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Shielding pods in particular are quite useful. I use them to defray environmental hazard damage. We still haven't picked up any type of defensive damage mitigation spell, so the battle pod is our sole tool for that purpose. The essence pod's utility declines over time for the same reason as the basic healing pod, but the buff pods and curing pods remain helpful throughout. Other classes can get even more mileage from them, battle pods and speed in particular.
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Jan 13, 2017 20:19
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Holy poo poo when did we go gold
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Jan 13, 2017 20:24
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Dunno but this thread certainly deserves it!
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Jan 13, 2017 20:53
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I would like to see the flavor text for death by Jacuzzi. As far as similar things from other Spiderweb games, I remember in one of the Exile games you could find a room full of soft, inviting beds and get the option to take a nap. This room happens to be in the middle of a arch-demon's fortress that you are raiding, so it should be unsurprising that it's an instant game over as your party gets murdered in their sleep. Funny stuff.
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Jan 13, 2017 23:47
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POOL IS CLOSED posted:Holy poo poo when did we go gold The Fyoras died, voted one 
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Jan 13, 2017 23:49
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Thanks readers and raters! I'll make a special effort to do a double update tomorrow and include the alternative jacuzzi ending somewhere this weekend.Slaan posted:The Fyoras died, voted one I deserve this, of course.  idhrendur...
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Jan 13, 2017 23:58
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Delete all fyoras. Let cryoras have their time in the sun!
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Jan 14, 2017 03:40
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I do think getting a Cryoa is indicated at this point, if nothing else to diversify the flock to better preserve them against fire resistant enemies...
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Jan 14, 2017 04:56
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Velius posted:I do think getting a Cryoa is indicated at this point, if nothing else to diversify the flock to better preserve them against fire resistant enemies... He can only have three active species and y'all voted not to swap them out, so we're pretty much relying on both of those fyoras dying in the same fight if we want to see something better.
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Jan 14, 2017 05:34
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PoptartsNinja posted:He can only have three active species and y'all voted not to swap them out, so we're pretty much relying on both of those fyoras dying in the same fight if we want to see something better. She Also, this is a good thread. It deserves its gold.
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Jan 14, 2017 08:09
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PoptartsNinja posted:He can only have three active species and y'all voted not to swap them out, so we're pretty much relying on both of those fyoras dying in the same fight if we want to see something better.
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Jan 14, 2017 11:54
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:Oh, right! I wanted to thank you for using "pore" correctly. Every time someone writes that their character poured over something, it gets my hackles up. That and shortening "until" to "till" are very common errors writers make in the whole litany of silly errors. I try to make sure not to let those errors slip in, though I'm sure I have my fair share of idiosyncracies... including loving "fortunately" way too much. Vogel has some tics in this title, too. I don't think he had the budget to hire an editor to give the text a thorough proofreading, so every instance of "cannot" is incorrectly rendered as "can not," and comma splices absolutely abound. I don't fix all of them because that's literally a job by itself. He also loves "however" more than is healthy. More recent games are much better about these issues, but I hope he does give the text a lookover to correct some of the mistakes (wrong gendered pronouns, brief confusions about who or what we're talking to or looking at, etc). That sort of stuff can be really difficult to pick up on when you're working alone, but those corrections will give the written narrative more polish. Since this whole series is carried by Vogel's writing, I think that level of attention is strongly warranted. MagusofStars posted:The other option is that Solution just stops making Fyoras period, replacing whoever dies first with another Artila/Vlish OR just running with fewer creations period for a while. But then you still have to wait for the other one to die. No fyoras?  But... but!!!
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Jan 14, 2017 19:44
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POOL IS CLOSED posted:No fyoras? 
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Jan 14, 2017 20:16
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I can't believe my fyora is still alive at this point, to be honest.
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Jan 14, 2017 20:20
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 fyoras fyor lyfeI think I'll name the next thread "Just Fyora Little While" TheGreatEvilKing posted:I can't believe my fyora is still alive at this point, to be honest. It's definitely not due to my skill as a player. Dumb luck is favoring the surviving basic creations. And luck is Solution's dump stat!
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Jan 14, 2017 21:05
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Eventually, All Things Merge Into One   Game Text posted:This stone platform once safely spanned this swift, dark river. Now a large middle section of it is missing. It doesn't look like it crumbled, though. It looks like something made it sink into the river. The river carries with it a chilly, damp wind that quickly penetrates your layers of robes and armor. Your creations are even less fortunate. They furtively pack close together to stay warm. It's not as cold as the ghost-frosted tunnels, but the wind makes it more miserable somehow. Despite the endless moaning, you can hear the slow and steady rumble of machinery hidden somewhere in this river complex.   The intense heat radiating from these panels warns you away. It's an oddly energy intensive security system. Pylons seem like they should've been enough, but given that you've been willing to destroy pylons in the past, you suppose others have been, too. Obviously the Shapers determined that sterner measures were necessary to protect whatever is back here. Random rear end in a top hat hovers a touch too near the red-hot panels and screeches. The radiant heat is enough to leave your vlish with severe burns on the bottom of its tentacles.  On the opposite end, past piles of unsorted rock and ore, you find a basic shaping hall.  The essence pools are intact, which proves convenient.  Tucked into an alcove is a spiral crystal. You're note entirely sure what it's powering, but you don't think it's the bridge -- there's no control panel for that. You try to shut the spiral crystal down, but you're forced to flee when you mistakenly overload it instead. You hope that mistake won't come back to haunt you.  The two spans aren't so far apart. If the water weren't so swift and cold, you might've forded it the old fashioned way.  On a hunch, you check the radiant panels again. They've darkened considerably. They're still hot, but when you edge closer, it's merely unpleasant, not painful. You usher your team across quickly. The crystal must have been powering this device.   Now these are the security measures you're familiar with. The turrets are mostly irritants now, at least when they're not supported by other creations.   You clear out the defenses and investigate the area. The sole forlorn corpse offers up an enchanted cloak and an acid thorn baton. You consider turning the body over into the river, but some humans think that a body left in the water dooms the soul to an eternally wandering afterlife, so you cover it with loose rock from the scree piles instead. It costs you time better spent pushing on, but if it was your body, you'd want an adventurer to pay you some respect, too. Besides, you haven't found evidence of rogues yet, so there's no need to rush.  This place is full of good quality tools. It's a shame you don't need them, but you know some serviles who might be interested once you've cleared the way. You unlock the cabinet out of curiosity and find amid the ore testing materials a few flawed but workable crystals. Perhaps you can sell them.   You're not thrilled to find another set of radiant panels, but you brace yourself and quickly cross, cursing shrilly as your boots melt to the soles of your feet. Your creations are much more stoic than you even though you have to coax them across. You can cross these panels the stupid way or the smart way. The stupid way is just to run willy-nilly across and take damage just about every tick. If your fire resistance is low, you're going to really suffer and perhaps explode into inventory goods. Game Over! The smart way is to switch to the turn-based combat mode. Line up your character so that they will only touch one panel (and even better, try to shove your character up against the wall boundary!) so the character is only receiving damage for one (and ideally none) panel at a time. In combat mode, the game only checks for environmental damage when you touch the hazard area and again if you're still touching the hazard area at the start of the character's next turn. It's a good idea to use haste and, if you can, protective items and gear. You don't want to wear equipment that gives you a malus to fire resistance here. Have your creations cross the same way you have your PC cross, then top off the HP bars if needed. PCs are likely to have enough fire resistance that they occasionally take no damage when crossing these panels, which is quite nice.  There's an abandoned room here, almost like a worker's dormitory. You take the opportunity to rest and heal up the worst of your team's burns.   You decide that this, however, is ornkshit. Even if you could survive the passage, you would still be crippled after using up all your essence and pods on healing. You head west instead in hopes of finding some way not blocked by the business ends of eight ovens.  You and RickVoid blunder into a nasty crossfire situation with turrets because you're too focused on finding whatever mechanism can shut those panels down.  But even with this tactical error, the turrets can't present a terribly deadly threat. Their fungal minds are too simple to capitalize on your mistake.  You take your time and loot this dusty shop. Someone even left money on the counter when the place was mothballed. It's yours now. Time has been remarkably kind to this processing facility. At first you thought it was for ore, but after finding so many crystals, you revise your hypothesis. The more you think about it, the more you're sure you remember someone telling you about these mines... but so many other events have transpired between now and that foggy past that you can't be certain you're not making the memory up. Memories are so unreliable... Maybe the old Shapers were wise when they left so many journals and ledgers around the island.  You find a pair of crystal spirals in another workroom. It seems like an odd place to have hooked up generators like this, but maybe they once powered the cold forge nearby instead of the radiant panels.  Your second and third attempts at shutting off the spirals here go about as badly as the first, with the added unpleasantry of shrapnel and falling stones hitting your creations. You're hit with some stone chips, but they don't even snag in your robes.  There are some cooling radiant panels to the west, but you check the southern door first. It leads into a changing station for the serviles who once worked here. The room must have doubled as a root cellar, too, since you find long-ruined sacks of meal here. You pocket a few crystals, toss a pebble into the river, and go.  The Shapers really should have considered putting up some sort of barrier to keep beings from stumbling into the river. Whoever designed this place didn't consider safety a priority. But here you are thinking of drowning while you're crossing a still too hot series of panels that might actually be semi-molten stone.   Game Text posted:This was once a small foundry. Ore was laboriously carried here, basket by basket, by the serviles. Then it was placed in large stone basins, and the minerals needed by Shapers for their work were rendered out of it. You've made it to the other side of the bridge, but finding a way to restore the straightforward crossing would be wise in case you need to come through here later.   The crystal spirals are located in a small room built in the large gallery. There's a control panel and even a couple of used or destroyed canisters. Such a shame. You give the panel a cursory look and decide to leave it be for now. The other spirals didn't have a control panel, so these might have a different purpose. As usual, nothing is well-labeled.   This corridor is blocked, so you opt to investigate the main foundry instead. You make an unpleasant discovery inside -- submission turrets were left behind to deal with intruders like you. But without venom turrets or other creatures to reinforce them, the turrets' ability to deal stunning blows doesn't halt your progress.   Past another set of radiant panels, you unlock an automatic door and discover another crystal spiral. You manage to survive overloading it.  The other small room is more of the same.  Yet neither of those crystals powers this barrier.  The last room to the west has several ruined crystal spirals that were left here untold years ago as well as several piles of tools, pots, canister shards, and even woven baskets. Of more interest is the automatic door.  It slides open to admit you to another crystal spiral and, to your joy, a canister!  Violet sparkles cascade up and down your body as the agents grant you the power to shape better clawbugs. You think of your very first with a fond nostalgia better suited for something that happened years ago rather than days.  Then you fumble around with the spiral pillar, fail to disarm it properly, and slam yourself bodily against the automatic door until it reluctantly spills you back into the gallery, just in time for the spiral to explode behind you. Somehow you make it out without the explosion even turning a hair beneath your hood. Now that Solution has hosed up every crystal spiral, she can cross the Underground River zone safely!  Game Text posted:There is a large control panel here. Long strands of crystalline fiber connect it to the two nearby power spirals. It had a lot of controls, but most of them have been removed, broken off, or deactivated. Only one switch is still working. You use the switch. Game Text posted:When you flip the switch, you hear a snapping noise inside the panel. At first, you don't think that anything is happening. Then you hear a long, loud sound coming from outside.  The remaining section of the bridge rises from under the river. It's slick and somewhat slimy with minerals, but it's intact, and that's what matters.  Even more exciting are the darkened panels.    Once you secure the apothecary, you ransack it for the paltry supplies that remain.  Then you backtrack to see if perhaps the other radiant panels have shut off. Your persistence is rewarded.  To your surprise, this tiny room contains a servant mind. "Do you require any goods, Shaper? I am Dispenser." The mind's tiny voice startles you. "Dispenser?" you ask. "You mean you give away items?" "No, Shaper. I sell them. Insert money into my slot, and I will make an item available. I was created for this purpose by Agent Fellith. Would you like to see my wares?" "What happened to Fellith?" That's a new name to you. Nothing you've come across has referred to Agents specifically til now. "One day, she gave me a large store of nutrients and left. She said she would be back soon. I do not think she was correct. Would you like to see my wares?" Dispenser asks again. "I would like to look at your wares," you say. Maybe the Shapers created Dispenser to manage some sort of scarcity issue.     You almost understand when you see the fine selection the mind offers, yet it's still beyond bizarre that Shapers set up a mind to handle the disposition of enchanted equipment. "A servant mind created just to sell items? That is insane," you say. A mind is better suited for tasks other than mere merchantry. "I know nothing of this, Shaper. I am here to serve you. Would you like to see my wares?" Dispenser says. You aren't sure if you managed to offend it, since its tone doesn't shift even a hair. "I don't want to see your wares again," you say. "Yes, Shaper. When you want to see my wares, please return to me." It closes its eyes. You leave Dispenser behind. The Guardian cloak was especially lovely, as were the boots, but you can't justify the prices to yourself. You've done fine without so far, after all.   Game Text posted:You enter the Sucia Island mines. They are much more extensive than you expected. The Shapers must have found an unusually large supply of the magically charged crystals they use to power their research. And in-game, the red indicator lights do flash. It's a nice touch. The red light probably indicates some sort of danger, but that isn't surprising. The eastern obelisk here reads "Eastern Mines. Make sure defenses are not active before proceeding!" Alas, it's one more warning that you won't heed.   Your creations react even faster than you do when you round the bend. The pylon explodes in a conflagration of acid, fire, and magic.   But it was far from the only pylon here. Worse, you catch a glimpse of more radiant panels. Your exploration of these minds is doomed to be tedious and painful.   You find yourself frequently confronted with radiant panels that turn otherwise open corridors into frustrating dead ends. The red blinking indicator crystals just mock you.    You stumble back upon the main paved path in the mines, and then leave it to investigate a side shaft. You find what must have been a break room. It's filled with litter, but you find a few crystals among the trash.  The ore bays yield some crystals, too. Your gem collection is becoming quite healthy. Too bad you've never been much of a rock hound.    As you destroy the defenses your predecessors erected, your thoughts turn to the serviles who once toiled here. Were they at least evacuated? Or did they scatter, turning up in Kazg and the woods where that barbaric tribe lives?   You suspect that you're the only one who cares about the answers to those questions. Even the miners' descendants probably don't care. The answers aren't relevant to their survival now.  You follow a masonry wall around to a set of radiant panels. Only two of them are still on. You very carefully orchestrate a crossing. Yes, I probably missed that crystal around the corner. There are crystals all over the mines, and some of them are hidden by geometry. Spamming the g key isn't a bad idea here, as collecting crystals can yield some decent rewards.  You duck south and discover the main path again. Unfortunately, it leads to more radiant panels and another blasted pylon.  Perhaps your misadventures on Sucia Island will make you rich and powerful enough to bar the creation of pylons.  It's no more than wishful thinking, but the fantasy does a little to soothe your irritation. The obelisk beside this door reads "PROCESSING." You opt to pass up the locked lever for the moment. The indicator beside it is flashing red, and that doesn't seem like a good sign. If there's a way to neutralize the defenses past the door without meeting them head on, you want to find it.   Your pylon-slaying hike does demonstrate one thing. Your creations have become much stronger over the past few days. It's not been very long since you first encountered pylons near the termination chamber. Now your creations can destroy a pylon before it can blast them with searing orbs. And if your creations are more powerful, you are more powerful. That knowledge moderates your prickling irritation into a milder annoyance.  The medical station is a mess now, but you imagine it was also a mess back when the mines were operational. The mess was probably just of a more organic nature.   By the time you locate the western exit, your pockets and purses and even fists are bulging with gems scavenged from chests, cabinets, pylons, and rock piles. Those you've snatched from broken pylons are both clearer and more satisfying than the others.   The nearby obelisk warns you once again to mind the defenses here. You take a deep breath and decide to accept the old Shapers' signage in the spirit they intended, even though you've been obstinately bashing up against the defenses for hours now.  This old dining hall is now home to little more than dust and bones. It's a shame that even the oven is ruined, because you've grown a mighty hunger.    You wonder if the pools in this room existed when it was constructed or if they only formed after the mine was abandoned. It's no matter. You collect the living tool here, let your creations rest, and then aim to finish your look through the eastern mines.   Even though you've been lucky so far, you don't expect that to hold true forever. This previous explorer is a good reminder that one stumble could end you, too. You return to the northern door and unlock the lever. The door slides open without complaint. You almost expect to see a servant mind here, but instead, there's an odd control panel flanked by a pair of crystal spirals. Their hum resonates in your teeth. Game Text posted:This is a large, elaborate piece of Shaper machinery. It was very well made and, when the island was abandoned, it was covered with a thick layer of protective oil. Thus, despite its advanced age, it seems to be in working condition. Game Text posted:The crystals you found in the mine seem like they could contain rudimentary magical energy. You put five of them into the tray and close it. It locks into place. Game Text posted:There is a lever here, shielded from the nearby machinery by a thick stone wall. A small sign by the lever simply reads 'Process'.  You send your creations back down the hallway in case something goes terribly awry. Game Text posted:You pull the lever. The machinery in the next room springs into action. The power spirals generate bolts of magical energy and send them coursing into the processing machine. It seems like it's about to break loose from its moorings. "Huh." You pick up the crystal. It's a swarm crystal, no different from the other enchanted pieces you have in your pack. The processing must turn the crystals from green to orange. Interesting. With that, you decide to push on.  “Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters,” by Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It and Other Stories Next time: Sixteen Tons Yes, the title was an excuse to say A River Runs Through It in this update. POOL IS CLOSED fucked around with this message at 22:26 on Aug 20, 2017 |
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Jan 14, 2017 21:43
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Sixteen Tons As you might have noticed, there's no plot driving us here right now besides "get rich or die trying." Solution needs supplies, and the mines are a great place to collect vendor trash and a few valuable items. The exp gain is fairly negligible around level 15. The western mines seem quiet enough at first.   Checking out the northern path leads to a lucky discovery of another canister. It makes you stronger, increasing not just your muscle mass, but the conductivity of the fibers that control them.   No trip through a Shaper facility is complete without destroying unpleasant security measures.   This zone has none of the scree piles that littered the eastern section of the mines. You don't notice any tools or blocks, either.   You're not sure if something you did shut these radiant panels down or if they broke down ages ago. Nevertheless, the door opens to admit you into a room of records. They don't prove to be of use.  A bit further in, you find another damnable pylon.  As it turns out, the pylon was protecting another servant mind. How curious. You hope this one isn't like Dispenser. Game Text posted:The case contains several ceramic jars, each sealed with a thick ring of wax. However, in each case, the wax has cracked with age and the contents have rotted. It smells terrible. You close the case.  Before you alert the mind, you check the nearby essence pools, but they are inert.  This is a very large servant mind, with a particularly well-developed forebrain. No doubt, it was expected to carry out a lot of jobs and store a lot of information. Such capabilities are draining. The mind has been weakened by its years of neglect. You have to bend very close to even detect signs of life. You poke and prod it with your finger, but you have no luck. The mind has been completely depleted of nutrients. You will need to feed it to have any chance of waking it up. Alas, you're on your last jar of mind nutrients. You suspect this isn't the only servant mind going hungry out here, not after the others you've encountered. Still... It is a slow, messy job. The creature starts out completely immobile. You need to scoop the food into its mouth, one tiny globule at a time. Eventually you are able to revive it enough for it to eat on its own. Finally, it speaks. Its voice is weak, but you are able to understand it. "Thank you, Shaper. I am Mind Erwin. Oh, but I was in a terrible state! I could feel what was happening in the mine, but I could not affect it. "The defenses attacked you! I am so sorry. That sort of thing must never happen. I should be deactivated for my laziness. Please forgive me. I will help you however I can," Erwin says. "What do you know about the mine's defenses?" you ask. At least Erwin is in better shape than the control mind in the servile warrens. "I am completely in charge of them. Well, I was. I mean, I was supposed to be. I... l was, but not anymore. I can control them a little, but I am not strong enough to completely control them." "What about the defenses just outside?" "The closer the pylons are, the better I can control them. I... wait. The defenses just outside attacked you?" "Yes," you say. "Well this is terrible! Wait a moment." It is silent for a few seconds. "Done. The pylons in this area of the mine will no longer attack you. That, at least, I can be sure of," Erwin says. You're not as confident as Erwin is, though. You'll still destroy the pylons whenever you see them, just in case. "What about the defenses in the other parts of the mine?" "The mine has three wings, west, north, and east. If I concentrate very hard, it will be painful to me, but I can subvert the pylons. However, right now, I am already concentrating on one of the wings. You must first give me permission to cease before I can deactivate another. Say the word, and I will turn off the defenses in one wing." "Turn off the defenses in the west wing." You might as well explore that section of the mine next. "Yes, Shaper. I live to obey." "What was this mine for?" "I and the serviles I directed brought forth minerals and crystals from the rock. The stone in this area has a pleasing natural magic concentration. It was very useful in the research of the Shapers," Erwin says. That makes sense. Sucia Island doesn't seem to have suffered from a shortage of delicate tools, given all the crystal spirals and control panels and spell crystals and... "What sort of research?" you ask. "Do you know?" "Of course I know, Shaper. They described it to me so that I could pick out and process the correct minerals. I found the crystal to make their canisters. I purified the stone used to build the Geneforge. And I maintained the processor machines," Erwin says proudly. Finally, a being who knows something useful. "Tell me about the canisters." "They were crystal cylinders which contained gene-editing materials. I needed to find pure crystals, without flaws, to safely contain the potentially volatile substances within." "Gene-editing? What is a gene?" You're still not sure you understand the scrolls and code of life metaphor Clois mentioned. "That knowledge is beyond me." Disappointing. "My master, Corata, described it as a tiny, tiny scroll, inside all living things, which describes the purest form of their essence. I did not understand. But he did tell me that the Shapers here learned how to read that scroll, and to rewrite it in a way pleasing to them." So Clois somehow learned about Corata's theory. That's an interesting connection. "What happened to all of the serviles?" "Is it important, Shaper? They are just creations." Erwin seems honestly confused, but its response irritates you. "It is important to me," you snap. "I want to know." "Well, after the Shapers left Sucia Island, they left. Not immediately. First, the food ran out, and there was some discomfort and roguish behavior. Then the units who were still functional went to Kazg. I was left alone." How pitiable. Without the serviles, the mind starved, but if they stayed, the serviles would've starved. You wonder if Erwin witnessed the first Taker before his untimely end. "Do you know anything about why Sucia Island was abandoned?" "Well, one day Corata came to me and told me Sucia Island was going to be abandoned." "And?" you press the mind. "Well, he seemed confident that there would be some political maneuvering. And then Sucia Island would be unBarred. But, to be honest, I do not think that happened. The departure was very hectic. Most people left most of their goods behind, because there was little time to pack and because they believed they would be back. Corata was clear on one thing, though. He wanted to make sure all the mine's defenses were up and strong." "Why?" "I don't know. He did say he left something important in the north mines, though. Some sort of pass baton for the main research area. Don't know anything more than that. I am sorry, Shaper." You bite down on a curse of surprise. You'd forgotten about the entry baton! That alone makes exploring these mines worthwhile. It's far more valuable than any amount of coin you can earn from the crystals you can scrabble out of this maze. With the baton, the most sophisticated mechanisms this island can throw at you should no longer be of any concern. "Who was Corata?" you ask. "One of the three leading Shapers on Sucia. Corata was in charge of supplies and administration. Defniel took care of the school and training. And Danette directed research. All of their offices were in the main facility to the north. Surely, they are all dead now. Very sad," Erwin says. If they weren't dead, you'd want to give them a piece of your mind for all the awful messes they left behind. But if they had somehow survived, the Sholai certainly wouldn't have gotten a foothold on this island. "Back to the defenses. Are there any that you don't control?" you ask. Erwin is a little reluctant, but the servant mind's not about to disobey a Shaper. "I am afraid that, when I was left here, I was given several powerful, hibernating creations. I was to awaken them when the mine was invaded. Then, a few months ago, the mine was invaded." Of course it was. "What happened then?" "I was barely strong enough to awaken them, but I was far too weak to control them. They went rogue quickly. There are a few in this area, and some very strong rogues in the north mines. They are young and strong, and completely, well, bad. But they are also dumb. If you do not want to slay them, you might be able to slip around them." Now that we've gained access to servant mind Erwin, we can use him to deactivate the defenses in the other adjacent mine zones. This is key to allowing us to make the mine zones safe to freely pass through. We deactivated the eastern mine, so we can turn that area from red to green by re-entering that map and crossing to the opposite end. I won't show that on-screen.  True to Erwin's word, the next pylon you encounter is not hostile, though it hasn't been powered down, either. You destroy it anyway.  The pylon explodes, and as it turns out, you weren't far enough away from the blast to avoid poisoning. To make the situation worse, a glaahk approaches from the west.  Another glaahk comes from the north just as the first one falls.  After putting it down, your team heads north. The radiant panels have also been shut off.  Before you head north, you open up the nearby room with the unlock charm. The crystal spiral inside is powering something, but as usual, there's no indication of what. Since the radiant panels are already cooling down, you elect to leave this spiral alone.  The indicator light by this northern passage is a nice, soothing green. It's the first time that you've seen that. Erwin must have managed it.  Just like before, as soon as you destroy the pylons, another patrolling glaahk shows up.  You locate the glaahks' nests not too far away. A quick search turns up a pair of enchanted tinker's gloves, which are an amazing find. You tuck them away, certain that they will prove their usefulness very soon.   The main path heads west here, but the red indicator light is flashing. You want Erwin to deactivate this wing of the mines before heading further.   Erwin's powerful creations just aren't a match for your two terror vlish. Together, Random rear end in a top hat and TooMuchAbs are an indomitable team. The nearby room houses another spiral crystal. You wish the Shapers would have labeled the things.  There are more nests here, but you're confident that you've killed their occupants.  Nearby is a smelter that's barely warm enough to heat your hands. The nearby chest has a lot of crystals that the last worker retrieved from the scree.  A peek at the tinker's gloves, which are a great help.  You check the southeastern corner of the central mining facility. A few pylons guard the way, but they don't pose an immediate threat to you. The obelisk here reads "POWER AND MAINTENANCE."  This must be where the crystal spirals were made. There are two spirals in the back, but they're inactive.   Where did we disappear to? Hell if I know. You don the tinker's gloves. Once you re-connect the spirals to the crystal fiber hookups, the spirals come to life. You're a little nervous that they'll explode, but they actually appear to be putting out a steady power pattern. Since the pylon on the central platform hasn't attacked you, you're fairly certain that you haven't activated any defenses. By your estimation, you're on the opposite side of Erwin's chamber, which means these spirals should be providing power to the essence pools. Before you go further west, you stop by the servant mind's chamber and confirm that the pools have reactivated. The soothing essence goes a long way towards revitalizing you for more exploration.    The indicator light for the passage back to the mine core flashes red, which doesn't make much sense. Erwin permanently deactivated that facility... but it doesn't matter. You've wrecked all the pylons and destroyed the glaahks back that way, so an incorrect indicator isn't important. The obelisk here says, "WESTERN MINES. ENSURE DEFENSES ARE INACTIVE BEFORE PROCEEDING."  This kitchen doesn't seem to have an attached cafeteria.  Further north you discover charged fyoras guarding another defunct smelter.  The rogues built their nests back here. No wonder they were so aggressive.  A phlegmy hiss in the corridor draws you back out. A charged artila sways dangerously, sizing you up as a likely foe. It doesn't prove to be as dangerous as you are.   You find another cache of crystals before turning south. There you find a crystal mine blocking off an intersection. Like the mines in the incomplete holding compound, these are tied to spore mines. You very carefully try to disarm the mines even though Erwin has already shut down the defenses here. You just can't be too careful with mines. These can still ruin your day. Even with the tinker's gloves, you're just not quite good enough. You trigger the mine, which flashes. The hiss adds a certain spring to your step that sends you almost all the way back to the entrance before the mines blow.   At least the pylons don't want to kill you. Yet.  You open the nearby door, but not before Random rear end in a top hat warns you of another rogue and just as quickly kills it.  The opened room reveals another crystal processing machine and a canister. There are two used-up canisters in here, which make you wonder about the identity of the invaders Erwin mentioned. This canister improves your mass restore spell. You can't wait to put it into practice. Game Text posted:This is a large, elaborate piece of Shaper machinery. It was very well made and, when the island was abandoned, it was covered with a thick layer of protective oil. Thus, despite its advanced age, it seems to be in working condition. Game Text posted:The crystals you found in the mine seem like they could contain rudimentary magical energy. You put 25 of them into the tray and close it. It locks into place. Game Text posted:You pull the lever. The machinery in the next room springs into action. The power spirals generate bolts of magical energy and send them coursing into the processing machine. It seems like it's about to break loose from its moorings. It's a terror wand! Not bad at all. I'll never use this.   You also manage to disarm a crystal mine without blowing anything up that you didn't intend to destroy.  The rogue patrols here are sparse, but you're glad you had Erwin deactivate the security here. Tangling with pylons, mines, panels, and rogues all at once is just too much.   The rogues are predictable creatures, though. You clean them up and find even more crystals here.  The dormitory is suspiciously full of crystals, too. The serviles must have hoarded them.  You wipe out a pair of rogues in the dining room, then detect a breeze of fresh air.  You follow it south. The mine lets out into a green clearing. The trees are in poor shape, but the air is clean and the sun is warm. The nearby obelisk says, "SUCIA MINES. CLEAR ALL CRYSTAL AND GOODS REMOVAL THROUGH OFFICES. SECURITY CHANGES MUST BE ENACTED AT MINE CORE."  You're not the only one out enjoying the sunshine, but you haven't exactly finished checking out the western mines. Your next stop is the guards' office.  Game Text posted:This book is an inventory of everything of value dug up in the mine, and of the places where the valuable crystals and ores were sent. Most of the goods were sent to the 'Research Halls' to the north. You've collected nearly that many during your travels. You anticipate finding at least a dozen more in the northern mines while you look for the entry baton. Who knows how many crystals you've overlooked. You don't plan to spend time scouring the mines for them, though. The serviles could have carried some of them away generations ago.  Game Text posted:This book is a record of all requests regarding guards, security and punishments. It looks like the squads here had a high turnover. The Guardians must not have wanted to spend much time in these dank tunnels.  Back in the southeastern section of the mines, you find a barracks that's been taken over by rogues. These go down easily enough. In time, they'll join the other bone piles here.  Someone left a pair of enchanted boots in the cabinet here. They're the same type that the Dispenser showed you. You swap them out for your spectral boots.  You disarm and detonate several more mines and flatten a few more rogue patrols before finding the last of the nests in the area. The rogues have a tidy collection of decent crystals here. They also have quite the bone collection. Back at the mine core, you rest by the essence pools before directing Erwin to shut off the northern wing's defenses. It closes its eyes. A look of great discomfort appears on its face. The effort of concentration is really painful for it. "It is done, Shaper. You will now be able to move safely in the northern mines. If you can evade the rogues."  The obelisk at the entrance to the northern mines has the same warning you've already seen three times over now. If you had entered here without shutting the defenses down, the pylons would have killed you before you could read the obelisk anyway.    The atmosphere is subtly different here. There are even more bones here than there are in the western mines, though you're certain there's no exit to the outside world here. The way you entered is almost certainly the only passage in and out of this mine. You don't think that a senior Shaper would have left the entry baton in a place that wasn't well-defended.  You're determined to check every room, every pot, every cupboard until you find the baton.   You're not quite determined enough to walk over these panels without shutting them down, first.   At least the other radiant panels are passable.  You're exploring a narrow, bone-strewn passageway when you hear something huge plodding your way. A battle alpha trudges up to you. It is a massive, muscled creature, the ultimate Shaper melee design, basically unchanged in the last few centuries. This creature looks experienced, but not ancient. It must have been hibernating. It looks at you coldly. It doesn't seem to recognize you as a Shaper. It says in a slow, halting voice. “You intruder. Corata told me to slay intruders. You die now!" "Wait!" you cry. "I'm a Shaper!" It doesn't seem to know what a Shaper is. "Not care! You must be slain!" We could also tell Crag to bring it on or lie and convince it that we're Corata, but gently caress it, let's show this peabrain who the real alpha is.  You draw your team back further. This is a dead end, but you want more space between your team and the alpha. You know how deadly they are when they can get their hands on a creature.  Strong or not, though, it's no more proof against your vlish's terror than the ghosts were. The battle alpha flees even though your creations have only dealt it minor wounds.  It flees out of sight. You sigh and ransack the nest back here, netting a pair of sandals enchanted to improve healing craft. You're not sure why shoes and healing had a natural connection to whoever made these sandals. On your way out, you run into Crag, who has regained control of its senses. The battle alpha roars, but placid saviour swiftly cuts it off with a fatal blow.  Bay 1 is full of unsorted rock piles. You check the cabinets in the back to find that they're both locked and trapped. You're too stubborn to let some minor needle trap stop you. What's a little poison to someone who jammed her palm down on a faulty canister? The explosion still hurts, though. You end up using a healing pod. At least the crystals are worth the pain... probably.   The main gallery was once a busy place. Now it echoes with the sound of your footsteps. The southern door doesn't open, and the northern one is the primary storage. Your intuition says that the baton must be behind this door.   Before you can do much about it, you're interrupted by the appearance of another massive battle alpha. It dies even faster than the last.  Game Text posted:These storage bays were where the mine stored its best crystals and most valuable ores. This area, at least, the Shapers had time to pack out before Sucia Island was abandoned. There is very little left. You check the crystal box at the far end of the bay. Game Text posted:This case only contains one item. It has been placed carefully on a pillow of velvet. It's about a foot long and carefully carved from ebony. You recognize it immediately.  The opposite bay contains one thing of note -- a canister that grants you the power to create your own glaahks. You relish the sensation of the agents rushing through you. It's even better than a hot bath. It's better than a hundred hot baths.  That pot behind the pool of water is completely inaccessible. I don't know what, if anything, is inside. Vogel likes to do this sort of thing, though I don't know if it was deliberate this time.  You find one of the battle alphas' nests. The deceased resident left behind some decent change and a few useful spore pods.    There's only one working crystal spiral back here and a lever. You're certain you know what they mean...  Game Text posted:This is a large, elaborate piece of Shaper machinery. It was very well made and, when the island was abandoned, it was covered with a thick layer of protective oil. Thus, despite its advanced age, it seems to be in working condition. This machine creates Shaped Swords, which aren't useful to us but do pack quite a punch. Fifty depressions are a little too steep for you. You have just enough to cover that requirement, but without knowing what this machine will create, you're not willing to pay the price.   You find another locked door. It turns out to open back into the main gallery just south of the storage bay where you found the entry baton.   You enter this small storage room with the intent of disarming the mines, but they both go off before you can even get close enough to touch them. Now the spore mines are alive. You edge backwards out of the room.   You weren't wrong about finding more crystals up here. You've nearly reached the limit of what you can carry.  You check the pot in the far corner of the room. Game Text posted:Under a thin layer of refuse, you find a key. Someone did a very poor job of hiding it here before the mines were abandoned. You clean off the goop and take it with you.   You check back with the room you found earlier, but the panels are still burning. You didn't find a means of shutting them down after all. You don't like it, but you send Random rear end in a top hat ahead, hasted and buffed as best you can manage. You share in its pain as it passes over the radiant panels. It encounters a turret at the end of the winding passage and manages to slay it. If you'd gone alone, you probably would have died.  Random rear end in a top hat falls back and you re-cast haste, harden your heart, and sprint over the panels all the way to the end, crushing healing pods along the way. At the end, you find two canisters. One makes you more nimble, while the other enhances the clarity of your thoughts and expands the essence at your command. I would walk over lava to become faster and smarter. Wouldn't you? Now you're certain you've seen all that the mines can offer.  Next time: The Only Guarantee of Morality POOL IS CLOSED fucked around with this message at 22:27 on Aug 20, 2017 |
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Jan 14, 2017 23:55
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Sweet, more minions to create. I vote for us getting some clawbugs online next time there's a change in the ranks, because clickety clackety bugs are cute.
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Jan 15, 2017 00:09
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POOL IS CLOSED posted:You can cross these panels the stupid way or the smart way. The stupid way is just to run willy-nilly across and take damage just about every tick. If your fire resistance is low, you're going to really suffer and perhaps explode into inventory goods. Game Over! You can also abuse Haste and a convenient corner to abuse the poo poo out of the combat system by manually starting combat, stepping around the corner to unleash a spell, then immediately stepping back behind the corner and manually ending combat. Since there are no enemies 'in sight', combat ends immediately. Then you manually restart combat again and can repeat your corner dance over and over till poo poo's dead. The enemy gets slowly worn down by your spell every turn, but never actually gets a turn of their own. It's boring as hell and probably not worth it except against specific super powerful enemies on high difficulty levels, but it's possible. Also, was that key you found near the end of the second update intended to do something in the mines themselves and you just went out of order?
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Jan 15, 2017 00:37
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I don't recall what that key is for to be quite honest. I also rammed my way through all this content right before I traveled for the holidays, so the key may remain a mystery forever. It's probably just an alternative means of handling all the locks for players whose mechanics or unlock spells are weak. I mostly eschew the exploit methods of overcoming challenges, but the environmental hazard zones seem built with combat mode in mind. There's another area I'm sure you remember which we won't reach for a while where this same tactic is helpful. The sequels have more hazardous environments. I have to admit that they're some of my least favorite design elements.
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Jan 15, 2017 01:06
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I'm honestly surprised idhrendur lasted as long as it did.
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Jan 15, 2017 04:03
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Damage floors are always the worst in any game. It's a constant, like death and taxes.
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Jan 15, 2017 05:47
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PurpleXVI posted:Sweet, more minions to create. I vote for us getting some clawbugs online next time there's a change in the ranks, because clickety clackety bugs are cute. But on the other hand, Glaahks! They're part of our wheelhouse, Magic Shaping! ...I don't know if our sky high Magic Shaping actually meaningfully affects the strength of our Glaahks or if it's just the Create Glaahk ability but it seems like a good idea 
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Jan 15, 2017 05:51
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Captain Oblivious posted:...I don't know if our sky high Magic Shaping actually meaningfully affects the strength of our Glaahks or if it's just the Create Glaahk ability but it seems like a good idea That said, AFAIK, Shaping skill ONLY affects the starting level, so if you want to min/max, you can keep +Shaping gear stashed away somewhere, equip it while actually making the creation, then go back to wearing something more useful.
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Jan 15, 2017 12:21
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It isn't until right now that I realized the Shapers also applied their craft to nonliving things. Call me stupid, but with all the crazy life-forms running around I completely ignored the crystal crafting.
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Jan 15, 2017 22:14
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Piezo crystals and genetic engineering are two parts of their multidisciplinary approach to ultimate power.
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Jan 16, 2017 01:18
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POOL IS CLOSED posted:Piezo crystals and genetic engineering are two parts of their multidisciplinary approach to ultimate power. Fractal Crystals, Fractal DNA manipulation.... Where's Ian Malcom when you need him? 
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Jan 16, 2017 02:26
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"It lacks into place". Locks, probably? Though it was transcribed the same way twice over, so I dunno.
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Jan 16, 2017 11:17
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PurpleXVI posted:CLAWBUGS Our low battle shaping score really holds us back with clawbugs. We have used the basic model, but its low level made it shockingly fragile. idhrendur posted:I'm honestly surprised idhrendur lasted as long as it did. Idhrendur and GreatEvilKing demonstrate a great little corner case. We had both basic fyoras long enough that they accumulated some serious levels. Both fyoras received some late-in-life investments of additional essence to make sure they could keep up in combat. Even without that investment, GreatEvilKing is at least on par with newly-shaped titty_baby_, if not better. This is not a common situation to find yourself in. Newly-shaped creations are almost always statistically superior to previously-shaped creations of the same model (assuming your rank in that model or that type of shaping has increased). It's just that idhrendur and GreatEvilKing have been around to accrue serious seniority in the creation local union no. 415. Captain Oblivious posted:...I don't know if our sky high Magic Shaping actually meaningfully affects the strength of our Glaahks or if it's just the Create Glaahk ability but it seems like a good idea MagusofStars went into it, but high shaping skills directly translate into creation levels. Our magic shaping skill of 10 and our vlish skill of 3 = 13 level bonus for newly-formed vlish. It's a significant boost for the reasons Magus explained. That said, I didn't actually make any glaahks in the chunk of game I've played through thus far... There's plenty of time to correct that oversight, though. Xander77 posted:"It lacks into place". Locks, probably? I was just thinking I needed to include some typos so you could comment and then I could ask you if you're on the hype train for the new triple X movie! Thanks for the catch, looks like it was just coincidence that Capture2Text made that error reasonably grammatical. berryjon posted:Fractal Crystals, Fractal DNA manipulation.... Probably hidden away in late game, cooking up newer, more horrible types of drayks.  okay them's enough quotes, time to get on with the next update
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Jan 16, 2017 16:34
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MagusofStars posted:It does. Shaping skill affects the starting level of your newly made creations which directly affects health and damage. Also energy, which is only used by ranged creations and usually only relevant for Artilas, since most other creations rarely have issues with running out of juice mid-battle. In my experience, Vlish also experience some problems in prolonged fights; they seem to consume a similar amount of energy per shot as artila. Thinking about it, do we now have access to all the creations (barring the level-3 'upgrade' versions)?
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Jan 16, 2017 16:53
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vdate posted:In my experience, Vlish also experience some problems in prolonged fights; they seem to consume a similar amount of energy per shot as artila. Thinking about it, do we now have access to all the creations (barring the level-3 'upgrade' versions)? I don't think that the level 3 fire or magic shaping are available yet? You have to go deeper into the island for those, iirc.
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Jan 16, 2017 18:00
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The Only Guarantee of Morality You've filled in more of your internal map of Sucia Island. You can feel that your confrontation with Trajkov looms ever closer, but even with all the canisters you've used so far, even with all the supplies you've found, you are afraid. You've done your best to deny supplies to the enemy and to disrupt and destroy their defenses. You've even met the outsiders in battle. You've pushed the northern front against the rogues almost all the way into the northern mountains, giving the serviles much-needed breathing room before they inevitably devour each other. But even as you let these distractions drive you north, you know that all you're doing is delaying the inevitable. You failed to find Goettsch's bolt hole out west, and continuing further northeast puts you ever closer to Trajkov without any helpful allies in your corner.  The nearby obelisk reads, "SUCIA ARENA. WEST WING - REGISTRATION, TRADING, WAGERING. EAST WING - CREATIONS, CONFINEMENT." You feel like you've swallowed a heavy stone and now it's stuck in your throat. Astrov didn't misunderstand what he saw here. Only your wishful thinking blinded you to the full truth.  Game Text posted:You step into an arena. You have never been in a Shaper arena before. Creation sport combat has been illegal for well over a century. Even if it were not infested with rogues, being here would be very unsettling.  A charged thahd rushes at you as you leave the ruin. Random rear end in a top hat obliterates it. Even an advanced thahd model is only a thahd. Still, slaying creations here, at the heart of the old Shaper world's cruelty, leaves you uneasy.  Game Text posted:There is a cave entrance just northeast of the Arena. You recognize the massive creature standing in the entrance. It's a battle beta. They're terrifying creatures. You shudder at the realization that you might be about to fight it. This message and the previously quoted text both popped almost as soon as we walked north along the arena border. Both dialogue boxes appeared before a player would actually see what they're referencing. The triggers are wonky. This happens from time to time and can be disorienting if it's the first time you've played the game. You follow the battle beta. The difference between it and a battle alpha is the same as the gulf between the alpha and a given thahd -- immense. Battle alphas, betas, and gammas are why I previously posited these are a reference to Brave New World's classes. Clearly it's not a direct copy of that setting's system, though. These humanoids were probably created the same way serviles were, based off of human stock that the dominant Shaper class wanted to enslave. That's just my guess -- the series doesn't talk about the origin of the battle alphabet creations. You stand before a battle beta. It towers over you, an enormous and lethal killing machine. Battle betas are designed to lead the way into battle, to be the first creatures to crash into an enemy line. Though it is clearly in peak physical condition, its face bears an expression of doubt and confusion. It leans against the wall, thinking. It is quite upset. It looks up at you. It doesn't seem surprised to see a Shaper. "Oh. Shaper. Greetings. I Prav. I... I... What should I do?" Your first thought is for your safety, but it's less than a second before you connect Prav with Freeplace. The battle alphas of Freeplace have given themselves a purpose -- to live together independent of the Shapers. Their colony struggles with the limitations Shapers placed on alphas, but nevertheless, those creations have persevered for untold years to fulfill their own chosen goals. This battle beta, however, is alone and has nothing. "Where did you come from? Who created you?" you ask. "I was frozen in mine. I was woken by mind. I was told slay all who come. But no Shapers. I have doubts. I look for Shapers to guide me. None. I come here and wait," Prav says. He must be one of the advanced creations that Erwin was given to defend the mines. It's interesting that Prav distinguishes between invaders and Shapers while the other battle creations you encountered in the mines did not. "What sort of doubts did you have?" These doubts may save you from having to kill Prav. "I am made to kill. I will kill. But who to kill? Not those wanted by Shapers. Kill those bad to Shapers. Who are bad? Who are good? I do not know. I want to kill. I do not want to kill." Prav's years of being frozen on this island seem to have damaged his brain. This level of introspection is very unusual for a battle creation. And undesirable as well. If Prav notices how long it takes you to formulate your questions, he doesn't comment on it. For him, it may be normal. You're not sure that the battle beta has ever carried on a conversation with anyone besides perhaps mind Erwin. There are always the rogues, though. "What is in this area?" you ask. It's a neutral enough question. "Rogues. Many rogues. I fear them. They want to slay me, but I do not know if I must slay them. So I run here. I stay here." Any right-thinking Shaper would recognize Prav himself as a rogue. Your time on Sucia Island has shown you that there are different levels of deviation, though. Prav may have failed his programming, but his confusion and reluctance are trivial acts of rebellion when compared to the broader chaos that is Sucia. We can opt to fight Prav, but aside from his failings as a guard dog, does he really seem so terrible? "I require your assistance. Come and help me," you say. If you can renew his purpose, maybe Prav's paralysis can end. "I do not know, Shaper. I want to kill. I do not want to kill. I do not know if helping you is right thing. I will kill. I should not kill." An irrational bubble of anger rises up in you as Prav sways back and forth, trapped between his doubts and his nature. "I assure you you will be fighting the enemies of the Shapers. Come and assist me." "I... I..." It shakes its head. It seems to be afflicted with some strange sort of apathy. Even your command doesn't budge it. It looks more miserable than ever. The bubble pops. "Enough moping, Battle Beta! Attention! Come with me!" Your sharp command managed to overcome Prav's apathy. It lumbers forward. It's still miserable, but it will come with you. You hope that action will dispel some of its strange melancholy. Prav works the same way as the other NPC allies we've fought with. Any kills he racks up will not contribute experience to our team. He's a good pile of HP, though, and this area has a load of rogues.   The arena still exudes malice. Maybe it's just because of the rogues crawling all over the place. Maybe it's because of the whips and shackles and decanters and goblets. Maybe it's because you think you can still see the shadows of ancient bloodstains here and there on the surviving tile, beneath the rubble and more recent remains. You are thankful that creations don't leave ghosts behind.  The ancient Shapers decorated the arena in a manner befitting a place of refined entertainment.    You struggle to look upon this ruin and not conclude that the Shapers are the true enemy, and that theirs are the ghosts malevolently haunting this isle.    Your creations stand bleeding over the fallen rogues. They are only unlike each other in that you control some but not others. The Shapers hold that difference to be the only distinction that matters. It is the quality that decides which creations live and which die. You stand by the Shaping platform and ask yourself a question. Do your people deserve the storm that will rise from this island?   The rogues throw themselves at you as you try to work this question out.   What does rogue even mean? Does the word mean anything to you now? Has the word ever meant anything besides not conforming to the Shapers' will? Are you a rogue? Are the Shapers rogue? As you struggle with your own doubts, Prav mutters an endless, circular mantra. Want to kill. Don't want to kill. Want to kill... The cadence infects your thoughts.   Must obey. Must disobey.   The rogues just don't stop coming. Glaahks must nest in the arena's rotten heart. Not only must you contend with charged thahds and artilas, but also glaahks. If not for his doubting heart, you would have had to face a battle beta, too. The Shapers were not kind. They were not just. They were not thoughtful.  Their machinations still torment the creatures they abandoned.  And the only other marks they left behind on Sucia attest to limitless hubris.  Including the canisters. The wonderful, detestable canisters. Without them, none of this would have come to pass.   All you can do is make this place safe for the saner inhabitants, of whom there is only one -- poor, lost Prav.  These creations are too feral to understand speech and too mad to reach with compulsion.   Whether they're the descendants of the Shapers' creations or whether they were left by the outsiders is irrelevant. They're too dangerous to be left alone. Does the same apply to your kind? Should someone not come and kick over your nests?  Should you be denied all comforts, driven to exhaustion, and put down as well?  The Shapers thought they'd return. They believed that whatever storm had come to rain on their parade here would blow over. Game Text posted:These self-sealing vats are a very ingenious Shaper invention. They can make a creation and, at just the point when it becomes alive, seal it in a suspended state in one of these devices. Two hundred years later, everything they left hibernating is awakening, senile and suffering.   Even the arena can't rot away in peace.  The holding pens are full of recently awakened creations. Their creators are long dead, and whatever imprints they might have left have decayed during two hundred years of sleep. The arena-born creations are hungry and alone.  Game Text posted:This is a control panel. Like all Shaper controls, it is a carefully shaped plant growing out of a sturdy tube of metal and stone. Seven wooden controls emerge from the branches. There were other controls, but they rotted off.  With the power spirals hooked up, you're able to flip the switches. Game Text posted:The controls hum. You hear the sound of grinding stone in the distance. This control panel unlocks basically all of the sealed automatic doors. Most of those doors lead into the holding pens whose creations Solution slew at range, but there are other surprises in store.   Someone was using the holding pens as storage for canisters. You suspect the outsiders were at work here -- they stowed canisters they wanted to save for later in the pens, then released the hibernating arena creations. It seems the outsiders didn't plan on ever feeding the creatures. They would have starved to death if they failed to break out of the pens. The storage room is full of pods and other tools. The outsiders didn't bother breaking in, so you manage quite the haul. You feel filthy.  You return to the control panel and flip the rest of the switches...   The two nearest doors slide open.   The charged thahds die quickly, which is the only mercy you can afford for them.   This whole place is abhorrent to you, but you can't turn away.  The three Sholai here give you pause. Perhaps the Sholai didn't awaken the arena creations. The serviles almost certainly didn't -- they would have never made it through Erwin's mines. But there's another person out here. Goettsch might have done this as he fled Trajkov. You've failed to find him so far, but unless he's completely cut off from information on what's happening, he'll probably seek you out eventually... if he isn't already.  The control panel unlocked this pen. The canister inside improves your command of vlish shaping.  The next canister fills you with a surge of well-being, but you can't put your finger on what exactly changed.  The creation in here shattered the canisters it was supposed to protect. With that, you've found the last of the secrets in the arena and destroyed the last of its rogues. Prav looks at you hopelessly. "What do I do now, Shaper?" You wish you could direct it to Freeplace, but you're sure that would come with a whole host of unexpected consequences. "You don't need to follow me anymore," you say instead. "Yes, Shaper. I will return to my home." He looks more depressed. He's lost what little purpose in life he had. You couldn't do anything for him but help make his awful home a little less frightening.   We found some nice stuff, including more multi-target spore bags, a rod of succor, and a lot of vendor trash. The most important thing we scored was the sharing belt.  Solution also leveled up. Her healing craft needs some healthier numbers if we're going to keep GreatEvilKing and the artila twins alive for much longer. Now that she's at skill rank 10 in Magic Shaping, it's time to spread the love out just a bit.   Game Text posted:You enter a broad, almost peaceful dell. The ground rolls very smoothly, giving you very little concealment. This is a pity, because you can see, in the distance, several patrols of Sholai warriors. It will be tricky to evade them. Even if you aren't sure what the answer to the Shaper question is, you still know what you should be doing right now. It's just that you really don't want to meet Trajkov. Game Text posted:This is an old Shaper obelisk. It is still legible:  You duck behind a crumbling wall to the northeast. A stream of armed Sholai flow past. They don't notice you, but they will if you step out of cover. There are far too many of them, and you are reluctant to engage them if you don't have to. The stealthy Sholai of the west were easy to defeat because they didn't organize to fight you, but these Sholai might.  If you hadn't found your way north through the well-defended mines, the Sholai might have expected your arrival. As it is, you've managed to pop up in their midst without them knowing. If there's a way to use this to your advantage, you've decided you should find it.  You pass a poisonously orange pond. Since you left the mines, everything has been so green. You'd expected to find even more desolate wastes north of Kazg. Whatever is contaminating the land must come from someplace south of here, but you can't imagine what it might be other than the mines... Game Text posted:There are several crumbling pylons in this corner of the dell. They are all extremely old. These are probably some of the remaining traces of whoever settled this island long before the Shapers came. Game Text posted:You inspect the pylon. It is centuries old. There are markings running up and down its length. Looking closely, the markings look like skeletons or very thin humanoid forms. This might be a grave marker. Nothing comes out to attack you. You move on, glad that you could use this small gap in the Sholai's defenses against them.  The ivory band just isn't very good at this point. It might have been more helpful in the early game.   The Sholai didn't leave anyone to guard their campsite. At least, no one you can see. You hurry on by before they can come back.  Game Text posted:This broad plain is clearly diseased. The trees and grass were killed from the ground up, invisible poisons leaching up into them. There is a pervasive, acrid stink in the air. Your eyes start to water. You didn't expect to find such strong contamination this near the glen. The watershed must influence how fast the desertification spreads. It's counterintuitive, but you don't have any other explanations. A prickle of cold fear runs up your spine as you watch a mass of Sholai sweep closer. You retreat from their territory before you can clue them into your presence.  You return to Freeplace. You never finished exploring the woods outside the alpha settlement, and it puts you nearer to where you think Goettsch may be. Perhaps you can also find another route north to where Trajkov is waiting.    The heart of the woods is naught but a snare of footpaths rotten with box mines and bone fragments.  Whenever you fail to disarm a red mine, out pops a raging battle alpha.  They don't get the chance to join their brethren. Sweeping the woods for mines didn't lead to any more answers, but at least this place will be safe for all the, well, civil beings nearby. Disarming some mines here will let us pass this area freely from now on.  North of Freeplace is the Power Station. We're not going there yet, for reasons which will be made clear in a future update.   Game Text posted:This pylon is carved with many intricate inscriptions and drawings. You think the designs are sketches of the figures buried here when they were alive, and of the funerals of the deceased. Game Text posted:Whoever the people were who lived here before the Shapers came, you are starting to develop some respect for them. This huge vault is an impressive piece of architecture, all the more so for being so old. You must be getting closer to Goettsch. If you can pass these traps, you'll be one step closer to getting some direction. Perhaps he can answer your doubts.  You send titty baby forward. The mines don't respond to the fyora. Your recent adventures with the crystal type mines dissuade you from getting up close and personal with them. If your creations can pass them safely, then any other hostile defenses, including the turrets, can be destroyed first, before you try to deal with the mines.  The turrets don't even turn towards your creations as they get into position. It's easy enough to destroy the first one.  The other turrets don't respond to the destruction of one of their own.  The vlish cautiously herd the team through the main chamber. Broken sarcophagi and huge pillars don't distract the creations from their goal.  Eventually, the team disappears from your sight.  One by one, Random rear end in a top hat leads the others through the destruction of the reaper turrets.  The reaper turrets don't respond to their piecemeal dismantling even when they're dying right next to each other.  The wastes ghosts concern TooMuchAbs more than the turrets did. Turrets are stupid, inferior creations. Game Text posted:This is a general sort of crypt, where the bones of the less impressive dead were stacked over many years. There are long lists of names on the walls, the sole records of the countless souls interred here. Ghosts have something to protect. TooMuchAbs has learned more than it wished to know about ghosts from its proximity to the fyora and the artilas. Ghosts are more cunning than turrets. Ghosts killed the First Vlish.  Ghosts must be destroyed.  They are fragile. Random rear end in a top hat and TooMuchAbs terrorize those which aren't destroyed outright.  Game Text posted:You see a restless ghost in the corridor ahead, standing at attention. It seems to be standing watch over something. It doesn't seem to notice you. For the moment. GreatEvilKing whines. It sustained several wounds in the crypts and is reluctant to face more ghosts now. Random rear end in a top hat and TooMuchAbs do not have orders to return to the Shaper, though, and proceed to attack the waiting ghost.  The first waiting ghost charges after the team does significant damage to it. It strikes Random rear end in a top hat with energy that leaves it slack and numb. Another ghost materializes beside it. Random rear end in a top hat is unable to rally its willpower; instead, it falls. TooMuchAbs is left alone to lead the other creations.  The artilas react badly to ghost energies, but unlike Random rear end in a top hat, they survive. First Vlish and Second Vlish died to ghosts. Ghosts must be destroyed.  You can tell that things are going wrong. Your connection to Random rear end in a top hat snaps, and your tethers to the artilas are growing weaker. You call them back.  TooMuchAbs feels a tug to return, but it has not yet fulfilled its first duty, which is to eliminate threads in the crypt. It cannot decide whether to stay or return. It bobs in the air, weighing the two priorities. The fyoras whine.  The fyoras keep whining as TooMuchAbs prioritizes its first directive, which is to secure the path for the Shaper. The First Vlish and the Second Vlish died to ghosts. Ghosts are a threat to the Shaper. Ghosts must be destroyed.    The ghosts have vanished.  But there are turrets. Turrets are stupid and simple. The turrets will be destroyed before TooMuchAbs obeys the weak tug to return to the Shaper. The tug comes again, sharper. The turrets will be destroyed after TooMuchAbs returns to the Shaper.  The turret targets the creations as they return. The turrets have become aware. They were not aware when the vlish first killed them, but now they are aware, and they wait to kill vlish. TooMuchAbs strikes first. Placid saviour, though weak, follows up with acid. RickVoid compounds the acid. Titty baby is weak. Titty baby flees. These attacks are not sufficient to destroy the turret without Second Vlish.  It is not weak titty baby that dies to the stupid turret. The stupid turret kills GreatEvilKing, eldest fyora. TooMuchAbs kills the fyora-killer. It is too late without Second Vlish. Random rear end in a top hat would have completed the attack before the stupid turret became the fyora-killer.  The Shaper heals all wounds, but the Shaper does not heal death. The Shaper makes the Fourth Vlish and the Fifth Vlish.  Talow and Geokinesis are strong. They will kill the ghosts. They will not create fyora-killer turrets.    More turrets die.    No turrets become fyora-killers again. But the eldest fyora is gone. The Shaper is disappointed. The Shaper must not be disappointed.  The Shaper does not join them at the end of the ancient crypts. The Shaper makes the creations rejoin her instead. "The assumption that animals are without rights and the illusion that our treatment of them has no moral significance is a positively outrageous example of Western crudity and barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality," from The Basis of Morality by Arthur Schopenhauer. Next time: Paying Tuition The traps in the ancient crypt are much too difficult for Solution to disarm right now. Likewise, she can't survive triggering them and detonating the mines. That means we need to find another way around. Next time, we'll also get the bonus ghost jacuzzi death!
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Jan 16, 2017 19:54
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Nice, I'm a Vlish!
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Jan 16, 2017 20:39
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 OG salamander crew.You got further than anyone expected.
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Jan 16, 2017 20:41
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Our puppies are dead! 
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Jan 16, 2017 20:59
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RIP Fyoras 
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Jan 16, 2017 21:14
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POOL IS CLOSED posted:I was just thinking I needed to include some typos so you could comment and then I could ask you if you're on the hype train for the new triple X movie! ... Oh. Wrong Xander.
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Jan 16, 2017 21:16
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The OG fyora crew lasted far longer than I expected. Still, I was disappointed that GreatEvilKing bit it here of all places. The artilas abide. Chronische posted:I don't think that the level 3 fire or magic shaping are available yet? You have to go deeper into the island for those, iirc. Thanks for the reminder that I have a bunch of skill and attribute text to transcribe! Xander77 posted:? 
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Jan 16, 2017 21:31
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I made you a fanart. I hope it wasn't presumptuous to give Solution a face, as having mine burnt off by a Fyora often offends!
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Jan 16, 2017 22:14
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| # ? May 4, 2024 10:56 |
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Those fyoras lived long and died well, in the service of a Shaper who, it seems, is learning a great deal about the value of life as she increases her control over it  That said, if you find yourself in need of a name for a new creature, I'd be glad to be part of Solution's entourage...
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Jan 16, 2017 22:14
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