Saren wouldn't have the ammunition to make a Turian untrustworthy to the Council. It came down to being human and Anderson being Shepard's mentor.
The game would have had to have been fundamentally reworked to accommodate multiple races. It would have been more generic and the themes would have been different.
If Anderson was still the commanding officer of the Eden Prime mission, it would still be used as ammunition against whoever came forth.
If Anderson was still the commanding officer of the Eden Prime mission, it would still be used as ammunition against whoever came forth.
Why would Anderson even be involved? The Eden Prime mission was designed as a simple first test of a new Spectre candidate. If the candidate isn't human then there's no need for Alliance involvement at all. They have no skin in the game.
It was also part of the shakedown cruise of the Normandy SR1, which Captain Anderson was in command of.
I also wouldn't mind being presented with options to play various races but only if they implement an origin-type scheme to help facilitate immersion into the role. I can totally see peoples POV with regard to DAI on the "watering down" of the protagonist. I didn't have the same issue here as I was so geeked up excited about DAI coming out that I wrote expanded backstories to each of the characters I was going to play that helped with RPing and immersion. That said, people shouldn't have to go to such an extent to maximize fun. So if Bioware goes with multiple races they need to do it in a way the game doesn't suffer for it. If it is purely we have X resources and that's it, I'd rather just be human and have a better overall game.
Why would Anderson even be involved? The Eden Prime mission was designed as a simple first test of a new Spectre candidate. If the candidate isn't human then there's no need for Alliance involvement at all. They have no skin in the game.
Again just dialogue that would have to be rewritten, motivations would change but the scenario of the Beacon on Eden Prime and Saren stay the same (theme != plot). Mass Effect 1 is just an example though and nobody's complaining about what we've played before, more to the point - yes it is possible to make a great game with race selection, especially if the themes had yet to be written. Also honestly, who believes that humanity is still the underdog by the 4th game in a franchise? That's an overused theme if anything.
I am a fan of multiple species, but I don't just want to play a re-skinned human.
If I am playing as a Salarian, I would want to actually play as a Salarian, not just a human in a rubber suit. A Salarian PC would have an entirely different perspective to the universe than a Human, or Turian would. The lore mentions how their hyperactive metabolism, and rapid thought processes make the other species seem slow in comparison. There is no way a texture swap will capture that distinct flavor, and that is just one of the major Council species. Playing as separate races should be more involved than simply how you look, doubly so if you are talking about separate species that have an entirely different evolutionary development than your fantasy counterparts that are just humans, short humans with beards, humans with pointy ears, and big humans with horns.
Would playing as a different species for all of the SP campaign be something I would want? Yes, but I would also like a story that had depth to it, a narrative that actually reacts to my racial choice, and has a wide arrange of ways I can role-play the game; unlike DA:I. I would like to believe that BioWare could pull off multiple species successfully, and with meaningful impact, but their recent title doesn't indicate that such a thing is possible without sacrificing a lot of other elements. Really, the only way that multiple species could work satisfactory (IMO) would be if BioWare went back to a silent protagonist, but we all know the likelihood of that happening.
MP, like others have said, is the best way to get playable aliens that remain true to their depiction in the setting. Even though ME 3's MP had very little narrative behind it, the aliens still felt like aliens. When you played as a Krogan warrior of Tuchanka you knew that that is what he would act like. Being an Asari Justicar actually played differently than a human biotic, etc. Plus, MP is the best chance to see the more 'outlying' aliens as a playable character. Even if playable Asari and Turians where a thing in the main campaign, does anyone really thing we would have ever saw a Volus, or Vorcha as playable options?
MP might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it is the most likely platform upon which we can see the Mass Effect universe through an alien's eyes and have it actually be unique to that species instead of a re-skinned human. I am secretly (not really 
) holding out for some playable Rachni and Elcor, something I know that will never, ever be an option in the SP, but does have at least a chance of making it into MP.
I am a fan of multiple species, but I don't just want to play a re-skinned human.
If I am playing as a Salarian, I would want to actually play as a Salarian, not just a human in a rubber suit. A Salarian PC would have an entirely different perspective to the universe than a Human, or Turian would. The lore mentions how their hyperactive metabolism, and rapid thought processes make the other species seem slow in comparison. There is no way a texture swap will capture that distinct flavor, and that is just one of the major Council species. Playing as separate races should be more involved than simply how you look, doubly so if you are talking about separate species that have an entirely different evolutionary development than your fantasy counterparts that are just humans, short humans with beards, humans with pointy ears, and big humans with horns.
Yep, I like the idea of playing as multiple races (liked doing it in the Dragon Age series), but the diversity established in Mass Effect makes it too difficult unless it were a dedicated spinoff (or if they got an extra year of dev time). One of the big positives of the first 3 mass effect games was the VO performances by Meer and Hale, try stretching that out over multiple species and it gets messy.
I am a fan of multiple species, but I don't just want to play a re-skinned human.
If I am playing as a Salarian, I would want to actually play as a Salarian, not just a human in a rubber suit. A Salarian PC would have an entirely different perspective to the universe than a Human, or Turian would. The lore mentions how their hyperactive metabolism, and rapid thought processes make the other species seem slow in comparison. There is no way a texture swap will capture that distinct flavor, and that is just one of the major Council species. Playing as separate races should be more involved than simply how you look, doubly so if you are talking about separate species that have an entirely different evolutionary development than your fantasy counterparts that are just humans, short humans with beards, humans with pointy ears, and big humans with horns.
Would playing as a different species for all of the SP campaign be something I would want? Yes, but I would also like a story that had depth to it, a narrative that actually reacts to my racial choice, and has a wide arrange of ways I can role-play the game; unlike DA:I. I would like to believe that BioWare could pull off multiple species successfully, and with meaningful impact, but their recent title doesn't indicate that such a thing is possible without sacrificing a lot of other elements. Really, the only way that multiple species could work satisfactory (IMO) would be if BioWare went back to a silent protagonist, but we all know the likelihood of that happening.
MP, like others have said, is the best way to get playable aliens that remain true to their depiction in the setting. Even though ME 3's MP had very little narrative behind it, the aliens still felt like aliens. When you played as a Krogan warrior of Tuchanka you knew that that is what he would act like. Being an Asari Justicar actually played differently than a human biotic, etc. Plus, MP is the best chance to see the more 'outlying' aliens as a playable character. Even if playable Asari and Turians where a thing in the main campaign, does anyone really thing we would have ever saw a Volus, or Vorcha as playable options?
MP might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it is the most likely platform upon which we can see the Mass Effect universe through an alien's eyes and have it actually be unique to that species instead of a re-skinned human. I am
secretly(not really
MP is not the solution for the people who want to roleplay as other races. You need roleplaying and story for that. The MP, fun as it is, does not offer those any more than the MP of shooters do. And the races in MP are literally reskinned humans with maybe the occasional new thing added, like Krogan headbutt.
It was also part of the shakedown cruise of the Normandy SR1, which Captain Anderson was in command of.
Again just dialogue that would have to be rewritten, motivations would change but the scenario of the Beacon on Eden Prime and Saren stay the same (theme != plot).
See above. And if you have to change the central themes of the game then you change the game. The themes would have to be more generic or nonexistent, like in Inquisition. Inquisition feels so unsatisfying to a lot of people because there are no central themes, just a series of events broken up by tedious plodding about. Being underdogs proving humanity's worth is important to the trilogy.
Sure it was important, but not the most important and not enough to restructure ME1 (nor is it more important than the Reaper threat or Saren who are the driving forces of that entire game), only enough to restructure ME2. More to the point ME4 can have its own themes, certainly it doesn't need to carry on the "humanity as underdog" theme anymore than it needs to have Shepard as the PC, or the Citadel as the main hub, or etc. Let the new game stand on its own.
Again, I don't mind only having a human PC because quality > quantity, but the idea that changing the PC's race destroys Mass Effect is pretty ludicrous.
Sure it was important, but not the most important and not enough to restructure ME1
More to the point ME4 can have its own themes, certainly it doesn't need to carry on the "humanity as underdog" theme anymore than it needs to have Shepard as the PC, or the Citadel as the main hub, or etc. Let the new game stand on its own.
Did BioWare confirm this?
No, just hinted at/suggested it by making the PC an N7. But the Dragon Age team added multiple races to Inquisition because people wanted it so nothing is set in stone.
They said that the protagonist will have "something to do with N7", but to what extent? Also, "N7" is a funny concept given Mass Effect 3 MP.
You can't make any other race work without restructuring the game. Or without making the game more generic.
We're talking about changing ME1 to accommodate multiple races. ME4 is irrelevant.
Pretty sure this thread has always been about ME4, a number of other games were brought up and eventually we got to ME1 because people brought up the previous Mass Effect games. Your argument was that it's impossible to change ME1 because it would require enormous structural changes, others argued it didn't. You yourself even stated that the race changes in DAO were window dressing: A few lines of dialogue that don't change how anything plays out. If it doesn't change the story then it's just set dressing, nothing more. Being a mage doesn't give you a third option in Broken Circle. Being a Dalish Elf doesn't alter what happens in Nature of the Beast. Etc. It's all nice for role-playing purposes but it doesn't bolster the story. ... None of those things change or even enhance the story. They enhance the player's experience but have no bearing on the story. Playing as FemShep makes zero difference to the story. Playing as a Vanguard makes zero difference to the story. Playing as a Dwarf in Inquisition makes zero difference to the story.
You quite literally argue it's a negative because it doesn't do enough to change things, but when applied to a game where changes would be minimal it's also a negative. As for a Mass Effect 4, I still agree with thread creator that playing as a human is fine with me because of quality issues, not because I can't let go of old themes from a done trilogy.
Another poster said that ME1 could have allowed for multiple races with 4 lines of dialogue and nothing more. That's what I was arguing against.Pretty sure this thread has always been about ME4, a number of other games were brought up and eventually we got to ME1 because people brought up the previous Mass Effect games. Your argument was that it's impossible to change ME1 because it would require enormous structural changes, others argued it didn't.
Yes. Origins was designed around a largely blank canvas PC and the game accommodated multiple races through nondescript storytelling. It was always meant to accommodate multiple races, it wasn't changed later on.You yourself even stated that the race changes in DAO were window dressing: A few lines of dialogue that don't change how anything plays out. If it doesn't change the story then it's just set dressing, nothing more. Being a mage doesn't give you a third option in Broken Circle. Being a Dalish Elf doesn't alter what happens in Nature of the Beast. Etc. It's all nice for role-playing purposes but it doesn't bolster the story.
... None of those things change or even enhance the story. They enhance the player's experience but have no bearing on the story. Playing as FemShep makes zero difference to the story. Playing as a Vanguard makes zero difference to the story. Playing as a Dwarf in Inquisition makes zero difference to the story.
I did no such thing. I don't even play as humans in Dragon Age(except DA2, obviously).You quite literally argue it's a negative
They said that the protagonist will have "something to do with N7", but to what extent? Also, "N7" is a funny concept given Mass Effect 3 MP.
They said that the protagonist will have "something to do with N7", but to what extent? Also, "N7" is a funny concept given Mass Effect 3 MP.
Another poster said that ME1 could have allowed for multiple races with 4 lines of dialogue and nothing more. That's what I was arguing against.
Yes. Origins was designed around a largely blank canvas PC and the game accommodated multiple races through nondescript storytelling. It was always meant to accommodate multiple races, it wasn't changed later on.
Unless they redesigned Mass Effect 1 from the ground up it couldn't have accommodated multiple races because it was so human-specific.
I did no such thing. I don't even play as humans in Dragon Age(except DA2, obviously).
Well then yeah I agree, 4 lines of dialogue is not enough, I just disagree that it would be fundamentally different - you could even change nothing about the side quests like Feros, and it would be an added dynamic to have an alien helping human interests. Again though, this is all besides the point. 
ME3 MP characters are not real N7s (well except the 5 that actually are), it's stated in the game. They give themselves this name because it sounds cool and provides moral support.
IIRC when you listen to Anderson's autobiography in his Citadel apartment he argues for N7-type programs for other races in the future (I could be wrong), but yeah the N7 badge in MP isn't about lore it's more just Mass Effect's version of "Prestige".
If you have a mixed race colony, which is say 60% human and an alliance governed world, and the Turians living there wanted to join military, why would they be ineligible for the N7 program? Have race relations really gone so far backwards in next 200 years? It is still possible to have "something to do with N7" and a playable alien character. Bioware has not really said anything about it so far apart from some very basic hint which may have come from a time when they hadn't even made the decision themselves..
For reference, I'm only talking about playable races in ME4, not ME1-3. That's a story about the progress of Shepard/humanity, but I believe that these themes have evolved going into ME4.
A unified galaxy after the reapers, a smaller scale story focused on crew interaction, and the fact that aliens became honorary (if unofficial) members of N7 makes an alien protagonist plausible without derailing the plot. We'll also be going into uncharted territory; all the trilogy races will be wide-eyed explorers in the new setting (whether it be in the other regions of the Milky Way or somewhere far further) plus we'll be adventuring into the unknown, so the trilogy races don't need to be alienated for alien conflict to occur.
If playable races doesn't entice you, that's perfectly fine. Humans are pretty great. But the cost of having aliens as an option is at best unnoticeable and at worst theoretically related. I believe that the lack of a 'solid' Inquisitor character comes more from focus on open world and less from multiple races. The races shared voice actors, so the only time there's actually a difference is when you straight up say "but I'm a human" and that's not what good, character building conversations are based on.
As mentioned earlier, the speech patterns of most races only require a basic voice effect. In regards to animation, I recall the clipping mainly being a problem for the non-human races, and I'd have a clipping turian than no turian. Also, in my opinion DAO had the most reference to your character's background, and that had playable races. If you say that several races (DAI) lead to too many vapid dialogue options, I'll say that a single race (ME3) lends itself towards too much auto-dialogue. There's more to it than the number of playable races.
This shouldn't even be debated. People are ignoring proof just so they can go "lala can't hear you I'm right". Shepard being any other race changes many of the core themes of the entire series. The entire second game doesn't happen because no way TIM would spend billions of credits to bring back a Salarian. The only reason alien races were allowed on Shepard's mission was to uphold the illusion that Cerberus was pro-Human, not anti-alien. So what would happen if you could choose to be any race in ME2? You chose Salarian in ME1 so it imports to 2... the Normandy (if you chose Salarian it wouldn't even be the Normandy) blows up the end credits roll and you have to restart ME1 as to be able to import a human to ME2 to accommodate the story. ME1 is all about Humanity rising up the galactic latter to become the galaxy's saviors. All of that goes away with multiple races. This isn't even debatable and people's time is being wasted because of nonsensical stubbornness.
This ofc says nothing of ME:N which I still say it'd be a bad idea because ME has a lot more races than DA could ever hope to have. You'd have to alienate fans who want X and Y race, whereas with human only at least there's a precedent in the series. If fans get upset then well... what did they expect?
N7 could, and likely would, take on a new meaning after the Reaper war because of the N7 Special Ops Team.
That being said, the Andromeda "leak" mentioned taking on this escapade for the sake of humanity instead of for the galaxy or something else, which could be an indication.
"for the sake of humanity"...hmmm
That's interesting because that could imply that there is a unique threat to humans as opposed to other races.
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