almost forgot.
4.does the dialoge change when you kidnap mabel as a girl?

Row4n412 on Jan 17, 2014 wrote:

They're in there after we secure the area and go back upstairs. I always imagined that they represent all the enemies the PC and his crew defeated and locked up, since we never kill and rarely even destroy clockworks.

I thought of that but they are there even before you talk to Phule and Napoleguin. Heh, I am one of those pirates that loves to look around before triggering battles in an area just to see how it is decorated and to see if there are cool things I can try (well hope) to have in the background of a shot to make it more interesting. It's how I stumbled across them. At first I thought it was an interrogation going on but both seem to be well armed so I wondered if there was some kind of trap set that backfired when the target mistakenly shut the cell door or something interesting like that.

I was looking at earlier story posts on the other two threads and I came up with questions that you haven't answered yet.
1. Where does Kane build the Clockworks? In factories? And why haven't we seen any of these factories? Will we destroy one of these factories?
2. By the time we reach El Dorado, will we destroy every Elite? And is Rooke really defeated? I kinda forgot since Marleybone was a while back. I know Deacon was defeated.
3. We defeat Bishop twice. But he is still up and running. Why didn't he blow up like Deacon and maybe Rooke?
Thanks Blind Mew! You rock!

Chrissy Th'Blesser on Jan 16, 2014 wrote:

Plus, with one exception, there is no Armada presence in Cool Ranch so papers would not be necessary.

Deacon was in Motherload Mine and in Boothill so I would assume that there is an Armada presence in Cool Ranch but not a very powerful commanding one .........................................yet.

Row4n412 on Jan 11, 2014 wrote:

1) Since Cool Ranch has the haunted skyway and Wizard City has Nightside, would you consider adding a "nightside" skyway to the other worlds as well?
Marleybone must have a dayside skyway or two, just to grow crops.
Darkmoor might not have a sunny skyway, but maybe you can allude to how magic or something makes the strange plants there grow anyway? I imagine Darkmoor will have a chemoluminescent underwater adventure area or two there, since the dominant (aristocratic) species there are river monsters like the wizard found as a subjugate species in Crab Alley in Wizard City.
Skull Island would do well to have a nightside. It would be the most dangerous skyway, accessible only to a pirate lord, and full of undead, and stealthy carnivorous plants. Maybe there would even be an Aztecan Death temple, and stormgates to benighted worlds?
Monquista has at least two more skyways to be explored, maybe one is a nightside skyway? Maybe the PC can stall an Armada invasion in another skyway there?
I expect that most of Polaris will be night side, but could you please include a dayside skyway or two there as well?

2) I'm sure the first arc story is all planned out, but would you please address the climate change and possibly recent lack of day and night change in the spiral during the second story arc? I know the PC cannot reverse this, because it would be impossible for the art department, but I would love for the PC to become an EcoWarrior, stopping the loss of rainfall in Monquista and Cool Ranch before it becomes too late for the people there. Surely some sinister intelligence is behind this and other climatic events that the PC is currently unaware of? Maybe Kane will even allude to issues like this when he defends "The Grand Scheme" just before we destroy the Armada at the end of the first story arc?

1) It's always easier (and faster) to make the skies of a world uniform - ensuring that color palettes look good in different lighting can take a little effort. In the cast of Cool Ranch, there are so many Books set there we decided that a variant Skyway would be necessary just to break up the potential monotony of the orange scenery. If the story demanded it and the budget allowed, I'd be happy to have some different Skyways on worlds in the future.
As to crop growing, I'm presuming that every world in the Spiral experiences a night (or in MB's case, a day), but they always do it offscreen, when your character isn't there to see it. Hand wavy? Indeed it is, but this is ultimately a game - we deal with it in the same way we deal with how your character eats, sleeps, and what not.
As for requests for dayside or nightside Skyways, bear in mind that it's extra work - unless it's absolutely necessary from a story standpoint, I'd rather have that artist spend more time on making islands or interiors.
That said, there will be future opportunities to mix things up a bit, but in more indirect ways. As we visit future Wizard101 worlds, there's no reason we couldn't change things up a bit. We had talked about our Marleybone book being in daylight at the concept stage, but ultimately the deep blue of midnight was so gorgeous (especially in contrast to super bright Aquila), that we kept the night. But for future worlds, set in daytime on Wizard101? Flipping to night might be a good change of pace.
As for Darkmoor, it's themes and setting demand a very specific sky. You'll no doubt agree when we get there.

2) As hinted above, I don't think the Spiral lacks a day and night cycle - we just don't show it. While day to night transitions might add to the story, I don't think the lack of a day/night cycle in game subtracts from it. It's not a small thing to implement, from a technical standpoint, especially if we didn't begin with one, and it immediately raises lots of other questions: will NPCs have activity cycles? Are buildings locked at night? Do the spawners change? More technical hurdles, chances for bugs or odd unexpected gameplay problems, and to do it right we have to essentially build every zone twice, which means we'll end up producing half as many zones for each update. I think we're doing just fine without it.
As for climate change, I also have strong feelings about the issue, but so far we haven't had the opportunity to explore something like that in the story - it'd feel a bit shoe horned in. The desertification of Monquista is about as close as we get right now. We will keep it in mind for the future, however.

Duke of Westminste... on Jan 13, 2014 wrote:

Blind mew. Will there ever be a minotaur companion? Those guys were so cool! It seems sad that their only in one dungeon. I understand there is a pet but a companions would be amazing!

Maybe... I kind of wrote myself into a corner with the Minotaurs, making them a few unique individuals instead of a whole species/culture. It'd be a little tricky as things stand now. But who knows what the future might hold? I like them too!

Trimond297 on Jan 14, 2014 wrote:

Blind Mew, I have one plot gap that you may need to hear before this story thread gets to a close someday soon.

During the quest that starts Book 5, "Go West, Young Pirate", I went to talk to Brother Varo in Monquista's St. Bonobo's Abbey, then, after that, the goal was updated to go to Cool Ranch by Skull Island, but something didn't make sense. Once I simply went through that, I realized that there were no travel permit papers to Cool Ranch required as of the moment being. Isn't it odd that there's no errand or task needed to get these papers? And on top of all that, no one even mentioned in the story that the Blue Windstone was the key to entering Cool Ranch by going via the Stormgate in Flotsam Skyway, not even our Companions in the storyline! Acquired Blue Windstone, plus no travel permits, plus no return trip to Captain Avery, plus simple travel to Cool Ranch with no directions to there, equals no sense! What's up with that? Sorry, but I just had a realization when I remembered going through that. When travel to another world is required, we'd regularly need a Windstone and Stormgate blockade travel permits to that world in order to go there. I say this plot gap needs to be filled in by extending that main story quest to accompany these changes as new quest goals. Can this gap be filled in soon, Blind Mew? I wish to see that story gap bridged.

Also, if you're planning on making Catbeard's Trial a non-fight sigil, can the "Resumed Docket 2-4-6-0-1" scene be turned into a non-player controlled event?

Thanks once again for answering!

Oh yeah - making Catbeard's trial into a repeatable sigil is definitely on our radar. Stay tuned.

Duke of Westminste... on Jan 17, 2014 wrote:

Mr. Mew I have a important question that MUST be answered. It's about wind stones. In the game the windstones seem so rare. Yet it seems that everyone else has one. I mean the clockworks had to have a bunch of windstones to get there army to Marleybone. So how come whenever our pirate goes to a new world there is only one specific wind stone to get? That windstone is usually in a dungeon. Shouldn't Avery have a ton? I feel weird when I have to go through a lot of trouble to get one windstone. When there should be so many. These aren't spiral keys in Wizard101 these should be pretty common items. Also why does our pirate always need travel papers? Since when do pirates obey the law?

As for travel papers, we handwave here - ultimately, I need a way to stop you from traveling between worlds willy nilly, to keep you from going places your character can't handle yet, or that we haven't finished yet. Travel papers are a convenient fiction that lets us maintain that barrier for gates where you have the appropriate Windstone. Besides, getting those papers is a nice barrier I can hang a quest on - so that's ideal for me!

Chrissy Th'Blesser on Jan 17, 2014 wrote:

Greetings Sir Mew. I have always wondered this and I kept forgetting to ask you; When doing the Fort Elana quest, in the lower level I come across this strange pair inside a jail cell and wondered if they have a story that just didn't make it to the plot line. Please see linked Screenshot of this Odd Couple Jailbirds.
Thank you muchly for your time and hopefully a tidbit of your fascinating imagination.

I fear, like that Old Scratch running around in Miranda, that they're just set dressing. Sorry, I'll try to make the next tidbits more fascinating.

thatonevalenciansw... on Jan 18, 2014 wrote:

almost forgot.
4.does the dialoge change when you kidnap mabel as a girl?

Nope.

Grizzley117 on Jan 19, 2014 wrote:

I was looking at earlier story posts on the other two threads and I came up with questions that you haven't answered yet.
1. Where does Kane build the Clockworks? In factories? And why haven't we seen any of these factories? Will we destroy one of these factories?
2. By the time we reach El Dorado, will we destroy every Elite? And is Rooke really defeated? I kinda forgot since Marleybone was a while back. I know Deacon was defeated.
3. We defeat Bishop twice. But he is still up and running. Why didn't he blow up like Deacon and maybe Rooke?
Thanks Blind Mew! You rock!

1. You'll find out. And you haven't seen any because you haven't come anywhere near the heart of Kane's influence. Why on earth (or whatever) would he build his Clockworks off int he middle of nowhere?

2. Unsure, but I think it's safe to say no. I'm presuming Rooke is truly beaten, like Deacon.

3. Bishop is slippery - he always has contingency plans, and is definitely a coward. Rooke never really considered escape plans: why would he? Alas, that arrogance was his undoing.

CanaanBC on Jan 20, 2014 wrote:

Deacon was in Motherload Mine and in Boothill so I would assume that there is an Armada presence in Cool Ranch but not a very powerful commanding one .........................................yet.

See above. Deacon was there to track down the Map Piece, and trended to work through intermediaries. The attempt to arm Santa Rana represents the first serious attempt by the Armada to build any influence in Cool Ranch. That didn't end very well, thanks to you!