Mass Effect 3's Ending Won't Affect Andromeda

[ffronw]

Mass Effect 3's Ending Won't Affect Andromeda

//cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/1330/1330909.jpgNo matter what you chose at the end of Mass Effect 3, it won't have any bearing on how Mass Effect: Andromeda plays out.

The Mass Effect 3 ending was a huge controversy when the game released in 2012, and people still debate it to this day. Even though there wasn't much about Mass Effect: Andromeda shown off at E3 last week, we did learn one thing: the new game won't acknowledge anything about what you chose at the end of the previous game.

"We acknowledged it in the endings of Mass Effect 3 and I think that's where we want to leave it for now," Bioware studio head Aaron Flynn told Eurogamer [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-06-20-why-mass-effect-andromeda-wont-acknowledge-your-choice-of-me3-ending] in an interview. "We want this to be a new story and it would be very hard to say it's a new story but also that you need to understand how [the past trilogy] ended."

Other than a single trailer, the game wasn't shown much at E3, and that was largely due to the timing of its release, Flynn said. "There's definitely more stuff we could have shown or talked about. But now we're shipping next spring, the time to really blast all that out there is after the other games come out. We'll be there then to have a great big reveal and release all the details." But he was also quick to put down any ideas that the studio was having issues with the development of the game.


Flynn said, "Dragon Age: Origins was six years. Star Wars: The Old Republic was six years. The original Mass Effect was four. Maybe we're just not the fastest at this!" Bioware has since confirmed that we won't see much more from Andromeda until until November 7, the franchise's annual N7 Day celebration.

Mass Effect: Andromeda is coming in "early 2017" to PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

[gallery=6299]

Permalink

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

...Haven't they been saying that since they announced Mass Effect: Andromeda?

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

...Haven't they been saying that since they announced Mass Effect: Andromeda?

No, but it was sort of a foregone conclusion considering how definite the ME3 ending was. The easy money was always in the assumption that Andromeda would be a soft reboot that distanced itself from the events of ME3 and focused on other things entirely.

 

[MoltenSilver]

So when is Andromeda actually set in the timeline? If it's before ME3 then why would the ending impact it at all in the first place, and if it's after then how do you not acknowledge it? Whether there's some ex-cyborg's consciousness flying around with its fleet of enslaved planet-harvesters or whether the effects of the synthesis ending happened or not seems like the kind of detail that can't really be overlooked in such a setting. What, did that judge from the Simpsons come through the Mass Effect universe and declare no one is to speak of it again under penalty of torture or something?

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

...Haven't they been saying that since they announced Mass Effect: Andromeda?

The average attention span and honest reading comprehension of some gamers is quite low so it sometimes is necessary to repeat pertinent information. Have you ever noticed that people tend to respond to articles/posts without actually reading beyond a title?

 

[Callate]

Given the possible destruction of one or more entire sentient species and the collapse of the relays, it seems that they have to address the previous game in some way if the game takes place later in the timeline- and given the "find a new home for humanity" angle, that seems likely.

Prepare for at least a minor resurgence of old grudges if they decide one of the endings is "canon". But if they have to be heavy-handed with such things, perhaps better that it occur at the beginning than at the end.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Yeah, we kinda guessed that. It's pretty obvious that the entire point of setting the game in another galaxy is to escape from the mess of the original trilogy.

 

[karkashan]

So basically it's a new Mass Effect game in name (and an Asari who'll be all up in our grill for 3 games) only.

praisegrima

 

[SlumlordThanatos]

So when is Andromeda actually set in the timeline? If it's before ME3 then why would the ending impact it at all in the first place, and if it's after then how do you not acknowledge it? Whether there's some ex-cyborg's consciousness flying around with its fleet of enslaved planet-harvesters or whether the effects of the synthesis ending happened or not seems like the kind of detail that can't really be overlooked in such a setting. What, did that judge from the Simpsons come through the Mass Effect universe and declare no one is to speak of it again under penalty of torture or something?

IIRC, the ship that they traveled to the Andromeda galaxy on was built and launched while the Reaper War was still going on. And also keep in mind that even at several times the speed of light, it would still take centuries (if not millennia) to reach Andromeda. The people in ME:A are so far removed from whatever happened in the Milky Way that it really doesn't matter. Synthesis, Destruction, Control, or even Extinction doesn't matter when it would take hundreds (if not thousands) of years to fly back and find out.

 

[Zhukov]

...Haven't they been saying that since they announced Mass Effect: Andromeda?

The average attention span and honest reading comprehension of some gamers is quite low so it sometimes is necessary to repeat pertinent information. Have you ever noticed that people tend to respond to articles/posts without actually reading beyond a title?

Maybe, but this is new to some of us, so it doesn't hurt to say it again.

Although I'd kinda assumed that was the intent of setting it in a different fricken galaxy.

So when is Andromeda actually set in the timeline? If it's before ME3 then why would the ending impact it at all in the first place, and if it's after then how do you not acknowledge it?

Given the possible destruction of one or more entire sentient species and the collapse of the relays, it seems that they have to address the previous game in some way if the game takes place later in the timeline- and given the "find a new home for humanity" angle, that seems likely.

Complete speculation here, but I'm guessing it starts off during the Reaper war with them sending some kind of arc ship to Andromeda to ensure the survival of various species in the event that the Reapers win in the good ol' Milky Way.

Given how far away Andromeda is they might spend years, if not decades, in suspended animation during the trip. So the events of ME3 could already be over but the characters of Andromeda have no way of knowing that. The distance would prevent communication. Even if they had one of those communicators that use pairs of bonded atoms, the corresponding device back home might have got destroyed during the war.

So yeah, they could definitely write this as a clean break, and that's without resorting to bullshit.

Personally I think it would be for the best, all things considered.

EDIT: Fucking ninja'd.

 

[hiddendragonv5]

Personally what Aaron Flynn said offends me on so meany levels. First off the original Mass Effect came out in 2007 not 2011-12. Second how can Andromeda be a continuation if your completely ignore 3 ending, I get why it would be hard to wright for each possible ending, but to not even try or just pick one as cannon makes the writers look lazy? Third it's not about speed it's about quality, I for one didn't hate DA:I, (Tresspasser was the worst but I live in a world where it doesn't happen) but as a fan I want them to make sure it's good I doesn't want another DA2, and I think Bioware/EA doesn't want that either.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

...Haven't they been saying that since they announced Mass Effect: Andromeda?

The average attention span and honest reading comprehension of some gamers is quite low so it sometimes is necessary to repeat pertinent information. Have you ever noticed that people tend to respond to articles/posts without actually reading beyond a title?

Maybe, but this is new to some of us, so it doesn't hurt to say it again.

Although I'd kinda assumed that was the intent of setting it in a different fricken galaxy.

I meant to say that too but sometimes my finger hits post a bit too quick for my mind to catch up.

 

[fix-the-spade]

That's alright, Mass Effect 3's ending had no effect on Mass Effect 3 either.

On a different note, I wonder how Bioware are going to make people care about his game. I expect it to be very good, but Mass Effect was almost entirely about it's characters and the gameplay was relatively basic. Without Shepard and chums what exactly is the draw?

Of course the new crew could be every bit as charming as the old one, but even if they are Bioware still have to convince everyone of it.

 

[thewatergamer]

Meh, I don't think this should surprise anyone considering that (as far as I know) this game does not follow Shepard or any of the crew from the original trilogy, ignoring that abomination that was the last bit of the third game is fine by me, though I am curious to see how the hell Bioware is going to make us give a shit about this new guy and his crew, the original mass effect had the advantage of RPG's like it being somewhat harderish to come by, but now that Bioware has made a trilogy as well as the dragon age series, not to mention the Witcher games and whatever else, yeah they had better really make this new guy interesting

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

As a wise philosopher and mathematician once retorted; "No shit, Sherlock!"

I'm sure there will some hidden lore about the game somewhere that will satisfy (or anger, seething, drooling anger) the more committed fans. A universe creator cannot resist these things.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

How fitting. Nothing you did throughout the whole fucking trilogy affected Mass Effect 3's ending.

 

[Mikeybb]

...Haven't they been saying that since they announced Mass Effect: Andromeda?

No, but it was sort of a foregone conclusion considering how definite the ME3 ending was. The easy money was always in the assumption that Andromeda would be a soft reboot that distanced itself from the events of ME3 and focused on other things entirely.

I heard one theory floating around that the Andromeda and other liferaft vessels will turn out to have been launched for Andromeda during the end phase of the Reaper conflict in secret.
An attempt to preserve a fraction of the races present.

As such, the ships leave before the final conflict on earth and the glorious big button pressing event.

This way whatever decision you happened to make, whichever your favorite colour happened to be or if you retained dignity and shot that smug little hologram in the noggin...
It's canon.
Whatever you did counts because it has absolutely no influence on the Andromeda crew.

The people of Andromeda will never know how the milky way conflict played out but besides that they'll be too busy trying to survive after the hell of an intergalactic crossing and, of course, whatever hell is waiting for them.

 

[Metalix Knightmare]

All I know is that the Asari in this game apparently took a VERY different evolutionary turn.

Seriously, that is a man's face.

 

[Solkard]

Seems like an Ark ship/fleet is a good way to cut off Andromeda from the events of ME3. And given that the relays exploding is a constant in all the ME3 endings, that also serves as an explanation of no bleed over from ME3. Given the "success" of Activision and UBI's Destiny and Division, Andromeda could serve as EA's foray into the market of "shared space, online only, but not a MMO" shooter games.

 

[Solkard]

All I know is that the Asari in this game apparently took a VERY different evolutionary turn.

Seriously, that is a man's face.

Eh.... you're just looking to stir something up, aren't you?