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Story Thread 3: The Search for Plot

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AuthorMessage
Captain
Oct 26, 2012
524
Blind Mew forgot to answer my question (either that or i did not see it). Here is my question again. In miranda, a blue undead hougan roams somewhere on the top of an inaccesible ridge. Who is he? Is he plain decor or will we dwelve deeper into the darkness of this deathly figure.
Ensign
Oct 11, 2009
23
Blind Mew, can you AT LEAST confirm that the next big update will be on the Test Realm between now and the end of January? Pretty please?
Pirate Overlord
Mar 10, 2009
6204
William DarkFlame on Dec 6, 2013 wrote:
Blind Mew, can you AT LEAST confirm that the next big update will be on the Test Realm between now and the end of January? Pretty please?
Every time he is asked he always answers "I do not talk schedules". Plead all you want, but I suspect you will hit the same wall.
Ensign
Oct 11, 2009
23
Chrissy Th'Blesser on Dec 6, 2013 wrote:
Every time he is asked he always answers "I do not talk schedules". Plead all you want, but I suspect you will hit the same wall.
I'm expecting him to tell me that he doesn't talk schedule. But it's been what? 6 months since the update was released. We should be seeing it real soon. But it kind of irritates me that they released 3 screenshots over a month ago, and haven't said anything about them since.
Ensign
Nov 15, 2010
36
Elemutation on Nov 25, 2013 wrote:
Kane doesn't sound like the guy to go, this is too hard, time for plan B! He seems like he would buckle down, get the map pieces, and get revenge for what the PC has done. I believe the reading of polo's books is to find hints for the other piece locations. Plus, the celestial computations sounds like they are more related to the mechanical birds.

Now my questions:
1.How old is catbeard? He worked wit Pollo who worked with the chicken cartographer who went to CR (forgot his name) and he already has a son (or was it his grandson?) who is already full grown. He must be pretty old, and that fur does wonders for his skin, or the 9 lives thing count for natural deaths?

2.How do sparkshooters work? are they pellets charged with electricity?

3.how does Monquista remain a spiral power? They don't have sparkshooters, just little crossbows that have miniscule arrows, their army doesn't seem nearly as big as MB or the armada, and physically, it's like a 2 year old fist-fighting a grown man. And it doesn't seem like they keep diplomatic relations, for they think: Friend of the crown? no? have fun dying! oh, wait you are a friend? meh, we're bored and are short executions on the schedule. Seriously, how are these guys still around?

4. How are the armada Programed? they look like they are just gears, piano wire, and metal plates. How are they able to think or even speak? It seems almost like Pinocchio magic that the elites are able to do what they can.
Kane does not seem like the type to give up, but he does seem to be the type that can recognize a threat and prepare a contingency plan. Fortune favors the prepared.

The PC has shown a remarkable ability to show up in the least likely places at the least opportune times and then wriggle away scot-free. Even if Kane were to capture the PC and their map pieces, whose to say that the other pieces still exist. As genre savvy video game player's we know they still exist, but remember that the one that was in Gunn's treasure nearly got thrown in a volcano. The map was only made of canvas, not whatever they use to make keys for a great and ancient evils' prisons. (ADD moment: Why do the ancient civilizations that imprisoned those creatures never destroy the key to prevent some nutjob from releasing it later?) Had that piece been destroyed, Kane would just waste all that time and resources collecting the other six unless he came up with another method of finding El Dorado.

As for the Celestian computations, it's very obvious the clockwork birds' creator is not a Celestian and the decoding of the birds required nothing related to the Celestians. Those calculations were clearly meant to be part of Kane's grand design. They may not be for recreating the map, but they must be of great importance to it for Kane to make such an investment in them.
Community Leader
Hey, Blind Mew, thanks so much for taking the time to answer all of these questions. I've just got one quick one for you. Be as vague as need be. ;)

You stated that Kane answered to the Valencian monarch and that he's a Unicorn - one of Valencia's own. This seems contradictory to me. Kane is destroying Valencia and the people there seem to recognize the fact that the clockworks are out of control. Is there a social class within Valencia that is so naive that they're missing the destruction in the background and siding with the clockworks? Or is the Valencian monarch actually in control at all? In terms of King Casimir, the female elite clockwork, and Kane, who's calling the shots? Or can you confirm which of them ISN'T in control?

Thanks!
Swordroll's Blog
https://www.swordroll.com/
Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
Hi, Blind Mew! Since this recent story thread is named "The Search for Plot", a clever name of that thread, by the way, I have something to say about the story plot centered around the paranormal hauntings in Port Regal's St. Fido's Church in Book 13's intro.

I had been through the hauntings in there, drove the Bloodbats away, and beaten the spirits that are causing trouble, but there's just something about that plot felt... missing at that story bit's end. Questions were flooding in my head about that. Who would unleash such evil spirits onto the Marleybonean church without reason, or why was there a Bloodbat infestation in it? Who woke up restless spirits such as Captain Kid and Governor Shrewsbury? Who was behind all this? That's what got me thinking after beating the last dungeon, St. Fido's Crypt, in there. I've been through all that, but, there was no mastermind behind all this. It lacked a living villain in this story bit. One who had enough knowledge to bring up restless spirits for one valuable treasure, the Heart of the Incal. The storyline in the Marleybonean Church's last instance was too short, and it had no evil mastermind in it, so I had sent my thoughts about expanding that said place's story not long ago. I was, and still am, hoping that the quest's story in that dungeon would be extended to include the mastermind behind these happenings in a later game update. It's the one thing that left me baffled without explanation. Blind Mew, I hope I get to see the story quest in St. Fido's Crypt extended really soon so I could finally get to see and defeat the real mastermind behind the hauntings and the real reason why for all that and the treasure.

Sorry if I was quite lengthy on this, but I was completely baffled about that after going through that adventure.

Thanks for answering my questions, Blind Mew! Also, looking forward to Book 15! Can't wait to see what it is!
Ensign
Sep 13, 2009
34
You'll never get them to say anything about schedule except for soon and in a while. So here's your answer. Soon. Be patient my guess is a little after the new year.
Ensign
Sep 28, 2013
14
I am back with more

1.what level will kane be when we fight him

2.when will the next update be at least a hint

3.will we ever go to polaras

4.what will the second storyline be about

5.will we ever meet the gods of Aquila

6.will we ever go the cestial the underwater world
Pirate Overlord
Mar 10, 2009
6204
William DarkFlame on Dec 7, 2013 wrote:
I'm expecting him to tell me that he doesn't talk schedule. But it's been what? 6 months since the update was released. We should be seeing it real soon. But it kind of irritates me that they released 3 screenshots over a month ago, and haven't said anything about them since.
I trust them and know that the time they are taking is for the good of the game. Plus I am a glass half full kind of person (well I try to be) and I think the teaser photos are a fun reminder that good stuff is coming. To me, they are better than if they had not released them. Now I have a few tidbits to trigger my imagination. I know that waiting is hard, but with KingsIsle's history I know that they are only taking their time to make sure that this is gonna be as wonderful as the last update. Waiting is never fun, but the payoff is worth it.
Captain
Jan 26, 2012
646
victor ice on Nov 16, 2013 wrote:
Hello blind mew I have a question if you dont mind

I've been wounding, what is that lighthouse world bubble when you go through the cool ranch stormgate. ( I think ) So far I've been stump I have no idea what it is and its purpose so I have one question dos it have anything to the current story or have you guy only put it there to baffle us?
You're right in identifying it as an unidentified world. What it is, and which game it might appear in, or when, I'm not at liberty to comment upon at this time.
Captain
Jan 26, 2012
646
john jackson on Nov 17, 2013 wrote:
yes i'm back and with a lot more questions

1.who is the dog in marco polo's letter and will we be going after her next
2.what is your pirate's age
3.what is the grand design
4.does kane have a master
5.what the main story after el dorado [are would that be telling]
6.i think we should go to krotopia
7.what year will el dorado be resealed 2015,16or17
8.can you give a small hint on book 15
9.is el dorado's book going down from twenty or up from twenty
10.will we ever go to marleybone city
11.what about a new game like demigod101
  1. Dog? In Pollo's letter to Ambrose? I don't know who you mean. Can you give me a direct reference?
  2. Older than 10, and younger than 16. I don't feel a strong need to get any finer than that.
  3. You'll find out.
  4. Maybe.
  5. That would seriously be telling. We may not have even firmly decided yet - we've a ways to go before we need to know.
  6. Krok would definitely be cool to visit - I think we could have lots of fun with Manders.
  7. I don't talk schedule.
  8. It's about intrigue. It will have lots of elite clockworks in it.
  9. It is currently unchanged.
  10. Perhaps, though it'd take some doing.
  11. I cannot comment on other KI projects other than to say that as a company we're very busy.
Captain
Jan 26, 2012
646
OUducks31 on Nov 18, 2013 wrote:
Blind Mew, I have a few questions for you

1-Since Gracie is an engineer will she be taking apart a clockwork to see how it is made?

2-If the armada has pieces of the map will we eventually have to steal their pieces soon?

3-Mr. Evans in Junction gives you the Zephyr train quest I thought it might play a role in Marleybone and he would show up in two places like you or First Mate Roll but he wasn't there will this play a role later on?

Thanks,
Strong Luke Abbott lvl 59 Swashbuckler

P.S
I know the first two will probably be "that would be telling" but I'm very curious on the 3rd
  1. I expect she's already done that a few times. Why do you ask?
  2. Well, if you intent to use the map, that is a logical conclusion. I don't envy you the task...
  3. We followed up on the Zephyr threat pretty extensively in Marleybone, in the side quests. Check with M and Smiley.

PS - The 3rd what?
Captain
Jan 26, 2012
646
The Fire Buccaneer on Nov 19, 2013 wrote:
Going waaaay back to the beginning of the game, how in the world did that death trap I mean raft stay together?

-Brave Samantha Nightingale lvl 64
-Sneaky Sarai Nightingale lvl 10
-Stormy Nikita Nightingale lvl 10
As a certain free trader/vagabond once explained to me in Cool Ranch:

"You know what the first rule of sailing is? Love. You can learn all the math in the Spiral, but you take a boat in the sky that you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of the worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down, tells you she's hurtin' 'fore she keels. Makes her a home."

That raft may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts.
Captain
Jan 26, 2012
646
john jackson on Nov 22, 2013 wrote:
blind mew I have another question

will we be expecting a update soon like book 15
I don't talk schedule.

(it's the new "That would be telling!")
Captain
Jan 26, 2012
646
Talon Trice on Nov 23, 2013 wrote:
I have a few questions:

1: Phule seems to be a bit... ah, what's the word? Two-faced? Might we find him questioning his loyalties to the armada at some point?

2:Is Morgan Lafitte related in any way to the Lafitte gang in marleybone?

3:Are windstones related to spiral keys? I thought that maybe spiral keys contain or are carved out of windstones.

4:Stormgates are the main way to get between worlds, but Is there another way? Would it be possible to traverse through the void between worlds instead of taking a stormgate?
  1. He's an odd one. Pretty soon we'll hopefully shed a little light on why he is the way he is, and I look forward to getting the chance to show just what he's capable of.
  2. Distant cousins.
  3. Neat idea! But no, I'm not aware of any direct connection.
  4. Wizard teaches us that there are - Spiral Doors, after all. Might there be other ways beyond those two? Probably...
Captain
Jan 26, 2012
646
Armorclad Coyote on Nov 25, 2013 wrote:
I know that you can't confirm my WMGs here because spoilers, but here's my theory.

I'm starting to think Kane is becoming less interested in the map. Especially now that it has costed him two of his court. While plan A was to use Pollo's map, plan B is to create one of his own.

Most of this comes from when Bishop mentions the "celestial computations" while the golden wheel from the ancient ones' temple is in the background. It's pretty clear that the ancient ones are either Aztecasaurs or a close branch. Azteca had very good knowledge of the celestial working of the spiral and the golden wheel looks a lot like a calender which would have a very close record of past and future celestial movements. This could be useful for something trying to solve a riddle created by a culture that used a magic system based on the celestial.

This leads me to suspect that Kane is using the information he and Bishop have collected to solve the stormgate's movements and make their own map. After all, Marco Pollo managed to solve the riddle of the El Dorado stormgate. Why can't Kane if he's supposedly smarter than any living being? Also it would explain why Kane stole Polo's books. Map pieces a helpful but not essential.

You've hidden what Kane want's that's in El Dorado enough that I cannot even make an educated guess beyond some kind of power. I don't think it's an artifact of doom (ex. ark of the covenant), but I'm a clue or two short of being able to make a guess.

Now on to a unrelated question: What made you choose the personalities for the elites? Phule and Bishop are my favorites. Somehow Bishop manages to be that perfect creepy feeling that he's been literally wound too tight for too long. Phule has had some moments that remind me of Starscream. He seems delighted to see how much trouble the PC has become for Deacon and likes the idea of the PC causing Kane difficulties. While the fool's purpose in the court is to remind the king he has flaws, but does this one seeks the crown?
Wow! Those are some very interesting theories. As to Kane duplicating Pollo's work, I would have expected a much bigger Armada push into MooShu to look at Cao Tsu's scrolls. But regardless of how on or off the mark your idea is, you're on to something: lots have asked "If Kane is so tough, why doesn't he just wipe us out?" The real question is what he's doing instead of wiping you out. Asking why Kane wants to get to El Dorado is a very important question. We haven't really given you anything to chew on there, but the picture will become clear in time.

As to the elites, Phule was one of the first to emerge in brainstorming. Our goal was to make him as unnerving as possible on that first meeting, knowing so much more about you than you do about the Armada, as well as his split personality being very creepy. Deacon and Bishop were pretty straightforward, and I'd say the mask ended up driving Bishop's characterization, once we'd decided who got which mask. Phule's the tricksy one, thought the female clockwork has some interesting aspects as well. Can't wait for her roll out.

As to Phule's role, the court jester is right on the money. He gets away with saying a lot. I don't know if he'd know what to do with the throne if he were to take it - I expect he just really enjoys seeing everybody else's lives get complicated.
Captain
Jan 26, 2012
646
Elemutation on Nov 25, 2013 wrote:
Kane doesn't sound like the guy to go, this is too hard, time for plan B! He seems like he would buckle down, get the map pieces, and get revenge for what the PC has done. I believe the reading of polo's books is to find hints for the other piece locations. Plus, the celestial computations sounds like they are more related to the mechanical birds.

Now my questions:
1.How old is catbeard? He worked wit Pollo who worked with the chicken cartographer who went to CR (forgot his name) and he already has a son (or was it his grandson?) who is already full grown. He must be pretty old, and that fur does wonders for his skin, or the 9 lives thing count for natural deaths?

2.How do sparkshooters work? are they pellets charged with electricity?

3.how does Monquista remain a spiral power? They don't have sparkshooters, just little crossbows that have miniscule arrows, their army doesn't seem nearly as big as MB or the armada, and physically, it's like a 2 year old fist-fighting a grown man. And it doesn't seem like they keep diplomatic relations, for they think: Friend of the crown? no? have fun dying! oh, wait you are a friend? meh, we're bored and are short executions on the schedule. Seriously, how are these guys still around?

4. How are the armada Programed? they look like they are just gears, piano wire, and metal plates. How are they able to think or even speak? It seems almost like Pinocchio magic that the elites are able to do what they can.
  1. Catbeard is indeed pretty old. He just wears it well (despite what he might think about the fi of his pants).
  2. There's no "shot' or ammo in sparkshooters - the powder undergoes an explosive reaction that releases the lighting charge - the barrel of the weapon focuses the spark and gets it pointed in a definite direction. Our cannons, it should be noted, do use cannon balls - I expect there's something about the size of the reaction chamber that makes cannons too big for conventional sparking to work.
  3. Money. They have a lot of gold, and a hefty appetite for luxury goods from other realms. They're a bit nuveau riche - a little power who gets to act big because of their lucky strike in Skull Island. As for their diplomacy, i hope we can shed more light on it soon - I expect they would never treat important outlanders the way they do tourists (or each other, for that matter). As to why they're still around, remember that it's almost never profitable to completely eradicate an enemy in war - the Valencia-Marleybone conflict may be the first example of something like "modern war" that's ever happened in the Spiral. The Monquistans love to posture and irritate Marleybone, but they always seem to stop short of a real shooting war.
  4. It's not magic, at least not wizard or witchdoctor style magic. It's very complicated.
Captain
Jan 26, 2012
646
iceblade1233 on Nov 22, 2013 wrote:
Blind Mew you might want to see this idea i came up with for our Final Battle with Kane

http://pirate101.centralforums.com/forums/showthread.php?32529-kane-battle-idea
Wow! Epic stuff indeed. Some of your ideas might be impossible for us to pull off (an invasion of Skull island? yikes!) but they'd be truly epic.

Keep making up stories - you're good at it!
Captain
Jan 26, 2012
646
Quick Pearl on Nov 28, 2013 wrote:
A belated thanks for answering my question, and many others. ^^

Now, if you don't mind, I have another question...

In Mooshu, there are some names in Chinese, but I'm wondering, why do most of the Chinese names have to deal with food????? (Examples would include Zhu Ro and Kung Pao...) Was it you that came up with them or was it someone else? O_o Thank you beforehand. ^^

~Quick Pearl
The food references were simply there for comedy - there are a lot of food bits built into the Banditoad ship names as well.

A lot of the names get thought up collectively, or the writer of a given quest will fill in names as needed and then submit them up to me for approval.
Captain
Jan 26, 2012
646
CaptainFlint193 on Nov 28, 2013 wrote:
Delicious answers, thank you very much. But the questions, they beg answering...

1. Will we ever meet King Casimir of Valencia?
2. Are the books going to get progressively longer (or roughly remain the size of Book XIV)?
3. What determines how long a book is?
4. Care to talk to us about some of the challenges of writing a video game?
5. Ummm...was Old Scratch human when he was alive? All the skeletons look the same...

That's all I've got for now, but more to come!
  1. Maybe...
  2. I don't think we'll ever do one quite as big as Book 14 again. That one almost broke the bank.
  3. Well, first we outline the story and find what "feels right," then we look at how much art and development it's going to take to build that and reconcile it with how much time we have before the next scheduled release.
  4. I'd say the biggest challenge is keeping everything fresh: ultimately, in any given quest you're only talking to somebody, using an object, or fighting. With such a limited roster of goals, how can you make hundreds of hours of story? The answer; very carefully. I'm always on the lookout for crazy bits that really shake stuff up - the Stormzilla fight and Scylla are both just fights, but man they feel different! We have another odd gag scheduled for Book 15 - I'm curious to see how it will be received. The other challenge we constantly deal with is making sure the stories we want to tell fit within our tech: what do we have to put inside instances, when does a sequence need to be made into a separate encounter, that kind of thing. Some sequences have gone through quite a few gyrations between outline and playable quest. We've learned a lot, but we still bump into that all the time.
  5. Yeah, I'd say he was human.
Captain
Jan 26, 2012
646
coolster50 on Nov 29, 2013 wrote:
I looked up Old Scratch and it turned out it was a nickname for the devil. Does this mean in the future promotions for Old Scratch we'll see more of his devilish side? Or will he become like a mini devil? Or was it just a coincidence and Old Scratch has another meaning to it. Also, I like that Scratch is something of a man of few words, but more dialogue for him won't hurt.

Oh, and about the epic battle with Kane, I think an Epic boss battle with all (except benched and defeated) companions against Kane and his deadliest and most powerful clockwork loonies would make for an awesome (and long) battle! Or maybe a 1v1 with Kane, that's awesome too. But a double fight with Kane like someone else is awesome. I hope you consider my ideas

Bloody Felix Lawson
Aquila Legend
Old Scratch seemed like a great name, primarily because I associate it with voodoo and such - the devilish overtone emphasizes how sinister he is at the beginning. As to his devilish side, he's walking a different path now - it'd take something really bad to change that, I think.

We have some time to chew on what we want to do in the fight (or fights!) with Kane. They'll arguably be the most important fights inthe entire game - we're going to pull out all the stops.
Captain
Jan 26, 2012
646
Cunning Finnigan S... on Nov 29, 2013 wrote:
In regards to Gracie Conrad and Grace Conrad, I'll just go by your words to make it easy on myself (lol). I'll assume she dyed her fur to cover from some mishap and bought a white shirt to replace the pink one. But, I do have a question to ask, primarily about Old Scratch:

1. My American Literature class just finished reading the book "The Devil and Tom Walker." Within the book, I learned that "Old Scratch" is a nickname for the Devil. This kinda took me by surprise as I always wondered how Old Scratch got his name, but I didn't expect that. Is this possibly how Old Scratch got his name? Also does he have or will he have any allusion/affiliation with the Devil going forward? I'm sort of mixed on that.

2. Also, on a side note, where did Old Scratch kinda start out from or step from? Compared to Bonnie Anne and Ratbeard and the rest, you haven't given a whole lot of insight on him. How did he develop into what he is from his design to his unique accent (which I forget what you called it. It started with an "R" I think)? Why a skeleton witchdoctor? I know his powers definitely come in handy, but will he play a more central role as the story moves on? As of now, he only pops up during supernatural occurances and the occasional joke. Also does his final promotion, for now, have any influence from the spanish Calaca? It kinda looks like it, but I could be wrong.

3. By the way, Marleybone holds full colonial rule over Rajah, right? Has this disrubted Rajah's own indepenent power? Could an uprising possibly happen in the future beyond the El Dorado story? And since the war with Valencia, and recruiting the Kurghas, has this majorly effected Rajah at all? Or have they instead benefitted from this, such as political and military protection?

4. Lastly, were their no Female Kurghas?

Thank you! It's always a pleasure to see your responses!
  1. As mentioned above, the choice of Old Scratch's name was meant to be ominous to those who get the reference, and to make him sinister. It resonates well with black magic and the villain that he is when you first meet him. As to how he got it, I'm not really sure - we may need to shine a light on that at some point.
  2. Well, here we run into a spot of difficulty - Old Scratch's death and his journey through whatever passed for his afterlife throws a pretty thick fog over any memories of his living days - I doubt Scratch could tell you much about his former life himself. He made a pact with the Dark Crawler, and returned to the mortal world to spread evil and terror. Then you set him right. Don't know that we need much more than that for now. We have a LOT of companions who talk, and they each can't have a central role - as it is, they have a typical thing they talk about: Bonnie Anne spots things, Ratbeard deals with blowing things up or underhanded things, and Old Scratch is your supernatural authority and mojo detector. When appropriate to the story, a companion may take a bigger role in events, like Gracie in Marleybone or the MooShu 5 in MooShu. The promotion quests are probably the biggest expressions of this. So, even if Old Scratch doesn't take a central role, there may be places where his skill set and background turn him into a key player, at least for the scope of a Book.
  3. Rajah isn't fully fleshed out yet, primarily because I haven't needed it to be. Colonial rule is pretty dominant, but should we ever need to build the world I expect having a skyway or region that's still independent would be great for flavor. Colonial uprisings make good conflicts, which are essential to stories - so that might be a nice set of hooks to hang a story on. As for the war, I expect it's a mixed bag. though the prowess of the Kurghas has probably kept the Armada from invading the place.
  4. There are - I look very forward to introducing them!
Captain
Jan 26, 2012
646
Swashbuckling Jay on Nov 29, 2013 wrote:
Hey Blind mew, I am curios it has been a while since a new update, does that mean you are releasing 3 chapters at once? Also when will the next big update come out around. I can't help but asking.
The Aquila/Marleybone update was the largest ever released in the history of Kingsisle. I doubt we'll ever do one that big again.

Three chapters is easy - Marleybone has that many! I think you mean three Books. I can't imagine doing that - I'd rather release one book at a time and get them out more frequently.

When will the next story update happen? i don't talk schedule.
Captain
Jan 26, 2012
646
john jackson on Nov 30, 2013 wrote:
I have more questions in need of answers

1.what level will we be when we fight kane I think it will be like level 100 or over

2. who is the pirate king I think it's captain avery

3.what do you think about another game like demigod 101
  1. Don't know yet. I have a hard time imagining it being higher than 100, but you never know...
  2. Pirate King? I don't think there is one. At least, not now. Somebody taking and holding the title, now that'd make a heck of a story! Avery's statesman ambitions would be a good start, but I expect there are some who'd object if he suddenly grew a crown.
  3. As stated above, I'm all for more games. And we are a very busy company.
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