Those weren't doors as we irl understand them. The mass effect doors, when we first encountered them, were our first encounters with mass effect doors and also different from....irl doors.
Would work. If we assume the Reapers for some reason, cannot travel to other galaxies.
Exactly. Why wouldn't they just expand to other galaxies? I've been riding this horse ever since ME:A was announced, but I've already said what I wanted to say about that topic, so I'll resist the urge to discuss it any further.
The Reapers created so many problems for BioWare. Let's hope they've learned from their mistake and decide against designing another enemy that in reality is impossible to defeat (without introducing a Deus Ex Machina or irreversibly altering the galactic landscape). BioWare can give us an enemy that is powerful, but we don't want another Reaper-level enemy.
The long term goal should be to make Andromeda THE Galaxy in the Mass Effect Universe. The Milky Way is lost and Andromeda is now the new home of the Mass Effect franchise. Bioware should start to cultivate the Andromeda Galaxy with great care and make sure that it can grow into the future. They'll have to establish a unique history for the galaxy itself and expand upon the already rich ME lore that we know and love.
Why are you asking us? If I told you Andromeda is actually a gate to the Dragon Age universe, would you believe me ?
Oh Goddess, pls no!
NO!
No space elves!
Pls, no!
Pains me to say this but the ending to Mass Effect 3 is synthesis and if you think otherwise you are still in denial. All of this just to accommodate f---king synthesis! If you follow the premise that the milky way galaxy is no longer organic then it logically follows that these refugees truly are the last of their kind.
The thing is it is highly likely that organic life is long dead in Andromeda because without Reapers to curtail their development the synthetic life will be so advanced that reapers will look quaint by comparison.
Hence the future of the Mass Effect series will be to answer the question... 'can the last remaining organic life in presumably the entire universe survive in a brave new world which has never known the Reapers?'.
Pains me to say this but the ending to Mass Effect 3 is synthesis and if you think otherwise you are still in denial. All of this just to accommodate f---king synthesis! If you follow the premise that the milky way galaxy is no longer organic then it logically follows that these refugees truly are the last of their kind.
The synthesis ending is very difficult to deal with in terms of continuity, but the control ending is also a big problem. Destroy is even problematic, since the Mass Relays were destroyed in the process (yes.. BioWare said they were only "damaged", but that's just BioWare doing damage control).
The ending isn't necessarily synthesis. There were several reasons for why BioWare had to leave the MWG behind.. synthesis being one of them.
What's a "mass effect door"? Besides appearing somewhere in the series, what are the common features?
Put another way, what would an alien door look like?
The synthesis ending is very difficult to deal with in terms of continuity, but the control ending is also a big problem. Destroy is even problematic, since the Mass Relays were destroyed in the process (yes.. BioWare said they were only "damaged", but that's just BioWare doing damage control).
The ending isn't necessarily synthesis. There were several reasons for why BioWare had to leave the MWG behind.. synthesis being one of them.
The whole narrative framework is built up to support it, BioWare's writers AKA the Catalyst directly beat you over the head into submission explaining why the other solutions are ultimately futile, and the inevitability of synthesis and how it will happen eventually regardless of what you choose and of course the Normandy crash scene is only there so they can make a god-damn Adam and Eve allusion with the synthetic-organics. I can't stand synthesis and think it's a car crash but I accept that it was BioWare's vision. If it was the only choice fans would have gone ape s****.
In truth it is not to accommodate player choice but rather to accommodate the original team's (read:casey's) artistic vision (as god awful as that was) which why we are headed to Andromeda because the other endings are ambiguous enough to be perfectly conjenial to future games within the existing setting. You could say oh but they would have to make the fate of the Krogan, Quarian or Geth canon. Newsflash: they'd survive no matter what you choose under any scenario (e.g. the one they ultimately went with) because BioWare.
Mass Effect doors were all the doors we saw in the Mass Effect trilogy (they all looked the same). I don't think I ever saw different doors in the trilogy.
The headcanon implication was that the galactic community - all the worlds with access to the Citadel - adopted similar doors.
No such justification exists for Andromeda.
But elevator music is a universal concept. Everybody loves elevator music. Therefore aliens must have ears. And hands to plug the earphones in. This means they have a somewhat rigid structure and are no blobs.
Elevators use shafts so the cabin is cylindrical or prism shaped. And it's taller than wide so it can go up and down fast and smoothly and not get jammed in the shaft.
And this includes elevator doors being rectangular and tall.
Rectangular things also stack better so we can have several elevators in a single shaft and the pinnacle of it all is the paternoster elevator. With cool soft jazz. Played quite silently.
The whole narrative framework is built up to support it, BioWare's writers AKA the Catalyst directly beat you over the head into submission explaining why the other solutions are ultimately futile, and the inevitability of synthesis and how it will happen eventually regardless of what you choose and of course the Normandy crash scene is only there so they can make a god-damn Adam and Eve allusion with the synthetic-organics.
In truth it is not to accommodate player choice but rather to accommodate the original team (read:casey's) artistic vision (as god awful as that was) which is the only reason why we are headed to Andromeda because the other endings are ambiguous enough to be perfectly conjenial to future games within the existing setting. You could say oh but they would have to make the fate of the Krogan, Quarian or Geth canon. Newsflash: they'd survive no matter what you choose under any scenario because BioWare.
You make a good argument here and I think you're correct in terms of the vision the team had for Mass Effect. We can say what we want about this vision, but it's consistent with the overarching theme: The dynamic between synthetic and organic lifeforms. Synthetics will inevitably exterminate organics and someone has to find a solution to this problem. The Reapers were a temporary solution, but it was obviously far from perfect. The Catalyst had been working on a better solution (synthesis), but hadn't yet been able to apply it... until humans came along 
I can understand their vision, but what I really didn't like was how it was executet and explained. The execution of synthesis was horrible. The only way in which synthesis should've even been possible is through a slow and gradual process, just like biological evolution itself. The ME3 synthesis was simply a magical solution that felt completely out of place.
You make a good argument here and I think you're correct in terms of the vision the team had for Mass Effect. We can say what we want about this vision, but it's consistent with the overarching theme: The dynamic between synthetic and organic lifeforms. Synthetics will inevitably exterminate organics and someone has to find a solution to this problem. The Reapers were a temporary solution, but it was obviously far from perfect. The Catalyst had been working on a better solution (synthesis), but hadn't yet been able to apply it... until humans came along
I can understand their vision, but what I really didn't like was how it was executet and explained. The execution of synthesis was horrible. The only way in which synthesis should've even been possible is through a slow and gradual process, just like biological evolution itself. The ME3 synthesis was simply a magical solution that felt completely out of place.
I think we all agree that while I don't necessarily disagree with their conclusion on the nature of organic and synthetic life all of the endings felt disjointed/cookie-cutter/nonsensical/abrupt and went against the grain of the established tone and themes and the implementation was so insipid either knowingly or unknowingly that the series needed a severe reboot if it was going to survive and here we are.
If they want to stay true to the original vision/narrative established by the original team then the MW refugees might be the only surviving organics in Andromeda and in this respect ME:A might feel like a bit of a continuation of the original trilogy... in terms of what happens to life outside of the reaper cycles.
If they want to completely abandon ME3 and the logic they have established so far if we find that organic life is abundant and Andromeda is not overrun with synthetics/hybrids I suppose the only way to rationalise that would be that the Reapers were wrong about Destroy and Control ultimately leading to (slaughter or a zha'til esque) disaster after-all but I guess we'll have to wait and see.
The highest priority I imagine is re-stablishing the me-universe/races to carve out a future for this series and giving it a new direction. I'd like to see a conscious movement away from galaxy-shaping consequences and BioWare boiler-plate generic great evils/antagonists and establishing colonies is a neat diversion from the usual formula and great a way of making the stakes more personal/intimate (hopefully prioritising role-playing) and helpful in establishing an emotional connection with a cast that can go the distance (in future instalments).
It's difficult to accept the ending regardless of which of them you choose. Let's hope BioWare has the creativity and skill to piece things together relatively pain-free, so that we as players don't have to rationalise to much in order to maintain a sense of consistency.
The goal for Mass Effect: Andromeda should be a flawless long-running Multiplayer game. The rest is peripheral.
? The shape of the shaft (on the x-y plane) has no effect on the shape of the elevator door (on the x-z plane)But elevator music is a universal concept. Everybody loves elevator music. Therefore aliens must have ears. And hands to plug the earphones in. This means they have a somewhat rigid structure and are no blobs.
Elevators use shafts so the cabin is cylindrical or prism shaped. And it's taller than wide so it can go up and down fast and smoothly and not get jammed in the shaft.
And this includes elevator doors being rectangular and tall.
Rectangular things also stack better so we can have several elevators in a single shaft and the pinnacle of it all is the paternoster elevator. With cool soft jazz. Played quite silently.
? The shape of the shaft (on the x-y plane) has no effect on the shape of the elevator door (on the x-z plane)
The elevator door is still bounded by the floor and ceiling of its floor and thus doesn't need to stack flush against other elevator doors.
Well you could make oval ones, but what's the point in that beside fancy style. If you want to cover an area fully, rectangular is your choice for doing it efficiently. It's neat and includes the 90 degree angle which you can dislodge in case of emergency and smack things around with. Smart aliens would also discover this often-overlooked benefit and adapt this door design.
Also a non curved edge is better to conceal behind which is handy when you use soft cover to shoot der bloody enemy oddly shaped door-lovers.
arches, not oval. Arched doors have been used throughout history in many civilizations and they work perfectly well as doorways. I had an arched doorway in my house.Well you could make oval ones, but what's the point in that beside fancy style. If you want to cover an area fully, rectangular is your choice for doing it efficiently. It's neat and includes the 90 degree angle which you can dislodge in case of emergency and smack things around with. Smart aliens would also discover this often-overlooked benefit and adapt this door design.
Also a non curved edge is better to conceal behind which is handy when you use soft cover to shoot der bloody enemy oddly shaped door-lovers.
They could've had the same door throughout Andromeda too, just....based on a new door shape, sufficiently different from the type we see in the Milky Way.
Eeerrrmm *tossing, turning*
Now that I've seen the flaw it is casting a shadow on my feels for this game. I can't unsee it.
It could've been as easy as making the Andromeda door slightly bigger, and arched instead of square, with a round handle or something. And just repeated this type of portal everywhere.
Gah
arches, not oval. Arched doors have been used throughout history in many civilizations and they work perfectly well as doorways. I had an arched doorway in my house.
All it is is just...something to signify we're in another galaxy. Entirely.
I've never seen people rip doors to use as weapons and shields except captain america
Arches were only used for when you had to suspend the brickwork above from falling down. If the aliens are nostalgic there be a chance we might see them.
I feel I need to remind you that we're going a step further: It's no longer Captain America - now it's Captain Milky Way. And General Direction is looking at a dromedeer or something. In any case, I expect safari - a female British accent VO, shooting wildlife with an attitude, a surprise in the end, maybe a frigate. And somehow I think it won't involve lots of doorways. Unless you count the entrances we will blast open with adventurous bravado as doorways.
Survival, basically. Think the first European settlers in the New World.
I know it's Biowares goal to put off picking a canon ending for ME3, but what is our goal?
To shoot aliens in the face.
And score with a member of the crew.
Possibly both at once.
Are we supposed to be looking for a new permanent home world for the races of our galaxy?
Yep. And harvest more vespine gas while we're at it
What species would want to completely abandon the home planet and not eventually try and come back and reclaim it?
Stop thinking so much! Enjoy the EXPLORATION! And SHOOTING! And JUMP JETS! and JOHNNY CASH!!!
Are we looking for allies and new technologies to go back and defeat the reapers?
If we can get to Andromeda we've already surpassed the Reapers.
Don't ask how. Not important. What's important is EXPLORATION! And SHOOTING!...
Even without know exactly how long it will take to get to the Andromeda galaxy, it won't be during this cycle. But what species wouldn't want revenge for the taking our home worlds?
There you are, thinking again...
Why would we assume a completely alien species we've never encountered before from another galaxy would even have the concept of a door as we understand it?
Well, most of the Milky Way species evolved separately from each other and still constructed doors, furniture, buildings, and vehicles - I saw little to indicate that the Leviathans or the Reapers (who are the only constant factors across Milky Way history) influenced them to do that. If (as I expect will be the case) most of the advanced Andromedan species walk upright on their legs, have arms with multi-digit hands, and are vaguely humanoid, then they'd probably go in similar directions with their structures and technology too.
Go, see, conquer.
Only from the moral high ground and with cinematics and catchphrases. BTW what replaces "I should go."?
Maybe just announce the last name of whoever you're talking to in a flat tone of voice - it works for Wrex and Grunt.
Are we supposed to be looking for a new permanent home world for the races of our galaxy?
What species would want to completely abandon the home planet and not eventually try and come back and reclaim it?
I'm assuming that this crew knows what it's signing up for, that their orders are to do nothing that could possibly attract the Reapers' attention, and that the trip will take so long that there's no guarantee that the state of the Milky Way would be anything they'd even recognize any more if they did try to go back.
If they want to completely abandon ME3 and the logic they have established so far if we find that organic life is abundant and Andromeda is not overrun with synthetics/hybrids I suppose the only way to rationalise that would be that the Reapers were wrong about Destroy and Control ultimately leading to (slaughter or a zha'til esque) disaster after-all but I guess we'll have to wait and see.
I've figured all along that the Catalyst is probably wrong. Some of its operating premises were likely pre-programmed by the Leviathans, who don't exactly have the most objective point of view on these things, and its conclusions are seemingly based partly on observing organic-synthetic interactions only as they played out under the Leviathans' dominance over the galaxy. The Catalyst is a good example of what can go wrong if you create an AI with a great deal of knowledge but very little understanding.
I don't think this will come up, though, since the Andromeda crew presumably wouldn't know about the Leviathans or the Catalyst.
Why does everyone think we are going to take people's home? We are civilized. Far more than the euros back in the day.
Yeah, and I can't imagine Bioware forcing us into a villain role, which is what we would be if we were conquering people's homes. I suspect we'll find that there are inhabitable worlds without much sapient life where we can settle, but some hostile group of aliens from other planets will want to attack us for other reasons.
As for how non-humans are involved, I am guessing that this is a multi-species mission. Honestly, if somebody in the Milky Way were to invent a ship capable of intergalactic travel and cryosleep, I'd bet on the asari or the salarians getting there before humans.
I've always figured that the Catalyst was just wrong about everything, and really advanced AIs have no interest in or even contact with organic life.The thing is it is highly likely that organic life is long dead in Andromeda because without Reapers to curtail their development the synthetic life will be so advanced that reapers will look quaint by comparison.
Forget the Reapers and the Catalyst. Andromeda is a soft reboot. We're going to leave before the end of the Reaper war--however it's resolved--and be separated by too much time and distance for our characters to ever know how the war ended. Shepard is just going to be a name in a history book, and how things turned out in the Milky Way will be relegated to idle speculation. The Milky Way species in Andromeda will be too wrapped up in their own concerns to care too much about what happened to those left behind in this galaxy.
The Leviathan DLC established that synthetic civilizations rose and fell just like organic ones, and the Catalyst was tasked with finding a solution to the inevitable conflict that the Leviathans observed between organic thralls and the synthetic intelligences they created. There's no reason to assume that Andromeda is going to have a runaway synthetic species just because the Reapers and their cycle aren't there. There's no reason for the Reapers to follow, either. All programming has limiting parameters, and I doubt the Leviathans would concern themselves with anything that happened outside of their own galaxy. Even with their vast resources, it would be impossible for the Reapers to expand their program to the billions of galaxies in the known universe, and they would understand this. When the Quarians left their home system, the Geth stopped their pursuit. Similarly, once the Ark leaves the Milky Way, I doubt the Reapers would consider it part of their directive.
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