Mass Effect universe discussion thread

[DigiFluid]

I was just listening to the Requiem for a Dream OST, man, I can totally see Thane sequences set to Lux Aeterna:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF8l9gKaB8I
(skip to 0:24 or so and listen for at least 2 minutes)

[Eternal Density]

If Bioware didn't already have plenty of IP on their plate, the Mass Effect games indicate to me that Bioware are probably one of the few studios who could complete and sell a Stargate game. But already having ME and SW games, SG would be a bit much.

[DigiFluid]

If Bioware didn't already have plenty of IP on their plate, the Mass Effect games indicate to me that Bioware are probably one of the few studios who could complete and sell a Stargate game. But already having ME and SW games, SG would be a bit much.

Yeah, and don't forget Dragon Age too!

Actually expanding their in-house IP was the reason why BioWare didn't make KOTOR2 in the first place. They wanted to focus on their own projects, vis a vis ME/DA. Honestly I think it's a little surprising they were willing to tackle SWTOR; but even then they had to open a whole new studio to handle it!

By the by, I really dig your J-Whitt sig

[Eternal Density]

Yeah, and don't forget Dragon Age too!

I didn't mention that since it doesn't as closely fit the genre of ME/SW/SG games.

Actually expanding their in-house IP was the reason why BioWare didn't make KOTOR2 in the first place. They wanted to focus on their own projects, vis a vis ME/DA. Honestly I think it's a little surprising they were willing to tackle SWTOR; but even then they had to open a whole new studio to handle it!

By the by, I really dig your J-Whitt sig

Thanks for that info. I wonder whether adding something like SG would be an attractive way to expand IP? I think they're plenty busy expanding their existing stuff into the realms of film/webseries.
Yeah, I couldn't resist sigging that quote. One of those perfect typos that must be preserved for lulz.

[The Mighty 6 platoon]

If Bioware didn't already have plenty of IP on their plate, the Mass Effect games indicate to me that Bioware are probably one of the few studios who could complete and sell a Stargate game. But already having ME and SW games, SG would be a bit much.

I think it's the opposite. Bioware is too much for Stargate to woo. They are rolling in cash from their own games set in their own universe, why would they want to have to deal with the **** of licensed games. That's why smaller companies end up having to take them. While SWTOR is a licensed game, it is obviously a much larger franchise. Stargate doesn’t command the audience to make it worth Bioware’s time. To be honest, if it wasn’t for the fact that they have the chance to make a WOW beater, and create a money machine that could churn up to a billion dollars a year from a single game, they wouldn’t touch Star Wars.

[DigiFluid]

Re-Thinking and Over-Thinking the Death and Rebirth of Sheppard

Spoiler:

Never mind the excitement and drama of the opening sequence of ME2, what about the sheer horror of it? Sheppard is blown off into space, the remains of the Normandy just slightly out of reach and yet utterly unreachable, forever. It'd be horrifying to know that comparative safety is only 100m away, and yet you have absolutely no way of getting to it--ever. The terror of being adrift in space with no way to navigate But that isn't even all. Sheppard's suit of armour/pressure suit has multiple breaches and it's rapidly bleeding off his breathable air. So rather than starve to death or be killed by exposure to radiation, he basically drowns in space. Gods, what an awful way to die

And then there's the destruction and desecration of his body post-mortem. At this point it would be a race between solar radiation and his suit running out of energy. The radiation would probably roast his flesh and turn his internal organs to jelly; and once the suit ran out of power, the remains would freeze solid in the cold of space--crystallizing and destroying every cell in his body. Think of how water droplets crystallize into snowflakes when they get cold, and that's what happens to every cell in Sheppard's body.

Enter Cerberus.

Through some miracle/abomination of science, they're able to restore all the destroyed flesh of his body. They have to remove all the potentially cancerous growths that emerged as a result of direct exposure to radiation. They have to remove all the internal organs; whether destroyed by radiation or freezing solid, they've all been destroyed. You know how dicey organ transplants are in real life, with all the odds of rejection and whatnot? Now imagine them replacing every single organ in your body. It's no small miracle, but one cringes at the thought of where all the potential organs (failures and successes alike) must have come from given the nature of Cerberus as an organization.

And then, Sheppard is reborn! On a practical note: how old is he now? Several days? If he was 30 when he died and 2 years elapsed before his resurrection, is he 32? Is he 30, because he didn't experience those 2 years in any way? But that's just numbers.

On a more ontological level, what is Sheppard 2.0? If you're a religious sort, does he have a soul, or did that move on when he died two years ago? If it did, what are the implications for Sheppard 2.0? If you're not a religious sort, what the heck is he? Everything inside him has been replaced; for all intents and purposes, he's a husk with the face of a dead man. The memories he has, are they really his, or is he a construct walking around with a dead man's memories?

This is why I like sci-fi, it makes my mind wander and ask probing questions even when they're not the point of the story

[DigiFluid]

PS3 patch outs new DLC

Mass Effect 2 DLC revealed in PS3 patch

The trophies were reportedly spotted on the BioWare forums before being reported on NeoGaf, and reveal the title of the next DLC as “The Arrival”.

Mention is made of Dr Amanda Kenson, a name RPG Site put together with the final Cerberus Network news broadcast, which you can read below.

The three trophies are as follows:
- "The Ultimate Sacrifice" Complete the Arrival DLC
- "Last Stand" Survive all five waves in the battle for Object Rho
- "Covert Action" Rescue Dr. Amanda Kenson without attracting hostile attention.

“Historians and astronomers alike are abuzz tonight over a new paper published by Dr. Amanda Kenson of the University of Arcturus. Her team claims that by testing the dust trapped in the gravity wells around a mass relay, and comparing its composition to that of dust clouds in the same system, scientists can create a timeline of when the relay passed through the dust. Her conclusion? “Only a small fraction of the mass effect relays date back 50,000 years,” she writes, “The majority are far older, indicating they were created by a species predating even the Protheans.” Dr. Aurana T’Meles of the University of Serrice met the information with skepticism: “While Dr. Kenson’s methods appear sound, the asari tried a similar procedure centuries ago and discounted it. What civilization could have spanned the galaxy for not thousands, but millions of years? If this were the case, we should have found mountains of evidence of their passing. Where is this species now?”

[Oranos]

Arrival, huh? Must be the crossover story, with Hawke arriving from Dragon Age 2.

Because you know you want to see it. Shepard vs. Hawke. Winner takes all.

[asdf1239]

i can't get over a fundamental plot hole in me2,

Spoiler:

how come the illusive man assumes that a group of thirteen individuals can defeat an entire race at their homeworld, the nature of which is completely unknown. you only deduce that it's a space station halfway through the game, if it were, say, a planet with a fleet defending it then there would be no chance of success

[DigiFluid]

i can't get over a fundamental plot hole in me2,

Spoiler:

how come the illusive man assumes that a group of thirteen individuals can defeat an entire race at their homeworld, the nature of which is completely unknown. you only deduce that it's a space station halfway through the game, if it were, say, a planet with a fleet defending it then there would be no chance of success

There's no plot hole there. The Illusive Man puts your team together to fight the Collector threat and gather intel about the impending Reaper invasion, not necessarily to stop the invasion itself.

[gotthammer]

The whole thing w/ Cerberus did feel forced, methinks. As well as some decisions along the way (like the fate of the Collector base: more options would've been welcome, IMHO).

The way the story 'flows' as well as some 'plot problems' is why I think, overall, that ME1 is still the better game. (the visuals/atmosphere and performance of ME2, particularly on my PC, is waaay better than ME1, tho')

As for the upcoming DLC: yeah. that's definitely interesting. Gotta finish up my Renegade Shep and my (main) Paragon Shep new game + playthroughs, I guess. (after I *sigh* finish my current DA:O playthrough... )

[DigiFluid]

I'm holding off on re-playing the ME games for a bit. What I plan to do is a full ME-verse play- and read-through of all games/comics/books in anticipation of the release of ME3.

Needless to say this is a) difficult because the Evolution comic isn't finished publishing; b) not possible till the new DLC drops; and c) obviously a rather long endeavor.

The game plan:

Spoiler:

Evolution (comic)
Revelation (novel)
Mass Effect
Ascension (novel)
Mass Effect 2 (intro mission)
Galaxy (iOS)
Redemption (comic)
Incursion (comic)
Mass Effect 2 (rest)
Retribution (novel)
Inquisition (comic)
ME2: The Arrival (dlc/presumably)

Not really in a hurry to start though, what with Dragon Age 2 and SWTOR on the fairly near horizon!

[The Mighty 6 platoon]

PS3 patch outs new DLC

Now that sounds interesting. I hope maybe we see Ashley or Kaiden coming back in the mix as well, perhaps joining us for the mission like with Liara in Lair of the Shadow Broker.

[Ouroboros]

So it looks like the DLC will be about the 0 hour when that massive reaper fleet first enters the galaxy. I've got to admit that's a lot cooler and more significant than I thought it would be.

[Replicator Todd]

Alas I have finally acquired a copy of Mass Effect 2....13 months late. And finally after acquiring it...I realize I need to complete Mass Effect 1 for the thousandth time to import my Sheppard the way I want to AND I don't currently have my controller with me to play either game. Oh joy.