38 ответов в этой теме

[Bayonet Hipshot]

Hi all. I want to get into the character of Adept Shepard to roleplay him properly for a Mass Effect Trilogy run so I would like to explore more about Biotcs. Specifically, Biotic Training.

 

Here is what the Mass Effect wiki has to say on Biotic training. 

 

...They must then develop conscious control over their nervous system, which is a long, slow, difficult ordeal (except for the asari, who possess a degree of control naturally). Biofeedback therapy is commonly used to aid in this process....

 

...Biotic abilities are activated using a technique called "physical mnemonics", in which the biotic uses a physical gesture to cause neurons to fire in a certain sequence, sending an electrical charge through their eezo nodules and creating the desired effect....

 

...Because of the massive physical effort required to biologically generate dark energy, biotic soldiers are assigned a large daily calorie ration (4,500 kilocalories per day, compared with the standard soldier's allotment of 3,000) and provided with energy drinks to help them maintain their blood sugar and electrolyte levels. The electrical fields in their bodies mean they are also prone to small static discharges when they touch metal....

 

 

Biofeedback therapy :- Involves training patients to control physiological processes such as muscle tension, blood pressure, or heart rate. Different types of exercises are used and they included deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery and mindfulness meditation. So it is like a combination of yoga and meditation of sorts. 

 

Mnemonics :- This is a memory tool and in the case of the adepts, it is a memory tool used to fire specific powers. Which means they engage in some form of memory training. 

 

The calorie rations make me wonder though. Adepts appear to eat a lot but we don't see an out of shape adept. Does all the calories go towards creating biotic abilities ?

 

So from what I can gather, Adepts eat a lot, engage in memory training, yoga-like exercises and meditation.

 

This means that Adepts should have a good memory. We see Jack for instance, demonstrating this by talking about Biotic Schematics that she glanced or just heard about once a long time ago which we can use for upgrade in Mass Effect 2.

 

Adepts should also have a very good control of their body and bodily functions. Breathing, muscle control and mental sharpness.

 

Adepts can get very hungry due to the high metabolism from using biotics. It reminds me of The Flash who needs to drink coffee with lots of sugars in it or consume large amounts of food or eat special energy bar to use his super speed powers. It also reminds me of Grey Wardens and their propensity to eat lots of food due to the Taint. 

 

Thoughts and comments ? 

 

Maybe I might do a post about Tech Training someday.

 

 

[Vazgen]

Meditation seems to be confirmed by Samara. 

 

I think that the memory training you mention refers to developing certain reflexes in response to the physical gestures. So when Adept makes the gesture, his neural system aligns the biotic nodes and unleashes the power automatically. Adepts should probably enter some sort of "biotic state" when their mind is focused on combat and power casting. I don't think that memory training includes long-term and short-term memories, more like muscle memory. 

 

Ensign Prangley mentions that "they burnt through close to a 1000 calories in the last few hours". I wonder if it's a side effect of biotic amps. They amplify biotic powers but also cause the caster to burn out quicker. 

[Bayonet Hipshot]

Meditation seems to be confirmed by Samara. 

 

I think that the memory training you mention refers to developing certain reflexes in response to the physical gestures. So when Adept makes the gesture, his neural system aligns the biotic nodes and unleashes the power automatically. Adepts should probably enter some sort of "biotic state" when their mind is focused on combat and power casting. I don't think that memory training includes long-term and short-term memories, more like muscle memory. 

 

Ensign Prangley mentions that "they burnt through close to a 1000 calories in the last few hours". I wonder if it's a side effect of biotic amps. They amplify biotic powers but also cause the caster to burn out quicker. 

 

I never did the Grissom Academy mission without Jack, thanks for letting me know ! Also even Liara, a pureblood Asari mentions that after an intense fight, she can get tired. 

 

So I think its both the biotic amp and the fact that you are using your brain to manipulate dark energy. I mean I am a full time student and studying can get really exhausting, mentally speaking so imagine biotics. 

[Treacherous J Slither]

Yet another example of asari superiority.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

And this is why you see no fat Asari. F*** those energy drinks. You know what would be the perfect meals supplemented with vitamins and minerals? Pizza. High in calories and grease. Fat for caloric density. Cheese with pepperoni and all sorts of goodies on it.

[Treacherous J Slither]

Damn right!

And don't forget the bacon double cheddar cheeseburgers with the milkshake!

[Treacherous J Slither]

Mmm I love American food.

[Undead Han]

 Also even Liara, a pureblood Asari mentions that after an intense fight, she can get tired. 

 

 

Just to add to that...during the Therum rescue Liara was so exhausted that she couldn't even use her biotics. It is never stated how long she had been suspended in that force field, but is implied that she had been there awhile. Enough time without food or sleep seems like it eventually renders biotics unable to use their abilities.

[MrStoob]

Ha!  I had a running joke in my FF about Liara's eating habits (she really enjoys food), and that you never seem to see an overweight asari.  She likes a good greasy fry up washed down with a mug of sweet tea and once ate a whole chocolate cake in one sitting to the point of vomiting.  

 

Oh and mnemonics.  From the description, the specific gesture triggers the 'power'.  So if arm out stretched with open hand: warp.  Arm and hand up (as though raising something): singularity, and so on.

 

And asari still need amps to be effective, they simply have a natural affinity with biotics compared to other species.

 

re-re-re-re-edit (sorry): Calories (read: energy) and fat aren't the same thing, so there's no particular reason why an adept would be overweight.

[sH0tgUn jUliA]

Fat = 9 cals/gram. Carbs = 4 cals/gram. Protein = 4 cals/gram.

 

From the Wikia: They (Asari) do not require implants to use biotics effectively, nor do they need to undergo special training to acquire conscious neural control; their reproductive physiology grants them this ability from birth.

[MrStoob]

I would query then, why Liara needs one at all such as in ME1?  I was under the impression that while an asari doesn't NEED an amp to use biotics, an un-amped asari wouldn't necessarily be as effective as an amped human, though an amped asari would be much more powerful than an amped <other species>.

[Bayonet Hipshot]

I would query then, why Liara needs one at all such as in ME1?  I was under the impression that while an asari doesn't NEED an amp to use biotics, an un-amped asari wouldn't necessarily be as effective as an amped human, though an amped asari would be much more powerful than an amped <other species>.

 

Asari who use biotics for day to day use does not need biotic amps. However, Asari who choose to fight with biotics such as asari commandos, use biotic amps. 

 

The thing that I am curious about is that how much of biotic training is mental exercise and how much of it is endurance training. 

[MrFob]

This made me think. I always wondered how much charge you actually need to generate ME fields for different purposes.

The fact that a charged drive core in a ship can cook the entire crew alive suggests that you need a lot.

The fact that biotics seem to be able to move stuff around with the incredibly low electric potentials that exist within the nervous system implies that hardly any power is required.

Maybe the relationship between charge and field strength is exponential. Until now, I assumed the amp would somehow actually do all the hard work but that doesn't make sense either. It seems a requirement that eezo is present in your nervous system, which means that the amp can't really get a lot of charge to them without damaging the brain. If the amp itself is an ME field generator and biotics just know how to activate it, anyone should be able to become a biotic. Unless of course, it's a developmental thing, where - as an infant - you have to experience the minute ability to be able to affect an ME field with your mind. Even though, that field would not be strong enough to actually do anything useful with it, it generates a plasiticity effect in your brain, which allows you to control ME fields through amps later in your life.

But if the Asari can use biotics without amps (is that actually stated?), then that means that either there is something else going on or that Adari brains somehow work on way more electrical potential differences than humans.

[Vazgen]

I think all Bio-Amps do is to synchronize more eezo nodules in the biotic's body. Without the amps, biotic can only synchronize a few and his abilities are lacking. Codex on Asari biology mentions that:

This unique means of reproduction is the reason asari are talented biotics. Their evolved ability to consciously control nerve impulses is very similar to biotic training.

 

That's why amps come in different varieties. The more sophisticated the amp is, the more nodules it can synchronize. It also explains how amplifiers can improve a specific discipline or talent (codex entry on biotic amps).

 

Biotics also work with much lower masses than eezo engines. 

 

It might explain the radiation shielding too - ships are very heavy and eezo cores have to discharge frequently because of that much mass...

[MrFob]

Ok, that would mean that eezo is extremely efficient when it comes to altering mass. use a few milivolts/picoamps and you can create a singularity that hurls multiple people in it's vicinity around. Well, I mean, the ME universe never gave much on the first law of thermodynamics anyway but I am pretty sure there are the beginnings of a perpetuum mobile somewhere in here.

[Vazgen]

Ok, that would mean that eezo is extremely efficient when it comes to altering mass. use a few milivolts/picoamps and you can create a singularity that hurls multiple people in it's vicinity around. Well, I mean, the ME universe never gave much on the first law of thermodynamics anyway but I am pretty sure there are the beginnings of a perpetuum mobile somewhere in here.

Eezo is actually quite close to that, it seems. Consider, there is no need to replenish eezo on the ships. Once the engine is built, all it needs is fuel to power the core and it can fly for ages without any need to replenish eezo. 

[MrFob]

Eezo is actually quite close to that, it seems. Consider, there is no need to replenish eezo on the ships. Once the engine is built, all it needs is fuel to power the core and it can fly for ages without any need to replenish eezo. 

 

True, but that is kinda equivalent with you, not having to replenish the steel in the engine of your car, right? Eexo is just the material used in the drive core. I was under the impression that the energy would need to be supplied by the electrical power. I am just astonished how low that seems to be. On the other hand, I should have known, making stuff like a barrier that can reflect bullets for the cost of an energy bar was always pretty awesome, I guess.

[Vazgen]

True, but that is kinda equivalent with you, not having to replenish the steel in the engine of your car, right? Eexo is just the material used in the drive core. I was under the impression that the energy would need to be supplied by the electrical power. I am just astonished how low that seems to be. On the other hand, I should have known, making stuff like a barrier that can reflect bullets for the cost of an energy bar was always pretty awesome, I guess.

Yes but steel still faces wear and tear with time. Plus eezo is being actively used when traveling, not like a chassis. I would've expected eezo to lose some of its potency with time but it seems it's not the case. For the same reason biotics can use the eezo in their bodies for probably their entire life with their abilities even getting better with age (Kaidan).

[MrFob]

Well, if it just holds charge/passes current , it is used like the metal part of a capacitor/conductor, which doesn't really get damaged by that. I would still expect there to be wear and tear I guess but who knows how durable the stuff is. Maybe they have to swap out cores every 10-20 years or so (and usually ships get blown up before that in the ME universe anyway, hehe).

[SuperJogi]

@MrFob: Look who turned into a science nitpicker

 

It might explain the radiation shielding too - ships are very heavy and eezo cores have to discharge frequently because of that much mass...

 

Did you write that so small in the hopes I wouldn't notice?

Well since we just found out how miniscule changes in the current already make a big difference, that would make ME technology even more vulnerable to a powerful EMP.

[MrFob]

@MrFob: Look who turned into a science nitpicker

 

Never said I wasn't. Just like to try and fix it when possible.

I guess we already established back in the time dilation thread that eezo had to break the boundaries of our known universe and its physics in some ways. But I'm more of a biologist, so that's usually when it really hits me.

[Vazgen]

Did you write that so small in the hopes I wouldn't notice?

Well since we just found out how miniscule changes in the current already make a big difference, that would make ME technology even more vulnerable to a powerful EMP.

It was one of those posts that are off-topic in this thread but not substantial enough to be posted in the nuke thread

Speaking of EMPs, any ideas on how the ships are shielded from those?

[SuperJogi]

It was one of those posts that are off-topic in this thread but not substantial enough to be posted in the nuke thread

Speaking of EMPs, any ideas on how the ships are shielded from those?

 

Man, you seriously need to update you quantum electrodynamics.

The EMP in this case, is the powerful blast of high energy gamma photons, which ionize (electricly charge) atoms that they hit by ejecting electrons from the shell. This happens through two processes, called the photoelectric effect (low energy) and compton scattering (high energy).

 

I think we already had a lengthy discussion about how to shield from this.

 

Edit: This alone would usually not be called EMP. But since we are talking about massive amounts of radiation it would be enough to cause major disruptions. Also any radiation shielding or thick wall would increase the wavelength of the radiation more to what would more usually be referred to as an EMP.

Сообщение изменено: SuperJogi, 12 Май 2015 - 09:45 .

[Vazgen]

Man, you seriously need to update you quantum electrodynamics.

The EMP in this case, is the powerful blast of high energy gamma photons, which ionize (electricly charge) atoms that they hit by ejecting electrons from the shell. This happens through two processes, called the photoelectric effect (low energy) and compton scattering (high energy).

 

I think we already had a lengthy discussion about how to shield from this.

I was talking about non-nuclear EMPs.

[MrFob]

Normally, EM shielding should be accomplished by a simple faraday cage (possibly nested ones). I'd imagine ships would have those anyway as EM shielding is even a concern for spacecraft today. Not sure if there is anything special to consider for EMP but AFAIK, add that huge radiation armor we talked about in the other thread and you should be good, no?