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[Patryn]

Finally got round to playing and completed Mass Effect 3 back last week...i somehow managed to get past the last 2 years without any spoilers on the ending and i honestly dont know what all the fuss was about i thought the ending was totally acceptable

Did you have the Extended Cut installed? Did you have Leviathan?

These two things make major changes to the ending.

 

[Vashetti]

Thank goodness others agree that Destroy is the logical 'official' ending choice.

All along Shepard kept saying that we have to destroy the Reapers, so it made sense for me in that moment to destroy them. I didn't even think about it, Shepard wouldn't have had such a drastic change of character right there to choose something else.

 

[Zen]

You already got that in ME3.

I mean inventory, stats, and equipment in the vein of a Dungeons and Dragons RPG, or rather a better implemented version of those things from Mass Effect 1 without sacrificing huge swaths of complexity. I still find that granularity preferable to what we got in 2 and 3, even if it did have issues.

 

[TC McQueen]

I mean inventory, stats, and equipment in the sense of a Dungeons and Dragons RPG. ME3 was still a huge step back from Mass Effect 1 even though Mass Effect 1 had its issues, I still find that granularity preferable to what we got in 2 and 3.

ME1's inventory was stuffed with tons of pointless garbage and didn't even make sense in context of the setting. Plus it utterly failed at conveying information and item customization, which ME3's system did a pretty good job at. Sure, we lost out on equipping characters with different sets of armor, omnitools, and biotic amps, but it made for a lot less busywork and less generic outfits for the squad. So it's a win-win in the minds of most people.

 

[Zen]

I'm completely fine with most people being wrong.

 

[Parley]

I Just wanted to post that I really loved Mass Effect as a series and I loved ME3. I played through 3 about a year after it came out and while the ending wasn't perfect the journey was great.

Really I am tired of all the bioware hate. I didn't love DA2 either but it doesn't make bioware a bad developer.

 

[crazyrabbits]

This is my general view of things. I also think the next game should directly address the fallout of ME3 within a short time span of 50-100 years. BioWare needs to choose an ending, 90% chance it will be Destroy but with some caveats like the Geth survived, and then set the game in that universe where things have noticeably changed due to a near galactic wide extermination and all out war with a superior entity.

I don't want the game to dwell on the events of ME3, I don't need them to work overly hard to explain what happened and why, just choose the universe you want it to be in and show the results of that choice as we explore it and play the game.

There are a lot of things they need to address. Like how will the different races recover, or falter, after their near extinction. What kind of alliances and decisions will they make because of that. Play around with how easy or rather difficult it may be to repair and restore the Mass Relay System and how long periods of isolation maybe have changed some areas and portions of races. Would there be a push for new means of galactic travel outside the Mass Relays? How would it work, and more importantly what would there be to find in the vastness of space not connected by the MRS and who would be daring enough to explore those uncharted areas? Hint maybe the player?

How would having tons of dead Reapers affect the advancement of technology and science. Would that initiate another Mass Effect similar to what humans experienced after the discovery of the Prothean base on Mars? How would various races and factions within them feel about using the same technology that nearly wiped them out. Would government ban Reaper tech or heavily regulate it producing a vast blackmarket and industry for secretly acquiring, researching and developing Reaper based tech.

Put us in this galaxy and let us explore, literally and figuratively, the changes that have occurred after the events of ME3. My biggest fear is that they'll just explain away the events of ME1-3 and return things to business as usual, here's ME4 and a universe not much different from before.

Totally agree. Destroy is what I'm hoping they would do, but who knows. I still love the series, in spite of the crap in ME3.

 

[Vashetti]

Perhaps the murmurs of the PS4/XB1 1080p trilogy port is their way of allowing players to take their saves into the next game.

 

[royalan]

This is my general view of things. I also think the next game should directly address the fallout of ME3 within a short time span of 50-100 years. BioWare needs to choose an ending, 90% chance it will be Destroy but with some caveats like the Geth survived, and then set the game in that universe where things have noticeably changed due to a near galactic wide extermination and all out war with a superior entity.

I don't want the game to dwell on the events of ME3, I don't need them to work overly hard to explain what happened and why, just choose the universe you want it to be in and show the results of that choice as we explore it and play the game.

There are a lot of things they need to address. Like how will the different races recover, or falter, after their near extinction. What kind of alliances and decisions will they make because of that. Play around with how easy or rather difficult it may be to repair and restore the Mass Relay System and how long periods of isolation maybe have changed some areas and portions of races. Would there be a push for new means of galactic travel outside the Mass Relays? How would it work, and more importantly what would there be to find in the vastness of space not connected by the MRS and who would be daring enough to explore those uncharted areas? Hint maybe the player?

How would having tons of dead Reapers affect the advancement of technology and science. Would that initiate another Mass Effect similar to what humans experienced after the discovery of the Prothean base on Mars? How would various races and factions within them feel about using the same technology that nearly wiped them out. Would government ban Reaper tech or heavily regulate it producing a vast blackmarket and industry for secretly acquiring, researching and developing Reaper based tech.

Put us in this galaxy and let us explore, literally and figuratively, the changes that have occurred after the events of ME3. My biggest fear is that they'll just explain away the events of ME1-3 and return things to business as usual, here's ME4 and a universe not much different from before.

Personally, I would rather the pick an ending, and jump and few hundred (thousand?) years into the future. There's a reason they're not calling the game Mass Effect 4, and if they're just going to stick to dealing with the near-immediate fallout of the ending of the trilogy, well then they might as well just call it Mass Effect 4.

I loved the trilogy, I enjoyed the characters, but that story's over. And the universe is so detailed, and the lore so rich, that they can afford to make a clean break from the trilogy and give us something new.

I'll play Mass Effect: Shadow Broker's Revenge whatever it ends up being. But I do admit that i'd a bit disappointed if it ends up being 40 hours of "Spot That Reference".

 

[PooBone]

Did you have the Extended Cut installed? Did you have Leviathan?

These two things make major changes to the ending.

Leviathan really should have been included in the main game. That changes the entire perspective of the universe in those games.

 

[Lettuce]

Did you have the Extended Cut installed? Did you have Leviathan?

These two things make major changes to the ending.

yeah both of them

 

[Linkenski]

I'm completely sold on the idea that they should take an entirely different direction that they did in the trilogy with MENext. I don't want to be a super space war-hero. I want to try an entire game where you're a youngster trying to survive the gritty places in the galaxy. A stealthy ME would be cool.

But with all that said and done, Story and story-interaction is the first thing I want them to get right. ME3 was so misguided with it's blockbuster movie quality and lack of player-input in the "Cutscenes". I don't care if it's ultimately meaningless, I just want to be able to select most of what my character says. If a crewmate asks of the player's opinion I don't want my character automatically answering something the writers wanted to force in. Treat the player as if it's their character and not the writer's mouthpiece.

 

[Linkenski]

Leviathan really should have been included in the main game. That changes the entire perspective of the universe in those games.

I'm in the camp that hates the ending so much that I had mood swings in the weeks after I beat the game and I think Leviathan is the most cheapest cop-out I've ever seen. "oops, we forgot to foreshadow!? Let's quickly make something up. They're too stupid to realise we didn't know about it before we wrote the ending! (hopefully)"

It's a really generic and lackluster background for the reapers. The fact that they simply call the creatures "Leviathans" didn't help either. I wanted Reapers to be above other organic beings in intelligenece and perception. Leviathans just look like big squids and the fact that they exist in the same timeline as humans kinda ruin the wonder of discovering the threat in ME1 because it was supposed to be ancient.

 

[Vashetti]

Leviathan really should have been included in the main game. That changes the entire perspective of the universe in those games.

I hope if they do port the trilogy to PS4/XB1, they embed all of the DLC into the game properly.

Aria shouldn't be sat in Purgatory on the Citadel if I've already helped her retake Omega.

 

[Dr.Acula]

The perfect game would have the exploration of ME1, the combat of ME3, and the holstering of ME2.

 

[Patryn]

The perfect game would have the exploration of ME1, the combat of ME3, and the holstering of ME2.

You can holster in ME1.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

Perhaps the murmurs of the PS4/XB1 1080p trilogy port is their way of allowing players to take their saves into the next game.

Probably

I'll double dip, no hesitation

 

[Plissken]

Apologies if this has been asked already, but is there a "complete" edition of the trilogy anywhere? I see that the trilogy box set released a year ago has some of the DLC, but not all of it. Am I stuck buying that and then getting nickel and dimed for the DLC if I want everything? Or have they released a set with everything, and I just can't find it?

 

[Vashetti]

Apologies if this has been asked already, but is there a "complete" edition of the trilogy anywhere? I see that the trilogy box set released a year ago has some of the DLC, but not all of it. Am I stuck buying that and then getting nickel and dimed for the DLC if I want everything? Or have they released a set with everything, and I just can't find it?

There is no COMPLETE set.

 

[Mindlog]

ME1 had a laughable inventory and loot system, as well as economy, ( mean seriously how can you not include item stacking?) but, y'know, something better than nothing. Maybe the ME'4' team will take a look at any RPG made over the last 3 decade for some inspiration on that front.

I would rather they make the entire new trilogy about the Star Child.

RPG comes saddled with all kinds of dead weight. Wish they would just ditch genre labels entirely. An economy based loot system would be so much more interesting. In a game about exploration wouldn't it be more interesting to trade in the information you've discovered?

Traditional RPG: Visit the Raloi homeworld. Fight some stuff, do some things, and find random crap in the environment.
"Hey look at this. The Raloi somehow managed to have all these upgrades appropriate to my level and it all fits even though their legs are double jointed."

What could be: Visit the Raloi homeworld. Fight some stuff and do some things. Offer the information you've gained to appropriate channels for cash and rewards.
"Hey listen to this. The Raloi love pizza. Send them pizza and your negotiations will go better. You owe me credits and a lead on the armor I asked for."

Nothing was a better reminder of this than Tungsten/Shredder ammo in the first Mass Effect. I had to grind and at times save/reload in order to make sure some random mooks and boxes had what I needed at a certain level. Somehow the Alliance requistion officer on a brand new prototype vessel couldn't get it done and sell me the upgrades. Somehow the Citadel SPECTRE organization couldn't get it done.

The perfect game would have the exploration of ME1, the combat of ME3, and the holstering of ME2.

Hrm.
Pacing of Mass Effect 1.
Combat of Mass Effect 3.
Context sensitive loot.
Entirely new level structure.
Minimized load screens of Mass Effect 1.
Refinement of in-world AAR's from Mass Effect 2.
Faction/NPC status of Alpha Protocol.
Dead Batarians.

 

[Enduin]

Perhaps the murmurs of the PS4/XB1 1080p trilogy port is their way of allowing players to take their saves into the next game.

What is there to import? If they do anything I imagine it will be like DAI with the Dragon Age Keep that lets you pick and choose what choices you want, but even the next ME isn't going to have a whole lot to choose from. Endings cannot be honored. Maybe who lived and who died could be used for cameos or history logs, genophage could come into play depending on how they want to utilize the Krogan, but I have a feeling they'll just walk that one back to whichever suits the game's needs not what the players chose. Geth and Quarian will be the same, I expect they'll choose cooperation between the two rather than wiping out one or the other.

Personally, I would rather the pick an ending, and jump and few hundred (thousand?) years into the future. There's a reason they're not calling the game Mass Effect 4, and if they're just going to stick to dealing with the near-immediate fallout of the ending of the trilogy, well then they might as well just call it Mass Effect 4.

I loved the trilogy, I enjoyed the characters, but that story's over. And the universe is so detailed, and the lore so rich, that they can afford to make a clean break from the trilogy and give us something new.

I'll play Mass Effect: Shadow Broker's Revenge whatever it ends up being. But I do admit that i'd a bit disappointed if it ends up being 40 hours of "Spot That Reference".

They shit the bed, now they have to deal with it. I don't want the game to dwell on ME3's events but simply to realistically portray the results of that event, like a great man once said "This is what happens when you find a stranger in the alps." BioWare found that stranger, now I want to see what happens. Jumping ahead a few hundred years, let alone thousands, is beyond cheap and stupid. It's just an excuse, a very weak and illogical one, to whitewash events from the prior game which then creates a myriad of issues on top of it.

Part of ME's identity is it's a near future setting, what would happen if we had this rapid advancement in technology and discovered a whole galaxy full of sentient races in the matter of a few short decades. If you jump ahead a few centuries, let alone millennia, to separate yourself from the previous games then you are also completely obliterating the connection it has to today. An even bigger issue to me is simply how technology/society would advance in that time. You jump ahead that far and technology is bound to rapidly change, as would society. You'd basically have to recreate everything, which would possibly result in a Galaxy that people don't recognize as ME, and if you don't do that in order to preserve the ME setting and feeling then you have to come up with some half assed excuse as to why things aren't that much different than 500+ years ago which never works out.

Setting the next entry several decades, maybe a century, after ME3 is a lot of time in the ME universe, at least for humans. I mean the events of ME only take place 36 years after Humans discover the Prothean ruins on Mars, another 50-100 years would be a hell of a lot of time for things to advance and all sorts of stuff in the galaxy to change.

 

[Lakitu]

Do people want the Citadel back for a fourth game?

 

[Vashetti]

Do people want the Citadel back for a fourth game?

Yes.

No question.

 

[Plissken]

There is no COMPLETE set.

Well crap. Guess I'll just wait then, they've gotta release a complete version at some point, right?


right?

 

[MC Safety]

The perfect game would have the exploration of ME1, the combat of ME3, and the holstering of ME2.

The inability to put your weapons away in Mass Effect was so annoying.

I know BioWare had a long, involved excuse for why they couldn't do it. But the more it explained it, the more annoying the lack of holstering became.

 

[Zen]

Do people want the Citadel back for a fourth game?

Yes and I want this Citadel back.

 

[Matt Attack]

Do people want the Citadel back for a fourth game?

I really want a big, beautiful citadel. Like a more fully realized version of the one in the first game.

 

[Patryn]

The inability to put your weapons away in Mass Effect was so annoying.

I know BioWare had a long, involved excuse for why they couldn't do it. But the more it explained it, the more annoying the lack of holstering became.

I hope you typo'd and meant Mass Effect 3, but you could definitely holster in ME1. I ran around the Citadel constantly pulling my gun out and shooting around and putting it away.

 

[MC Safety]

I hope you typo'd and meant Mass Effect 3, but you could definitely holster in ME1. I ran around the Citadel constantly pulling my gun out and shooting around and putting it away.

Oh, duh.

Mass Effect had holstering. Mass Effect 3 did not.

Mea culpa.

I would also love a Mass Effect side story with Conrad Verner: The Forgotten Spectre.

 

[Sulik2]

Oh, duh.

Mass Effect had holstering. Mass Effect 3 did not.

Mea culpa.

They didn't have enough memory on consoles to put holstering in ME3.

A next-gen only ME focused on exploration sounds amazing. I really hope we start getting some actual public news on this game soon.

I would love a completely trilogy and DLC port to PS4.

 

[Koyuga]

Thank goodness others agree that Destroy is the logical 'official' ending choice.

All along Shepard kept saying that we have to destroy the Reapers, so it made sense for me in that moment to destroy them. I didn't even think about it, Shepard wouldn't have had such a drastic change of character right there to choose something else.

But that also killls the geth, doesn't it? Also EDI. Seemed like it would be a scumbag thing for shepard to do after she/he gave them individuality and a second chance at peace with the quarians. Is it really okay to genocide an entire species when there are other options on the table?
Synthesis seemed like the best option for me, but also the most boring.

 

[eot]

The worst part of not being able to holster your gun in ME3 is that the run animation looks so fucked with a gun out. Shepard is completely stiff and it's like the legs move independently of the rest of the body, same shit in ME2. I never understood how they could make that animation so bad, it was fine in ME1.

 

[Matt Attack]

But that also killls the geth, doesn't it? Also EDI. Seemed like it would be a scumbag thing for shepard to do after she/he gave them individuality and a second chance at peace with the quarians. Is it really okay to genocide an entire species when there are other options on the table?
Synthesis seemed like the best option for me, but also the most boring.

I agree with Synthesis making the most sense. My Shepard definitely didn't like genocide. Unfortunately I'm usually forced to pick Control because I don't want to condemn the denizens of the galaxy to live with those hideous green wires and creepy glowing eyes.

 

[Patryn]

I agree with Synthesis making the most sense. My Shepard definitely didn't like genocide. Unfortunately I'm usually forced to pick Control because I don't want to condemn the denizens of the galaxy to live with those hideous green wires and creepy glowing eyes.

That's my thinking, despite the fact that Shepard spent the entire game being all "You can't control the Reapers!" until Star Kid is like "jk you totally can".

The contrivance of the ending is what gets me the most, as Bioware was clearly aware that they had to do something to make Destroy not be the no-brainer choice.

 

[MC Safety]

They didn't have enough memory on consoles to put holstering in ME3.
.

I think the holstering issue also applied to the PC versions, but it was fixed by a fan modification.

 

[The Smoking Bun]

I really want a big, beautiful citadel. Like a more fully realized version of the one in the first game.

And it must have Assassin's Creed level density of people.

That's my thinking, despite the fact that Shepard spent the entire game being all "You can't control the Reapers!" until Star Kid is like "jk you totally can".

The contrivance of the ending is what gets me the most, as Bioware was clearly aware that they had to do something to make Destroy not be the no-brainer choice.

Same. Didn't want to sacrifice EDI or my Geth friends either who were far more honest than the entire Quarian Admirality Board except Tali.

Control: Self Sacrifice
Synthesis: Sacrifice Everything for an unknown potentially positive future
Destroy: Sacrifice Synthethics even though WE are collectively responsible

 

[The Smoking Bun]

edit

 

[Vashetti]

But that also killls the geth, doesn't it? Also EDI. Seemed like it would be a scumbag thing for shepard to do after she/he gave them individuality and a second chance at peace with the quarians. Is it really okay to genocide an entire species when there are other options on the table?
Synthesis seemed like the best option for me, but also the most boring.

I figured we'd just make EDI again

The geth I didn't care about, I already got rid of them when Tali committed suicide. I reloaded my save after that one.

 

[Enduin]

That's my thinking, despite the fact that Shepard spent the entire game being all "You can't control the Reapers!" until Star Kid is like "jk you totally can".

The contrivance of the ending is what gets me the most, as Bioware was clearly aware that they had to do something to make Destroy not be the no-brainer choice.

They'll ignore that. Geth will live and so will EDI. It was a stupid caveat.

 

[digoutyoursoul]

Do people want the Citadel back for a fourth game?

Yes, some detective style side missions there would be welcome

 

[Bisnic]

The worst part of not being able to holster your gun in ME3 is that the run animation looks so fucked with a gun out. Shepard is completely stiff and it's like the legs move independently of the rest of the body, same shit in ME2. I never understood how they could make that animation so bad, it was fine in ME1.

ME1 running animation was unnatural as well. Perhaps you need to play it again.

 

[TC McQueen]

Same. Didn't want to sacrifice EDI or my Geth friends either who were far more honest than the entire Quarian Admirality Board except Tali.

Control: Self Sacrifice
Synthesis: Sacrifice Everything for an unknown potentially positive future
Destroy: Sacrifice Synthethics even though WE are collectively responsible

I really hated the BS about the pulse killing the Geth because they had Reaper code in them, especially when I got the Geth and Quarians to stop killing each other. Why? Because that seemed like something that could be averted by getting the Geth to shutdown a few seconds before activating the death pulse.

 

[TheUnsunghero26]

Oh, duh.

Mass Effect had holstering. Mass Effect 3 did not.

That was one of the most annoying things about ME3. They said it was due to the memory it takes to load the animations. At a panel, a BioWare dev said that everything they had to cut was due to the PS3, so I'd imagine holstering falls under that.

I've also heard that the radar caused performance drops, which is the reason why it it only appears when you hold RB/LB. Dont remember where I heard that though.

 

[HalfBakedProphet]

Yes, some detective style side missions there would be welcome

hell yes. Space detective is the direction i hope they go. And you could make any entire game around just the citadel really. (Not that I'd want that)

The whole "save the galaxy" story killed a lot of the potential this series had, I think. Even though it was a bit wonky and reused a lot of assets, the exploration of desolate planets in ME1 really set the tone and atmosphere. It was intimate, I felt like I was creating my own story. They threw a lot of different scenarios at you in the sidequests which helped build rapport with squadmates and made my play through feel unique.

Once the focus turned to the incoming apocalypse, that was lost. I wish they had stuck on refining the original vision rather than shootbang corridors. I really hope the next Mass Effect is more about being a spectre (and the freedom it allows), focused on a smaller story and exploration. I'm not so narcissist that I need the whole game to turn me into fucking space Jesus and this chosen hero bullshit

 

[Linkenski]

I want to say one thing that I took away from the ending that I liked... and it was this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W1GJp5qcDM

Outstanding music and visual atmosphere IMO. It really showed a potential and impact the ending could've had or just ME3 as a whole, and while its sad to think it didn't for most, I still think the music and scenery delivered totally. They saved the best for last in that regard.

EDIT: Ignore the thumbnail in the youtube link... I hope not everyone associates this music with "evil"

 

[i-Lo]

If it is to be a reboot of sorts (parallel storyline) then what kind of music are you guys looking for? More traditional pieces like in ME2 and 3 or more esoteric/synth stuff akin to ME1?

 

[prag16]

6. Sequel to the trilogy is likely.
Unfortunately our sources would not confirm exactly when Mass Effect 4 takes place in the canon. That being said, we were stressed that all signs point to this being a forward moving continuation of the franchise. As BioWare has said many times before, we’ve also been told that all things “Commander Shepard trilogy” will not be continued in this game; the trilogy is over, and this is something new. That being said, the implication is that this narrative is set canonically post-Mass Effect 3. What does this mean for the multiple endings? We don’t know. Oddly, we’ve been told that “flashback” like sequences to franchise/lore canonical events are not out of the question.

Hmm. In terms of the "flashback" like sequences, I wonder if it'd be the game basically asking the player what they did during the original trilogy in a thinly veiled manner.. That'd be odd for new players.

I think a vague mishmash of all three endings as EatChildren mentioned maybe more likely. Can probably get away with it if it's set a couple hundred years later if they do it right.

 

[Melchiah]

This is my general view of things. I also think the next game should directly address the fallout of ME3 within a short time span of 50-100 years. BioWare needs to choose an ending, 90% chance it will be Destroy but with some caveats like the Geth survived, and then set the game in that universe where things have noticeably changed due to a near galactic wide extermination and all out war with a superior entity.

I don't want the game to dwell on the events of ME3, I don't need them to work overly hard to explain what happened and why, just choose the universe you want it to be in and show the results of that choice as we explore it and play the game.

There are a lot of things they need to address. Like how will the different races recover, or falter, after their near extinction. What kind of alliances and decisions will they make because of that. Play around with how easy or rather difficult it may be to repair and restore the Mass Relay System and how long periods of isolation maybe have changed some areas and portions of races. Would there be a push for new means of galactic travel outside the Mass Relays? How would it work, and more importantly what would there be to find in the vastness of space not connected by the MRS and who would be daring enough to explore those uncharted areas? Hint maybe the player?

How would having tons of dead Reapers affect the advancement of technology and science. Would that initiate another Mass Effect similar to what humans experienced after the discovery of the Prothean base on Mars? How would various races and factions within them feel about using the same technology that nearly wiped them out. Would government ban Reaper tech or heavily regulate it producing a vast blackmarket and industry for secretly acquiring, researching and developing Reaper based tech.

Put us in this galaxy and let us explore, literally and figuratively, the changes that have occurred after the events of ME3. My biggest fear is that they'll just explain away the events of ME1-3 and return things to business as usual, here's ME4 and a universe not much different from before.

That's definitely something I'd like to see.

 

[prag16]

Mass Effect: First Contact

 

[Melchiah]

I agree with Synthesis making the most sense. My Shepard definitely didn't like genocide. Unfortunately I'm usually forced to pick Control because I don't want to condemn the denizens of the galaxy to live with those hideous green wires and creepy glowing eyes.

That's my thinking, despite the fact that Shepard spent the entire game being all "You can't control the Reapers!" until Star Kid is like "jk you totally can".

The contrivance of the ending is what gets me the most, as Bioware was clearly aware that they had to do something to make Destroy not be the no-brainer choice.

Same. Didn't want to sacrifice EDI or my Geth friends either who were far more honest than the entire Quarian Admirality Board except Tali.

Control: Self Sacrifice
Synthesis: Sacrifice Everything for an unknown potentially positive future
Destroy: Sacrifice Synthethics even though WE are collectively responsible

The Extended Cut's added Refusal ending is what made the most sense to me. After all, they took so much stuff out of Babylon 5, including the three choices, so why would Sheridan, I mean Shepard, suddenly choose to bow down and do what the ancient enemies dictate?

Get the hell out of our galaxy!
http://youtu.be/-tj4qfe9afs