I think its better to learn from their missteps when making new aliens than it is to retcon preexisting ones. I'm not for destroying story consistency in exchange for scientific consistency.
Put the effort into the new Andromeda aliens instead of breaking immersion by radically changing how the old aliens look.
Humanoid aliens aren't necessarily just something from Science Fiction.
"Why should they look like us? No other creatures look that much like us, except for other apes," said Seth Shostak, senior astronomer at the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute. "An alien will look like whatever its evolutionary niche is."
But maybe that's just it. Perhaps evolutionary circumstances similar to those that led us to develop limbs and fingers to manipulate tools arose on alien planets. Maybe being bipeds with bilateral symmetry is a perquisite for building socially and technologically advanced societies.
In this respect, some researchers say we possess a "pretty optimal design for an intelligent being," Shostak said. It could be that there is no other choice but for intelligent beings to look like humans.
Science Fiction or Fact: ET Will Look Like Us
They are often depicted as little green men or even monsters with ferocious teeth and claws, but there may well be aliens that look a lot like humans, a leading evolutionary biologist has claimed.
Professor Simon Conway Morris, a palaeontologist at the University of Cambridge, argues that life on other planets may well follow a theory known as convergent evolution.
This suggests species will independently evolve similar traits and features to solve particular problems presented to them by the environment.
He points to the eye, which is thought to have evolved independently more than 50 times in the history of the Earth, as an example.
Professor Conway Morris claims that as a result of this, life on other Earth-like planets would follow similar evolutionary paths to those on our own planet.
If correct, it means the depiction of aliens as human-like in popular science fiction series like Star Wars and Star Trek may not be far from the truth.
If aliens do exist they probably look like humans
The aliens in Mass Effect shouldn't look exactly like us, but something with two eyes, a nose, a mouth, that walks on two legs and has two arms and hands? Sure, why not? It is entirely plausible.
Guest_AshtonVS_*
Science Fiction or Fact: ET Will Look Like Us
They are often depicted as little green men or even monsters with ferocious teeth and claws, but there may well be aliens that look a lot like humans, a leading evolutionary biologist has claimed.
Professor Simon Conway Morris, a palaeontologist at the University of Cambridge, argues that life on other planets may well follow a theory known as convergent evolution.
This suggests species will independently evolve similar traits and features to solve particular problems presented to them by the environment.
He points to the eye, which is thought to have evolved independently more than 50 times in the history of the Earth, as an example.
Professor Conway Morris claims that as a result of this, life on other Earth-like planets would follow similar evolutionary paths to those on our own planet.
If correct, it means the depiction of aliens as human-like in popular science fiction series like Star Wars and Star Trek may not be far from the truth.
If aliens do exist they probably look like humans
The aliens in Mass Effect shouldn't look exactly like us, but something with two eyes, a nose, a mouth, that walks on two legs and has two arms and hands? Sure, why not? It is entirely plausible.
Professor Simon Conway Morris is a known theistic evolutionist. He also believes in God's divine plan for mankind. He is biased towards the divine evolutionary plans to be made in God's image!
Professor Simon Conway Morris is a known theistic evolutionist. He also believes in Gods divine plan for mankind. He is biased towards the divine evolutionary plans to be made in Gods image!
I'm not familiar with him. Even if he does believe in intelligent design, the theory that some aliens might resemble humans isn't fringe and isn't limited to theists.
There are plenty of examples of convergent evolution on Earth. Why shouldn't that also be true across the universe? A species evolving on the open savanna of its planet to chase down large prey over long distances could evolve a shape similar to ours. If you had to design a creature for endurance running, it would be hard to come up with something more efficient than humanity.
Guest_AshtonVS_*
I'm not familiar with him, but even so the theory that some aliens might resemble humans isn't fringe and isn't limited to theists.
Resemble bipeds, with multiple digits, eyes to see (can be more than two), mouth(s) for ingesting, biletaral symmetry, yes many scientists do not disregard the possibility, but it is not the only possibility for an intelligent creature. That guy believes that intelligence=Human design (exact Human design), and he is a staunch Christian.
Here Professor Dawkins debates Neil deGrasse Tyson and Dawkins mentions his "friends" bias due to "his religious agenda".
Here is that comment at 4:30 - 4:45
Also take note in this video of those traits commonly repeated in evolutionary history. Not many are known to exist in only bipedals or Humans, like stingers which evolved independently several times in Earth's biological history. The point is not to think only from the perspective of Human. Try seeing the world as another organism that performs similar to if not better than a Human physically, think about its world, how alien it may seem, what that means, what that could mean across the galaxy. If you do you'll see how boring Humans are except for our intelligence, which is an evolutionary fluke tbh. Most apes are dumb, except chimps (98% similar to us and chimps and Humans can fertilize each other of course that soon becomes a dead end).
Convergent evolution has its limits, functionality over details! Applying convergent evolution won't get you space babes on eezo-infested or incredibly overheated desert worlds (see how many people died in India and Pakistan from extreme heat).
Oh and remember random mass extinctions! How those can kill off ancestors moving towards Human-grade intelligence and the intelligent life itself. So many variables can prevent intelligent life from evolving in synchronicity and in tandem, let alone Human look-alikes all converging in the MEU (maybe we were engineered that way). Oh god, Prometheus... 
Guest_AshtonVS_*
That said, I am all for space babes, just don't bullsh** me with science! Especially since the dude aliens (minus Batarians) are all ugly. That's just smart marketing!
I sure hope BW doesn't change Drell and Turians to sexy Human space hunks in ME:A because their planets are like some Earth environments, so wouldn't you think they would look more Human too? Just give the Turians long hair to protect them from their star's radiation, ditch the exoskeleton, or make it so they evolved underground and look like albino Humans with poor eyesight. The Drell could just be 100% Human with awesome tans, but unable to handle humidity. 
Resemble bipeds, with multiple digits, eyes to see (can be more than two), mouth(s) for ingesting, biletaral symmetry, yes many scientists do not disregard the possibility, but it is not the only possibility for an intelligent creature. That guy believes that intelligence=Human design (exact Human design), and he is a staunch Christian.
I'm perfectly fine with alien species that don't look humanoid as well, like the Elcor or the Rachni. Occasionally the more humanoid species in the series have been criticized however as not being very realistic, solely on the basis of being humanoid. I disagree strongly with that because of convergent evolution. In a universe populated by many more planets than there are grains of sand on every beach on Earth, it is entirely possible that there could be Earth-like planets among them with species that evolved in a similar enviroment and which fill a similar ecological niche.
Also take note in this video of those traits commonly repeated in evolutionary history. Not many are known to exist in only bipedals or Humans, like stingers which evolved independently several times in Earth's biological history. The point is not to think only from the perspective of Human. Try seeing the world as another organism that performs similar to if not better than a Human physically, think about its world, how alien it may seem, what that means, what that could mean across the galaxy. If you do you'll see how boring Humans are except for our intelligence, which is an evolutionary fluke tbh. Most apes are dumb, except chimps (98% similar to us and chimps and Humans can fertilize each other of course that soon becomes a dead end).
There are no animals that perform better than us physically, at least if we're referring to persistence hunting. There are many land-based predators that surpass humans in speed or strength, but none that surpass humanity for sheer endurance. The closest are wolves and African wild dogs who also evolved as persistence hunters, but they don't have hands to carry water and they have a less efficient method of thermo-regulating. Sweating > panting. Two legs are also better than four for long distance running, though running on four legs gives them better bursts of speed.
If you're looking for the best design for persistence hunting on planet Earth, we're it. Given how well-suited we are for long-distance running, I don't think it would be too far-fetched to have a species that evolves in a similar envirorment as a persistence hunter, to have a similar form.
Convergent evolution has its limits, functionality over details! Applying convergent evolution won't get you space babes on eezo-infested or desert worlds.
Thessia isn't a desert planet. I'm not sure Eezo would necessarily prevent a species from evolving into a similar shape as humans. Biotics might perhaps be useful to ambush predators, but since the Asari look so much like humans they would have had to evolved as persistence hunters. Turians and Krogan are built more like ambush predators.
Guest_AshtonVS_*
What about Batarians? They are 99% anatomically identical, but the faces are not identical to ours like Asari (eezo-world) and Quarians (inhospitable desert world).
Asari don't even need to walk around. B**ches can just float around.
Convergent evolution simply states that if two different species are facing a similar problem, evolution may (but not always guaranteed) end up shaping them both in similar ways. Like a shark and dolphin for example, both aquatic species, one a mammal and the other a fish, evolved to have streamlined, finned, and flippered bodies for their aqautic environment. But they do not look or act identical. Dolphins have a boney skeleton and sharks are cartilaginous. Dolphins have five finger bones in their pectoral fins and sharks do not. Dolphin skin is smooth and shark skin is made up of the same stuff as their teeth. Shark teeth are very different from dolphin teeth. The eyes are different. The method of communication is very different. The genitalia is different. One has mammaries and the other doesn't. One is born with some hair and the other has none. One must surface for air and the other breathes underwater. Both are predatory, but the intelligence is vastly different as one is quite social. And both still share a common ancestor at some point in evolutionary history, yet are very different, all on the same planet. Think about those many grains of sand and apply that to genetic diversity, the randomness of mutations, randomness of an opportunity to have those mutations be beneficial in the environment, an environment that may be destroyed by a random catastrophic event.
As for persistence hunting theory; the evolutionary precursors to us looking as we do now were already set in motion before our ancestors became persistence hunters. This is one of the huge criticisms of relying too much on that one theory (still a good theory) alone to explain why we look as we do. We gradually started looking like this when the environment was quite different (much more dense vegetation and less open land) than that in the videos you posted above, meaning, other genetic and environmental forces are at work here also. If anything, those environments fine tune our anatomy. I wish I had the long, slender legs of those Masai tribesmen.
I think over thousands of years the cold made my people huge, bulky lummoxes. I don't know many people who can run those distances or that long, in that heat no less.
I mainly talking about faces being identical to Humans on some aliens and breasts on Turian females (avian/raptors with metallic exoskeleton that are stated to look nearly identical to male Turians) and Drell females (reptiles/the babies don't breast feed and eat solid food), etc. I can't justify a scientific explanation for that or even an in-game lore reason other than fanservice (and artistic limitation) and sex sells. Although I still don't want to sex up a Turian or Drell. I'm fine with star trek-like aliens in a sci-fi fantasy setting, but don't call that^ science. Even star trek had an explanation for the overwhelming Humanoid alien presence.
Yeeeeah, riiiight.
I think it is fairly obvious that DA2 Elves look like that because Varric doesn't like the way they look. Maybe he's a tiny bit racist - I mean, Merrill and Fenris (his two Elven friends) are more or less the only "good" looking Elves in the game.
Since DA:O, we were told that Elves (women, especially) are beautiful, thinner, shorter, pointy-eared humans essentially... THAT HUMANS FIND VERY ATTRACTIVE.
I don't know, but DA2 Elves wouldn't get a second look from me. And I'm fairly certain most men wouldn't like looking at a woman that looks like DA2 Elves, either.
So, a) DA2 Elves look that way because it's actually Varric, telling the story to Cassandra (thus, entirety of DA2 happens from Cassandra's point of view, if you think about it) 
it contradicts a considerable amount of what we were told about Elves.
And YES, in DAI, Elven women look once again like just the kind of women most men would probably find pleasing to look at.
Unless you hate the pointy ears bit, and (in the case of the Dalish) Vallaslin the face tattoo.
Also, I believe it is quite unlikely we (humanity) are alone in the universe, just looking at the sheer amount of stars our galaxy has - and each and every one supposedly has a "survivable" zone, just like Sol. Don't tell me there aren't other sentient races in the galaxy. It doesn't make any sense to me. They might be watching us right now... Or they might be going through their equivalent to the Stone Age.
Now go ahead and prove me none of those sentient races wouldn't look similar to us. Good luck, since we don't even know where they are.
Nah I like the way they look now =)
Yeeeeah, riiiight.
I think it is fairly obvious that DA2 Elves look like that because Varric doesn't like the way they look. Maybe he's a tiny bit racist - I mean, Merrill and Fenris (his two Elven friends) are more or less the only "good" looking Elves in the game.
Since DA:O, we were told that Elves (women, especially) are beautiful, thinner, shorter, pointy-eared humans essentially... THAT HUMANS FIND VERY ATTRACTIVE.
I don't know, but DA2 Elves wouldn't get a second look from me. And I'm fairly certain most men wouldn't like looking at a woman that looks like DA2 Elves, either.
So, a) DA2 Elves look that way because it's actually Varric, telling the story to Cassandra (thus, entirety of DA2 happens from Cassandra's point of view, if you think about it)
And YES, in DAI, Elven women look once again like just the kind of women most men would probably find pleasing to look at.
Unless you hate the pointy ears bit, and (in the case of the Dalish) Vallaslin the face tattoo.
Also, I believe it is quite unlikely we (humanity) are alone in the universe, just looking at the sheer amount of stars our galaxy has - and each and every one supposedly has a "survivable" zone, just like Sol. Don't tell me there aren't other sentient races in the galaxy. It doesn't make any sense to me. They might be watching us right now... Or they might be going through their equivalent to the Stone Age.
Now go ahead and prove me none of those sentient races wouldn't look similar to us. Good luck, since we don't even know where they are.
Guest_AshtonVS_*
I don't know why this elf reminds me of an emaciated, browless version of Sarah Polley.
I disagree with you OP. None of the designs should be changed. Mass Effect has always had its own unique look to it. No need to fix what isn't broken.
Yeah I agree leave the Asari alone as they look fine to me. Besides they'll have the opportunity to create some new weird and wonderful creatures anyway being in a new galaxy. They don't need to tamper with what's already been set imo.
Hit them with the ''ugly stick'' I feel very insecure when there are hot space babes in my vidya gaimz
Guest_AshtonVS_*
The Geth should be redesigned and made available as romantic partners.
Well, there was a thread for an all male alien race. 
Redesigned Geth that look male, yeah ok, but who all look like an army of Davids? No, not that David! This David:
I shouldn't have posted this! Seeing this video as part of some dating ad is disturbing! Maybe we can have hybrid babies with them too...you think?
I'm all for hybrid robot kids. Yeah I've learned nothing from ME3.
Dont know if this was posted but i feel the need anyway
Gotta leave this one here. 
For all the haters that want to change my blue love!
Exactly what I was talking about. That brings the question: How do they perceive one another?
Hive Tyrant: Yes, keep the asari as they are. They taste just fine as it is!
Hive Tyrant: Yes, keep the asari as they are. They taste just fine as it is!
Now the real question would be if the Tyranids would even deign taking traits from the Asari. Its not like they have anything to offer the Hive Mind except blue/purple biomass.
Now the real question would be if the Tyranids would even deign taking traits from the Asari. Its not like they have anything to offer the Hive Mind except blue/purple biomass.
Well, they could eat some and then use the other asari as hybrid breeders for the Genestealers. 
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