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Story Thread 2: Electric Boogaloo!

AuthorMessage
Bosun
May 06, 2009
371
A treasure trove of questions for you Blind Mew:

1. I know you're asked this question rather frequently, but would it be telling if I asked if there are any plans to expand Avernus Skyway later on to include some kind of story? If so, any obique hints? And will the Skeletal Dragons in Avernus ever come into a quest? Seems kind of a waste not to use them.

2. Rajah- Will there be any classical Indian themes/references included like the age of the Gupta Empire or is it all going to be Colonial India? Would Classical India better fall under Wizard101?

3. I'm a little confused about this Home World 5 idea. Would they be Companions from a World our Pirate was actually born and shortly raised in prior to our Parents death or would they be a mix of Companions from the World the Pirate was fostered in (Skull Island(Wharf Rat), MooShu(Ninja Pig), Grizzleheim(Bear Warrior), Marleybone(Red Coat), and Krokotopia(Krok Spearer)?

4. Are there any other Pirates still out looking for the Map? Since we left Skull Island, outside of the Armada, I haven't seen any minor enemies that stand out trying to get the pieces of the map to El Dorado. Maybe a reusable rival to lesson the need for multiple NPC/Bosses/Mobs?

5. As we go on our quest to El Dorado, I've noticed that many of our crew members don't seem to be in-it for the gold and fortune in El Dorado, but to actually stop the Armada. Most are paying a dept we did them, or honoring our parents, or just hoping along. I can't speak for Ratbeard, but it does seem like many of our Companions take a heroic/good stance. As far as I'm concerned, the barely bring up a desire to go to El Doradoo over stoping the Aramda. Was this is intended? Also do you plan to make a speaking Companion with a greedy/"I'm-only-with-you-guys-for-the-gold" attitude? I think if you did, he/she would add a lot of funny possibilities.

6. I haven't seen any quests exlpaining this, but how exactly did the Eagle Shades become...well...shades? Does this possibly allude to a future explaination in the story or even have more involvement than what we thought like the Mechanical Birds?

Thank You!

Cunning Finnigan Sharp

Lieutenant
Oct 01, 2010
103
Hello Blind Mew! I have a few questions I hope you can answer. Thanks in advance.

1. I noticed a cave in Achaea nearby the Saytrs. Above the cave was a face that looked like an old man perhaps with some horns which could make him a Saytr. There are also some flames before the cave entrance. Is there anything you can tell us about it and will we be going in there soon?

2.How was the volcanic eruption caused in Knossos?

3.Will we be able to explore more of Troy in the future?

4.I noticed we don't really have a lot of Witchdoctor companions in the game. Will we ever see anymore of these preferably for everyone?

Lieutenant
Oct 01, 2010
103
Sorry I have one more question. Why is Hades staff in Achaea emitting a strange fog over where the Eagle Shades are?

Lieutenant
May 21, 2009
113
Hmmm....I'm going to presume these long waits between questions and answers is a sign Book XV is being worked on day-and-night....

Bosun
May 06, 2009
371
CaptainFlint193 on Jul 8, 2013 wrote:
Hmmm....I'm going to presume these long waits between questions and answers is a sign Book XV is being worked on day-and-night....
Lol I totally agree. If Blind Mew hasn't been answering at all lately, something story wise is going on. Maybe Book 15 or a new dungeon.

Captain
Oct 15, 2012
538
Cunning Finnigan S... on Jul 9, 2013 wrote:
Lol I totally agree. If Blind Mew hasn't been answering at all lately, something story wise is going on. Maybe Book 15 or a new dungeon.
Maybe they are going to release book 15 sooner than we expected,or there doing a house dungeon and a new pack like winterbane either one will be good..unless book 15 ends up being very dissapointing or the house with the dungeon is very small and the dungeon is very repeditive...well hopefully book 15/the new dungeon is good.

Lieutenant
May 21, 2009
113
Cunning Finnigan S... on Jul 9, 2013 wrote:
Lol I totally agree. If Blind Mew hasn't been answering at all lately, something story wise is going on. Maybe Book 15 or a new dungeon.
Ooh...hmmm, I'm thinking that we may get Book XV earlier than we got Books XIII and XVI because it may only be half the work and half the time.....but I could be wrong. I really want to get back to Valencia....

Bosun
May 06, 2009
371
CaptainFlint193 on Jul 9, 2013 wrote:
Ooh...hmmm, I'm thinking that we may get Book XV earlier than we got Books XIII and XVI because it may only be half the work and half the time.....but I could be wrong. I really want to get back to Valencia....
I've noticed that a lot of concept art for the new Valencia expansion have already been completed. Also some areas have made it to a 3D game version (see the last few pictures in the Valencia World). So it may take a little less work than expected. Also noticed how the bug for "The Verdict" quest has not come out as an Upkeep and Maintenance update yet. I feel like that will be for a major update. Plus the Frogfather said Kingsisle was continuing work on advanced content, more polish, and a pet project they'd let us in on later. I wouldn't hold anyone's breath that it's coming within a week or a month but I can feel soon (if you notice soon for Kingsisle is sometimes months. so maybe 2-5 months on this next major update, refering to when Book 13 and 14 came out, not now lol).

Ensign
Oct 10, 2012
4
Hi blind mew one thing that I don't get why is there bison ships instead of bird ships. Don't get I love the bison ships it's only like when I first started playing and when I went to Cool Ranch it was something I notice and its bugging me a little . Anyhow you guys did an awesome job on the update and I hope for more thanks

First Mate
Dec 12, 2011
422
Cunning Finnigan S... on Jul 10, 2013 wrote:
I've noticed that a lot of concept art for the new Valencia expansion have already been completed. Also some areas have made it to a 3D game version (see the last few pictures in the Valencia World). So it may take a little less work than expected. Also noticed how the bug for "The Verdict" quest has not come out as an Upkeep and Maintenance update yet. I feel like that will be for a major update. Plus the Frogfather said Kingsisle was continuing work on advanced content, more polish, and a pet project they'd let us in on later. I wouldn't hold anyone's breath that it's coming within a week or a month but I can feel soon (if you notice soon for Kingsisle is sometimes months. so maybe 2-5 months on this next major update, refering to when Book 13 and 14 came out, not now lol).
I'm not sure if I actually found the right pictures of the Valencia world you were talking about, but if I did, then those aren't really "new", but just really good camera angles.

Although, I hope you're kinda right about the new major update being 'soon'. The last one felt like an year (although it was probably only 6-7 months given the game's not even a year old ). At the same time, I hope KI takes their time and doesn't rush through it like it seems they did with parts of Mooshu. My hurry-rush side is yelling, "Hurry up KI!", but my other side (which is a little nicer), is asking them to take their time and make this epic. I hope they listen to my nicer side and and make it awesome.

A new major update isn't worth it's salt if it's all just a blur of pointless quests with bugs out the kazoo.

Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
Cunning Finnigan S... on Jul 2, 2013 wrote:
A treasure trove of questions for you Blind Mew:

1. I know you're asked this question rather frequently, but would it be telling if I asked if there are any plans to expand Avernus Skyway later on to include some kind of story? If so, any obique hints? And will the Skeletal Dragons in Avernus ever come into a quest? Seems kind of a waste not to use them.

2. Rajah- Will there be any classical Indian themes/references included like the age of the Gupta Empire or is it all going to be Colonial India? Would Classical India better fall under Wizard101?

3. I'm a little confused about this Home World 5 idea. Would they be Companions from a World our Pirate was actually born and shortly raised in prior to our Parents death or would they be a mix of Companions from the World the Pirate was fostered in (Skull Island(Wharf Rat), MooShu(Ninja Pig), Grizzleheim(Bear Warrior), Marleybone(Red Coat), and Krokotopia(Krok Spearer)?

4. Are there any other Pirates still out looking for the Map? Since we left Skull Island, outside of the Armada, I haven't seen any minor enemies that stand out trying to get the pieces of the map to El Dorado. Maybe a reusable rival to lesson the need for multiple NPC/Bosses/Mobs?

5. As we go on our quest to El Dorado, I've noticed that many of our crew members don't seem to be in-it for the gold and fortune in El Dorado, but to actually stop the Armada. Most are paying a dept we did them, or honoring our parents, or just hoping along. I can't speak for Ratbeard, but it does seem like many of our Companions take a heroic/good stance. As far as I'm concerned, the barely bring up a desire to go to El Doradoo over stoping the Aramda. Was this is intended? Also do you plan to make a speaking Companion with a greedy/"I'm-only-with-you-guys-for-the-gold" attitude? I think if you did, he/she would add a lot of funny possibilities.

6. I haven't seen any quests exlpaining this, but how exactly did the Eagle Shades become...well...shades? Does this possibly allude to a future explaination in the story or even have more involvement than what we thought like the Mechanical Birds?

Thank You!

Cunning Finnigan Sharp
Not to put a damper on this, but, to answer your third question on this, Finnigan, the Wharf Rat companion is already taken. It's part of the Presidio 5, named Milo Graytail, and it has a Crowns Shop counterpart, Malik. There's not a possible way they could make another identical Wharf Rat companion. Too bothersome. A female Wharf Rat Fencer for a Home World 5 companion, that can be filled by the developers. So far, for now, the Wharf Rat Fencer is seen as an enemy type in Skull Island, so maybe they could make a Home World 5 companion out of it.

Lieutenant
May 06, 2012
131
Trimond297 on Jul 16, 2013 wrote:
Not to put a damper on this, but, to answer your third question on this, Finnigan, the Wharf Rat companion is already taken. It's part of the Presidio 5, named Milo Graytail, and it has a Crowns Shop counterpart, Malik. There's not a possible way they could make another identical Wharf Rat companion. Too bothersome. A female Wharf Rat Fencer for a Home World 5 companion, that can be filled by the developers. So far, for now, the Wharf Rat Fencer is seen as an enemy type in Skull Island, so maybe they could make a Home World 5 companion out of it.
They could also do a wharf rat rake or squirt

Bosun
May 06, 2009
371
Trimond297 on Jul 16, 2013 wrote:
Not to put a damper on this, but, to answer your third question on this, Finnigan, the Wharf Rat companion is already taken. It's part of the Presidio 5, named Milo Graytail, and it has a Crowns Shop counterpart, Malik. There's not a possible way they could make another identical Wharf Rat companion. Too bothersome. A female Wharf Rat Fencer for a Home World 5 companion, that can be filled by the developers. So far, for now, the Wharf Rat Fencer is seen as an enemy type in Skull Island, so maybe they could make a Home World 5 companion out of it.
I am familiar with Milo Graytail and his counterpart. When I was asking the questions, I was alluding to when you pick who raised you, one of them was the Wharf Rats of Scrimshaw. The Wharf Rat Rafe, Squirt, and Fencer have all been yet to be used in our story. It still leaves me confused as to if we do the Home World 5 are we talking a group coming from where my Pirate was born (where our mother concieved us) or where we were raised (Grizzlehiem, MooShu, Krokotopia, Skull Island, and Marleybone).

Captain
May 02, 2009
525
I have some more questions to ask, but it seems Blind Mew is behind a bit so I'll just wait until he has some more time on his hands.

Gunner's Mate
May 02, 2009
253
Me and a friend of mine were talking about some pirate101 features, but I'll let him ask some of them himself.

1. Some of us were kinda surprised that argos the Cyclops isn't a storyline companion and is restricted to privateers only. We thought that it was either an idea that was scrapped at the last second and/or that the budget simply didn't allow for it to happen. When you think of it, we have Egg Foo Yung who leads the yakooza clan in mooshu, and catbeard who joins our crew and knew our parents; argos also knew our parents and is a friend of catbeard's too, so how come argo's doesn't play a bigger role in the storyline than he does right now?

2. Do you have any plans to include companions based on where we grew up at (I.e. krokotopia, mooshu, skull island, etc.) in the future to go along with the presidio 5 as well?

3. With Mustang Sally, it's along pretty much the same lines as argos the cylclops is in that she plays a big role in a part of the story but again only swashbucklers recruit her; why is that?

Thanks in advance.

Lieutenant
Jul 09, 2009
151
Hi Blind Mew. We all understand you must be very busy currently, possibly working on a new world, but I do have some very interesting questions my friend, Flash33, and I talked about.

1. Monkey King seems to be the odd ball of the main story melee companions. He doesn't have any powers, nor does he have a fancy critical strike animation. Him being my favorite companion, I wondered why that is. Is it possible that he wasn't always going to be a main story companion?

2. Was there ever a possibility that Mustang Sally was going to be a main story companion as well? She seems to have played a pretty big role in Skull Island, Cool Ranch, and Port Regal as well.

3. Was Argos intended to be a main story companion? He has 3 unique critical strikes and he would of played a major role in the story, since he did go to El Dorado with the PC's parents. We recruited Cap'n Kitty who went to El Dorado, so Flash33 and I were surprised when he was made a Privateer only companion. Was this because the budget did not allow for him to become a major companion?

I'd really love to get an answer from Questions 1 and 3. If you do get around to replying to this comment, thanks a bunch!

Petty Officer
Jan 18, 2013
58
I have a question: should your nautical level be nearly the same as your regular level? For example, I'm a level 54 pirate, but my nautical level is 26.

Captain
Oct 26, 2012
524
Um hey guys I just think that Blind Mew is being overloaded. I just wanted to make a suggestion for you people that if u see more than 5 comments withouth Blind Mew commenting, maybe you should just wait and ask at a later stage.
-Silver Dino Hawkins/Golden Guardian ... (getting ready to defeat davis)...

Petty Officer
Jan 01, 2013
94
Hello Blind Mew, I just have a couple questions for you.
1. How did you go blind?
2. How does Blind Mew travel from Skull Island, to Scrimshaw, to Port Regal?
3. What is Blind Mew's backstory?
-Lily Evans

Developer
Cunning Finnigan S... on Jun 19, 2013 wrote:
Hello, again, Blind Mew! Another round of questions I have for you!:

1. If it's not too much trouble asking, what are you up to in terms of your work? I would have thought with this new update out, things would have settled town a bit at Kingsisle, but it seems the Pirate101 team is as busy as ever. Other than "The Verdict" quest bug, and the obliquely hinted system update from the Frog Father, I didn't expect the writers to be busy.

2. Is it possible something bad could happen to the Toymaker in Book 15? He may not be one of Kane's top priority, but he does seem to hold some importance (or threat) to the Armada.

3. Since you guys will be working one Book at a time (unless the circumstances call for more), could Book 15 take less time then 13 & 14 or could it run the same time frame based off of how much you guys want to cram into it.

4. Has the thought of creating some kind of young, spunky, competitive NPC rival for our Pirate ever come to mind? Like a character less important than the Armada but good enough for comical nuisances? Maybe a side story where he/she is also looking for pieces of the map (since the departure of Skull Island, we've seen little of other Pirates looking for the Map as well). Or when we meet possible family members?

5. Is it possible I could suggest using a Three Musketeer reference for members of the Resistance in Valencia or somewhere in Polaris as the Three Musketeers are French? I thought of a few punned names:
D'Arcrabnan
Unithos
Boarthos
Lobsteramis

6. One of the Books was titled Samoorai Yak. Why was there no NPC added to carry this hilarious pun? I thought he might make a very nice NPC.
1. There's a lot going on right now - every update, story or not, has stuff for the writers to do - even new systems need some quest/NPC/dialogue support, and usually lots and lots of names. So even after Books 13 and 14 went up, we were pretty busy. Lots of visions to write. I visioned the interactive objects in the class houses, for example, and consulted with art on look and feel for the class houses quite a bit. Work has begun on Book 15 - and the writing staff gets squeezed pretty hard at the start because we have to write the visions for all the characters and environments. To know what we need the plots need to be outlined to a pretty strong degree. Not to mention there are always emergent issues that we help with. So, yeah, we're pretty busy.

2. Oh, he's pretty important all right. His message gives you a huge hint about why Kane would he be worried about.

3. Can't tell you much about schedule - I'm not really in on that process. But I can tell you that we will have more than just story updates, and we at KI need to properly stage our updates with Wizard so we don't both put up massive downloads at once. Book 15 will come out in good time.

4. That's a good idea - it did come up a long time ago, but got overlooked int he general plotting. The Brass Monkey is the closest thing we have to a bumbling adversary, and i can say we haven't seen the last of him. He really wants his two dollars. The old people here will get that joke.

5. Not bad names! Valencia with its fencing masters would definitely be the place to riff on them. We'd be quite remiss to skip such a goldmine of potential references.

6. The name of the Book actually came along long after the chapter content was built! We hadn't thought of it yet. That's not to say such a character couldn't appear in the future...

Developer
Witty Thomas Jeffr... on Jun 20, 2013 wrote:
I have a few story questions of my own:
  1. Are our pirates vegetarian? Think about it: They have bulls, chicken, fish, crabs, and pigs as companions. It would be very disrespectful if we ate any of those meats.
  2. In Cool Ranch(The island itself) there are horses that stand on four legs and look like they're used for riding. But in Santa Pollo, horses walk on two legs and act like humans. Why is that?
  3. Why are monkeys(and one gorilla) the only sentient beings in Monquista? The other worlds have a wide variety of sentient animals. Did the monkeys get rid of the other sentient beings in their world?
  4. How did the citizens of Mooshu build Stupendor-X? There is almost no technology in Mooshu and that robot is the most technologically advanced in the Spiral.
  5. Avery is one of the most successful pirates in history but where is his crew? Every good pirate needs a crew!
  6. Why do some of the Armada ships have Greek names? "The Chimera"(a mythological monster) and Deacon's ship: "Erebus" (A part of the Underworld). The Armada is in Valencia ,which represents Italy, and Aquila represents Greece.
  7. It seems as though every main school in W101 has a world that has something to do with it. Ice:Polaris Fire: Dragonspyre Myth: Aqulia Balance: Krokotopia Storm: Valencia(storm wizards are great engineers and there are stormy skies) Death: Darkmoore Life: Wizard City(On account of Bartlebey being the source of life) Was this intentional?
  8. How long does the adventure take from our pirate's point of view? From escaping Deacon's ship to finding El Dorado. How long has our pirate been a pirate? A few weeks? Months?
1. A strange question... it's the risk we run relying so heavily on talking animals, I guess. I expect the crew members themselves eat whatever their respective animal types eat, so El Toro would indeed be a vegetarian. I'm inclined to just get handwavy on this one and say that no, that never really occurred to anyone. If we ever make a Cooking system, we'll need to make a zillion dishes for it, and i don't want to be constrained.

2. They're very different animals, distant cousins. Ultimately, horses were such an old west trope that the environments felt funny without them.

3. The Monkeys are the sole civilized inhabitants in Monquista. As to why, I don't think they eradicated any others - the world might have just always been that way, or the transition from rain forests to desert may have forced some folks to leave.

4. The people of MooShu didn't build Stupendor X - Li Hark explicitly tells you where it came from. It had been standing there so long it was encased in the cliff, it was there when civilization was born in MooShu.

5. Most of the NPCs in Skull Island started on his crew, and I figure once he settled down many others set out on their own.

6. Those names were drawn from various sources, and used because they sound scary. The cultural overlap is just a coincidence.

7. No, not really. Some of the associations you make are stronger than others - in some cases you may be reading too much into it.

8. The differences in potential play time and the fact that I never want to get tripped up in chronological minutia mean that I'll never give a firm answer to this question. I think "a while" is good enough.

Gunner's Mate
Oct 11, 2012
283
Blind Mew, a few questions:

1.Does Old Scratch's fler-de-lys amulet hint at his past life?

2. (suggestion) could you perhaps do a homage to Portobello Road in Marleybone? It would be fascinating since Marley is obsessed with relics of the past and I would just love to see the "street where the riches of ages are stowed".

3. I know you can't tell us the name of G, but could you at least tell us whether he is based slightly on a historical person?

4. If we ever go back to Marley, would we get the chance to get a Radical Fox or a Cat Smuggler, or is this thinking too far ahead since we probably won't return there in the near future?

5. Will we see any more of Meowiarty? I love his character and think he would make an interesting NPC.

6. In Valencia, might we see the Great Italian Cities like Florence, Venice, Naples, Rome, and Milan? You say the next update deals with Intrigue and these cities and their rivalry would make the perfect breeding ground for it (plus, you already mentioned Florenzia in the Clockwork Birds side quest).

7.If we do see these cities, would we also deal with incarnations of the families like the Medici, The Sforzas (the ruling family of Milan that was not always mentally well), and the Borgias and if so, wouldn't the Borgias be monkeys (considering they originally came from Spain)?

So here they are and thank you for letting me chew your ear.

Impish Omar Underwood

"Anything and everything a chap can unload, is sold on the barrow of Portobello road."
--Bed-knobs and Broomsticks

Ensign
Oct 11, 2009
23
Blind Mew, I also have some questions to ask.

1.) The secret message that Marco Pollo gave to Merle Ambrose say's that El Dorado is far too dangerous for anyone to travel to, and that the everyone in Pollo's crew almost lost their lives there. So why haven't Egg, Argos, or Catbeard given us a heads up on how dangerous (they might have, but I can't remember). Even if they have, still, why would Catbeard want to go back there with us?

2.) Who built El Dorado? Pollo's secret letter says the Celestians did, but the Puppet Show about it made it look Aztecan (I'm probably wrong, but wasn't the real life legend of El Dorado supposed to be built by Aztecs, Incas, Mayans, or some culture similar to one of those?).

3.) Is the Gracie Conrad from Wizard101's Celestia related to Grace Conrad in any way? Considering they're both in the SGS, have very similar names, and have the same character look.

4.) Speaking of Celestia, if we were to venture there someday in Pirate101, wouldn't that mean our ships would be sailing on an actual ocean? I just think that's something cool to think about and discuss.

5.) In Wizard's Celestia, Marleybone rediscovered it with their giant airship. But it seems like more work was put into it than getting a Windstone and traveling directly from Marleybone to Celestia. It might mean they had to travel off course and off of a Spiral thread. If that's possible, this could open a large amount of possibilities. Or I might just be overthinking it.

Ensign
Oct 11, 2009
23
2 more questions I forgot to add, Blind Mew:

6.) It seems each class has two universal main characters that represent it (Swashbucklers are El Toro and Monkey King, Buccaneers are Ratbeard and Hawkules, and Privateers are Grace Conrad and Catbeard), except Musketeers and Witchdoctors. Are there going to be more Musketeers and Witchdoctors, or are Bonnie Anne and Old Scratch going to be it?

7.) Out of each pair, which do you prefer in combat: (A.) El Toro or Monkey King, (B.) Ratbeard or Hawkules, and (C.) Grace Conrad or Catbeard.

Captain
May 02, 2009
525
I have a few questions:
1) Will we ever go back to helping Avery with creating the Republic of Skull Island, I mean he tried to get Catbeard to join him, but he declined, but since he's on our crew now, doesn't that mean he's now apart of Avery's Republic? (And I'm assuming that we're in lot with Avery in creating his republic (or we're not famous enough for us to be recognized))
2) When using a Sail Power, is its effect start instantly, or after the animation?
3) Whatever happened to our companions' crews? I mean, we know Ratbeard's crew is dead, but what about Catbeard's crew? or our Kraken Skulls crew?
4) Speaking of the Kraken Skulls companions what happens to the other guys after we recruit one of them? (IE What happens to Barnabus after Privateers recruit Emmett?
5) Will there (or more like 'Can there') be a 1 on 1 battle between our Pirate and some Foe on a high cliff and just when the Villain is about to fall over, we save him/her and then he/she joins our crew because of a life debt?
6) In the next update, can there be more cultural housing items, I mean, the Mooshu housing items are nice, but I'd really like some Aquilan, Valencian, and even Monquistan housing items.
7) Will our pirates ever learn how NOT to be gullible? I mean how many times, from Skull Island to Aquila, has our pirate been tricked? I have honestly lost count :P
That's all. Thank You for taking your time to answering my questions.
Ruthless Luke Richardson
Marleybone Veteran