Forum discussions are now taking place on Discord. For all account questions and concerns, please continue to contact Customer Support directly.

Keep updated on Pirate101 on Twitter @Pirate101, Facebook, Discord, and @KI_Alerts!

Story Thread 5: More Musings

AuthorMessage
Lieutenant
Jan 19, 2014
177
There are a few companions the PC can get based on certain choices during the tutorial. Have you ever thought about the PC getting a companion based on the PC's gender?

Also, I read on a Pirate101 wiki(not Central) that Fin Dorsal is blind. True, false, or that would be telling?

Ensign
Jun 01, 2012
1
Hey :)

I am from Germany and right now we're reading the Book Der Sandmann (The Sandman) by E.T.A. Hoffmann at school.
In this book there is the "automaton" Olimpia, which is comparable to an Armada clockwork (although still more a protopype).
When first reading it, there came this mysterious "queen" clockwork to my mind. Is she influenced a bit by her (if you have read the book before) or would you think about making something like a (side) quest line, maybe as the first prototype clockwork the Toymaker ever made ore something like that?
It would defenitely be awesome.

PS: I love your work, Mr. Mew.

~Diogenes

Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
Hey, Blind Mew! I get that you're quite busy, but I have this to say.

I... REALLY liked how the instance quest in the Governor's Mansion in Port Regal, "A Felon's Employment", was extended, and that change wasn't part of the Update Notes! Must be one of those sneaky surprises, no doubt, eh? I also liked how many new additional dialogue lines were added in the quest, and the additional battles! I don't know who came up with that suggestion, but whomever it was, was surely a genius! You sure know how to bring Pirates small surprises! Just a few additional requests about this quest, though.

1. The MooShu 5 should each have a new dialogue line added in after we defeat Beemish again.

2. Ratbeard's dialogue line, "There's the exit! Charge!", should be played after we defeat the Redcoats that tried to sabotage our escape with Mabel instead after of one of them saying, "Halt, or, we fire!".

3. After we reach the exit, Bonnie Anne should have a new dialogue line added in.

Say, after the next update goes live, I have a small request. Would the instance quest in Cool Ranch's Dusty Cave's Infested Tunnel's instance quest, "Miner Threat", be revised to have more new additional re-playable dialogue lines placed in, both from the distressed miners and our speaking main story Companions? I've been through that quest before, and from what I've been through, it lacked plenty of dialogue lines, from start to finish, besides the only dialogue lines from Old Bird Jenkins at the end of the instance, that is, for the moment. Why, even after defeating the Big Bad Boss Bloodbat before facing him, I don't hear the echoing insane laughter from Old Bird Jenkins himself, that should be similar to many crazy old miners giving out their crazy laughing seen on TV and more. Just play through that quest again, and you'll know what I mean.

Can all of these changes be done shortly after the game update goes Live? Other than that, I'm really looking forward to many of the new changes in the game!

Thanks once again for hearing me, Blind Mew!

Commodore
Jan 22, 2013
889
If nepolinguen comes to rise again would that be a reference to the real ones grandson starting a French empire again

Pirate Overlord
Mar 10, 2009
6204
Diogenesis on Mar 29, 2014 wrote:
Hey :)

I am from Germany and right now we're reading the Book Der Sandmann (The Sandman) by E.T.A. Hoffmann at school.
In this book there is the "automaton" Olimpia, which is comparable to an Armada clockwork (although still more a protopype).
When first reading it, there came this mysterious "queen" clockwork to my mind. Is she influenced a bit by her (if you have read the book before) or would you think about making something like a (side) quest line, maybe as the first prototype clockwork the Toymaker ever made ore something like that?
It would defenitely be awesome.

PS: I love your work, Mr. Mew.

~Diogenes
Welcome to the message board family Diogenes. Great questions, I can't wait to hear what he says.

Lieutenant
Jan 28, 2014
104
Hey Blind Mew, have you ever thought about making a Game World involving Prehistoric times such as the Ice Age and a mixture of other times of prehistoric like the Stone Age? It'd probably be a good idea, but Skull Island is probably part of this theme a little.

Community Leader
I know this is such a strange question, but.. I see faces everywhere in-game. I see doors, wall fountains, decoration top of doorways as faces. Is this intentional or not?

And no, I'm not barmy lol!

Need help with Ships, Companions, Pets, Gear? Pirate101 Skyways has guides for everything that you can think of. Click here to visit our site today!
Captain
Oct 15, 2012
538
1.what would you do if it was the zombie apocalypse and the only way to save yourself is to send your concscioussness into pirate101 and zombies also appeard in the game through also sending their concsciousness in?
2.what if the kingsisle hq was turned into a spaceship and you went on some random space adventure.
3.top 5 favorite games(similar to a question i asked earlier)
4.do you think that age demographic=quality?(personally i dont.)

Gunner's Mate
Dec 16, 2009
212
I have a question about the lore behind ships horns and the powers they manifest
1)Who maufactures ships horns?
2)How are ships horns able to call forth creatures?
3)Are the ships horns magical or mechanical in nature?

I also have a few questions about the spiral in general
1)Is the spiral more like a solar system with one central sun and all the realms orbiting around the sun or is it more like a galaxy with the different worlds we encounter in their own star systems?

2)Are the distances between worlds comparable to the distances between planets in real life? If not are the distances longer or shorter?

3)In one of your other threads you state pirates hold their breath while traversing through stormgates yet in another you state that windstones protect ships from the stresses of the stormgate. Wouldn't it make more sense for the windstones to generate an artificial atmosphere? Correct me if im wrong but I believe you stated somewhere that traversing through a stormgate could take minutes to hours....that's an unbelievably long time to hold your breath.

Developer
@ValkoorTheVictorious

1] I believe I read that Cool Ranch was the first world that either was put into developing or that was conceived. How did the thought of a cowboy themed world even enter into the minds of the great folks at KI?


You heard correctly. It was originally intended to be a Wizard world, but they handed it off to us because there had been some environment work done so we'd get a bit of a head start. As to how the Wizad folks got the idea, I'm not precisely sure, because it happened before I got here. I expect they thought it'd be full of good gags (which it was).

As for it being your favorite world, it's good to hear. I'm not nearly as happy with it as I am with some of the other worlds - we were just getting our sea legs, and the lack of finesse in some of the design really shows. If time allowed, I'd love to go back and give it a strong tightening up pass - though that might interfere with new content. I will say I love the humor and atmosphere in Cool Ranch, but it just feels a bit much.

2] In hindsight, do you feel it was risky tackling a world players possibly might view as non-pirate-y or in contrast was the team's collective feeling that it would be well received, so it was full-sails from the start?


No, we never worried about that - Wizard had pushed the envelope (though perhaps not that far) with "non-wizardy" worlds, so we were never concerned.

3] Looking at in the rearview mirror, what is your take on how Cool Ranch was received by the community and do you feel that the risk paid off?

In terms of story, I think it did pay off. Some of the other aspects (the quest structures, travel times, etc) are pretty rough. I hope the cool stories are enough to make putting up witht he rest of it worth it, but we shall see.

Developer
@ValkoorTheVictorious (continued)

4] Do you think that in future gameplay we will see any more classic SNL phrases/parodies tied into the story? Like perhaps, "...living in a raft down by the river", "...just 2 wild and ca-razy guys" or "...and we're here to a-pump...a-you up"?
Potentially - the joke needs to fit. The Marquis mark was where that joke started, and the rest grew out of it pretty organically.

5] Will we be revisiting CR, at least for a CR companion promotion?
That's a safe bet.

"I just gotta have more cow bell".

Good call! That's a favorite gag of mine, though it might be better suited for MooShu...

6] Lastly, I know you stated you were a child of the 80s and you had the Electric Boogaloo Thread. Was this just for amusement or were you in fact an avid breakdancer...and perchance one of the original B-boys. If you did enjoy it, were you a fan of the Breakin' and Beat Street films?
Heh. No, not at all. Never got into that stuff at all. The way me and my old friends append "Electric Boogaloo" to anything ending in the number 2 is just a joke based on how utterly ridiculous that title is. I was more of a Billy Joel/Pink Floyd/Talking Heads/U2/Peter Gabriel guy myself.

Developer
@KelseyFireheart
And also, Grace is a mechanic. She can build labor golems, robots and machines. It would be cool if she built one for us. I also would love the little shooting machines that we encounter with Bishop and other battles as a pet or a companion. I mean, I bet Grace can reprogram it and make it work for us instead?

Yeah, yeah i know... I'd always figured the Golems were MB's big attempt to make their own Clockworks, only better because Steel! Industry! Progress! Actually, the way clockworks are put together with all the piano wire and fine gears I think it'd baffle her - she's used to working with much heavier components. Enough with the Clockwork Companions already!

Wow that sounds amazing regarding the windstones. I honestly think if you added that astrolabe, it would make it even more cooler. It sounds like something that HAS to be added. I sure hope that could be done soon. Regarding ship interiors, is it on the radar for future additions? Would love a Captain's Quarters too.
Ship Interiors have a lot of kinks that need to be ironed out. They raise a lot of questions. But as this update shows, we're definitely willing to go back and refine existing systems, especially in response to player demand. Ship interiors are such a popular item in the community, it may be time to iron out those issues soon.

Developer
@Trimond927

After pulling the final switch in the end of Beachhead's last dungeon after Bishop's battle #2 in Book 13, I hear and see the explosions, but didn't hear no warning siren sound effect played in afterwards. Plus, that large Armada station doesn't give out a larger explosion after we leave the place via our ship as the quest's goal. In many adventures, when many evil villains' lairs built from technology start to self-destruct after either the heroes finished destroying the control panels or hitting the self-destruct button or mechanism on purpose, or villains accidentally hitting or pulling it, or et cetera, they usually give out a warning siren sound effect, or numerous alarms playing at the same time, with small explosions and various falling debris to follow, giving the "Escape!" feeling it should need of leaving the said lair before it explodes via a larger explosion that decimates the lair in it's entirety. I'm sure a usual countdown to that isn't necessary for that one, though, so there's no need for that to happen in Beachhead, but maybe in later Armada stations after that. Think that could happen after the next larger update goes live?


Don't know. Frankly, no change to live stuff is truly trivial - there's been a lot of sound polish, so the first item may already be on their list. As to a big boom, scripting that stuff and making the conditional visibility for it can be pretty hard. It eluded us for live, and getting it done now means spending those man hours on something other than new content or systems. I know very well the behavior evil boss lairs undergo after heroes win, and I think there's quite a lot of it going on already. The sequence is not perfect, but it ain't broke either.

Developer
@Trimond927
Rooke said that he would see to the Map piece's translation after General Tso presented it to him before he had his urgent business in Marleybone, in Book 11's end, but that would mean using the Scroll of Secrets, which was located in the Library of Contemplation in Subata. Governor Umeboshi said that they would be heading there to do so, but judging from what happened when we visited the Library in Subata to pursue and stop them, the Amber Horde was there first. I think they must have driven the Armada out, so they didn't get to translate the Map. Amazing! For a bunch of robotic puppets, they sure don't know how to handle a group of fierce, tough barbarians.

I don't think any Clockworks went to the Library of Contemplation - they'd be unusual enough visitors to warrant mention in the dialogue. There is another possibility here you're not seeing.

Did Quan-shi said it was taken? Yes, but who? Was it either the Armada or the Amber Horde?
It was taken, by the Amber Horde.

Do we get to recover the Scroll of Secrets back from the Amber Horde?
Nope, that would definitely have been mentioned.

And when we finally reached Cao Tzu on Maruzame at Book 12's end, he was fine, as if he'd never gotten a visit from the Armada at all in the first place, and taught us the translations of the markings, which I haven't truly seen how he does that, by the way, though I'm sure it's from the Scroll of Secrets.
He wrote the Scroll of Secrets. He knows how to translate the markings - where do you think Pollo learned them?

I'm guessing he's one to avoid the enemy so easily. Clever legendary entity, he is.
Well, he was very hard to get to. Not the kind of thing Rooke would bother himself with. Again, there's a solution here you're not seeing.

In any case, that's something of a big plot gap to rectify later on, eh?
Considering that content has been live a year without it being mentioned, the gap may seem bigger than it is. That said, there is a logical answer to this mystery.

Developer
@Trimond297
Ooh! Really? That's nice! If you're doing that, then I recommend you go for that one! I can't wait to see how that Puppet Show musical turns out! I could be dancing to it real soon when this happens... I may feel my heart beating to the rhythm, even going so far as to... (singing) ...SINGING! (back to speaking) Hey, maybe the forthcoming musical could be one of the... actually, the first actual musical made for an MMO game!


Whoa whoa whoa! I mentioned more puppet shows, not necessarily musical ones. The Ballad of English Bill would work as a spoken poem as well as a song, and believe me, if making it a full on song proved too difficult (which, I expect, it might) that's the route I'd go. A musical would indeed be neat, but it might push the limits of what we can do too far. I make no promises.

Note that in general, if I ever say "I'd like to see that" or "that would be cool/nifty" that means precisely that - I'd like to see it happen, but it may well not...

Developer
@Grizzley117
So, in the video of Spring 2014, the announcer mentions a Skull Island expansion. Is this part of Book 15? Or just an update to free-to-play areas?

It is not part of Book 15. Book 15 is still forthcoming. It is, however, much more than the Free-To-Play refinements. There is some new SI content that isn't free-to-play, but also a lot that is.

Developer
@Bearkat904
is the entry into ithaca skyway in aquila a reference to the lord of the rings after the fellowship leaves lothlorien?


I take it you mean the Argonath, the great border monument of Gondor? Yup.

Developer
@ClockworkAngelPrincess
sense Monkey King is a celestial trickster is his home wold celestia?

Nope - "celestial" means of or pertaining to the stars. All the astronomical bits in Wiz101 Celestia were what helped give the place its name. In Asian myth, the Immortals are associated witht he "Celestial Bureaucracy," and "celestial" very commonly gets associated with semi-divine special figures. Thus Monkey King's use of it.

Developer
@Filly412
I have one quick question! Will we ever get more "boss companions" that we unlock through badges?


I expect so. These are the sorts of things that get worked out as worlds are developed - that's kind of a Ratbeard thing too. He'll know better than me.

Developer
@CoolRebon
There are a few companions the PC can get based on certain choices during the tutorial. Have you ever thought about the PC getting a companion based on the PC's gender?

No we hadn't. An intriguing idea...

Also, I read on a Pirate101 wiki(not Central) that Fin Dorsal is blind. True, false, or that would be telling?
False - he's based on a pretty well-known character from sci fi movies. He can see, he's just very light sensitive. Hence the boss goggles.

Developer
@Diogenes
I am from Germany and right now we're reading the Book Der Sandmann (The Sandman) by E.T.A. Hoffmann at school.
In this book there is the "automaton" Olimpia, which is comparable to an Armada clockwork (although still more a protopype).
When first reading it, there came this mysterious "queen" clockwork to my mind. Is she influenced a bit by her (if you have read the book before) or would you think about making something like a (side) quest line, maybe as the first prototype clockwork the Toymaker ever made ore something like that?
It would defenitely be awesome.

PS: I love your work, Mr. Mew.


Tanks for the kind word! I must admit, I'm unfamiliar with the book or the character. If you rummage around the old archived story threads, you can see where the inspiration for the Armada and the Elites came from. Though Clockwork people as a meme are very very cool - there may be parallel evolution at work here. As to a prototype, we shall see. The Toymaker definitely has a big to do list...

Developer
@Trimond927

I... REALLY liked how the instance quest in the Governor's Mansion in Port Regal, "A Felon's Employment", was extended, and that change wasn't part of the Update Notes! Must be one of those sneaky surprises, no doubt, eh? I also liked how many new additional dialogue lines were added in the quest, and the additional battles!
I'm very pleased with how that bit turned out - it's a strong character beat, and it lengthens the encounter nicely.

I don't know who came up with that suggestion, but whomever it was, was surely a genius! You sure know how to bring Pirates small surprises! Just a few additional requests about this quest, though.
The expansion (in dialogue, at least) was actually inspired by player feedback in the beta - it helped us clarify our tone, and introduce our theme. It also set up the great Bonnie Anne stuff we get in Book 13. I'm very proud of it.

Just a few additional requests about this quest, though.
Really? Why am I not surprised?

1. The MooShu 5 should each have a new dialogue line added in after we defeat Beemish again.
2. Ratbeard's dialogue line, "There's the exit! Charge!", should be played after we defeat the Redcoats that tried to sabotage our escape with Mabel instead after of one of them saying, "Halt, or, we fire!".
3. After we reach the exit, Bonnie Anne should have a new dialogue line added in.

I'll answer all 3 of these with one. While changing and inserting dialogue is relatively easy (compared to other changes), it's not exactly simple. Me writing the lines is the easiest part - there has to be VO recording (which can be tricky when you consider some actors live in other cities, or across the Atlantic), post-processing, and then the lines need to get worked into the quests themselves, which can be tricky, especially when you're adding them to combats that have scripting. I appreciate the feedback, as with Beachhead - the sequences aren't broken. I think they serve fine as is.

Developer
@Trimond927
Say, after the next update goes live, I have a small request. Would the instance quest in Cool Ranch's Dusty Cave's Infested Tunnel's instance quest, "Miner Threat", be revised to have more new additional re-playable dialogue lines placed in, both from the distressed miners and our speaking main story Companions? I've been through that quest before, and from what I've been through, it lacked plenty of dialogue lines, from start to finish, besides the only dialogue lines from Old Bird Jenkins at the end of the instance, that is, for the moment. Why, even after defeating the Big Bad Boss Bloodbat before facing him, I don't hear the echoing insane laughter from Old Bird Jenkins himself, that should be similar to many crazy old miners giving out their crazy laughing seen on TV and more. Just play through that quest again, and you'll know what I mean.

Wow. See the above answer. nYour mileage may very, but the sequence isn't broken. There are lots of refinements I'd make to Cool Ranch before I'd tinker with this instance. Bear in mind that Cool Ranch was done first - before Companions even spoke. They've also gotten much chattier as time has gone on. Putting more companion chatter into Cool Ranch is a worthy goal, but it would be a lot of work, and i think we'd get as much (if not more) bang for our dev cycle buck focusing on other CR polish items.

Can all of these changes be done shortly after the game update goes Live? Other than that, I'm really looking forward to many of the new changes in the game!
Shortly? Nope - there is, as I've said above, a LOT that goes into making these kinds of things happen, and most of it is well outside my department. Someday? Maybe. Your observations are all good polish stuff, but there are many other targets that loom bigger in my sight.

Pirate Overlord
Mar 10, 2009
6204
Blind Mew on Apr 1, 2014 wrote:
@Trimond927
Rooke said that he would see to the Map piece's translation after General Tso presented it to him before he had his urgent business in Marleybone, in Book 11's end, but that would mean using the Scroll of Secrets, which was located in the Library of Contemplation in Subata. Governor Umeboshi said that they would be heading there to do so, but judging from what happened when we visited the Library in Subata to pursue and stop them, the Amber Horde was there first. I think they must have driven the Armada out, so they didn't get to translate the Map. Amazing! For a bunch of robotic puppets, they sure don't know how to handle a group of fierce, tough barbarians.

I don't think any Clockworks went to the Library of Contemplation - they'd be unusual enough visitors to warrant mention in the dialogue. There is another possibility here you're not seeing.

Did Quan-shi said it was taken? Yes, but who? Was it either the Armada or the Amber Horde?
It was taken, by the Amber Horde.

Do we get to recover the Scroll of Secrets back from the Amber Horde?
Nope, that would definitely have been mentioned.

And when we finally reached Cao Tzu on Maruzame at Book 12's end, he was fine, as if he'd never gotten a visit from the Armada at all in the first place, and taught us the translations of the markings, which I haven't truly seen how he does that, by the way, though I'm sure it's from the Scroll of Secrets.
He wrote the Scroll of Secrets. He knows how to translate the markings - where do you think Pollo learned them?

I'm guessing he's one to avoid the enemy so easily. Clever legendary entity, he is.
Well, he was very hard to get to. Not the kind of thing Rooke would bother himself with. Again, there's a solution here you're not seeing.

In any case, that's something of a big plot gap to rectify later on, eh?
Considering that content has been live a year without it being mentioned, the gap may seem bigger than it is. That said, there is a logical answer to this mystery.
* Stomps foot * You are such a tease Sir Mew. * Resolves to pay much closer attention when my swashy goes through Mooshu. *

Truly amazing stuff Blind Mew, you never cease to amaze me.

Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
Blind Mew on Apr 1, 2014 wrote:
@Trimond927

After pulling the final switch in the end of Beachhead's last dungeon after Bishop's battle #2 in Book 13, I hear and see the explosions, but didn't hear no warning siren sound effect played in afterwards. Plus, that large Armada station doesn't give out a larger explosion after we leave the place via our ship as the quest's goal. In many adventures, when many evil villains' lairs built from technology start to self-destruct after either the heroes finished destroying the control panels or hitting the self-destruct button or mechanism on purpose, or villains accidentally hitting or pulling it, or et cetera, they usually give out a warning siren sound effect, or numerous alarms playing at the same time, with small explosions and various falling debris to follow, giving the "Escape!" feeling it should need of leaving the said lair before it explodes via a larger explosion that decimates the lair in it's entirety. I'm sure a usual countdown to that isn't necessary for that one, though, so there's no need for that to happen in Beachhead, but maybe in later Armada stations after that. Think that could happen after the next larger update goes live?


Don't know. Frankly, no change to live stuff is truly trivial - there's been a lot of sound polish, so the first item may already be on their list. As to a big boom, scripting that stuff and making the conditional visibility for it can be pretty hard. It eluded us for live, and getting it done now means spending those man hours on something other than new content or systems. I know very well the behavior evil boss lairs undergo after heroes win, and I think there's quite a lot of it going on already. The sequence is not perfect, but it ain't broke either.
Ok. I understand that. I was quite descriptive on that. Just thought that adding in warning sirens might do well in part of the sound polish. And if implementing the larger explosion on Beachhead may take much time that strays away from our adventure continuations, then I understand. I'll let the team continue with the new stuff they make. I was only suggesting.