Let's speculate what the Ryder Family Mystery is, crackpot-theory style!

Alec Ryder's real motivation to amscray to Andromeda was to escape the bounty on his head, when he "forgot" to pay up after a high-stakes poker game on Omega. Another galaxy is the safest place you can go when you owe Aria money.

Nope. Mac said he won't be an antagonist.

Grief stricken widower loses it big time full on PTSD becomes alienated/estranged from kids cue family conflict resentment.  Handled with the usual bioware deft touch, subtlety, sophistication and nuance.  Probably something along the lines of this...............

I don't think he'll die soon, and I think he'll have enough scenes since they're pushing the family plot.

And his son is Octodad. What is going on here?? Is this a paradox?

It's very unlikely Jien (or anyone else in the game) is Mom!Ryder, because they'd presumably show what she looks like, and she wouldn't be customizable. It is possible they'll kill her off before we see her without a helmet, but I doubt it.

Actually, I think this might be the case. But not so much that they can, but why they can. Or maybe not, since Shepard could do that too, and even have biotic abilities as a non-biotic... Not sure how canon that was supposed to be

On the other end of the spectrum, it wouldn't make much sense not to be able to swap out abilities when you felt like it - in fact, you should really be able to program all tech powers into your omnitool, and use any biotic abilities you've practiced before at any time.

A more likely scenario is that they'd be modified versions of a combination of Alec's and the other father's DNA. A surrogate might still be used for gestation, but not for DNA (or an artificial womb). This is theoretically possible, though I think they already confirmed Mom!Ryder is a thing, not OtherDad!Ryder.

But I think ME would be the perfect IP to explore this idea in general. There is already routine genetic manipulation done, and same-sex couples aren't perceived any differently than opposite-sex couples, so it would add another cool layer onto this if they come out and say they can also have genetic offspring. The social dynamics would be interesting, since homosexual and heterosexual couples wouldn't even have that ability as a difference. I really hope they do, but I doubt it.

That's not how clones work. Or roleplaying.

I know you're joking, but this does remind me of a rather unfortunate family line in DA2 that I hope doesn't have any successors in ME:A. Leandra telling my Hawke something to the effect of "Now you just need to find a husband!" Uh... what? There's no way Leandra wouldn't know my Hawke is never going to have a husband  "YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ME, MOM!"

Come on, Bioware. And this in the game with 4 bi companions, so you'd think they'd understand that not all PCs will be straight, and there isn't much point being in the closet in Thedas, especially to your own family, so... This is also annoying if you simply have a PC who wouldn't be interested in marriage for whatever reason.

So yeah, none of that assuming in ME:A from Dad!Ryder, please.

There'd really be no reason to want or need to keep that out of the public eye in the ME verse.

No. While it's possible to do time travel well, I don't want them to risk it because it more-often-than-not creates logical problems. It was odd to add into DA:I, but since it only worked because of the Breach it didn't introduce as many logical issues (but still some). Best to leave it out of the ME verse, I think.

Even if human society in the Mass Effect universe is overall more progressive, we've seen from Terra Prime and Cerberus that prejudiced whackjobs still exist in the future. What's to say that the same people who carry around "God Hates Freaky Alien Genotypes" picket signs, might not hold antiquated views on human sexuality as well? In ME3, we can hear a woman on the Citadel who's family disowned her for marrying an Asari, although it's not clear whether it was because her wife was a woman, an alien... or perhaps both?

But as I said before, it'd probably have more to do with privacy than anything else. There are some celebrities today who prefer to keep their personal lives out of the papers, so what's to say it wouldn't be equally the same 170 years from now?

The Ryder kids mother was also Shepards mother and they are a part of a super secret super-human breeding program that also created Shepard and started before the Mass Effect relay was discovered. Using Prothean DNA (which is why Shepard could use the beacon).

Or

They're secret Asari-Human hybrids.

best theory ever, kudos!

hence:

/thread

It's not that it's far fetched, it just breaks consistency and coherent storytelling.

Don't always agree wtih Linkenski, but yeah.

FTL is a plot holey device. Time travel is just a shitstorm, giggling while waiting to happen.

Life is Strange actually handled it ok, though I don't think you can even go perfect with such a bloody anti-personnel minefield.

Ha ha, I played the Mage route in DA:I. I think in the framework of a world with magic, red lyrium works better than the Indoctrination stuff of Mass Effect. 

The time travel level in Titanfall 2 was well done and I look forward to trying out Dishonored 2's.

Saying that I think we've derailed this thread