The simplest, easiest, cleanest way to fix the ME3 ending.

[chuckdm]

First, spoilers, obviously. You should expect that here anyway.

So...I've thought about this a while. I've decided that maybe the issue here is that BioWare is having trouble trying to come up with an ending they can make on a budget of $0 that will make us happy. Maybe not, but if so, I have a simple, easy solution. It doesn't fix all the plot holes, but it DOES give us an option which allows us to actually save the galaxy. Yanno, relays intact. The trade-off, of course, is that doing so means killing everyone on the Normandy (which seems like a small price to pay if it works.)

So, Shepard chooses the destroy ending. Then, he has a paragon interrupt that requires a nearly-perfect paragon score to use. If the check succeeds, he radios Joker and tells him to fly the Normandy directly into the beam - absorbing enough of the energy that the Sol Relay is damaged, but not destroyed, and with repairs will become functional again. Doing this, of course, kills the Normandy, Joker, and everyone else on board, but it's not like Shepard has never ordered Alliance solders to their death for the cause.

Best part? This requires 0 new cutscenes and less than 10 lines of dialog from only 3 actors (2 sheps and Joker). That's it. They can repurpose the same graphic of the Normandy being destroyed/damaged/chased by the beam (with some minor edits, maybe) and that's it. This could be done in a single day at BioWare.

That, and frankly, this is the ending I would've chosen even IF there was a fairy tale alternative. I don't expect everyone to live. I expect my beloved friends will have to die to save the galaxy. But simply stranding all of the known universe in a system with 1 half-ruined habitable planet is NOT saving anything. With the relays in tact, everything can be rebuilt in time. Personally, I would PREFER to choose to kill Shep and crew in order to achieve this. It just seems like a fair price to pay for a real victory.

 

[Rack]

Where's the point that you fix the myriad of plotholes and appalling writing, the lack of cohesion, the jarring switches in characterisation, the ridiculous deus ex machina, the bizarre genre shifts the....

 

[TorqueConverter]

Give the fans what they want as a DLC/expansion. What they want will be expensive, so charge a reasonable amount of money for it.

 

[hazabaza1]

That sounds even more stupid than what we have.

 

[chuckdm]

That sounds even more stupid than what we have.

Maybe, but at least it's something. Besides Indoc Theory, which clearly is NOT going to happen, does anyone else have a better suggestion? BioWare is clearly not going to bring back the whole cast of the damn game for a $3.99 (or even free) DLC so this seems like a cost-effective solution that also offers some sort of closure.

 

[XMark]

Just make Maurader Shields unbeatable and roll credits when Shepard dies.

 

[Odbarc]

Alternate ending: Odbarc's version::

Shepherd fails, Reapers win. The end.

 

[RagTagBand]

Oh great, you've slightly altered one of the endings for a minority of players who are going through a retarded, counter-intuitive "Paragon only" playthrough, and picked the ironically coloured renegade "Destroy" ending. Thanks so much.

I guess all those people who are renegades, or hybrids, or just people who picked one renegade option at some point in the game, or people who picked control or synthesis can just plain STFU, right?

 

[Riddle78]

I'm probably going to get REALLY unpopular for saying this,but the easiest way to fix the ending?

Don't touch it you self-righteous entitled rube. I never played the game. I never saw the ending. Personally? I don't care if the ending is,quote-unquote crap. I care about the experience of the game. The ending is important in that,but the ending was made by the writers and I can guarantee it makes sense with the story,and therefore NEEDS NO CHANGING. When you buy product,you take the risk of not liking said product,in part or in whole. Suck it up,deal with it,and move on.

BioWare only owes you product upon rendering payment. That's it,that's all. If you feel let down,then fine. Don't suggest or demand ways to alter it. It's a finished product.

 

[Flailing Escapist]

Simplest way?
-Just add some slides at the end like DA or Fallout explaining what happened to all of Shepard's squadmates, acquaintances, enemies and friends.

 

[Loop Stricken]

Don't touch it you self-righteous entitled rube. I never played the game.

And that's why you should stop talking.

 

[Strain42]

I agree, we just need to kill EVERYONE!

...wait, was that not the message? Sorry, I just kinda skimmed.

But I'm pretty sure that's the only thing that would make this go away.

 

[Zhukov]

I never played the game. I never saw the ending.

...but the ending was made by the writers and I can guarantee it makes sense with the story...

Uh huh.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what we calling "arguing with incomplete information". It's generally not a good idea.

 

[Apollo45]

Bah, better idea: Paragon/Renegade interrupt that has Shepard telling the Alliance fleet to focus fire on the Citadel and the Crucible. All the pent-up energy in it causes it to explode, killing you but also killing the Star Child and causing the Reapers to become leaderless and disoriented.

 

[Riddle78]

Don't touch it you self-righteous entitled rube. I never played the game.

And that's why you should stop talking.

It's why I should continue talking. The outsider's opinion is always neutral. And what I think,after weighing in on everything I've seen over this whole "Retake Mass Effect" crap? The people don't like the ending because it's not what they wanted/expected. So now they demand BioWare to retcon that? I don't know about you,but it sounds like a worse argument than "I'm God because I grow broccoli". Baseless. Worthless. Demeaning. I never saw the ending,but guess what? I don't need to see the so called "horrible ending" to know that the argument for this is just flawes and fueled solely by gamers thinking that they can demand whatever they want,and be fulfilled.

Think about it. The uninformed,unproffessional consumer is demaning the very well informed and very much proffessional producer to change their work,solely on the basis that they don't like it. The magnitude of the outcry doesn't mean anything. The number of people dissatisfied doesn't factor into this. At it's core level,this ridiculous movement is just that: Ridiculous.

If I were in charge of handling this situation,I would've told the people to suck it up and deal with what they got,however their discontent will be taken into consideration for the next product.

 

[Innegativeion]

opinion is always neutral.

So what you're saying is you have no emotional investment in

Spoiler: Mass Effect 3-y stuff

the retaking of Tali's homeworld,

the peaceful existence of the geth,

Shepard's love life,

reconciliation of the turians and krogan,

Wrex's new family with Eve,

Garrus's future/possible affair with Tali,

120+ hours worth of galaxy-altering decisions both small and gigantic,

the fact that Bioware outright lied to its fans on multiple occasions,

where the fuck the reapers/starchild came from,

the future of the mass effect universe,

Joker's relationship with EDI,

Liara's future/ the shepard history blackbox,

coherence of the Mass Effect story,

conveyance of consistent themes within the story,

the dignity of basic structures of a story arc,


etc.

?

Yeah, I agree with the pony DJ.


I intentionally withheld my opinion on this until I had finished all 3 Mass Effect games. I thought the whole thing was a little silly to be honest, but after playing through each game on a roughly 40 hour playthrough each, I was enraged.

Outside educated opinion on something that doesn't affect you is NOT the same as

an outside opinion on something you have no experience with.

 

[Loop Stricken]

If I were in charge of handling this situation,I would've told the people to suck it up and deal with what they got,however their discontent will be taken into consideration for the next product.

And yet the thing is, said next product is going to fare far worse than it would've done if this product had just made sense.

And lest you forget, we now live in a world where something like this CAN be fixed, CAN be delivered to the majority of consumers, optionally so as not to affect anyone already satisfied.
The developer gets positive points, and the people buying the product, keeping the developer alive, are more likely to continue purchasing from them.

If people had said nothing, if collectively the fans had shrugged their shoulders, the developer gets the idea that this sort of nonsensical half-arsed poorly-written excuse of an ending is alright.

 

[Riddle78]

opinion is always neutral.

So what you're saying is you have no emotional investment in

Spoiler: Mass Effect 3-y stuff

the retaking of Tali's homeworld,

the peaceful existence of the geth,

Shepard's love life,

reconciliation of the turians and krogan,

Wrex's new family with Eve,

Garrus's future/possible affair with Tali,

120+ hours worth of galaxy-altering decisions both small and gigantic,

the fact that Bioware outright lied to its fans on multiple occasions,

where the fuck the reapers/starchild came from,

the future of the mass effect universe,

Joker's relationship with EDI,

Liara's future/ the shepard history blackbox,

etc.

?

Yeah, I agree with the pony DJ.

Didn't read the spoiler,because I don't want to spoil myself. However,my argument isn't on the game. It's on the basis of the "Retake Mass Effect" movement. Which is utterly baseless. However,I have played and beaten the first two games,and I have emotional investment in a lot of the universe. I want a good ending. However,I also know that the galaxy is fucked,since the Reapers are already attacking Earth and quite possibly Tuchanka and Palaven,considering those planets are home to the galaxy's racial badasses. So I know a happy ending will be very hard to get.

But that's not the point. My neutrality is on Mass Effect 3,and the Retake Mass Effect movement. You are the CUSTOMER. Your say in a finished product ENDS after funds exchange hands. There are probably a million and one reasons as to why people don't like the endings to the game. And personally,I don't want to know them because they're not worth knowing,because knowing your reasoning will not change the fact that you are attempting to browbeat a continuity change from the producers of product after you have purchased said product. You have no power in the consumer-producer relationship after you pay.

The movement is in the wrong. The people of the movement have paid and played. Therefore,they have forfieted their power in the relationship in order to consume the product. After that,your say is done;once money exchanges hands,you imply that you will accept the product,flaws included.

Let me propose an alternative method of voicing your displeasure over Mass Effect 3's endings.

You calmly and politely inform BioWare that you were dissatisfied with the endings of Mass Effect 3,and desire to see them put more effort into the endings of future products.

Same message,but far more reasonable.

 

[mad_mick]

I never played the game. I never saw the ending. Personally? I don't care if the ending is,quote-unquote crap.

Well we do. 40 hours is a long time to pump into a game only to be spoon fed a big fuck you at the end! As a fan of the series, and having played all 3 games, i am in a much better position to give an informed opinion. ' I haven?t played it but its a good game' is what you?re saying in a nutshell? Please, post no more dribble and save yourself further flaming and embarrassment.