[Sanctum]

The only question we should be asking is; which fan theory will Bioware use to "fix" the ending?

[Curveballs On Phoenix]

Spoiler

Greetings, people. My opinion on the ending.


I was scared. I was so afraid of the ending that I was shaking. So many bad news about it, seeing Shepard bleeding hard and Anderson dead...

Then, I burst out laughing.
Ohhh boy.

I thought the ending was bad because it would force us a sad, sad ending.
But as it was this laughable crap, I don't feel that bad at all.

I chose to destroy Synthetics and thus Shepard got to live. That's my condition number one and if BW releases further ending choices I know that Shep still stands a chance.
Too bad Joker is left with Liara in the deserted planet. She was MY girl and I can't believe the pilot got her. I need to pick someone else when I next time do the ending, if BW does not fix it.

The ghost thing explaining the Reapers' origin was the biggest load of crap I've seen. Not only the explanation was bad but it killed what little mystique there is in ME universe once and for all. The Reapers were the biggest mystery in the series since Shep tried to get the Council's help the first time and now they suddenly are some tools for some ancient AI to fulfill an incredibly circular logic??
Okay so: Once upon a time a civilization got taken over by Synthetics. This was before the Reapers. One civilization survived and took out the synthetics. Feeling bad they created the Reapers to eat the world every 50,000 years because... they did not want new life forms building more organics-eating synthetics??? WHAT THE HELL.

That third option, about merging Synthetic and Organic into some super DNA is incredibly lame as well. Do they know what DNA stands for? DEOXYRIBOSENUCLEICACID. That name tells only the form of it, not what it does. Back to school, writer. DNA is the form of life-instructing code in our home Earth, it does not need to be so in alien species let alone in these wacky synthetics "life forms".

Oh and Joker, give me Liara back please. Airmail, first class thank you.

Oh and Finland got hit worse than Sweden. That's a big no-no

EDIT: do we need spoiler tags in this thread?

[Sarah Unwin]

Ive done all 3 endings, no idea unless they want to tell me, because if theres a clue in there, they need CSI Vegas, 40 minutes and a tanker truck of luminol.

Glad you got to the end Pistolero, and semi got your ending, and joker got my Liara as well, but then again i was a little bit dead.

[dav]

Spoiler

The ghost thing explaining the Reapers' origin was the biggest load of crap I've seen. Not only the explanation was bad but it killed what little mystique there is in ME universe once and for all. The Reapers were the biggest mystery in the series since Shep tried to get the Council's help the first time and now they suddenly are some tools for some ancient AI to fulfill an incredibly circular logic??
Okay so: Once upon a time a civilization got taken over by Synthetics. This was before the Reapers. One civilization survived and took out the synthetics. Feeling bad they created the Reapers to eat the world every 50,000 years because... they did not want new life forms building more organics-eating synthetics??? WHAT THE HELL.

http://cdn2.gamefront.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ME3yodawg.jpg

[Sarah MacLeod]

My proposal for a new ending:

Required:
At least 5,000 assets
Readiness of 95% or higher.

Result:
Shepard survives if seeks to destroy Reapers
Shepard can assume control of Reapers, but dies.
If Shepard seeks to destroy the Reapers it will not go as planned. The Crucible will only shoot them back into Dark Space, and forces them to wait thousands of years to come back. Alternatiely, the Reapers around Earth are wiped out (thus Harbinger's fleet and thus Reaper leadership) and the rest will retreat.
Thus, the Reapers remain a threat but are removed for now on.
Super hot FemShep-Liara action ensues.

I think it would be sad ending enough that Anderson dies, trillions die because of Reapers, TIM dies, and Citadel is left in totally whacked state with everyone dead.

http://cdn2.gamefront.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ME3yodawg.jpg

Haha oooh maan

Well thankfully my Shep survived. At least something positive about the ending.

EDIT: A Youtube user was right - even if an "good guys win bad guys die" is cliché, it was done so well in ME1 and 2 that means if done well even a White Knight ending can be super awesome.

I stand by my above suggestion. A bittersweet ending is what I deem necessary.

[Vickytoria Vasquez]

http://i.imgur.com/JhtqY.jpg

I was hoping for something like this, not exactly this, but something like it.

It strikes me as odd that they would do it the way they did when all they really had to do (and what I think a lot of people were expecting them to do) was do more like the ME2 suicide mission, where gathering allies and reenforcing their resolve in your cause determined how much of the galaxy was saved. It would have been almost exactly like ME2 only on a galactic army scale.

[Spaceman]

My proposal for a new ending:

Required:
At least 5,000 assets
Readiness of 95% or higher.

Result:
Shepard survives if seeks to destroy Reapers
Shepard can assume control of Reapers, but dies.
If Shepard seeks to destroy the Reapers it will not go as planned. The Crucible will only shoot them back into Dark Space, and forces them to wait thousands of years to come back. Alternatiely, the Reapers around Earth are wiped out (thus Harbinger's fleet and thus Reaper leadership) and the rest will retreat.
Thus, the Reapers remain a threat but are removed for now on.
Super hot FemShep-Liara action ensues.

I think it would be sad ending enough that Anderson dies, trillions die because of Reapers, TIM dies, and Citadel is left in totally whacked state with everyone dead.




Haha oooh maan

Well thankfully my Shep survived. At least something positive about the ending.

Grrrrrooooossssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!! Thats just wrong man.

[FoReVeR_Me_N]

It strikes me as odd that they would do it the way they did when all they really had to do (and what I think a lot of people were expecting them to do) was do more like the ME2 suicide mission, where gathering allies and reenforcing their resolve in your cause determined how much of the galaxy was saved. It would have been almost exactly like ME2 only on a galactic army scale.

Too cliche. Too video-gamey. Not enough SPECULATION~!1

[Nims]

Too cliche. Too video-gamey. Not enough SPECULATION~!1

Over-speculation caused the great depression

[D LOpez]

Alright, I have a theroy(shocker!)......

Spoiler

This is largely based on the Indoc theroy.
So the ending is supposed to represent shepards mind, with the child being harbinger trying to Indoc shepard. You are given two choices, Do what the reaperds want or destroy them. If you help them you get vaporised AKA becoming full Indoc'd. If you destroy them with a high enough EMS however, you see shepard taking a breath on earth. You defy the reapers you break their attempts to Indoc you, wake up and finish the fight with Biowares alternate ending($24.99).
Danm, I'm overthinking again.

[Louise Andrew]

http://i.imgur.com/JhtqY.jpg

I was hoping for something like this, not exactly this, but something like it.

It strikes me as odd that they would do it the way they did when all they really had to do (and what I think a lot of people were expecting them to do) was do more like the ME2 suicide mission, where gathering allies and reenforcing their resolve in your cause determined how much of the galaxy was saved. It would have been almost exactly like ME2 only on a galactic army scale.

EXACTLY as I want it. I hope BW does this.

For once I can say that EA has nothing to do with ruining a game.

Grrrrrooooossssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!! Thats just wrong man.

Come on man.
As a wise man said it, girl-on-girl love is like 1+1=2.

Plus, I have no problem with homosixuality and neither should you

[Sweet Blighty]

EXACTLY as I want it. I hope BW does this.

For once I can say that EA has nothing to do with ruining a game.

Come on man.
As a wise man said it, girl-on-girl love is like 1+1=2.

Plus, I have no problem with homosixuality and neither should you

Ooookkayyyy, I am not going to open that can of worms. All I will say Is I am a Christian and homosixuality is completely against my beliefs. Thats all I will say on that. I completely ignored Cortez in my game.

[Karen anwyn Green]

I think that they cut-off the end of the game, if the Indoc theory is right. Perhaps hoping that the ending would attract a lot of attention (which they have certainly succeeded in). If Shepard is indoctrinated and fighting himself in the final minutes, it's brilliantly written. I didn't even notice the subtle yet obvious hints that indicate it is not real life the first time I played it.

The link Wyatt Waste Ranger posted would be a great ending, or something of that variety- actually factoring in your decisions into what happens.

[Romy Welsch]

Tell me more about this Indoc theory.

[Rhiannon Jones]

Too cliche. Too video-gamey. Not enough SPECULATION~!1

Speaking of... More!

Did think it was interesting how a final game boss was removed due to it being "too video gamey". I think I'm starting to see the disconnect. We weren't playing a game this whole time, it was a....

...

Yeah...

I would have even preferred http://www.evilsourcegaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/33vdqc5.jpg. Even this!

[jadie kell]

I would have even preferred http://www.evilsourcegaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/33vdqc5.jpg. Even this!

I would have been pissed at that, look at it this way, so the Reapers want to send some big-bad to kill Shepard at the end; surely having it be the TIM is just for "dramatic effect", there'd be no actual reason why the Reapers couldn't just get any indoctrinee and turn him into a tank.

[Cat Haines]

I would have been pissed at that, look at it this way, so the Reapers want to send some big-bad to kill Shepard at the end; surely having it be the TIM is just for "dramatic effect", there'd be no actual reason why the Reapers couldn't just get any indoctrinee and turn him into a tank.

Never mind. I have my opinion, and you have yours.

[Rex Help]

I would have been pissed at that, look at it this way, so the Reapers want to send some big-bad to kill Shepard at the end; surely having it be the TIM is just for "dramatic effect", there'd be no actual reason why the Reapers couldn't just get any indoctrinee and turn him into a tank.

I think TIM was done well. Having him in the end Saren-style was well made. In fact gunning him down was the last point of MEGA AWESOME in the game. Everything up to that point was pure epic.

[jessica sonny]

Tell me more about this Indoc theory.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbghjn7_Byc
Spoilers obviously.

[LADONA]

Spoiler

Then they cut the Illusive Man boss fight because it's too "video-gamey"

Yeah, that was pretty funny. Then again judging from the endings, they are going for Kubric-like movies

[Skrapp Stephens]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbghjn7_Byc
Spoilers obviously.

That's even worse. To have it all as an illusion, contradicted by obvious anti-Reaper actions by Shepard... No thanks. Plus I don't think BW would have gone for that. 99% of players will never know of or never think of the Indoc theory, thus it would be great waste for BW to do something like that.

EDIT: plus the theory has a lot of cherry picking to be valid.

[latrina]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbghjn7_Byc
Spoilers obviously.

that was very well done.

[ImmaTakeYour]

That's even worse. To have it all as an illusion, contradicted by obvious anti-Reaper actions by Shepard... No thanks. Plus I don't think BW would have gone for that. 99% of players will never know of or never think of the Indoc theory, thus it would be great waste for BW to do something like that.

EDIT: plus the theory has a lot of cherry picking to be valid.

Indoctrination theory or not, as long as Bioware can come up with an ending that makes sense and actually provides some closure beyond "Do you want the Galaxy map to be red, green, or blue?", I'll be perfectly happy.

[MatthewJontully]

Well, there are slight variations since there is so much open to interpretation. I believe that sometime after Shep was blown to [censored] by Harbinger, they began their final step of indoctrination. The sequence after you awake makes no sense. For one, your gun has no ammo limit. Okay it may be just a gameplay choice. So, you transport to the Citadel and apparently Anderson follows behind you. Now when you make your way towards the Citadel Anderson tells you he is in a hall with shifting walls or whatever. When you emerge into this hall, you see the only way to get to this bridge area is where Shep came from. Okay so Anderson was transported ahead of you? But from the bridge area you have a view into the room with the control panel. Anderson isn't there. You make it to the bridge, meet Anderson and the Illusive Man shows up. Wut? Where did he come from? How did he get by the Alliance and Harbinger?

So they begin the conversation about indoctrination, during which Shep is shown to be under the influence when he shoots Anderson. There is also the black tentacle things around the screen. You convince TIM to suicide himself or shoot him. You think you're free from the indoctrination and take a seat next to your old friend. The Citadel wings open, and you're exposed to open space without a helmet or suit, but nothing happens.

Then you pass out and are uplifted or whatever the [censored]. In my opinion the little boy who appears as the Catalyst was real in the beginning, and came to represent a symbol of sacrifice and regret in Shep's mind. The Reapers projecting him in an attempt to convince Shep to take either the Control or Synthesis option. The little Catalyst kid condemns the Destroy choice (that the paragon Anderson would have chosen), saying you have to destroy all synthetic life and even still organics will build more. He nudges you towards the other two, with Synthesis sounding suspiciously like widescale indoctrination.

Control appears as the paragon option despite it being TIM's goal. Destroy appears as the renegade despite Anderson endorsing it. Oh yeah, of course you are again in open space without a helmet.

THEN if you choose Control Shep's eyes look very familiar as he disintegrates (see the mother [censored] indoctrinated as faeces Illusive Man). If you choose Synthesis you also die. Now, according to the Catalyst if you choose Destroy every single synthetic including Shep dies. But... Destroy is the only ending where Shep actually lives, implying the Catalyst is lying in an attempt to convince you to spare the Reapers.

So yeah, I along with a lot of fans believe the ending is played out in Shep's mind. That is why you awake on a load of rubble seemingly after being blown to [censored] by Harbinger if you choose Destroy, thus breaking the indoctrination. Brilliant, if it's true. I still have problems with it because there is a complete lack of closure and it cuts off the real [censored] end, presumably for DLC which is hilariously greedy.

Oh yeah, and you're wearing armour as you sketch for the Conduit yet when you "wake up" you're wearing your casual attire. I'm not terribly articulate, look it up.

[Tanya]

Ooookkayyyy, I am not going to open that can of worms. All I will say Is I am a Christian and homosixuality is completely against my beliefs.

Femshep + Liara isn't homosixuality, it's xenosixuality