Update: Fan "Fixes" Mass Effect 3 Ending With A 539-Page Rewrite

[CloudAtlas]

The ending of Mass Effect 3 was absolute dog-shit. We all know this. But it's been two years guys. Time to pull the plug, rip off the band aid and move on to other things. Have you tried The Last of Us? It's better than Mass Effect in just about every conceivable fashion. It's not an RPG, but really, neither was Mass Effect.

Now if this ain't a differentiated opinion... Yea yea and, unlike with Mass Effect, there's absolutely no one who doesn't believe that The Last of Us isn't thatawesome, right? Don't make me laugh.

My point being that there are other games since Mass Effect that you will probably like better just on the basis that they don't end on a brown note.

Instead of rewriting history- history that isn't terribly important, I might add- why not just... do something else?

If that was your point, you might benefit from phrasing your opinions in a less offensive, more sophisticated way. You'll find that more people will agree you with if you do.

As I would; if someone has some gripes with a story, I can understand to feel the desire to write an improved version of the story. Hell, whenever I watch or play something that I don't thoroughly like for such reasons (and Mass Effect certainly is one of those games), I think about what I would do differently too... But to spend 400 pages on it instead of, say, 4? Pretty excessive.
And if his intention is to get hired as writer by a game company, as he stated, he'd probably be better served by writing a new, original short story in the same universe, if not an entirely original screenplay.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

I'm just replaying it at the moment for some harmless fun, and am tempted to try the MEHEM v0.4 mod. The Mass Effect Happy Ending Mod is apparently quite well liked despite still being worked on.

There's little to say about the original ending that hasn't already been said by others, so I won't add to that. But playing the game even up until the end should have been clue enough. The main issue with ME3 was that choices ceased to matter when one of the main premises of the trilogy was that they did. Take the genophage as an example (I just finished that arc yesterday, paragon style, so it's fresh). Until it comes up as the Krogan's demand for their help in any treaty with the Turians, the two extreme ends of how Shepard could reach that point are:

- Paragon: Wrex alive, Mordin alive, Maelon released, Maelon's research saved
- Renegade: Wrex dead, Mordin dead, Maelon dead, Maelon's research destroyed

However, despite the key characters and research data being gone from the renegade choices made in prior games, the game and story still play out identically. Wreav stands in for Wrex and another Salarian for Mordin and the same possibilities are offered to the player despite the fact that one consciously tried to help the Krogan and the other sabotaged it at every opportunity.

In ME1, it was possible to never meet Garrus but in ME2 the player still meets him and proceeds the same way regardless of that choice. In ME2 it was possible to leave Legion deactivated, but irrespective of that choice, he or his hologram still appears in ME3 filling the same role. If the Rachni queen was killed on Noveria in ME1, she still appears in ME3, albeit modified. Even Shepard's potential death at the end of ME2 was rather meaningless, since the story didn't go on without him. He either lived, or it was game over.

Ultimately the problem was that ME3 was made to be a standalone game in which every player had to experience all the content. With the renegade choices made in previous games regarding the genophage as described above, realistically the possibility of a cure for the Krogan should never have even been an option. In my opinion, this would've been preferable since it meant the game was actually accounting for my older choices, now coming back to bite me. I would've felt much more invested for one thing. In this instance, why didn't the Salarians (who promised Shepard aid for Earth if he sabotaged the cure) not simply directly aid the Turians, another council species, and avoid the need to involve the Krogan at all? And if they could spare the aid why didn't they do it anyway? (And while I'm on the subject, why did Cerberus attack the STG base to try and prevent them getting Eve? There's no conceivable reason for it, except to provide something for Shepard to shoot at).

It was a military shooter with what was left of the old BioWare filling in the story/RPG components, with a focus on multiplayer and an aim to get some DLC out of it.

 

[mattaui]

I just finished ME3 and with all the rage I had heard about I was bracing myself for something truly awful, but quite the opposite happened. I was quite satisfied with the ending, and the options presented, and it all seemed to fit well within the themes the trilogy dealt with.

But hey, everyone's free to write their own fanfic. With all the attention this will get, it'll no doubt be a positive for the author.

Now, did you do this run with or without the 'Extended Ending' DLC?

EDIT: Because I felt on the original run like it just cut off and I missed something. I wasn't angry really, just more like "That's it?". It was lackluster and not very satisfying a conclusion to the series. First time I've felt that way playing a video game all the way through too which is the other surprising bit on my end.

I had no idea, but I went back and looked at what's installed in my Origin client and it indicates that the 'Extended Cut' is installed. This is what happens when I buy games on sale and then forget about them for a year. I'm curious now to see what it would be like without it.

 

[Dagda Mor]

When I saw the thread title, I was expecting the same immature bitching and moaning that always surrounds this issue, but this actually sounds like it might be pretty cool. The sheer dedication it must have taken to make such a long rewrite while basically keeping the ending we got is impressive in its own right. Then again, I haven't read it yet, so it might just be a really long and mispelled self-insert fanfiction.

 

[otakon17]

I just finished ME3 and with all the rage I had heard about I was bracing myself for something truly awful, but quite the opposite happened. I was quite satisfied with the ending, and the options presented, and it all seemed to fit well within the themes the trilogy dealt with.

But hey, everyone's free to write their own fanfic. With all the attention this will get, it'll no doubt be a positive for the author.

Now, did you do this run with or without the 'Extended Ending' DLC?

EDIT: Because I felt on the original run like it just cut off and I missed something. I wasn't angry really, just more like "That's it?". It was lackluster and not very satisfying a conclusion to the series. First time I've felt that way playing a video game all the way through too which is the other surprising bit on my end.

I had no idea, but I went back and looked at what's installed in my Origin client and it indicates that the 'Extended Cut' is installed. This is what happens when I buy games on sale and then forget about them for a year. I'm curious now to see what it would be like without it.

Take what happened after you stepped into a beam and cut to explosions and the Normandy getting stranded. THERE is your ending. That's all that happens, no real closure.

 

[mattaui]

I just finished ME3 and with all the rage I had heard about I was bracing myself for something truly awful, but quite the opposite happened. I was quite satisfied with the ending, and the options presented, and it all seemed to fit well within the themes the trilogy dealt with.

But hey, everyone's free to write their own fanfic. With all the attention this will get, it'll no doubt be a positive for the author.

Now, did you do this run with or without the 'Extended Ending' DLC?

EDIT: Because I felt on the original run like it just cut off and I missed something. I wasn't angry really, just more like "That's it?". It was lackluster and not very satisfying a conclusion to the series. First time I've felt that way playing a video game all the way through too which is the other surprising bit on my end.

I had no idea, but I went back and looked at what's installed in my Origin client and it indicates that the 'Extended Cut' is installed. This is what happens when I buy games on sale and then forget about them for a year. I'm curious now to see what it would be like without it.

Take what happened after you stepped into a beam and cut to explosions and the Normandy getting stranded. THERE is your ending. That's all that happens, no real closure.

Ah, I see. Yes, that does seem like it would feel rushed and unsatisfactory.

 

[fluxy100]

Maybe it's because I played the game with the Leviathan DLC, or maybe it's because I thought of the whole third game as the ending of the series, with the first being the opening and the second being the middle. I never got the problem with the ending. I thought it wasn't great but nowhere near as bad as people seem to think it is.

 

[CloudAtlas]

Take what happened after you stepped into a beam and cut to explosions and the Normandy getting stranded. THERE is your ending. That's all that happens, no real closure.

Except for all the closure, the resolution of every major story and character arc that happens before you even arrive at earth.

What happens on earth only has to finish the one remaining arc: Shepard's.

 

[Reaper195]

The ending as it was is fine. I loved it. And then the Leviathan DLC came out and answered almost all the other questions I had remaining about the Reapers, their origins, etc. I didn't care much what happened after the end of the game simply because I wanted to game to end. If Bioware wanted to, the game could've carried on for a few hours, explaining everything that had happened. But they didn't need to. They told their story.

 

[Lightspeaker]

I'd just like to point out that I think some people seem to be misreading the article. What the guy seems to have put together based on the description is NOT a "fanfic". Its effectively a game design document, a script. As in "these are the conversation trees, these are the possible outcomes which will happen if you do x, y and z, etc". So its likely to be incredibly hard to read as a story, but very good if you were planning on actually putting it together in-game.

But playing the game even up until the end should have been clue enough.

I actually find this to be one of the greatest "crimes" of ME3. Because honestly the ending highlights all of its flaws. Contrary to what many people say it is NOT 95% amazing except for the very end of it. It was riddled with flaws and problems. If you want a quick example the mission tracking system is absolutely dire compared to that in ME2; which is to say it basically doesn't track your mission progress, so you have to guess for most of them whether you've already collected the item you were supposed to or whatever. And the writing in some parts was questionable too; Thessia being a prime example (honestly being the last major plot location right before launching into the endgame should have been a huge alarm bell in retrospect).

Mass Effect 3 was in many ways a lazy effort. However it could have gotten away with that if the ending had been good. It wasn't. It was overhyped massively, promises were made and broken. It was a straightforward case of lying to customers, after the game was already gold and they knew PRECISELY what was in it. No more and no less.

 

[Something Amyss]

This might win me over and get me back to buy BW games again.

Because someone wrote an extended fanfic? To an ending so bad, it launched a dozen conspiracy theories?

Don't. Seriously, don't buy games from a company that claims they have fantastic writing and then turn out crap like that.

Where would Bioware be if their fans acknowledged neither their writing nor their characters are good?

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

This might win me over and get me back to buy BW games again.

Because someone wrote an extended fanfic? To an ending so bad, it launched a dozen conspiracy theories?

Don't. Seriously, don't buy games from a company that claims they have fantastic writing and then turn out crap like that.

Where would Bioware be if their fans acknowledged neither their writing nor their characters are good?

And yet its still better than what the devs made.

 

[The Bandit]

The ending was a trainwreck of EPIC proportions and just all round horrible writing. However unlike most people outraged or who were happy with the ending I expected it to suck. I was still angry but the signs were there from Mass Effect 2 that they really had no idea what to do given the meandering plot of the second game.

Oh right you convinced me, how could I be so wrong liking something that many other people don't? I thought there's something such as subjective and taste, how I was wrong all along!

Here, you want an objective analysis that smartassery cannot disarm? (rhetorical question)

Spoiler: Then pull up a chair, grab a drink, and turn your brain on...

This will be a long one.
Mind you, there is very little open to interpretation when you break the ME3 ending(s) down.

P.S. I will start reading it tomorrow as my ass needs to meet sheets sooner than later.

Those videos are laughably bad. He's a horribly unfunny Mr. Plinkett and not nearly as intelligent. "The Reaper is shooting the building with a laser... or something." Um, it's a glowing red beam of destruction, what else would it be? When Plinkett did the "or somethings..." it made sense, because the Prequels frequently left plot or character details unexplained. This guy says it every two seconds, as if he expects the story to actually stop and explain that there's a laser shooting down buildings.

That's not even getting into the invalidity of most of his criticisms. Sorry, but the fact that the story doesn't go to great lengths to explain how the little boy moved from one location to another does not make it a bad story. If it did go to such lengths to explain such minor details, it would be a bad story (and about 100 hours longer).

Lack of explanation != plot hole, despite what most Internet critics seem to believe.

 

[chstens]

I've followed Mass Effect since the beginning, and consider myself a huge fan of the franchise, and I just found the original ending underwhelming at worst. It wasn't good, but it's not even close to as bad as the majority claims. So does that mean I'm just better at managing my expectations than most of the vocal Internet?

In my opinion the bioware dev team, or at least the big guys in the dev team, are entirely to blame for the bad reception of the ending.
Mass Effect 2's Ending was awesome in so many ways, but i was fully expecting a bit of dissappointment out of the ending, simply because it's really really hard to end giant stories like this satisfactory for everyone.
But the developers just kept and kept shouting in every single interview they gave about the game how the endings will be awesome, how there will be no A, B or C ending, how nearly every person will get a somehow different ending and so on and so on.

If they wouldn't have kept lying to us about the ending people wouldn't have been so upset. You know, because people generally don't like being blatantly lied to.

Well, I purposefully didn't pay any attention to ME3's marketing, so I guess I was never lied to.

 

[hazabaza1]

Reading through some of this... wow that's bad.

Like, really bad. Maybe it changes the ending to stop the star-child bullshit but there's no fun in the dialogue. No character. Just bad.

 

[Grimh]

It could be a fun project I suppose, if you're interested in building on others work.
I wouldn't have the patience for that though, I'd rather just put the effort into my own stories instead.

No, when it comes to ME I'm perfectly comfortable just whining about how terrible the ending was.

Oh god, it's so bad...

 

[skywolfblue]

Props to him for writing all that I suppose.

But I disagree with it. Particularly:
1) A paragon is:

A model of excellence or perfection of a kind; a peerless example: a paragon of virtue.

As played out throughout the Mass Effect series, a paragon is someone who upholds the virtues of governance. The control ending fits that to a T. A paragon wouldn't destroy the Geth if they could sacrifice themself to become the ultimate paragon to be an example that leads the galaxy. I don't know why people keep missing that.

A renegade as played throughout Mass Effect is someone who fights for individuality. Even if that means sacrificing others. The destroy ending is exactly that.

2) Removing the ending choices and instead basing it on score. Choice was a big theme of Mass Effect, and he wants to take away the biggest choice of all?

 

[otakon17]

Take what happened after you stepped into a beam and cut to explosions and the Normandy getting stranded. THERE is your ending. That's all that happens, no real closure.

Except for all the closure, the resolution of every major story and character arc that happens before you even arrive at earth.

What happens on earth only has to finish the one remaining arc: Shepard's.

Except that we: Don't know what happens to everyone after Shepard becomes the Reaper "God"/kills the Reapers/makes everyone half machine or half organic. We don't seen the impact that ANY of the choices had in the original ending and it's been pointed out time and again.

If you choose 'Destroy' you kill all the Geth and EDI along with any other A.I. with Reaper code in it. It doesn't show the impact of that. It doesn't show the impact of how the Geth handle suddenly being partially organic(or the Quarians being partially synthetic) or the Krogan in how they start to rebuild their society.

There was NO closure in the first rendition of the endings and it's been shown and told. Do the Mass Relays get destroyed? Did they simply stop functioning? Did they blow up in such a way to destroy EVERY system they're in? And what happens to the crew of the Normandy crashed on some random planet? Do they die there? Do they get rescued? Do Joker and EDI bang like bunnies and make a bunch of cyborg babies? WE DON'T KNOW!

Here, MrBTongue of Tasteful, Understated, Nerdrage can explain it better than me:

 

[JPArbiter]

the Forbes Reporters editorializing was disgusting. as far as this "Accomplishment." it is very pretty fan fiction, nothing more, and it is trying to fix something that as the audience he had no right to fix.