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Story Thread 1: A few story questions...

AuthorMessage
Developer
Line Mountain on Feb 22, 2013 wrote:
I have a few questions if you don't mind:

1. Where did the inspiration come from for designing Kane's "elite" clockworks?

2. In early beta game play Deacon's voice was more robotic & cool sounding. Now his voice sounds like someone just speaking through a microphone. Is there a reason why his voice was changed?

3. Can we expect to see any more puppet shows with future updates?

4. Was it your idea to include the "Gortez" reference & Monquistians in W101 Azteca?


Merciless Tyler Davenport, Level 50 Witchdoctor
1. We built Kane's Court from a few different angles: first, we looked at the primary roles we wanted (Spy Master, General, Public Relations, etc) and imagined personas for them. We also looked at the Comedia del Arte masks (aka Vnetian Carniale masks) and aqssigned a mask to each persona. Once that was done, the characters began to blossom nicely.

2. I like the new voice better - while they're clearly mechanical, I don't want the Elite Clockworks to be robotic. They need to have character, and still be menacing.

3. Absolutely. They're a huge success for us - we will definitely do more.

4. When the Wizard group started working on Azteca, the creative group looked at cool ways to incorporate Pirate references - Monquistans were the obvious choice. I don't recall whose idea it was - it arose out of those conversations pretty quickly.

Developer
burningtaco13 on Feb 26, 2013 wrote:
I have a few questions of my own i would like to add
1. Will we find out the name of the final unknown clockwork in Kane's Court?
2. Will we see Kane in person?
3. Do you have any plans for a side world thats has really nothing to do with the actually story?(Ex. Grizzlehiem in wiz101?)
4. How many companions will each class get in the new expansion?
5. Hw much of a difficulty jump will this next world be from Mooshu? (I know i should probaby be asking Ratbeard but whatever)
Thanks for answering all these questions from other people and hopefully answering mine.
Smart Jeremy Nightingale lvl 50 Die Hard Swashbuckler
1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Nothing firm at this point - our goal is to get the Main Story out there, as realized as possible.
4. That would be telling.
5. Yes you should - honestly, I have no idea. All I know is, we called for a lot of fights!

Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
Blind Mew on Feb 26, 2013 wrote:
Companion "death" - yeah, it's a slippery slope. We can tell great stories without it.

Book length: as in all things, the demands of the story will ultimately decide the day. I don't ever want a Book shorter than 3 chapters - as to maximum length, we shall see.

More Armada fortresses? You ain't seen nothing yet! I think you'll like Book 13...

As for Monquista, those are all very intriguing ideas. I can confirm or deny nothing.
Thanks. I highly recommend you don't go on that "slippery slope". It's probably best not to. Trust me. Way too sad.

Well, If you say so, then I hope there's a new Armada fortress in Book 13 that looks much different that the current ones so far... and much tougher. I love tougher challenges and more dangerous adventures!

Having Books with 2 Chapters were much too short, even though they were good starters early on in the game. I enjoyed them, but they were too short.

Once you're done with Book 13, or so, immediate work goes on to the next Book or set of Books, much like a cycle? And when you do, does work on level cap increases happens, too? I'm expecting and hoping to see a slight increase in the level cap along with the game's main story continuation! I wish to train my companions to higher levels!

Intruiguing, yes. I tend to theorize about what goes on in Monquista. You never know if those kind of theories turn out to be true. Hope I get to finally confront and defeat the Monquistan King and Queen in their last battle for the Opposition later on, should these theories turn true. No civil war would be complete without it's own final battle. Besides, it's got to end sooner or later, right?

Do you have at least someone or some people working on some side adventure content with the main story continuations? I highly hope to see some new side adventures happen with more main adventures, too, just as how Wizard101 did with their side story arcs and the side worlds that came with them. I wish to discover more amazing treasures and face more new foes!

Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
Blind Mew on Feb 22, 2013 wrote:
When I say "update" I mean updates with new Books - so no, the update I meant was the Story Update after the next Story Update - which is not in Test yet. Patience, Dragonfly...

As for most of the rest of your questions, they're far too specific for me to give you a real answer - what can i say but "soon." But bear in mind, we try to space the promos every 3 or 4 Books, which means that both Bonnie Anne and Ratbeard are technically overdue...
Oh. Sorry. Clarify the differences between updates next time.

Technically overdue? You mean... Ratbeard and Bonnie Anne may get their next promotions sooner than we think?

Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
Blind Mew on Feb 26, 2013 wrote:
1. We built Kane's Court from a few different angles: first, we looked at the primary roles we wanted (Spy Master, General, Public Relations, etc) and imagined personas for them. We also looked at the Comedia del Arte masks (aka Vnetian Carniale masks) and aqssigned a mask to each persona. Once that was done, the characters began to blossom nicely.

2. I like the new voice better - while they're clearly mechanical, I don't want the Elite Clockworks to be robotic. They need to have character, and still be menacing.

3. Absolutely. They're a huge success for us - we will definitely do more.

4. When the Wizard group started working on Azteca, the creative group looked at cool ways to incorporate Pirate references - Monquistans were the obvious choice. I don't recall whose idea it was - it arose out of those conversations pretty quickly.
I agree with you on answer number 2. Deacon sounded much more better than he was back in beta. I'm willing to hear how Rooke sounds. I'll give you my opinon on how he is, and what can be improved, once I get to him.

Will we get to see Azteca in Pirate101 someday? I mean, I'm enjoying Azteca in Wizard101, but are there many more lands in Azteca than we thought? Surely, there's other crisis in various forms that even Wizards aren't aware of, but worthy of a Pirate's job, anyway.

How did you decide to work MooShu into Pirate101? When I first saw how MooShu was going to be a part of Pirate101, I imagined the world would look nearly the same, much like how it looks in W101, yet, I didn't expect you to bring out another, different side to MooShu. I was perplexed by how the worlds in the Spiral are shared between the two games. How is MooShu's perspective in the game different than W101's? How is that other forms of evil besides the ones in W101 planned to overthrow MooShu's own Emperor Yoshihito while he was ill by Malistaire's magic? I mean, does the timeline in MooShu differ between the two games? Were there zones that have similar designs in W101, but are vastly much more than they appear in Pirate101? Were they customly designed? Think similar enemies/monsters seen in P101 would appear in W101's future updates someday? I would like to see the enemies seen in P101 make it into that game. I... I'm sorry. I'm overflowing with so many questions about MooShu and asked so much about it, it's going to take more than answers for you to comply. Could you make a behind the scenes and comparison video about MooShu? I would like to see how MooShu's perspectives differ from the two games in your own comaprison video... along with more comparison videos featuring more familiar worlds of the Spiral.

Lieutenant
May 21, 2009
113
Blind Mew on Feb 26, 2013 wrote:
1. We're approaching the edge of my comfort zone when it comes to promotions, frankly - this question edges towards issues of balance and level caps that are beyond my purview - deciding which companions promote via quest and then making those quests as awesome as possible is my domain.

2. You have asked it before. My answer remains unchanged.

3. Yes on two of them, one will wait a little longer. As for what they hold, you'll find out.

4. Ooof - this is a long one. In some cases is crystal clear, but for some other books it's a little murky. I'll see what I can do here. Here are the biggest inspirations we drew from:
Book 1: Definitely Treasure Island
Book 2: Heart of Darkness (and its modern film remake)
Book 3: The Monkey's Paw and the third Indiana Jones movie
Book 4: This one's a vague chapter - no direct thematic overtones, but its built around the theme of the heist - sneak into an impossible place then sneak out again.
Book 5: Another vague one - it's a pretty generic Old West Cowboys and Indians story.
Book 6: Everything Zorro, from the old comics to the Disney black and white TV to Antonio Banderas.
Book 7: The Lone Ranger casts a big shadow here, as does the "Weird West"/undead gunslinger meme. I don't have a real good source for that, but it'll come back.
Book 8: Another heist/prison break - The Count of Monte Cristo and Man in the Iron Mask offer inspiration, but there are few direct references.
Book 9: The is the classic Old West - the Magnificent 7, Shane (Timmy!), and of course all the historical personages we reference.
Book 10: This is the huge return of the Weird West, and as many puns on Dead Man's Hand as we can make. The old "deal to cheat death" story is a solid old trope, with an Old West flair. Death himself is directly inspired by the Supreme Being from Time Bandits.
Book 11: This is meant to be the "Japan Chapter" of MooShu, so i was drawing more from history, particularly the shogunates and the tumultuous intervals between them.
Book 12: Journey to the West, and of course Fu Manchu.

5. I'd love to fit a wizard into the storyline - it's definitely a bit i want to do, we've just been waiting for the right moment. There's all sorts of ways to fit them in - allies/informants are great, but I'd love to have a wizard adversary too...
Wow...this is a LOT MORE than I was expecting...AWESOME. *Bows in honor to awesome writer*. Though I am curious about a few things...

1. Are there any books/movies/stories you would like to make part of the Pirate101 story? I mean, of course, use it as inspiration for a book or side content or anything along those lines?
2. I've been reading rumors that the mysterious female clockwork is Kane's wife - any comment?
3. Deacon is destroyed, once and for all (I hope). How is this going to affect the storyline? I can imagine Rooke being on a sort of vendetta for 'destroying his brother'...
4. Who is you're Wizard101 counterpart, out of curiosity? Here you're Blind Mew...are you perhaps Gamma over there?
5. This sorta ties to question 3, but we've destroyed the Dreadnaught Regal and snuck into the Armada Fortress in the Aragon Skyway - are these huge actions going to effect the story in a major way? I read one of your posts stating we'll be facing the war we started with Marleybone and Valencia in the face. Would that be a major repercussion?
6. This is less plot-based, more back story based - I am going to make an assumption here. The rats of Scrimshaw are from Marleybone, or the descendants of Marleyboneians, the monkeys are from Monquista, the Otters are Marleyboneian, Guinea pigs are Valencian, and numerous different peoples fit into the current worlds of the spiral that we know. But what about sloths like Barnabus - where are they from? And Subodai - according to the back story, the 'Amber Horde are from distant hinterlands'. It seems there are numerous different peoples of the spiral in the game without an origin world...though Subodai might count as a MooShu outcast since he often mentions 'Mooshu! My home!'

Developer
Cunning Finnigan S... on Feb 22, 2013 wrote:
Ah, ok. Thank you! I had no idea it would be so hard, or even possible, to "remove" a Companion from the crew. Actually, what I probably should have said in the first place, I meant more like the Companion and his or her icon was still with the PC, but was in a defeated fashion on purpose without dying in battle for a temporary amount of time. However, that still does seem a bit risky.

But now I have more questions!:

1. So since you're going for long Books now, will Book 13 take us further closer to El Dorado or are we still a long ways away? And will long Books cause for long production time or is it about the same time frame of finished stories since Pirate101 went live? (By the way, I just noticed 13 is typically an unlucky number. Hope nothing bad happens)

2. I remember reading Marco Pollo's letter to his old friend Merle Ambrose (I LOL'ed when I read that ), and I remember he talked about Celestia and El Dorado being very close worlds until El Dorado's downfall. He also mentioned about Krokotopia and Old Azteca (so the Azteca, we know that just came out, and the Old Azteca aren't the same?) being only echoes of El Dorado. What I'm curious about is, did any other world's also make an impact with/on El Dorado? Mostly Empyrea. I know it hasn't been released, yet, but I'm just curious to know if Empyrea has made any...trades with other worlds. It is an old world right? Hopefully, my ideas on Empyrea are incorrect and they are a compassionate people; not stuck-up snobs who think much to highly of themselves (the last two episodes of Thunder Cats (2011), and Empyrea being a sky world, truly explain why I think that)

3. Has there ever been a case where the production of a world or update has been dropped/severely haulted because it either doesn't fit too well with the story, needs changes, showned sides of pre-public glitches or just overall the company wanted to change the whole design?

4. Do you do any work with Wizard101 at all or are you all Pirate101, Pirate101, and more Pirate101? Do you and you're team ever meet with the Wizard101 staff just to say "Hey! we just finished update(s) X, Y. and Z and are very excited on it's launch!"?

5. What do you think has been you're best and favorite piece of writing for Pirate101 as of script work and story lines so far? What was the hardest and, dare I say, least enjoyable (if at all)? What is you're favorite world you've worked on so far?

6. Will we be revisisting any worlds like MooShu? I think a 4th Skyway could be added but I'm just curious. I know we will be going back to Valencia like you said (hopefully this next update) and Monquista has a possibilty for a new Skyway.

7. Would it be telling if I asked what inhabitanted El Dorado? I really want to say Chameleons as they have yet to make an NPC appearance, but I honestly can't hone on a picture. Was the whole race of El Doradians (El Doradanites?) wiped out from whatever power there like Dragonspyre?
1. If by "further closer" you mean will I say if you're getting a Map Piece in Book 13, I will politely decline to answer. The way I look at it, every Book gets you closer to El Dorado - if nothing else, you're learning where the Map Pieces aren't, right?

2. That letter was a means to directly link El Dorado and our main story to the Wizard101 setting, and the change to offer up some Extremely Oblique Hints was too good to resist. The Builders of El Dorado have a legacy in the prehistory of the Spiral, and I'm looking forward to revealing more of it in the future. As for Empyrea, I can't say much about the place. As it stands now, that world is outside our story - I'd expect Wizard to touch upon it sooner than we will. Though I love to see (and fuel!) speculation.

3. We've never thrown a world out. Some of our milestones have hit later than we had originally planned, but the kinds of wholesale "back to the drawing board" stuff you're talking about doesn't tend to happen - the biggest growing pains we had were pre-beta, back when we were learning how big battleboards had to be, and how much space we needed around them for the camera. Now that the core gameplay works, the biggest changes we run into tend to be early on, when we work with Art to set the scope of a milestone.

4. I've never done any Wizard101 work, no - Pirate is my sole responsibility. That said, the first 2 years I worked here I shared an office with the creative lead for Wizard and their head writer (Alhazrad and King Artorius i believe their forum IDs are). So there was always lots of discussion, especially back in the early days when I didn't know a thing about the Spiral. Since live, I have a new office I share with my Pirate writer underling, but the Wizard and Pirate creative groups stay in steady contact.

5. Tough question. Of the stuff that's live so far, I'd have to say my favorite bits to write were the promo quests - I love the chance to delve into their characters and put them through some hardship. I also really liked writing the Magnificent Seven's banter and Death. Monquista was tough to write: fun, but as i recall getting that chapter done was like pulling teeth - I was blocked for a while there, and it took a long time for us to hit the gags the right way with Donkey Hotay.

6. We will be revisiting worlds going forward. As for whole new areas or Skyways, I certainly hope so. The specifics will depend upon the world.

7. Uh yeah - that would SO be telling. The identity and nature of the Builders of El Dorado, and their fate, is a BIG mystery that I'm looking forward to unspooling slowly in the last third of the story. The Pollo letter to Merle is the most we've said about them, and are likely to say for some time. Who were they? Where did they go? You'll find out...

Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
If Bonnie Anne's third promotion quest is going to be a part of the next story update, will she be able to defeat the traitor responsible for sending her, Calico Jake, and the PC to Deacon's trap? And did Calico Jake succeed in fending off the Armada troops and escaped, or did he end up being the Armada's prisoner and must be rescued after she and the PC left Monte Royale?

I don't know what Ratbeard's third promotion quest is going to be, but I'm guessing it's going to be more exciting! Will it have another of Ratebard's long time arch-nemeses he's dealt with in the past, not heard and seen before to the PC and must defeat? Will it uncover more of Ratbeard's backstory?

They do have their third promotions that are "technically overdue", as you said before, Blind Mew. Are they gonna be a part of the next story update in the works? Can't wait for them!

Will the Krakken Skulls Companions (Barnabus, Emmett, Sarah Steele, Mormo, and Louis Le Bisque) get their third promotions someday? Pirates are willing to see how their third promotion quests are going to turn out and what more of their backstories are. I know they have different level sets of their own, but will they get their third promotions soon?

Captain
May 02, 2009
525
Wow, Blind Mew, you do a lot of work, but I do have some questions of my own.

1) Is it possible for you to give us the name of that female-looking clockwork (my guess is Queen because of the game of chess or Quinn because of Kane)

2) Can you give us a hint as to if any new Skyways opened up or the beginning letter (or any letter) of the next world?

3) What sources helped you form Book 13?

4) Exactly how are we, Pirates going to defeat an Infinate ammount of clockworks for a piece of Pollo's Map?

5)Are we going to get you or One-Eyed Jack (maybe Avery and the trainer's too) as an ally in battle?

Developer
CaptainFlint193 on Feb 27, 2013 wrote:
Wow...this is a LOT MORE than I was expecting...AWESOME. *Bows in honor to awesome writer*. Though I am curious about a few things...

1. Are there any books/movies/stories you would like to make part of the Pirate101 story? I mean, of course, use it as inspiration for a book or side content or anything along those lines?
2. I've been reading rumors that the mysterious female clockwork is Kane's wife - any comment?
3. Deacon is destroyed, once and for all (I hope). How is this going to affect the storyline? I can imagine Rooke being on a sort of vendetta for 'destroying his brother'...
4. Who is you're Wizard101 counterpart, out of curiosity? Here you're Blind Mew...are you perhaps Gamma over there?
5. This sorta ties to question 3, but we've destroyed the Dreadnaught Regal and snuck into the Armada Fortress in the Aragon Skyway - are these huge actions going to effect the story in a major way? I read one of your posts stating we'll be facing the war we started with Marleybone and Valencia in the face. Would that be a major repercussion?
6. This is less plot-based, more back story based - I am going to make an assumption here. The rats of Scrimshaw are from Marleybone, or the descendants of Marleyboneians, the monkeys are from Monquista, the Otters are Marleyboneian, Guinea pigs are Valencian, and numerous different peoples fit into the current worlds of the spiral that we know. But what about sloths like Barnabus - where are they from? And Subodai - according to the back story, the 'Amber Horde are from distant hinterlands'. It seems there are numerous different peoples of the spiral in the game without an origin world...though Subodai might count as a MooShu outcast since he often mentions 'Mooshu! My home!'
1. Oh, there's lots of stuff we've yet to mine. Typically, we begin work on a given book by deciding what sources we want to homage and the references that are must haves based on the theme of the world.

2. None. My reluctance to comment on her is based directly on how obsessed the community gets with her.

3. More than Rooke - every Elite Clockwork is none too pleased by Deacon's fall.

4. I don't have an identity in Wizard. Wizard's creative lead uses the handle Alhazred.

5. The war that started in Book 8 will definitely get referenced again.

6. I'm not sure where the Sloths come from - someplace with thick jungles (could be Skull Island!). As for the Amber Horde, the hinterlands they come from are places at the distant edges of MooShu - Subodai's from MooShu, but his people are from places far away from any of the skyways we've shown.

Developer
coolster50 on Feb 28, 2013 wrote:
Wow, Blind Mew, you do a lot of work, but I do have some questions of my own.

1) Is it possible for you to give us the name of that female-looking clockwork (my guess is Queen because of the game of chess or Quinn because of Kane)

2) Can you give us a hint as to if any new Skyways opened up or the beginning letter (or any letter) of the next world?

3) What sources helped you form Book 13?

4) Exactly how are we, Pirates going to defeat an Infinate ammount of clockworks for a piece of Pollo's Map?

5)Are we going to get you or One-Eyed Jack (maybe Avery and the trainer's too) as an ally in battle?
Man, you are shameless in your fishing for spoilers! Never forget: I'm here to drop oblique hints and tease, not give straight answers!

1. It is possible... But I must decline.

2. There's a Skyway in the next Book that begins with W.

3. Nice attempt, but no dice. All I shall say is that Star Wars: A New Hope offered some inspiration.

4. Daunting question, isn't it?

5. Avery and the Trainers I could see as being very cool - but Blind Mew?

Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
Blind Mew on Feb 28, 2013 wrote:
1. Oh, there's lots of stuff we've yet to mine. Typically, we begin work on a given book by deciding what sources we want to homage and the references that are must haves based on the theme of the world.

2. None. My reluctance to comment on her is based directly on how obsessed the community gets with her.

3. More than Rooke - every Elite Clockwork is none too pleased by Deacon's fall.

4. I don't have an identity in Wizard. Wizard's creative lead uses the handle Alhazred.

5. The war that started in Book 8 will definitely get referenced again.

6. I'm not sure where the Sloths come from - someplace with thick jungles (could be Skull Island!). As for the Amber Horde, the hinterlands they come from are places at the distant edges of MooShu - Subodai's from MooShu, but his people are from places far away from any of the skyways we've shown.
Who's gonna be the next Elite Clockwork to be destroyed in the main story's continuation? I've taken care of Deacon, so who's going to be next in line? Rooke? If so, I wish to battle him and destroy him one day, as Bonnie Anne thought she would! I hope to get a chance at it along with her. Hope her thoughts of destroying Rooke comes true. And when they do, boy will the Elites be even more upset!

A Skyway that begins with a W? Wonder what that means? Well, it's quite a puzzler, so... I'll try to guess it in my mind, but who's willing?

Will we ever get a chance to retrieve some Marco Pollo Map pieces from Kane in a Clockwork Armada raid? I'm willing to do it really soon! I wish to take back the pieces the Armada already has.

What next percentage bit of the first main story arc is up to be ready soon? I understand the first main story arc is 60% finished, which is great, so what's the set amount of percentage is the next portion of the main story, Blind Mew?

If a new world is released in a major story update, does having a new pack of Books that comes with it counts as percentage increase towards the main story, if said new Book pack is ready, that is?

Lieutenant
May 21, 2009
113
Ok...man, you are relentless. Vague hints and all...but of course, there is more...sorry!

1. Any chance we'll meet a reformed clockwork? That would be a nice change of pace.
2. Is it possible for a future update to have more than one book? I keep hearing people saying 'Book 13, Book 13', but people seem to forget there have been at least two books per major world (apart from Monquista and Valencia).
3. Are there more than the six elite clockworks? I imagine Kane's Court (Kane, Deacon, Rooke, Bishop, Phule, and the mystery queen) but under them an elite hierarchy of clockwork generals and the like. Or are they all just Armada snipers and marksmen and marines?
4. Is Marleybone ever going to discover what we did at Fort Elena and Port Regal? I can foresee terrible things if that occurs...
5. How far has the Armada gotten Spiral-wise? We've seen them EVERYWHERE so far, aside from Monquista (that world seems so unimportant to them - why is that?).
6. Ok, this one has been bugging me for a while - I understand the Armada elites are named for chess pieces in a way...but why Phule? How do you even pronounce that correctly?

Bosun
May 06, 2009
371
Blind Mew on Feb 27, 2013 wrote:
1. If by "further closer" you mean will I say if you're getting a Map Piece in Book 13, I will politely decline to answer. The way I look at it, every Book gets you closer to El Dorado - if nothing else, you're learning where the Map Pieces aren't, right?

2. That letter was a means to directly link El Dorado and our main story to the Wizard101 setting, and the change to offer up some Extremely Oblique Hints was too good to resist. The Builders of El Dorado have a legacy in the prehistory of the Spiral, and I'm looking forward to revealing more of it in the future. As for Empyrea, I can't say much about the place. As it stands now, that world is outside our story - I'd expect Wizard to touch upon it sooner than we will. Though I love to see (and fuel!) speculation.

3. We've never thrown a world out. Some of our milestones have hit later than we had originally planned, but the kinds of wholesale "back to the drawing board" stuff you're talking about doesn't tend to happen - the biggest growing pains we had were pre-beta, back when we were learning how big battleboards had to be, and how much space we needed around them for the camera. Now that the core gameplay works, the biggest changes we run into tend to be early on, when we work with Art to set the scope of a milestone.

4. I've never done any Wizard101 work, no - Pirate is my sole responsibility. That said, the first 2 years I worked here I shared an office with the creative lead for Wizard and their head writer (Alhazrad and King Artorius i believe their forum IDs are). So there was always lots of discussion, especially back in the early days when I didn't know a thing about the Spiral. Since live, I have a new office I share with my Pirate writer underling, but the Wizard and Pirate creative groups stay in steady contact.

5. Tough question. Of the stuff that's live so far, I'd have to say my favorite bits to write were the promo quests - I love the chance to delve into their characters and put them through some hardship. I also really liked writing the Magnificent Seven's banter and Death. Monquista was tough to write: fun, but as i recall getting that chapter done was like pulling teeth - I was blocked for a while there, and it took a long time for us to hit the gags the right way with Donkey Hotay.

6. We will be revisiting worlds going forward. As for whole new areas or Skyways, I certainly hope so. The specifics will depend upon the world.

7. Uh yeah - that would SO be telling. The identity and nature of the Builders of El Dorado, and their fate, is a BIG mystery that I'm looking forward to unspooling slowly in the last third of the story. The Pollo letter to Merle is the most we've said about them, and are likely to say for some time. Who were they? Where did they go? You'll find out...
In relations to your answer of #1 um...I guess. You threw me off there lol. And also that would pretty much be a no then to number 2, no other world outside of Celestia has made contact with El Dorado.

So another set of questions I have come to wonder (man I feel like the Philosoraptor. "If actions speak louder than words, why is the pen mightier than the sword?" lol):

1. So you said El Dorado keeping a legacy in the prehistory of the Spiral. Ok so here's what's going on in my head: I play Wizard101 as well and still remember very piece to the stories. Azteca, which is a fragment of the First World, is an old world but only an echo of El Dorado. So El Dorado is way older than any world but only second to the Grandfather Tree, Bartleby, and Grandmother Raven, Lady Nightstar, (of course they are alive that is). The First World had 3 races: the Giants, Tritons, and Dragons, all of which were arguably Immortal beings. After fighting with each other over who was stealing what from who, the First World tore apart. If El Dorado holds an ancient and dire power of the Spiral, and maybe even existed during the time of the First World before it's destruction, could this dormant power be the power of the Giants, Tritons, and Dragons, as it was their fighting, their powers, that ultimately made the Spiral?

2. Ok, I know you can't give much detail on El Dorado or you'd ruin the big surprise at the end when we go there but can you tell me if El Dorado is a big world? Like more than one ancient Skyway?

3. Will we be seeing any worlds with similar ends like Azteca's? Unsavable and pretty much leading to it's own demise?

4. Ok, I know there is no confirmed plan of bringing Zafaria into Pirate101 but if there were, off the top of your head, how could you see a story going? For me, it would be the English and Arabic colonization on much of Africa. In this case, the Marleybonians maybe trying to enslave Zafarians (course I've never seen Marleybonians as any kind of racists or self centered people) or colonize Zafaria and reap the raw material there while on the another hand the Lynx of Mirage, an Arabic-inspired world, is flooding in through Krokotopia to stage a cultural take over. All in all the major worlds in this plot are Zafaria, Marleybone, Valencia, Mirage, and a little of Krokotopia. But that's just me. How would you write it?

5. Did the movies 9 and the Terminator give any major inspiration to the whole Valencia-being-turned-by-it's-own-creation thing? Like when I really think on it, I can see the Creator of the Clockworks making a very major error by not making them more "alive" and now they're out of control. The genius himself is either dead or in hidding.

6. You've said that Book 13 is a war story but did not examplify what war. Yeah I know the Monquista-Marleybone-Valencia triangle but is possible the war-torn land of Aquila will make an appearance?

7. Is there a difference between Marleybone Clockworks and Valencia Clockworks?

Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
I began to notice one matter around Marleybone and Monquista. They both have an organization they call the Crown, but I don't get this. Is there a difference between Marleybone's Crown and Monquista's Crown? Is the current Monquistan Crown an enemy to Pirates and those who simply make accusations about it? What is it with the Crown in their long history in the war against the Opposition? Is the Marleybonian Crown a secret ally to Pirates who wish to take down those who wish to do harm to the Crown? What is there to know about the worlds' own Crowns? It's baffling! Can you explain this, Blind Mew?

Developer
Trimond297 on Mar 4, 2013 wrote:
I began to notice one matter around Marleybone and Monquista. They both have an organization they call the Crown, but I don't get this. Is there a difference between Marleybone's Crown and Monquista's Crown? Is the current Monquistan Crown an enemy to Pirates and those who simply make accusations about it? What is it with the Crown in their long history in the war against the Opposition? Is the Marleybonian Crown a secret ally to Pirates who wish to take down those who wish to do harm to the Crown? What is there to know about the worlds' own Crowns? It's baffling! Can you explain this, Blind Mew?
Yes, they are different.

Back in the old days, it was customary to refer to the monarch of any monarchy simply as "The Crown" - think of it as essentially a synonym for "the King" or "the Queen" (or "the King and Queen" for that matter). So in Monquista the Crown is their royal resplendences etc. etc., while in Marleybone the Crown is her majesty the Queen.

The term is also used as shorthand for "the State" - so being a Traitor to the Crown of Monquista makes you the enemy of the nation of Monquista, and doing secret missions for the Crown on behalf of Marleybone makes you a discreet agent of Her Majesty's government. The two states are not exclusive.

The relationships between these various Crowns, and the complications they can inflict on a wayward Pirate, well that's just politics.

Developer
Trimond297 on Mar 1, 2013 wrote:
Who's gonna be the next Elite Clockwork to be destroyed in the main story's continuation? I've taken care of Deacon, so who's going to be next in line? Rooke? If so, I wish to battle him and destroy him one day, as Bonnie Anne thought she would! I hope to get a chance at it along with her. Hope her thoughts of destroying Rooke comes true. And when they do, boy will the Elites be even more upset!

A Skyway that begins with a W? Wonder what that means? Well, it's quite a puzzler, so... I'll try to guess it in my mind, but who's willing?

Will we ever get a chance to retrieve some Marco Pollo Map pieces from Kane in a Clockwork Armada raid? I'm willing to do it really soon! I wish to take back the pieces the Armada already has.

What next percentage bit of the first main story arc is up to be ready soon? I understand the first main story arc is 60% finished, which is great, so what's the set amount of percentage is the next portion of the main story, Blind Mew?

If a new world is released in a major story update, does having a new pack of Books that comes with it counts as percentage increase towards the main story, if said new Book pack is ready, that is?
Who will you destroy next? That would be telling.

The Skyway - yeah, but even if you guess the name, that may not tell you much about the world. That's just me being horribly oblique.

Considering you're going to need all 7 pieces of the Map to get to El Dorado, someday you'll have to get them from Kane. A tall order, to say the least...

Well, if we do 20 Books for the Main Story (not set in stone, but likely), and each Book would therefore equal 5%, I fear telling how complete the Main Story will be by the end of the next update would be telling. So i must decline to comment.

Not sure what you mean by that last question. For us, Worlds and Books are not necessarily synonymous like they are in Wizard. Look at Book 4, for example; there's as much Skull Island there as there is Valencia. We're going to keep that trend going as we move forward: a given Book will definitely focus on one world, but may hop to others for brief visits if need be.

Developer
CaptainFlint193 on Mar 1, 2013 wrote:
Ok...man, you are relentless. Vague hints and all...but of course, there is more...sorry!

1. Any chance we'll meet a reformed clockwork? That would be a nice change of pace.
2. Is it possible for a future update to have more than one book? I keep hearing people saying 'Book 13, Book 13', but people seem to forget there have been at least two books per major world (apart from Monquista and Valencia).
3. Are there more than the six elite clockworks? I imagine Kane's Court (Kane, Deacon, Rooke, Bishop, Phule, and the mystery queen) but under them an elite hierarchy of clockwork generals and the like. Or are they all just Armada snipers and marksmen and marines?
4. Is Marleybone ever going to discover what we did at Fort Elena and Port Regal? I can foresee terrible things if that occurs...
5. How far has the Armada gotten Spiral-wise? We've seen them EVERYWHERE so far, aside from Monquista (that world seems so unimportant to them - why is that?).
6. Ok, this one has been bugging me for a while - I understand the Armada elites are named for chess pieces in a way...but why Phule? How do you even pronounce that correctly?
1. Perhaps - though I don't think it would be in the way you'd expect.
2. Don't know - it's possible, but that's a LOT of development (2 Books for example is about 100 quests!). We're still doing our shakedown cruise as a live team, and learning how much we can scope for an update.
3. There might be someday, but for now Kane and his 5 are the only ones I'm going to be using. The Court are the only ones who have personalities and emotions - they're something very special. The rest are more automatons.
4. Yes, that would be bad. Only time will tell...
5. They've gotten pretty far - bear in mind that Valenica is the most connected known world in the Spiral, Stormgate wise, and has been involved in vigorous trade all over the place for a long long time. Therefore, the Armada has the opportunity to visit lots of places very easily. There are, however, not that many places they've conquered or seized... not yet at least.
6. They're not all named for chess pieces. I was unaware of that Deacon naming variant that somebody here found (though hats off for finding it!). Phule is pronounced Fool, in deference to his role and costume.

Petty Officer
Jun 06, 2009
82
You'll probably say "that would be telling," but did wizards have anything to do with building El Dorado?

Ensign
Oct 02, 2012
7
Trimond297 on Mar 4, 2013 wrote:
I began to notice one matter around Marleybone and Monquista. They both have an organization they call the Crown, but I don't get this. Is there a difference between Marleybone's Crown and Monquista's Crown? Is the current Monquistan Crown an enemy to Pirates and those who simply make accusations about it? What is it with the Crown in their long history in the war against the Opposition? Is the Marleybonian Crown a secret ally to Pirates who wish to take down those who wish to do harm to the Crown? What is there to know about the worlds' own Crowns? It's baffling! Can you explain this, Blind Mew?
They are clearly the english monarchy and the spanish one (spain=monquista and UK=Marleybone). It was the spanish crown who gave the 3 boats to Marco Polo. The spanish were the conquistadores in mexico and english men went into the far west...

Ensign
Nov 07, 2012
12
CaptainFlint193 on Jan 16, 2013 wrote:
If a developer can answer these story questions, I'd really appreciate that...

1. Windstones - Why windstones? Why a small gem that takes us through Stormgates? Just curious about this....
2. Dead Mike - I just completed his second promotion quest and I have to wonder - are we ever going to get the quest where we avenge our parents' deaths? I mean, it would be very fun to take down the guy who killed our parents...
3. Unseen Areas - There are windlanes that lead out of Tierra Primata Skyway, windlanes that lead to other unknown areas of MooShu, Stormgates to Valencia that aren't in Avernus, a Stormgate to Aquila in the Aragon Skyway, and a mysterious Stormgate at the end of Avernus. Are we ever going to visit these unknown areas?
4. Catbeard - Catbeard is in Marco Pollo's photograph of El Dorado - do we ever confront him about his map piece?
5. Are we ever going to visit other worlds in the Wizard101 story and vice versa?

Again, if anyone can answer these, that would be much appreciated!
1. Stormgates have tons of wind blowing through them.(Storms have wind)
2.If you look closely at the beginning, I thought I saw some sharks taking down our parents.
3.I was wondering about that stuff myself.
4.Catbeard will make you work for that information. (He always makes you work for something)
5. I have seen many people ask that question, so many that I think KingsIsle will have to do it before they get really annoyed by so many questions.

Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
Blind Mew on Feb 22, 2013 wrote:
When we talk about which Companions will get promotion quests going forward, Rooster Cogburn is a name that often comes up – I’d love to see him get more story, but we shall see.

As for the MooShu gang: 3 or 4 Books between promotions -- the MooShu 5 promoted in Book 12, so expect to see them again in Book 15 or 16 (give or take).
3 or 4 Books between promotion quests for companions? Wow. Talk about a... juggling estimate. Which chosen companions are just about due for a new, recent promotion quest in the next story update... or overdue? I'm willing to guess it's going to be Ratbeard and Bonnie Anne! Or... perhaps... Ol' Scratch! Maybe... but I'm leaning towards those two. Since you've estimated the amount of Books a companion can reach a promotion quest, I'm guessing it's not going to be long before we see more new promotion quests real soon.

Hope that estimate set happens to the MooShu 5, (if that's what you wanna call them) be it Book 15 or 16. I'm willing to see how they'll turn out to be! Think the same may apply to Lucky Jack Russell, Dead Mike, Milo Graytail, Gaspard de Vole, and Birgus Latro? One can guess, eh?

What of the estimated promotion quests in a Book set for Barnabus, Sarah Steele, Mormo, Louis Le Bisque, and Emmet? They got their second promotion quests in Book 11, so what estimated Book is set for their third promotion quests?

Lieutenant
May 21, 2009
113
Blind Mew on Mar 4, 2013 wrote:
1. Perhaps - though I don't think it would be in the way you'd expect.
2. Don't know - it's possible, but that's a LOT of development (2 Books for example is about 100 quests!). We're still doing our shakedown cruise as a live team, and learning how much we can scope for an update.
3. There might be someday, but for now Kane and his 5 are the only ones I'm going to be using. The Court are the only ones who have personalities and emotions - they're something very special. The rest are more automatons.
4. Yes, that would be bad. Only time will tell...
5. They've gotten pretty far - bear in mind that Valenica is the most connected known world in the Spiral, Stormgate wise, and has been involved in vigorous trade all over the place for a long long time. Therefore, the Armada has the opportunity to visit lots of places very easily. There are, however, not that many places they've conquered or seized... not yet at least.
6. They're not all named for chess pieces. I was unaware of that Deacon naming variant that somebody here found (though hats off for finding it!). Phule is pronounced Fool, in deference to his role and costume.
Well these are fascinating tidbits an' all, but there are a bunch of questions to go...mostly-Armada based.

1. You say that there are few places the Armada hasn't been - are we ever going to visit worlds where the Armada has no influence whatsoever? It appears they haven't been to Monquista, and I haven't seen Armada ships in Cool Ranch.
2. How has the Armada wormed its way into Skull Island? Did they somehow sneak past Port Regal into the Isle of Doom or...?
3. In the 'Pirate World' section it is mentioned that Valencia is also home to the crabs and guinea pigs - I think we've only seen the Unicorns (mostly) in Aragon. Is the rest of Valencia like this or are there crab and guinea pig-dominated skyways? And what of the other Valencian skyways - are we going to visit it?
4. Is Kane truly faster, smarter, and stronger than any other living being or does he have a chink in the armor?
5. Any hints on the second storyline involving the Mechanical Birds? And if we do finish the story of the Birds, will we have to return to Valencia to continue it?
6. Finally - how is Blind Mew popping up all over Skull Island? Skull Island Town, Scrimshaw, Port Regal...how does the old cat get around? And is he going to get involved in more quests - I just love this character, he's my personal favorite.

Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
Blind Mew on Mar 4, 2013 wrote:
Who will you destroy next? That would be telling.

The Skyway - yeah, but even if you guess the name, that may not tell you much about the world. That's just me being horribly oblique.

Considering you're going to need all 7 pieces of the Map to get to El Dorado, someday you'll have to get them from Kane. A tall order, to say the least...

Well, if we do 20 Books for the Main Story (not set in stone, but likely), and each Book would therefore equal 5%, I fear telling how complete the Main Story will be by the end of the next update would be telling. So i must decline to comment.

Not sure what you mean by that last question. For us, Worlds and Books are not necessarily synonymous like they are in Wizard. Look at Book 4, for example; there's as much Skull Island there as there is Valencia. We're going to keep that trend going as we move forward: a given Book will definitely focus on one world, but may hop to others for brief visits if need be.
I'm sorry to throw you in the loop about that question, Blind Mew. I guess I was, and still, used to Wizard101's process of how worlds are added for not long, it was kinda baffling of how the story progression of Pirate101 differs from Wizard101's own story update cycle. Before Pirate101 was live, I thought the story proggression was working the same way as it is in Wizard101, via world updates. Well, thanks for sorting that out. Now I know how the ways the story continues on in the two games are not quite the same as I thought it would.

I know that, Blind Mew. Still, I'm eager to squash out the Elites, one by one, before Kane himself. Here's hoping to do so!

By the way, not long ago, I've read somewhere that Pirate101 was in development for about "two and a half years". How did the development process for Pirate101 took much shorter than Wizard101's process? Previously, MMO's from back in the early days, nearly pretty much like Wizard101, took about a very long time to develop. Was the process much different and much faster than before? I'm interested to hear the history about how the development process was much shorter for Pirate101 than most people had thought. Just curious to hear about it's history, nothing more. Hope you could cover that with your answer about it, later on.

Would it be not too much trouble to work in a black silhouette of the game's upcoming Book, or Books, with the words "Coming Soon" labelled on it in the Chapter Pricing page? It would give about a very small teaser about it. I'm willing to see the silhouettes in. Seeing silhouettes about upcoming content does tend to bring up the thrilling, exciting suspense, doesn't it?

Developer
Trimond297 on Feb 28, 2013 wrote:
If Bonnie Anne's third promotion quest is going to be a part of the next story update, will she be able to defeat the traitor responsible for sending her, Calico Jake, and the PC to Deacon's trap? And did Calico Jake succeed in fending off the Armada troops and escaped, or did he end up being the Armada's prisoner and must be rescued after she and the PC left Monte Royale?

I don't know what Ratbeard's third promotion quest is going to be, but I'm guessing it's going to be more exciting! Will it have another of Ratebard's long time arch-nemeses he's dealt with in the past, not heard and seen before to the PC and must defeat? Will it uncover more of Ratbeard's backstory?

They do have their third promotions that are "technically overdue", as you said before, Blind Mew. Are they gonna be a part of the next story update in the works? Can't wait for them!

Will the Krakken Skulls Companions (Barnabus, Emmett, Sarah Steele, Mormo, and Louis Le Bisque) get their third promotions someday? Pirates are willing to see how their third promotion quests are going to turn out and what more of their backstories are. I know they have different level sets of their own, but will they get their third promotions soon?
Oh boy, always with the promotion quest questions... You realize that the direct answer to just about all of what you ask is "That would be telling." Patience, dragonfly!

The events of Bonnie Anne's second promo quest will definitely cast a shadow over her third, but it may be less of a direct sequel than you expect.

Ratbeard's next one is... different. Definitely a labor of love, and it was hard to pull off. I'm very eager to see how it plays.

The Kraken Skulls 5 will get another promo. Not next story update, though they shouldn't have to wait for too many more updates after that.