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[We'll bang okay]

Who is too say we don''t begin the game in the milky way. so you can still get your closure, 

[Iakus]

This would be less believable, in my opinion.

The relay network is set up much like a spider web or branching tree that loops back upon itself. Primary relays make the backbone, secondary relays the terminal branches. Some star systems form hub or multi-node systems in which there are multiple relays - Arcturus, Omega, the Serpent Nebula for example. It therefore creates a funneling affect where it is statistically easier to find hub systems and connect to other hub systems than to explore all the terminal branches of the network.

This is the reason why the Citadel was said to have been placed in the network in a way that it would be easy to find. The Reapers wanted it to be found, after all, or thr cycles wouldn't work.

Except there are races like the rachni, which go undiscovered until dormant relays are activated.  There might be races which never found or activated the relays near them.  Chose not to use them, or never figured them out. 

 

Or the relays only go out so far, and there are races outside the network, and the players are pushing the edges of it.  Perhaps finally getting around to making our own relays.

 

I think your forgetting something important. Back then it was humans vs the Galaxy. Now, it would be the council races vs the galaxy. An explorer would simply see the threat and call for help. Perhaps spend time in situ to monitor the threat, but ultimately, he's got help a relay away.

 

But that's immaterial because the latest annoucement indicates a dsire to begin with a clean game state where the player has no knowledge of factions involved or their politics. Going back to the Milky Way, you know the stories of the races. You know their history and likes and dislkes.... Your already ahead in learning the state of the world and as such a lot of the tension and drama for old ME fans who played the game won't be felt by the player. Maybe new players,  but old ones, Nope.

 

Transitioning to a new setting with different races provides a level playing field for old and new gamers. It gives the new development team a way to bring their vision of ME to bear by putting the player in a situation where expectations are removed in favour of putting the player in a position of having to learn and adapt. It breaks away from ME3's impossible to follow end because you either upset fans by going Red. Upset fans by going Blue. Or upset fans by going Green. It grants the Milky Way time to change so that regardless of ending things can happen off camera to restore the game state to a point where the effects of those choices do not ultimately decide what the galaxy is like. Because coding for all those game states and the variances of the world state would be a huge undertaking for very little payoff to the gamer. Sure you can say it wouldn't be.... but these are the folks who fudged Tali's money shot by not designing her face under that mask on Rannoch. All because they judged the expenditure of development to be to high for the result said expenditure would acheive.

 

Basically if they went to the Milky Way and had Red, Blue and Green gamestates, then they are commiting themselves to continuing those states unless they actively script a way to change those states back to a generic one. That story would be huge and probably involve another Catalyst..... And Mass Effect to me is not about glowing light shows that changes the galaxy through space magic. It's about men and women and aliens with guns and purpose fighting for something that matters to them. And to get right into that, to introduce a character without the baggage of ME3's ending, you either need to go far into the future where it history explains away what Sheperd acheived, or you you can go far away to where Shepard is an unknown. That last one allows recent history to be carried by the characters. A link to the past games therefore still exists. And the devs can tell the story they want, rather than a story they would get shoehorned into telling

And all of that can be done in the Milky Way.  Who's to say there isn't one or more factions out there in unexplored space as strong or stronger than the Council?  Another militaristic race like the krogan or the Protheans, a xenophobic race like the rachni?   Or a collection of smaller powers looking for a threat to unite them like the Terminus?

 

No knowledge of factions or politics?  Well, anything new and unexplored will be...unknown.  And that can be done with the Milky Way as easily as anything else.  If you really want to add to the feeling of isolation, conspire a reason not to go back:  Hostages, blockade, damaged relay that stops working before the protagonist can leave.  Hell, blow it up if it comes to that.

 

Moving to Andromeda doesn't really address your "level playing field" as the colony would be made up of old races, humans and krogan certainly, if this rumor is true (gee I wonder if this is a "sabotaged the genophage/let the bomb explode" krogan?  Why the hell would they be on the voyage?") Likely asari, salarians, and turians as well.  They all have backstory and history and lore with each other.  Stuff a new player still won't be familiar with.

 

Yes, RGB throws a spanner in the works.  But I think at least some retcon should be allowed, simply to accommodate the fact that they had not intended to continue the series past this point.  So a unique worldstate should be made that's "not quite fish, not quite fowl"  so there's a consistent galaxy for everyone to play in.  I know, it sucks.  but it sucks less than throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

 

I'm with you that the baggage should be dumped.  But Mass Effect is more than people and guns and fighting.  It's about history and lore, and the places people have spent thousands of years fighting for. The causes they believed in and the physical symbols of these causes.  The mistakes made and corrected.  It's about finding your own path, not being driven from it.

[themikefest]

wot about the Milky Way? Bioware just can't leave it like that with all that happened in the ending of mass effect 3. We need closure before we move on ffs.

Its possible this game, if it takes place in another galaxy, won't or at the very least only have few references to the trilogy. They may want to do that to avoid changing anything since its possible that the game after this one that is currently being developed, might take place in the Milky Way. 

 

It also gives them breathing room to tell another story that is not related to Shepard and more time to come up with a way to have Shepard in another game if they choose

 

This is speculation on my part

[Kabooooom]

Except there are races like the rachni, which go undiscovered until dormant relays are activated. There might be races which never found or activated the relays near them. Chose not to use them, or never figured them out.

Or the relays only go out so far, and there are races outside the network, and the players are pushing the edges of it. Perhaps finally getting around to making our own relays.

For your first point - I agree. I would even say that there are almost certainly advanced races that haven't connected to the rest of the relay yet (which is why the Reapers must comb through the entire network - even unactivated relays - every harvest). I was just saying that once they do, it is only a matter of time before they find thr Citadel.

To your second point, this is very interesting and something I have pondered before. IF there are races off the network like that, it would not only invalidate the harvest but also make it dangerous for the Reapers as it gives a distinct chance, perhaps even a certainty, that they would be surpassed in technology.

For that reason, the only really logical answer to me is that the network, while not encompassing every star system in the galaxy, probably encompasses the majority of life-bearing worlds. If inhabitable worlds are actually rare-ish and the network connects the majority of them, it would allow the network to only cover a fraction of the galaxy and erase the worry of an advanced species evolving off it. Speculation, of course, but reasonable speculation.

Of course, as new stars are born the systems would have to be evaluated for the potential to eventually give rise to life. Over a billion years, the Reapers would certainly have had to scout off the network.

It's interesting to think about. The timescales involved are mind-boggling.

[Nohvarr]

But Mass Effect is more than people and guns and fighting.  It's about history and lore, and the places people have spent thousands of years fighting for.

 

They spent time fighting for existance, for a chance to make dictate their own course, not necassarily for a place.

 

 

 

The causes they believed in and the physical symbols of these causes.

 

Considering the artefacts you found in ME 3 could be easily transported on a starship, I think it would be fairly powerful to see those pieces of their homeland forming a centerpoint to colonies built in a new galaxy.

 

 

 

It's about finding your own path, not being driven from it.

 

Well Mass Effect 2 already showed us that not everyone liked being under the yoke of the Alliance, or even the Citadel Council considering the Terminus Systems. Consider this as people taking 'The Third' option, and therby forging their own desinty away from the beauracrats that caused so much trouble in the Milky Way. The trip to Andromeda would've likely happened eventually, the Reaper war just accelerated their time table.

 

 

 

It also gives them breathing room to tell another story that is not related to Shepard and more time to come up with a way to have Shepard in another game.

 

I wouldn't count on Shepard showing up again. Look at how Bioware handled Revan and the Warden now ask yourself if that's what you truly desire for Shepard.

[Iakus]

For your first point - I agree. I would even say that there are almost certainly advanced races that haven't connected to the rest of the relay yet (which is why the Reapers must comb through the entire network - even unactivated relays - every harvest). I was just saying that once they do, it is only a matter of time before they find thr Citadel.

To your second point, this is very interesting and something I have pondered before. IF there are races off the network like that, it would not only invalidate the harvest but also make it dangerous for the Reapers as it gives a distinct chance, perhaps even a certainty, that they would be surpassed in technology.

For that reason, the only really logical answer to me is that the network, while not encompassing every star system in the galaxy, probably encompasses the majority of life-bearing worlds. If inhabitable worlds are actually rare-ish and the network connects the majority of them, it would allow the network to only cover a fraction of the galaxy and erase the worry of an advanced species evolving off it. Speculation, of course, but reasonable speculation.

Of course, as new stars are born the systems would have to be evaluated for the potential to eventually give rise to life. Over a billion years, the Reapers would certainly have had to scout off the network.

It's interesting to think about. The timescales involved are mind-boggling.

 

The Rachni Wars threatened the Citadel itself before the krogan were uplifted.  It's entirely possible there's stuff out there that simply shouldn't make it into Council space.

 

Or as Galdalf said "There are  many powers in this world, for good or for evil.  Some are greater than I am, and against some I have not yet been tested"

 

And it has never been conclusively stated just how far the relay network goes.  THe current cycle never explored it in its entirety.  

[Dr. rotinaj]

Except there are races like the rachni, which go undiscovered until dormant relays are activated.  There might be races which never found or activated the relays near them.  Chose not to use them, or never figured them out. 

 

Or the relays only go out so far, and there are races outside the network, and the players are pushing the edges of it.  Perhaps finally getting around to making our own relays.

 

This is a big one for me. There is sooo much completely uncharted space both inside and outside the relay network. NME could just do this whole pathfinder thing in the Milky Way. The premise could be that the galaxy started activating more relays after the reaper war to find potential colonies and our mission is to look outside the relay network. Boom, that's NME (if the leak is true) without going to Andromeda. So why just ditch everything and go to another galaxy? It rubs me the wrong way. It feels like they're trying to start from scratch but still capitalize on the Mass Effect name.

[Redbelle]

But Redbelle, the same was the case in principle in ME1. Whenever going to an uncharted world, the next outpost or colony was always just 1-2 relays away. But we never called for help there. Why? Because we were supposed to deal with this stuff. We were already the guys who were sent there (that's why Hackett always calls you with his little problems). I don't see why a new game could not handle uncharted worlds the same way. Especially that, right after the war, resources of the established races would spread very thin and the relay network may be wonky, due to the effects of the crucible.

 

I do think that staying the Milky Way would kind of prohibit a full new start and we would definitely have to deal with the endings in one way or another. We would also not just do exploring but certainly also have top deal with the established races in established territory to some extent (so you'd have a mix of both, just like in ME1). Given that everyone is already talking about how we'd need enough time to go by in Andromeda for an infrastructure to be set up before the game starts, apparently that is what people seem to expect, even in the new galaxy.

 

So, I don't really see a problem with the exploring aspect if we were to stay in this galaxy. The main problem really is to deal with the endings somehow.

 

@ElitePinecone: Yea, I do agree but the question is: Is it really still working for them? If they already have to go to a new galaxy now, just to keep that "feature" (which is then really a non-feature or rather just a burden), how are they going to continue? Are they going to go to a new galaxy every time? They couldn't even really keep thing straight for 3 games and the import feature, for all it's genius did cause massive problems with the story telling. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that decisions carry over. I am just not sure, how long they can keep it up. And sooner or later, they may want to "return home" even if just for PR purposes.

But while Shepard never called in for help, in that case Shepard was a solider. He was the last line of defense. He was trained and equipped with the best tools and training to overcome obstacles. It's strange how, despite many titles, Shepard is rarely remembered as just an elite solider.

 

Shepard is the guy who is actively sent into dangerous situations because that's what he was trained for.

 

In contrast, the explorer character we're teased with playing is classified as an explorer. Not a soldier. Now that's not to say the exploer won't have combat ability but from a character concept perspective, unless the character is established as having had training to fight I would say he is more trained in leadership skills and the talents one needs to prospect new worlds. The character of Shepard came form the military so s/he was assumed to be a good fighter, so it made sense s/he had combat skills the player could use. The explorer, from a character build perspective ought to not have the same potential since they never solely trained as a solider.

 

Stars without numbers has a character build system that allows you to pick jobs to build a character. Shepard would have been a straight up and up soldier. Whereas the explorer, to be an explorer, may have one job in soldier? But the other would need to be in something an explorer needs to be an explorer.

 

Maybe BW haven't explained the character to a level of detail needed just yet to envisage how this new character will work. It'll probably be similar to the class system from past ME games..... But the job of being an explorer ought to be backed up by the classes available. Of course, the explorer could just be a commander like Shepard and have people with explorer skills work under him/her. But I feel lke the character needs to have a background, knowledge and a skill set to explore space and new worlds, compared to Shepard who had a military outlook.

 

The point is, an explorer in the Milky Way needs to be gven the same kind of gear and training as an N7 to give that person a reason to remain in a hostile situation to resolve it. The explorer isn't neccessairly going to be military and therefore cutting and running ought to always be a an option.... the way to remove that narratively is to make the exploreer on par with an N7, which I question because..... why not just say the explorer is an N7..... or remove the possiblity of retreat to any safe haven.... Which in a galaxy spanning adventure is hard when you have a space vehicle.

[Dutch]

This is a big one for me. There is sooo much completely uncharted space both inside and outside the relay network. NME could just do this whole pathfinder thing in the Milky Way. The premise could be that the galaxy started activating more relays after the reaper war to find potential colonies and our mission is to look outside the relay network. Boom, that's NME (if the leak is true) without going to Andromeda. So why just ditch everything and go to another galaxy? It rubs me the wrong way. It feels like they're trying to start from scratch but still capitalize on the Mass Effect name.

Completely agree. We barely scatched the surface with the Milky Way and I agree with the whole pathfinder new colonies can be used in the Milky Way setting.

[Nohvarr]

Completely agree. We barely scatched the surface with the Milky Way and I agree with the whole pathfinder new colonies can be used in the Milky Way setting.

Too much baggage and too many restriction on what they can do. Best to move on to Andromeda.

[ZoliCs]

That's what i'm asking myself. No known species even the Protheans were advanced enough to create wormholes in our galaxy let alone to Andromeda. There is simply not enough negative/dark energy in our known galaxy to make this trip even theoretically possible. Wormholes do not occur naturally and manual travel is out of the question. What if our relay network is linked to other galaxies and the relay network is essentially infinite?

 

Like Alice through the reaper hole we somehow stumble upon the citadel portal/gateway to darkspace and the wider relay network and take our next step into the great unknown?

 

Quote from the Mass Effect wiki:

"The exact FTL speeds at which starships of the modern galaxy travel are unknown. It is noted, however, that Reapers are believed to be capable of traveling nearly 30 light-years (283,821,914,177,424,000 meters) within a 24-hour period, and that this rate is roughly twice what Citadel starships are capable of traveling. This equates Reaper FTL capabilities to around 10,958 times the speed of light.

In comparison, by 2165, human starships are known to be capable of traveling at least fifty times faster the speed of light (14,989,622,900 meters per second)."

 

So that makes FTL speed around 5,000x speed of light by ME3.

 

We also know that the Protheans could hibernate themselves for 50,000 years.

 

So if the Andromeda Galaxy is 2.5 million light years away that means they can get there in 500 years. That's not a big deal.

[themikefest]

I wouldn't count on Shepard showing up again. Look at how Bioware handled Revan and the Warden now ask yourself if that's what you truly desire for Shepard.

Why are you assuming they would do the same with Shepard as they did with Revan and the Warden? Why would I want to ask that question to myself?

 

I was only speculating, right?

[ZoliCs]

Protheans could do that in a stationary situation. FTL/Eezo cores need a lot of maintenance. And have to be huge the more constant deep space travel you plan.

 

Well humans by 2070 could already make a mini-ark. The entire galaxy working together 116 years later could figure it out. Especially since 2 of the tech is already good and done. FTL and Cryo Stasis. Now they only have to adjust them for efficacy.

[Hanako Ikezawa]

Plenty of game series offer then discard player choices

You mean like exactly what Bioware is doing by throwing the Milky Way and the previous trilogy away for this new "Mass Effect" game?

[Hanako Ikezawa]

Well humans by 2070 could already make a mini-ark. The entire galaxy working together 116 years later could figure it out. Especially since 2 of the tech is already good and done. FTL and Cryo Stasis. Now they only have to adjust them for efficacy.

That involves taking place after ME3 which means they'd have to address the endings, making the reason of going to Andromeda pointless. 

[Heimdall]

That involves taking place after ME3

No, it wouldn't have to.

[ZoliCs]

That involves taking place after ME3 which means they'd have to address the endings, making the reason of going to Andromeda pointless. 

 

Why should it? I bet they can do something so simple as upgrading FTL drives and Cryo Stasis faster than building the Crucible.

[Hanako Ikezawa]

No, it wouldn't have to.

Then it involves breaking the lore or another case of space magic, one larger than any other case case to date. 

 

Why should it? I bet they can do something so simple as upgrading FTL drives and Cryo Stasis faster than building the Crucible.

If you think intergalactic travel is the same as interstellar travel, then I'm sorry but you need to rethink it. The scale is astronomically different, and poses tons of problems that they haven't had to consider before. Plus the construction of the ship itself would dwarf construction of the Crucible, which has all the best and brightest working on it, and cripple the economy and infrastructure of Citadel space when it needs those things the most. 

[wright1978]

You mean like exactly what Bioware is doing by throwing the Milky Way and the previous trilogy away for this new "Mass Effect" game. 

 

Hardly they would be respecting player choices if they moved from Milky Way rather than having to canonise/overwrite/merge choiceswhich would be required to stay within the Milky Way.

[Hanako Ikezawa]

Hardly they would be respecting player choices if they moved from Milky Way rather than having to canonise/overwrite/merge choiceswhich would be required to stay within the Milky Way.

By "respecting", you mean throwing them away like they're trash and never referring to them again. Yeah, real respectful. 

[ZoliCs]

If you think intergalactic travel is the same as interstellar travel, then I'm sorry but you need to rethink it. The scale is astronomically different, and poses tons of problems that they haven't had to consider before. Plus the construction of the ship itself would dwarf construction of the Crucible, which has all the best and brightest working on it, and cripple the economy and infrastructure of Citadel space when it needs those things the most. 

I guess you didn't read my link: http://masseffect.wi...Centauri_System

Humans already did it albeit in a smaller scale, they made a ship that travelled for 110 years. They just need an engine/fuel that can do the same for 500 years.

 

Or even less. They could upgrade the FTL even further from dead Reapers to 7.5-10,000x speed of light, they could also use the Citadel to get to Darkspace. And we are already down to ~300 years.

[wright1978]

By "respecting", you mean throwing them away like they're trash and never referring to them again. Yeah, real respectful. 

 

Preserving them is respectful. Trashing them would be what would likely happen if they go back to Milky Way.

There's even the possibility of referring to them in Andromeda in a manageable manner via Quantum Entanglement communication.