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So, about Book 15... (SPOILERS)

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AuthorMessage
Captain
Jan 26, 2012
646
"As your Holiness undoubtedly knows, little in this world unfolds as we predict."
- Cardinal Altamirano, The Mission

"Skip to the END..."
- Prince Humperdink, The Princess Bride

Sorry for the minor delay in getting this to the forums. I wanted to have Book 15 out there a while, to let people play it through.

It's been entirely too long. I cannot put into words how happy I am to be celebrating the launch of a new story update for Pirate. As rewarding as it is to have new a Book live in the Spiral, I'm also very glad to engage you guys in direct conversation again - talking to you on the forums is one of the best parts of my job.

Reading the forums, I see y'all noticed Book 15 is shorter than previous installments, and that the ending veered significantly from the original plan. You are correct.

So what happened? Well, after a hiatus that ended up being way too long, we got the ball rolling again on Book 15, but it took some changes to do it. Long story short, I had to make a long story short(er).

And then there was the ending. I made the decision early in the revision process to bring arc 1 to a close in Book 15 instead of Book 20. I want to be able to move on from here with a cleaner slate, without the momentum of those huge previous books pushing on the story. After such a long wait, I wanted to answer some of the questions I've been bedeviling y'all with for quite some time. Of course, I couldn't help raising some new ones.

It was tricky compressing the end of the arc, but I'm happy with how it turned out. It's a bit hasty and there's a ton of exposition (even by my verbose standards), but it achieves the goal I had for it: to get us to a place where we can go forward again.

So where do we go from here? There's a lot of things I'd love the opportunity to explore: Kane (or at least his body) may be dead, but El Dorado is still out there. There are lots of old questions that have nothing to do with Kane: where's Pirate Jenny's piece of the map? What's Napoleguin up to lately? Which did come first, the Banana or the Tree? Bits of Book 15 that were cut could revive as gauntlets - gee, I wonder who they might feature? And there are the lingering questions of Kane's final fate. There are other stories to tell, featuring new villains and new worlds. But I can't do it without your help.

To be continued...
Captain
Jan 26, 2012
646
(continued)

As I was saying, I need your help.

This game has an amazing community of players - I will forever be humbled by your support, your loyalty and your patience. And the truth is: the more of you we have, the more content we can create. We're probably going to be painting on a smaller canvas in any potential future updates, but I want that canvas to be as big as possible. That's where you come in.

Go out and recruit new players. We'll keep reaching out as well, but we need your help. Tell your friends how much you like this game. Grassroots evangelizing was a big part of Wizard's success, and it can work for Pirate too. If even half the people reading these words bring in just one player and help them get through the first chapters, so much becomes possible. You want more content, and we want to produce it. The best way to get that content made, and made quickly, is to fill the skies with new ships.

Okay, so maybe this post isn't as long as I originally thought it would be. There's a lot more to say, but I figure this is a good point to open it up for conversation. Any questions?
Ensign
Feb 17, 2009
1
I'm so glad you're back to the message boards!

1 suggestion: IF you want to make some revenue for pirate so you guys can create content then release a new pack! Players love packs (even if the companions are stingy (rip 100k crowns :( ) I do have a question though, what has been happening in Marleybone lately? Last we left off, Mycroft sent us after Calisatro. What are the ramifications of us as pirates being employed in Marleybone's special service? I look forward to the next book!

-Elijah
Ensign
Dec 22, 2012
2
I hope this post gets through, but when you ask us to recruit new players and that you need out help, doesn't that show that there some... funding problems that were caused from you hiatus on Book 15?
Ensign
Dec 22, 2012
2
Also, what was specifically cut or is there anything that was cut that we can know about?
Ensign
Dec 21, 2015
1
First off, thank you for all the work you've put in, I truly believe that the community wouldn't be as great if not for how great you made the story.

My question is if have already started to brainstorm for the second arc (if there is one)? And is okay if I ask questions that relate to spoilers or is that insensitive? (i.e. hint for next world, that kind of stuff)
Lieutenant
Nov 26, 2010
163
Can't wait to see what is to come. I really do hope you revive or use Valencia City at some point regardless of what it's for I just love the design and hope to explore it. Even recycling the Malistair style of bringing Kane back for later minor updates or story twists I would love completely.

Player wise... I already corrupted some of the Wiz players who were "I don't like Pirates" now they're grinding the Tower and Kane as we speak harder then anyone MUAHAHAHA! Anyway, I'm glad not just you, but the game as a whole can start off with a clean slate again.

This game has a bright future and the team clearly has grown and learnt how to create a great update. IMO This update was the best I've seen from KI in a long time. It's short but enjoyable so new players won't hate the world *Cough* Azteca *Cough* and you didn't go overboard to any specific class, you actually had some balance which surprised me and for some people they just weren't use to that so they thought everything was under powered most of the time. If the updates stay like this (but hopefully maybe 10 levels next time for giggles? :D ) personally I would enjoy it and it would definitely solve any future issues of new players struggling with collecting everything/questing so 9/10 IMO on the update overall and hope to see more of the story come to light in a test realm, maybe next summer! :)
Ensign
Jun 14, 2009
1
I have a couple of questions on the topic of Book 15 and the future.

I was looking forward to see more of how she would interact with the Valencian people. In a previous Blind Mew Musing post, you had said that we would be sick of her by the time our visit was over. But we only ended up seeing her once, and then again for the final battle. Any plans to learn more about her in the future, or were the scrapped altogether with some other parts of Book 15?

Also, I was really excited to see more of Bishop - my favorite Elite - but I assume that he suffered the same fate as Queen's backstory and exposition.

However, I am verg hopeful for the future! I was trying to piece together what the plan may be, and I was wondering if you could confirm or deny any of them?

I believe that Arc 2 will be about Queen trying to restore Kane, get our map pieces (because only Kane memorized it, or so we know) and then keep control of the Armada. It opens the door to many amazing stories ahead, and I am so thankful we finally got the main content update! Keep up the good work, I know the story will only go up!
Ensign
Jul 25, 2010
27
You probably won't answer this due to possible spoilers, but you said "Kane (at least his body) is gone" so will Kane come back, but in a different body? Maybe Phule?
Lieutenant
Apr 06, 2016
154
I have a few questions. Since kane dies in book 15,will we ever go back to valencia again?
Are we gonna get new worlds? As in worlds that are Pirate101 only such as monquista and cool ranch.
Lastly,will pirate101 get updates like Tournaments,Gardening,fishing and such?
Bosun
Dec 28, 2012
361
I completely understand having to wrap up the story arc, and am glad so many questions have been answered. I'm also excited to know where the story goes based on the final final cutscene. But on the topic of Napoleguin. Way back in 2014, someone asked you the question "What are the odds that Napoleguin draws us into a war getting us into Polaris?" You responded with "That'd be a nice reversal, wouldn't it. It wouldn't surprise me- like his historical inspiration, war is never far from Napoleguin." With the stormgate to Polaris in Calabria Skyway, and you making a comment questioning what Napoleguin has been up to, I can't help but wonder (although, this might be a "well that would be telling" question) is this true.
Community Leader
Here goes:

1. With constant talks of avoiding undoing past achievements, why bring all the clockworks back? Why have multiple copies? Is having the full chess board worth undoing all of those defeats in your opinion?

2. Do you feel Phule's role is spent, or are you hoping for more in the future?

3. Is the Grand Design now still in the works? We learned about this before the final dungeon of Book 15 of 15... hardly a build-up.

4. For the most part, I dismiss all other story elements as simply having compressed the story, but the one thing I can't rectify is this: Why would Kane ignore the map pieces and work on his own? I mean, of course it makes sense because he's so intelligent. But to say "major things you've done so far in this game are worthless - clockworks are back, map pieces didn't matter," seems awfully cheap. Why not simply have Kane say that he wasn't out searching for pieces because he was expecting us to deliver the rest, rather than tell us every book so far searching was worthless in two or three lines of dialogue? It's hugely disappointing and disheartening.

5. I love the final battle structure - probably the best in the game. The two cutscenes are also great. Is Kane's mind transported away or stolen by the machine, or that all still up in the air?

6. Why did our parents contradict themselves on their only two visits and furthermore create the issue of when we inevitably go to El Dorado, we'll be going against their wishes unless they contradict themselves a third time?

7. Do we have any idea where Kane's pieces are, or is that still in question?

8. So, Polaris... ;)

Thanks, Blind Mew. Appreciate your hard work!
Swordroll's Blog
https://www.swordroll.com/
Admiral
Jul 27, 2012
1196
I am so glad you are posting on the boards again, Blind Mew. It was always a delight to hungrily read any snippets you had to offer, speculate thoughtfully (or wildly) on your words, and plenty of opportunities to laugh as well. (I dearly love to laugh, rather like Elizabeth Bennet)

I am very pleased at the thought that some of those pieces of Book 15 that could not be used could end up as gauntlets. There was so much more I wanted to do in Valencia!

As far as questions... oh, yes, I have them. Which questions could be asked without you giving anything important away is another matter. So I will try not to ask those.

Well, then, might you tell us something about Trianon Palace in the Calabrian Skyway?
Ensign
Aug 04, 2012
43
Thank you for this post! This was a good reminder that the more players we have, the more content can be made. Thank you Blind mew! I'll try to do my part to spread the word about this great game! And be sure to tell all the workers at KI thanks for the update! I love the new content! Thanks again

Brass Wolf Capstain
Level 70 Swashbuckler
Petty Officer
Dec 31, 2009
61
Yes, where in the world is the KI marketing teams, both pirates and wizard are still great games, they just need a influx of new young blood to get hooked :)
Pirate Overlord
Mar 16, 2012
10631
( crying tears of joy to have you back )
I thoroughly enjoyed the writing in Book 15, fast paced, as befitted a smaller world and action packed, yet the writing was still top notch! If this is what you can do under a hectic schedule, I'm looking forward to more gems in later worlds.
Let me say the best part of Book 15, for me, was our Presidio Companion's story. The introduction of Captain Hande and his crew added much flavor to this story. But my favoritest ( I know that's not a word, its just how I feel ) villain is Bob Carrington ( if he was your creation, bravo! )
Will we see more of Bob Carrington? He seemed very familiar to me; his physical appearance, the way he spoke, and his scheming reminded me of Captain Avery - is there a link between the two ( Are they related, perhaps father & son? )
Now for a Phulish question: What is going to happen in regards to Phule?
Ensign
Sep 27, 2009
1
1. Although I found the length of VL part 2 a little disappointing, I was still very impressed with how it was executed. Despite this, there were so many places in the skyway that we didn't visit. One that comes to mind is Valencia city. This city has been on the world tour section for Valencia for a long time. Will we ever visit these places and were they cut from the original story or did you plan to have them visited later?
2. Since a stormgate to Polaris was added, does this confirm it as an upcoming world?
3. How long were you, the pirate101 team, actually developing and working on VL part 2?
4. In one of the teasers we were shown, there was a windstone next to Kane on his battle board. Why was this not in the final build that was given to us?
5. Finally, will we ever visit darkmoor as a world and not just a dungeon like we did in wizard because that is probably the world I want to go to more than any other.
Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
Well, there are some questions I would rather say...

1st, once we defeated Kane and completed "Razing Kane" during "The Final Countdown", there is this one story error that didn't get addressed, shouldn't we talk to Mycroft Bones to finish our mission with Special Branch before talking to Captain Avery? If I may take a moment to bring back a particular memory, Mr. M said, "Your mission: find this "G", and learn Kane's weakness.", so once we learned all we could on how to defeat Kane, wouldn't we accomplish our mission & talk to Mr. M before we talk to Captain Avery? I'm disappointed to find that we don't talk to M before talking to Avery, but I completed "Razing Kane" & didn't turn in the quest yet, so I would prolong the completion to give you time to revise that quest to accommodate us talking to M. He did give us that mission, so shouldn't we come back to him & then complete our mission with Special Branch? I would presume he will reward us handsomely in succeeding our mission, so he should. That's one story problem that didn't get taken into account. Hope you can revise it soon, Blind Mew.

2nd, while I'm deeply disappointed that we didn't get to spend the proper quality time with our Big Bad like you wanted us to, Blind Mew, but, we must all realize that not every plan has to go as we originally wanted them to. I even wanted Kane to have many battles & forms in his ultimate final battle, too. Hope the next arc will have a better solidified amount of Books to go to & we get proper quality time with the next Big Bad & a proper finale to it.

3rd, any chance we could have side dungeons in P101? I sent my idea about Dungeon Tales, the equivalent to the Dungeon Zones from W101 over a year ago, & I really enjoyed the thought of having complete side dungeons so much, that I would like to see new side dungeons added, in akin to the 4 Dungeon updates. Read the idea, if you could, & we may see that there are possibilities to tell many side stories in the Dungeon Tales.
Ensign
Nov 09, 2012
45
Blind Mew on Jun 21, 2016 wrote:
(continued)

As I was saying, I need your help.

This game has an amazing community of players - I will forever be humbled by your support, your loyalty and your patience. And the truth is: the more of you we have, the more content we can create. We're probably going to be painting on a smaller canvas in any potential future updates, but I want that canvas to be as big as possible. That's where you come in.

Go out and recruit new players. We'll keep reaching out as well, but we need your help. Tell your friends how much you like this game. Grassroots evangelizing was a big part of Wizard's success, and it can work for Pirate too. If even half the people reading these words bring in just one player and help them get through the first chapters, so much becomes possible. You want more content, and we want to produce it. The best way to get that content made, and made quickly, is to fill the skies with new ships.

Okay, so maybe this post isn't as long as I originally thought it would be. There's a lot more to say, but I figure this is a good point to open it up for conversation. Any questions?
Book 15 was definitely cool and worth the wait. Just a question or three:

1) Will we still be completing Marco Pollo's Map and find El Dorado?

2) I wonder who the next villain(s) will be now that the Armada is moot?
3) What is up with the "Andalusian Skyway" at the far right end of Calabria Skyway?

That's all. Thanks
--- Fine Matthew Collins Lv 67
Community Leader
Hiya! So glad to see that we got a story update, really been looking forward to it and considering the circumstances I loved it :D

I do have a few questions however;

1) what would have been in the remaining five books of the previous plan for the arc - I'm curious as to how it would have played out?

2) a hint for arc 2?

3) how involved with the wiz side of storyline are you?

Thanks for all the work you do and I hope we get to see book 16 in the future!

~Sheldon
Visit Adventures of the Spiral today for tips and tricks on how to improve your gameplay.
Ensign
Apr 26, 2012
15
Thank you for the explanation blind mew, you are one of the best story writers I know so I am going to trust you when it comes to the future of the story,but my question is what would book 15 have been about if the story wouldn't have been changed?
Petty Officer
Aug 13, 2012
92
you could do continue with the class bundles you have already did the hodo bundle for the witchdoctors. it's time to get the other classes some love.
Dread Pirate
Jun 13, 2011
2037
OK, I do have one question, centering about the Red Sash Gang.

We meet them in Book 5, but, how did the Red Sash Gang get formed in Cool Ranch? We know Johnny Ringo is their leader, so, I would presume they have a backstory behind how that gang was made. That in mind, we don't see the exposition about the Red Sash Gang's backstory it should've had. Hope there's time to know all about the Red Sash Gang in a Puppet Show soon. I would like to see their backstory made into a Puppet Show someday.
Commodore
May 31, 2009
894
Welcome back to the boards; glad you can chat with us again!

Good to know that this wasn't what was originally planned. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it a lot, but I wish there had been some more story to digest. I love Pirate's story much more than Wizard's and Book 15, while not what I was expecting, was definitely a great addition to the game and the story. I'm excited to see where it leads!

As for questions...the one I'm most curious about is our pirate's 5-year memory gap. I was hoping it'd be referenced a bit more in Valencia since we had the entire quest dealing with our mother and the information we got about Pollo's trip to El Dorado. Will the consequences of that decision surface again in the future? Are we even going to make it to El Dorado?

Now that we know a little about Mom Pirate and her adventures, are we going to get some information on Dad? We know now that he didn't take the El Dorado picture, so obviously he and Jenny met up afterwards...right? I've been curious about him ever since we first saw the photograph; I hope we learn a bit about him.

Also, Polaris? Darkmoor? Maybe Krokotopia or Grizzleheim? Is Pirate101 planning a side world, by any chance? And, while I'm thinking about it, why do the Grizzleheim bears here sound so different from the Wizard ones?

Thanks for all of the work you do, Blind Mew. Can't wait to see what comes next for our pirates!
Dread Pirate
May 27, 2009
2131
Thanks ever so much, Blind Mew!!

As for questions --
Is Gazpaccio completely dead or only mostly dead? (If completely dead, that's so sad...)

Why was Bonnie Anne in SUCH a hurry to leave Valencia? (She started annoying me with her impatience.)

Why didn't we go back and talk with Steed or Don Giovanni before rushing home to Skull Island? (Seems rude not to report back with our success.)

What was the shiny thing Prof. Falmea told us to look for? (Was it in Calabria Skyway?) This one may be her treat to share, but if you know, please tell us.

Thanks, again!
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