BEHOLD -- An Ancient Emblem of the Seraphs: The HAXEUS Insignia

[Jobediah Timberman]

I was very tempted to post a picture of this right away, in my excitement of 'discovering' this artifact. I originally only wanted to make it as a piece of artwork for using online. Anything circular makes a great avatar, after all. 

But then I realized what I would have been told by probably everyone: that this would make an absolutely fantastic decoration piece within the game. Not to mention a symbol to put on a flag or tapestry as I planned. Then in my excitement I almost posted the beta version of the mod before I even figured out the best way to handle the crafting recipes. Then I decided to take my time and just do it right. 

Before I begin rambling for far too long, I'll explain the big question. 

As the title says, I have dubbed this Seraphic symbol the "Haxeus". It is a portmantau of the words "Axis" or "Axes", plus "Hex" meaning "Six", and "Hack" meaning "Whack", or "Chop", or "Dig", etc. 

Because after all, every one of these tools could be described as "hacking". Especially the hacksaw, which, ironically, I didn't think would fit with this shape until I used only the blade. (At first I tried including the whole saw, and the only place to put it was to make it a mouth, and the axe and shovel become eyes, and it was too freakish and confusing. I'd rather not even mention it, I want this post to be taken seriously.)

I can't remember how long ago it was when I first had the faint idea for the basic idea of a symbol involving tools, but I'm realizing now that it might have been quite a while ago. I forgot about it completely, because didn't think I'd be able to pull anything off that would be good enough and unique enough. By that I mean something that's not an obvious ripoff of other logos and symbols.

And yet I think this thing somehow turned out perfect. It combines almost all of the construction tools arranged in a circle, and the lines of the handles become a set of 3-Dimensional X-Y-Z axes. 

And, not only do the tools fit together perfectly like this, the best way to arrange them was at an angle that is appropriate for each tool -- they look like they're in the middle of being used. I didn't even plan on this, and only noticed it afterwards, which another reason for my enthusiasm. 

To elaborate (as if it's necessary): The Pickaxe needed to be on top anyway, being that it's the key to acquiring resources to craft the rest of the tools, but it's the most appropriate place, as it's the one tool used by swinging it high over your head. The Axe tends to be moving at this downward/horizontal angle when it's about to chop, likewise, the Hammer strikes downward onto an anvil. And of course the Scythe, Shovel, and Hoe face downward, as you're always using them down toward to the soil. The Saw blade I could only include by hiding it in the center, but there's a reason for that, as you can guess. More on the hidden letters later. 

Anyway, part of what took so long is that I was debating whether to make it work with any combination of metals, but I decided to keep it simple and require all 6 tools to be the same metal. For one thing, I don't know if we want to deal with an item called "haxeus-copper-tinbronze-blackbronze- copper-tinbronze-copper", even if the variant system does handle it properly.

It's meant to be a work of art, so maybe consistency is better. Maybe if enough people want it variant versions will be possible, but for now, here are all the available forms of single-metal Haxeus: Copper, Tin Bronze, Bismuth Bronze, Black Bronze, Gold, Silver, Iron, Meteoric Iron, and Steel.

I also debated a lot as to what to call it, for a while I wanted to pronouce it like "axes", but "Haxes" looks like "hacksiz" instead of "hacks-ease" like I wanted. But more importantly I wanted to make it sound like a real Latin word. I've also considered other words to add on, like "Locus Haxeus", 'locus' meaning location. Or "Haxeus Cartesia", a reference to the Cartesian coordinates. I'm willing to consider other secondary names too, but I think I've settled on "Haxeus". 

I don't know why this idea is so exciting to me, but it turned out perfect on so many levels. I know part of the reason is that it's a mod that everyone can install and appreciate because it basically doesn't change the gameplay progression or challenge in any way whatsoever. 

But on top of that, there's so much meaning behind every aspect of this thing, and that is required for any good symbol. But even better, a lot of it just happened this way through serendipity, much like the things you encounter in Vintage Story once in a while. 

In other words, I'm not exaggerating, it genuinely feels like I discovered something, as if this was an ancient symbol buried deep in the world of this game. After living in the world of Vintage Story long enough, it was only a matter of time that someone would make it, so it genuinely feels like it arose naturally out of the culture of this world. 

I also love the idea that in order to make one of these, you have to craft and/or acquire all of these tools, and then use up the tools while remembering not to let them break, and then use up inventory space just to take them home, just to build this symbolic trinket of achievement. It's a satisfying accomplishment as well as an attractive centerpiece for your coffee table. 

Of course, it's designed for more than a table centerpiece, and can be mounted on any wall or ceiling. It will be up to you not to let it clip into nearby walls or ceilings, as it takes up approximately 140% of a single block. You can still fit a Torch or Lantern right next to them, which will probably be something you end up doing to draw attention to your new wall ornament(s). 

Speaking of ornaments, which are usually hung down from something, I'm not sure if it should hang downward if placed on a ceiling, nor do I know how to make that possible in regards to rotation. For now it just mounts flat against the ceiling. 

If you have played a long time already, and you've thrown away a lot of broken tools, and you would have saved them to make one of these if it had been available, you can always "/gamemode c" and give yourself one. You'll find it in the Decoration section. 

I didn't include a smaller one, since I figure the standard size might be what we all want anyway. But this amazing model editor already planned ahead for such things, and there is a function to scale the entire model down in proportion. I couldn't even consider doing that manually, but thanks to putting the whole model into one central object (one of the strings in the middle), I can scale the whole thing effortlessly. 

In fact the whole strange concept was fairly effortless, thanks to this model editor, but it would have been worth the effort anyway. Naturally I hope this can become the official symbol for our people, but I leave that up to the community. 

Without further ado: the download link for the mod:

HaxeusInsignia0.0.9.zip

The HAXEUS Insignia: A perfect circle of tools, joined handle-to-handle, to form the 3-D axes representing the Lattice of Creation. 

 

And finally, something else that was mostly unintentional, there are actually several letters encoded in this symbol.

There are three hidden meanings in these letters, and I will allow you to take a moment to find them before I spoil it by giving the answers. 

And for anyone who wants to use it on artwork, here's a version with a transparent background. 

 

Secret Meanings - Small Hint: 

Spoiler

This is one case where X does not mark the spot. Okay, so it still does, but that's not the letter you're looking for.

First Secret Meaning(s):

Spoiler

The copper tools form the letter "S", which is then surrounded by 6 wooden "V" shapes -- "V" and "S" for "Vintage Story". And S is for Seraph. 

Second and Third Secret Meanings:

Spoiler

The circle of copper toolheads form an "O", and the circle of white strings form another "O". The Pick and Scythe are a "T" and "L". Combined with the S, it spells "TOOLS". And of course, the T and L stand for Trans-Locator. 

This Flower Of Life background I made myself, so feel free to use these as your avatar if you'd like.

I wouldn't mind donating it towards an official merch store, because I know people will want this on t-shirts and coffee mugs and mousepads. I'd be happier if it was made official to help the devs directly, and we'll work out the details later. 

Also, if you find any good free backgrounds that would also work, I'm willing to take suggestions. Or if it's a simple enough idea I that can replicate it, I'll give it a shot, but I'm not a free-form type of artist (I can't draw). 

 

Also, I realize this post is essentially about a "mod" release, but it's basically cosmetic, which means most non-modders will actually be interested. If anything, please allow this post to be seen before moving it to the Mod Releases forum. But I think mods like this can be an exception to the rule, provided they're more about cosmetics and/or lore. 

Edited March 14, 2021 by Jobediah Timberman

[DanaCraluminum]

If I'm not mistaken, then mods should go to one place on this forum

Edited March 14, 2021 by Craluminum

[Jobediah Timberman]

In cases like this it's technically inaccurate for me to have called it a "mod", as it doesn't even modify anything. So I was mistaken in not calling it an expansion, because it's only decoration, so it gives no gameplay advantages. If anything, it almost belongs in Story, but that would limit who sees it as well. I can understand why people would be upset if a server suddenly installed any of my other mods, but for something like this, no one would even notice any difference if this was made part of the base game. Quite a few people might never find out about this expansion if they're opposed to modding, and if they use up all their tools, they might be disappointed they didn't know about this beforehand. And if this was posted in mod releases, some mod users might be disappointed that this one doesn't even do anything. It makes so much more sense to post it here, or at least leave it here for a while to announce it until enough people have seen it. 

[l33tmaan]

6 hours ago, Jobediah Timberman said:

In cases like this it's technically inaccurate for me to have called it a "mod", as it doesn't even modify anything. 

That's some funny mental gymnastics for a mod that adds items to modify the base game. 
Really though, it looks great.