Mass Effect 3 SPOILER THREAD: LOTS OF SPECULATION FROM EVERYONE

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EatChildren said:
It still happened, so yes, it 'matters'.
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In a technical sense, but if the consequences are so neutered by the end of galactic travel then the choice itself is massively devalued. No matter what there are going to be rachni in some pocket of the galaxy. Just like how no matter what the krogan leadership is doomed and the quarians never get their planet (at least for millennia).
 
EmCeeGramr said:
If you think about it, the Reapers still won. One of three Reaper-approved options was still used to reset galactic civilization, and the stories of trillions or quadrillions of organics were still stopped short for vague principles.
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Except galactic civilization was not reset, they are just cut off from the rest of the galaxy. The reapers lose in all three scenarios
 
Well I just finished it, and simply put, what the hell was all that about.
I thought the game was great until the last few minutes, is that really the best ending they could come up with because it was pretty shitty to say the least.

Being a big fan of the series I'm not even sure if I would want another, let alone ignoring how they would even do another after the three choices essentially throw out most of the lore in the games up to that point, and destroying the Mass Relays screwing over everyone.
Just not explaining anything at all and just simply destroying or controlling the reapers would have been a better ending.

I mean, damn, how utterly disappointing.
 
ElectricBlue187 said:
Except galactic civilization was not reset, they are just cut off from the rest of the galaxy. The reapers lose in all three scenarios
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Everyone was brought back to their pre-mass relay eras. They still have their starships but they're all also stuck at Earth.

We've discussed that some of them could probably fly back to their systems but then they'd be virtually stuck in their home systems. It wouldn't be feasible to constantly travel only going 5 light years a day.

I mean it's not as big of a reset as the Reapers winning obviously, but it still depressingly fucked everything up.
 
EmCeeGramr said:
In a technical sense, but if the consequences are so neutered by the end of galactic travel then the choice itself is massively devalued. No matter what there are going to be rachni in some pocket of the galaxy. Just like how no matter what the krogan leadership is doomed and the quarians never get their planet (at least for millennia).
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I am speaking in a technical sense. Dissatisfaction with the the ending and the lack of specific far reaching payoffs should not be substituted with something akin to time travel/universe reset. The Rachni had a story arc pre-ME1, and then throughout the trilogy, with weight contributed to Shepard's story.

I'm not asking you to like it, or anybody for that matter, but I cant subscribe to the 'universe reset' notion given that is not what happened.
 
Derrick01 said:
Everyone was brought back to their pre-mass relay eras. They still have their starships but they're all also stuck at Earth.

We've discussed that some of them could probably fly back to their systems but then they'd be virtually stuck in their home systems. It wouldn't be feasible to constantly travel only going 5 light years a day.

I mean it's not as big of a reset as the Reapers winning obviously, but it still depressingly fucked everything up.
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There were alot of fuel deopts near the mass rel-....Shit
 
I was looking through some of the concept art for ME3 and this one came up:

8zdjn2.jpg


Isn't this a crashed Citadel on war-torn Earth? And if so, doesn't this concept art allude to something happening post-Shepard's decision? Or am I mistaken and reading too much into something which was part of pre-production only?

EatChildren said:
I'm not asking you to like it, or anybody for that matter, but I cant subscribe to the 'universe reset' notion given that is not what happened.
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Destroying something as essential as the Mass Relays is pretty close to altering the Mass Effect universe to something that is too some extent unrecognisable. I would argue that is pretty close to a universe reset.
 
EatChildren said:
Is BioWare HQ still standing from all the raging?
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They're building up their war assets in order to create a superweapon powered by their rage.

Destroy ending only.

ElectricBlue187 said:
Except galactic civilization was not reset, they are just cut off from the rest of the galaxy. The reapers lose in all three scenarios
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It was in the Destroy ending, at least.

Also the Reapers survive and get a possible permanent solution to their problem(evil synthetics and junk) in the Synthesis ending.
 
Derrick01 said:
Everyone was brought back to their pre-mass relay eras. They still have their starships but they're all also stuck at Earth.

We've discussed that some of them could probably fly back to their systems but then they'd be virtually stuck in their home systems. It wouldn't be feasible to constantly travel only going 5 light years a day.

I mean it's not as big of a reset as the Reapers winning obviously, but it still depressingly fucked everything up.
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I agree but I don't think that's what the reapers were trying to accomplish, they just wanted to stop organic life's advancement before its power was superior to theirs, they would not be satisfied with just the destruction of the mass relays
 
Speaking about choices making a difference, did it really matter if you destroy the collector base or not? TIM got all the reaper tech even if you destroy it, so did it actually matter?
 
Achtius said:
Speaking about choices making a difference, did it really matter if you destroy the collector base or not? TIM got all the reaper tech even if you destroy it, so did it actually matter?
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Nope, I destroyed it and Cerberus managed to "salvage" it from what the characters said.
 
Achtius said:
Speaking about choices making a difference, did it really matter if you destroy the collector base or not? TIM got all the reaper tech even if you destroy it, so did it actually matter?
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That's what I've been wondering. Could Cerberus troops at least be STRONGER if you saved the Collector Base? This kind of dynamic choice making really doesn't mesh with a game that wants to be big and cinematic.
 
Lime said:
Destroying something as essential as the Mass Relays is pretty close to altering the Mass Effect universe to something that is too some extent unrecognisable. I would argue that is pretty close to a universe reset.
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It has huge, franchise (arguably) destroying implications but it is not a universe reset. The species, in altered form, still exist. Technology excluding the relays still exists. The events still happened, the knowledge of said events from those living in the universe still exists. Destroying the relays is a huge, fundamental change to the universe, but it is not a universal reset.
 
The stories "arc" differently, but Bioware forces their curvature to end at more or less the same terminus in the last 10 minutes of the trilogy.
 
What year is it when the Stargazer is talking? How many years has it been?

Could they have began building Mass Relays in that time?
 
EmCeeGramr said:
The stories "arc" differently, but Bioware forces their curvature to end at more or less the same terminus in the last 10 minutes of the trilogy.
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Which still doesn't qualify for a universal reset.
 
EatChildren said:
It has huge, franchise (arguably) destroying implications but it is not a universe reset. The species, in altered form, still exist. Technology excluding the relays still exists. The events still happened, the knowledge of said events from those living in the universe still exists. Destroying the relays is a huge, fundamental change to the universe, but it is not a universal reset.
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Easy to retcon it. Salvage tech from the relays. Make it work. Who really cares if the mass relays were destroyed, it was just to show that the old order had been broken. It doesn't really mean anything else for the universe, nothing that could be easily fixed anyway.
 
jakershaker said:
Easy to retcon it. Salvage tech from the relays. Make it work. Who really cares if the mass relays were destroyed, it was just to show that the old order had been broken. It doesn't really mean anything else for the universe, nothing that could be easily fixed anyway.
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There are plenty of ways around it with varying degrees of terribleness. But the only point I've been making that there wasn't a universal reset. Events still happened, drastic ones, for good or (mostly) bad. Stuff follows on from that point. That is the story.

Rebel Leader said:
What year is it when the Stargazer is taling? How many years has it been?

Could they have began building Mass Relays in that time?
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This is the worst part, as Buzz implies nobody knows of alien species, or that nobody has explored the galaxy. I figure if anything is retconned, this will be it, and that message was mostly a typical "THE WONDERS OF THE UNIVERSE ARE MAGICAL" exit quote that a lot of sci fi have.
 
EatChildren said:
There are plenty of ways around it with varying degrees of terribleness. But the only point I've been making that there wasn't a universal reset. Events still happened, drastic ones, for good or (mostly) bad. Stuff follows on from that point. That is the story.
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Yeah I agreed with you but not the people claiming it somehow was a big blow to the Mass Effect universe. Bioware can do whatever they want to get around that point and keep everything that is Mass Effect intact. They can even keep calling it ME even if that tech is lost forever, who cares.
 
Fimbulvetr said:
So, like, doesn't the indoctrination theory actually resolve less than the current endings?
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Kind of. Based on that theory, Shepard taking a breath in the ruins of London seem to indicate that he hasn't made it to the Conduit yet. So the Reapers aren't stopped.
 
I still feel it's like if a Fallout game ended with global civilization and culture being reestablished. Yes there'd be plasma weapons and 1950's aesthetic and Super Mutants in suits and ties, but at that point it's only superficially the same universe.
 
EatChildren said:
It has huge, franchise (arguably) destroying implications but it is not a universe reset. The species, in altered form, still exist. Technology excluding the relays still exists. The events still happened, the knowledge of said events from those living in the universe still exists. Destroying the relays is a huge, fundamental change to the universe, but it is not a universal reset.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm probably interpreting universal reset in a different way. What I mean by universal reset is that what we usually consider to be basic Mass Effect tropes, like easily travelling between star systems, encountering new alien races, etc., have been altered in such a way that I have trouble seeing how Bioware would be able use the same kind of tropes in future games.

But seeing how the writers are willing to pull out Deus Ex Machina out of their asses, like the Crucible, I would expect them (or the studio responsible for taking over the reigns) to do the same when developing new ME games.

Nevertheless, I'm actually more than fine with Bioware ending the trilogy. I just wish the last 10 minutes of the game weren't as divorced from the rest of the trilogy as it currently is.

Fimbulvetr said:
So, like, doesn't the indoctrination theory actually resolve less than the current endings?
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It just assumes Shepard failed and whether or not the allied races won or not is guess-work. Ending it on such a dark note would be more preferable than Blue/Red/Green Space Magic, although such a dark ending would still clash with the mood and tone of the earlier entries (happy endings).
 
The ending could've done with a big juicy epilogue (not dissimilar to the epilogue from Origins).

It could have informed you of the condition of various races, worlds, companions and love interests depending on what color explosion you picked. It would've added some depth to the ending, hinted at the future of the series and gave players some closure.
 
Trick_GSF said:
The ending could've done with a big juicy epilogue (not dissimilar to the epilogue from Origins).

It could have informed you of the condition of various races, worlds, companions and love interests depending on what color explosion you picked. It would've added some depth to the ending, hinted at the future of the series and gave players some closure.
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That is all I wanted for an ending...even with Magic Chiled uses space magic...IT'S SUPER EFFECTIVE!

I would of been fine
 
Just give everyone FTL space jetpacks. Problem solved.
 
Hmm, anyone else thinking to themselves... Where the fuck is harbinger in all this?

Supposedly he was the big bad at the end of ME2 (arrival) and his referenced in ME3 as being the "oldest, baddest, biggest" of them all. And he´s nowhere to be seen.
 
Kem0sabe said:
Hmm, anyone else thinking to themselves... Where the fuck is harbinger in all this?

Supposedly he was the big bad at the end of ME2 (arrival) and his referenced in ME3 as being the "oldest, baddest, biggest" of them all. And he´s nowhere to be seen.
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He shows up randomly at the end and blasts Shepard and co. Then blasts off. Cameo complete.
 
Kem0sabe said:
Hmm, anyone else thinking to themselves... Where the fuck is harbinger in all this?

Supposedly he was the big bad at the end of ME2 (arrival) and his referenced in ME3 as being the "oldest, baddest, biggest" of them all. And he´s nowhere to be seen.
Click to expand...

He shot you in the face with a frickin laser beam and you still didn't see him? Jesus
 
Kem0sabe said:
Hmm, anyone else thinking to themselves... Where the fuck is harbinger in all this?

Supposedly he was the big bad at the end of ME2 (arrival) and his referenced in ME3 as being the "oldest, baddest, biggest" of them all. And he´s nowhere to be seen.
Click to expand...

I read somewhere that I guess the voice actor wasn't available or something. Although if that's the case, why they could recast Mordin and not it is beyond me.

As it is, the Reapers are simply a McGuffin background element in ME3, honestly. For a game all about fighting them, they really take a back seat to other matters.
 
Kem0sabe said:
Hmm, anyone else thinking to themselves... Where the fuck is harbinger in all this?
Click to expand...

Yeah that was another thing that seems to have been over looked by most people due to the shitty endings. I can't believe we didn't get to have a confrontation with Harbinger. I kept waiting and waiting for it to happen. Then when the Reapers descend to protect the "conduit" I thought "FINALLY time to rip Harby a new one" well to say my next thought was "WTF" would be an understatement.
 
Instead of talking about the ending, I want to bring some positivity to this thread:

  • The Reapers were pretty much depicted as these powerful death machines. I liked that Bioware didn't soften them up.
  • The Credits song by Faunts. A really nice mix between the M4 and ME2's credit song
  • Liara's Goodbye sequence. Amazing moment
  • Landing on Mars and being accompanied by that Mars music were simply incredible. One of the highlights of the trilogy's OST.
  • A View of Palaven is also pretty goddamn great
  • Shooting it out with Garrus on the Citadel
  • Garrus knowing his shit about calibrations versus Legion
  • Jarvik joking with James
  • The art styles and locations throughout the game. Astonishing.
  • The London sequence being in contrast to the colours of the earlier levels
  • Seeing Grunt make it out of it alive (cliché as it may be)
  • Legion's and Mordin's self-sacrifice
  • Normandy was very war-like and really fit the whole "in war" situation
  • Character creation music almost as good as ME1's CC music
  • Drunk Tali
  • Jarvik being cold and ruthless

A lot of fan service throughout the game, but looking at the investment people have made into 1 and 2, I wouldn't have it any other way.
 
Rebel Leader said:
That is all I wanted for an ending...
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But then there wouldn't be the fun of all this speculating and extrapolating... with the thread in BSN about hallucination with 7700+ posts by now...

The vagueness of the ending (which I think it's just so they don't have to commit to pursuing any plotline in the future) just gives a lot of fuel to the worst sides of BSN... eeck.
 
Kem0sabe said:
Hmm, anyone else thinking to themselves... Where the fuck is harbinger in all this?

Supposedly he was the big bad at the end of ME2 (arrival) and his referenced in ME3 as being the "oldest, baddest, biggest" of them all. And he´s nowhere to be seen.
Click to expand...

Yeah, ME3 needed more reaper talk of telling us how doomed we are.

And a good ending.
 
Regarding that last Reaper being Harbinger... are we even sure it was it? I figure that the way it likes to gloat, it would be shouting headshot midway through that sequence.

Lime said:
Instead of talking about the ending, I want to bring some positivity to this thread:

  • The Reapers were pretty much depicted as these powerful death machines. I liked that Bioware didn't soften them up.
  • The Credits song by Faunts. A really nice mix between the M4 and ME2's credit song
  • Liara's Goodbye sequence. Amazing moment
  • Landing on Mars and being accompanied by that Mars music were simply incredible. One of the highlights of the trilogy's OST.
  • A View of Palaven is also pretty goddamn great
  • Shooting it out with Garrus on the Citadel
  • Garrus knowing his shit about calibrations versus Legion
  • Jarvik joking with James
  • The art styles and locations throughout the game. Astonishing.
  • The London sequence being in contrast to the colours of the earlier levels
  • Seeing Grunt make it out of it alive (cliché as it may be)
  • Legion's and Mordin's self-sacrifice
  • Normandy was very war-like and really fit the whole "in war" situation
  • Character creation music almost as good as ME1's CC music
  • Drunk Tali
  • Jarvik being cold and ruthless


A lot of fan service throughout the game, but looking at the investment people have made into 1 and 2, I wouldn't have it any other way.
Click to expand...

1. Reapers... They were depicted as nigh invincible, still, you killed 2 of them yourself while on foot, and a giant worm kills another... it was a letdown how bioware managed to turn them into nothing more than powerful machines and not the godlike entities hinted at in the first game.

2. Art, spot on... textures... fuck no, what a mess. Notice those body textures at the end? inside the citadel. they were nothing more than decals.

Rest of those points, i agree :D
 
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