The Mass Effect thread

Umbrage · Wed Apr 20, 2011 2:23 am

9th place: Thane
10th place: Jack
11th place: Grunt
12th place: Miranda
13th place: Zaeed
14th place: Jacob
15th place: Ashley
16th place: Kaidan

Wrex (14)
Liara (15)
Garrus (14)
Tali (12)
Mordin (13)
Samara (6)
Legion (14)
Kasumi (2)

Umbrage · Wed Apr 20, 2011 3:32 am

9th place: Thane
10th place: Jack
11th place: Grunt
12th place: Miranda
13th place: Zaeed
14th place: Jacob
15th place: Ashley
16th place: Kaidan

Wrex (14)
Liara (15)
Garrus (14)
Tali (12)
Mordin (12)
Samara (6)
Legion (14)
Kasumi (3)

Umbrage · Wed Apr 20, 2011 6:14 am

9th place: Thane
10th place: Jack
11th place: Grunt
12th place: Miranda
13th place: Zaeed
14th place: Jacob
15th place: Ashley
16th place: Kaidan

Wrex (15)
Liara (15)
Garrus (15)
Tali (12)
Mordin (12)
Samara (4)
Legion (14)
Kasumi (3)

Umbrage · Wed Apr 20, 2011 7:22 am

9th place: Thane
10th place: Jack
11th place: Grunt
12th place: Miranda
13th place: Zaeed
14th place: Jacob
15th place: Ashley
16th place: Kaidan

Wrex (15)
Liara (15)
Garrus (14)
Tali (12)
Mordin (12)
Samara (4)
Legion (14)
Kasumi (4)

Umbrage · Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:47 am

Skill points don't matter, I'm pretty sure. Just get the Rich achievement, I think having a high Paragon/Renegade is good, and get as high a level as you can. I think you're going to need to do two playthroughs to reach 60 though, so you might want to just stick with 50. That means you're going to have to get every quest in the game. The wiki can help with that, there are a lot of missions. Anything else doesn't matter. Charm/Intimidate are good for some dialogue options I guess, but it's not that big a deal if you miss out. It's pretty easy to get good gear and Rich without Decryption, just take Tali or Kaidan everywhere and you should be fine. Just be sure to make a list of the planets and systems you've explored, I didn't the first time and got lost a lot. Again, check the wiki to know what quests you're missing.

Umbrage · Thu Apr 21, 2011 2:45 am

9th place: Thane
10th place: Jack
11th place: Grunt
12th place: Miranda
13th place: Zaeed
14th place: Jacob
15th place: Ashley
16th place: Kaidan

Wrex (14)
Liara (15)
Garrus (14)
Tali (10)
Mordin (12)
Samara (4)
Legion (15)
Kasumi (6)

Umbrage · Thu Apr 21, 2011 6:01 am

This is taking far too long, with the new healers I can see it being quite a while until someone finally dies. I'm reducing everyone's health by 2.

9th place: Thane
10th place: Jack
11th place: Grunt
12th place: Miranda
13th place: Zaeed
14th place: Jacob
15th place: Ashley
16th place: Kaidan

Wrex (12)
Liara (13)
Garrus (12)
Tali (8)
Mordin (10)
Samara (3)
Legion (13)
Kasumi (3)

Umbrage · Thu Apr 21, 2011 10:45 am

9th place: Thane
10th place: Jack
11th place: Grunt
12th place: Miranda
13th place: Zaeed
14th place: Jacob
15th place: Ashley
16th place: Kaidan

Wrex (12)
Liara (13)
Garrus (12)
Tali (8)
Mordin (10)
Samara (3)
Legion (12)
Kasumi (4)

Umbrage · Fri Apr 22, 2011 4:52 pm

9th place: Thane
10th place: Jack
11th place: Grunt
12th place: Miranda
13th place: Zaeed
14th place: Jacob
15th place: Ashley
16th place: Kaidan

Wrex (12)
Liara (13)
Garrus (13)
Tali (8)
Mordin (8)
Samara (1) NEAR DEATH
Legion (12)
Kasumi (7)

Umbrage · Fri Apr 22, 2011 4:53 pm

Also yeah, the ME game is going to be awesome. I don't want to give too much away, but I will say that it has a lot of great flavour, all the best characters, and very interesting mechanics.

Umbrage · Sat Apr 23, 2011 2:48 am

Reducing everyone's health by 5 after Samara's death.

8th place: Samara
9th place: Thane
10th place: Jack
11th place: Grunt
12th place: Miranda
13th place: Zaeed
14th place: Jacob
15th place: Ashley
16th place: Kaidan

Wrex (6)
Liara (8)
Garrus (8)
Tali (3)
Mordin (4)
Legion (7)
Kasumi (3)

Umbrage · Sun Apr 24, 2011 4:36 am

7th place: Kasumi
8th place: Samara
9th place: Thane
10th place: Jack
11th place: Grunt
12th place: Miranda
13th place: Zaeed
14th place: Jacob
15th place: Ashley
16th place: Kaidan

Wrex (4)
Liara (10)
Garrus (8)
Tali (4)
Mordin (4)
Legion (9)

Umbrage · Sun Apr 24, 2011 4:21 pm

7th place: Kasumi
8th place: Samara
9th place: Thane
10th place: Jack
11th place: Grunt
12th place: Miranda
13th place: Zaeed
14th place: Jacob
15th place: Ashley
16th place: Kaidan

Wrex (4)
Liara (10)
Garrus (8)
Tali (5)
Mordin (3)
Legion (9)

Umbrage · Mon Apr 25, 2011 12:44 am

7th place: Kasumi
8th place: Samara
9th place: Thane
10th place: Jack
11th place: Grunt
12th place: Miranda
13th place: Zaeed
14th place: Jacob
15th place: Ashley
16th place: Kaidan

Wrex (3)
Liara (9)
Garrus (8)
Tali (8)
Mordin (3)
Legion (8)

Umbrage · Mon Apr 25, 2011 1:03 am

By the way... thought you'd like this...

Umbrage · Mon Apr 25, 2011 2:16 am

7th place: Kasumi
8th place: Samara
9th place: Thane
10th place: Jack
11th place: Grunt
12th place: Miranda
13th place: Zaeed
14th place: Jacob
15th place: Ashley
16th place: Kaidan

Wrex (1) NEAR DEATH
Liara (9)
Garrus (8)
Tali (8)
Mordin (4)
Legion (9)

Umbrage · Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:11 am

6th place: Wrex
7th place: Kasumi
8th place: Samara
9th place: Thane
10th place: Jack
11th place: Grunt
12th place: Miranda
13th place: Zaeed
14th place: Jacob
15th place: Ashley
16th place: Kaidan

Liara (9)
Garrus (8)
Tali (8)
Mordin (4)
Legion (10)

Umbrage · Mon Apr 25, 2011 9:22 am

6th place: Wrex
7th place: Kasumi
8th place: Samara
9th place: Thane
10th place: Jack
11th place: Grunt
12th place: Miranda
13th place: Zaeed
14th place: Jacob
15th place: Ashley
16th place: Kaidan

Liara (9)
Garrus (8)
Tali (7)
Mordin (4)
Legion (11)

Umbrage · Tue Apr 26, 2011 5:51 am

6th place: Wrex
7th place: Kasumi
8th place: Samara
9th place: Thane
10th place: Jack
11th place: Grunt
12th place: Miranda
13th place: Zaeed
14th place: Jacob
15th place: Ashley
16th place: Kaidan

Liara (9)
Garrus (8)
Tali (9)
Mordin (3)
Legion (10)

Umbrage · Tue Apr 26, 2011 10:20 am

Your title should be Unicorn Effect!

Umbrage · Tue Apr 26, 2011 11:58 am

I totally want Miranda/Jacob to turn on Shepard as part of the whole TIM tries to kill him thing, and then you have to try and talk them out of it.

Umbrage · Wed Apr 27, 2011 3:49 am

6th place: Wrex
7th place: Kasumi
8th place: Samara
9th place: Thane
10th place: Jack
11th place: Grunt
12th place: Miranda
13th place: Zaeed
14th place: Jacob
15th place: Ashley
16th place: Kaidan

Liara (9)
Garrus (8)
Tali (8)
Mordin (1) NEAR DEATH
Legion (13)

Umbrage · Wed Apr 27, 2011 7:55 am

Reducing everyone's health by 5.

5th place: Mordin
6th place: Wrex
7th place: Kasumi
8th place: Samara
9th place: Thane
10th place: Jack
11th place: Grunt
12th place: Miranda
13th place: Zaeed
14th place: Jacob
15th place: Ashley
16th place: Kaidan

Liara (5)
Garrus (4)
Tali (4)
Legion (6)

Umbrage · Wed Apr 27, 2011 8:42 am

I'm not increasing the health, or the game will last forever. It was fun, but I'm ready for it to be over soon. I've got a big finish planned...

Umbrage · Wed Apr 27, 2011 10:39 am

ReaperCharlie wrote:Umbrage PM'd me...

Big finish = rule 34 pics of winnar?!

NO.

Unless it's Liara.

Umbrage · Wed Apr 27, 2011 2:53 pm

5th place: Mordin
6th place: Wrex
7th place: Kasumi
8th place: Samara
9th place: Thane
10th place: Jack
11th place: Grunt
12th place: Miranda
13th place: Zaeed
14th place: Jacob
15th place: Ashley
16th place: Kaidan

Liara (5)
Garrus (5)
Tali (3)
Legion (6)

Umbrage · Wed Apr 27, 2011 2:59 pm

The Tali obsession is so stupid...

And the worst part is that geeks go I'M SO SWEET AND SENSITIVE CUZ I DIDN'T CHOOSE THE HOT ONE!11

Umbrage · Thu Apr 28, 2011 3:29 am

4th place: Tali
5th place: Mordin
6th place: Wrex
7th place: Kasumi
8th place: Samara
9th place: Thane
10th place: Jack
11th place: Grunt
12th place: Miranda
13th place: Zaeed
14th place: Jacob
15th place: Ashley
16th place: Kaidan

Liara (6)
Garrus (4)
Legion (9)

Umbrage · Thu Apr 28, 2011 5:31 am

Dude, that picture wasn't even funny the first time.

Umbrage · Thu Apr 28, 2011 5:55 am

You need to get out more...

Umbrage · Thu Apr 28, 2011 9:28 am

She is the most boring 2-D character BioWare's ever made. I romanced her one playthough, it was painful.

Umbrage · Thu Apr 28, 2011 10:22 am

Mute wrote:Otolia I could make some big schpeal about how pathetic a character Tali is and how in every way outside of culturilization with the galaxy at large she really serves no purpose to shepard and his/her team and is better off dealing with the hardships of being a young adult quarian and that had shepard never met her she'd more than likely never have gotten involved in any of the shit she was involved with in ME1 and that she'd be dead in ME2 anyways because the rest of the team she was with on the planet where you recruited her was dead except for k'al reegar who was already wounded and waiting to die (and in fact can die in that final battle if you take too long to finish it) and the geth were pounding away in the room where she bunkered up in who'd eventually break in and kill her anyways, let's not even bring into light the motivations she had or functions she provided in ME1 which really was nothing more than being an encyclopedia to her kind and learning about the normandy and how it functioned, or that her combat ability is utter shit and her health is so pathetic and if we apply "realistic" logic to her character she'd be dead anyways from a single fucking blaster shot to the arm--

tl;dr?
Tali is useless.

This.

OK, I don't hate her that much. I actually liked her a little in ME1. But her character was so fucked up in ME2. In ME1, she was this teenage mechanical genius who souped up your ship in exchange for a little tour around the galaxy for her rite of passage. Fine. Not the best, but fine. Then comes ME2 and suddenly she's some sort of guerrilla fighter, practically royalty on her homeworld, and yet still the perfectly innocent virgin. They tried too hard to make her the perfect woman for gamers, and it just turned out stupid.

The problem is that BioWare caved. When ME1 was released, it turned out that guys who play video games are really attracted to shy, nerdy teenagers with mechanical talents. Who knew? So BioWare decided to reward the Taliphiles with an ME2 romance that had her act like a stereotypical geeky girl. Thus ruining whatever respectability she had left.

Umbrage · Thu Apr 28, 2011 11:05 am

Bah, Miranda was good. Thane and Jacob were OK, nothing special though.

Umbrage · Thu Apr 28, 2011 11:23 am

At least Miranda has character. At least she makes sure Shepard isn't a jerk before fucking him. Tali was just SLEEP WITH ME PLZ.

Umbrage · Fri Apr 29, 2011 3:55 am

4th place: Tali
5th place: Mordin
6th place: Wrex
7th place: Kasumi
8th place: Samara
9th place: Thane
10th place: Jack
11th place: Grunt
12th place: Miranda
13th place: Zaeed
14th place: Jacob
15th place: Ashley
16th place: Kaidan

Liara (6)
Garrus (1) NEAR DEATH
Legion (12)

Umbrage · Fri Apr 29, 2011 7:06 am

3rd place: Garrus
4th place: Tali
5th place: Mordin
6th place: Wrex
7th place: Kasumi
8th place: Samara
9th place: Thane
10th place: Jack
11th place: Grunt
12th place: Miranda
13th place: Zaeed
14th place: Jacob
15th place: Ashley
16th place: Kaidan

Liara (10)
Legion (9)

Umbrage · Fri Apr 29, 2011 7:07 am

Hm. Looks like it's time for another health reduction!

Liara (5)
Legion (4)

WHO'S GOING TO WIN?

Umbrage · Fri Apr 29, 2011 7:40 am

Haylen wrote:
Hurt: Legion
Heal: Liara

Why did I do this again?

Because you find yourself irresistibly drawn to me and everything I do.

Umbrage · Fri Apr 29, 2011 7:52 am

Liara (3)
Legion (6)

AND THE BALANCE SHIFTS!

Umbrage · Fri Apr 29, 2011 7:59 am

Liara (3)
Legion (6)

IT HASN'T CHANGED MUAHAHAHAHA

Umbrage · Fri Apr 29, 2011 8:04 am

Liara (4)
Legion (5)

OK, this has gone far enough. I'm closing all votes for today. Resume tomorrow.

Umbrage · Fri Apr 29, 2011 8:09 am

If you're desperate enough to use an alt to cheat on a silly contest that has no importance whatsoever, I'm giving you the extra vote out of pity.

I repeat: voting is closed for the day. In the meantime, we will all learn more about Tali:

Umbrage · Fri Apr 29, 2011 8:17 am

Wickedestjr wrote:
Hurt: Legion
Heal: Liara

This was a waste of time. It won't be counted. Only votes made tomorrow will count.

Umbrage · Fri Apr 29, 2011 1:49 pm

ATTENTION EVERYONE! VOTING HAS HALTED. IT WILL RESUME WHEN I SAY SO TOMORROW. IF YOU MAKE A VOTE BEFORE THEN, IT WILL NOT BE COUNTED.

Umbrage · Fri Apr 29, 2011 2:52 pm

ReaperCharlie wrote:
Hiraki wrote:WHY IS THERE SO MUCH ATTENTION ON THE DAY THAT IT TAKES A HIATUS?

BECAUSE UMBRAGE WASN'T LIKING THAT LEGION WOULD BE DEAD BY NOW, SO HE RIGGED IT. DUH

I'm actually secretly rooting for Liara.

Umbrage · Sat Apr 30, 2011 2:44 am

ooba wrote:I think calling off the game at this stage is bad, esp. since people invested time and Umbrage put in a lot of work across 40 pages to coordinate. Let's finish this properly:

People who voted(Hurt\Heal) before Haylen did in the thread:
esuriospiritus
ReaperCharlie
Hiraki
Ellyssa
Zachrulez
Sotty7
Gammagooey
Mute
VP Baltar
hitogoroshi
Otolia
Jerako
xRECKONERx
Nero Cain
Rhinox

Discoutning Haylen's votes in 1540, the count is:
Liara (9)
Legion (10)

With the reduction it becomes
Liara (4)
Legion (5)

Therefore, whenever Umbrage restarts, it should be at that count and only those players are eligible. (Of course, since he is the game creator, he'll have the final say on however he wants this to pan out - this is just my opinion on what the best option is)

I'm Commander Shepard and this is my favourite post on the forums.

Voting resumes now.

Liara (4)
Legion (5)

Umbrage · Sat Apr 30, 2011 2:54 am

Liara (2)
Legion (7)

Umbrage · Sat Apr 30, 2011 8:52 am

RESULTS:

In 16th place, KAIDAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In 15th place, ASHLEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In 14th place, JACOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In 13th place, ZAEED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In 12th place, MIRANDA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In 11th place, GRUNT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In 10th place, JACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In 9th place, THANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In 8th place, SAMARA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In 7th place, KASUMI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In 6th place, WREX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In 5th place, MORDIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In 4th place, TALI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In 3rd place, GARRUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In 2nd place, LIARA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And in 1st place...................

*drumroll*

LEGION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Umbrage · Sat Apr 30, 2011 8:59 am

The credit goes to a certain 'pineappletree', I just found the pics and have been waiting for a chance to use them!

There are other good ones as well!

http://pineappletree.deviantart.com/gallery/?

Umbrage · Mon May 02, 2011 4:04 am

Umbrage · Wed May 04, 2011 2:36 pm

OK, Hiraki just officially made this thread creepy.

Umbrage · Thu May 05, 2011 2:25 am

And, Mute ups the ante.

Umbrage · Thu May 05, 2011 6:29 am

URGENT MESSAGE:

STEAM IS HAVING A MASS EFFECT SALE.

THE FIRST GAME IS ONLY 5 FUCKING DOLLARS.

THE SECOND IS 10, 20 FOR THE DELUXE VERSION.

IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THESE, TODAY IS THE DAY TO BUY THEM!

Umbrage · Thu May 05, 2011 7:00 am

What?

Hey, is that Scott Thompson on the right?

Umbrage · Sun May 08, 2011 1:51 am

I used cryo ammo and watched her shatter into a million tiny pieces. Then she magically reformed for the cutscene...

Umbrage · Sun May 08, 2011 5:38 am

Seriously though, every fight in ME2 is ridiculously easy. Just find good cover and turn every fight into a war of attrition where you have recharging shields and health and enemies don't.

Umbrage · Sun May 08, 2011 12:35 pm

Not really. And the right skills can negate it.

Umbrage · Sun May 08, 2011 1:08 pm

Reave + Warp = Unstoppable Force

Umbrage · Sun May 08, 2011 1:08 pm

Oh, and + Incinerate.

Umbrage · Sun May 08, 2011 2:30 pm

It's all about the right squad. Two biotics can be devastating, but they're usually too weak. Throw in Jacob or Miranda to mix it up a little.

Umbrage · Sun May 08, 2011 4:06 pm

Interesting. Was she lacking the points when you got her, or did she not level up correctly?

Umbrage · Mon May 09, 2011 12:26 pm

I thought her death scene was her best scene, so I'd say kill her.

Umbrage · Tue May 10, 2011 3:40 am

You know, after seeing that picture, it hit me.

MATT LEBLANC WOULD MAKE AN AWESOME KAIDAN!

Umbrage · Tue May 10, 2011 8:22 am

OK, some other casting choices I would make:

Ashley: Natalie Portman
Garrus: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Thane: Johnny Depp
Mordin: Eddie Izzard
Udina: Peter Ustinov (oh wait he's dead...)
Udina: Tom Hanks

Shepard is tricky...

Umbrage · Thu May 12, 2011 2:00 am

Kaidan and Ashley always get hated on because they're the humans. If ME hadn't been a space game, everyone would love those two.

Umbrage · Thu May 12, 2011 1:11 pm

I WANT MORE EVIL SQUADDIES!

ZAEED WAS GOOD, BUT I WANT MORE!!!

BioWare is great when it comes to evil companions. I hope they don't focus on softies like Tali and Liara.

Umbrage · Fri May 13, 2011 2:45 am

I'd take Ashley over Tali any day. Ashley has strong opinions, and isn't shy about expressing them. She's not racist. She wants humanity to be safe, and I hate to burst your bubble, but that means you can't trust aliens completely.

All this talk about racism comes from the fact that she doesn't like aliens on THE MOST ADVANCED AND SECRET ALLIANCE VESSEL IN THE GALAXY. I'm all for working with allies, and I trust my squad, but I can still see where she's coming from. The Normandy is incredibly valuable, it's the one advantage humans have over the stronger races like Turians. And let's look at who she doesn't trust, shall we?

A member of the race that not too long ago was at war with humans, and one of which is currently the biggest threat in the galaxy. Not to mention he's a skilled Infiltrator.

A dangerous mercenary and known criminal who'll do anything for any remote possibility of helping to save his race.

A scavenging tech expert who does nothing but watch the engines all day.

Benezia's daughter.

Sure, Shepard sees Garrus, Wrex, Tali, and Liara. Nothing to be afraid of. But when you look objectively, as I'm sure Ashley is doing, they are really big security risks.

And as for her 'it isn't human' speech, let's say you're in a burning building, about to collapse any second, and you can only drag out one person. Do you save the human, the batarian, or the vorcha? Honestly.

She's right. Anyone will save their own race first. Take Wrex. He was willing to kill Shepard and align with Saren to save his people. And unless you were a real smooth talker, Ashley had to bail you out of that. I'm surprised she didn't turn to Shepard after that and go "Who's racist and paranoid now?".

And the reason she lets Shepard jump down her throat when talking about her beliefs is because HE IS HER COMMANDING OFFICER. YOU DON'T TALK BACK TO YOUR COMMANDING OFFICER. EVER. EVEN IF THEY ARE A REAL JERK. YOU HOLD YOUR TONGUE AND DO AS TOLD. THAT'S MILITARY 101.

Ashley's a hero. Women in the navy? Someone has to be really strong to last through that and keep their beliefs and character strong. I don't care how bad Jump Zero was for Kaidan, I assure you Ashley had it worse. In comparison, Tali is a wimp with no real character.

That's why I love Ashley. She's a fantastic soldier and she doesn't let her job compromise who she is.

That and what Mute said.

Umbrage · Fri May 13, 2011 3:41 am

Zachrulez wrote:^ Alien hater.

The whole 'anyone who doesn't want to give turians hugs and kisses is racist' thing is out of control. Especially since how some races are portrayed, as you said. At first geth were evil scum machines that were hurting the cute lovable quarians. Then Legion came along and suddenly geth weren't so bad after all. It's silly.

Everyone wants to have all the species love each other and work together to stop the Reapers and live happily ever after with krogan marrying salarians and humans sleeping with turians and geth making peace with quarians and all notions of racism come crashing down in one giant lovefest. But it's not going to happen.

All races have seriously fucked up at some point. The Krogan declared war on the entire galaxy. The Turians bullied their way into owning the Citadel with their military strength. The Geth kill anything that comes within a few lightyears of their territory. The Quarians tried to kill all the geth when they could no longer use them as slaves. The Batarians are notorious slavers. The Asari are slavers as well. The Vorcha are savages. The Salarians destroyed the Krogan and shied away from responsibility. The Hanar keep the Drell as servants. The Drell fucked themselves even worse than the Krogan. The Volus control the economy and have an unstable government. The Elcor are stuck in tradition. And Humans are greedily snapping up colonies at the expense of other species.

There's no way all that can be erased. And there's no reason to trust other species without good cause. The Turians and Humans are really close to another war, you can feel it whenever Shepard talks to a Turian. They just don't get along.

Sure, Shepard's squad is learning to trust each other and work as a team. But that doesn't mean the rest of the galaxy is doing the same.

Umbrage · Fri May 13, 2011 10:07 am

The thing is, I'm pretty sure the reasons I like Ashley and Jack are the same reasons other players don't.

They're too strong.

It makes me sad to say it, but I think a lot of guys are drawn to Liara and Tali because they're very dependent on Shepard. Liara's change in ME2 upset a lot of people. They didn't like the notion that she could handle things on her own and become one tough Asari. They preferred the damsel in distress trapped on Therum.

I hate how contrived they made Tali's character. One the one hand she's this tough squad leader and hero, on the other she's this shy virgin with a crush on you. I just don't buy it. She's too dependent on you.

One thing that really impressed me was after the Shadow Broker mission, when you could talk with Liara. That's the first time you really get to see Shepard vulnerable and needy. When you're not the big hero. It feels like a true relationship rather than Shepard having fun with his groupies.

P-EDIT:

Hee-hee at Zaeed living for Mute. Although sadface at Jack dying. That's a beautiful ending for Miranda, actually, she manages to redeem herself just before she dies... I think the "Miri can't die' thing is how she survives if chosen for either squad leader AND the biotic challenge.

Umbrage · Fri May 13, 2011 5:30 pm

How many squaddies do you need to live? One or two?

I'm looking forward to my Renegade massacre...

Umbrage · Sat May 14, 2011 3:34 pm

I hated the combat in ME2, it felt too easy. Like HERE COMES SHEPARD GONNA KICK UR ASS instead of fighting for your life.

Umbrage · Sat May 14, 2011 4:35 pm

Cover is good. The way it was in ME1 was good. But combined with the recharging shields and health? No way. You can just sit there and spit at enemies at leisure until they fall solely because they don't have the same regen.

Umbrage · Sun May 15, 2011 4:33 am

hasdgfas wrote:
Umbrage wrote:Cover is good. The way it was in ME1 was good. But combined with the recharging shields and health? No way. You can just sit there and spit at enemies at leisure until they fall solely because they don't have the same regen.

I'd have no issues with it in ME1, except that every single enemy just charged around it and killed me. No thanks.

Wrex + Shotgun = you hardly ever notice your flank...

Umbrage · Sun May 15, 2011 7:44 am

hasdgfas wrote:
Umbrage wrote:
hasdgfas wrote:
Umbrage wrote:Cover is good. The way it was in ME1 was good. But combined with the recharging shields and health? No way. You can just sit there and spit at enemies at leisure until they fall solely because they don't have the same regen.

I'd have no issues with it in ME1, except that every single enemy just charged around it and killed me. No thanks.

Wrex + Shotgun = you hardly ever notice your flank...

Well excuse me for wanting to be able to beat missions regardless of who I take with me.

Tali + Shotgun = almost as good as Wrex...

Liara + Throw = good job on getting close to me, but now I'm putting you right back where you started...

Ashley + Assault Rifle = Enemies? What enemies?

Umbrage · Sun May 15, 2011 9:57 am

Yeah, you have to tell them to find cover a lot of the time. I like to keep them tucked away and only send them into action when someone tries to flank me.

Snipers, especially Geth Hoppers are a nightmare though. Take them out as soon as possible because your squaddies will focus on the closer enemies and get ripped to shreds.

Umbrage · Wed May 18, 2011 2:05 pm

I actually didn't have a problem with the Citadel. Not when you had Illium and Omega.

Umbrage · Thu May 19, 2011 3:58 am

Omega has a lot of switchbacks and weird passages though. I think I got confused a couple times. Luckily you can pretty much just run forward and you'll end up in familiar settings.

Umbrage · Thu May 19, 2011 5:02 pm

Playing through ME1 on Insanity.

Honestly, it's pretty easy so far. Is it harder with a new, low-level Shepard?

Umbrage · Sat May 21, 2011 4:53 am

Yeah, too bad BioWare joined up with EA.

Don't get me wrong, EA's not that bad. Sure they're greedy bastards, but they're still less greedy than Activision and they actually deliver quality in games.

Umbrage · Sat May 21, 2011 6:39 am

Exactly. I never understood the whole problem with DLC. If you don't like it, don't buy it. When companies learn it doesn't sell, they'll stop making it.

The problem is with the XBOX fans that buy anything that's sold to them, especially if it has a CoD label, or is CoDish in any way. As far as I'm concerned, that's the only real difference between XBOX and PC gamers. XBOXers will pay for all kinds of shit and obsess over it. PCers go on the internet to complain. That's why there aren't many games made for the PC, the companies know it's a more discerning crowd. If a game is released on PC, it's either incredibly good, or a half-assed port shipped for a quick buck.

People need to wise up with their money. I never pre-order games, hell, I don't even buy a game when it's first released. That's just asking for trouble. People wonder why games keep rising in price, try stop buying them as soon as they're available and see what happens.

And piracy is not the answer. I hate people who try and justify stealing, pretending that they're getting back at evil companies when all they do is encourage ridiculous DRM and give PC gamers a bad name. The whole notion of capitalism is that you vote with your money. Not spending money means not voting, means your preferences mean fuck all. Piracy results in more shitty games being made, not the other way around.

/rant

Umbrage · Sat May 21, 2011 4:19 pm

I don't think I've ever bought a game over 40$...

Umbrage · Sat May 21, 2011 4:46 pm

ReaperCharlie wrote:But what really makes ME mad is when people try to sell MOVIES for exorbitant amounts like 30-40... WTF?

I don't care if it's RAINBO-RAY, I'm still not gonna plop down that much for a movie. Special features or not.

THIS. SO MUCH.

I can't believe there are people who buy into all that HD Blu-Ray crap.

Umbrage · Sun May 22, 2011 2:43 am

ReaperCharlie wrote:I'm talkin PC games.

Console games as far as I remember have always been over-priced.

Umbrage wrote:The problem is with the XBOX fans that buy anything that's sold to them, especially if it has a CoD label, or is CoDish in any way. As far as I'm concerned, that's the only real difference between XBOX and PC gamers. XBOXers will pay for all kinds of shit and obsess over it.

Umbrage · Sun May 22, 2011 4:26 pm

Assassin's Creed is a very strange game. It somehow manages to be awesome as all hell, incredibly boring, frustratingly stupid, and simply brilliant all at the same time.

Umbrage · Mon May 23, 2011 6:59 am

You'll know it when you see it.

Umbrage · Mon May 23, 2011 10:56 am

Or, you could just pay attention to the plot...

Umbrage · Mon May 23, 2011 10:57 am

Also, I hope you are all reading this: http://epantiras.deviantart.com/gallery ... 1#/d2zhz0e

Umbrage · Mon May 23, 2011 11:40 am

Udina is great in that. Wrex as well.

Umbrage · Mon May 23, 2011 12:47 pm

It's updated every Sunday, I think.

Umbrage · Fri Jun 03, 2011 3:53 pm

ME3 is going to have homosexual romances.

Discuss.

(And I mean real romances, not that weird shit with Chambers.)

Umbrage · Sun Jun 05, 2011 12:43 am

Liara/Femshep is not a homosexual relationship. Asari are hermaphroditic.

Mute wrote:with the lemons.

?

Umbrage · Tue Jun 07, 2011 7:51 am

Actually, the only DLC ordering that disrupts logic and canon is if you do Overlord before Firewalker. Which I did...

Umbrage · Tue Jun 07, 2011 8:48 am

Why does everyone hate the Mako? It's great if you know how to drive with it.

Umbrage · Tue Jun 07, 2011 2:03 pm

Mute wrote:This just in:
You can have up to two people play with you in ME3 instead of using two NPC squadmates during some parts the game.

This is fake.

Wouldn't want it. I like telling NPCs what to do instead of having some goober mess shit up.

Umbrage · Tue Jun 07, 2011 4:18 pm

Mute wrote:Guarantee if there's ever an ME MMO I will play a Batarian Infiltrator.

We will now all create our ideal race/class combinations.

For me, it's Elcor Vanguard.

Tongue in cheek: You have not experienced Biotic Charge until you have experienced it as Elcor.

Umbrage · Tue Jun 07, 2011 5:16 pm

I am so fucking sick of Blasto jokes. Yes, I get it, he's a polite Harry Callahan. It was a funny gag in the game, but it's time to lay him to rest.

Umbrage · Wed Jun 08, 2011 10:44 am

Not laughing.

That is way too overused.

Umbrage · Wed Jun 08, 2011 3:24 pm

Umbrage · Mon Jun 13, 2011 3:36 am

Presuming you didn't already...

Umbrage · Mon Jun 13, 2011 2:54 pm

Zaeed was planning suicide.

Thus he doesn't care about the Reapers.

Thus he doesn't care about Shepard living.

Thus he'd kill Shepard for a few credits.

Umbrage · Sun Jun 19, 2011 4:15 pm

And signups are finally open!!!

Even though the game isn't technically ready...

Umbrage · Wed Jul 06, 2011 6:24 am

Umbrage · Wed Jul 06, 2011 10:02 am

Umbrage · Fri Mar 09, 2012 2:56 am

Huh. I heard the game sucks.

Umbrage · Fri Mar 09, 2012 7:36 am

My friend lost Mordin as well, so that might not have preventable.

Umbrage · Wed Mar 14, 2012 4:05 am

So, let me get this straight...

There are only 3 endings, and Shepard ends up dead/presumed dead in all of them? And all your actions get boiled into a single counter to determine how much gets wrecked by the Reapers?

Fuck it. I've been a huge Mass Effect fan. I bought FUCKING PINNACLE STATION and even ENJOYED PLAYING IT. I don't give a shit about Deus Ex Machina endings or whatever, IMO that's part of the appeal of the series: it's a homage to old scifi stories. It's cheesy and awesome at the same time, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

But I can't have them take away Shepard's happy ending. I don't give a shit about what the galaxy looks like, imagination's better than knowing anyway. The characters though? I care about them. I want to know what happened to them. If they died, I want to have a chance to miss them. And I want Shepard to settle down with his/her LI.

Do you get ANYTHING about what happened to the survivors of your squad and friends?

Umbrage · Wed Mar 14, 2012 12:59 pm

OK, I'm actually beginning to believe the indoctrination theory myself. There're a lot of hints towards it that gamers have found.

Basically, it comes down to which is more likely: that BioWare not only fucked up the ending of their otherwise flawless game and conclusion to their most successful series but lied to customers everywhere about it, or the whole thing is the most insane marketing ploy of all time.

I mean, think about it. BioWare isn't stupid. They knew the ending to Mass Effect 3 was one of the most anticipated moments in gaming history. Everyone knows you don't play Mass Effect for the combat. You play it for the plot, the characters, and the choices. If the rest of ME3 was equally shitty, then fine, it's just a bad game. But why would it suddenly get shitty at the one part that HAD to be great? The one part that BioWare themselves were advertising as brilliant, and new, and original?

Then there's Skyrim to consider. When BioWare was making ME3, they knew what they were up against. People were bound to compare ME3 and Skyrim. Seriously, think on that for a bit. DA2 was a flop, and now Skyrim is regarded as the best RPG ever? If BioWare fucked up ME3, they were finished. RPGs are all they're known for, if they lost their status as the best in the business, they'd go out of business.

Frankly, I just don't see any other motive, any other reason for this ending to exist. BioWare knew what was at stake, and the only way you could fuck up an ending that horribly was if you really didn't care. BioWare had to care.

On the other hand, this is the company that brought us FUCKING NEVERWINTER NIGHTS 2 AND THE WORST ENDING IN THE HISTORY OF ALL VIDEO GAMES EVER.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRjN8XM- ... re=related if you were fortunate enough to be spared that particular trauma.

Umbrage · Wed Mar 14, 2012 2:09 pm

But you can give free updates for XBOX, right? And all PC versions of the game are linked with Origin, so those can all be updated as well. If this is a marketing ploy, it's likely just a small update that gives a longer ending, not a full DLC mission.

But whatever. We'll have to wait and see.

Umbrage · Thu Mar 15, 2012 5:08 am

[sidenote]Wow, once again I'm glad to be a PC user. XBOX is completely and utterly fucked-up beyond belief.[/sidenote]

I don't know what BioWare are planning, but they're doing something. There are too many plot holes.

1) Your squad at the ending magically appearing on the Normandy.

2) The little boy vanishing from the vent.

3) Anderson somehow showing up at the end before Shepard.

4) Shepard breathing in space unaided.

And that's just based on what I've read, really looking at the game should come up with more.

I'm not saying Mass Effect has never had shoddy writing or plot holes, but BioWare doesn't make these kind of mistakes. ME plot holes are usually just various characters passing the Idiot Ball back and forth, or BW getting some of the science wrong. They don't lose track of where their characters are, and have you EVER seen an ME character breathe in space without a helmet or one of those weird bubble things?

There's a difference between a bad ending and an IMPOSSIBLE ending. I could see BW do some arty shit like that choice at the end and call it a day, but they don't fuck up like this. It wouldn't be the first time they extended an ending through DLC, Arrival and Awakening did the same thing.

I'm still pissed at them - for the D1 DLC, and shoving Origin down our throats, and turning the ending of a game into a marketing ploy, and I think the shit they've already gotten is just the beginning. But they're not stupid, just evil.

Umbrage · Fri Mar 16, 2012 6:46 am

In post 2217, JDodge wrote:Actual best ending:

Spoiler:

MWAHAHA YES

Anyway, that Casey Hudson quote pretty much confirmed I'm not buying ME3 ever.

Umbrage · Fri Mar 16, 2012 11:20 am

In post 2221, Hiraki wrote:Why does everyone think we want a happy ending?

I have absolutely no qualms about Shepard dying(untrue, I'd probably like him to live) but I'd like an ending more if it made sense.

(PSSST. THIS ONE THAT I'VE SEEN SO FAR DOESN'T)

Edit: Eh. This post requires spoilers.

Spoiler:
What I mainly don't understand is
how
someone gets indoctrinated.

In addition, why would the Reapers, if they indoctrinated you(which I'm pretty sure is what happened at this point) allow you to have the choice to destroy them?

That just seems stupid.

This ending just doesn't give closure. It shows you how everything ends in Shepard's mind, but we really don't know if that's reality.

If anyone dares says that indoctrination isn't what happened, I'd like to know how/why you'd think that.

Think of it like Inception. Remember how they couldn't just tell the guy an idea in a dream or it wouldn't stick? They had to get him to come to the desired conclusion.

I think it's the same thing with indoctrination. Basically, Harbringer is trying to get Shepard to choose not to destroy the Reapers. He can't say "YOU MUST SPARE THE REAPERS THERE IS NO OTHER OPTION", because Shepard (and you) would fight against that. It's basic psychology, by making Destroy an available but unappealing option, it increases the likelihood that Shepard won't choose that option.

Harbringer's been setting this up from the beginning. The boy says "you can't help me", Harbringer is trying to convince Shepard that he can't win. It's like Saren. Saren honestly believed that everyone had to cooperate with the Reapers. Harbringer is trying to do the same to Shepard, convince him that the 'best' ending is one where the Reapers survive.

Remember that Synthesis was pretty much what the Collectors were working for, and the ultimate goal of the Reapers. The Reapers are trying to get you to agree with that goal, failing that to get you to go for Control and let the Reapers in to your mind. We all know how that ends.

Umbrage · Sat Mar 17, 2012 11:15 am

1)

It all depends on how indoctrination works, I'm not sure. I think it's because Harbringer had to make Shepard choose to serve the Reaper's goals of his/her own free will for the effect to be complete. The important thing isn't that Shepard chooses Synthesis or Control, it's that he/she doesn't choose Destruction. If that choice isn't there, then when Shepard wakes up he/she just goes "oh wait, I don't have to do that, I can just kick the Reapers' asses". If Shepard declines Destruction, then Shepard wakes up thinking "well I COULD kick the Reapers' asses, but I don't think that's a good idea".

2)

Perfect ending? You mean Shepard waking up? My guess that was just thrown in to provide dedicated players with a nice clue toward the indoctrination theory. If the indoctrination theory isn't true, I don't know and I don't give a damn.

Umbrage · Mon Mar 19, 2012 2:05 am

In post 2225, Hiraki wrote:
Spoiler:
By perfect I meant synthesis. There's no reason EMS should've mattered, unless yknow.

See, I understand that Bioware was trying to do indoctrination, the problem is that they did it incorrectly. Of course, if you just read that you're probably snorting that milk you're drinking because I'm now Bioware.

Well, no I'm not, but I do know one thing.

With indoctrination, Shepard has to be lured into the idea that all of his actions are good. Bioware does a flawless job with this. If you were Shepard, then you'd never know you were indoctrinated until the very last second.

However, the plain and simple fact is that you're not Shepard. You're (enternamehere) and you can choose what Shepard does. You're not indoctrinated. The only reason people actually became indoctrinated for a second was due to Bioware's system of paragon v/s renegade choices. If they never kept it to the paragon being top and renegade being bottom, then this would never happen. Bioware would've came out of Mass Effect 3 with praise.

But they didn't do that, and therefore people assumed and will their reputation never revert back to its former glory. Quote me on this one boys.

Edit: I don't believe I fairly addressed your first point, well I kind of did but I wanted to add this in after two seconds of thought. Yes, the Reapers have to give another solution, but that doesn't mean they have to label it out.

Like you said, Shepard could've killed the Reapers but didn't have to.

Well, they could've just left that part out as well. Then again, I could see the counterargument that Saren knew he could give up. That's fair. The same goes for Shepard though. At the end, he's really resisting what the Star Child says. As many have pointed out, and I believe I even saw a fan-made ending including this idea, Shepard could basically say "fuck you and your choices" and do something else.

Spoiler:

Umbrage · Mon Mar 19, 2012 10:34 am

But you DON'T DIE!!!!!

That's the whole point! The Fuckchild doesn't exist, it's a personality Harbringer created! He's lying to Shepard, trying to convince him NOT to choose the destruction ending by saying it will kill Shepard!

After you choose Destruction, Shepard wakes up, having successfully fought off the indoctrination attempt.

Umbrage · Tue Mar 20, 2012 3:02 am

It's not bad. It's incomplete, which is probably worse.

Umbrage · Thu Mar 22, 2012 12:24 pm

Umbrage · Thu Mar 22, 2012 4:50 pm

HOLY FUCK

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainmen ... bled=false

I have no idea what to make of this. Not sure if they're just caving into pressure or if this is all part of their plan.

Umbrage · Fri Mar 23, 2012 3:24 am

Some of the criticism that has been delivered in the heat of passion by our most ardent fans, even if founded on valid principles, such as seeking more clarity to questions or looking for more closure, for example – has unfortunately become destructive rather than constructive.

This right here is pretty much confirmation of the indoc theory. "You're asking for answers to questions, and you're right, but it's causing problems for us"? As in, "we don't want to spill anything out of the bag yet so even though you might be right, we can't tell you"?

Umbrage · Sat Mar 24, 2012 12:00 pm

Heh, no, they have no choice but to redo the ending. They're just trying to save face.

Umbrage · Thu Apr 05, 2012 7:11 am

Shit.

http://www.ingame.msnbc.msn.com/technol ... ced-666928

Umbrage · Fri Apr 06, 2012 3:55 am

In post 2303, hasdgfas wrote:
In post 2302, Umbrage wrote:Shit.

http://www.ingame.msnbc.msn.com/technol ... ced-666928

it's free, if that means anything to you.

No it doesn't, I'm not buying the game. Or any BW/EA game again for that matter.

Umbrage · Fri Apr 06, 2012 7:35 am

My theory:

Spoiler:

Umbrage · Fri Apr 06, 2012 12:46 pm

In post 2309, Rhinox wrote:
In post 2308, Umbrage wrote:
Spoiler:
So my guess is that they were going for indoctrination at least up until the Starchild, because all the really weird shit happens when you're talking with TIM and Anderson.

Spoiler:
I thought that was just trying to show us that TIM was controlling shepard and anderson, but :shrug:

I think even if they come out with LOL INDOCTRINATION later on, I won't believe it was planned all along, more so than "oh look this is what the fans want lets give it to them so everyone shuts up about our ending." I mean, I kinda feel like people just want it to make sense, and the indoc theory is what people are coming up with the shoehorn sense into a nonsensical ending, unfortunately.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M0Cf864 ... re=related - another good vid hating on the ending. Good points.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H_A7Sea ... re=related - more ranting, some same stuff.

Them giving in to what the fans wanted would still be a better ending then their artsy fairy magic bullshit. BW was so concerned about MAKING VIDEO GAMES AN ART FORM that they lost sight of what artistic merit ME already had. It was the fans of the first game that brought BW to the mainstream market with ME2 and ME3, and I know this sounds shitty but they DID deserve better. They deserved the ending that was advertised and that they paid money to see.

Umbrage · Wed May 09, 2012 3:02 pm

In post 2318, Hiraki wrote:This has completely convinced me 100% that the Indoctrination HAS to be true. Watch all of it. I plead you to.

At this point, I no longer care. Either the theory's false in which case the game is a gigantic piece of crap, or BW took a neat idea, and then proceeded to shit all over the playerbase so they could go FOOLED YOU LULZ! Either way I don't want to give them my money.

Umbrage · Thu May 10, 2012 3:42 am

Fan? ME doesn't have fans. Just disillusioned, hateful BW boycotts.

Umbrage · Thu May 10, 2012 6:01 am

In post 2323, esuriospiritus wrote:It goes a bit overboard to suggest that Mass Effect has no fans just because
you've
given up on the franchise.

PS: finally got around to downloading the ME3 soundtrack and now I'm itching to do an insanity playthrough. But I really don't want to play 3 until the DLC is out...

decisions, decisions >_<

Not really. Right now the fanbase is divided into those like me who've told BW where to go, those who are too in love with BW to acknowledge they did anything wrong, and those who are still hoping for the indoctrination theory to become true.

Umbrage · Thu May 10, 2012 6:15 am

I don't doubt that at some point during development the indoctrination thing was true. But BW fucked it up.

Umbrage · Thu May 10, 2012 7:10 am

If there was no bitching and moaning in this thread it would die.

Umbrage · Thu May 10, 2012 10:33 am

In post 2334, Ankamius wrote:There was a post somewhere explaining why the indoctrination theory is completely and utterly wrong, but I can't seem to find it. I'll look and link it when I come across it again.

EDIT: I can't seem to find it anymore. There were a few points, but the only one I can remember offhand is that indoctrination simply doesn't work that way. The only way out of indoctrination is killing yourself, and indoctrination means you're actively trying to help the reapers.

Eh, not really true. Indoctrination isn't an on/off switch. Some subjects like Kenson have their mind intact, but their values changed so that they see working with the Reapers as the best course of action. Others like Benezia want to break free but are actively being controlled. I guess it depends on how strong the hold is, remember that Saren had most of his free will at the start, but Sovereign changed him after Virmire and he became a puppet.

BW's been inconsistent on how it actually works, but it's definitely a slippery slope. Benezia made that first choice of travelling with Saren and trying to help him, and that crack was all Sovereign needed to get inside her head. The thing about indoctrination is that by the time you realize it's happening to you, it's too late to stop it. Shepard hasn't compromised on his war against the Reapers (until the ending obv) so he might have a chance. He knows about indoctrination and is thus mentally prepared for it.

And remember, Shepard's mind isn't totally human.

Umbrage · Thu May 10, 2012 10:33 am

In post 2335, Bub Bidderskins wrote:Well, I'd buy the first two for the PC. I've looked them up on amazon and they're pretty cheap, but there are several user reviews talking about how the DRM is terrible. Is it an issue with the PC version of the game? If it is, is there some way to get around it?

STEAM

Umbrage · Thu May 10, 2012 4:10 pm

BW doesn't deserve fans of this calibre.

Umbrage · Thu May 10, 2012 4:24 pm

In post 2347, UberNinja wrote:We should totally have a Mass Effect mafia game.

Fuck off.

Umbrage · Fri May 11, 2012 10:17 am

In post 2350, esuriospiritus wrote:already been done, UN

ReaperCharlie botched it

For The Fact, Yes.

Umbrage · Tue Jun 05, 2012 3:46 am

In post 2365, Rhinox wrote:difference between the normal good endings and the *best* ending

no

Umbrage · Sun Jun 10, 2012 11:38 am

Indoctrination Theory is the only way to 'fix' the endings. That would be great, and even make me consider buying it.

But I have a sinking feeling it's going to be: JOKER AND SQUADMATES WALKING THROUGH FOLIAGE! VARIOUS SPECIES LOOKING HAPPY IN THE APOCALYPSE! INTENTIONALLY VAGUE INCEPTION-STYLE ENDING LEAVING SHEPARD'S SURVIVAL IN DOUBT!

Umbrage · Sun Jun 10, 2012 11:39 am

oh god i just realized what i said, the endings are so irredeemably bad the only way to improve them is to make them not exist

Umbrage · Mon Jun 11, 2012 8:51 am

yeah imo the lack of a boss battle is the most compelling evidence for ID

BW loves their big boss battles

Umbrage · Mon Jun 11, 2012 10:01 am

In post 2392, Hiraki wrote:The third point is the only point I can't get over

Agreed. That's the only thing that doesn't make sense. Of course, if they are going as far as to add on a completely different ending, then I could see them making the EMS thing to fool people while intending to remove it later. But I'm losing hope. Rumour is that the DLC is finished, they would've released it as soon as possible to counteract the bad PR if the whole thing is a hoax.

The documentary was pretty neat, and it solidified my belief that ID was true at some point during the game's development. It is definitely worth watching.

Umbrage · Mon Jun 11, 2012 1:02 pm

In post 2396, Iecerint wrote:People have been speculating that it might be larger and better than we are expecting because the development time has been so large (e.g., comparable to that of LotSB for ME2, which was excellent).

Not if they've been planning it from the beginning. If they had time to make unrelated DLC to release on launch, they've had more than enough time to make a real ending. Which is why I think they're scrambling, making up more trash to try in a vain attempt to please the fanbase.

Umbrage · Mon Jun 11, 2012 3:24 pm

Regardless, it took time to make. Can you really see anyone saying "OK, we have to make a secret ending that's totally awesome and will blow people's minds, but first, let's make a new squadmate and mission to go along with him."?

They claimed From Ashes was made in between the actual game going on disc and it being sold. I don't know if that's true or not, but if it is, why the hell were they working on that and not Indoctrination Theory?

Umbrage · Tue Jun 12, 2012 1:52 pm

OK, if the files are on disc that means From Ashes or at least most of it was completed with the rest of the game, then set aside as DLC. Which is a seriously sketchy move from EA (not that anyone's surprised anymore) but it does relive my main reason for being against ID.

In post 2404, Ankamius wrote:If the IT turns out to be true in the Extended Cut, I'm going to boycott Bioware forever for giving us a garbage cliffhanger at the end of the series.

I'd still prefer ID over OMGSTARCHILD bullshit. I mean, after watching the ID documentary, I can no longer see the ending as anything other than an indoc attempt. There are too many holes in the plot and logic. If the ending is canon, BW really dropped the ball and flushed a great reputation down the toliet. If ID is true, then they're simply full of shit.

Umbrage · Thu Jun 14, 2012 6:08 am

Would still be a better ending.

Umbrage · Fri Jun 15, 2012 9:50 am

They had to have planned IT. Watch the documentary on YouTube. There's too much evidence, I'm 100% certain IT was true at least for some point in the development. Now either:

a) BW goes HAHA FOOLED YOU and released the IT ending.

b) They decided to scrap IT partway through development and go with the endings shown on disc.

c) They realize the new endings are shit and release IT to try and fix it.

Anything but b) is fine by me.

Umbrage · Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:43 am

I have no idea what you're objecting to, Ankamius.

Umbrage · Sun Jun 17, 2012 6:45 pm

Umbrage · Sat Jun 23, 2012 2:15 pm

In post 2442, Iecerint wrote:I think someone said on twitter that the EC won't clarify IT one way or the other. It will be "left up to the player."

I will be upset if it isn't at least implied to have been the case for players who choose Destroy.

oh wow

i didn't think it possible, but there's a worse way to end the series

HEY KIDS, YOU DON'T LIKE OUR ENDING? HOW DO YOU LIKE NO ENDING AT ALL!

Umbrage · Sat Jun 23, 2012 2:55 pm

wouldn't put it past them

i mean they already said WELL WE CAN'T CHANGE THE ENDING BECAUSE IT WOULDN'T BE THE RIGHT ENDING

when they already changed the ending from dark matter

so the only thing preventing Mass Effect from being the greatest video game series ever made is BW's own stubborn pride

Umbrage · Sat Jun 23, 2012 3:41 pm

I think they had a really shitty choice of words.

I think they had a really shitty choice of thought.

which is going to make people who don't like artsy-fartsy mad of course

I'm fine with artsy-fartsy. What I don't like is artsy-fartsy in a world that up until that point had been strictly sci-fi. What I really don't like is artsy-fartsy that shits all over the suspension of disbelief and narrative that took two and nine-tenths games to build.

there really isn't any point in bashing on the same .1% of the game for 30 pages now

it's fun. And prepares us for the crushing soulsucking disappointment that will be EC.

still full of holes that I will be pissed about if IT becomes true

Haven't heard of any plot holes in IT. Kind of hard to have plot holes in a dream. Because it's a fucking dream.

Umbrage · Sat Jun 23, 2012 4:59 pm

not indoctrinated =/= no indoctrination attempts

I don't really see how being aware of indoctrination changes things. Plenty of players figured it out, but they still couldn't do jack shit about it, which is exactly what you're describing. You could argue that there's no way out of indoctrination, but it's just as easy to say Shepard's special. Shepard's drive to destroy the Reapers is what gives a way out. That option is the only one available to all Shepards, it's an integral part of Shepard and the reason Shepard's so special.

But yeah I'd say all that's moot now.

Umbrage · Sun Jun 24, 2012 4:44 am

In post 2458, Ankamius wrote:
Spoiler: response to umbrage
That's the problem. It's the ONLY one available to every Shepard. If you do such a shitty job, you're helping the Reapers by not giving the galaxy much of a chance of fighting them...

but...

then you're given the only choice that results in a lack of indoctrination.

Welp.

Spoiler:

I have yet to see any other valid explanation for:

1)

Star child saying "I know you've thought about destroying us.", because there is NO FUCKING REASON FOR HIM TO SAY THAT UNLESS HE'S ACTUALLY A REAPER.

2)

Anderson getting to the crucible before Shep, and talking about things along the way that Shep does not experience.

3)

The dream haze effects that appear in the ending.

4)

TIM's idiot ball at the end: why doesn't he just make Shep shoot himself and proceed to the crucible?

5)

Joker and company driving off in the Normandy for no reason, not to mention Harbinger leaving for no reason earlier.

6)

Those weird bodies that appear in the ending sequence.

That's why the original ending is bad. Because it DOESN'T WORK. It makes no sense. Those things cannot be explained, I know they're there, and so I just can't believe any other ending. Putting aside all the story-related reasons why it's a bad ending, IT MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE. This is a series that has always focused on obeying the internal laws of how the universe works. People don't breathe in space without a helmet. Tali never takes her mask off without taking the proper precautions. You can't enter FTL travel without a mass relay. These are laws of the ME universe, and BW never breaks their own rules. Except for the ending.

Umbrage · Sun Jun 24, 2012 6:08 am

In post 2445, Ankamius wrote:
In post 2444, Umbrage wrote:HEY KIDS, YOU DON'T LIKE OUR ENDING? HOW DO YOU LIKE NO ENDING AT ALL!

lol

Umbrage · Sun Jun 24, 2012 6:08 am

I hate it when I'm right.

Umbrage · Sun Jun 24, 2012 6:44 am

Jessica Merizan wrote:"No it was never stated EC would confirm/deny IT. I'm sorry you were under that impression. It does address plot concerns."

Jessica Merizan wrote:"Playing the EC hasn't changed the way I think about IT."

So in other words, they're just going to ignore it and hope it goes away. Enjoy 10 minutes worth of various random characters wandering around various planets with a shitty VO from Stargazer.

Umbrage · Sun Jun 24, 2012 6:56 am

In post 2445, Ankamius wrote:
In post 2444, Umbrage wrote:HEY KIDS, YOU DON'T LIKE OUR ENDING? HOW DO YOU LIKE NO ENDING AT ALL!

lol

?

Well if they're not denying indoc theory, but not expanding on it, that means that indoc is still likely true based on all the evidence, which means that series ends with Shepard passed out in the dirt, Harbinger infiltrating his mind, and the rest of the Reapers destroying Earth.

Which isn't a "you interpret the ending" thing, it's a "fuck it, you write a better ending" thing.

Umbrage · Sun Jun 24, 2012 9:33 am

See my 2457.

Umbrage · Sun Jun 24, 2012 10:13 am

"lo shepard's special" has been a major theme of the series since the start

Umbrage · Sun Jun 24, 2012 11:15 am

In post 2473, esuriospiritus wrote:one is still confined within the laws of the created universe

not really

Umbrage · Sun Jun 24, 2012 4:04 pm

Meh, it doesn't matter anyway.

Umbrage · Sun Jun 24, 2012 4:14 pm

can't watch it

it's just going to crush everyone again when EC comes out

poor bastards

Umbrage · Mon Jun 25, 2012 4:03 am

for once in this thread I agree with esurio

let's not argue over which theory makes more or less sense

because we all know BW's going to do whatever the fuck they want anyway and screw you customer

Umbrage · Mon Jun 25, 2012 7:34 am

Except the final shot of the destroy ending conflicts with that.

Umbrage · Mon Jun 25, 2012 11:40 am

In post 2502, SpyreX wrote:Not sure why we really need to spoil my dreams but absolutely poshing IT is fairy crazy with the out of game stuff more than any other conjecture.

Everything is crazy. Frankly, I consider IT to be more likely than "after being awesome for ever BW completely loses their shit", but both events are so extraordinarily unlikely that there's no real point in trying to apply logic.

Umbrage · Tue Jun 26, 2012 7:27 am

What's the new ending? Refusal results in the reapers nomming everyone?

Umbrage · Tue Jun 26, 2012 5:00 pm

Welp. It's an ending. Not the ending the series deserved, but at least it's an actual ending.

Rejection was funny. "YOU DON'T LIKE OUR ENDINGS? WELL WE'LL MAKE ANOTHER ONE! BUT TAKING THAT ENDING'S A MISTAKE, AND WE'LL TELL YOU IT'S A MISTAKE, AND THEN WE'LL MAKE YOU LOSE, LOSER!" What a joke. BW needs to admit they fucked up already. I won't be buying any more of their games unless there's a change in management.

The sad thing is, Mass Effect promised to break new ground in video games, and it ultimately failed. Yes, it carried over a bunch of variables, but they're meaningless. It all boils down to three real endings and a unfinished fourth BW grudgingly threw in at the last minute. Nothing else matters. All those players agonizing over what choice to make, uploading and downloading saved games to try and discover everything... all a waste of time.

That's what Mass Effect will be remembered as, a waste of time. A big promise with nothing to show for it.

Umbrage · Wed Jun 27, 2012 3:31 pm

VP, you sound like you're trying to convince yourself there...

I watched the endings again, and it's really not so bad. Except for Refusal, of course.

I got the impression Crucible/Starchild was a rogue AI coming of with his own twisted way of creating peace in the galaxy. I wouldn't say Control or Synthesis are better endings than Destroy. I mean yeah, they create peace and deliver knowledge, but at what cost? Brainwashing everyone or putting one person (possibly a morally bankrupt renegade) in great power.

So yeah, as SpyreX showed, there's a lot to think about. At first I thought of the endings as out of the blue, but I'm beginning to see the themes in the series: peace vs. freedom, machine vs. man. I have the feeling I'll look back on it years from now and like it.

Umbrage · Wed Jun 27, 2012 3:41 pm

BUT ORIGIN MAKES ME CRY

Umbrage · Wed Jun 27, 2012 4:47 pm

I don't really see the need for it. Maybe tweak the levelling system to flow like 2 and 3 did, but ME1's good as it is. I know inventory bugged a lot of people, but it's not so bad if you remember to sell shit.

Umbrage · Thu Jun 28, 2012 4:47 am

In post 2550, Zachrulez wrote:
In post 2546, Umbrage wrote:BUT ORIGIN MAKES ME CRY

It's funny how some 90% of games force you to install steam now, but people are largely okay with that. (Origin required games are basically the same as that.)

Because there's no difference between a service that's been around for 8 years run by the most beloved company in the gaming industry and new distribution platform that's arguably still in beta launched by the most hated company in America with a history of screwing over customers.

Umbrage · Thu Jun 28, 2012 10:55 am

If you think that's me enraged, I hope we never meet in a mafia game.

Umbrage · Thu Jun 28, 2012 2:26 pm

non-ME fans just don't get it

Umbrage · Fri Jun 29, 2012 2:42 am

I don't think it was a creative problem. I think it was a critical problem. As in, they were so concerned with making the best ending that they forgot to try and look at it objectively. I'm sure that if we could hear the conversations that went on in the writing room, the ending would make total sense. But outside BW's bubble, it doesn't work. If anything, this highlights the importance of objective criticism in art. Things that sound good to you might not be good for other people. I mean, look at how many iterations TF2 went through before release. You have to keep asking yourself if what you're doing is the best thing.

Umbrage · Fri Jun 29, 2012 2:42 am

I don't think it was a creative problem. I think it was a critical problem. As in, they were so concerned with making the best ending that they forgot to try and look at it objectively. I'm sure that if we could hear the conversations that went on in the writing room, the ending would make total sense. But outside BW's bubble, it doesn't work. If anything, this highlights the importance of objective criticism in art. Things that sound good to you might not be good for other people. I mean, look at how many iterations TF2 went through before release. You have to keep asking yourself if what you're doing is the best thing.

Umbrage · Fri Jun 29, 2012 3:05 am

you are a sick bastard

get out

Umbrage · Fri Jun 29, 2012 7:07 am

@ Hiraki: I'm pretty sure Shepard never left Earth. At least, his body didn't. The Crucible/Citadel is never seen falling to Earth, but Shepard is on Earth for the wakeup scene. This led me to my current explanation for the ending, combining indoc theory and BW's ending.

BW's still trying to make it as vague as possible, but as I see it, that beam Shepard, TIM, and Anderson used to enter the Crucible didn't physically take them up. It took their minds. Which explains why TIM has those weird powers, his mind was strengthened by the Reapers. In Control and Synthesis, Shepard's mind is used up. It's gone, leaving his body behind. But in Destroy, he activates the Crucible and returns to his body.

It explains those weird dream-like effects when talking to TIM. You could also argue that Anderson and TIM aren't really there, it's just Shepard's consciousness representing itself as different people. The final 'battle' takes place in Shepard's mind. He needs to defeat TIM and gain Anderson's approval before he's ready to enter the Crucible. Notice that after Anderson dies Shepard is wounded and exhausted. That's because a part of him died, the paragon part that would defeat the Reapers at any cost. Only when his mind is neutral and balanced does the lift appear for him to ascend. The Crucible, which has been signalling to him all game in the guise of the little boy, targets Shepard because the Reapers target Shepard, and the Crucible is part of the Reapers.

That's my interpretation anyway. Take it or leave it.

Umbrage · Fri Jun 29, 2012 1:48 pm

I've been trying to get through KOTOR. I can appreciate how great it was, but IMO it hasn't stood the test of time very well.

Umbrage · Fri Jun 29, 2012 4:15 pm

I love ME2. I know a lot of fans didn't like it, and I get their reasons why, but those things just don't bother me as much.

Umbrage · Sat Jun 30, 2012 3:22 am

The one thing I like about the endings is that they are open to interpretation. As Hiraki said, Synthesis can be good or bad, depending on your point of view and how you interpret it. Same with the other endings.

EXCEPT. FOR. FUCKING. REFUSAL.

Umbrage · Sat Jun 30, 2012 5:08 am

STILL BETTER THAN CHESSKID

Umbrage · Sun Jul 01, 2012 11:37 am

In post 2620, Hiraki wrote:no because it's not subjective morality there

destroy is the worst option because it kills the reapers but leaves an uncertainty for new reapers(think skynet)

control is decent but synthesis does what control does and furthers it.

this is all objective facts to objective conclusions. synthesis is the best choice. the worst part about it is that shepard just killed saren without listening to him. I mean, Saren needed to die since he was indoctrinated by Sov but his logic was correct. that's the thing I think Bioware duped all of us on Indoctrination

you don't have to be lying to be indoctrinated

Meh, I'm less than thrilled about turning everyone into robots. And giving AIs human emotions? Risky, to say the least.

Control leaves Shepard with all the power and knowledge. Which is fine. Unless something happens to Shepard's mind and the Reapers go apeshit again. And it's not really clear how much is Shepard and how much is the Crucible. Indoctrination is still a very real danger. What if the Starchild decides organics suck and they should start harvesting again?

Destroy fixes the whole synthetic/organic problem. Provides the best chance of Shepard surviving. Gets rid of Starchild and any future threat it could pose. At what cost? The geth and EDI, who are not alive. At all.

It's very open to interpretation, arguably all three endings could result in the best possible outcome.

Umbrage · Sun Jul 01, 2012 2:12 pm

because BW stopped caring after ME3 was released

Umbrage · Mon Jul 02, 2012 4:39 am

I'm still pretty sure that scene was all in Shepard's mind.

Umbrage · Mon Jul 02, 2012 11:54 am

In post 2630, esuriospiritus wrote:
nope, anderson's name ends up on the memorial in that one EC scene

Actually, that proves my point. Nobody would know what happened to Anderson if he died in transit to the Crucible. Shepard's the only living one who knows, and he's either dead or incapable of telling the others about Anderson's death. The fact that they know Anderson is dead instead of MIA means they found his body, and they only could have found him on Earth.

Umbrage · Wed Jul 04, 2012 5:13 am

I hear Amazon is having a sale on it this weekend, I'll probably get it. What am I missing from the collector's edition?

Umbrage · Wed Jul 04, 2012 8:46 am

OK, so From Ashes is the only exclusive content I want, and buying that separately is still cheaper than buying the DDE.

@ Hiraki: That link you posted UVT2 showed ME3 going on sale this Friday.

Umbrage · Wed Jul 04, 2012 12:44 pm

Ah yes, the old

"everything you did up to this point was a futile, useless waste of time"

option. Fun.

Umbrage · Thu Jul 05, 2012 4:46 am

So far BW has stayed away from making canon choices. Yes, there're default choices made if you don't import saves, but those aren't really canon.

There's more DLC coming, fans found files labelled Leviathan.

There will probably be more ME games. The universe is too big and has too many fans, it makes no sense for BW to ignore it entirely.

Umbrage · Thu Jul 05, 2012 10:25 am

another trilogy

Nah. Spin-offs, sure. But I doubt they're going through the trouble of another full arching storyline.

EDIT: Doesn't BW usually outsource sequels? NWN2, KOTOR2... they might just hand ME off and let Obsidian or whoever do something with it.

an MMORPG or two

Maybe. At first I thought that was what they would do, but now I'm not so sure. They seem to be aiming towards the casual shooter demographic now. There's already TOR, they're not stupid enough to try and launch another MMO, at least not for a long while.

a hell of a lot of DLC.

Yeah.

Umbrage · Fri Jul 06, 2012 8:35 am

THE FUCK

DOWNLOADS ONLY AVAILABLE TO US CUSTOMERS

ARE YOU SHITTING ME

DO THESE PEOPLE KNOW WHAT THE INTERNET IS

Umbrage · Fri Jul 06, 2012 9:16 am

In post 2652, inte wrote:amazon sux

FTFY

Umbrage · Fri Jul 06, 2012 9:18 am

although seriously, you go into a topic for video games you don't like, only to say that you don't like those video games?

obvious troll, minimal rage material, clearly no effort or thought put into it. 1/10, you're the kind of guy who gives trolling a bad name.

Umbrage · Fri Jul 06, 2012 9:54 am

Yeah, I know I have a US address use for exactly this kind of thing, I just don't remember it...

Umbrage · Fri Jul 06, 2012 11:54 am

I think it's trying to communicate. We should respond on it's level.

"stfu nub"

There we go. Now let's see if we get a response. Fascinating species.

Umbrage · Sat Jul 07, 2012 8:54 am

In post 2662, inte wrote:no, i want a legitimate answer to why you guys think the mass effect series is good or satisfying at least

i can give a couple to why i think its not

1) the extra casualization of the series
2)"pick an ending" storyline with no actual consequences to your actions
3) i press 1 for vanguard charge and 1 shot almost every enemy. 3 sec cooldown, makes you invulnerable for the duration of the charge. makes me think there are more broken abilities

The butthurt is strong in this one.

Also yes: Insanity is fucking evil. EVERY enemy has protection of some sort, so biotics are next to useless and you're constantly scrambling for ammo. I actually DID use a glitch consistently and I still had trouble beating it.

EDIT: ME2 that is. Insanity wasn't so bad on ME1, just boring waiting for immunity to run out on enemies.

Umbrage · Sat Jul 07, 2012 9:54 am

Because it wasn't mainstream then.

Umbrage · Sat Jul 07, 2012 3:38 pm

So I have it now with all da free dlc, yaaay.

I'm trying not to play it at least until after my midterm, preferably my final.

Umbrage · Sun Jul 08, 2012 10:24 am

You know, I used to think the whole 'games are being dumbed down' trend was mostly overreaction. Then this happened:

Fuck.

Umbrage · Sun Jul 08, 2012 10:50 am

But why are you playing Mass Effect if you're going to disable the dialogue choices?

Mine is ASpieboy

Umbrage · Sun Jul 08, 2012 4:10 pm

In post 2683, BBmolla wrote:Can't find you Umbrage

It might be something else, I don't know. The system has been buggy and next to unusable for me, first thing I did was link the game with Steam.

Umbrage · Mon Jul 09, 2012 5:00 pm

I added y'all.

Decided to play through all the games since I lost my saves, and... OMG I NEVER REALIZED YOU COULD SCROLL THROUGH THE RESOLUTION SETTINGS FOR HIGHER RES ON ME1!!!!!!!!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE I PLAYED THROUGH IT AT A HORRIBLE RES!!!!

Ahem. Yes, uh, ALSO I NEVER NOTICED THERE'S A HARDWARE CURSOR THAT LOOKS SO COOL OMG...

Umbrage · Tue Jul 10, 2012 5:34 am

I think I've found the problem.