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Mass Effect 4: The Future of Commander Shepard and the Immortality of a Legend
The last moments of Mass Effect 3 (ME3) created a huge debate among players and one of the main topics has been Commander Shepard and the character’s ultimate fate. It is true that players’ choices had the ability to change the storyline and eventually proclaim Shepard’s destiny; however in this article I will discuss the future of this Bioware’s hero and how the company will most likely handle his\her reappearance in the fourth game. Despite the lack of official information about Mass Effect 4, it’s for certain that the upcoming plot will have a new protagonist since Commander Shepard’s story has been completed and the hero isn’t coming back as the main character again. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that Shepard won’t come back, especially if the fourth game is to become a sequel. Dead or alive, Shepard has become a true legend in both game and real life. In the sci-fictional world of Mass Effect, the legendary status has been achieved simply because the continuity of the galaxy was established due to this brave soul’s actions and sacrifices. In real, there are no doubts that Shepard is Mass Effect’s insignia and without Shepard there will hardly be Mass Effect. This ideal makes me confident that regardless Bioware’s decisions for the fourth game, Shepard will indeed return one way or another. It’s nearly impossible to contemplate every decision chain and path set from the previous three games, which means that Bioware will either create a hollow prequel with no Shepard or a deep sequel far into the future, where Shepard will be remembered as the savior of all organic life.
For Mass Effect 4, I believe that Shepard’s survival won’t have any impact in the story, first because if the fourth game’s story would be set in a near future it would imply the creation of two complete distinct stories, one where Shepard survives and proceeds with his/her life and another where Shepard possibly transcends into a substantial form and becomes part of nature itself, guaranteeing that balance between organic and mechanic species isn’t disrupted. Secondly, it seems to me that the most reasonable and noble way to bring Shepard back is through memories and recordings that will surely be part of the pos-reaper age archives. In an advanced technological society, recordings are everywhere and they can be easily stored and accessed at any time. Memories can probably be extracted or accessed as well and even if this technology doesn’t exist in the upcoming reality, asaris can live hundreds of years, meaning that companions and allies like Liara, Samara and Aria could still be alive to share their past experiences with Shepard.
The galaxy shall never forget the legend that saved multiple species from extinction. No matter the form or shape, Shepard has become immortal and not even time will be able to erase the heroic deeds that prevented a whole civilization from turning into dust and perishing into oblivion. Excluding Commander Shepard from Mass Effect 4 would be, in my opinion, absolutely catastrophic since it would bring a huge consistency crisis to the series and it would disappoint fans beyond believe. Let’s hope that Bioware will be able to develop a new enthusiastic plot, while keeping in mind most of the preceding events.
Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world, and the National Basketball Association (NBA) is its premier league. For fans and newcomers alike, understanding the structure and duration of an NBA game is essential to fully appreciate the excitement and strategy involved. So, how long is an NBA basketball game? While the answer might seem straightforward, there are several factors that influence the total time.
The Basics: Game Structure
An NBA game is divided into four quarters, each lasting 12 minutes. This means the actual playing time is 48 minutes. However, the total duration of a game is significantly longer due to various stoppages, breaks, and additional rules.
Duration of Professional Basketball Games
In the NBA, games are divided into four quarters, each lasting 12 minutes, resulting in 48 minutes of actual playing time. However, the total duration of an NBA game is much longer due to various factors:
- Timeouts: Each team is allowed seven timeouts per game, each lasting 75 seconds (with some exceptions for shorter timeouts).
- Fouls and Free Throws: Stoppages for fouls and free throws can add significant time.
- Halftime: A 15-minute break occurs between the second and third quarters.
- Overtime: If the game is tied, 5-minute overtime periods are played until a winner is decided.
On average, an NBA game lasts about 2 to 2.5 hours, though games with frequent stoppages or multiple overtimes can extend closer to 3 hours.
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Halftime and Quarter Breaks
In addition to the playing time and stoppages, there are scheduled breaks during the game:
- Quarter Breaks: After the first and third quarters, there is a brief break of about 130 seconds.
- Halftime: The break between the second and third quarters, known as halftime, lasts 15 minutes. This is when teams regroup, and fans often enjoy entertainment or refreshments.
Length of College Basketball Games
College basketball games, governed by the NCAA, have a slightly different structure. Instead of four 12-minute quarters, college games are divided into two 20-minute halves, totaling 40 minutes of playing time. Despite the shorter playing time, college games often last nearly as long as NBA games due to:
- Media Timeouts: These are mandatory stoppages for TV broadcasts, occurring at the first dead ball after the 16-, 12-, 8-, and 4-minute marks in each half.
- Halftime: A 15-minute break separates the two halves.
- Overtime: Like the NBA, college games use 5-minute overtime periods if the score is tied at the end of regulation.
On average, a college basketball game lasts about 2 hours, though this can vary depending on the pace of play and the number of stoppages.
High School Basketball Game Duration
High school basketball games are shorter than both NBA and college games. They are typically divided into four 8-minute quarters, resulting in 32 minutes of playing time. The total duration of a high school game is influenced by:
- Halftime: A 10-minute break occurs after the second quarter.
- Timeouts: Teams are usually allowed a limited number of timeouts, each lasting 60 seconds.
- Overtime: Overtime periods are typically 4 minutes long.
On average, a high school basketball game lasts about 1.5 hours, making it the shortest of the three levels.
Average Duration of an NBA Game
Taking all these factors into account, the average NBA game lasts about 2 to 2.5 hours. However, this can vary depending on the pace of play, the number of fouls, timeouts, and whether the game goes into overtime. Some games, especially those with frequent stoppages or multiple overtimes, can stretch closer to 3 hours.
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Factors Influencing Game Length
Several factors can affect the duration of a basketball game, regardless of the level of play:
- Timeouts: Strategic timeouts, media timeouts (in college and professional games), and mandatory stoppages can extend the game.
- Fouls and Free Throws: Frequent fouls lead to more stoppages and free throws, adding to the total time.
- Instant Replay Reviews: In the NBA and college games, referees may review certain plays, which can delay the game.
- Overtime: Tied games that go into overtime can significantly extend the duration.
- Pace of Play: A fast-paced game with fewer stoppages will be shorter than a slower, more deliberate game.
- Injuries or Delays: Unforeseen events, such as player injuries or technical issues, can also add time.
Why Does This Matter?
Understanding the length of an NBA game helps fans plan their viewing experience. Whether you’re attending a game in person or watching from home, knowing the approximate duration allows you to set aside enough time to enjoy the full experience. Additionally, the strategic use of timeouts, fouls, and breaks adds layers of complexity to the game, making it as much a mental battle as a physical one.
Conclusion
While the actual playing time of an NBA game is 48 minutes, the total duration typically ranges from 2 to 2.5 hours due to stoppages, breaks, and potential overtime. This extended time frame allows for the strategic depth and entertainment that make NBA basketball so captivating. So, the next time you settle in to watch a game, you’ll know exactly what to expect in terms of time commitment—and you’ll appreciate the nuances that make every minute count.
Usenet newsgroups may seem old-fashioned to many. In reality, they are the perfect place for players who love the classics but are always open to new games and strategies. These internet communities are also ideal for those searching for gaming material, solutions to issues, or a conversation related to their favorite video games. Whether you are an experienced player or entering this domain for the first time, Usenet holds a ton of resources that could change how you interact with the gaming world.
Understanding Usenet Newsgroups
Usenet newsgroups, which include gaming groups, are like message boards. People can post messages and articles in different categories. Each group is a special place for certain topics – this makes it simple to find the subjects you want to read about most. The unique characteristic of Usenet lies in its decentralized structure. This permits a much more open interchange of details and information than what is seen on regular social media platforms or forums.
Initially, Usenet was utilized only for academic and professional exchanges. However, it soon turned into a prevalent method for communicating among hobbyists and gaming groups. Presently, even though Usenet has been surpassed by newer platforms in terms of popularity, it continues to be an important tool for knowledgeable users who value its special mix of staying anonymous with fast communication. Knowledgeable users also love access to vast archives containing historical information and software applications that are no longer available elsewhere on the Internet.
Top Usenet Newsgroups for Mobile Games
comp.mobile.games
This is a fresh group dedicated to discussions about mobile games and related technology matters within the industry. Here, you can find conversations about the coding aspects of creating games for mobile devices, like new updates in platforms or fresh game engines being used for development purposes.
rec.games.mobile
The perfect place for people who play games on their mobile devices as a hobby. Here, users talk about strategies, tricks and discuss game evaluations. This group is also suitable for those who are not serious gamers but like to connect with others and discuss playing strategies.
alt.games.mobile
In this newsgroup, users often discuss gaming fixes and give each other suggestions. It is also the go-to place for gamers and die-hard fans that wish to find each and every detail of the game they love to play.
Best Newsgroups for Video Game Discussions
Newsgroups such as alt.games.video and rec.games.video.arcade have lively communities where gamers often engage in exchanges and conversations. These forums are not only for resolving gaming issues or writing reviews; they are centers of enthusiastic discussion regarding gaming culture, strategy, and creation process. Be it the latest RPGs, energetic shooters or old-school arcade games – there is always a thread bustling with discussion.
In these threads, not only will you encounter a variety of views from across the globe, but you may also land on gaming tricks and shortcuts that are lesser known. For those who are new, remember that every group has its own tone and rules. Lurking for a while should help you understand community norms and ensure your contributions are accepted.
Specialized Gaming Newsgroups
Specialized newsgroups are designed for particular gaming communities. They provide a discussion environment that is more centered and focused. These groups are ideal for users who really love a particular game and want to explore it in great depth.
The benefit of these specific groups is their collection of very particular details. Gamers who are part of such a group often exchange unique things like custom mods or skins, and offer advice on how to make gameplay more efficient and fun.
Tips for Using Usenet Newsgroups for Gaming
To enter Usenet, you will first need to pick a provider that is well-known for security, high retention rates and fast speed. To make the right pick, it is a good idea to get the rankings for the best Usenet providers. Next, get advanced newsreader software, as this will allow you to browse through newsgroups easily and manage your activities effectively.
Focus on newsgroups related to gaming and participate in discussions matching your interests to find gaming buddies. Also, make sure that you follow the netiquette of each group while doing so. Utilize newsreader software functions like filters and automation to keep things simple.
Conclusion
Usenet, at first sight, can appear as a choice for oldies or people that have not yet acclimated to social media platforms and forums. However, its distinct characteristics make it very useful for all kinds of gamers. If you are searching for uncommon information, looking for detailed conversations or wish to join a community that matches with your specific interests; Usenet is surely the place for you. Jump in to see how Usenet can add another element of fun to your gaming experiences!
Child development is a complex journey marked by critical milestones where each stride forward builds upon the foundation of the previous one. Acknowledging children’s individual needs, pediatric therapy services tailor strategies to foster physical, emotional, and cognitive growth. To support this transformative process, environments that prompt curiosity and engagement, coupled with advanced educational tools, play an instrumental role in shaping young minds. These resources, carefully selected and applied, can significantly amplify a child’s developmental trajectory. Keep reading to learn about the effective ways these tools and techniques can aid in advancing childhood milestones.
Pediatric Therapy Services: Enhancing Developmental Milestones
Pediatric therapy services support children as they reach and surpass developmental milestones. These services, often provided by skilled therapists, address various growth challenges, ensuring each child has the best possible start in life. From speech and occupational therapy to physical and behavioral interventions, these professionals tailor their approach to meet the unique needs of every young patient.
Therapists work relentlessly to motivate children, fostering an environment where milestones are not merely achieved but celebrated. Through personalized, one-on-one sessions, children gain the confidence and skills necessary to navigate their developmental journeys more easily. The trust between therapist and child is a solid foundation for consistent progress and paves the path for lifelong learning and adaptation.
Resource provision is a key component of pediatric therapy, equipping parents with the tools to continue therapy practices at home. Effective communication between therapists and families ensures a cohesive strategy that envelops the child’s daily routine, enhancing the therapy’s impact. It also allows parents to identify subtle progress, reinforcing their pivotal role in the child’s developmental success.
If you’re looking for pediatric therapy in your area, a simple Google search like “pediatric therapy Arizona” will help you find local providers and services tailored to your child’s needs, ensuring they receive the specialized care necessary for their development.
Optimizing Play Spaces: Creating Environments for Learning and Exploration
Optimized play spaces are vital platforms where children engage with their world, build skills, and unleash their creativity. Designers of such areas pay astute attention to elements that promote safe exploration and intellectual stimulation. A thoughtfully arranged play environment serves as a place of entertainment and a crucible for burgeoning development.
Professionals incorporate a variety of tactile and visual stimuli within play areas to cater to diverse developmental needs and interests. Stimulating sensory experiences is central to cognitive and motor skill refinement among younger populations. The intentional selection of colors, textures, and interactive features sparks curiosity and encourages physical activity, which is fundamental to healthy growth.
Accessibility remains paramount in creating play spaces, ensuring they cater to children across all abilities. Including adaptive resources within these environments demonstrates a commitment to inclusive development, allowing every child to participate and benefit from the joy and learning play offers. Such inclusiveness fosters a sense of community and belonging, which is essential for emotional and social development.
Affording children autonomy in their play advances self-directed learning and problem-solving capabilities. When children feel empowered to make choices within their play, they better understand their preferences and abilities, setting the stage for confidence and self-awareness — qualities that are instrumental as children grow and transition through life’s stages.
Additionally, incorporating elements like fake plants or outdoor plants from retailers like Nearly Natural outdoor plants into play spaces can enhance children’s sensory and aesthetic experience.
Interactive Learning Tools: Technology and Resources for Cognitive Development
Interactive learning tools harness technology’s power to solidify children’s cognitive development. These digital resources provide an array of engaging, educational content that aligns with critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Software and applications designed for children’s learning capitalize on the allure of multimedia to capture young minds. Effective education solutions provide children with stimulating challenges that are age-appropriate and aligned with developmental targets.
The discerning use of educational technology in classrooms and homes can reinforce concepts and skills taught through traditional methods. It creates a harmonious blend of instruction and interactive play, thereby cementing a child’s understanding and retention of information.
Providers of such educational platforms are ever vigilant, updating content to reflect new educational strategies and the latest academic research. Thus, children equipped with these technological tools remain at the vanguard of current learning methodologies, all while engrossed in fun and dynamic ways.
Overall, caregivers and educators can provide comprehensive support for children’s developmental journeys by integrating pediatric therapy services, optimized play spaces, and interactive learning tools. These resources nurture their physical, emotional, and cognitive growth and cultivate a lifelong love for learning and exploration.
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mike
August 19, 2013 at 6:59 pm
I personnaly wouldn’t like it to be a prequel. For a game with such scale, it wouldn’t just fit. Mass effect games were all about its story and plot. Since ME1, we’ve been busy trying to find a way to survive and beat the reapers. The games just got better and better, more intense, etc, with every single choice we’ve made through the dialogs. While we don’t play a platform game for its story, a game like mass effect is all about the story. And we’ve played all 3 games, and we know what happened. Since the first attacks and missions on mass effect 1, and the missions on mass effect 3, we’ve learnt exactly what was going on, and why we were there, killing or protecting races. Mass effect games were one of the best experiences in my life. For the first time, I really felt engaged in a game, and I really felt all those guys were really there, and needed my help. And I knew every decision I’d made would have some impact, like in real life. I wished each game just had 10 times more missions, choices, dialogs, etc, and the 3 games could last 1000 hours. I whished reapers didn’t attack us on me3, and instead, bioware had just given us much more content on me3, and me4 was the game where we fight against the reapers, instead of me3. I just wanted more and more of it. Millions of planets with millions of side-missions, eventually made by hundreds of modders, that would just create new places, new worlds, new stories, via an editor. It could have been amazing. Also, people wold have a weapon editor, where they would just choose its price, features, perfs, visual and sound effects, etc. Countless possibilities.
That’s why, since we all know what is going to happen, a prequel would just not make any sense. OK, we would have new missions, new weapons, a new story, and we could just take a simple action /choice/part of the plot from me1-2-3, and make a 2 hour mission about that. But at the end, it would just be a filler. All the pleasure we had when playing the series, and discovering an extra bit of the plot,well, it would not feel the same.
If we take a god of war game. Everything was so perfect, from the PSP prequels, to the main story since gow1, than gow2, and finally, the amazing incredible god of war 3, as the ultimate revenge from kratos. Playing the series always felt fresh, and the pleasure was always there, even until the end.
The game was amazing, and one of my top 3 stories ever. I’ve played each game at least 3 times, and each time I start a new game, I have the same pleasure as the first time I played it. That’s why I didn’t like god of war ascension as much as I would have expected. And there’s nothing to do with the graphics or action or whatever. It’s just that no matter what we do in the game, no matter if it lasts 8,12 or 20 hours, we ALREADY know what it’s going to happen, and as I was playing it, I knew nothing major would happen, and it was just a simple day of kratos life. Another example, ‘valkirie’ movie, with tom cruise. I went to cinema and almost left the room before the end. Why? Because we all know the movie is about someone who will try to kill hitler, with a bomb, and the bomb only injures him wthout killing him. During 2 hours, we know how exactly it will end up. The same would apply to any mass effect prequel: it would just be a filler, and no matter what we would do, it would always lead to the story and plot we all already know.
That’s why I would like bioware to somehow revive Shepard, give him new powers, new weapons, new skill upgrades, etc, and make a story, for example, on a parallel dimension at the same time of mass effect 1-3 events, where many other races, planets, people, etc would be preparing themselves for the reapers invasion, with a totally different approach, tactics, ideas, etc. For example, it could be some hidden and distant galaxies/systems, where nobody ever went or heard about, a system that had been made slaves, by the reapers, many cycles ago like 200’000 years, and the reapers just had destroyed all the relays that would lead to these systems, and without those relays, those systems were hidden from all the other races. And somehow, Shepard would just hear about these distant systems and races that had existed, once, many many years ago, and would try to build a special relay, with the protheans help, and once these relay would be built, on mass effect 4, we could just continue the story, on mass effect 5 and 6, where Shepard and other races would be able to travel to these systems, and discover new races, new technologies, etc. And on mass effect 6, the other dimension would also be prepared. With the new relay, those races could come to our system, but reapers would also be able to go there and attack them.I think I could write the plot and story for ,mass effect 4-5-6, if I was asked to :) I love the universe so much, I would invent a 1000 hours plot, if needed.
So, no, no prequel, please. It won’t make any sense.
SomeFan
September 9, 2013 at 10:14 am
Dude, I just came here to say you are awesome. But Bioware will probably f**k up somehow, so now I’m just left with the bitter taste of what could have been
Albert
August 19, 2013 at 9:11 pm
I wish that they would bring back Commander Shepard in Mass Effect 4. I find without him , Mass effect won’t be the same. How Xbox users feel if Master Chief wasn’t in Halo 4? or how would ps3 users feel if Kratos wasn’t in God of War: Ascension? Devil May Cry tried with Nero in the fourth game and it wasn’t DMC until you played as Dante I mean it was nice that Capcom tried to go in a different direction, but it didn’t have the same DMC feel without Dante as the main guy. I still feel that Mass Effect 3 still had a lot of steam to make Mass Effect 4,5, and even 6 with Shepard. Well whatever Bioware does with the Mass Effect franchise I just hope the magic of the first 3 games will be carried on to the 4 game, with or without Commander Shepard as the main guy/gal
Ivattthestannier
October 4, 2013 at 8:18 pm
Shepherd – the little kid at the end asks his grandfather for ‘another tale of the shepherd ‘ which the old guy says ‘ok’
Plus the breath at the end.
Shepherd was in the rumble of part of the citadel at the end, not London ( I don’t know why people thought London ) and besides the guy died and got rebuilt anyway in me2. He will be back, I reckon he might even be the lead again.
Ivattthestannier
October 4, 2013 at 8:20 pm
Bio ware left a massive clue about shep, read my reply to Albert below if ya interested as too why shep will def be in me4 or 5