OOC Mass Effect 4: The FAQ/OOC/Discussion Thread

Reading the intro post before I head to work likely means I'll have a full response formed in my head by the time I clock out.

 

First!

 

Just read the intro posts in the blue thread. Though I'm not playing in the blue thread, I will still be following it with great interest

Can't wait for the red thread to start Its also very cool to see a lot of the alien races represented too Salarian, Asari, Turian, Drell, Even Hanar!

 

I could not join, I really could not without compromising the games I am dedicated too, but I sure as hell will lurk those two games . . . if for nothing else then for the epic conclusion of Ashen´s badass females Cira and Aleena. Twice!

But it´s quite fascinating how few humans we got in those games.

 

How few humans? I thought we had plenty This is how I feel most advanced sci-fi games should go with humans outnumbered

 

It's an equal-opportunity RP

 

I was about to go human, but then I thought maybe it was time to try something a little different!

 

Mass Effect aliens are so in-depth and fleshed out by BioWare that it is definitely difficult to get into them right off the bat. You could practically write full essays about each one's culture.

 

Hey, stop spoiling what's coming up in future updates--

 

I am seriously going to have to teach myself some game theory over winter break so my descriptions of the field stop being "NAME DROP sure is some game theory amirite?"

 

Why? You could accuse Lando of using Hogminsterfuller's Theorem at the Battle of Tanaab and I'd still be clapping and cheering.

 

Because I feel like I owe JANOS THE VON NEUMANNS OF FATE at least the courtesy of some accurate math.

 

Considering I do not even know for certain what two of the three options my Geth had are, and that I dismissed the one I did understand fully, I feel I owe them nothing

 

JVN had nothing to do with any of those options, Mitth!

 

I don't know how I would know that as I don't know what JVN is

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_von_Neumann

Which is why I'm not sure why you would or would not owe von Neumann anything with those options.

 

Well, after reading that perhaps my Geth by itself does

 

All right, Red update's done, I just have to get to a non-work computer to upload images to pbucket, so update should follow tonight.

As to the next Blue thread, and generally - I think I'll wait out a couple more responses before I update and see how traffic pans out. At the moment my thinking's to basically set a weekly deadline for GM updates, so if I'm tagged, I'll respond on that date. But we'll see how it goes.

Queries, concerns, questions, suggestions, anyone?

 

Well, don't sweat mine, I'm basically gone starting tomorrow, and while I'll be back on Wednesday the 19th, I'm not sure it'll be in a sober, ready to post state.

 

I should also let y'all know for planning purposes - I don't anticipate being able to update or frankly read much between December 21 and December 26 inclusive. Mainly that's because I'll be away from a computer with a decent Net connection (what can I say, my parents still have a 56k modem) so I wouldn't hold my breath on me being able to respond or post in that time. I'll try and keep things moving as much as feasibly possible before then, though.

 

Red Thread is up and dated - have fun, guys!

 

Other quick notes on the franchise for those of you new to it, as at the point of Mass Effect 3--

"Citadel Space" vs. "Terminus Systems": Basically, these are the two main political divisions in the galaxy. In essence, as a species you either are aligned with the authority based on the Citadel, or you're not. The Citadel Council is basically the supreme authority organisation, living (naturally) on the Citadel itself - a sort of UN with actual teeth. Those species swearing allegiance to the Citadel are the asari, turians, humans, drell, hanar, salarians, elcor, and volus. All of them can in theory at least draw on the Citadel's (massive) defensive fleets as well as the species' own fleets for their protection.

The Terminus Systems are basically everyone else: Batarians, Geth, Krogan, Quarians and the Vorcha. This doesn't mean it's a simple red vs. blue setup - the Terminus Systems have no official governing body, and they're highly independent. Omega is said to be the "Terminus Citadel", but that's solely because a lot of people go there, not because it has any authority over anyone or gives a damn about anything beyond how grumpy Aria T'Loak is in the morning. And indeed some of the Terminus System species - Quarians in particular - have at least cordial relations with the Citadel, they just don't acknowledge its authority. In addition, "Citadel Space" is not like the 50-odd states all linking up bumper-to-bumper to form the United States. Citadel Space can be better thought of as "anywhere in the galaxy that acknowledges the Citadel's authority."

Spectres -- short for "Special Tasks and Reconnaissance". These guys are basically the Jedi Knights the Citadel Council's go-to covert agents for problems they can't handle with a fleet. Think of a Spectre as a UN Peacekeeper on steroids: they're James Bond, Dirty Harry, and Arnold Schwarzenegger all rolled into one. They answer only to the Citadel Council, and are explicitly above the law anywhere in Citadel Space. There's usually only about 100 of them in the galaxy at any given time, and it's a big thing to have one of your species appointed as a Spectre - it obviously represents a position of absolute trust in a supercompetent individual. This set of circumstances hopefully helps understand why (a) Commander Shepard was the first human Spectre; (b) his first job was taking down a rogue Spectre named Nihlus and (c) why Blasto the "first Hanar Spectre" is an in-universe fictional character and has gone on to memetastic worship.