BioWare Announces Post-Ending DLC for Mass Effect 3 [Updated!]

[Diana Kingston-Gabai]

but what's wrong with Casey?
as far as I know, he just fucked up by re-writing the ending of ME3, he worked on the rest of the awesome series, as well as ME3's rest =P

Well, here's how I see it:

95% of "Mass Effect 3" is a spectacular feat of storytelling.

5% is utter dreck.

As far as I know, the only difference between these two things is that Casey Hudson was solely and directly responsible for the latter. To me, that suggests a level of fiat beyond what's healthy for a writer in any medium.

 

[Diana Kingston-Gabai]

No, they don't create new organic life, they protect the organic life that will be created anyway from synthetic life that might kill it indiscriminatorily.

The Catalyst makes no such claims of ambiguity. It says synthetic life will kill organic life, not "might". This is a claim that is not borne out by other events in the trilogy.

As Tali said back in the first Mass Effect "Synthetics have no use for organics. None!" To them, organics are just raw material that's being wasted, that could be used for their own expansion. What possible reason would they have to allow organic life to continue, when they can destroy it for their own advancement?

As Tali said in the third Mass Effect, Legion had a soul. That's why the geth spared the quarians during the Morning War. That's why EDI didn't vent Joker into space and take off in the Normandy the first chance she got. Killing organics doesn't automatically advance synthetic life - they're free beings, they have a choice.

I recall Shepard's words to the Illusive Man when she destroys the Collector Base: "I won't let fear compromise who I am." That's why the Catalyst's arguments are invalid, that's why its logic is circular: it compels the Reapers to prevent a scenario that might occur by enacting precisely that scenario, with the caveat of leaving enough survivors to repeat the cycle indefinitely, with the end result being that all organic races will be harvested sooner or later. And, as an added bonus, there is no concrete evidence that substantiates the Catalyst's certainty that synthetics will inevitably turn on organics.

 

[Comando96]

This is fine. Ending improved (hopefully), with greater context... and clarity, while the Artistic aspect to the games ending remains the same.

The ending remains the same in the exact same sense as do all other Directors Cuts of films which tweak the endings...

 

[BaronIveagh]

My question is: from the sound of it they seem to think 'Improve the Story' equates 'add more wizbang cinematic sequence'. I mean, I suppose it's possible to at least have the ending make sense with an overhauled cinematic, or at least claim to the FCC that they did not in fact just give an A, B, or C ending in total violation of their advertisements, but I still don't see how this solves the problem...

 

[Gizen]

My question is: from the sound of it they seem to think 'Improve the Story' equates 'add more wizbang cinematic sequence'. I mean, I suppose it's possible to at least have the ending make sense with an overhauled cinematic, or at least claim to the FCC that they did not in fact just give an A, B, or C ending in total violation of their advertisements, but I still don't see how this solves the problem...

How exactly did they 'violate' their advertisements?

 

[BaronIveagh]

How exactly did they 'violate' their advertisements?

To avoid someone posting that long long video again, in a nutshell: Hudson et al made claims that the game would not, in fact have an 'A, B, or C' ending and that the players decisions would have significant impact on the ending they got, and made these claims until nearly launch, at which point someone had that 'space' idea and the whole thing blew up into the internet excrement storm we all are quite familiar with by this point.

The claim that the FCC report guys made basically boiled down to false advertising, as Hudson made a point to use the non- ABC ending as a selling point in his spiel.

 

[Gizen]

How exactly did they 'violate' their advertisements?

To avoid someone posting that long long video again, in a nutshell: Hudson et al made claims that the game would not, in fact have an 'A, B, or C' ending and that the players decisions would have significant impact on the ending they got, and made these claims until nearly launch, at which point someone had that 'space' idea and the whole thing blew up into the internet excrement storm we all are quite familiar with by this point.

The claim that the FCC report guys made basically boiled down to false advertising, as Hudson made a point to use the non- ABC ending as a selling point in his spiel.

Well, considering decisions made throughout the game affect your war assets, and war assets have an effect on the ending (if you have too few war assets, you don't even get all the choices, the amount of war assets you have determines whether Earth is completely destroyed or not during the end cut scene, whether Shepard survives in the Destroy ending, etc.), I'd argue that the decisions made throughout the game do impact the ending.

It takes a LOT to successfully convict somebody of false advertising. The words of one person, one who isn't even an official spokesperson, are generally not enough to make a claim of false advertising and win, especially when there's even flimsy evidence to back up that person's claims, which there is.

Personally, I would just like them to explain how the hell my squad got from being with me on Earth, to up on the Normandy, and why the Normandy was just peacing out. Otherwise cut that scene entirely. Hell, I felt the ending was fine for the most part, if anything, I'd want it to be shorter. Cut the Normandy scene, cut the Synergy option, add 5 seconds to the scene with the Mass Relay so that it becomes more obvious that the Mass Relays aren't destroyed in the Control option, and something to show that their destruction doesn't wipe out whole systems in the Destroy option (since I don't think that was the intention, and it probably wouldn't be hard to explain how the explosion of crashing an asteroid into a Mass Relay results in a more devastating explosion than whatever the energy did to them).

 

[Harbinger_]

I think its funny that all these fans have been nagging Bioware for what they've been condemning Lucas for doing. Pretty hypocritical if you think about it.

 

[Tigerlily Warrior]

*sigh* I just wish bioware would just tell us what they are doing instead of being all hush hush about it. Hell I would like them to come out and say "Indoctrination theory is lies" and I would be cool with that.

Since i'm about 60% sure that what is going to happen and 40% sure it isn't. But whatever..hopefully bioware explains EVERYTHING about the damn ending. Though what I found odd is that they choose to say 'Cut scenes and epilogue scenes."

Why would they do this? isn't it..you know the same thing? How can we have a epilogue scene when Shepard dead and all of our crew is on some random planet. *Sigh*..summer can't get here soon enough.

I'm just so, so, so sad.... I've lost my faith in Bioware. I want Indoctrination because it would be so epic. But the more I think about the comments, the more pessimistic the outlook seems to be.

Idk. Bioware is teasing the hell out of us. One they are hyping the hell out of the DLC and what they are planning. yet they won't comment on anything at all. And they been saying they won't talk about the DLC tomorrow at PAX. UGH...curse bioware!

I want you to be right so bad!

 

[fozzy360]

You know what, I just don't give a shit anymore.

Bioware had one shot to nail this thing, and they came [/i]this[/i] close to doing before it came all undone by the end. As entertaining, enlightening, and infuriating the whole thing was, I just don't care how they "finish" it anymore. Too bad, because I would love to have given this thing a second playthrough.

 

[Bat Vader]

Congratulations to all the people who pissed and moaned like entitled little bitches. You've proven that video games are not an art. You've also shown that if something is not what you want you will complain. You will *****, piss, moan, complain and whine till you get your way.

Congratulations. You're children. Entitled little kids who scream and yell till they get what they want.

Bioware still gets to keep the ending in the game they designed. All they are doing is adding on post ending content that explains what happens afterwards. I just want to know what happened to the Krogan, Turians, Geth, Quarians, and the people on the Citadel like Commander Bailey. I would settle for how they did it in Dragon Age: Origins.

 

[Necrofudge]

Even if the dlc is the best thing in the world, nothing will be fixed. All those people that complained about the old ending won't suddenly forget it happened, and as soon as they get what they want they will realize that nothing has really changed.

This isn't the intended ending. It isn't written because the writers wanted to write it. It was just to placate the fans, and I doubt that the new ending will give complete closure.

 

[Metalrocks]

at least its free. already read about it yesterday on the official ME3 forum. i dont expect much but as long it clear things up and make damn sense, im happy. even when i still like to kick this stupid kids head in because he talks such BS.

 

[Raesvelg]

And out of curiosity, in any of those places it was used before did the primary protagonist demonstrate empirically on not one but two separate occasions that the idea was bollocks?

What idea, precisely?

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

Fine by me. I wanted an epilog and closure, if this does that - however it does that - I'm good. The ending is their choice, and I never had a serious problem with it beyond the fact that it was just THE END and on to the credits. I'll be happy to be playing again.

 

[alik44]

As long as i get some dam closure then im good.

Good closure

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

People who were disappointed because they were all sh*t endings will be satisfied. Those who were disappointed because none of their choices ended up mattering (the more justified argument, I feel) will remain disappointed. There is no way to 'fix' the endings; this just makes people feel better about the ending they got.