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[Bisnic]

In 800 million years, the Sun will expand and heat up enough that all life on Earth will die, and the oceans will boil away. That's about 3.2 billion years before Andromeda collides with the Milky Way. Hopefully we'll have found another planet long before either of those events become a problem.

I kinda doubt humanity will still exist in 800 millions years. Either we'll all kill ourselves in some nuclear wars, or we'll "kill" the planet before we can even leave it. And if none of those happen, we will have evolve so much we probably won't even look like humans anymore.

 

[Dandy Lyin]

Based on what little they've said, a new galaxy seems very likely. If you look at the Mass Effect map of the Milky Way, there are no vast unexplored regions.

 

[Hyperzephyrian]

I kinda doubt humanity will still exist in 800 millions years. Either we'll all kill ourselves in some nuclear wars, or we'll "kill" the planet before we can even leave it. And if none of those happen, we will have evolve so much we probably won't even look like humans anymore.

I think it's possible that we'll escape our solar system. I certainly hope that happens. If we achieve interstellar travel, it's possible that the rate of our spread will outpace the rate at which we (potentially) destroy ourselves. Or, you know, we could learn to excise our self-destructive tendencies, as a society. Either one is fine by me.

Why do you think we'll have evolved? Natural selection isn't really happening to us anymore--or at least, not enough that speciation seems likely (to me).

Based on what little they've said, a new galaxy seems very likely. If you look at the Mass Effect map of the Milky Way, there are no vast unexplored regions.

From the Codex:

There are between two and four hundred billion stars in the galaxy, and less than 1% of them have ever been visited or had their systems properly surveyed.

Citadel space is an unofficial term referring to any region of space controlled by a species that acknowledge the authority of the Citadel Council. At first glance, it appears this territory encompasses most of the galaxy. In reality, however, less than 1% of the stars have been explored.

Even mass-effect-FTL drive is slow relative to the volume of the galaxy. Empty space and systems without suitable drive discharge sites are barriers to exploration. Only the mass relays allow ships to jump hundreds of light years in an instant, the key to expanding across an otherwise impassable galaxy.

Whenever a new relay is activated, the destination system is rapidly developed. From that hub, FTL drive is used to expand to nearby star clusters. The result is a number of densely-developed clusters thinly spread across the vast expanse of space, connected by the mass relay network.

 

[JeffZero]

I'm all for a new galaxy, personally. But yeah, it needs to be reiterated that the Galaxy Map interface is extremely illusory. If it were still set in the Milky Way there'd be heaps and heaps of potential remaining. Either way's fine with me.

 

[Bisnic]

Why do you think we'll have evolved? Natural selection isn't really happening to us anymore--or at least, not enough that speciation seems likely (to me).
:

Just look at how humans ancestors looked like, and that wasn't even 5 millions years ago. Now, multiply this by 160 and you can imagine that we won't look that much human anymore.

 

[Trogdor1123]

Could someone refresh my memory, didn't we destroy all the mass relays in the last game? How could we be using them?

We cant build them can we (the humans in game I mean of course)?

How are we supposed to get to a different system, let alone Galaxy, if the relays don't work.

They better show it at E3 this year... I love the series.

 

[Patryn]

Could someone refresh my memory, didn't we destroy all the mass relays in the last game? How could we be using them?

We cant build them can we (the humans in game I mean of course)?

How are we supposed to get to a different system, let alone Galaxy, if the relays don't work.

They better show it at E3 this year... I love the series.

First of all, there are indications that ME4 takes places parallel to ME3.

Secondly, in the Extended Cut, all the relays are repaired.

Thirdly, if we are in another galaxy, it's likely there won't be any relays there. So there will likely be some other means of transportation.

 

[Trogdor1123]

I think it's possible that we'll escape our solar system. I certainly hope that happens. If we achieve interstellar travel, it's possible that the rate of our spread will outpace the rate at which we (potentially) destroy ourselves. Or, you know, we could learn to excise our self-destructive tendencies, as a society. Either one is fine by me.

Why do you think we'll have evolved? Natural selection isn't really happening to us anymore--or at least, not enough that speciation seems likely (to me).

From the Codex:

Isnt speciation more likely to occur once we travel out into space? The distances would be so massive and the spread would be so far that contact would be difficult or perhaps entirely unneeded allowing for distinct cultures to grow and appear and then for evolution to take place.

 

[Hyperzephyrian]

Just look at how humans ancestors looked like, and that wasn't even 5 millions years ago. Now, multiply this by 160 and you can imagine that we won't look that much human anymore.

Evolution isn't a function of time. It occurs when certain individuals develop beneficial mutations that enable them to survive and reproduce more effectively than the non-mutated members of their species. When a population acquires enough such mutations, you reach a point where the mutated offspring are so different that they can no longer successfully mate with the descendants of their genetically "normal" ancestors. That's how new species originate.

One or two hundred thousand years ago, a branch of the great ape family evolved into humans; natural selection caused the mutants to thrive and the non-mutants to die off. But the environmental pressures that led to that natural selection aren't really happening to us anymore, as a species, because we mastered technology and managed to escape most of the forces that caused it.

In other words, we've achieved such a high level of control over our environment, and removed so many elements that lead to infant mortality, that there's probably never going to be another genetic mutation in humans that drastically increases the mutant population's ability to survive, and thus produce children, relative to the non-mutant human population--because our environment is no longer as hostile (or at least, as selectively hostile) as it used to be.

Actually, Mass Effect even touches on this concept, with the vorcha. Because they developed an immunity to disease and a highly regenerative biology, they also escaped the pressures of natural selection, which prevented them from evolving.

 

[Bisnic]

Could someone refresh my memory, didn't we destroy all the mass relays in the last game? How could we be using them?

We cant build them can we (the humans in game I mean of course)?

How are we supposed to get to a different system, let alone Galaxy, if the relays don't work.

They better show it at E3 this year... I love the series.

Extended cut clarified(changed?) the fact that they were only damaged, not destroyed.

 

[Trogdor1123]

First of all, there are indications that ME4 takes places parallel to ME3.

Secondly, in the Extended Cut, all the relays are repaired.

Thirdly, if we are in another galaxy, it's likely there won't be any relays there.

Man, I need to replay the game. Is there some footage on youtube so that I can be lazy?

I don't remember humans being able to make relays. Guess I need to pay better attention.

Thanks!

 

[Ralemont]

Looks like they got John Dombrow, one of their ME3 writers, back for the next game.

Dombrow back for ME4.

Weekes new lead writer for Dragon Age.

Gaider moving to new IP.

A lot of good news the last few months for Biower.

 

[Dandy Lyin]

I'm assuming if there is any savegame importing at all, it will be handled by a website like the Dragon Age Keep. I think I still have all of my saves somewhere, but I'm sure many do not.

 

[Maledict]

Going to sound sad, but if it's in a new galaxy I will miss the old cluster names from the original series and their link to earth history. Hawking Eta, horsehead nebula, Shrike Abyssal - fantastic names!

 

[Patryn]

Man, I need to replay the game. Is there some footage on youtube so that I can be lazy?

I don't remember humans being able to make relays. Guess I need to pay better attention.

Thanks!

No, your memory is correct.

It was just handwaved when people (correctly) pointed out that if the relays really were destroyed, Bioware had just condemned vast amounts of the galaxy to horrible deaths.

It appears that Casey and Mac just really liked the visual of the relays all being destroyed, and never actually thought through the consequences.

 

[RoKKeR]

My roommate just bought the ME trilogy and has started playing through ME1 the first time.

I am unbelievably jealous. Also surprised at how much I remember given I only played 1 through once. Watching him go through it is getting me so hyped for whatever's next.

 

[Patryn]

Something I just realized that I have never thought of before: Shouldn't the Citadel have blown the fuck up at the end of ME3?

The Conduit is sitting in the middle of it. It's a relay. Uh.....

 

[Hyperzephyrian]

Isnt speciation more likely to occur once we travel out into space? The distances would be so massive and the spread would be so far that contact would be difficult or perhaps entirely unneeded allowing for distinct cultures to grow and appear and then for evolution to take place.

I'm pretty sure that Bisnic was referring to evolution within a single population. But yes, I'd imagine that the founder effect and genetic drift (probably not natural selection, though) could lead to speciation in a fragmented human-colonized galaxy.

 

[royox]

Something I just realized that I have never thought of before: Shouldn't the Citadel have blown the fuck up at the end of ME3?

The Conduit is sitting in the middle of it. It's a relay. Uh.....

You can the citadel blowing up after firing the Red or the Green beam.

 

[Ralemont]

Something I just realized that I have never thought of before: Shouldn't the Citadel have blown the fuck up at the end of ME3?

The Conduit is sitting in the middle of it. It's a relay. Uh.....

From the wiki:

The true nature of the Conduit remains a mystery until the damaged VI on Ilos, Vigil, fills in the gaps. The Conduit is a miniature mass relay which the Prothean researchers on Ilos built as a prototype during their experiments into mass relay technology. It is essentially a 'back door' onto the Citadel, which is the hub of the relay network. It has no connection to the rest of the network, making it independent.

 

[Florida_Man_5000]

I think it's possible that we'll escape our solar system. I certainly hope that happens. If we achieve interstellar travel, it's possible that the rate of our spread will outpace the rate at which we (potentially) destroy ourselves. Or, you know, we could learn to excise our self-destructive tendencies, as a society. Either one is fine by me.

I think mankind will develop a Citadel out of necessity, and then return like "The 100" (CW show) after the planet has healed. There could be some natural selection in that process as there was on that show. Then the next question is, could we develop little sustainable "seed" ships, where 1000 human generations could last to get to the next planet?

 

[Hyperzephyrian]

I think mankind will develop a Citadel out of necessity, and then return like "The 100" (CW show) after the planet has healed. There could be some natural selection in that process as there was on that show.

I haven't watched that show. But I don't think humans could be self-sufficient aboard a space station for more than a few years; you'd have to be incredibly efficient with your matter and waste, and there are hard limits to that kind of efficiency. I think we'll always need a planet to draw resources from, for long-term survival; rocky, life-supporting worlds have loads of resources, and they're easy to acquire since you're already living there. I could maybe see a short-term spaceborne survival, though, à la Battlestar Galactica. (How does that series keep coming up in this thread?)

Then the next question is, could we develop little sustainable "seed" ships, where 1000 human generations could last to get to the next planet?

I think you're describing a generation ship. Like space stations, I don't think generation ships would be a practical means of colonization, again due to problems of efficiency. Seeder ships would make more sense to me.

 

[Trogdor1123]

I just watched the synthesis ending... that is pretty much the happiest ending ever. It just needed more puppies and kittens.

 

[PinkCrayon]

I just watched the synthesis ending... that is pretty much the happiest ending ever. It just needed more puppies and kittens.

Shame it's so fucking stupid.

 

[TheUnsunghero26]

Assuming the next game takes place in a new galaxy, and is set mostly during the events of ME3, I think the Citadel would be a good starting area. I like the theory that someone had about it being a secret mission by the councilors in case the Reaper invasion did happen. You'd have to start in the original galaxy, might as well be the Citadel.

Also I just really want to see the Citadel with updated graphics.

 

[JeffZero]

Dombrow back for ME4.

Weekes new lead writer for Dragon Age.

Gaider moving to new IP.

A lot of good news the last few months for Biower.

I know. This is all so gorram glorious. Now we just need an E3 NME reveal and I can go back to being really happy to the point of capitalizing entire words.

 

[Lucreto]

So the assumption now is Mass Effect 4 will be doing a Star Trek Voyager. I like the idea and hope it is true.

 

[JeffZero]

So the assumption now is Mass Effect 4 will be doing a Star Trek Voyager. I like the idea and hope it is true.

I don't know that I'd call it the assumption, but that's where my Janeway joke from earlier came from.

Voyager had its glaring flaws, but bringing together familiar Trek races on a ship stranded in the unfamiliar was certainly not one of them. If Mass Effect wanted to go that route I'd smile.

 

[The Artisan]

I rather have a much smaller threat. We have saved the galaxy three times now, I think a more focused objective like saving a colony, or particular race would make it more personal.
Mass Effect did always excel at the smaller narratives (the loyalty missions,the geth/quarian conflict, the genophage etc.), so why not make the main one smaller in focus? That's my opinion, however.

yeah, sure, that sounds cool. I think that would certainly work as long as the writing is done well. although I have a feeling they will do something on the whole galactic scale somewhere in this, guessing this'll be the start of a new trilogy.

Off topic, The Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxy will collide in 4 billion years, so in effect we are already on our way to exploring another galaxy! We will probably have to move to a planet further from our sun due to increased luminosity from our sun. Perhaps one of those Andromeda planets will have life and come close enough so we can hop planets and say hi?

On topic, think about these types of space occurrences and the stories they could present in ME4.

I'm just wasting time on Wikipedia today...

well if you got time to kill, that's a great way to do it

Somewhat on topic, that is the

Spoiler

threat that the "inspiration" for the Reapers was dealing with.

huh, really? that was bioware's inspiration? that's interesting.

by the way, I love how this thread's gone on a sorta off topic tangent of human evolution.

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

huh, really? that was bioware's inspiration? that's interesting.

The "Revelation Space" series featured antagonists called "The Inhibitors" whose purpose was directly related to that. Spoilers for the RS series follow.

Spoiler

The Reapers are similar in many ways to the Inhibitors - an ancient artificial race that periodically suppresses advanced civilisations, while preserving primitive species and burying the evidence of their existence before going into hiding again. They leave huge, obviously unnatural artefacts around the galaxy to lure young civilisations to explore them, which then alerts the inhibitors to their existence and begins the process of culling. The inhibitors are immune to conventional weapons and possess an extreme level of technological sophistication.

The inhibitors motivation is revealed to be that their job is to Shepard the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies through their upcoming collision, preserving both galaxies to allow them to continue bearing life and avoid catastrophes. Advanced civilisations are considered a threat to this objective, and thus are being suppressed until the merging of galaxies is complete in the future. They were created by the survivors of a great war (The Dawn War it's called from memory) fought by the first civilizations to emerge in the Milky Way galaxy.

So they are extremely similar in:
- Threat posed
- Ostensibly "benevolent" motives
- Mode of operation
- Cthulhu-esque lovecraftian characteristics (the Inhibitors actually more so in that they are made of structured spacetime and deal with impossible geometries and are completely alien in general).

I do not believe Bioware has ever commented on the similarities or mentioned them as an inspiration.

 

[HK-47]

Just look at how humans ancestors looked like, and that wasn't even 5 millions years ago. Now, multiply this by 160 and you can imagine that we won't look that much human anymore.

Or like multiple that by a tech singularity.

 

[The Artisan]

The "Revelation Space" series featured antagonists called "The Inhibitors" whose purpose was directly related to that. Spoilers for the RS series follow.

Spoiler

The Reapers are similar in many ways to the Inhibitors - an ancient artificial race that periodically suppresses advanced civilisations, while preserving primitive species and burying the evidence of their existence before going into hiding again. They leave huge, obviously unnatural artefacts around the galaxy to lure young civilisations to explore them, which then alerts the inhibitors to their existence and begins the process of culling. The inhibitors are immune to conventional weapons and possess an extreme level of technological sophistication.

The inhibitors motivation is revealed to be that their job is to Shepard the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies through their upcoming collision, preserving both galaxies to allow them to continue bearing life and avoid catastrophes. Advanced civilisations are considered a threat to this objective, and thus are being suppressed until the merging of galaxies is complete in the future. They were created by the survivors of a great war (The Dawn War it's called from memory) fought by the first civilizations to emerge in the Milky Way galaxy.

So they are extremely similar in:
- Threat posed
- Ostensibly "benevolent" motives
- Mode of operation
- Cthulhu-esque lovecraftian characteristics (the Inhibitors actually more so in that they are made of structured spacetime and deal with impossible geometries and are completely alien in general).

I do not believe Bioware has ever commented on the similarities or mentioned them as an inspiration.

wow, that is really interesting, I never knew about that. thanks for the insight, tdm.

i don't get how

Spoiler

the inhibitors would find civilizations an obstacle in the inevitable collision of the two galaxies. that sounds similar to the logic starchild applies to you as well, and the weird thing is I thought that was the ending that was made with a rewrite - I thought the original ending was supposed to have something to do with reapers and dark energy

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

wow, that is really interesting, I never knew about that. thanks for the insight, tdm.

i don't get how

Spoiler

the inhibitors would find civilizations an obstacle in the inevitable collision of the two galaxies. that sounds similar to the logic starchild applies to you as well, and the weird thing is I thought that was the ending that was made with a rewrite - I thought the original ending was supposed to have something to do with reapers and dark energy

I haven't read that far ahead in the series personally, so I'm not sure of their detailed reasoning. Wikipedia says the following:

Spoiler

"Consequently, they planned to adjust the positions of stars in order to limit the damage the collision would cause. Also central to the Inhibitor project was the eradication of all species above a certain technological level until the crisis was over (as they believed no organic species would be capable of co-operating on such a large-scale project)."

But yes, it's not a surprise that this part of their nature is the least convincing aspect of their story. And for broadly the same reason - there is inadequate motivation given for why they could not simply act as police/overlords to "solve this problem" without simply wiping a bunch of species out.

The "dark energy" alternate motivation for the Reapers is arguably worse than what we ended up with, because the Reapers GIVE dark energy technology to all of the races of the galaxy. So if dark energy caused serious problems, they were making it worse by doing this.

 

[HK-47]

Can any one do the lovecraftian machine race culling the galaxy story without dumb as fuck motivations?

The evidence is pointing towards no.

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

Can any one do the lovecraftian machine race culling the galaxy story without dumb as fuck motivations?

The evidence is pointing towards no.

The issue is when you try to add a good guy or misunderstood motive instead of just being evil

 

[Poodlestrike]

Can any one do the lovecraftian machine race culling the galaxy story without dumb as fuck motivations?

The evidence is pointing towards no.

The issue is when you try to add a good guy or misunderstood motive instead of just being evil

It's more than that, I feel. Mechanical implies that they're a part of our universe, in some way understandable. That runs directly counter to... well, Lovecraft. "Why haven't the unknowable, incomprehensible monsters eaten reality yet" can be answered by "because they're unknowable and incomprehensible monsters and nothing they do makes any damn sense." So they just sort of are. Not good. Not bad. Just... present.

And horrifying.

Anyway, the point is, once you give them an origin, a grounding presence, they stop making any damn sense and you have to start bending over backwards to justify all the little niggling questions. The only way to justify the Reapers and the Cycle would be to not justify it at all; just to have it be what they do because that's what they've always done from now until the beginning of time.

 

[HK-47]

I dont see why a hyper advanced machine or a hyper advanced alien are any different. Especially once they start messing with higher dimensions or control over quantum physics. Lovecraft's alien beings are pretty much massive abusers of Clarke's Third Law.

 

[infiniteheteroskdasticity]

I haven't read that far ahead in the series personally, so I'm not sure of their detailed reasoning. Wikipedia says the following:

Spoiler

"Consequently, they planned to adjust the positions of stars in order to limit the damage the collision would cause. Also central to the Inhibitor project was the eradication of all species above a certain technological level until the crisis was over (as they believed no organic species would be capable of co-operating on such a large-scale project)."

But yes, it's not a surprise that this part of their nature is the least convincing aspect of their story. And for broadly the same reason - there is inadequate motivation given for why they could not simply act as police/overlords to "solve this problem" without simply wiping a bunch of species out.

The "dark energy" alternate motivation for the Reapers is arguably worse than what we ended up with, because the Reapers GIVE dark energy technology to all of the races of the galaxy. So if dark energy caused serious problems, they were making it worse by doing this.

Revelation Space was a great series and I'm pretty confident Bioware was "inspired" really specifically by the Inhibitors. Just like Mass Effect, the series had a poor, unfinished ending that felt hurried too!

I'd just be happy with a smaller, more focused threat. The series peaked imho during the loyalty and recruitment missions in Mass Effect 2. By the final game the main "savior of the galaxy" storyline was toe curlingly embarrassing.

They should do a Mass Effect take on the Heart of Darkness. Have the main crew follow the main antagonist deep into a new galaxy/area of the milky way that's unexplored. It would be the perfect way to keep the scope epic but the story more personal.

 

[Poodlestrike]

I dont see why a hyper advanced machine or a hyper advanced alien are any different. Especially once they start messing with higher dimensions or control over quantum physics. Lovecraft's alien being are pretty much massive abusers of Clarke's Third Law.

Because if they're machines, in the classic sense, it means they came from somewhere. And if they came from somewhere, presumably somebody built them. Which then influences all their subsequent decision making.

A horror from outside of space and time has none of those strings.

 

[HK-47]

What if the machines moved outside space and time. If things can come from outside then surely things from this universe can sublime in the other direction.

 

[AYF 001]

I think I have an idea as to how they can introduce all these unexplored places without relating significantly to the trilogy. In the games, it is mentioned that not all mass relays have been explored, as the Council was afraid of another Rachni Wars scenario if they kept traveling to unknown systems. It's possible this expeditionary force could be the designated group to traverse these unused relays and document the planets, resources, and species out.

 

[Poodlestrike]

What if machines moved outside space and time. If things can come from outside then surely things from this universe can sublime in the other direction.

They could, I suppose, but they're still subject to their origins. Less thematically "pure," one might say.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

I have to say that I am totally baffled as to why so many people want ME4 to take place in a new galaxy. It makes no sense to me whatsoever to think that a new galaxy will contain Asari, Salarians, or Turians and that a Mako will also be there. You remove those things how is it even a Mass Effect game? In a lot of the stuff we have seen so far, it seems like all of these species will be present.

Personally I think the best idea is to tackle how the galaxy deals with the aftermath of the reaper war. Use destroy but rewrite it such that gets servive.

 

[DOWN]

They should do a Mass Effect take on the Heart of Darkness.

I desperately hope it's tight story scale like that. I want to be a squad of high class military astronauts after a knife in the dark type threat. A tear in the otherwise stunning and spectacular bold future of Mass Effect, like ME1. Wander into the dazzling vastness of space to pull the trigger on a strategic havoc. Find the smart ways to keep everything important in tact and on their way up.

 

[HK-47]

I always wanted to play a black bag/wetwork squad. Salarian STG covert ops and the like.

 

[DOWN]

I have to say that I am totally baffled as to why so many people want ME4 to take place in a new galaxy. It makes no sense to me whatsoever to think that a new galaxy will contain Asari, Salarians, or Turians and that a Mako will also be there. You remove those things how is it even a Mass Effect game? In a lot of the stuff we have seen so far, it seems like all of these species will be present.

Personally I think the best idea is to tackle how the galaxy deals with the aftermath of the reaper war. Use destroy but rewrite it such that gets servive.

I don't want a direct sequel to ME or any more Reaper story. If it takes place parallel to the trilogy, being in the Milky Way means we are stuck listening to the spread of the Reaper dangers. If it takes place after, it would need to be long after to disconnect from Shepard and player choices which they seem to imply is indeed a disconnect they are interested in having.

Frankly, it doesn't matter if it is in the Milky Way or not if they set it long after. If it is distinctly after the trilogy, all of the made up star systems look the same to clueless players like us and I find this opposition by some people to leaving the Milky Way due to its vast remaining areas to be very arbitrary. New star systems written by BioWare that you reach with fantastical relays are no better or worse because of what galaxy the relays are spread to. There's no chance of exploring a significant "more of the Milky Way" than the 1% that has been explored, that has anything to do with it being the Milky Way.

 

[diaspora]

Could someone refresh my memory, didn't we destroy all the mass relays in the last game? How could we be using them?

We cant build them can we (the humans in game I mean of course)?

How are we supposed to get to a different system, let alone Galaxy, if the relays don't work.

They better show it at E3 this year... I love the series.

Relays are essentially colossal ME engines. IIRC in the extended cut they fixed them.

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

They could easily branch out with side stories that are simply unrelated to the Reaper plot.

C-Sec: 2184 - You play a Turian security officer, a survivor of the Citadel battle in ME1. Restore stability in the wake of the disaster, investigate crimes, hunt notorious criminals taking refuge on the station, and get unwillingly thrust into cut throat politics of the Citadel races.

 

[DOWN]

They could easily branch out with side stories that are simply unrelated to the Reaper plot.

C-Sec: 2184 - You play a Turian security officer, a survivor of the Citadel battle in ME1. Restore stability in the wake of the disaster, investigate crimes, hunt notorious criminals taking refuge on the station, and get unwillingly thrust into cut throat politics of the Citadel races.

Are you saying you want them to make spinoffs so that the mainline series stays involved with Reapers?

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

Are you saying you want them to make spinoffs so that the mainline series stays involved with Reapers?

No I mean there's opportunity to tell stories that are "interquals" or prequels set in the main galaxy before the catastrophic events of ME3 but that just are unrelated to the reaper storyline of Shepard et al that was going on simultaneously. Too much of the tie-in stuff for ME has felt the need to tie everything back to secret reaper plots or cerberus or something else directly related to the main events of the game. But there is a whole universe out there divorced from most of this story. The urge to push things into another galaxy, or a hidden corner of the Milky Way etc is something I don't think is strictly necessary. I'd like them to explore other settings, use non-human protagonists, do something bold etc. That was just a random idea for a non-mainline game though.