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Is Valencia Part II the end of the First Arc?

3
AuthorMessage
Captain
Jan 17, 2012
672
As much as I hate to hint at it, one of the things that is possible is, in fact, a rewrite, which shortens the story drastically.

Why would they do that? Because the game simply has not gotten the number of players that were projected. If the game had gotten a lot more players, do you really think they would have waited 3 years to put out new books?

But they can't very easily say, "Sorry folks, we're closing Pirate101 with the story unfinished." That would have had very bad repercussions for the players that patiently waited years for the story to continue, probably spent extra money just to maintain their subscription, or bought crowns only to find the game getting closed.

By writing a shortened story, they can finish the arc, and then, if players don't match projections, they can close it, knowing they have given you the whole game.
Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
Max DeGroot on May 16, 2016 wrote:
As much as I hate to hint at it, one of the things that is possible is, in fact, a rewrite, which shortens the story drastically.

Why would they do that? Because the game simply has not gotten the number of players that were projected. If the game had gotten a lot more players, do you really think they would have waited 3 years to put out new books?

But they can't very easily say, "Sorry folks, we're closing Pirate101 with the story unfinished." That would have had very bad repercussions for the players that patiently waited years for the story to continue, probably spent extra money just to maintain their subscription, or bought crowns only to find the game getting closed.

By writing a shortened story, they can finish the arc, and then, if players don't match projections, they can close it, knowing they have given you the whole game.
*sigh...*

They didn't say they will shorten the story, nor will they even consider it. That would also bring worse repercussions to the players, through obvious reasons, that I know, lot more than you could presume.

We should be happy that KI's even continuing the story, and still, major confusion about what Falmea said about this in the newsletter's end already spreads to the players' minds, leading them to think it is so.

Even already, you talking about the game closing because you think the next update wouldn't go well after it goes Live is weighing many others' hopes down. It's not going to lead to that. We're staying positive here.

Honestly, I don't think it will end yet, as in, not now. Just wait. Once it goes to Test, you'll know the 1st arc still has a way to go.

That's the reality of it. I don't want to argue anyone's cases, nor would I want to keep this train of confusion & negativity going on for long.
Pirate Overlord
Mar 16, 2012
10631
Max DeGroot on May 16, 2016 wrote:
As much as I hate to hint at it, one of the things that is possible is, in fact, a rewrite, which shortens the story drastically.

Why would they do that? Because the game simply has not gotten the number of players that were projected. If the game had gotten a lot more players, do you really think they would have waited 3 years to put out new books?

But they can't very easily say, "Sorry folks, we're closing Pirate101 with the story unfinished." That would have had very bad repercussions for the players that patiently waited years for the story to continue, probably spent extra money just to maintain their subscription, or bought crowns only to find the game getting closed.

By writing a shortened story, they can finish the arc, and then, if players don't match projections, they can close it, knowing they have given you the whole game.
Ok, Max, go sit in the corner with all the other disgruntled players disappointed that this expansion is "only" one book with 2 chapters and 5 levels. You've been among the "nay sayers" insisting P101 is wash up and through.
Remember when Ms. Ruben first posted on these forums? Her quote of how they might continue the story was taken to mean that maybe P101 would be ending. Obviously, this isn't so; P101 is continuing our adventures and I, for one, am looking for more glorious adventures happening in the future.
KI has given this game attention and care, they haven't ignored it completely. They've spent time and resources on giving us a great game experience. This game is unique among MMOs. There will be growing pains and stumbling, trying to follow the formula laid down in W101 may not quite work for this game.
A completely shortened story is impossible - consider how many threads are woven in this arc.
Hunt for the map pieces
Find El Dorado
Battle the "danger" there.
Discover Kane's weakness
Stop him and the Armada from taking over the Spiral.
This alone is what makes me believe that only a part of the first arc is concluding. What part that is will soon be revealed.
Commodore
Sep 20, 2009
989
Max DeGroot on May 16, 2016 wrote:
As much as I hate to hint at it, one of the things that is possible is, in fact, a rewrite, which shortens the story drastically.

Why would they do that? Because the game simply has not gotten the number of players that were projected. If the game had gotten a lot more players, do you really think they would have waited 3 years to put out new books?

But they can't very easily say, "Sorry folks, we're closing Pirate101 with the story unfinished." That would have had very bad repercussions for the players that patiently waited years for the story to continue, probably spent extra money just to maintain their subscription, or bought crowns only to find the game getting closed.

By writing a shortened story, they can finish the arc, and then, if players don't match projections, they can close it, knowing they have given you the whole game.
I really don't think that KI is shutting down P101, they just released an official statement saying that they were re-focusing on the MMO's.

But, I do think that the reason it took so long for the update to arrive, is because the story was re-written.
Blind Mew had stated that he had the next few books all planned out, that it shouldn't take long for the update to be built. He had even talked about how book 15 was going to be based on espionage and betrayal. The Old Cat had mentioned that the first story arc was going to be 20 books longs, and had mentioned that book 18 was going to be a so called doozy.

Now, here we are with the first story arc finishing five books earlier than first expected. Logically, KI, for some reason must have decided to re-write the story. Whether it was because of a management change, financial reasons, or because they wanted the Pirate's first story to roughly match the length of the Wizard's first story we will probably never know.

However, I do hope that with the re-write and the shortened story, that the ending is still good, and doesn't feel rushed or uncompleted. The world doesn't need another story that ends like Edger Allen Poe's Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pim of Nantucket. (The story literally stops mid sentence.)
Gunner's Mate
Dec 26, 2013
214
Max DeGroot on May 16, 2016 wrote:
As much as I hate to hint at it, one of the things that is possible is, in fact, a rewrite, which shortens the story drastically.

Why would they do that? Because the game simply has not gotten the number of players that were projected. If the game had gotten a lot more players, do you really think they would have waited 3 years to put out new books?

But they can't very easily say, "Sorry folks, we're closing Pirate101 with the story unfinished." That would have had very bad repercussions for the players that patiently waited years for the story to continue, probably spent extra money just to maintain their subscription, or bought crowns only to find the game getting closed.

By writing a shortened story, they can finish the arc, and then, if players don't match projections, they can close it, knowing they have given you the whole game.
As much as I'd like to think that KI would never give up on this game, unfortunately, unless the game is lucrative they have no reason to continue with it. KI isn't doing this for fun. Well, maybe they do have fun but they're not going think it's fun for long if they're losing money while doing it. The bottom line is.... well, the bottom line. Profit is the driving force. And if it ever gets to the point where KI does decide that P101 is a losing proposition I doubt very seriously if there will be any sort of "Sorry folks..." warnings to that effect. Hopefully there might be some arrangement made for a pro-rated refund for members.
Anyway, this is a depressing subject and it hurts my brain to think about it.
Ensign
Aug 27, 2012
46
While this is a little off topic we need some positivity in this post, KI made the tower for all the max players when they realized that the update would take much longer then they expected, probably because of this so called re-write that took place. The tower was intended to take our minds off how long this update is taking and give us something to do while we wait. So unless KI is planning to make another (new) max level dungeon I dont think the next update will take too long and they defintely wont end the game, not for many worlds(and max levels) to come. W101 is still making new worlds and quests, as for the lack of players W101 has been around for many years and, assuming their 40 million players is counted by number of accounts/wizards not by how many wizards are actively playing, many dont play W101 anymore and have decided that since they dont like W101 then they wont like P101 and haven't bothered to make an pirate and enter the deficit of players.

Thanks for listening,

Lvl 65
Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
OK, seriously, people, this negative talk about P101's state & the 1st arc's unnecessary early conclusion needs to stop.

1st, we all get that waiting for Book 15 took too long, yes, but, we should be grateful KingsIsle is continuing the P101 story, & that's good. Nothing's more important than getting the story going. KI re-focusing on their MMOs, that's also a good thing, 'cause we'll be seeing more content updates more frequently.

2nd, Blind Mew said, "It'd be kind of lame to only meet him for the final battle. He's so central to the plot, we definitely need some quality time with our Big Bad, and not just people talking to/about him. It's great for the story, so you can take a glimpse inside the enemy's mind.", & "I'm hoping we can have not one but several...". So, we're going to have our battles with Kane, but Book 15 will have the 1st of many battles with Kane, not the last. The one thing I would expect from the real ultimate final battle with Kane is that he would undergo many forms, including his final form. We're only seeing what's in Kane's mechanical brain.

3rd, there is no other major storyline that runs concurrently with the 1st arc about the Armada and El Dorado. Believe me, having 2 major storylines concurrently running with the arc in one sitting would be exhaustive work for KI. The 2nd arc's not made yet.

4th, no one at KI said they would shorten the 1st arc by 5 or so Books, nor did they ever consider doing it. Their team has changed, sure, but their original plans are still intact, not changed, so the arc will still end at Book 20. Just because Falmea spoke of it doesn't mean it's immediately announced & the story ends so suddenly. She only HINTED it, NOT really announced it... not yet.

Last, this talk about Valencia II ending the 1st arc has been too baffling. Even it's bringing down people.

Patience. The Test Realm is closer to going up very soon. And you'll all know it's too soon to end the arc.

Can't this post end already?
Captain
Jan 17, 2012
672
If the reason for a re-write, if there was one, was to make it about the same level as Wizard101, that should have occurred back on Mooshu, when the top level was 50, but that was released with the game, initially.

Then, six months later, they added two worlds, Marleybone and Aquila, and 15 levels.

Now, three years later, they are adding one world and five levels. Obviously, it isn't because they wanted to get the story right.

I'm just speculating what the real reason is.

Also, if they do continue past level 70, I sure hope they don't make the street creatures ridiculously hard like they did in Celestia. Good grief, I was having no problem with the streets of Dragonspyre, then along comes Celestia and I can't defeat a thing!
Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
anecorbie on May 16, 2016 wrote:
Ok, Max, go sit in the corner with all the other disgruntled players disappointed that this expansion is "only" one book with 2 chapters and 5 levels. You've been among the "nay sayers" insisting P101 is wash up and through.
Remember when Ms. Ruben first posted on these forums? Her quote of how they might continue the story was taken to mean that maybe P101 would be ending. Obviously, this isn't so; P101 is continuing our adventures and I, for one, am looking for more glorious adventures happening in the future.
KI has given this game attention and care, they haven't ignored it completely. They've spent time and resources on giving us a great game experience. This game is unique among MMOs. There will be growing pains and stumbling, trying to follow the formula laid down in W101 may not quite work for this game.
A completely shortened story is impossible - consider how many threads are woven in this arc.
Hunt for the map pieces
Find El Dorado
Battle the "danger" there.
Discover Kane's weakness
Stop him and the Armada from taking over the Spiral.
This alone is what makes me believe that only a part of the first arc is concluding. What part that is will soon be revealed.
Yes, a completely shortened story is, indeed, in fact, impossible, because, there's no sudden change in the original course to the P101 storyline, where they say such sayings like they somehow suddenly had "all they need", &, "it all comes down to this finale", whereas there's no true feeling to getting to the actual finale, that is not in Book 15.

I got to be honest, with all this conclusion talk ever since they read the latest Producer's Letter that is only hinting the conclusion, that is not in Book 15, a lotta people are, no pun intended, jumping to conclusions, the wrong conclusions, that is, because, with all the time used to settle a more coherent path in their P101 updating course, with the latest changes in P101, including KI making their MMO Live Team, the original storyline course is still standing, which is 20 Books, not 15. Her quote only spoke about the conclusion, but not officially announced just yet. Doing it is way too soon.

Let's state some facts, if Kane had somehow all the Map Pieces in one sitting, which is not so, how would he be able to get to his goal? Hmm? Would El Dorado be far closer to being discovered than expected? Would Kane's weakness signal his only defeat that marks his end? Would Valencia II only show what we saw what is falsely claimed "the rest of Valencia & the Armada"? Did we not already visit Grizzleheim & Krokotopia before the end? Where would the other 2 Map Pieces be, while they're still out there in the Spiral yet to be discovered? Does having 5 Pieces really show the way to El Dorado? Would the Armada's downfall be somewhat quick?

To some, try to piece it by yourselves. I know it won't be so, yet, I'll find it amusing to see you try. Really.

Believe me, anecorbie, even with some people falsely claiming Book 15 to conclude the arc, I still truly believe it's not the end of it. Let's wait. Real truths will be spoken, & we can place this false conclusion talk to an end. Still not arguing with anyone on this.
Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
Max DeGroot on May 18, 2016 wrote:
If the reason for a re-write, if there was one, was to make it about the same level as Wizard101, that should have occurred back on Mooshu, when the top level was 50, but that was released with the game, initially.

Then, six months later, they added two worlds, Marleybone and Aquila, and 15 levels.

Now, three years later, they are adding one world and five levels. Obviously, it isn't because they wanted to get the story right.

I'm just speculating what the real reason is.

Also, if they do continue past level 70, I sure hope they don't make the street creatures ridiculously hard like they did in Celestia. Good grief, I was having no problem with the streets of Dragonspyre, then along comes Celestia and I can't defeat a thing!
To my perspective, I'm glad KI didn't make a sudden rewrite in their storyline course when P101 was in beta. Reshaping past storyline quests that people deemed them not exciting, had little plot depth, & lore-speaking worthy was inevitable, & that was in another time. Doing one won't make it the same level as W101's.

With so many people they have at KI, they made such an update when it's 1st story update got out. Shortly, they decided to go a bit easy with their story updates by doing 1 Book at a time, to have the plot not rushed, 'cause Blind Mew said Book 14 felt like a "one-and-a-half Book" to him.

They will continue beyond level 70. The reason why the story update took long is because with so many updates to W101 & little P101 updates lately, even with their previously separate W101 & P101 dev teams in that time being, due to many o' KI's people working on too many incomplete mobile games so much, that they realized they were a bit over their heads in doing more mobile development than MMO development lately, that, we all know, brought a lot o' people concerned about which games' states. They resolved KI's problem by making their teams into 1, & made their decision to keep developing updates to their MMOs more frequently than mobile games.

That was, at that time being, where many changes & some optimizations weren't made, Celestia was made towards very skilled people that overcame their tough challenges. Later, they smoothed some things out & made tougher challenges.

My point is, KI did not announce the storyline course changing so drastically & so suddenly, because, doing it spells inconsequential impacts to everyone, especially those who hoped to see the ongoing plot.
Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
Dogsrock5656 on May 6, 2016 wrote:
To be honest, i'm really, really, REALLY, hoping it isn't. It would be so rushed if we killed Kane now, and what about the female elite? I highly doubt this is the end of the first arc and I will be severely disapointed if it is.
That I truly believe, because it's a true fact.
Pirate Overlord
Mar 16, 2012
10631
Trimond297 on May 15, 2016 wrote:
Even so, he wouldn't say the arc is ending sooner than what he estimated.

The reality of it is, there haven't been hints to it, not in the game, or on the forums. It feels too soon to do it.

I don't like to carry out this heavy weight of confusion any longer. We all know those 2 stories are the one & the same story.

All I can say is, wait & see.
"We all know those 2 stories are one & the same story"
I'm sorry, I don't see it that way:
We have the El Dorado map treasure hunt
and
We have find Kane's weakness.
These 2 are separate from each other and the only thing linking them is the Armada. Which, to me is a weak link, story - wise. It's like those horrid Victorian stories in which 2 story lines are linked by one person being a relative to another.
Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
anecorbie on May 20, 2016 wrote:
"We all know those 2 stories are one & the same story"
I'm sorry, I don't see it that way:
We have the El Dorado map treasure hunt
and
We have find Kane's weakness.
These 2 are separate from each other and the only thing linking them is the Armada. Which, to me is a weak link, story - wise. It's like those horrid Victorian stories in which 2 story lines are linked by one person being a relative to another.
When you see the update through, you'll find that there's surprise unexpected plot twists that'll always lead to another cliffanger point, leaving us very excited for Book 16. Believe me, when many think it's so, we all truly see there's always a quick surprise that gets us excited for the next story update to come, one that won't take three years to make, not like before.

The Armada willing to do whatever it takes to get to El Dorado, including doing many costly sacrifices to get there, that's what makes the story link to El Dorado strong enough to ensure they're all part o' the same story, not separate from each other nor are one o' the other.

Seeking Kane's weakness is what's we've been waiting for, & that brings us back to the grand war against Kane, an aspect to the story we've been waiting since Book 14's end, & I'm sure by the time we've seen the latest story update through, you'll know the grand war against Kane and the search for El Dorado will go on, at a more heightened pace than ever.

As Blind Mew said before, "The player's ongoing vendetta against Kane has entered a new phase, and the rules are changing...", as in, the rules of Kane's regime and the Armada's Grand Design are changing...

You'll know.

BTW, Test is up! Go see for yourself now, if you want. I'll be in it, too! See ya!
Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
Hey, this brings back a particular post about Blind Mew's estimation about the 1st arc's goal.

Pirates, let's take a visit back to this post in one o' Blind Mew's threads, & do the math. It's time for a bit of a math & history lesson. Case in point, real math & the history beneath Blind Mew's story thread posts.

Let's get to it. Blind Mew said, "...when I said we went live with 60% of the Main Story, my math was, in theory, quite accurate!", so, at the time being, the 1st arc was 60% completed at P101's launch. That's slightly over 1/2 o' the arc done, in layman's terms.

About 6 months later, we get 10% o' the Arc in, that is Books 13 & 14, so that goes toward the total of 70% o' the Arc up.

Now, comes this part. Three years later, the Test Realm just got Book 15, & that is clearly 5% added to the soon-to-be updated total o' the arc to 75%. Therefore, once it goes Live, we'll have 75% o' the Arc up.

So, let's do the math. 60% + 10% = 70%. 70% + 5% =... what, Pirates? 75%! The answer is 75%.

My math, should it be right, is that once the total goes to 75%, there's still the remaining 25% o' the arc to go, which is Books 16, 17, 18, 19, & 20(Big finale!). Each Book harbors 5%+ to the arc's total.

Now, to more math. 75%(that's three quarters, with pie charts thrown in) is the soon-to-be made total. 25%( the last quarter, too) is the remainder o' the arc to go. So, place 75% & add it with each 5% o' these 5 Books to go.

Now, add them all together, that is 75%, + 5%, + 5%, + 5%, + 5%, + 5% (25% in total to the addition) =... what?

My answer to this, it is none other than 100%, Pirates! So, once 5% o' the 1st arc goes Live, we get 75% in total, & we still got the arc's 25% to go. That, via math, will get the total to 100%.

The complete story always needs to be 100% complete, not 75%, not 25%, or even 5%. No, 100% is the target goal for P101's 1st arc, that is, indeed, 20 Books.

So, these math & history lessons are done. Take the time to read, do the math, & learn it.
Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
So, Valencia II is now Live, & to those who have been saying what some think Valencia II is the end... go ahead and say what you want to say here if you've finished it. I had hopes it wouldn't be the end, but I still doubt Valencia II would end the 1st arc so soon.

My hopes were that Book 15 would have some plot twist thrown in to see that arc 1 was really far from over, 'cause I really hoped Kane wouldn't be done after defeating him, & he would be at large, & our search for El Dorado would keep going, which was the point, having many battles with Kane before he meets his ultimate demise in the last battle with him in Book 20, but, I got my hopes high too soon. I see now that not every plan has to be what they wanted them to be.

Regardless, I would still think there is still the "To be continued..." feeling when they get to & see Valencia II's end. I've still got this strong thought that the 1st arc, hoping & likely knowing it's already split into acts before the proper finale, in terms of classical theatrical mannerisms, I can hope it will lead to it's next act where our Big Bad, while thought to be defeated, is still at large... I hope.

Would you believe we'll experience a false victory & a false ending in the end? I still think it's far from over, indeed... I hope it is.
Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
Though, in seriousness, what I said about what's been set cannot be re-set... I was wrong. I underestimated some people's opinions about the 1st arc's changed state, especially anecorbie's. I've been through the Test Realm while Book 15 was in Test, and went through with it to the very end.

That said, I'm sorry about doubting your words, anecorbie. I had such high hopes that the 1st arc would keep having 20 Books, like Blind Mew previously intended & how I wanted that to see with such determination, but now, I see that I was wrong. Those three long years did gave them plenty time to change the 1st arc's target, even though I was disappointed about that outcome, but I did expect some plot twists that keeps the story going, & one o' which I saw on Test really proved that part true.

When Falmea said they were working on ways to keep the story going, she wasn't lying. My thought was to keep the arc going like Blind Mew intended at the time being, but, she makes the decisions, so, I have to accept that.

Nevertheless, now that Book 15's Live, what's gonna be next for the P101 storyline to keep going?
Captain
Jan 17, 2012
672
Okay, now that the actual book is up, still think that the idea of them shortening the story was farfetched?

I'll accept apologies.
Ensign
Aug 24, 2013
13
SpellBinder Darius on May 5, 2016 wrote:
Wow, you see it's very cryptic information, on one hand it could be literal, the end to the arc, on the other hand it could be saying that this arcs end is coming soon after Valencia Pt2

Of course by the first arc ending at Valencia Pt2, we could see the defeat of the Armada but I'm sure we all feel it's too early for that, after all Blind Mew has said that if he had it his way, Kane should be able to beat a lvl 80 player with his hands tied behind his back
actually you end up battling Kane in the update
Lieutenant
Jan 18, 2011
140
New idea of how the Second arc starts (Spoilers for those who didn't beat the game and/or did the prestigo five quest):

After obtaining the journals left behind by our mother, we decided to follow in her footsteps and track down every treasure she left behind until we finally found her final resting place (Or where she hid the map piece). This will lead to our rivalry with the pirate Bob and us being chased by the surviving clockwork Queen who wants to seek revenge on us for destroying most of the members of the court. (It also leads to an excuse of us finally recruiting Phule since he claims that in Kane's ideal world, there's no room for Phule)

If we must theorized about the third arc, it could be that we eventually decided to go for El Dorado ... to destroy it before the Queen can get to it and use its technology to revive Kane better than before.
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