Thoughts on the Resonance Archive

[LadyWYT]

I finally made it to the Archive today(it was incredible!), and left with several musings that I'm now left to ponder until the next update. Apologies if the following is a little disjointed--it was an exciting expedition and I had to get the musings out. Hopefully it both makes sense and is interesting to read(though read no further if you don't want spoilers!)

1. Whatever the temporal gears are made of seems to exist in both a solid and liquid state, given the tank of glowing teal fluid in the engineering room. Perhaps the gears are just made of a metal that is infused with temporal essence somehow. What this essence does, I don't know, but at the very least it provides a source of light to some parts of the facility, as well as some sort of power source for the machines. I think this temporal energy may exist in a gas form as well, given that I dropped a temporal gear near the Library's gassifier and it started emitting teal particles. I'll have to try it again sometime in the future to see if I can repeat the incident.

2. Given the lore I've uncovered from the Archives and pieced together from random bits elsewhere, I'm guessing that the Rot was either triggered by humanity delving too deep in search of riches, or nobles paying scientists to push the limits of technology without heeding the potential dangers. There could be an entirely different reason too, as the Rot's origins haven't been made clear aside from it serving as the catalyst to drive the remnants of humanity underground and Falx to build the machine noted in the "Salvation" tapestry(I'll dub this the Salvation Engine for future reference).

3. . One detail that stood out to me was the abundance of massive rusty tendrils reaching from the depths of the Nobles Quarters--I didn't see spikes like this anywhere else in the Archives. "The Spy and the Sparrow" account found in the Library suggests that one of the nobles had spies infiltrating the ranks of Falx and his allies, while other lore bits indicate nobility's disdain for Falx's humble heritage and others of common birth. The "Danger of Temporality" tapestry seems to tell of some sort of paradise dimension, while warning of messing with powers that aren't well understood. In short, something especially horrific happened in the Nobles' Quarters, and I think perhaps they stole some of Falx's technology in a bid to save themselves first(and/or keep Falx from being heralded as a hero) only to make some miscalculations and potentially trigger the invasion from the Rust.

If the nobles were secretly tampering with Jonas tech and caused the Rust to start bleeding through, it could also explain why machines--especially automatons--started to go haywire when they had been docile before. Bells, however, could be explained as simply being hostile to anything that isn't human(which, the player is no longer human). Likewise, if the nobles and their lackeys were at ground zero of an invasion from the Rust...it could also explain where drifters come from and why they seem a melted mess of flesh and rusted metal. If Falx's Salvation Engine could turn humans to seraphs, a miscalculation with similar experiments could turn humans into abominations.

4. The Echo Chamber in the center of the complex and the resonators themselves bear an eerie design similarity to the thunderlord mech thing/Dave that appears during temporal storms. Dave's head and neck look like a more twisted, inverted part of the resonator. The Library's resonator archive mentions some sort of part resembling a creepy worm, that picks up signals to record in the resonator's echo chamber for posterity. I don't know if the two are actually linked somehow or if it's just an odd coincidence.

5. The "old alchemist" mentioned in the Library almost has to be Jonas Falx. Given what the archive describes, he achieved success with his Salvation Engine, although I'm guessing it was only partial given that he doesn't seem to know where any of the targets(the players) ended up. I would assume that Falx is a seraph as well now, given the implication that those subjected to the Salvation Engine became the seraphs. As to where we might find him, I'm not sure. I recall reading that villages are planned for the game, and the traders mention rare settlements that are hidden away(as well as others "like you" who just "appeared"). Perhaps he might be found in one of those, maybe with a whole workshop and special quests. Of course, if the next story arc contains another dungeon, Falx could end up being a target to rescue as well.

[ifoz]

I love the archives and the lore of this game!
(Also, really cool lore post and theories!)

One thing I would like to mention is that the archives seems to be sort of fundamentally altered by Jonas' temporal exploits.
The repeating hallways and rusty tendrils are a sign of this, but the largest highlight I have found is this one room in the Commons which has an identical layout upside-down on the ceiling. The beds, tables, chairs, skeleton, etc are all copied upside-down on the ceiling, alluding to some temporal-related event messing up the archives in a reality-warping way.

[LadyWYT]

I'm loving the lore as well, and there's just so much to unpack! I must've missed the upside-down room--will have to pay closer attention the next time that I'm there!

One thing I forgot to mention in my original post--the mysterious recording on the Library's resonator. The third recording is obviously a pre-incident conversation that serves to explain to the player what the contraption is and how it works. The second recording is the one left by the Old Alchemist. The first recording was left by at least two individuals, although who they are or what they are doing there, or when their visit took place remains a mystery. The scraping of metal on stone and rythmic clicking suggest maybe the Eidolon was active at the time, or perhaps a semi-mechanical entity. It could also refer to a hidden mechanism in the Archive itself.

On a whim I also googled "rubedo" and it seems to be a Latin word meaning "redness", while also referring to the finished work of an alchemist. Continuing with the theory that the Old Alchemist is indeed Jonas Falx, I'm thinking that the mentioned combination of blood and temporal flux was possibly a critical key in whatever took place with the Salvation Engine; either to allow the plan to function in the first place, or bringing about the temporal chaos that exists in the world as we know it. The Alchemist also mentions that "rubedo" applies to more than just blood/turning things to gold; rust just happens to be a red color as well.

------

"Aren't you listening? I said there's too many missing. Sure, we were dying like mayflies and mind you, some things are a bit hazy for me towards the end, but even so. They can't have all perished and they can't have all turned. I cannot be the only one. But where are they? That's what it always comes back to."

"No, they hardly know anything. Of course it pains me to see them suffer. They're like... little lost children huddled in their homes. But it's for the best. We had all the knowledge in the world. And worlds beyond! And what good did it do us? No. Best leave them to it. Let them think of me as some mad old sorcerer and leave me in peace."

I'm not sure if the Alchemist is talking to himself during the recording, or someone else, but he does seem to be talking about the seraphs here, at least in the first part, although it could just refer to humans too. Humans do still exist in the world--the traders are still human, after all, and mention the existence of villages. While they are polite, they also treat the player as an "other", mentioning that "more like you" have been appearing out of nowhere of late. As for the "they" in "they can't have all turned", this could refer to either seraphs, or drifters. Seraphs were turned from human, although the how or why isn't really known. The scenes described in "Confession" portray much of humanity's remnant displaying drifter-like behavior, although they seem to treat the author(presumably Falx) with great reverence. Of course, I suppose the Alchemist's second statement could just be describing the current remnants of humanity struggling to survive in the new world.

Another oddity that crossed my mind earlier today in regards to the seraphs--someone had to have known a little about them prior to the player's arrival, given the existence of the tapestries and paintings in-game. From a technical standpoint, they're just items that players can use to decorate, but the tapestries specifically have a definite lore component to them and are described in a different fashion than the flavor text accompanying other items. The tapestries seem to depict greenish-grey humanoids in most cases(seraphs), with dark grey humanoids that seem to be a match for drifters. The same dark grey humanoid also appears in the Rot tapestry. The tapestry descriptions also seem to be written from the perspective of the player character; the scenes depicted carry a certain familiarity with the prior and current realities, but the details are all still fuzzy. There also seems to be a distinct disdain for the nobility, which seems logical for a band of common folk loyal to Falx.

In any case, it does beg the question--who made the tapestries in the first place? Was it other seraphs, who perhaps also built some of the ruins we find scattered around but didn't survive? Was it remnants of humanity, although that seems a bit of a stretch especially given that survivors perhaps hold some animosity towards Falx regarding whatever happened with his plan. It could also just be a bit of a plot hole that may or may not be clarified later on.

-----

So much to consider, haha. I'm probably going to end up starting another world and giving a different class a whirl, and pick apart the pieces some more. I think I've found most of the current available lore in the game; the only bits that seem to be missing are a couple of tapestries and maybe a scroll or two.

 

[ifoz]

The old alchemist (Jonas?) refers to the people "dying like mayflies" as "we" and the book "The Patronage of Tibalt Amaro" mentions Falx's name despite it being set "before our dark age" and it's contents being only heard of in an old children's tale, leading me to believe that Jonas is immortal and therefore a Seraph, so the "we" he mentions is referring to the Seraphs.

(Another minor detail that to me hints at this is the "Holy" tapestry that depicts a stylised Jonas. There is a large gear icon on his chest, and Seraphs regain stability with temporal gears. Coincidence or not, I thought it was worth mentioning).

I assume "turning" is the process of becoming a drifter, who are the victims of the rot. The hunter and tailor classes wear masks to try and avoid catching the sickness, assumedly from when they were human, as Seraphs do not seem able to properly "die" to the rot. (Tobias mentions himself dying to the rot in one of his books, and then coming back). 

I also assumed the person he was talking to while recording may have been his friend and companion Tobias who is distinctly noted to be a Seraph as he tells of "returning" to the world (something only the Seraphs have been through) in his lore books that he wrote.

Edited April 25 by ifoz

[LadyWYT]

2 hours ago, ifoz said:

The old alchemist (Jonas?) refers to the people "dying like mayflies" as "we" and the book "The Patronage of Tibalt Amaro" mentions Falx's name despite it being set "before our dark age" and it's contents being only heard of in an old children's tale, leading me to believe that Jonas is immortal and therefore a Seraph, so the "we" he mentions is referring to the Seraphs.

(Another minor detail that to me hints at this is the "Holy" tapestry that depicts a stylised Jonas. There is a large gear icon on his chest, and Seraphs regain stability with temporal gears. Coincidence or not, I thought it was worth mentioning).
 

So that's what that tapestry is! I've found the bottom half of it, but have yet to find the top half. It's one of the few I've been missing. Given that seraphs seem to lose most memory of who they were, do you suppose that Jonas remembers himself? I would assume that he could probably piece together enough clues to figure it out, in the event that he had forgotten. I really want to find that tapestry now--perhaps I should load that world back up and try to finish collecting all the things. I had shelved it in favor of paring down my list of active mods, at least until I get some hardware upgraded. My computer handles the game just fine, but it starts getting painful too far into the wilds. Had some severe lag spikes when exploring the Archive and I know it wasn't due to temporal shenanigans, lol.

Any theories on who or what the Forlorn Hope is? I stumbled across that tapestry the other day, and have read the flavor text on the pieces of equipment, but I've not deduced much other than they seem to be an order similar to the Blackguards, perhaps with members of nobility rather than commoners. I'd hesitate to call them friendly, if they still exist. They might not be outright hostile to individuals associated with Falx, but I could see them(or perhaps a different faction) playing an antagonistic role later on. Disagreements on how to safeguard humanity, and whatnot.

[ifoz]

The Forlorn Hope were a band of knights brought together by wanting to wield the Prima Materia directly.
Whatever the Prima Materia is, Jonas discovered it, and in the right hands it could have brought about "heaven on earth" (quote from Schematic D tapestry).
It seemingly made certain humans into Seraphs, as it made them "miracle workers" and "sorcerers" (also quoted from Schematic D).

The Forlorn Hope basically saw that everyone was going to die and banded together in a quest to somehow obtain the Prima Materia in an effort to save humanity.
We don't know if they were successful or if they failed. Perhaps they obtained it and created the Seraphs, or perhaps they all succumbed to the rot. The Forlorn Hope estoc says that it is "an elegant blade" but "was of little use against what was coming for them", which seems to say that the drifters or the rot may have gotten to them first.
The chestplate description leaves it open though, stating that they may have "found their salvation or met their ruin", and that it is unknown which happened.

I don't know if they were antagonistic to Falx or not. He seemingly had some limited (not full) access to the Prima Materia, and they wanted it. They could have either worked with him or tried to take it/commandeer it from him.

Whatever the "new faith" was (I'm assuming it's belief in the Prima Materia) the Forlorn Hope were fanatical defenders of it.
They also "put their faith in the blessed device to deliver them from imminent death" which I assume refers to the Salvation Engine. (quoted from Forlorn Hope pants).



I'm assuming the manipulation of the Prima Materia is what has led to all the temporal craziness in the world that persists to this day.




[Also, I'd just like to add that I love your theory of the playable Seraphs being a ragtag band of common folk who aligned themselves with Falx. It fits why they know of what he said "in private" (dangers of temporality tapestry) as they would have been his friends or at least some of his followers].

Edited April 25 by ifoz

[LadyWYT]

18 hours ago, ifoz said:

[Also, I'd just like to add that I love your theory of the playable Seraphs being a ragtag band of common folk who aligned themselves with Falx. It fits why they know of what he said "in private" (dangers of temporality tapestry) as they would have been his friends or at least some of his followers].

Thanks! I got the idea from the scenario described within "The Spy and the Sparrow" story. The narrator mentioned getting in potential trouble with Blackguards, which is one of the classes the player can pick from. Other lore mentions Falx having a humble background, a trait shared by many of his followers. Given that the current player classes all seem to be some sort of common folk rather than nobility, it just made sense. 

Given the current ambiguity of the Forlorn Hope, I'm wondering if the story will be rather linear in how it plays out, or if we'll be able to influence the final outcomes a bit depending on the choices we make as players. I don't expect anything majorly groundbreaking in the case of the latter. Like most stories, I expect the world to be saved by the good guys(or at least, the "good" guys to push back the bad stuff enough for the world to carry on), but the different outcomes could be which characters live and which ones die in the process of saving it. If the Forlorn Hope(or someone else, for that matter) turns out to be an antagonistic faction that also seeks to stop whatever is going on with the Rot/Rust, that would offer a prime opportunity for the player to pick who dominates the world in the aftermath. Do Falx and his allies prevail, resulting in a society with a lot more freedom and opportunity for everyone to prosper? Or does the player side with the nobility of old, and force a return to feudalism and privileged aristocracy? There could also be an option to side with a Rust cult too, I suppose, although I'm not really sure how a "win" for them could be written while still maintaining a playable save file at the story's conclusion(without blatantly ignoring everything you just did to get there, that is). Perhaps it would be less a "win" for the Rust, and more a case of most major characters winding up dead in the process of dealing with the Rust and society as a whole remaining in fractured chaos.

-----

Back on the Alchemist for a moment--a thought crossed my mind while at work today. Regarding his mention of flux, and adding his own blood to it for some unknown purpose--I bet this refers to the same mechanic that the player uses to restore their temporal stability with temporal gears. Some temporal stability is returned immediately for the exchange of one temporal gear and a bit of health. So working off that as a base, I'm guessing that the flux mentioned is probably the glowing teal temporal stuff that we see utilized in Jonas tech. Adding a seraph's blood to the substance induces temporal stability, as well as having other potential effects and uses that we have yet to see. At a minimum, I'd say it's certainly more evidence for the Alchemist being a seraph, and I wouldn't be surprised if the next story arc explains more about who/what seraphs are and what's special about them.

[ifoz]

1 hour ago, LadyWYT said:

I bet this refers to the same mechanic that the player uses to restore their temporal stability with temporal gears.

I never thought of this before! That actually fits really well!




Also the different endings you proposed sound really cool. I always love when a game gives more than one ending, though it'll be tough for the devs to have any 'bad' endings as you'd still likely want to play on your save after beating the story.


In regards to The Spy and the Sparrow, I have noticed some potentially interesting things about it.
The Great Steppe set mentions it being owned by a humble falconer who was adored by the common folk.
I was wondering if this falconer has any connection to the Flock, as the name of the group as well as Sparrow's name are both related to birds and a rebel group of commoners.
Another wildly unlikely but still fun thing to think about is how the Great Steppe shirt looks a lot like the Malefactor shirt. Same size, same colour, same collar style, etc. I almost guarantee it's a wild coincidence, though I still thought it was interesting. The malefactor's class description mentions how "she is gone but you remain" and if all of these connections are true, then the "she" could possibly be Sparrow, and the malefactor may have been a member of the Flock.

Just a crazy theory I came up with!  

----------------------------------------------------


Great Steppe Shirt (left) and Malefactor Shirt (right) look oddly similar, minus the staining.

Edited April 25 by ifoz

[LadyWYT]

1 hour ago, ifoz said:

In regards to The Spy and the Sparrow, I have noticed some potentially interesting things about it.
The Great Steppe set mentions it being owned by a humble falconer who was adored by the common folk.
I was wondering if this falconer has any connection to the Flock, as the name of the group as well as Sparrow's name are both related to birds and a rebel group of commoners.
Another wildly unlikely but still fun thing to think about is how the Great Steppe shirt looks a lot like the Malefactor shirt. Same size, same colour, same collar style, etc. I almost guarantee it's a wild coincidence, though I still thought it was interesting. The malefactor's class description mentions how "she is gone but you remain" and if all of these connections are true, then the "she" could possibly be Sparrow, and the malefactor may have been a member of the Flock.

Just a crazy theory I came up with!  

Could be! I'm not sure if the names associated with specific clothing items will be of any importance later, or whether they're just there to add some flavor and nothing more. It could go either way. With how crafty the devs seem to be with world-building though I wouldn't be terribly surprised if the names come up later.

The theory does make sense though, when I stop and think about it. The Malefactor class description makes it obvious that whoever this individual is meant to be has done terrible things. Could be your run of the mill criminal, but it could easily be more than that. Upon looking up some of the stories as a refresher...wow, I missed a few pages of some of those books, somehow. I definitely think you're on to something with the falconer having a connection to the Flock. Perhaps the messenger that delivers the final message to the corrupt noble? Emric seems to have been the guy who was spying. As for who "Sparrow" is, I'm not sure. Perhaps the leader of the local chapter of the Flock? I think at the very least it stands to reason that the player Malefactor may have been a spy at one time(or other minion of corrupt nobility) and opted to join the resistance.

In regards to the similarity in clothing style--from a technical standpoint it's easier to make variations of one basic design than it is to have a completely unique design for each article of clothing. Having many shared designs also helps the art style of the other stuff in the game mesh well together. Looking at it from a lore standpoint though, characters from the same region should share the same general fashions, provided they're from the same culture anyway. Medieval clothing especially is often designed to serve more specific functions to solve environmental challenges, as much as it is an expression of individual taste.

[ifoz]

I think Sparrow was the leader of the 'local' branch of the Flock, and she is specifically mentioned to be a woman, tying in with the unidentified "she" in the Malefactor backstory.
Initially I thought that Sparrow could be the falconer and that they are one and the same, though I doubt it when I think about it. Sparrow is said to be a woman of stocky build, most likely a mason or other manual labourer. I don't see someone of this description being a master with a bow like the falconer is said to be.

I doubt the Flock would have any qualms with allowing a criminal to join their ranks, if said criminal was under scrutiny for trying to rebel against the upper class, and especially if that criminal is a master at foraging and scrounging for resources.

I do get that from a design standpoint making clothes from a base helps things mesh more, but I just thought it was an interesting similarity regarding my earlier theory of the malefactor tying into the Flock. Looking at it from a lore perspective though, if the malefactor and Sparrow are from the same culture/region, then it is probably safe to assume they are from somewhere in upper Eurasia, as the real life Great Steppe is a vast band of land on the upper-middle half of Eurasia. This brings to light the question of if the game is meant to be set in the real world. I am led to believe that it is, as the copper torc and bracelet mention the Celtic Isles.

Edited April 26 by ifoz

[LadyWYT]

38 minutes ago, ifoz said:

This brings to light the question of if the game is meant to be set in the real world. I am led to believe that it is, as the copper torc and bracelet mention the Celtic Isles.

I agree--there's more than a few references that match the real world, so that's probably what the old world in Vintage Story was. The world we actually play in, however...I'm not really sure. Given that the Resonance Archive seems to have been constructed prior to the events of whatever Jonas accomplished with his master plan, I'd say we're still in the real world, or what's left of it after the calamity. With all the time shenanigans going on, it could also be an alternate timeline altogether.

On the subject of character classes though, I wonder if there will be some unique dialogue options and NPC reactions for each one. It would help further integrate the player into the story, rather than just serving to change play style a bit. The traders already have a few different greeting options to pick from, although each one results in the same general conclusion.

The other thing I really want to know regarding traders...why on earth are seraph eyes so huge in comparison?! Is it just a difference that will be resolved later with model/texture updates, or is that a legitimate difference between seraphs and humans? I know seraphs tend to be taller on average, with pale bluish skin tones, but if the eyes are canonically that big in comparison to a human's it is a little goofy.

[ifoz]

I think the world was kind of 'scrambled' by all the temporal craziness, and has ended up unrecognisable from the old world.

I hope that if there is some grand story, classes play into it a bit more. It could be really cool to see some major character like Tobias react differently to meeting you based on your class. 
I also had an interesting idea of something they could do with the story relevant to class, though I don't know how well it fits the game.
I thought it could be cool if you could find a unique ruin of wherever our playable character lived before the calamity. You would probably have to go there for part of a main story event.
A burnt-out tailor shop, a decaying blackguard barracks, a rundown and rot-infested hunting lodge, the possibilities are near endless, and I think it would add a bit more depth to our characters, truly cementing them as people who truly lived before the calamity and didn't just appear in the world one day because we joined the game.

In regards to traders, I don't know! There is no lore mention of it, so I just assumed it was a stylistic choice. I like the way the seraphs look, even if it is a little goofy. I think it's endearing.
I think all the traders are meant to be really old guys, so maybe they are just constantly squinting. (They haven't realised they need glasses yet).

Edited April 26 by ifoz

[LadyWYT]

44 minutes ago, ifoz said:

I also had an interesting idea of something they could do with the story relevant to class, though I don't know how well it fits the game.
I thought it could be cool if you could find a unique ruin of wherever our playable character lived before the calamity. You would probably have to go there for part of a main story event.
A burnt-out tailor shop, a decaying blackguard barracks, a rundown and rot-infested hunting lodge, the possibilities are near endless, and I think it would add a bit more depth to our characters, truly cementing them as people who truly lived before the calamity and didn't just appear in the world one day because we joined the game.

Ooooo, yes! It could be a rare type of ruins that has special blueprints that unlocks new recipes for your class, and/or have loot related to a particular class. For example, a tailor shop could have recipes for new clothing, or existing clothing that doesn't currently have a recipe, in addition to having things like sewing kits, linen scraps, or the occasional article of clothing to find. Blackguard barracks could have pieces of their gear to find. There could also be lore books to add some extra exposition on what role each class played during the crisis. Having ruins like this would also offer an option to acquire class-exclusive items in singleplayer without needing to disable the class-exclusive crafting or relying on trader RNG.

The main issue would be balancing the loot. If there's too much loot then a lot of the early game could be skipped outright, and loot that is too high-tier can dampen the feeling of accomplishment that comes with achieving new tiers of equipment. On the other hand, it can be refreshing to stumble across a really nice tool earlier in the game, as it can save you a lot of time and effort that can then be devoted to other things(like building).

52 minutes ago, ifoz said:

In regards to traders, I don't know! There is no lore mention of it, so I just assumed it was a stylistic choice. I like the way the seraphs look, even if it is a little goofy. I think it's endearing.
I think all the traders are meant to be really old guys, so maybe they are just constantly squinting. (They haven't realised they need glasses yet).

I found a pair of glasses in the Archive! Although given all the drifters that inhabit the world, and what happens during temporal storms...maybe it's for the best that traders can't see very well, haha.

I like the goofiness of the seraphs as well, especially the expressions. The main character I play as can actually have a proper resting battle face via the angry expression(although when I draw him, he's usually smiling. Go figure!), which I also find adorably hilarious. The instruments as the voices adds to the effect; it illustrates the character's general personality while skirting the issue of everyone having the exact same voice(like how most Nords in Skyrim sound).

[ifoz]

1 hour ago, LadyWYT said:

The main issue would be balancing the loot. If there's too much loot then a lot of the early game could be skipped outright, and loot that is too high-tier can dampen the feeling of accomplishment that comes with achieving new tiers of equipment.

I think if the loot was limited to clothes, books/other lore items, decorative blocks and gear that you would need to repair yourself, the issue of progression skipping could be negated.

 

1 hour ago, LadyWYT said:

Having ruins like this would also offer an option to acquire class-exclusive items in singleplayer without needing to disable the class-exclusive crafting or relying on trader RNG.

This is my dream, I love some of the class-exclusive clothes but I can't get them all in singleplayer without cheats!
Please devs, just let me have my tailor jacket and mask, malefactor leather tunic and clockmaker wristguard!  

------------------------------

I really like the instruments as voices as well, it's very reminiscent of Don't Starve. The devs could pull a meta move and make a tuning cylinder that at first listen sounds like a jaunty ragtime tune, but then you realise all the sounds are player voice instruments and it's actually a recording of people shouting and scuffling trying to force their way into the underground.

------------------------------
Imagine every trader with the generic male Nord voice.
"Jonas save us! It's an Eidolon!"

[ifoz]

One thing I just found out about just now that possibly points to a time period of the "old world":
The Hanseatic League mentioned in the merchant set descriptions was a real-life merchant guild in the 1300's-1500's.
They operated near Russia, fitting with the Great Steppe being in Eurasia. This likely points to the "old world" location that Falx and the Seraphs are from being somewhere in or near Russia in the 1500's or earlier.

Edited April 27 by ifoz

[LadyWYT]

On 4/26/2024 at 12:57 AM, ifoz said:

Imagine every trader with the generic male Nord voice.
"Jonas save us! It's an Eidolon!"

*Scene: a trader's wagon in the middle of nowhere*
*Trader: "Hey you! You're finally awake! You were trying to escape the rifts, right? Same as me, and that thief over there."
*Camera pans to a Malefactor, tied up in the corner*

That really tempts me to take one of my characters(or write a new one), plunk them into Vintage Story, and then chronicle whatever ensues via a series of short stories. Though that also requires a lot of focus that I'm not sure I have currently, to achieve the quality I'd want.

6 hours ago, ifoz said:

One thing I just found out about just now that possibly points to a time period of the "old world":
The Hanseatic League mentioned in the merchant set descriptions was a real-life merchant guild in the 1300's-1500's.
They operated near Russia, fitting with the Great Steppe being in Eurasia. This likely points to the "old world" location that Falx and the Seraphs are from being somewhere in or near Russia in the 1500's or earlier.

Some of the armor sets also support this--the full plate and brigandine that we have in the game was more common toward the late Middle Ages, if I recall correctly. Central Europe would be a great setting for the Old World too; you could easily have multiple cultures mixing in one area via trade routes. As a side note, I also learned last night that apparently Anego Studios is based in Latvia, which fits that description perfectly.

[ifoz]

13 hours ago, LadyWYT said:

*Scene: a trader's wagon in the middle of nowhere*
*Trader: "Hey you! You're finally awake! You were trying to escape the rifts, right? Same as me, and that thief over there."
*Camera pans to a Malefactor, tied up in the corner*

This is perfect, Vintage Story / Skyrim crossover when?

I can even hear the way he says it. 
That 'tief over there.

[LadyWYT]

26 minutes ago, ifoz said:

This is perfect, Vintage Story / Skyrim crossover when?

Hah, maybe I should run with the mini-series idea and dump my Nord warrior into a temporal storm. Whiterun has good insurance, but I don't think it covers acts of Akatosh, haha! I do like the Nordic aesthetic and have been wanting to do a playthrough on a Cool start.

One thing that crossed my mind earlier though--if drifters are eldritch abominations created by messing with the flow of time, would seraphs qualify as eldritch entities on the opposite side of the spectrum? I'm not sure there is such a thing as a "good" eldritch being, though if it does end up being the case the seraphs do seem to be regarded in a neutral or positive light by remaining humans. That being said, I'm still waiting to stumble across some NPCs later who may be something less than friendly towards seraphs(although not outright hostile either).

[ifoz]

On 4/28/2024 at 2:39 PM, LadyWYT said:

I do like the Nordic aesthetic and have been wanting to do a playthrough on a Cool start.

I literally just began a cool start playthrough a few days ago! I'm playing with Better Ruins on and my first ruin was this big Nordic-styled hall, so I thought that was quite fitting!
I'm nearly in the copper age now, got very lucky with copper deposits and the Nordic hall being filled with clay and cattails. (And nightmare drifters. Can't forget those).

[LadyWYT]

@ifoz Pics when it's done?

[ifoz]

4 hours ago, LadyWYT said:

Pics when it's done?

Sure! I honestly don't know if I'll ever rebuild the hall, it would be a huge project. Right now I'm focusing on the reconstruction of this little homestead that I found - a much more manageable project for the copper age.