Bioware forums explode as Mass Effect 3 ending details are leaked. *MINOR SPOILERS*

[mirasiel]

3 games just to get doom and gloom endings =/ i have friends that play their shephard characters to specific morals and they will be mighty pissed when they find their character will probably die.

Everybody dies.

...

...

...

...incidentally, this is the thing I don't get about the backlash. The fact that Shep doesn't end up living in the space suburbs with his/her space waifu and their blue children doesn't invalidate the fact that Shep kinda sorta saves the galaxy.

I know. I mean, the first game established that you are facing badass genocide machines that never fail. Did anyone really expect there to be a perfect ending? Losing or a victory with very heavy losses seems like the only way to do it that makes sense.

Civilization as it is, was screwed the second they started using the Mass Relay network and basing technology off of it.

This ending frees civilization from the reapers chains and allows them to start over along a path that they chose for themselves.

It's not about wanting a "perfect" ending, it's not about wanting a "realistic" ending, it's not about "waifuism" (believe me, I'm a Talimancer and would gladly have accepted her death in the game outside of this silliness).

Mass Effect's primary selling point, back when it was very first announced, was that "your actions would have consequences."
It's not that hard to understand ok?

Yes, the reapers are nigh invincible killing machines. Heavy losses would be natural.
But instead of letting the players choices matter, we get three endings with the same outcome.

Look at Mass Effect 1, depending on Paragon or Renegade you either doom or save the council, you recommend either Udina or Anderson for human representative. Mass Effect 2, members of your crew live or die AND you decide whether or not the Collector Base is preserved or not.

tl;dr - It's not about happy endings, it's about CHOICE.

The funny thing is you NEVER had this choice. This was ALWAYS the outcome. IF YOU KILL THE REAPERS.
Soverign in the fist game says that the Mass Effect system is set up so that the species of the universe will go the way that they want them to. No reapers = no mass effect. PERIOD. You destroy what is controlling/powering the thing and you don't get to use it anymore.
Yeah its a shit ending but its also 100% in your face from the first game.

Uh, thats not the implication I got, I just finished replaying ME1 and Ol' Sovvy clearly states the the only purpose of the mass effect tech is to *direct* your tech progress...so that the reapers will know exactly what they will face when they return and have the perfect counters and understanding of your society.

IE mass effect tech (ie biotics and railguns*) + mass relays + central citadel all form to make a specific type of galactic civ (highly isolated/dispersed populace/production/military) where all higher govt is located in one area (citadel which is the Reapers primary day zero target, thus crippling the distributed civs ability to fight) and all military applied tech is based on kinetic accelerators and kinetic defences with set upper limits of power output/defence ability and speed/mobility.

Its all there to weight the fight so far in the reapers favour that its not even a contest if they get to pull a total pearl harbor/decapitation strike and no one can rebuild their tech base after that...

Coming in without total surprise, without a devastating first strike against an enemy who still has a fully intact central govt and co-ordinated R&D efforts that have salvaged Reaper tech (Thranix cannon, improved hull armor and cyclonic shields from ME2) and knowledge of how the Reapers operate (unless shepard just never bothered to file reports on any of the intel he got during ME1)...the fight should be in doubt for the Reapers to begin with.

Hell its supposed to be established that humanity hasn't been around long enough to have fallen into the standard military pattern every other race has, for example we were the only race to build wet navy style carriers instead of Dreadnaughts (since Carriers aren't a restricted ship class) .


*as I understand it thats all the weapons from ME really are, advanced rail guns throwing a frangible slug at partial C velocity. All the Reaper and Collector weapons seem to be are highly refined versions of that tech tree.

 

[soulfire130]

From what I read, I like the ends. I am happy than atleast SOMEONE has the guts to make such endings.

People are just pissed at all their effort went up in smoke.

The whole reason people PLAYED this game was to see their efforts pay off. This sort of ending is exactly the opposite of what most people playing the game want. In that way, BioWare has completely failed its fanbase.

No, partcially failed the fanbase. There are some fans, like me, that like how it ended.
The reason people play any game is to see their efforts pay off in one way or another.

Plus, the fanbase should have known by the way the game's story goes, that any victory would
come with very heavy costs and the story would end in this kinda fashion. I mean Soveriegn kinda explained that the mass relays and the cidital itself, which is a giant mass relay, are the reaper's creation and logic would say that killing the machines that built machines that everyone will use will die with them.

 

[LetalisK]

I haven't read the endings and I'll reserve my judgement of the endings until I actually see them play out in-game in context. Until then, it's either some gamers throwing a ***** fit over nothing as seems to be the behavior lately or the ending is just something retarded like the classic "Rocks fall, everyone dies" DnD ending. We'll see which it is.

 

[CJ1145]

From what I read, I like the ends. I am happy than atleast SOMEONE has the guts to make such endings.

People are just pissed at all their effort went up in smoke.

The whole reason people PLAYED this game was to see their efforts pay off. This sort of ending is exactly the opposite of what most people playing the game want. In that way, BioWare has completely failed its fanbase.

No, partcially failed the fanbase. There are some fans, like me, that like how it ended.
The reason people play any game is to see their efforts pay off in one way or another.

Plus, the fanbase should have known by the way the game's story goes, that any victory would
come with very heavy costs and the story would end in this kinda fashion. I mean Soveriegn kinda explained that the mass relays and the cidital itself, which is a giant mass relay, are the reaper's creation and logic would say that killing the machines that built machines that everyone will use will die with them.

That doesn't make any sense. It's like saying a laptop shatters into a million pieces the moment the assembly arm that made it is destroyed. It's just a hamfisted attempt to instill pointless drama in a game that already had plenty, and in a situation where it overrides the chance of achieving any ending happier than not EVERYTHING is boned. I hated the ending to Neverwinter Nights 2 for the same kind of pointless and forced bittersweet ending.

 

[Starke]

Goddamnit...I really want to look at the ending but I also don't. Oh the moral dilemmas.

Um...I'm actually psyched. Depressing? FINALLY A GAME THAT HAS THE BALLS TO NOT PULL OUT THE BULLSHIT HAPPY ENDING!

Yeah, I'm actually oddly interested and hopeful for this now. Which should come as a massive shock for anyone that actually follows my posts, as I perennially tear apart just about all of Bioware's writing.

 

[soulfire130]

From what I read, I like the ends. I am happy than atleast SOMEONE has the guts to make such endings.

People are just pissed at all their effort went up in smoke.

The whole reason people PLAYED this game was to see their efforts pay off. This sort of ending is exactly the opposite of what most people playing the game want. In that way, BioWare has completely failed its fanbase.

No, partcially failed the fanbase. There are some fans, like me, that like how it ended.
The reason people play any game is to see their efforts pay off in one way or another.

Plus, the fanbase should have known by the way the game's story goes, that any victory would
come with very heavy costs and the story would end in this kinda fashion. I mean Soveriegn kinda explained that the mass relays and the cidital itself, which is a giant mass relay, are the reaper's creation and logic would say that killing the machines that built machines that everyone will use will die with them.

That doesn't make any sense. It's like saying a laptop shatters into a million pieces the moment the assembly arm that made it is destroyed. It's just a hamfisted attempt to instill pointless drama in a game that already had plenty, and in a situation where it overrides the chance of achieving any ending happier than not EVERYTHING is boned. I hated the ending to Neverwinter Nights 2 for the same kind of pointless and forced bittersweet ending.

It seemed ME was doomed to be to have a bittersweet ending from the beginning, though I do get what you are talking about. The relays permantly shuting down was overkill.

 

[Dusk17]

What pisses me off the most is that no matter how bad the ending is this will still make money.

 

[SajuukKhar]

That doesn't make any sense. It's like saying a laptop shatters into a million pieces the moment the assembly arm that made it is destroyed. It's just a hamfisted attempt to instill pointless drama in a game that already had plenty, and in a situation where it overrides the chance of achieving any ending happier than not EVERYTHING is boned. I hated the ending to Neverwinter Nights 2 for the same kind of pointless and forced bittersweet ending.

Umm no that's not like how it is at all.

The amount of energy pumped through the mass relays is far greater that what they were designed for. When the energy hits the relay and it sends off energy to the next relay the MASSIVE channeling of energy beyond what it was designed for causes it to overload and blow up.

However the energy of the eezo core has already been expent to enact whatever choice you picked, thus the base system explodes but the eezo core doesn't.

 

[Terrara]

why in the last 2 months I got the impression that 90% of my fellow ME fanbase are a bunch of whiney children? Did you whine every time someone borrowed from Tolkien too? Or semi-realistic endings make you angry? Or here's a thought: Why don't you try playing the whole game before starting a hate war on absolutely every obscure shred of datamined information?

I like it because what this teaches us is that no matter what you do, how hard you try, you can't save everything.
But still ...*whine-whine* EDI will romance Joker, though I don't know the details for sure, my Shep will be forever alone *ends whining*

 

[Arcadian Legend]

go to the Bioware forums and look at the Mass Effect 3 spoiler thread. You can't miss it.

Done.

Reading reactions...


Angry biodrones everywhere

The general reaction:

"BAAAWWWWW! I can't ride off into the sunset with my space waifu!"

Pretty much. I should know, I post there.

 

[Dandark]

There are two really annoying things from people who like the ending that I am seeing here which really bug me.

I ask you to please stop strawmaning. Yes some fans are only upset because they can't have a perfect happy ending with their love interest but that doesn't mean it's the complaint everyone has. -_-
This is really damn annoying, stop that.

And what the hell is with the praise people are giving to Bioware for being "brave enough to not have a happy ending". I do not understand this. It's got the same kind of logic as "oh it's sad? People die? Clearly this must automatically be a deep and well written story!".

You like the endings, that's fine but can you please stop generalizing everyone who didn't like them as rabid fanboy haters that are only annoyed they can't have a, how was it phrased? MLP: Friendship is magic ending? Yeah that. Stop doing that.

 

[CGAdam]

You know, all this makes me want to say two things:

1. We haven't even played the game yet. We got the last page the novel without having read the rest of the last installment. Let's see if it makes sense storywise before condemning it.

2. http://youtu.be/wBzqOa9y02I 3:10-3:50. If you've seen it, you know what I mean.

 

[Phenomenis]

To all of you saying the people complaining about the endings are sad about a lack of a hollywood, everything's fine, staring off into the sunset happy ending, you really don't get what people are complaining about.

Including as little spoilers as I attempt, the thing that makes me angry (and I feel other ME fans angry) is the stunning lack of choice or multiple paths in the game ending. All of the endings (assuming the leak is correct, which, based on the evidence, appears to almost certainly be the situation) are depressing as fuck (no real issue here) in exactly the same way (now here's the problem). No matter your choices all throughout all three games, it appears the galaxy is fucked due to the mass relays being destroyed and the Normandy crew is doomed. This really seems like its been phoned in, which is so disappointing since I would be happy to defend Bioware on EVERYTHING else. On an RPG which places so much emphasis on choice and how it will lead up to several endings, the way that it seems all endings are at base exactly the same is an absolute disgrace.

While I can understand that Bioware hasn't done a happy heart-warming ending, it doesn't show any guts or clever deep storytelling when the not-happy conclusion is virtually the exact same in every possible situation. No matter how good or bad or neutral you have been, the same fucking thing is going to happen. All of the choices made seem to be meaningless because the don't really change the ending. AND THAT IS WHERE THE PROBLEM IS!!!

 

[TehAudioSurfer]

From what I've read from the ending dialogue it seems the Reapers' true motives for wiping out the galaxy are incredibly redundant and stupid.

 

[boag]

After a lot of thinking, I have come to a conclusion, the reason I dont particularly like the endings is because I will probably have to buy a 4th game to see how my actions affected anything at all (1k-20k years later, however long it takes for the species to build a new intergalactic transport system), when I thought that the 3rd game would give me the pay off, as it stands I have to wait again for the pay off to be visible.

 

[SajuukKhar]

From what I've read from the ending dialogue it seems the Reapers' true motives for wiping out the galaxy are incredibly redundant and stupid.

The Reapers were apparently built to kill off all highly developed organic life to prevent them building machines that would kill off ALL life, because its supposedly inevitable that organics would built machines that would then turn around and destroy them.

So to prevent all life from being killed off by machines they built machines to kill off most life.

To be fair, they then turned around and gave us the Mask of the Betrayer expansion where both the ultimate good and ultimate evil endings were so damn good it made up for it. At least that's what I thought of it. xD

Anyway after all the spoilers I've seen of the stuff in ME3, I'm starting to wonder if BioWare hired Matt Ward and Richard A. Knaak. It'd explain a lot...

Mask of the Betrayer? good? That's funny.

 

[SajuukKhar]

They kill all life so races dont build machines that would kill all life?



I liked it better when they were just reproducing....

No, they kill all DEVELOPED life, i.e. space-faring civilization

They make mention how they spared humanity 50,000 years ago, as they do with other undeveloped life.

 

[killerguythefox]

From what I've read from the ending dialogue it seems the Reapers' true motives for wiping out the galaxy are incredibly redundant and stupid.

The Reapers were apparently built to kill off all highly developed organic life to prevent them building machines that would kill off ALL life, because its supposedly inevitable that organics would built machines that would then turn around and destroy them.

So to prevent all life from being killed off by machines they built machines to kill off most life.

To be fair, they then turned around and gave us the Mask of the Betrayer expansion where both the ultimate good and ultimate evil endings were so damn good it made up for it. At least that's what I thought of it. xD

Anyway after all the spoilers I've seen of the stuff in ME3, I'm starting to wonder if BioWare hired Matt Ward and Richard A. Knaak. It'd explain a lot...

Mask of the Betrayer? good? That's funny.

Gotta agree with people on the bad writing and horrible reasons for this and that,
the endings seem IMO alright though again i can agree some of it is overkill. Still
i got a feeling the rest of the game besides endgame and the reasons for the reapers plot,
will be more then enough to make me feel satisfied.