Anything that makes itself massless becomes pure energy, and thus can't reassemble itself as matter, or at least as nothing more than it's most basic components. That's excluding quantization of course, but there's nothing in Mass Effect that does that yet.
But then how can ships in ME exceed c ?
But then how can ships in ME exceed c ?
Mass Effect fields consist of Dark Energy, which is capable of moving faster than the speed of light. So if a ship is wrapped in a field of dark energy, it is in something akin to a space bubble and can slip through space-time faster than light.
Mass Effect fields consist of Dark Energy, which is capable of moving faster than the speed of light. So if a ship is wrapped in a field of dark energy, it is in something akin to a space bubble and can slip through space-time faster than light.
Ah dark energy, the thing invented to make scientific models hold with observational eviendence, but no one really knows what it is or what to do with it.
Dark energy being defined is perhaps the biggest handwave of them all, but that would be unfair to the actually production of this dark energy: just plus some C batteries to some proton-less matter, and you're all set !
People complain about them because they are more ignorant about the other things Bioware does get wrong. The Lazarus project is actually less implausible than Quarian immunology. The only reason you'd think the former is a worse transgression is just a complete lack of knowledge of, say, immunology.
Except that Shepard is clearly seen burning up when entering the atmosphere of Alchera, Shepard's body would have been burnt to a crisp with nothing to rebuild his/her body with. Not to mention how Shepard memory's being intact after his/her brain was dead for about two years is extremely absurd. Bioware didn't even try to explain how LP worked they just said it was "advance tech" and "resources".
I'm perfectly happy with project Lazarus, it's so unashamedly rule of cool that I just run with it, but the game trying to make sense of reduncing mass to acheive FTL travel just makes my head hurt.
The things is placing Shepard is a coma for two years would have achieved the exact same thing and also be more believable than LP, LP is just style over substance.
Synthesis has so many problems the actual scientific aspect may as well be the least of them.
The scientific aspect of synthesis was a major problem the whole "organic energy" thing is just nonsense.
Mass Effect is a One Big Lie in Science Fiction Hardness.
ME was never really hard sci-fi but it wasn't space fantasy either.
Except that Shepard is clearly seen burning up when entering the atmosphere of Alchera, Shepard's body would have been burnt to a crisp with nothing to rebuild his/her body with. Not to mention how Shepard memory's being intact after his/her brain was dead for about two years is extremely absurd. Bioware didn't even try to explain how LP worked they just said it was "advance tech" and "resources".
The things is placing Shepard is a coma for two years would have achieved the exact same thing and also be more believable than LP, LP is just style over substance.
The scientific aspect of synthesis was a major problem the whole "organic energy" thing is just nonsense.
ME was never really hard sci-fi but it wasn't space fantasy either.
Meh..........everything related to mass effect is a technobabble but as far as I know, you will dismiss it because double standards. They will abandon Milky Way, its not written in the lore or whatever excuse you come up.
The scientific aspect of synthesis was a major problem the whole "organic energy" thing is just nonsense.
ME was never really hard sci-fi but it wasn't space fantasy either.
It was, it just was, element zero is the poster boy of rule of cool phlebotinum.
Yes and no.
The basic idea could have been handled better, with less "rule-of-cool", there is no "rule of cool" in the Eezo itself.
Yes and no.
The basic idea could have been handled better, with less "rule-of-cool", there is no "rule of cool" in the Eezo itself.
It grants you the power of biotics and FTL travel. 
Meh..........everything related to mass effect is a technobabble but as far as I know, you will dismiss it because double standards. They will abandon Milky Way, its not written in the lore or whatever excuse you come up.
Its not a double standard to call Bioware out the poorly written aspects of their work, or the fact the real reason leaving the MW because they don't want to deal with the mistakes they created and how doing so will only cause them to repeat the same mistakes they've made.
Even if synthesis would have scientific backup (lol), it still wouldn't erase the moral implications and the narrative black hole it caused.
Sythesis is above all a storytelling failiure, no matter how scientifically polished that turd is (not at all as happen).
I'm not arguing with you about that, but it (and LP) shouldn't have existence in the narrative in the first place since both are just straight up space magic since they break peoples suspension of disbelief.
It was, it just was, element zero is the poster boy of rule of cool phlebotinum.
If it was rule of cool they wouldn't even bothered trying to explain eezo with the codex entries.
Except that Shepard is clearly seen burning up when entering the atmosphere of Alchera, Shepard's body would have been burnt to a crisp with nothing to rebuild his/her body with. Not to mention how Shepard memory's being intact after his/her brain was dead for about two years is extremely absurd. Bioware didn't even try to explain how LP worked they just said it was "advance tech" and "resources".
Shepard's body existing is impossible, but actually reviving the dead by replacing most of their organs isn't far-fetched. And in a world that can create AI (ignoring the fact that Bioware knows absolutely nothing about machine learning and their portrayals are laughable), actually repairing (or replacing) a brain isn't far-fetched either. Re-creating Shepard is probably impossible, but creating a (mostly) Shepard who thinks its Shepard would be totally doable.
And, like I said, the body survived because "magic" is far less stupid than Quarian immunology.
Shepard's body existing is impossible, but actually reviving the dead by replacing most of their organs isn't far-fetched. And in a world that can create AI (ignoring the fact that Bioware knows absolutely nothing about machine learning and their portrayals are laughable), actually repairing (or replacing) a brain isn't far-fetched either. Re-creating Shepard is probably impossible, but creating a (mostly) Shepard who thinks its Shepard would be totally doable.
And, like I said, the body survived because "magic" is far less stupid than Quarian immunology.
Except Bioware didn't put much thought into LP in the first place. Putting Shepard into a coma for two years would've achieve the exact same thing and be more believable.
But then how can ships in ME exceed c ?
<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>
Sci-fi writers have found a way to exceed c, using a number of plot devices.
1.An FTL drive simply shifts the ship into another dimension where c is, say, 10X faster.
2. Or, you can use the concept of a Jump Drive that enters multiple dimensional bands where the speed of light gets faster as you go "up" the bands but the chances of going acoherent (ie: you lose molecular coherency) breaking the "wall" between bands increases.
3. Or, use the concept of jump gates as in Babylon 5
Really, c is no limit at all to the writer's imagination.
Yeah true.
But if you expected what you saw in the trailer to be in-game footage, you would be foolish in that regard.
See, the problem is the hype is generated through people talking about the game as much as BioWare, in this example, would show it.
Another example, No Mans Sky is getting a ton of hype right now because of the ambition of the game and the recent presentations by Sean Murray and Sony. The problem is not so much that they are showing the game to generate buzz, but the fanbase is essentially growing that buzz for them. So Murray stated that they are more or less managing expectations for people so they aren't disappointed in the end.
BioWare has been doing that to us since the hype got too big for some of their games. This is probably one reason why videos on Andromeda are scarce at the moment, and most of the info we have is based on a (now) credible leak.
So lets lay the blame to where it needs to go. It is BioWare's fault for promising the moon like any product, and that is a marketing issue. But the fans are at blame for this too; nothing hyped beyond their wildest dreams can live up to everyones actual expectations. So if you feel the game didn't meet your expectations due to pre-release trailers, well, I don't know what to tell you really other than be more savvy to such things.
If it was for other reasons, again, it's a capitalist market, you can buy other games if you think they will meet your expectations.
<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>
Oh, I agree with you. Too bad I was brought up with concepts like truth and honesty.
However, I do thank Edmonton's Bio studio for a valuable lesson. My posts, here and elsewhere, reflect my new doubting Thomas theme.
*shrug* Like I said, it's the one aspect of the ending I didn't have a problem with
It was a Twitter quote, yes. I think it was Jessica Merizan, but I could be wrong.
My problem is FTL travel as it currently exists makes travel to Andomeda travel a virtual impossibility. In addition, the relay network itself is not fully explored, nor the Milky Way in general. And exploring this galaxy is far more plausible with current FTL tech. Why would anyone want to go explore a new galaxy when this one is barely used? Why would anyone bother researching new FTL systems either?
The galaxy relied on the relays for thousands of years. They are utterly dependent on them. And now with EC, they persist. Making new methods of travel even less likely.
Now maybe a mass relay could get a ship to Andromeda, but that would all but confirm Reaper presence. ANd the furthest relay we know of is hanging out in dark space "only" a couple years' travel away.
<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>
Why do you believe FTL is a limitation? A simple plot device that scientists made a breakthrough solves the problem.
In any case, the point is moot because MEA is in Andromeda.
<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>
Sci-fi writers have found a way to exceed c, using a number of plot devices.
1.An FTL drive simply shifts the ship into another dimension where c is, say, 10X faster.
2. Or, you can use the concept of a Jump Drive that enters multiple dimensional bands where the speed of light gets faster as you go "up" the bands but the chances of going acoherent (ie: you lose molecular coherency) breaking the "wall" between bands increases.
3. Or, use the concept of jump gates as in Babylon 5
Really, c is no limit at all to the writer's imagination.
4: fold space - think Guild Navigators in Dune.
5: and similarly Warp Space - Warhammer 40k stylee... except there's a reasonable chance you'll come out the other side insane, possessed by the Gods of Chaos or eaten by Genestealers.
Because the writers never wanted to go that route, obviously. You don't always get the sort of options you'd like to have.
The options I'd like to have are ones that rise naturally from the story, fulfill the ultimate objective, and are in keeping with the themes of the series. The ME3 ending has none of that.
We're talking about an AI based on the most arrogant race in Mass Effect so far
So what? Leviathan is a DLC that came out later so it wasn't a thought when they originally wrote the Catalyst. They also could have written the Catalyst differently. My suggestion would be in keeping with the rest of the series and would fit it well.
The Catalyst: "Without us to stop it, synthetics would destroy all organics"
Listening to the entire Catalyst conversation, i found nothing that indicated that they were only supposed to protect life in this galaxy.
Leviathan: " To solve this problem, we created an intelligence with the mandate to preserve life at any cost"
Leviathan: "The intelligence has one purpose: the preservation of life."
The Leviathan refers to the galaxy and the cycles as "an experiment" but that's as far as it goes. The mandate is universal in scope.
There's also nothing to indicate that they were thinking beyond the galaxy. As far as the Catalyst, again he's trying to prevent Organics = 0 so protecting the Milky Way fulfills that objective. While Leviathan does say "preserve life at any cost", again all it's conversations are in the context of the Milky Way. It's not proof that they never thought about other galaxies, but there is nothing whatsoever that mandates it.
Given they pulped their own creators, I think the Reapers are very much "outside the box" thinkers.
In addition, if left unchecked, synthetic life in other galaxies could surpass the Reapers, and screw everyone over if they invaded the Milky Way.
Considering they have done the same cycle over and over, no, they are clearly not. Lots of things theoretically could happen. That doesn't mean it's a good use of time or resources to devote to dealing with them. That theoretical race could just kill whatever Reaper enters their galaxy and the rest would never know.
Well, of course the annihilation thing was never actually true; anyone who's paying attention can see that the Citadel relay explosion can't even blow up the Citadel, let alone Earth. Plus, Normandy lands on a planet that's conspicuously un-novaed. But yeah, not everybody could figure that out, so Bio needed to change the VFX.
I don't understand how the fleet being stranded at the rendezvous point makes it any less stranded than it would be if stranded at Earth. I thought that was only to cover low-EMS cases and the Normandy's departure, myself.
The annihilation not being true was the plot hole. The Citadel does explode originally, just like the other relays. The writers just forgot about Arrival, hence why the EC changed the Relays to not explode. You are right that the fleet could be stranded somewhere else, but that's what they were attempting to fix, along with why your crew is on the Normandy when it crashes and not with you.
So what? People are wrong about stuff in ME all the time. This is just one more case.
Because Control wasn't set up properly. Even if it's now possible, there's nothing to counter the "it's a bad idea" side of the argument we gave TIM.
We're we even given the option to call him out on that? Because that's very true
Not really. We weren't given much opportunity to challenge the Catalyst at all, which is one of the largest problems.
It doesn't matter what the end of ME3 should have been. That isn't germane to ME:A. ME:A to be a Mass Effect title has to deal with the good and the bad of the ME universe and its lore. Retcon is almost always a loser with fans and while there is a majority of people who don't like the endings of ME3 there are a significant number of people who do like them. I feel the reasons the endings sucked is because they started ME1 with no idea how to end the trilogy, they started ME2 with no idea how to end the trilogy and they started ME3 with no idea how to end the trilogy. When they were almost finish development of the game they had to delay it yet again because the ending still wasn't done. That is the real reason the endings failed because they had no idea what the end game was when they started the series.
The endings of ME3 create endings that are too divergent from each other to make a viable game post ME in citadel space. Doesn't matter what should have been done or how bad the endings were implemented they are what they are. And this problem exists even if the endings were a masterpiece and people just went on and on how great they were. They would still create such divergent world states that a story can't be told that works in all possible endings.
So you can either change location and ME doesn't require a set location or you remove player agency and that isn't a popular choice. So they said we will change locations. QQing what they should have done in ME3 is pointless now. It is done and gone. the new series is set in Andromeda and players are either going to have to suck it up or not play. This is ME:A not ME4 and they told us time and time again not to call it ME4 and that it isn't going to be the 4th instalment of the current ME story.
SO if people were hoping for Shepard and some kind of game to fix the endings of ME3 they are not going to get it and frankly I am glad. I am done with the Reapers and the Shepard story. I want new stories told in the universe of mass effect. And if the stories are told in the same universe the easiest way to identify them as such is with Mass Effect in the title.
You're right that what the endings should have been doesn't effect Andromeda, but as someone who loves stories, I still like discussing it.
You're also right that they had no plan on how to finish it. However, I think totally abandoning the Milky Way destroys player agency just as much as them making some things canon does because it makes it not matter. The only difference is that they invalidate everyone's choices instead of only some people's. Also, please disconnect in your mind the desire to stay in the Milky Way from desire to continue with Shepard. They are two different things.
There is something to your statement that it's ME:A, not ME4, just like DA2 should have had a different title. But the concern is that it won't have some of the central elements of the franchise. Imagine if DA2 had no elves and no chantry or circle.
Let's put it another way: if I take a knife and cut off, say, a pound of flesh, and preserve it, then we've kept the DNA. But that's not preserving "me", and it's not preserving "humanity".
People complain about them because they are more ignorant about the other things Bioware does get wrong. The Lazarus project is actually less implausible than Quarian immunology. The only reason you'd think the former is a worse transgression is just a complete lack of knowledge of, say, immunology.
I'm perfectly happy with project Lazarus, it's so unashamedly rule of cool that I just run with it, but the game trying to make sense of reduncing mass to acheive FTL travel just makes my head hurt.
Synthesis has so many problems the actual scientific aspect may as well be the least of them.
The real problem with Lazarus isn't it's scientific implausibility, other than why Shepard isn't dust; it's the presentation. The Mass Effect is introduced and explained early on as part of the setting. Yes, it's nonsense scientifically but we accept it as part of this particular universe. The Lazarus Project is not established as part of the setting or properly set up. It's just dumped into the story as a plot device to skip two years and put Shepard with Cerberus. Obviously it was also to bring back Shepard from his pointless death.
The Quarians immune system isn't a big deal because, while it is central to their characterization, it is in no way central to the plot of the games or the series as a whole.
The only magical thing about Lazarus is the issue of how they managed to bring Shepard back despite suffering brain death, which was brought up and then immediately dropped again in ME3. That alone is the biggest suspension of disbelief that Lazarus has against it.
For me, it's why he isn't powder.
Meh..........everything related to mass effect is a technobabble but as far as I know, you will dismiss it because double standards. They will abandon Milky Way, its not written in the lore or whatever excuse you come up.
It's not a double standard. There is a difference in presentation.
There's also nothing to indicate that they were thinking beyond the galaxy. As far as the Catalyst, again he's trying to prevent Organics = 0 so protecting the Milky Way fulfills that objective. While Leviathan does say "preserve life at any cost", again all it's conversations are in the context of the Milky Way. It's not proof that they never thought about other galaxies, but there is nothing whatsoever that mandates it.
But as I said, petri dishes in stasis is also preventing "Organics=0" and a lot less labor-intensive as well. Why aren't the Reapers going that route? Clearly, the reapers think much much bigger.
And the only Milky Way context in these conversations is that the people involved in the conversation happen to be in that galaxy. It may have been the intention of the Leviathans to limit things to their own galactic empire, but their poorly-phrased and programmed parameters went way beyond their intentions, as the cycles demonstrate. The mandate "preserve life at any cost" certainly allows for it. And fear of super-advanced synthetics certainly drives the Reapers to strike first (again the entire point of the harvests)
Considering they have done the same cycle over and over, no, they are clearly not. Lots of things theoretically could happen. That doesn't mean it's a good use of time or resources to devote to dealing with them. That theoretical race could just kill whatever Reaper enters their galaxy and the rest would never know.
But what time, and what resources are we talking about? The Reapers could get there and back in a few centuries, far less time than a cycle of wait in in dark space.
Plus, whatever happened to those original machines used to create Harbinger? Couldn't they have been sent to another galaxy, harvest and create a new Reaper, and start the process up in another galaxy, with a whole new relay and new brood of Reapers specifically to watch a new galaxy.
Now if the gulf of dark space between the galaxies is in fact too much trouble for the Reapers to bother with, then fine. But then why and how are we expected to cross it?
One thing I've noticed in the complaints is that "current FTL travel is insufficient to travel to Andromeda and we need a Relay to get there, and thus the Reaers could've gone there."
Thing is, I think a lot of people are overlooking one of the things Bioware confirmed about the game. It's centuries after the events of the Reaper war. "Current FTL technology" will be as of the release of this game, "outdated FTL technology."
Yes, people have figured it would take the Reapers two years to get to Andromeda with their level of FTL. If, centuries later, the residents of the Milky Way have reached that level of speed, then it is not impossible for them to get there without the relays.
Now, I'm not saying that is what's going to happen because I don't know what Bioware plans on doing, but it seems odd that people are talking about how impossible it is to go to Andromeda based on the technology Shepard had when we know for a fact that the game is centuries later.
...Now if the gulf of dark space between the galaxies is in fact too much trouble for the Reapers to bother with, then fine. But then why and how are we expected to cross it?
One thing I've noticed in the complaints is that "current FTL travel is insufficient to travel to Andromeda and we need a Relay to get there, and thus the Reaers could've gone there."
Thing is, I think a lot of people are overlooking one of the things Bioware confirmed about the game. It's centuries after the events of the Reaper war. "Current FTL technology" will be as of the release of this game, "outdated FTL technology."
Yes, people have figured it would take the Reapers two years to get to Andromeda with their level of FTL. If, centuries later, the residents of the Milky Way have reached that level of speed, then it is not impossible for them to get there without the relays.
Now, I'm not saying that is what's going to happen because I don't know what Bioware plans on doing, but it seems odd that people are talking about how impossible it is to go to Andromeda based on the technology Shepard had when we know for a fact that the game is centuries later.
Actually, it would take the Reapers more than two centuries to reach Andromeda. And they are far, far more advanced than we are.
NVM getting there, Andromeda civilizations are just going to love having a military expedition around getting into their bussiness.
I think its great direction for ME. Reaper technology is all over freaking place in the end of ME3, so maybe they used it to travel to Andromeda (i mean this would take them like couple thousand years, but still). It actually would make sense. We will again have that mysterious feel from ME1 when exploring new galaxy. That's the easiest way to show what happened after ME3, becouse they don't have to actually "show" it now. They can just say what happened in Milky Way after reaper war. So everyone will get different outcome, depending what endind did they choose. At least if BW won't **** things up.
NVM getting there, Andromeda civilizations are just going to love having a military expedition around getting into their bussiness.
If they haven't had Reapers harvesting them every few fifty thousand years or so, they'll be in a position to do something about it too.
As in, they'll be way more advanced than even the Reapers 
Retour en haut
