210 réponses à ce sujet

[Drone223]

ME3 makes it clear that Shepard has enough stress on their plate when it comes to fighting the Reapers, so now imagine being told;

 

"Oh by the way, we're working on a Plan B in case you fail and get everyone killed. So y'know... no pressure."

 

That's a load of nonsense and completely out of charter for Shepard. Shepard has no problem with Liara's data caches in the event the galaxy does fail to stop the reaper's. There is simply no way Shepard would say no to a plan B not to mention Shepard should be no stranger to hearing bad news because if Shepard is going to have a problem listening to bad news then he/she shouldn't be leading the war effort.

 

Frequent exposure to Reaper tech makes Shepard a potential security risk when it comes to indoctrination. The unknown means that Cerberus brought Shepard back to life and some of their actions (the destruction of Bahak) further could makes Shepard's loyalties suspect to some in the Alliance.

Shepard knew about the crucible but didn't know where it was being built, I'm sure Shepard can be told about the ark without knowing the exact details. The council also gave gave Shepard back his/her Specter status. Also Shepard knows the need for secrecy with regards to the crucible so Shepard can pretty much be trusted with the secrecy of the ark project.

 

Despite being aware of the Crucible project, we're told by Anderson and Hackett that they won't let Shepard know where the Crucible was being constructed in secret for security purposes. If that was seen as need to know and Shepard didn't need to know, why do we think they'd let them know about the Ark Project that was also going on?

 

See above

 

 

In comparison, the Crucible was a (supposedly) Prothean weapon that the Reapers might already have known about, a top secret project Shepard was already privy to because they were present for when the plans were discovered. Shepard had no such exposure to information to necessitate bringing them into the loop on the Ark project, nor did the brass feel they needed to.

 

3+ crucible sized ships were seen orbiting the earth in the latest "trailer" that is far from being secret so Shepard would've clear know about their existence one way or the other. The ark's ships also look like they require more resources than the crucible so there is no way such a project can be kept secret for long especially from Cerberus and the Shadow broker.

[themikefest]

Shepard knew about the crucible but didn't know where it was being built,

Shepard did know. How else was he/she able to give the coordinates to Mordin for him to help with the project?

[UpUpAway]

That's a load of nonsense and completely out of charter for Shepard. Shepard has no problem with Liara's data caches in the event the galaxy does fail to stop the reaper's. There is simply no way Shepard would say no to a plan B not to mention Shepard should be no stranger to hearing bad news because if Shepard is going to have a problem listening to bad news then he/she shouldn't be leading the war effort.

 

Shepard knew about the crucible but didn't know where it was being built, I'm sure Shepard can be told about the ark without knowing the exact details. The council also gave gave Shepard back his/her Specter status. Also Shepard knows the need for secrecy with regards to the crucible so Shepard can pretty much be trusted with the secrecy of the ark project.

 

See above

 

3+ crucible sized ships were seen orbiting the earth in the latest "trailer" that is far from being secret so Shepard would've clear know about their existence one way or the other. The ark's ships also look like they require more resources than the crucible so there is no way such a project can be kept secret for long especially from Cerberus and the Shadow broker.

 

Still... none of the above presents any argument as to why Shepard would need to know about the ARKs in order to do his/her job... and certainly, being released information about a project such as the ARKs in a Wartime environment would be on a "need to know" basis.  Just trusting a subordinate is not the criteria for passing along a military secret... need to know is.

 

Could Shepard (or anyone else for that matter) found out in some way... certainly.  However, the question posed by the OP is would YOU tell him if you were in the position of knowing.  This question presumes either 1) that you're Hackett, a Council member, or some other VIP directly associated with the project... or perhaps 2) that you're Liara (assuming that she would find out by being the Shadow Broker.  The question also clearly assumes that the project was secret in the first place (i.e. something that the general public would not know about through, say, regular new channels).

[slimgrin]

Don't care. Shepard is dead. 

[Heimdall]

Shepard doesn't need to know, especially if the project was ready to leave or had already left when the Reapers invaded.

[Drone223]

Still... none of the above presents any argument as to why Shepard would need to know about the ARKs in order to do his/her job... and certainly, being released information about a project such as the ARKs in a Wartime environment would be on a "need to know" basis.  Just trusting a subordinate is not the criteria for passing along a military secret... need to know is.

 

Shepard is one of the significant leaders in the war effort and responsible for gather resources for the crucible in addition to being a specter. Also it wouldn't hurt to tell Shepard that they aren't going to throw all their eggs in one basket.
 

 

 

Could Shepard (or anyone else for that matter) found out in some way... certainly.  However, the question posed by the OP is would YOU tell him if you were in the position of knowing.  This question presumes either 1) that you're Hackett, a Council member, or some other VIP directly associated with the project... or perhaps 2) that you're Liara (assuming that she would find out by being the Shadow Broker.  The question also clearly assumes that the project was secret in the first place (i.e. something that the general public would not know about through, say, regular new channels).

 

The galaxy had trouble keep the crucible secret since rumors of its existence were already spreading during the early stages of the war 4 massive ark ships wouldn't fair much better.

 

Shepard doesn't need to know, especially if the project was ready to leave or had already left when the Reapers invaded.

The arks are seen orbiting the earth there is no way the ark project would be kept secret not to mention each ark looks as big as the crucible so there is o why they would stay secret for long.

[Gothfather]

Shepard is one of the significant leaders in the war effort and responsible for gather resources for the crucible in addition to being a specter. Also it wouldn't hurt to tell Shepard that they aren't going to throw all their eggs in one basket.
 

The galaxy had trouble keep the crucible secret since rumors of its existence were already spreading during the early stages of the war 4 massive ark ships wouldn't fair much better.

 

The arks are seen orbiting the earth there is no way the ark project would be kept secret not to mention each ark looks as big as the crucible so there is o why they would stay secret for long.

 

Please. You are blinded by your own opinion and are not listening to any evidence that doesn't support your position. Admiral Nimitz had no idea operation overload was happening. Admiral Nimitz was the Commander of the Pacific Theatre of operations in WWII he was the most significant leader in said theatre yet because he didn't need to know about the D-Day landings he wasn't told. Being super duper awesome special like Shepard doesn't automatically grant you clearance for all secrets. This is especially true for secrets that have ZERO to do with your current mission/orders. They is no reason to tell shepard. No one on this thread has given an actual reason beyond Shepard is special/important/a leader as to why shepard would be told. HISTORY has shown us time and time again that being an important leader to a war effort doesn't entitle you to secrets.

 

It is very easy to hid the ark project under the cover of a believable lie, the arks are not arks but evacuation ships to evacuate major colonies from the threat of a reaper invasion. It explains what they are to your workforce, it is the 'secret' cover story that when people penetrate the secret discover this which makes it believable and it is the exact same type of cover story used for a historical secret project, the TANK. That is how they got their fraking name, people were told it was a mobile water tank. And poof they appeared on the battle field secret intact. Size isn't the issue, the Manhattan project was HUGE, yet it was kept secret, you need a cover story that your work force believes so even if things leak the true nature of your project and thus the secret is maintained. Hell you can use the crucible project itself as a cover, claiming this is just one part of it. The key to keeping a project secret isn't that no one ever finds out, it is to make sure when it is discovered people think it is something else thus hiding the true nature of the project. So it really doesn't matter if people have seen the ships if they think the ships are X but they are actually y then th secret is maintained.

 

I am not confident that the footage we have seen can be definitively proven that the arks are orbiting earth. All i can say for sure is that they are orbiting a planet with a large population. Hell people claim the lights are fires but to me they just look like city lights.

[Drone223]

Please. You are blinded by your own opinion and are not listening to any evidence that doesn't support your position. Admiral Nimitz had no idea operation overload was happening. Admiral Nimitz was the Commander of the Pacific Theatre of operations in WWII he was the most significant leader in said theatre yet because he didn't need to know about the D-Day landings he wasn't told. Being super duper awesome special like Shepard doesn't automatically grant you clearance for all secrets. This is especially true for secrets that have ZERO to do with your current mission/orders. They is no reason to tell shepard. No one on this thread has given an actual reason beyond Shepard is special/important/a leader as to why shepard would be told. HISTORY has shown us time and time again that being an important leader to a war effort doesn't entitle you to secrets.

 

An ark ship has everything to do with the war effort since its about ensuring the survive of every space faring species. Shepard should at least know there is plan B in place should the crucible fail not to mention Shepard is a Spectre and he/she can use that to inquire about its existence.

 

 

It is very easy to hid the ark project under the cover of a believable lie, the arks are not arks but evacuation ships to evacuate major colonies from the threat of a reaper invasion. It explains what they are to your workforce, it is the 'secret' cover story that when people penetrate the secret discover this which makes it believable and it is the exact same type of cover story used for a historical secret project, the TANK. That is how they got their fraking name, people were told it was a mobile water tank. And poof they appeared on the battle field secret intact. Size isn't the issue, the Manhattan project was HUGE, yet it was kept secret, you need a cover story that your work force believes so even if things leak the true nature of your project and thus the secret is maintained. Hell you can use the crucible project itself as a cover, claiming this is just one part of it. The key to keeping a project secret isn't that no one ever finds out, it is to make sure when it is discovered people think it is something else thus hiding the true nature of the project. So it really doesn't matter if people have seen the ships if they think the ships are X but they are actually y then th secret is maintained.

 

When the crucible was being built rumors of its nature and existence were already spreading and that was shortly after the war with the reaper's started. The arks are clearly look like they're going to exceed the crucible in terms of man power, logistics resources etc. there is no way its true nature could be kept secret for long.

 

I am not confident that the footage we have seen can be definitively proven that the arks are orbiting earth. All i can say for sure is that they are orbiting a planet with a large population. Hell people claim the lights are fires but to me they just look like city lights.

 

It is earth because the great lakes are cleanly visible, not to mention building several secret crucible sized ark ships over Earth or some other colony is the exact opposite of secrecy.

[Battlebloodmage]

No, he would try to have sex with it. 

[Drone223]

No, he would try to have sex with it. 

I wouldn't worry, it'll much better than dying from snu snu.

 

[Medhia_Nox]

Let me see... would I let the person dealing with the Reapers - beings capable of eating people's minds - know that I am building an escape plan from the galaxy devouring reapers should this person fail?

 

Nope.

[Fixers0]

Let me see... would I let the person dealing with the Reapers - beings capable of eating people's minds - know that I am building an escape plan from the galaxy devouring reapers should this person fail?

 

Nope.

 

But then you would trust such a person in building interspecies alliances that are crucial to winning the war? 

 

Because If shepard were really Indoctrinated he'd have plenty of oppertunities to commited sabotage wherever he desired.

[Medhia_Nox]

But then you would trust such a person in building interspecies alliances that are crucial to winning the war? 

 

Because If shepard were really Indoctrinated he'd have plenty of oppertunities to commited sabotage wherever he desired.

 

Ever hear of the saying:  "Don't put all your eggs in one basket when giant space cuttlefish are coming to smash the basket." ?  

 

Me neither - but it's why I wouldn't tell Shepard.

[Fixers0]

Ever hear of the saying:  "Don't put all your eggs in one basket when giant space cuttlefish are coming to smash the basket." ?  

 

Me neither - but it's why I wouldn't tell Shepard.

 

That doesn't anwser why Shepard, who may allready be a loose canon, gets so much freedom and responsibilities, and a nearly unlimted acces to information regarding the war effort. Shepard is literally commanding the vessel with all the tactical data on the war and the Alliances.

 

If the threat of indoctrination was so serious then Shepard wouldn't even be doing half the tasks he did and he wouldn't know even tenth of what he did know. And he certainly wouldn't have commanded the Normandy with the usual suspects all onboard.

[Medhia_Nox]

That doesn't anwser why Shepard, who may allready be a loose canon, gets so much freedom and responsibilities, and a nearly unlimted acces to information regarding the war effort. Shepard is literally commanding the vessel with all the tactical data on the war and the Alliances.

 

If the threat of indoctrination was so serious then Shepard wouldn't even be doing half the tasks he did and he wouldn't know even tenth of what he did know. And he certainly wouldn't have commanded the Normandy with the usual suspects all onboard.

 

The answer to his freedom is because you paid for the game and Bioware didn't waste time trying to explain it away... 

 

And because they didn't think of this ARK stuff till at least after ME 2

[In Exile]

That doesn't anwser why Shepard, who may allready be a loose canon, gets so much freedom and responsibilities, and a nearly unlimted acces to information regarding the war effort. Shepard is literally commanding the vessel with all the tactical data on the war and the Alliances.

 

If the threat of indoctrination was so serious then Shepard wouldn't even be doing half the tasks he did and he wouldn't know even tenth of what he did know. And he certainly wouldn't have commanded the Normandy with the usual suspects all onboard.

 

Shepard doesn't really seem to know all that much about the war, and realistically Shepard isn't spending all that time reading about off-the-wall projects when the Crucible is the main objective and there's a genocide in every theatre of war. 

[Pasquale1234]

Please. You are blinded by your own opinion and are not listening to any evidence that doesn't support your position. Admiral Nimitz had no idea operation overload was happening. Admiral Nimitz was the Commander of the Pacific Theatre of operations in WWII he was the most significant leader in said theatre yet because he didn't need to know about the D-Day landings he wasn't told. Being super duper awesome special like Shepard doesn't automatically grant you clearance for all secrets. This is especially true for secrets that have ZERO to do with your current mission/orders. They is no reason to tell shepard. No one on this thread has given an actual reason beyond Shepard is special/important/a leader as to why shepard would be told. HISTORY has shown us time and time again that being an important leader to a war effort doesn't entitle you to secrets.

I get the distinct impression that a lot of posters here are completely clueless about standard security protocol, including the existence of and reasons for "need to know" policies.
 

An ark ship has everything to do with the war effort since its about ensuring the survive of every space faring species.

The war effort is about defeating the reapers and preserving as many lives as possible.

The ark, otoh, is presumed to be about failing to defeat the reapers and giving a handful of people an opportunity to survive.

These goals are dissimilar.

[Han Shot First]

It's believable that Shepard wouldn't know about the arks. Shepard shouldn't be getting briefed on every top secret thing the Alliance or Council does.

A CIA station chief in Karachi for example, isn't going to be getting intelligence briefings on North Korea unless there is something that relates to goings on in his or her neck of the woods.

[UpUpAway]

An ark ship has everything to do with the war effort since its about ensuring the survive of every space faring species. Shepard should at least know there is plan B in place should the crucible fail not to mention Shepard is a Spectre and he/she can use that to inquire about its existence.

 

 

When the crucible was being built rumors of its nature and existence were already spreading and that was shortly after the war with the reaper's started. The arks are clearly look like they're going to exceed the crucible in terms of man power, logistics resources etc. there is no way its true nature could be kept secret for long.

 

It is earth because the great lakes are cleanly visible, not to mention building several secret crucible sized ark ships over Earth or some other colony is the exact opposite of secrecy.

 

I agree, it is earth in the video... but that is not evidence that the ARKs were built over Earth at all.  They are ships... and apparently fairly fast FTL ones at that.  The only thing that is evidenced by the video is that they flew over earth and, likely, picked up at least 6 shuttles worth of passengers from earth.  Since there are no Reapers seen, they probably picked up these passengers before the Reapers actually attacked earth... whether that is just minutes or hours before the attack or even years remains unknown.

[Sekrev]

I agree, it is earth in the video... but that is not evidence that the ARKs were built over Earth at all.  They are ships... and apparently fairly fast FTL ones at that.  The only thing that is evidenced by the video is that they flew over earth and, likely, picked up at least 6 shuttles worth of passengers from earth.  Since there are no Reapers seen, they probably picked up these passengers before the Reapers actually attacked earth... whether that is just minutes or hours before the attack or even years remains unknown.

 

Yeah I've said the same as well. People just see a shot of Arks + Earth and assume they're being constructed there and that the whole plan is alliance headed and other really speculative conclusions that are too easily taken for granted.

 

There are multiple species in the arks that's a given, so this could just be a pickup. It doesn't have to be reaper-war influenced either (didn't some interview state the motivations were just for exploration and not an emergency-save-species-from-reapers device?). If Bioware wants to avoid the war and start this story fresh then they can do so and state it's a mission just for the sake of exploring. Maybe not the most elegant way to go about it, but it's really not that big of a retcon. There's much worse oversights and plot problems between the trilogy games than this.

[Gothfather]

An ark ship has everything to do with the war effort since its about ensuring the survive of every space faring species. Shepard should at least know there is plan B in place should the crucible fail not to mention Shepard is a Spectre and he/she can use that to inquire about its existence.

 

 

When the crucible was being built rumors of its nature and existence were already spreading and that was shortly after the war with the reaper's started. The arks are clearly look like they're going to exceed the crucible in terms of man power, logistics resources etc. there is no way its true nature could be kept secret for long.

 

It is earth because the great lakes are cleanly visible, not to mention building several secret crucible sized ark ships over Earth or some other colony is the exact opposite of secrecy.

 

HELLO is anyone home? Operation Overlord had EVERYTHING to do with the war effort since it was key to attacking the german's European holdings. Admiral Nimitz had NO idea they were planned let alone any details about them until it was PUBLICLY released. Again you can't give ONE reason why shepard would or should be told. Being germane to the war effort ISN'T reason enough it has to be germane to Shepard's mission. This is why the most importan commander in the Pacific theatre was in the dark about the d-day landings. Shepard being special doesn't entitle shepard to secrets. Shepard doesn't NEED to know there is a plan B. Shepard could have found out being a spectre but it isn't like shepard could go to his spectre terminal and press the every secrets fold in citadel space to find it. Shepard would have too INVESTIGATE and Shepard is to FRAKING BUSY to investigate.

 

AGAIN I ask what REASON beyond Shepard is special or important does Shepard need to know about the arks? This is just some fool fan tantrum wanting to beable to say going to Andromeda using the arks is writer hand waving when it isn't. There is no LOGICAL reason for shepard to know so it is perfectly plausible and LIKELY that Shepard and thus the player would have no prior knowledge of them.

 

There is no evidence that the ark project was a greater resource drain the the cruicible. Part of the massive expense of the cruicible was the learning curve with the alien systems. We have no evidence that the Ark project is using entirely alien tech. So there isn't going to be the same massive expense, we have a REAL world example of having to spend massive amounts to learn new tech for a secret project at speed, the Manhatten project.

 

Yeah so clearly people say it is on fire and people say it isn't earth and people say it is. Sorry it isn't CLEARLY anything too many people have mutually exclusive positions on the scene for it to be clearly anything. Again you simply have a theory and IGNORE anything that doesn't fit it. Classic emotional base thinking. 

 

 

Notice how I use real world example to bolster my position? with you its just Shepard is special. There were rumours about the Manhatten project and rumours about d-day and rumours about magic (cryptography). Rumours are not the same thing as fact and they don't mean a secret is penetrated.

 

If Admiral Nimitz not knowing about the FRAKING d-day landings isn't enough to convince you that being important doesn't equal access to a secret then nothing fraking will because you are going to ignore EVERYTHING that doesn't allow you to sh!t upon the change of venue as that is your actual agenda here, your post history bares this out.

 

ME:A isn't in the milky way.

 

DEAL.

 

WITH.

 

IT.

 

[Drone223]

The war effort is about defeating the reapers and preserving as many lives as possible.

The ark, otoh, is presumed to be about failing to defeat the reapers and giving a handful of people an opportunity to survive.

These goals are dissimilar.

They;re both about ensuring the survival of many space faring species I'd say that makes both the war and ark ships very similar in goals.

 

I agree, it is earth in the video... but that is not evidence that the ARKs were built over Earth at all.  They are ships... and apparently fairly fast FTL ones at that.  The only thing that is evidenced by the video is that they flew over earth and, likely, picked up at least 6 shuttles worth of passengers from earth.  Since there are no Reapers seen, they probably picked up these passengers before the Reapers actually attacked earth... whether that is just minutes or hours before the attack or even years remains unknown.

If these ark ships were seen over earth then its pretty evident Shepard would've known them anyway. Also the council seemed content with burying their heads in the sand with regards to the reaper threat believing it died with sovereign. 

 

HELLO is anyone home? Operation Overlord had EVERYTHING to do with the war effort since it was key to attacking the german's European holdings. Admiral Nimitz had NO idea they were planned let alone any details about them until it was PUBLICLY released. Again you can't give ONE reason why shepard would or should be told. Being germane to the war effort ISN'T reason enough it has to be germane to Shepard's mission. This is why the most importan commander in the Pacific theatre was in the dark about the d-day landings. Shepard being special doesn't entitle shepard to secrets. Shepard doesn't NEED to know there is a plan B. Shepard could have found out being a spectre but it isn't like shepard could go to his spectre terminal and press the every secrets fold in citadel space to find it. Shepard would have too INVESTIGATE and Shepard is to FRAKING BUSY to investigate.

 

Shepard has been forging alliances with many different species and has been trusted to gather resources for the war effort. That's more than enough reason to tell Shepard about the ark project Shepard doesn't need to know the details just the fact that its exist. Shepard doesn't need to do much investigating all he/she has to do is just use his/her specter authority and ask Hackett if their is a plan B should the crucible fail that's all there is to it.

 

 

AGAIN I ask what REASON beyond Shepard is special or important does Shepard need to know about the arks? This is just some fool fan tantrum wanting to beable to say going to Andromeda using the arks is writer hand waving when it isn't. There is no LOGICAL reason for shepard to know so it is perfectly plausible and LIKELY that Shepard and thus the player would have no prior knowledge of them.

 

 

See above, there is nothing wrong about knowing that there is a plan B should the crucible fail you never put all your eggs in on basket.

 

 

 

There is no evidence that the ark project was a greater resource drain the the cruicible. Part of the massive expense of the cruicible was the learning curve with the alien systems. We have no evidence that the Ark project is using entirely alien tech. So there isn't going to be the same massive expense, we have a REAL world example of having to spend massive amounts to learn new tech for a secret project at speed, the Manhatten project.

The crucible was drawing resources from all across the galaxy and the galaxy was willing to risk anything for it to succeeded those ark ships look just as big if not bigger than the crucible so they'll most likely require even more resources than the crucible itself and the fact that there are multiple ark ships increases the chance that rumors of its existence would spread.

 

 

Yeah so clearly people say it is on fire and people say it isn't earth and people say it is. Sorry it isn't CLEARLY anything too many people have mutually exclusive positions on the scene for it to be clearly anything. Again you simply have a theory and IGNORE anything that doesn't fit it. Classic emotional base thinking. 

 

No, it really is earth the great lakes are clearly visible with the alliance ships as well not to mention the lack of any reaper's.

http://eoimages.gsfc..._states_lrg.jpg

[Sekrev]

@Gothfather: It clearly *is* Earth though. I've been linking the same picture as Drone223 just linked, and that picture is literally the texture used for the planet. No doubt about that. That still means nothing though, it's just a trailer. The scene might take place anywhere in the actual game once it's out, though I expect it to be Earth. Just like Shepard's voiceover in the other trailer doesn't mean that *actually* happened, it might just as well be a nice familiar voice to give the trailer something familiar.

 

That said, you're right in the issue of Shepard. There's no need for Shepard to know of this at all, if it's a reaper escape ship. Drone's arguments for that are rather weak. People are too obsessed trying to make everything fit into the previous games, and attaching Shepard to it in whatever way, when it's obvious that they were not written with this in mind. Bioware can easily handwave and retcon a little bit and make it 'fit' however they want. Lots of ways to do that really, and speculation is fine but nothing is certain.

[UpUpAway]

If these ark ships were seen over earth then its pretty evident Shepard would've known them anyway. Also the council seemed content with burying their heads in the sand with regards to the reaper threat believing it died with sovereign. 

 

No, it is not "evident" that Shepard would have known.  We don't know, for example, that the scene occurs at any point when Shepard is on or anywhere near earth.  It may have occurred when he/he was technically dead and being rebuilt by Cerberus at a lab of unknown location.  It is your guess/opinion that he would have known... but not "evident."

 

As for the Council - you use the term "seemed content" meaning they may well have, behind all the "seeming" not been content at all and engaging in preparations in ways that we (the players) have not, as yet, been made aware of by the authors.

 

That's the real point of this... Unless you believe that Bioware was already writing ME:A while they were writing ME1-3, you'll have to accept that they would have to do some retcon to make ME:A "fit" into the series.  What people are just guessing about will change exactly nothing; and there is no real way of judging the quality of Bioware's "retcon" until after the game is released and we get to see what it is they've actually done.

[In Exile]

No, it is not "evident" that Shepard would have known.  We don't know, for example, that the scene occurs at any point when Shepard is on or anywhere near earth.  It may have occurred when he/he was technically dead and being rebuilt by Cerberus at a lab of unknown location.  It is your guess/opinion that he would have known... but not "evident."

 

As for the Council - you use the term "seemed content" meaning they may well have, behind all the "seeming" not been content at all and engaging in preparations in ways that we (the players) have not, as yet, been made aware of by the authors.

 

That's the real point of this... Unless you believe that Bioware was already writing ME:A while they were writing ME1-3, you'll have to accept that they would have to do some retcon to make ME:A "fit" into the series.  What people are just guessing about will change exactly nothing; and there is no real way of judging the quality of Bioware's "retcon" until after the game is released and we get to see what it is they've actually done.

 

I lived in a major coastal port for a while, but hell if I knew what ships were in dock at any point in time. Ignoring the fact that Shepard was in a detention centre the entire time, it's a bit silly to say that Shepard could know what ships were in orbit. Even if Shepard was in orbit, it's not like you can look out a window and see a bunch of ships all that easily.