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[CosmicWaste]

Hi guys.

 

I've only posted here once before, and that was to start an ME4 speculation thread 2+ years ago. This isn't going to be a discussion about the initial trilogy either, although there are a few things I'd like to bring up that tie back to it. If I've stated anything below that's been proven false, or if you just think I'm way off, let me know! I'm anxious to sniff out every skerrick of information I can about this game. 

 

 

 

So anyway, some points I've been mulling over.

 

• The ARKCON project will have been launched for one of two reasons, at an unspecified time:

  • Before/during/after ME3: Fleeing the Milky Way (either as a precautionary measure, or to escape imminent defeat at the Reapers' hands) in order to establish viable back-up colonies in the Hellius Cluster.

     

  • After ME3: To probe beyond a devastated Milky Way in search of green(er) pastures following a Pyrrhic victory over the Reapers.
    • Many people think the change in setting (completely switching galaxies ) is a way for Bioware to shed ME3's legacy, but I believe it's merely a way to mitigate it. I think the events of the initial trilogy will probably play a significant role in the canon, and be referenced throughout.
       
    • Given that a next-generation Mako will be present within the game, it could indicate that the expedition departed sometime after the end of ME3 following a period of technological advancement. But a next-generation Mako could always be rationalised away as a post-ME1 pre-ME3 introduction. 

 

• Means of intergalactic travel:

  • I've read several theories about the Pathfinders travelling to the Andromeda galaxy, but it's fair to assume that — barring some new technological addition to the setting (such as teleportation, or a space-time anomaly/wormhole) — a journey by conventional means would take many, many years. So ME: Andromeda will take place centuries or more after ME3 (perhaps less if more instantaneous means of travel are available).
    • It's also important to note that "a long time after Mass Effect 3" is not necessarily synonymous with "a long time journeying through space". The game could begin at a point in time when Andromedan colonies have already been established (maybe even a century or so old), and inter-factional galactic relations are well-developed. So the expedition could depart Earth around the time of ME3 through a wormhole to Andromeda, and then spend a considerable length of time exploring and establishing colonies before the game even begins.
       

  • If the ARKCON expedition departed Earth during the events of the initial trilogy, then they won't know about its ultimate ending. But unless they traveled unconventionally (i.e., a wormhole/teleporter), I'm sure that at some point throughout their journey the effects of Shepard's decision (if interpreted literally) would become clear to them: the Crucible's blast wave catching up to them, synthetics dropping dead en-route, everyone on-board simultaneously morphing into a synthetic-organic hybrid, etc. If the Normandy couldn't outrun the blast, I doubt many (if any) other known ships could.
     

    • Not to mention the immense timescales involved, and the inability to receive reinforcements and supplies from home (although they might still be able to communicate via entangled particles as in ME2; to not utilise such a technology for an intergalactic mission would be an unforgivable design oversight).
       

  • So... assuming quantum communication capabilities (making character knowledge of ME3's events an inevitability anyway), and the unfeasibility of conventional intergalactic travel (as well as it exposing the crew to the Crucible's effects en route), I'm betting that a teleporter/wormhole will be involved.

 

• A PAX ME4 marketing conference just over two years ago allegedly posed several sample questions to long-time fans, one of which involved the the omission (or 'downgrading') or several familiar species. This leads me to believe that — despite several new races making their debut in ME: Andromeda — that some Milky Way races might not be re-appearing (or will play a much less significant role).

  • Depending on when the ARKCON expedition departs the Milky way, this could be due to inter-factional disputes, preoccupation with Reaper forces or even extinctions.

 

• There's also the likelihood that variables within the game will be affected by your ME3 saves, as implied by comments from Mike Gamble. The extent of this should be interesting.

  • This may mean that ME3's ending will be factored into ME: Andromeda, or just that less significant outcomes will be; for example, the results of your Quarian, Geth, Krogan and/or Rachni story arcs determining their availability as advisors or allies. 
     

  • Infact, so long as they didn't affect ME: Andromeda's plot too much, almost every choice and player variable could be accounted for with codex entries and casual NPC dialogue; the results would be extremely comprehensive and personalised without blowing up Bioware's workload.

 

• Last of all (and #1 on my wishlist... something that I'll no doubt be chastised for...): a tie-in to Indoctrination Theory, retroactively vindicating ME3's controversial ending without the need for previous post-breath DLC!
  • Forget the colour-filter that was ME3's initial finale... the battle in the Milky Way is/was still raging post-ME3, and Shepard either resisted or succumbed to Harbinger's indoctrination attempt.
     
  • At this point, Shepard is remembered fondly or bitterly... either as the galaxy's most incorrigible hero or it's most tragic villain respectively. His/her exploits (and possibly downfall) are legend, and have had considerable ramifications for the species that call our galaxy home.
     
  • The player's Effective Military Strength in ME3 may also have shaped the eventual outcome.

 

 

 

Here are my predictions (some more solid than others...):

 

• Back in the Milky Way, survivors of all species are well into a "galactic dark age" (Mac Walters' words) following the extensive destruction wrought upon their civilisations by the Reapers. This could occur before or after the ending to ME3.
   
• A wormhole will have been engineered in utmost secrecy by a team of scientists (possibly on Earth/in Montreal) as a last-resort contingency, ultra-secure to protect it from Reaper agents. Bioware will likely handwave the science away (dark energy, space-time-warping mass effect fields, etc).
   
• Humans are the predominant species undertaking the expedition (with a few alien companions or advisors on-board); this would help explain the restriction to a human player-character. These advisors may include familiar characters (or their second-rate substitutes if killed throughout the initial trilogy), with the most likely candidates (based on longevity) being Asari or Krogan.
   
• The expedition (in a specialist vessel referred to as the "ARK") will have departed sometime during or after the finale of ME3, their objective being the establishment of back-up colonies in the Andromeda galaxy, with the expectation that others could be evacuated through the wormhole after successful colonisation.
   
• At some point throughout the game, reinforcements or Reaper forces (depending on ME3 EMS) might arrive through the wormhole from the Milky Way.
  • Alternatively, scientists working on the project may be forced to destroy the wormhole to protect the colonies from Reaper invasion (meaning semi-permanent isolation from the Milky Way, and no more help from home).
     
• Indoctrination Theory could rear its big, beautiful, head, and maybe even be confirmed outright.
  • Please, please, please Bioware; ME3's ending may have been a giant, sloppy turd at face value, but you still have the opportunity to grow a beautiful flower out of it. 

 

 

 

Sorry for the lengthy post; I had fun writing it and got carried away.

 

Despite the debacle of ME3's ending, the series remains my all-time science fiction favourite, and I get very passionate about it ("lots of speculation for everyone", right?). 

[Kabooooom]

With regards to the M-40 Mako, its worth noting that thr M-29 Grizzly existed during the First Contact War, the M-35 Mako during 2183 (but it may have been created earlier than that), and the M-44 Hammerhead during 2185.

So, I dont think the fact that it is the M-40 Mako in Andromeda means a departure post ME3 is likely. If anything, it suggests a departure prior or during ME3. Either way, it means the tech in Andromeda is roughly equivalent to the current galactic standard. Which makes sense, as they would want the game to feel familiar in an unfamiliar setting.

[Sarayne]

• Indoctrination Theory could rear its big, beautiful, head, and maybe even be confirmed outright.
  • Please, please, please Bioware; ME3's ending may have been a giant, sloppy turd at face value, but you still have the opportunity to grow a beautiful flower out of it. 

 

 

 

Sorry for the lengthy post; I had fun writing it and got carried away.

 

Despite the debacle of ME3's ending, the series remains my all-time science fiction favourite, and I get very passionate about it ("lots of speculation for everyone", right?). 

This will never never never never ever happen and that theory is so dumb.(I thought that theory died with ec?) I'd bet my first unborn child that we will never ever go back to the milky way anyways. Way too much drama with the whole me3 ending and picking what to do to fix it.

[7twozero]

This will never never never never ever happen and that theory is so dumb.(I thought that theory died with ec?) I'd bet my first unborn child that we will never ever go back to the milky way anyways. Way too much drama with the whole me3 ending and picking what to do to fix it.

A prequel or sidequel might work, imagine a Batman style story about archangel on omega or an l a noire story about csec on the citadel. A true post me3 sequel though, yeah, not so much.

[Kabooooom]

A prequel or sidequel might work, imagine a Batman style story about archangel on omega or an l a noire story about csec on the citadel. A true post me3 sequel though, yeah, not so much.

Andromeda, from the sounds of it, is more or less a combination of a "sidequel" and a "sequel", in that the story probably begins during or before the Reaper War, and the story proper occurs long after the events of ME3 (due to the journey to Andromeda).

But I fully support a Milky Way sidequel story. I'd even support a Rachni War prequel. Sure, there would be no humans and you'd already know the outcome, but the setting could potentially be cool.

I hear a lot if people who say they would want a First Contact War prequel. This would be ridiculous. The war took place on one planet and a sum total of like 600 Turian infantry troops died. The game would be over in a half hour.