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Well, I asked for it! Blind Mew's Musings return

AuthorMessage
Developer
@ShinyShinx:
I dearly love Moo Manchu. It wouldn't take much convincing for me to bring him back. There were points where I regretted not having him in the main line, but that plot ended up pretty crowded.

Marleybone is recovering, but the road to final victory will be long as the Armada spins down.

There are many many place we could go. If all goes well, I'd be just as happy to see new corners of existing worlds as to head off into brand new ones.

New packs would be pretty sweet, I agree.

It takes a while - we're still getting a feel for how to work things in the newly-merged MMO section. I don't expect that the changes will affect me very directly - I work with the Wizard writers primarily at the brainstorming level, and vice versa.

@Anecorbie:
The topic of your Pirate's foster parents is indeed a rich question, well worth mining if all goes well. As for Kane, I figure he had a Valencian master train him. He's a quick study.

@Autrison12: He is indeed! Man that's an obscure reference. Well done!

Developer
@Ryanbold2: As many have pointed out, we tell where you were raised but give almost nothing in the way of specifics. Another great question would be to ask how you got from your fostering environment to your arrest. These are both areas very ripe for exploration...

@CaptainBunny093: Well, they're right by the stormgate to Aquila - I figure they're raiding, and recent military setbacks have kept Kane from trouncing them. Of course, since Valencia uses clockworks for its navy, none of the Unicorns have noticed that Kane's military dominance may not be as absolute as he says it is.

@AlexThePirate: Well, he's busy fixing the clock! And no, he was never slated to be in Book 15 - we figured the name dropping was crossover enough. As for gauntlets, they're definitely something I'd like to see more of, if all goes well.

@ClockworkMage: I figure there are two reasons: one is sentiment (though he'd never admit to it): Phule is his first attempt at creating sentience - to destroy him would be to admit failure. Also, I figure there's occasionally some merit to Phule's madness: his odd mental state sometimes makes intuitive leaps that a more ordered mind wouldn't. So Phule does occasionally have some value as an adviser, though sorting the signal from the noise can be a bit taxing. Phule's the classic Court Jester: he gets to badmouth the king and keep everybody honest by lampooning them.

Developer
@Controls007 (x3): There have been ideas in place for the second arc for a while. As to any future updates, their scope, and what worlds they might include, I cannot comment save to say that I am very hopeful. If all goes well, it won't take 3 years to get back on deack this time.

@ShogunOfJapan (and friend): I completely understand that you'd prefer the original plot. I'm fond of it myself. But little unfolds as we predict. And I'm very fond fo the rat quests, by the way...

On to the questions: I'm not going to talk worlds. If all goes well I hope to do more with existing worlds as well as visit new ones. As to that map and the possible location(s) of the El Dorado stormgate - good eye, and some nifty analysis, but I'm not sure you're on the right track. We updated the version of the Spiral Map over Kane's chessboard for a reason.

@AnneRadcliffe: Always question everything.

@SpellbinderDarius:
1. Kane has told the King and Queen that the Machine is very important, a device that will revolutionize the mercantile trade, bring in unimaginable wealth, and cement Valencia's place as the center of the Spiral. Given how successful he's been so far, the Crown has been content to go along with it.

2. Clockwork servants were part of the original plan. We may yet see them, if all goes well.

3. I'm inclined to doubt it, at least in any significant capacity. That said, if all goes well there are several things I'd like to do in Calabira, and there's room for more side content, but I don't foresee significant changes to the main storyline.

4. An interesting idea, but I'd figured a naval battle right outside the Clockworks would spoil the element of surprise. Not that it lasted that long anyway, but still...

Ensign
Feb 10, 2009
49
I know you don't like talking world list, but could you tell us what worlds you were planning for us to venture for your original plan of the first arc?

Developer
@TheWeatherMan: Sorry, no offense meant. I didn't see a question in there. You're upset, I get it. You want to blame someone, blame whoever you want. Ratbeard can go on at length about features and systems that were requested on the boards that ended up in game - from alpha onward, we've been responsive to player feedback. There have been alterations of the storyline that arose from player feedback, the biggest came after one of the coolest discussions I've ever had in an online forum.

Pirate101 is free to play up to a point. Wizard operates on the same business model. In one of the updates we did in the last three years, we greatly expanded the free to play content, shfting quest goals around so players had more quests they could complete and including re-engineering Bonnie Anne's promotion quest so you can promote a companion in the FTP zone. We also put in a huge cave with enemy levels in the 20s.

You're upset, I get it. Things have not gone the way I'd have liked them to either. But I think some of your statements aren't entirely fair. Ultimately, I have little to say but to reiterate my message from the beginning of the thread - I want to see more Pirate content as much as you guys. I need your help to get there.

@WizardRocks969: I think that is indeed a Ratbeard question.

Developer
@NCWFanatic:
1. I'm hoping not. If all goes well, I'm looking to balance creating promotion quests with other content. It wan't easy in the past.
2. The question of El Dorado and the Map was deliberately left open, and the future fate of the Map pieces is a big TWBT. By the by, it occurs to me that even if your pirate decides not to go to El Dorado, I expect there are many less scrupulous people who still do...
3. I'm looking to re-use cut content. Some will be easier than others.
4. That call is a Ratbeard one, I'm pretty certain.
5. There's no story there, no.
6. From a dev standpoint, companions are very expensive . In the interests of getting the update out we focuses on the main quest line. That said, I'm hoping we can remedy the lack of Valencian companions in the future, if all goes well.
7. Again with he Clockwork companions! I will say this - the fall of Kane makes it slightly more likely than before, but I'm still very averse to the idea.
It's good to be back.

@CaptainBlackWolfBowman:
- There are indeed 5 crab clans. There were a lot of side quests dealing with then that got cut. I'm holding the name of the 5th clan in reserve, in case some of that content gets to return.

- I'd love to see some. And your prediction of my answer is accurate.

- There are, if you look at it, 2 kinds of promotion quests: those that deal with a character's backstory and those that go in crazy new directions. The decision of which goes with which is made based how inspiration hits me.

- There's a windstone requirement involved there - for now it's being held back for future use.

- Do you mean characters or environments? As a side note, re-use is always a good strategy from our end: it maximizes the amount of content we can produce.

- I can't commit to that right now, other than to say that a bundle of a few promo quests would be a nifty alternative to a full blown book of story. If all goes well, that's an option.

- That's waaaaaay outside of my department. Ask Jack.

Developer
DenicetheMenace305 on Jul 5, 2016 wrote:
I know you don't like talking world list, but could you tell us what worlds you were planning for us to venture for your original plan of the first arc?
Nope, I won't. Nice try though

Petty Officer
Feb 07, 2010
70
If money is what you need, I have a suggestion. In the Kingsisle Live from April, Tom brought a book of lore for Wizard101s death school, and it's safe to assume that you have one for each school. Publish them. You'll not only get more income from their sales, but also some advertising when people see them in bookstores.

In the way of questions, in what book was Phule origionaly meant to betray Kane?

Petty Officer
May 17, 2011
89
Blind Mew on Jun 22, 2016 wrote:
@Swordroll (continued):

5. Glad you liked the fight. Ratbeard and the implementers are very pleased with how it turned out. As to what happened after Kane's death, that's the ultimate question - THE mystery. It'll be a big part of arc 2.

6. Yes, that was indeed curious. You might think they were offering some consolation for defeating Kane and destroying your most direct link to El Dorado. Or that might not be it at all...

7. The disposition of Kane's pieces is very much a question. If a trip to El Dorado is indeed in the cards, they'd come in very handy.

8. Lots of snow. And pickled herring.

@Anne Radcliffe: Glad you liked the update. As for Trianon, I'm not going to say anything at this time, save that I really would like to go there someday, if we get the chance. I saw your analysis of the name, and your research was spot on.

@Anecorbie: I loved writing "And Bob's Your Uncle." Mr. Carrington is an awesome character - I'll definitely be looking to use him again should the opportunity arise. We've roamed so far afield it was nice to have a pirate for a rival again!

Phule? TWBT. But it was a very deliberate choice not to have him on that chessboard...

@StormWizardPro1:
1. Valencia City - see the first post of this thread.
2. Like so many other places, Polaris is a world we could visit in the future if all goes well. Not going to commit more than that.
3. A while.
4. I think that shot was generated from an early version of the scene, where windstones were standing in for the mysterious crystals.
5. See number 2. I like Darkmoor too, btw.
"Lots of snow. And pickled herring."



Not 100% sure what the question was, but I am gonna assume it was what the next world was gonna be. If it was, Polaris is confirmed as next world!

Developer
@NoahDD:
I wouldn't say Queen Margherita is evil, no. But she's definitely cunning, and the more devious intriguer of the royal couple. She is indeed a wily one.

@Seachanty:
I'm thinking he's hit a stable point. There's not much left for him to lose!

@Anne Radcliffe:
It was indeed a Leonardo Da Vinci reference - had it just been an East vs West thing, he'd have griped about having the letters being sideways when he tiled the book to read the lines up to down. As to why it's written that way, that's a really good question - could be something to pick up someday, if all goes well.

Ensign
Aug 13, 2014
12
1. Are cats in Pirate101 from Marleybone?
2. Who is your favorite Magnificent 7 companion?
3. Was Old Scratch a Human?
4. What is your favorite world (ex. Skull Island, Monquista, Cool Ranch etc.)
5. Make any corrections to the following:
Monquista = Spain
Valencia = Italy
Polaris = France
Marleybone = England
Mooshu = China/Japan
Aquila = Greece
Cool Ranch = Wild West
Krokotopia = Egypt
Rajah = India
Grizzleheim = Scotland, Hungary, Poland?

Thank You

Petty Officer
May 17, 2011
89
Owls670 on Jul 11, 2016 wrote:
1. Are cats in Pirate101 from Marleybone?
2. Who is your favorite Magnificent 7 companion?
3. Was Old Scratch a Human?
4. What is your favorite world (ex. Skull Island, Monquista, Cool Ranch etc.)
5. Make any corrections to the following:
Monquista = Spain
Valencia = Italy
Polaris = France
Marleybone = England
Mooshu = China/Japan
Aquila = Greece
Cool Ranch = Wild West
Krokotopia = Egypt
Rajah = India
Grizzleheim = Scotland, Hungary, Poland?

Thank You
I am pretty sure that Mooshu is also based on Mongolia (the horses).

Pirate Overlord
Mar 16, 2012
10631
Owls670 on Jul 11, 2016 wrote:
1. Are cats in Pirate101 from Marleybone?
2. Who is your favorite Magnificent 7 companion?
3. Was Old Scratch a Human?
4. What is your favorite world (ex. Skull Island, Monquista, Cool Ranch etc.)
5. Make any corrections to the following:
Monquista = Spain
Valencia = Italy
Polaris = France
Marleybone = England
Mooshu = China/Japan
Aquila = Greece
Cool Ranch = Wild West
Krokotopia = Egypt
Rajah = India
Grizzleheim = Scotland, Hungary, Poland?

Thank You
Polaris = France & Russia
Aquila = Greece & Rome
Grizzleheim = Scandinavia, Norway, Denmark - if they had Vikings, Griz refers to them.
Albion = Ireland & Scotland

Petty Officer
Mar 23, 2011
64
anecorbie on Jul 12, 2016 wrote:
Polaris = France & Russia
Aquila = Greece & Rome
Grizzleheim = Scandinavia, Norway, Denmark - if they had Vikings, Griz refers to them.
Albion = Ireland & Scotland
I believe that Valencia is Italy AND Spain. There is an Andalusian skyway coming up, which is a whole province in Spain. Also (Not 100% sure) Sevilla might be based off Seville, in Spain.

Pirate Overlord
Mar 16, 2012
10631
Wolf RavenBlood on Jul 12, 2016 wrote:
I believe that Valencia is Italy AND Spain. There is an Andalusian skyway coming up, which is a whole province in Spain. Also (Not 100% sure) Sevilla might be based off Seville, in Spain.
I didn't say it wasn't, I was only clarifying the worlds that need it.

Lieutenant
Apr 06, 2016
154
I noticed that we have 2 more windstones left more the windstone keeper thingy, Does that mean we'll only have 2 more new worlds then we're done with new worlds?

Ensign
Jan 14, 2015
43
I noticed that the Queen has risen after we come back to Avery (and after we destroyed Kane), will she be the antagonist in the next story arc?

Developer
@Anecorbie: He's into mercantile exports - he travels on business a lot.

Developer
Owls670 on Jul 11, 2016 wrote:
1. Are cats in Pirate101 from Marleybone?
2. Who is your favorite Magnificent 7 companion?
3. Was Old Scratch a Human?
4. What is your favorite world (ex. Skull Island, Monquista, Cool Ranch etc.)
5. Make any corrections to the following:
Monquista = Spain
Valencia = Italy
Polaris = France
Marleybone = England
Mooshu = China/Japan
Aquila = Greece
Cool Ranch = Wild West
Krokotopia = Egypt
Rajah = India
Grizzleheim = Scotland, Hungary, Poland?

Thank You
Okay, I REALLY didn't want to do this, but I'll answer questions from within this thread. In future, please post questions in the other thread.

1. Many of them, yes.
2. Duck Holiday, by a nose.
3. Given his skeletal structure, I'm thinking yes.
4. Marleybone. By leaps and bounds. But then, I'm an avowed Anglophile.
5. World stuff:
Monquista = Spain
Valencia = Italy plus a dash of Spain, especially in the place names
Polaris = France and Imperial Russia
Marleybone = England yup
Mooshu = China/Japan and Asia in general - we have horse lords of the steppes based on Mongolia (though we never actually go to thse steppes)
Aquila = Greece and Rome - it's more the classical world in general
Cool Ranch = Wild West yes indeed, including a big dash of Mexico
Krokotopia = Egypt not that we've touched it at all, but yes
Rajah = India yup
Grizzleheim = Scotland, Hungary, Poland? nope - it's the Nordic world: viking country

Developer
DariusMusk on Jul 13, 2016 wrote:
I noticed that we have 2 more windstones left more the windstone keeper thingy, Does that mean we'll only have 2 more new worlds then we're done with new worlds?
Not necessarily - there are many worlds that can be accessed by the same color windstone, you just need permission to go through them. If all goes well and we get to do more worlds, I am not going to comment on how many or how few there might be.

Developer
Polaris4two on Jul 14, 2016 wrote:
I noticed that the Queen has risen after we come back to Avery (and after we destroyed Kane), will she be the antagonist in the next story arc?
That would SO be telling.

Admiral
Jun 02, 2013
1472
Blind Mew on Jul 15, 2016 wrote:
@Anecorbie: He's into mercantile exports - he travels on business a lot.
Odd

He sounds a bit too much like a unicorn!

Developer
@WillowyDream: As good Darius pointsout, yes - the model was made before the quest idea hit me, and the idea was too perfect to mar by twisting it to fit a maiming. So I'm thinking it's a battle hook he wears as an affectation.

@WitchdoctorDarius: Sorry I missed this one! I hadn't plumbed too deeply into the lore of the Crab Hermits and what not, but they'd be ripe to revisit if all goes well. There was a lot of crunchy crab material that had to be left out but could someday be re-introduced. As for why there are crabs that scuttle and humanoid crabs, I figure the'tr distantly-related cousins. I'm not sure anyone knows why the Spiral has so many humanoid animals in it, or exactly how they arose. The Arcanum might know...

@CaptainBlackWolfBowman: Right, the series ending was the Presidio 5. There are more Rogues' Galleries to come.

@WitchdoctorDarius: I absolutely LOVE the Brass Monkey. I'd talk to Jack about concept art and such.

@Trimond297: A very good question. I'll take it up with Jack.

Bosun
Dec 21, 2009
396
Blind Mew on Jul 11, 2016 wrote:
@NoahDD:
I wouldn't say Queen Margherita is evil, no. But she's definitely cunning, and the more devious intriguer of the royal couple. She is indeed a wily one.

@Seachanty:
I'm thinking he's hit a stable point. There's not much left for him to lose!

@Anne Radcliffe:
It was indeed a Leonardo Da Vinci reference - had it just been an East vs West thing, he'd have griped about having the letters being sideways when he tiled the book to read the lines up to down. As to why it's written that way, that's a really good question - could be something to pick up someday, if all goes well.
I wasn't actually expecting an answer!
Thanks Blind Mew!

Developer
@Witchdoctor Darius:
What or who is "The Arcanum" if this is Wizard101 lore I wouldn't know because I have never played Wizard101 before

The Arcanum is an organization that has recently become a major part of the Wizard storyline. They know a lot of incredibly obscure lore, and as you might gather from their name, they like to keep a low profile.

@Monkrinx2024:

So any hint what have happened to Erica the Red ?

Not at this time, thank you. I can say it's been a while since she was in the public eye. And as we've seen, Catbeard is very reluctant to talk about Pollo's crew and the trip to El Dorado unless he absolutely has to...

@WinterGoddess:
I have a lot of questions about the Toymaker's background. Could you do a "Rogue's Gallery" about his background? I'm willing to pay big time to see that. Also, with him gone; Will he end up buried in Florenza or do we eventually see his grave? I imagined him being buried beneath the Clocktower of Valencia in Florenza (Seen in the wizard101 Cucu clock gauntlet).

The notion of making a Rogues' Gallery for Gazpaccio hadn't occurred to me. Not a bad idea. Hadn't given much thought to where he might be buried, either. It would definitely be in Florenza, though. The great Clock Tower would be a perfect place.