Mass Effect 3.5B: Taste the Rainbow (Story and Ending Discussion; Spoilers!)

[Luzahn]

Alright, I beat the Cerberus Base. Now feels like a good time to stop playing and wait for the Extended Cut to come out, whenever that might be - since about at this point, the plot falls apart, culminating in the Spacekid nonsense.

Personally, I'm going to set up my save for pre-cerberus base. I think the game doesn't lock out other missions until then.

[Morty]

Yes, until you assault the Cerberus base, I think you're free to perform missions. I have a save before that as well, on the off chance the Extended Cut changes something at that point as well.

[Wolf_Haley]

It makes sense from a resources point of view though. Allers is there for the whole game. Tali's face would be there for what? 30 seconds? At best? Now it doesn't really excuse the cheap photoshopping for her face, but not rendering it in full 3D makes complete sense. A good 2D image would have been more than satisfactory. Hell a bit more work on the actual photoshopping and I wouldn't have really minded the stock photo either. I mean that's what stock photos are for.

True Allers is their for the whole game, but Tali has been their for the whole series and si one of the most beloved characters in the series, so much so due to fan request we got to romance her in 2 and her as a squad mate. Honestly I feel extremely cheaped out they took the time to model someone next to no one cared about for a character that had such a minor role int he game and not one like Tali. ****, her suicide could have had so much more an impact, if right before she jumped she turned to you and we actually saw her face and the emotion on it as she lept. Yeah it would be time and work spent on that one scene, but that time and work would have been appreciated so much more by the fans than all the effort that went into Allers.

[Opperhapsen]

Nexon can drop the ball at times, but in general I've found that they make sincere attempts to compensate the players for their mistakes. I only play one of their games, Dungeon Fighter Online, but I like it.

So, basically, I think they're a better company than EA.

Missing the point.

As bad as EA are they make games.
They put out a buttload of titles, and produce stuff.

Nexon?
Nexon made almost nothing and got all their money through microtransactions.

This means that if Nexon could actually buy EA nickle and diming the consumer is officially worth more than actually making product.

[Luzahn]

Y'know, as I think about it, I may have to choose Control next time through, rather than Destroy. If I set aside my complete lack of trust of the starkid, and assume that that is bioware is saying that all endings eternally end the reapers, it's acceptable.

The only other thing influencing my Destroy choice was Shepard living; I'm sure that whatever games come afterward will remove some of the emotional investment in Shepard. Geth are just too interesting a part of the galaxy to wipe them out.

[Beowulf DW]

Missing the point.

As bad as EA are they make games.
They put out a buttload of titles, and produce stuff.

Nexon?
Nexon made almost nothing and got all their money through microtransactions.

This means that if Nexon could actually buy EA nickle and diming the consumer is officially worth more than actually making product.

I'll take that over a company that reacted to receiving the title of worst company in America this year by saying "Deal with it."

And it's not EA that makes the good games. It's the companies they bought and gutted.

[Psyren]

I'll take that over a company that reacted to receiving the title of worst company in America this year by saying "Deal with it."

No, they said "this is pretty ridiculous" and they're 100% right. Seriously? Worst company in america, a video game publisher? Do I really need to tell you what's wrong with that?

[Dienekes]

I'll take that over a company that reacted to receiving the title of worst company in America this year by saying "Deal with it."

And it's not EA that makes the good games. It's the companies they bought and gutted.

I'm on Psyren's side here. Giving that award to EA is ridiculous. Hell, where I read it even seemed to blame ME3 ending on them, and I haven't heard any reason why. I've heard it is from a new lead writer, what does that have to do with EA?

Also, come on there are companies that seem to be headed by Snidely Whiplash. EA getting the reward really just makes gamers look like a bunch of whiny buggers.

[Morty]

Yeah, giving EA that title really doesn't make the gamer community look good or mature.
On another note, something occured to me recently - in the context of ME3's ending, why did the Reapers have the Collectors try to sneakily construct a human Reaper in ME2? If their purpose is to harvest organic civilizations before they're destroyed by synthetics, why not simply move to their plan from ME3 as soon as Shepard foils their original one by destroying Sovereign?

[Serenity]

On another note, something occured to me recently - in the context of ME3's ending, why did the Reapers have the Collectors try to sneakily construct a human Reaper in ME2? If their purpose is to harvest organic civilizations before they're destroyed by synthetics, why not simply move to their plan from ME3 as soon as Shepard foils their original one by destroying Sovereign?

That's why I was never a fan of Arrival or having the Reaper invasion happen first thing in ME3. The ending of ME2 shows us they only started heading here under their own power after Shepard foiled the Collector plot. If they can get here that quickly, it not only calls into question why they didn't come right after ME1 (or at least right after Shepard died), but also the necessity of ME1's plot in the first place. Why didn't Sovvy just tell them to take the long route, or go to the Alpha Relay the moment the Keeper's didn't do their job, and instigate ME3 then?

[Landis963]

Why didn't Sovvy just tell them to take the long route, or go to the Alpha Relay the moment the Keeper's didn't do their job, and instigate ME3 then?

Because they think in terms of the cycle, remember? To their minds, their part of the cycle always begins with the opening of the Citadel Relay and the capture of the Citadel. Once Sovvy died, the point of the Human Reaper was to try Sovvy's plan again. Only once the Human Reaper died was Plan A considered to have gone belly-up. Also note that Plan B, the Alpha Relay, is the same as the Citadel Relay plan but with much less fanfare, and with the sacrifice of allowing the puny organics to continue to use the relays.

[Morty]

The way I see it is that it's not just the question of arriving because the manner in which they arrive also matters.
If Sovereign's scheme had succeeded, they'd have broken the spine of galactic civilization right at the beginning and proceeded to wipe them out at their leisure like they had the Protheans.
If they had managed to reach the Alpha Relay, they could have used it to jump everywhere they wanted. Not sure how, mind you.
After the destruction of Sovereign and the Alpha Relay, they had to reach the galaxy and proceed with the invasion the old-fashioned way, which gave the galactic civilization a hope for victory.
But that doesn't explain why they bothered with their plan in ME2, instead of jumping straight to using the Alpha Relay.

[Beowulf DW]

Having control of the Relay Network is important to the Reapers. As Landis said, the Reapers were still counting on Plan A. Once that went to hell, they realized that they were going to have to get their hands dirty.

Bioware pointed out that the Reapers rarely take capitol ship losses. That single sucker punch at the beginning of the invasion is a big part of that. Shepard's cycle has already given the Reapers more than they bargained for. Now that the Reapers have to fight "fair" they're taking losses they aren't used to.

Powerful as they are, the Reapers realize that they can't replenish their numbers all that quickly. They get a few new ships each cycle and that's it. It's their only weakness, really. They don't want to lose any more ships than they have to, because they'll be utterly screwed in the next cycle. Hence, all the cloak and dagger gambits they pull prior to ME3.

[Psyren]

They could easily recover from a bad cycle by invading early for the next few, harvesting species of slightly lower tech level. For example, hitting the Yahg before, or shortly after, they find the Citadel.

After all, beyond Legion's "billions" there's no hard ratio of organic-synthetic components required to make a Reaper. (And even that isn't known to be a definitive requirement.)

[Beowulf DW]

They could easily recover from a bad cycle by invading early for the next few, harvesting species of slightly lower tech level. For example, hitting the Yahg before, or shortly after, they find the Citadel.

After all, beyond Legion's "billions" there's no hard ratio of organic-synthetic components required to make a Reaper. (And even that isn't known to be a definitive requirement.)

But we do know that they get one ship out of each species. The Reapers would need many cycles to replenish their numbers. And each cycle brings a new chance for more losses.

[Luzahn]

But we do know that they get one ship out of each species. The Reapers would need many cycles to replenish their numbers. And each cycle brings a new chance for more losses.

Specifically, the codex mentioned the Reapers making one capitol ship per cycle, out of the dominant race, with every other race forming one of the smaller ships.

[Opperhapsen]

No, they said "this is pretty ridiculous" and they're 100% right. Seriously? Worst company in america, a video game publisher? Do I really need to tell you what's wrong with that?

I think you might have to.

Because while I see Bank of America as infinitely more deserving because of the whole "Stealing people's homes" debacle, EA is pretty much the worst entertainment company in the goddamn world.

They mistreat their workers to an almost cartoonish degree, they install spyware on your computer, their DRM is worse than anything the music industry ever tried, they lie to our faces repeatedly, they intentionally limit their own product just so they can sell it to you later piecemeal, their customer relation department is directly hostile to consumers, and when they screw up you lose all your games and there is nothing you can do about it.

It's hilarious because they immediately went into damage control mode once it happened despite what they said, yet are completely unwilling to admit that there is any kind of problem.

[VanBuren]

I think you might have to.

Because while I see Bank of America as infinitely more deserving because of the whole "Stealing people's homes" debacle, EA is pretty much the worst entertainment company in the goddamn world.

They mistreat their workers to an almost cartoonish degree, they install spyware on your computer, their DRM is worse than anything the music industry ever tried, they lie to our faces repeatedly, they intentionally limit their own product just so they can sell it to you later piecemeal, their customer relation department is directly hostile to consumers, and when they screw up you lose all your games and there is nothing you can do about it.

It's hilarious because they immediately went into damage control mode once it happened despite what they said, yet are completely unwilling to admit that there is any kind of problem.

The competition wasn't about the worst entertainment company, though. And while EA might be a bunch of jerk-covered jerks with jerk filling inside... you still have the choice of whether or not you do business with them.

{{Scrubbed}}

When EA plays an instrumental role in breaking a nation's economy, then I'll consider them a serious contender for the title. Until then, it's a petty claim.

[Opperhapsen]

The government at least tries to curtail that kind of behaviour from banks. (How successful they are is a matter for another time and another place=

There is not one official authority calling EA out on their behaviour, and plenty of what they are doing would get you thrown in jail were it another industry or a person instead of a company.

Yes Bank of America is more deserving, but most people have not been screwed over by them recently. (And a second place spot would be well deserved.)

[Trazoi]

That's why I was never a fan of Arrival or having the Reaper invasion happen first thing in ME3. The ending of ME2 shows us they only started heading here under their own power after Shepard foiled the Collector plot. If they can get here that quickly, it not only calls into question why they didn't come right after ME1 (or at least right after Shepard died), but also the necessity of ME1's plot in the first place. Why didn't Sovvy just tell them to take the long route, or go to the Alpha Relay the moment the Keeper's didn't do their job, and instigate ME3 then?

Starting with the invasion of Earth never made much sense to me from any perspective. I was under the impression that once the main Reaper fleet hit a system, it was pretty much Game Over for anything there. Or at least that's how it should have been given their build up as one notch below space eldritch horrors (real eldritch horrors don't smack talk ).

And then the game makes you take your time, putting off the Priority missions so you can build War Assets while Shepard hits the bar and buys fish. All while the game keeps beating you over the head with how important what's happening with Earth over everything else to force an emotional response from the player.

Sorry ME3, but I care about Palaven too. That's where all the cool turians live.

[Psyren]

But we do know that they get one ship out of each species. The Reapers would need many cycles to replenish their numbers. And each cycle brings a new chance for more losses.

Only if you wait around for 50k years between cycles.

I think you might have to.

Because while I see Bank of America as infinitely more deserving because of the whole "Stealing people's homes" debacle, EA is pretty much the worst entertainment company in the goddamn world.

Even if you accept that (and I can think of worse publishers), the "contest" wasn't for "worst ENTERTAINMENT company in America," rendering your point irrelevant.

...but most people have not been screwed over by them recently. (And a second place spot would be well deserved.)

Which is the inherent problem with popularity contests like these; internet masses with an axe to grind can easily skew them far out of proportion to the crime committed.

When you consider that many of the people who were truly affected by bad companies don't even have internet, much less time to vote in an online poll, it should occur to you that granting EA such a title is pure melodrama.

[Morty]

Starting with the invasion of Earth never made much sense to me from any perspective. I was under the impression that once the main Reaper fleet hit a system, it was pretty much Game Over for anything there. Or at least that's how it should have been given their build up as one notch below space eldritch horrors (real eldritch horrors don't smack talk ).

And then the game makes you take your time, putting off the Priority missions so you can build War Assets while Shepard hits the bar and buys fish. All while the game keeps beating you over the head with how important what's happening with Earth over everything else to force an emotional response from the player.

Sorry ME3, but I care about Palaven too. That's where all the cool turians live.

Well, if the stuff floating around about the Dark Energy ending is true, it would have made sense for them to start with Earth, as the humans would apparently be crucial to that plot. Which would also explain their attempt to stealthily create a human Reaper in ME2, I think.

[Trazoi]

Well, if the stuff floating around about the Dark Energy ending is true, it would have made sense for them to start with Earth, as the humans would apparently be crucial to that plot. Which would also explain their attempt to stealthily create a human Reaper in ME2, I think.

Apparently that twist was going to be that humanity had super special gene diversity or something which meant it was perfect for the Ultimate Reaper that could solve the Dark Energy problem. But ME3 pretended the ME2 hooks into plot never existed. As a plot idea it sounds goofy, but then again a lot of plot ideas do and who knows how well it could have gone down with an entire game of plot to build it up?

[Morty]

It is quite goofy, but in a space opera like Mass Effect, some goofiness is to be expected. And besides, it's not any more silly than "I made a bunch of synthetics to kill you every 50k years so you don't get killed by synthetics".

[Aotrs Commander]

It occurs to me there is a distinct lack of Silly in this thread, and we could all (me included) do with lightening it up a touch in between our arguments...

Mostly though, I just wanted to suggest this, for kicks and giggles:

101 Things That Probably Won't Happen in the Ending DLC

1: The ending is exactly the same, except that Garrus and Wrex or Liara and Tali (for female and male Sheps respectively) do a showtune song-and-dance number wearing tophats over the credits.

2: Just as Shepard is about to choose, Blasto bursts in and shoots the Starkid in the holographic knackers (which works because he's Blasto, fragdammit) and the Reapers all explode.

3: The entire ending sequence is replaced by a cinematic of the entire galaxy exploding, followed by a Bioware Trollface as the credit roll.

4: Just as Shepard is about to choose, Garrus bursts in (even if he was killed earlier in the game) and shoots the Starkid in the holographic knackers with his sniper rifle (which works because he's Garrus, fragdammit) and the Reapers all explode.

5: Just as Shepard is about to choose, whoever you left on Virmire bursts in, having become an actual Biotic God, due to radiation or something, and Throws the Starkid out the window (which works because... Because) and the Reapers all implode.

6: Shepard gets knocked out by Harbinger's beam and wakes up just after Eden Prime in ME 1, thanks to the Beacon. (There's a fan version of this one on youtube...)

7: As 7, but Shepard dies of brain trauma immediately thereafter, thus dooming the galaxy.

8: Just as Shepard is about to choose, Conrad Verner bursts in and tries to punch the Starkid in the holographic face (which doesn't work, because, when all's said and done, he's Conrad) but the Reapers all die laughing. Conrad is later made a sub-Spectre and assigned as Shepard's permenant aide¹.

9: There is a new forth choice, not to choose, wherein the Starkid reveals itself to be Harbinger in an unconvincing rubber mask. A ludicrously implausible boss fight ensues, with every reoccuring character in the trilogy showing up as your squadmates, even the ones who are supposed to be dead.

10: Just as Shepard is about to choose, Optimus Prime bursts in and lectures the Catalyst and the Reapers until they run home crying.

11: When Shepard makes the choice, nothing happens for a moment. Then a hatch opens above Shepard, who is abruptly tarred and feathered. The Catalyst, in between hysterics, reveals the events of the entire trilogy has just been one giant practical joke at Shepard's expense that everyone in the entire galaxy has been in on. No-one has actually died at all and it was all masterminded by Turian Senator Sparatus, who is really a jolly sort of fellow and who does this everytime they recruit a new Spectre. Saren shows up with a "I defeated the Reapers and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt" shirt. Everyone has a good laugh about it and goes home.



Come on folks, surely you can do better than me...! The sillier the better (though a few cynical serious suggestions wouldn't be amiss either, I suppose...!)



¹This is the new Worst Ending. Well, for Shepard, at any rate...

[polity4life]

I'll play along Aotrs.

As Shepard meekly debates with Starchild about the merits of the choices laid out before him, he receives a tweet on his status update. Using his molten cell phone, Shepard reads:

"@CmdrShep

QQ Sheprd srsly at least u dont get turned into a worm to save the galaxy!

#LetoAtredeis"

[thegurullamen]

13. When confronted with the three choices, Engineer Shepard goes "Screw this!" and (after applying some omnigel for repairs) uses his omnitool to go back down the elevator, hacks the Citadel's arm controls and uses it as a galaxy-class Pacman to chomp some Reaper ass.

14. Vanguard Shepard takes one look at the kid, scoffs, and biotic charges the nearest reaper's red eye. The Reaper, surprised by the stupidity, just stands there and dies after a moment of even greater surprise. Spotters in the area report Shepard's last words were "Alright you alien *******s, I'm baaaaack!" Vanguards over the world repeat the tactic and victory is achieved. Many cigars are smoked over smoldering Reaper remains as fireworks go off later that day.

15. Sentinel Shepard armor bursts the Starchild and, using her mastery of both technology and innate knowledge of mass effect technology and biotics, rewrites the Crucible in under two minutes, creating the superdupersecret fourth option: Spirit of Klendagon. Every relay in the galaxy turns towards Earth and begins drawing in every last particulate of space dust for millions of kilometers and fires it at the Reapers with miraculous accuracy. The battle is over in eight minutes and the only non-Reaper casualty is Admiral Han'Garrel, who was spaced by his underlings minutes prior for trying to hack the geth fleet to act as frontliners for his next assault.

16. Soldier Shepard orders the fleet to continue firing as he ignores the Starchild's options. All hope seems lost until Shepard gives a rousing speech about the sanctity of life/the righteousness of their cause/how they're going to torture the Reapers after the war's over. This works and galaxy is saved. The Alliance beancounters are later executed for insisting that a straight-up battle was suicide. The galaxy enters a new dark age as math is deemed obsolete in the face of really big guns.

17. The Crucible fires with a light-green burst and nothing seems to happen. Infiltrator Shepard disappears from the battlefield along with several fleets. Moments later, Reapers heads begin exploding left and right, leaking the bodily fluids of several thousand extinct races into space. Spotters in the area report hearing several thousand radio transmissions everytime a Reaper dies, the message the same each time: "Boom, headshot."

18. Biotic Shepard goes into a trance he just learned how to do due to some dormant aspect of the Prothean beacon from Eden Prime activating in the presence of the Starchild. He draws in the power of the Crucible and instead of channeling the energy into one of the three choices, he collects it all into his own mind. With a sigh, he transcends the bonds of the physical world and ascends to something like godhood, except it's scifi. The Reapers are all spotted punching themselves to death for the next century as they conga through the Omega-4 relay to certain doom.

[VanBuren]

19. As #10, but Optimus insists on sacrificing his life to save the galaxy. After hours of spirited debate with Shepard and the Reapers convincing him that this is, in fact, entirely unnecessary, Optimus concedes...

...then when everyone lets their guard down, Optimus runs to the Crucible to martyr himself, jumping into the beam and inadvertently picking Synthesis.

And then everyone was an Autobot.

[Dienekes]

20) Midway through the Starkids speech he abruptly stops and suddenly the screen switches to a look at the Bioware staff who give an apology but explain that it really is more artistic this way, this takes about 10 minutes and afterwards the Starkid continues just like he does in the original ending.

21) Starkid gives Shepard the decisions, only for an adult star person to appear. He berates his "son" saying to stop poking fun at the man. The Reapers all die in the background and Shepard just looks in confusion at what just happened.

[Grif]

22) The Katamari Prince comes up and rolls all the Reapers, Allied Fleets, Earth, Citadel and the entire Sol System in his quest to make the biggest ball of Katamari ever.