Well, you could try something like MEHEM (the Mass Effect (3) Happy Ending Mod) + the CEM (Citadel Epilogue Mod) - CEM revises Citadel to be a playable epilogue.
More here (CEM link in the "Other Story Mods That Go Well With MEHEM" section.)
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The Mass Effect Community Thread
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Well, you could try something like MEHEM (the Mass Effect (3) Happy Ending Mod) + the CEM (Citadel Epilogue Mod) - CEM revises Citadel to be a playable epilogue.
More here (CEM link in the "Other Story Mods That Go Well With MEHEM" section.)
Oh yeah...I forgot that the series came to ps3 way later.
Citadel was Mass Effect 3's "The Trouble With Tribbles" - a lighthearted change of pace episode where you get to see the more humorous, down-to-earth side of Our Heroes. As such, it made the series feel complete to me - it's something I'd expect to see in the kind of space opera series ME aspires to be, and now that it's there, I feel like the trilogy finally went to all the places I expected it to, if that makes sense.
The party was definitely the high point of the DLC for me, and I highly recommend playing through it if you can get past your reluctance.
Later Alligator
Member
got the trilogy of amazon a few months ago and finished #1 shortly after, loved it
playing another game in my backlog but will get to #2 after that
playing another game in my backlog but will get to #2 after that
Oh, as a personal fan theory it's totally valid. But to expect or believe that it's always been Bioware's intent that it be the true ending is delusional beyond belief.
There is not a single shred of evidence that the game was supposed to end with things unfinished and Shepard indoctrinated. They have revised the ending twice now, and both times flesh out the current ending. They previously said they didn't want to make any games set post-ME3, and appear to only have changed their minds when fan outcry made them realize they were being stupid, so when were they originally supposed to present a "new" ending?
The Shepard trilogy is over, and that more than likely means the Reaper story is over (thank god). To expect the next game to open up with you still having to finish the fight is opening yourself to total disappointment. Indoctrination Theory's time was between the original release and the release of Extended Cut. When EC released with no reference to it, the theory was dead.
As an aside, what do you mean 'they've revised the ending twice now'? Extended edition DLC sure, but have I been so out of the loop that I missed a second revision?
Fair! I think I was (and am) still so despondent with the ending to the trilogy that I wasn't in the mood for a light hearted celebratory tale. I, simply put, wasn't in the mood for something that took the integrity of the universe lightly after to my mind it had been so thoroughly disrespected in its finale hour anyway.
I laughed a few times during the DLC and I enjoyed the gameplay (as per usual), but the entire exercise felt unearned, as if the creators were congratulating themselves through providing such content to the player.
But if they were, I can't really blame them for doing it in spite of my sour grapes. The guy who tightened up the graphics on level 5 wasn't the one who wrote the ending, after all. Missteps aside, the series is wonderful, I still remember having goose bumps and barely breathing during the entire end sequence of Mass Effect 1, and honestly it is pretty much my favorite long running Sci Fi world (Deeps Space 9 be damned!) which is quite the accomplishment and I really shouldn't under state.
Also, like I said, in a lot of ways I didn't want Mass Effect to be over. That's it folks! Nothing left to experience, no final punctuation beyond that ending! At the time I don't think the idea of a new entry in the franchise was a sure thing, but I might be mistaken.
I'll give the party a go.
Fair! I think I was (and am) still so despondent with the ending to the trilogy that I wasn't in the mood for a light hearted celebratory tale. I, simply put, wasn't in the mood for something that took the integrity of the universe lightly after to my mind it had been so thoroughly disrespected in its finale hour anyway.
I laughed a few times during the DLC and I enjoyed the gameplay (as per usual), but the entire exercise felt unearned, as if the creators were congratulating themselves through providing such content to the player.
But if they were, I can't really blame them for doing it in spite of my sour grapes. The guy who tightened up the graphics on level 5 wasn't the one who wrote the ending, after all. Missteps aside, the series is wonderful, I still remember having goose bumps and barely breathing during the entire end sequence of Mass Effect 1, and honestly it is pretty much my favorite long running Sci Fi world (Deeps Space 9 be damned!) which is quite the accomplishment and I really shouldn't under state.
Also, like I said, in a lot of ways I didn't want Mass Effect to be over. That's it folks! Nothing left to experience, no final punctuation beyond that ending! At the time I don't think the idea of a new entry in the franchise was a sure thing, but I might be mistaken.
I'll give the party a go.
bengraven
Member
ME1 - awesome visuals, awesome story, bland combat, bland characters. It was a 6/10 for me.
ME2 - fantastic environments, combat was much better, music wasn't nearly as good, atmosphere was pretty tight, fantastic characters, decent story. 9/10
ME3 - is basically 2.5. 7/10
This is my favorite new universe created for games, perhaps ever, and I'm excited to see where we go in the future. That said, I'm still disappointed in a few things: ME1's lack of "fun" and exploration, something I was expecting - the game just felt linear and everyone was bland; I fucking hate Shephard male's voice and will forever; obviously how short ME3 is, though I don't mind the ending and prefer the "Director's Cut" that gave you more finality with your characters; and how they basically punished you for caring about anyone in ME2.
ME2 - fantastic environments, combat was much better, music wasn't nearly as good, atmosphere was pretty tight, fantastic characters, decent story. 9/10
ME3 - is basically 2.5. 7/10
This is my favorite new universe created for games, perhaps ever, and I'm excited to see where we go in the future. That said, I'm still disappointed in a few things: ME1's lack of "fun" and exploration, something I was expecting - the game just felt linear and everyone was bland; I fucking hate Shephard male's voice and will forever; obviously how short ME3 is, though I don't mind the ending and prefer the "Director's Cut" that gave you more finality with your characters; and how they basically punished you for caring about anyone in ME2.
Yeah, it was a bit lazy to not just add it to the PC version, but they pushed the consoles to their absolute limits with ME3.
Soundtrack wise I'm hoping we get a lot more of this
Mars Ambient
It was only a small part of the Mars track, but outside of An End, Once And For All and Suicide Mission was perfect Mass Effect music in my opinion.
Mars Ambient
It was only a small part of the Mars track, but outside of An End, Once And For All and Suicide Mission was perfect Mass Effect music in my opinion.
If we wanna speculate here, y'know what I would have liked to have seen? Mass Effect 3 not actually ending the Reaper war, but simply beginning it, or at least beginning to turn the tide in biological life's favor. Liken Earth to the battle of Stalingrad, and then have do a whole other trilogy about the war. To me, the Reaper War sounds like something that should have taken MUCH longer than it actually did. It would have been cool to see it become a five-to-six-year conflict not unlike WWII -- truly the great war of their time. But whatever, there are probably much better things BioWare could do.
Anyway, if they are indeed moving beyond the ME3 ending, I think they need to tackle one unavoidable fact -- that humanity and the other races have all of a sudden been catapulted from being a Type II civilization to a Type III with galaxy-wide control, or will very soon become one. Fuck rebuilding relays, they've probably figured out the travel technology behind them, and might be able to straight-up build it into ships. The Protheans figured out how to, essentially, build a relay that looked small enough to fit on a large ship. Not to mention, at the time of ME1, only about two percent of the galaxy had actually been explored. Who the fuck knows what other civilizations might have remained hidden. I think with that in mind, exploration needs to be a major theme here.
Anyway, if they are indeed moving beyond the ME3 ending, I think they need to tackle one unavoidable fact -- that humanity and the other races have all of a sudden been catapulted from being a Type II civilization to a Type III with galaxy-wide control, or will very soon become one. Fuck rebuilding relays, they've probably figured out the travel technology behind them, and might be able to straight-up build it into ships. The Protheans figured out how to, essentially, build a relay that looked small enough to fit on a large ship. Not to mention, at the time of ME1, only about two percent of the galaxy had actually been explored. Who the fuck knows what other civilizations might have remained hidden. I think with that in mind, exploration needs to be a major theme here.
Nostremitus
Member
So, once the Reapers are destroyed, what's to stop the Leviathans from deciding to retake the galaxy?
I think the thing that pains me most, looking back on it now, is that there was so much potential in the initial premise that went unrealized, and there's just no going back to it now. Just this idea of humanity as newcomers in the galactic community, trying to prove their worth and establish a place for themselves, and your character being the first human Spectre - having to balance the extraordinary privileges of the position with the responsibility of representing Humanity in a positive light, dealing with the prejudices of humans and non-humans alike (I would've loved to have seen some different reactions to Shepard's liaisons with aliens - imagine a human politico or military figure accusing Shep of pro-Asari bias because he's publicly involved with Liara, for example)...
I'd've also liked to see a bigger focus on investigative stuff as the series moved forward. Some scenario where you're working as a Spectre, dealing with various problems, and it gradually becomes clear over time that there's a guiding intelligence behind these seemingly unrelated incidents, eventually leading back to the Reapers. Wouldn't've been too hard to justify him/her putting together a "Dirty Dozen"-type squad a la ME 2 as a Spectre, either. I'd've preferred something like that to the whole Cerberus thing we eventually got, I think.
At the end of ME1, I could've imagined the series going more in that direction, and I'd've been thrilled if it had. I enjoyed what we did get - the characters and setting carried the series for me - but I feel the overarching plot shifted focus partway in, and a lot of those interesting elements ended up getting short shrift. It's kind of a shame, really.
I'd've also liked to see a bigger focus on investigative stuff as the series moved forward. Some scenario where you're working as a Spectre, dealing with various problems, and it gradually becomes clear over time that there's a guiding intelligence behind these seemingly unrelated incidents, eventually leading back to the Reapers. Wouldn't've been too hard to justify him/her putting together a "Dirty Dozen"-type squad a la ME 2 as a Spectre, either. I'd've preferred something like that to the whole Cerberus thing we eventually got, I think.
At the end of ME1, I could've imagined the series going more in that direction, and I'd've been thrilled if it had. I enjoyed what we did get - the characters and setting carried the series for me - but I feel the overarching plot shifted focus partway in, and a lot of those interesting elements ended up getting short shrift. It's kind of a shame, really.
perfectly said, I have to say that the shift in focus of the series has always left a lingering sour aftertaste in my mouth, though I still love the universe tremendously.
Space Explorer > Space Soldier, and the thing that we are hearing from the team for the new Mass Effect would seem to suggest that they agree! So here is to future possibilities!
Space Explorer > Space Soldier, and the thing that we are hearing from the team for the new Mass Effect would seem to suggest that they agree! So here is to future possibilities!
Mass Effect definitely became more "space soldier" instead of "space explorer" after ME1. Probably to appeal to the Call of Duty audience BioWare admitted it wanted.
exmachina64
Banned
Nothing.
SpoonyBard
Banned
Shepard = Sheridan and Liara = Delenn. But seriously, that would be interesting, but that would have meant that the relationship aspect of the game was made more linear.
Shit, I didn't even consider this.
What are the Leviathans doing in the post-Reaper ME universe?!
Can they even breathe outside of water? How would they move about if so?
SpoonyBard
Banned
Are there more than 3 of them? Sorry, I only watched the DLC cutscenes from Youtube...
I'm not sure. I played the DLC for the first time the other day, I don't remember any indication of there being more than three, but then there was nothing to say those were the only Leviathans left either.
Leviathan tweaks the ending. More specifically, it adds new dialogue to the Star Child conversation to fill in some gaps.
Also, I want them to drop everything to do with the Leviathans and the Reapers. That story is over and they fucked it up beyond belief. Let's move onto something new.
TheUnsunghero26
Member
Is the Omega DLC worth it? It's the only major DLC I haven't played in the series. I think the price and lack of hub initally turned me off.
Side note: Pinnacle Station gets a lot of hate, but I still think it has the best reward. Would have been better if the squad mates came to the apartment though.
Wish we got more ME1 DLC. Shame the Caleston DLC was cancelled.
Side note: Pinnacle Station gets a lot of hate, but I still think it has the best reward. Would have been better if the squad mates came to the apartment though.
Wish we got more ME1 DLC. Shame the Caleston DLC was cancelled.
In Mass Effect 4, I would love to explore Citadel of this scale.
Make that 8 gb ram count Bioware.
That's the size of an Assassin's Creed city! Ain't nobody got time to explore all that!
I was thinking that would be one of those things that would lead to different reactions from different factions depending on your choices. You might have to deal with the biases other races have against the Quarians if you hooked up with Tali, for instance. Maybe there'd be positive and negative reactions to you from your partner's race, depending on their outlook toward humans in general. Maybe your partner would be under pressure to break off their relationship with you because you're a human, and you'd have to decide how to deal with that.
So there'd be choices to make - do you stick with a human partner because it's politically more "safe" back home, or even refuse to get into a relationship because you don't want to deal with the political fallout? Do you get involved with an alien member of the crew, but choose to keep it on the down-low, with possible repercussions (partner's resentment at being treated like a "dirty little secret"' possibly leading to fights and even a breakup depending on how you handle things?) Or do you proudly embrace your cross-species relationship regardless of the possible consequences, and Renegade interrupt the crap out of anyone who tries to give you grief over it?
Not that there's anything inherently wrong with the current "pick who you think is cutest and try to hook up with him/her" mechanic, but I was envisioning something where your choices in the relationship department would have more far-ranging effects, and the player would have to decide how much (if at all) they wanted to let that influence their character's personal life.
Ehh, the Omega DLC was okay but not spectacular. It's a good piece of content if you've read the Mass Effect - Invasion comic arc, as it ties directly into it. Leviathan and Citadel are certainly my personal favourites though.
And for people checking out Mass Effect music, my suggesting would be to check out the Upper Afterlife fan mix, which I found a while back through the BioWare forums. I highly recommend it!
Tell me about it. : / I picked up the N7 edition of ME 3 (the one that included From Ashes) on sale for something like $7.50. All the story DLC set me back another $40. At this point in the game, that really felt like gouging to me. Most other companies would've released a GOTY/"complete" edition by now that includes all the DLC at a resonable price. : /
eot
Banned
I hope they move away a bit from the standard BioWare formula with Mass Effect 4. I don't want to feel like I know the possibility space of the game before I even play it. I want to be surprised by say the scope of the party member interaction. They just have so much internal game design baggage. Of course part of that is what makes their games successful, but I kinda want them to start fresh and make a game that doesn't feel like it fits the exact template of "BioWare game".
Spectral Entity
Member
Wow, glad to see there is an ME community present on GAF!
Anyway, without reading through a year's worth of posts, I would really like to see the ME universe pick up maybe 250 years after the end of the Shepard trilogy.
That seems enough time for the Citadel races to discover new relays, activate the ones they knew about but never turned on out of fear of what was on the other side (this was mentioned in the Codex), and possibly even learn enough about the relays to repair the ones destroyed after the Catalyst overload.
And what about the Citadel?
The Extended Cut scenes seem to imply the Citadel was rebuilt in Earth's orbit at some point, so if one wanted to stretch then perhaps that means the remaining survivors in our area learned how to jump around the galaxy (maybe the Tantalus drive came back into use?) without the need for the relays (didn't the relays use the Citadel as a nexus?).
Also, if there was anyone still holding out hope that Penguin was going to issue a second, revised edition of Deception can stop.
I was reminded of the revision a couple months back and emailed Bill Dietz asking him about it:
Hi Bill,
I was searching to see if the second edition of Deception was available and came across a tweet someone made with Del Ray instructing them to get in touch with you.
Just curious as to whether the revised edition will ever be released, or if has fallen by the wayside?
Take care Bill,
Robert
Sent from my Lumia 925 Windows Phone
Here is his response:
Hey, Robert... Sorry, I have no idea what the status of that project might be. I don't know why Del Rey would refer to people to me... ME Deception was what we writers refer to as work for hire. Meaning an author who is hired on a project basis and has no right to do anything on his/her own. So it sounds like a misunderstanding to me.
Best,
Bill
Anyway, without reading through a year's worth of posts, I would really like to see the ME universe pick up maybe 250 years after the end of the Shepard trilogy.
That seems enough time for the Citadel races to discover new relays, activate the ones they knew about but never turned on out of fear of what was on the other side (this was mentioned in the Codex), and possibly even learn enough about the relays to repair the ones destroyed after the Catalyst overload.
And what about the Citadel?
The Extended Cut scenes seem to imply the Citadel was rebuilt in Earth's orbit at some point, so if one wanted to stretch then perhaps that means the remaining survivors in our area learned how to jump around the galaxy (maybe the Tantalus drive came back into use?) without the need for the relays (didn't the relays use the Citadel as a nexus?).
Also, if there was anyone still holding out hope that Penguin was going to issue a second, revised edition of Deception can stop.
I was reminded of the revision a couple months back and emailed Bill Dietz asking him about it:
Hi Bill,
I was searching to see if the second edition of Deception was available and came across a tweet someone made with Del Ray instructing them to get in touch with you.
Just curious as to whether the revised edition will ever be released, or if has fallen by the wayside?
Take care Bill,
Robert
Sent from my Lumia 925 Windows Phone
Here is his response:
Hey, Robert... Sorry, I have no idea what the status of that project might be. I don't know why Del Rey would refer to people to me... ME Deception was what we writers refer to as work for hire. Meaning an author who is hired on a project basis and has no right to do anything on his/her own. So it sounds like a misunderstanding to me.
Best,
Bill
I think one of my favorites was the Ilos track that wasn't included in the OST:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHkBFymRiOs
And of course, Vigil, which for me is Mass Effect:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7f-g5dWfGk
Just one of those tracks you can leave looping in the background for hours while you do things, or drift off to sleep to.
Suicide Mission's another favorite of mine. Still, I think ME 1's soundtrack is probably my favorite of the three overall.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHkBFymRiOs
And of course, Vigil, which for me is Mass Effect:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7f-g5dWfGk
Just one of those tracks you can leave looping in the background for hours while you do things, or drift off to sleep to.
Suicide Mission's another favorite of mine. Still, I think ME 1's soundtrack is probably my favorite of the three overall.
The Mass Effect DLC pricing makes no goddamn sense. I don't think it's dropped... ever. What's more fucked up is that even though it's gone on sale a few times on consoles, it hasn't on PC because you still have to buy it through BioWare points.
Lastly, other than the PS3 version of ME2, Mass Effect has had no GOTY or "Gold" editions. Even the goddamn trilogy set didn't include the DLC.
So I was looking at buying ME3 and the dlc but it seems like the dlc is still the same price as its release? I expected it would be cheaper or at least a discounted package or something 
I've only tried BioWare/Origin so far but yeah, still pretty expensive everything together for a 2012 game.
I've only tried BioWare/Origin so far but yeah, still pretty expensive everything together for a 2012 game.
I don't want to linger over the point. I'm not a programmer, and I understand full well choices have to be made to facilitate gameplay.
Were it my call, I would have compromised in some other area.
I decided to get the band back together and run some ME3 with my brother in law.... man it's still my favorite multiplayer game this generation and for as much hate as the campaign got it's still great. When you took down a reaper on Rannoch man that was an absolute classic moment. pretending to save T'chunka, shooting Mordin, murking Wrex .... aww man those feels (my renegade play through), dang I think I want to run through it on insanity and get that platinum
Always feels kind of strange to hear someone reminisce fondly about doing things in ME that you didn't (and in my case, wouldn't want to). I think that's a big part of the appeal of ME, though - how personal an experience each person's playthrough is, how the way things play out is shaped by your desires and decisions.
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
So I was looking at buying ME3 and the dlc but it seems like the dlc is still the same price as its release? I expected it would be cheaper or at least a discounted package or something
I've only tried BioWare/Origin so far but yeah, still pretty expensive everything together for a 2012 game.
PC DLC for BW games rarely if ever drops in price. It's super dumb.
TheUnsunghero26
Member
Platinum hits version of ME1 has Bring Down The Sky and a bunch of other awesome content. That was put out by MS though, maybe EA just wanted get as much money as they could from the DLC?
Maybe!?
I wish I had known the DLC wasn't included with the Trilogy release. Too late to take it back though. Is ME3 PC multiplayer still active?
The closest we got to a discount was a price error on BW points years back.
rocksteady1983
Member
Same here. Sadly I've never gotten any of the dlc cause it always seemed so expensive, never goes on sale, and has never had a "game of the year" or "complete edition" which is weird.
I don't know about anyone else but I hope the next game is a one off. If BioWare were to go down the route I've championed, I think it would be most beneficial to frame it within a self contained story and not something that requires multiple parts. I don't want to jump back into another grand save the galaxy saga yet, but I would love something more personal and limited in scope. I want BioWare to really take the time to plan out the next big saga from start to end.
I'd love to play as a soldier of fortune or rogue-ish type character that is out for glory or vengeance or something personal. Have the game focus on their own goals, and use that as an excuse to have us explore the galaxy. Show us the old familiar places and how they've changed after the Reaper War and then show us new places. Like really new, uncharted space with new worlds and most importantly new races and cultures.
Have all those dead Reapers lead to better FTL travel that allows for super long distance travel outside of the Mass Relay System giving us to access totally virgin regions of the galaxy that may be full of advanced but isolated civilizations.
Tell us a complete story that also reintroduces us to this setting we all love. Show us how things have developed since ME3. Introduce some new elements, races and potential conflicts. Let us explore all of this in an expansive adventure with interesting companions and characters. Then end it in a conclusive and satisfactory way while laying the groundwork for whatever the next great saga awaits us.
I'd love to play as a soldier of fortune or rogue-ish type character that is out for glory or vengeance or something personal. Have the game focus on their own goals, and use that as an excuse to have us explore the galaxy. Show us the old familiar places and how they've changed after the Reaper War and then show us new places. Like really new, uncharted space with new worlds and most importantly new races and cultures.
Have all those dead Reapers lead to better FTL travel that allows for super long distance travel outside of the Mass Relay System giving us to access totally virgin regions of the galaxy that may be full of advanced but isolated civilizations.
Tell us a complete story that also reintroduces us to this setting we all love. Show us how things have developed since ME3. Introduce some new elements, races and potential conflicts. Let us explore all of this in an expansive adventure with interesting companions and characters. Then end it in a conclusive and satisfactory way while laying the groundwork for whatever the next great saga awaits us.
TheUnsunghero26
Member
As of a couple of weeks ago, yes, yes it was. Had no trouble finding open games. : )
Ah, excellent. My XBL subscription ran out so I have to start over. It's gonna be weird playing basic classes again.
Which reminds me, I'm all for visiting every inch of the galaxy, but I also want to explore more of each planet we land on. ME3 was going in the right direction.
I want to be able to visit the different continents of Thessia, Sur'kesh and Palaven. Stuff like that.
I think ME 1 had the right idea. Being able to land on a planet and actually explore it in the Mako was awesome. Things just got more linear as the series went on. :s
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