43796 réponses à ce sujet

[fongiel24]

Ieldra2 wrote...

I said something like this two weeks or so. Speeding with cars (and motorcycles) is something I can see her enjoy. Unfortunately, law enforcement isn't limited to trying to catch up with her in another vehicle on most worlds, so she has to limit herself to the backwaters. It's more fun there anyway...

That's probably true. I've just got this action scene playing in my head of Miranda playing cat and mouse with the boys in blue (or black or whatever colour they wear in 2185). I really like the idea of Miranda loving the sensation of speed though. It's a thrill of recklessness that she doesn't often get to experience, almost like sex, but it's a thrill she can control. She can take her motorcycle to some deserted backwater whenever she has some time off, have her fun, and be back at Cerberus without anybody knowing what she was up to.

[Ieldra]

^^I'll keep this in mind for the Miranda character sheet I'm making. Personality traits like this make things interesting. Currently I'm trying to transfer her biotic powers to my ruleset. Works surprisingly well. Only the scaling is a bit of trouble...how powerful are mass effect guns in comparison with regular firearms of today?

Modifié par Ieldra2, 08 mai 2010 - 09:02 .

[kraidy1117]

Ieldra2 wrote...

^^I'll keep this in mind for the Miranda character sheet I'm making. Personality traits like this make things interesting. Currently I'm trying to transfer her biotic powers to my ruleset. Works surprisingly well. Only the scaling is a bit of trouble...how powerful are mass effect guns in comparison with regular firearms of today?

They can shoot a pellet the size of a grain of sand that does more damage then a regular firearm.  I think that answeres your question Ieldra

[Ieldra]

kraidy1117 wrote...

Ieldra2 wrote...

^^I'll keep this in mind for the Miranda character sheet I'm making. Personality traits like this make things interesting. Currently I'm trying to transfer her biotic powers to my ruleset. Works surprisingly well. Only the scaling is a bit of trouble...how powerful are mass effect guns in comparison with regular firearms of today?

They can shoot a pellet the size of a grain of sand that does more damage then a regular firearm.  I think that answeres your question Ieldra

Actually, that can't be right. If it's the size of a grain of sand, overpenetration will reduce the damage to a pittance, since the projectile will go through the body similar to a micro-meteorite. Maybe it's still deadly when it hits the vitals, but otherwise it won't do much. I haven't got details on this, but I guess anything less than about 3mm in diameter will actually do less damage than a larger projectile carrying the same kinetic energy. Smaller projectiles cut better through armor while doing less damage once through, but if ME2 is any indication that doesn't matter, since armor is ablative anyway, shields and barriers the same only that they regenerate.

Anyway, the technical details don't matter, the question is: do hand-held mass effect guns do more damage than regular firearms, or does their main advantage lie elsewhere, for instance in that they don't need custom-made ammo of certain calibres, carefully designed to fit particular weapon types, and that they don't need propellant at all, so the same number of rounds weighs a lot less and costs a lot less for mass effect guns. The more I think about it, the more it seems like the latter.

Uh....this has gone seriously off topic. Sorry.

[Ieldra]

Da Shadow Master wrote...

Hey Ieldra before I go for the night I thought I'd post a link to that pic you wanted.

img694.imageshack.us/img694/1470/yvonnewall3.jpg

Thanks, Da Shadow Master. That's very nice.

[Ieldra]

There was a Miranda-related question a few minutes ago and this thread was not visible. Really, people, where are you all?



Miranda is not amused....

[Caihn]

 1000+ members in the support group and so few people participating in this thread. 

[MrNose]

Ieldra2 wrote...

There was a Miranda-related question a few minutes ago and this thread was not visible. Really, people, where are you all?

Miranda is not amused....

What?? When does this happen!?

[Ieldra]

MrNose wrote...
What?? When does this happen!?

Exactly what do you want to know?

[Ieldra]

Here's a question I've been thinking about:

We see several kinds of people recognizing Miranda for who she is and who she is affiliated with. I'm wondering what the Alliance knows, considering that "Miranda Lawson" probably isn't her real name, and that she managed to enter the Citadel without being recognized or arrested. There are a number of options:

(1) The Alliance knows someone under the name of "Miranda Lawson" works as a senior operative with Cerberus, but does not know her real name.
(2) The Alliance knows her real name and that she works for Cerberus, but does not know Miranda is that person.
(3) The Alliance knows that a woman fitting Miranda's description works for Cerberus as a senior operative, but does not know a name.
(4) The Alliance knows nothing of her.
(5) The Alliance knows everything of her and a lot about Cerberus, but leaves Cerberus alone because it secretly serves their purposes.
(6) "Miranda Lawson" *is* her real name, an alias has been inserted to Alliance databases by Cerberus as an alternative identity. She is recognized under that alias by Alliance sensors, but her true name and affiliation remains unknown.

Which do you think is true? Or are there even more possibilities?

Modifié par Ieldra2, 08 mai 2010 - 05:35 .

[Caihn]

Option 5.

And I think cerberus agents are free to go where they want in the Citadelle. I don't think C-sec have instructions to arrest them.

[fongiel24]

Ieldra2 wrote...

^^I'll keep this in mind for the Miranda character sheet I'm making. Personality traits like this make things interesting. Currently I'm trying to transfer her biotic powers to my ruleset. Works surprisingly well. Only the scaling is a bit of trouble...how powerful are mass effect guns in comparison with regular firearms of today?

Mass Effect guns are essentially scaled down railguns utilizing mass effect fields to further accelerate the rounds. While it's true that in general very small, very fast rounds tend to just tear through the body and cauterize wounds, with rounds going at railgun velocities (typically hypersonic rather than supersonic speeds), the trauma just from being hit could do catastrophic damage to an unarmoured body. There may also be the possiblity that Mass Effect slugs are designed to tumble or cavitate upon impact (much like many military grade ammunition), thus significantly increasing the damage.

Ieldra2 wrote...

Here's a question I've been thinking about:

We
see several kinds of people recognizing Miranda for who she is and who
she is affiliated with. I'm wondering what the Alliance knows,
considering that "Miranda Lawson" probably isn't her real name, and
that she managed to enter the Citadel without being recognized or
arrested. There are a number of options:

(1) The Alliance knows
someone under the name of "Miranda Lawson" works as a senior operative
with Cerberus, but does not know her real name.
(2) The Alliance knows her real name and that she works for Cerberus, but does not know Miranda is that person.
(3)
The Alliance knows that a woman fitting Miranda's description works for
Cerberus as a senior operative, but does not know a name.
(4) The Alliance knows nothing of her.
(5)
The Alliance knows everything of her and a lot about Cerberus, but
leaves Cerberus alone because it secretly serves their purposes.
(6)
"Miranda Lawson" *is* her real name, an alias has been inserted to
Alliance databases by Cerberus as an alternative identity. She is
recognized under that alias by Alliance sensors, but her true name and
affiliation remains unknown.

Which do you think is true? Or are there even more possibilities?

I don't believe "Miranda Lawson" is her real name. Miranda may be, but I suspect Lawson may be an alias. I would suggest another possibility.

(7) The Alliance knows about Shepard's mission to investigate the Collectors' activities in the Terminus. While it cannot actively help him, he is doing work they would like to do themselves but cannot due to political/strategic considerations. As Shepard needs Cerberus' help, the Alliance is declaring an undeclared, nonofficial moratorium on harassment of Cerberus or its operatives, or at least those Shepard is working with.

[MrNose]

Ieldra2 wrote...

MrNose wrote...
What?? When does this happen!?

Exactly what do you want to know?

Haha, I just didn't recognize that pose from any point in the game.

[fongiel24]

MrNose wrote...

Ieldra2 wrote...

MrNose wrote...
What?? When does this happen!?

Exactly what do you want to know?

Haha, I just didn't recognize that pose from any point in the game.

It's sad when we play the game enough and focus on Miranda enough that anytime somebody posts a one-frame shot, we can instantly recognize exactly where in the game it came from.

People around me keep talking about this mythical place I'm not sure I've ever seen. They call it... "outside". Is this a sign I should go and check it out?

[Ieldra]

MrNose wrote...

Ieldra2 wrote...

MrNose wrote...
What?? When does this happen!?

Exactly what do you want to know?

Haha, I just didn't recognize that pose from any point in the game.

Ah...well then I'll tell you: this is after the abduction of the crew. Miranda is, at first, angry at Joker and says "You lost...everyone?" The shot is taken from the scene that follows.

[Ieldra]

@fongiel24:

Your new option may be correct, but it's Miranda's status specifically that I was after. I was looking for what kind of secrets and enemies she might have as a senior Cerberus operative.

[jtav]

Strahovski does angry/cold/bitter Miranda very well. Not that she doesn't do a good job the rest of the time. *is waiting for her cousins to leave so she can work in peace*

[kraidy1117]

jtav wrote...

Strahovski does angry/cold/bitter Miranda very well. Not that she doesn't do a good job the rest of the time. *is waiting for her cousins to leave so she can work in peace*

This. Well her touching moments are well done, like if you tell her dammit, your right, that dialog was done very well and if you say no promisses. However when Miri is angry or cold, it was just done so well.

[fongiel24]

Ieldra2 wrote...

@fongiel24:
Your new option may be correct, but it's Miranda's status specifically that I was after. I was looking for what kind of secrets and enemies she might have as a senior Cerberus operative.

Hmm... I've thought about that myself as well. Here's what I think:

I have to set the background first so...

The Council has declared Cerberus a terrorist group and wants its operatives shot or apprehended on sight. The Alliance has declared Cerberus a terrorist group too, but is much more reluctant to act. Why? Several reasons.
1. The Alliance has much more pressing concerns and doesn't have the resources to root out Cerberus cell by cell, particularly if Cerberus decides to strike back.
2. Cerberus is an extragovernmental pro-human group with considerable resources and skilled personnel. The Alliance is a human political organization created to safeguard human interests. Their interests occasionally converge.
3. Since Shepard destroyed their more controversial projects in ME1, Cerberus has been keeping a low profile.

What does this all mean?
As long as Cerberus doesn't do anything too stupid, the Alliance ignores them. Cerberus operatives still have to be careful, but as long as they don't do anything to draw too much attention to themselves, Alliance personnel and human C-Sec officers will look the other way.

What we know about Miranda...
1. She's been around for a while and has extensive political connections (meaning unless she killed all her contacts afterwards, her face is known)
2. In that business with Jacob, she counted at least one active Alliance military officer as a contact.

My conclusions:
1. The Alliance at least knows about a "Miranda Lawson" operating on their turf. Whether they know her real name or even her full alias is unknown. Knowing Miranda, she's covered her tracks well and the Alliance's intel on her is sketchy.
2. The Alliance suspects Miranda is Cerberus but has never been able to draw a conclusive link. Again, Miranda covers her tracks well and never explicitly reveals who she really works for.
3. Due to the reasons listed above about the current status quo, the Alliance is not actively hunting Cerberus. Miranda occasionally conducts operations that benefit both the Alliance and Cerberus - such as Jacob's mission in Mass Effect Galaxies. For this reason, the Alliance really doesn't want to know who Miranda works for and leaves her alone (knowing for certain that Miranda is a Cerberus agent might require them to act)

[kraidy1117]

But does't Miri always wear that lovely outfit with the Cerberus logo on it?

[fongiel24]

kraidy1117 wrote...

But does't Miri always wear that lovely outfit with the Cerberus logo on it?

Inserted into the game for visual effect. Same thing as this: doesn't Shepard's body get burned up on reentry into the atmosphere in the intro?

For the sake of storyline, I'd like to believe Miranda and Jacob do not deliberately trumpet their identity by wearing those badges on missions. (the insignia on the ship is problematic though, I admit)

If it is included in the storyline though, it's not known how identifiable that insignia is. Shepard has presumably had access to top secret Alliance and Citadel intel on Cerberus and he can't even identify the insignia when he's on Lazarus station. The only person who has been able to conclusively see that insignia and identify it has been Jack, and that's because of her long history with the group.

[Ieldra]

@fongiel24:

Sounds good. That would mean that the Council's interests and knowledge and the Alliance's are slightly different with regard to Cerberus. Uh...this gets complicated. The Council would be less tolerant of Cerberus, but may have less knowledge of its operations because it started as an Alliance organization before it went independent.



One thing, though: I wonder if Miranda has really political connections or rather contacts within a spy network. The latter sounds more likely.

[fongiel24]

Ieldra2 wrote...

@fongiel24:
Sounds good. That would mean that the Council's interests and knowledge and the Alliance's are slightly different with regard to Cerberus. Uh...this gets complicated. The Council would be less tolerant of Cerberus, but may have less knowledge of its operations because it started as an Alliance organization before it went independent.

One thing, though: I wonder if Miranda has really political connections or rather contacts within a spy network. The latter sounds more likely.

Didn't really think about the distinction between political connections and contacts when I wrote that. I agree with you - they're probably more contacts than connections. I wouldn't exactly call it a spy network though. I suspect a lot of people Miranda uses as contacts are never aware of her Cerberus connection or what her real intentions are.

If you're looking for possible enemies for Miranda, there may be individual investigators within the Alliance who are willing to go against the official line and try to reveal Cerberus on their own. With Miranda being so active, she may have a number of overzealous Alliance investigators chasing her specifically.

[kraidy1117]

fongiel24 wrote...

Ieldra2 wrote...

@fongiel24:
Sounds good. That would mean that the Council's interests and knowledge and the Alliance's are slightly different with regard to Cerberus. Uh...this gets complicated. The Council would be less tolerant of Cerberus, but may have less knowledge of its operations because it started as an Alliance organization before it went independent.

One thing, though: I wonder if Miranda has really political connections or rather contacts within a spy network. The latter sounds more likely.

Didn't really think about the distinction between political connections and contacts when I wrote that. I agree with you - they're probably more contacts than connections. I wouldn't exactly call it a spy network though. I suspect a lot of people Miranda uses as contacts are never aware of her Cerberus connection or what her real intentions are.

If you're looking for possible enemies for Miranda, there may be individual investigators within the Alliance who are willing to go against the official line and try to reveal Cerberus on their own. With Miranda being so active, she may have a number of overzealous Alliance investigators chasing her specifically.

Like Kouko(sp?)