho.  With hindsight it turned out to be a mistake, but why not make use of a giant, advanced, defensible space station that can be shared between the various species?

 

Umm, because no one knows how the bloody thing works? Because they rely on these bugs they don't understand to keep it running? Do think any human government would set up the seat of their operations in a structure built by some foreign government that they have no idea how to operate?

[SporkFu]

I think that, whatever their origins, the relays are an iconic part of the MEU, and without the network we may as well have ME:Next be a totally new SF IP. Of course, they're just one of the elements that make Mass Effect what it is, but they're an important part. That said, if the relays are gone, I look forward to learning how we're gonna get around the galaxy.

[ZipZap2000]

Mass relays are pretty symbolic at this point but if there is a better way to travel why not use that instead? Technology advances over time. Then again some people did beg them to put the relays back in the game instead of having them destroyed so, I dunno. They might have blown them up in the original ending for a reason come to think of it.

[cap and gown]

I think that, whatever their origins, the relays are an iconic part of the MEU, and without the network we may as well have ME:Next be a totally new SF IP. Of course, they're just one of the elements that make Mass Effect what it is, but they're an important part. That said, if the relays are gone, I look forward to learning how we're gonna get around the galaxy.

 

What are you going to do when, as seems most likely, the Citadel isn't around?

[cap and gown]

Mass relays are pretty symbolic at this point but if there is a better way to travel why not use that instead? Technology advances over time. Then again some people did beg them to put the relays back in the game instead of having them destroyed so, I dunno. They might have blown them up in the original ending for a reason come to think of it.

 

I think they blew them up because they weren't really thinking about the consequences. When the fans, who probably know the lore better than they do, pointed out how catastrophic that would be, they retconned it in the EC to make their intentions clearer.

[themikefest]

Umm, because no one knows how the bloody thing works? Because they rely on these bugs they don't understand to keep it running? Do think any human government would set up the seat of their operations in a structure built by some foreign government that they have no idea how to operate?

Yep. Why move into something without knowing who put the bugs on the Citadel?

 

Also you may easily be able to live without the Elcor, Vorcha and Hanar. But I could easily live without having the asari.

[SporkFu]

What are you going to do when, as seems most likely, the Citadel isn't around?

I'm not convinced the Citadel is gone, unless it has been confirmed somewhere and I missed it? The Citadel is another one of those iconic elements as far as I'm concerned, but as I said, if there is a different way for rapidly traveling through the galaxy, I'm looking forward to seeing what it is.

[RanetheViking]

The Citadel is gone. The Relays are gone.   The new protagonist and his team discover an ancient alien artifact buried under the sands at Giza.

 

 At first the call it the "door to heaven", but then they change it to 'Stargate', which is much cooler. 

 

And then they have many adventures where ... Oh wait, wrong universe!

 

 

[Kabooooom]

It would take approximately 30 years to travel across the diameter of the Milky Way at the FTL speeds which were available during the Mass Effect trilogy. /endthread

Seriously, though. Considering that you have to avoid around 15,000 ly radius from the galactic center, you'd have to actually travel a curved path which would make the journey closer to 40 years.

So, without relays the next game would be either really long, really boring, or both.

Just kidding though, because without relays the next game would obviously be unplayable. Relays are what make the Mass Effect universe workable. People underestimate just how unbelievably massive the galaxy actually is - the relay network makes it manageable. It makes everything smaller, distance wise, and makes galactic civilization possible. Without them...I don't know what you would have, but it wouldn't be mass effect.

[RanetheViking]

Seriously though, I think for better or worse the Relays are an important part of the ME universe.  Star travel would take a LOT longer with out them.

 

Unless the next game is set a few decades (at least) after the events of ME3 and they've, somehow. either upgraded the Relays or built new 'star drives', interstellar travel is going to be problematic.

[cap and gown]

 

Unless the next game is set a few decades (at least) after the events of ME3 and they've, somehow. either upgraded the Relays or built new 'star drives', interstellar travel is going to be problematic.

 

This is precisely what I am postulating: they take the Mass Relay tech and build on it to come up with mini-relays that you can stick inside a ship.

[Kabooooom]

This is precisely what I am postulating: they take the Mass Relay tech and build on it to come up with mini-relays that you can stick inside a ship.

That wouldn't work. Relays only work in pairs. They work on the same principle as an FTL drive. An FTL drive lowers the mass of the ship in a bubble of decreased mass which surrounds the ship. With relays, you have one relay and its partner and they point towards each other. The pair creates a corridor of space between them in which mass is lowered so much that it is effectively mass-free. The only way this corridor can be created is with the two massive relays on each end.

So taking "relay tech" and putting it inside a ship is pretty much the same thing as the FTL tech that already exists. They work on exactly the same principle, just a different scale and different engineering concept.

[RanetheViking]

This is precisely what I am postulating: they take the Mass Relay tech and build on it to come up with mini-relays that you can stick inside a ship.

Whatever they came up with it'd take time. Even though "necessity is the mother of invention" they'd have to make the 'time frame' plausible. 

[Larry-3]

Relay's are fifteen-kilometer long constructs. For the longest time on Earth people believed the one in the Solar system to be a moon, how would that work on the Normandy? Asari are supposedly one of the more advanced races, and they have been a space-flaring race for thousands of years, and they still have not been able to create a prototype of their own. I am not saying humans could not do it, but, how, is the question. I personally like the Relay's: their blue glow and sleek design look nice. The Reapers may be judgmental psychopathic machines, but they do know how to design things. Actually, for all we know they could have indoctrinated someone to design them. But I think the Relay's are nice, regardless. If they are not there in the future then Mass Effect will lose something memorable.

If they are gone though, then people will need stasis pods or something. Space is vast, and FTL is relatively slow. Just getting from Earth to Mars at FTL is 3 to 20-ish minutes. Now try to picture going from Earth to... let's say Illium or Omega... I like those two places.

[Han Shot First]

Yes.

 

I hope they never dump the relays. It helps set Mass Effect apart from other Sci Fi series like Star Wars or Star Trek. 

[Kurt M.]

Mass Relays are essential to this universe. The Milky Way is so staggerly enourmous, it'd take forever to navigate even at FTL speeds.