Lets expose the mysteries!

So, the Speculation thread was a huge success. And it followed with 2 more threads. Each of them is long, the original being 28 pages (! whopping!). And "More Speculation" was 12 pages too. They certainly gave amusement for peoples buck, and pipeline even gave hints that helped solve the mystery of Kont. So, Im presenting a thread called F-25 Mysteries. It explores the oddest, most mysterious planets in the entire of F-25. The ones not clearly explained in the planet description, or, worse, not even the string (I have only played the Querin one as whole so far). So... lets start speculating! Perhaps Bomb even gives answers! That would be fun! Though just wildly speculating is kinda even more funny. Lets try to keep it at the same high standard as the Speculation threads, shall we? I like well-reasoned theories best. F-25 (1 or 2) beta testers are also welcome to speak, perhaps Bomb gave them a inside scoop.

Xog: This is a prison planet. However, is there something more to know than that? The Querin string explains it only very briefly, telling about the rescue of some high-ranking Querin guy.

Cedekaa: Now this is mystery. You need to be more than a Honored Leader to land on it. You heard me- Honored Leader isnt enough! Practical experience reveals that its almost impossible to gain this rating fairly anyway, and now that! You need months of playing and a lotta killing (and I mean over and over) to get it. Just what is so important in it? I dont remember the planet description, but I remember that it didnt explain it very well. Its conquered by the Centurians in the Querin string, if that helps at all. Perhaps the reclusive Centaurans have something to hide? Anyways, getting access to that planet is a testament to your fighting skills (and devotion to stand boredom after the string!) It could be considered your ultimate goal after the string- raise enough rating to get access to it! Or one goal, anyway... :mellow: Somehow I got the feeling that Bomb is joking with us and took it off the hat- what is the purpose of 2500 legal rating needed anyway? A subtle hint is at the beginning of the Querin string- you need to recover a relic (?) and there is some guards when it is still under the control of the Kytaan. There is some Querins that distract the guards- something said about explosion. They give you the cold shoulder, which means the Querin are not too happy about having you there either. "Go. You never were here."

Tantiss: This is even more odd than Cedekaa. The planet text hints at something more powerful than normal beings being present (pun NOT intended). The text doesnt change to horribly more informative after the Querin conquers the Kytaan and The Republic gets it. It just says that they are in process of shutting down whatever was there.

Original F-25 (1.4): There is a uninhabitated F-25 right over the edge of Galactus Group. You heard that right- a second copy of the namesake planet of the plug! Perhaps Bomb decided it was so important he decided it needed to be duplicated? (just kidding). There is some (though very modest) info about it in a thread I submitted some bugs in:

1. There is a system 2 jumps from the edge of Galactus Group space. Its supposed to be inhabitated (Independent Clean), and has DefCounter of about 2400 (so it has a defense fleet), but says the planets enviroment is too hostile. Annoying bug. I want to see every inhabitated planet! Is it because Government is -1?

You can only see the planet desc in ResEdit and it says that this version of F-25 is so remote even the Centurians avoid. Even the reclusive Centurians? Then there must be something really creepy about it. If it wasnt just a game, I would feel uncomfortable.

Then there is the mystery of the Galactus Group itself (the Imperial Dominion is easier to understand so they arent as cool). There apparently is a string for them in the original version, but I never got it. The only mission I got was where you search for some traitor. I dont know how to get it, nor if it actually makes the Imperial Dreadnought avaible for sale. It actually was superior to all other ships if I remember right- for example, a Imperial Heavy Fighter bay! There is a mysterious quote that talks about something called Shadow Alliance when asking for help: I was assigned a mission by the Galactus Group to find clues to discovering the traitor associated with the Shadow Alliance. I have completed that and now am currently on a mission to retrieve the "Guardsmen", 12 to be precise, out of the original 2000.

PS. There is some more fun: something called The Combine is mentioned in F-25 2. Its told that "it sends you its thanks" in a Querin mission.

PPS. Bomb, mate, would you be so kind as to tell how to start the Galactus Group missions in F-25 1.4? They were the only group whose missions I never found, and I could start their mission to keep me out of boredom. I could stand the all the bugs of the original cuz it had so much more sidestrings.

OK, now its off my chest. It took me more than a hour to write in a Internet cafe. It was very concentrated writing.

-Cade

This post has been edited by General Cade Smart : 26 December 2005 - 02:07 PM

Tantiss... ever hear of Mount Tantiss? It was in a couple of Star Wars books, and was a massive cloning facility. There are many other Star Wars references in the plug.

Cade, the biggest mystery for me was finding missions. (sorry, Bomb) I finished the Querin String, and had to basically cheat to find the elders (with the help of old posts). Then I found the end of another string in the group of planets due south of Kytaan space (or, to the left, when you first enter into the expanded systems).

I really did like the game, though.

This brings back memories.

General Cade Smart, on Dec 26 2005, 05:54 PM, said:

So, the Speculation thread was a huge success. And it followed with 2 more threads. Each of them is long, the original being 28 pages (! whopping!). And "More Speculation" was 12 pages too. They certainly gave amusement for peoples buck, and pipeline even gave hints that helped solve the mystery of Kont. So, Im presenting a thread called F-25 Mysteries. It explores the oddest, most mysterious planets in the entire of F-25. The ones not clearly explained in the planet description, or, worse, not even the string (I have only played the Querin one as whole so far). So... lets start speculating! Perhaps Bomb even gives answers! That would be fun! Though just wildly speculating is kinda even more funny. Lets try to keep it at the same high standard as the Speculation threads, shall we? I like well-reasoned theories best. F-25 (1 or 2) beta testers are also welcome to speak, perhaps Bomb gave them a inside scoop.

Xog: This is a prison planet. However, is there something more to know than that? The Querin string explains it only very briefly, telling about the rescue of some high-ranking Querin guy.

View Post

**To be honest, I wrote the scenarios so long ago, a lot of it will be speculation on my part as well. However, I think its pretty safe to say that Xog is one of the least mysterious planets of the entire galaxy; I can clearly recall trying to develop the southern Kytaan Empire because in the original scenario it'd always been this big stretch of abandoned systems, then boom, densely populated worlds. I guess I've always been one of those who believed that even space faring Empires would geographically have a more seedy periphery where the influence of the law became thinner and thinner. Therefore in an attempt to keep that sort of trouble away from the core worlds, the Empire would ship off the rabble to some distant, barren world where they'd probably never return from. That said, I guess its sort of an unplanned irony that the Querin would make up the bulk of these prisoners, when in fact they come mostly from wretchedly unpleasant worlds and therefore wouldn't be fazed much by Xog.
**

General Cade Smart, on Dec 26 2005, 05:54 PM, said:

Cedekaa: Now this is mystery. You need to be more than a Honored Leader to land on it. You heard me- Honored Leader isnt enough! Practical experience reveals that its almost impossible to gain this rating fairly anyway, and now that! You need months of playing and a lotta killing (and I mean over and over) to get it. Just what is so important in it? I dont remember the planet description, but I remember that it didnt explain it very well. Its conquered by the Centurians in the Querin string, if that helps at all. Perhaps the reclusive Centaurans have something to hide? Anyways, getting access to that planet is a testament to your fighting skills (and devotion to stand boredom after the string!) It could be considered your ultimate goal after the string- raise enough rating to get access to it! Or one goal, anyway... :mellow: Somehow I got the feeling that Bomb is joking with us and took it off the hat- what is the purpose of 2500 legal rating needed anyway? A subtle hint is at the beginning of the Querin string- you need to recover a relic (?) and there is some guards when it is still under the control of the Kytaan. There is some Querins that distract the guards- something said about explosion. They give you the cold shoulder, which means the Querin are not too happy about having you there either. "Go. You never were here."

View Post

**That last little bit certainly ought to tell you something about the planet's significance. If the Kytaan are eager to keep it secret, the Querin don't want to talk about it, and the Centurians go so far as to take over a planet that is geographically incredibly distant from their borders, then there must be some sort of reason that binds all three together. Hints about this can be found in the scenario. That much I know, because it was something I purposefully included in the second scenario.
**

General Cade Smart, on Dec 26 2005, 05:54 PM, said:

Tantiss: This is even more odd than Cedekaa. The planet text hints at something more powerful than normal beings being present (pun NOT intended). The text doesnt change to horribly more informative after the Querin conquers the Kytaan and The Republic gets it. It just says that they are in process of shutting down whatever was there.

View Post

**I think its safe to say that the Kytaan Empire is hardly a model of morality, particularly when it comes to wars, and science developed to fight those wars. That said, Tantiss was something I'd intended to develop more fully, but I found it too hard to explore the more mysterious and religious aspects of the Empire within the constraints of the engine (particularly data wise), so I never really got the chance to go into too much depth with it.

**

General Cade Smart, on Dec 26 2005, 05:54 PM, said:

Original F-25 (1.4): There is a uninhabitated F-25 right over the edge of Galactus Group. You heard that right- a second copy of the namesake planet of the plug! Perhaps Bomb decided it was so important he decided it needed to be duplicated? (just kidding). There is some (though very modest) info about it in a thread I submitted some bugs in:

1. There is a system 2 jumps from the edge of Galactus Group space. Its supposed to be inhabitated (Independent Clean), and has DefCounter of about 2400 (so it has a defense fleet), but says the planets enviroment is too hostile. Annoying bug. I want to see every inhabitated planet! Is it because Government is -1?

You can only see the planet desc in ResEdit and it says that this version of F-25 is so remote even the Centurians avoid. Even the reclusive Centurians? Then there must be something really creepy about it. If it wasnt just a game, I would feel uncomfortable.

View Post

**I actually think it was some sort of throwaway reference to the two Kelmaon systems in EVO, more than anything else.

The independant world you're referring to is a rather poorly and hastily constructed part of the game. I'd defer to the second scenario, where the entire independant cluster is expanded and fleshed out much more, with more in depth stories and their own ship sets.

That was sort of the point of the scenario; I'd always intended it to be primarily about exploration and how interesting it could be to see what is out there, even in the furthest, deepest depths of space. People used to ask me a lot why I never developed the Centurians any more than I did, and the answer I always gave was honest, but it probably seemed like a cop out. I just thought it'd be better to leave some things to the imagination, which is why it's so difficult to even land at any of their planets. Hell, in the second beta I had testers fly right on by and never even know they were there.
**

General Cade Smart, on Dec 26 2005, 05:54 PM, said:

Then there is the mystery of the Galactus Group itself (the Imperial Dominion is easier to understand so they arent as cool). There apparently is a string for them in the original version, but I never got it. The only mission I got was where you search for some traitor. I dont know how to get it, nor if it actually makes the Imperial Dreadnought avaible for sale. It actually was superior to all other ships if I remember right- for example, a Imperial Heavy Fighter bay! There is a mysterious quote that talks about something called Shadow Alliance when asking for help: I was assigned a mission by the Galactus Group to find clues to discovering the traitor associated with the Shadow Alliance. I have completed that and now am currently on a mission to retrieve the "Guardsmen", 12 to be precise, out of the original 2000.

PS. There is some more fun: something called The Combine is mentioned in F-25 2. Its told that "it sends you its thanks" in a Querin mission.

View Post

**I honestly wish I could tell you where it was, but its been literally years since I even looked at the old scenario. If I had to guess, it would be a spin-off of that string, but I could be wrong.

All the clues you'll find about the Combine are in the scenario, they're just tough to find.
**

General Cade Smart, on Dec 26 2005, 05:54 PM, said:

PPS. Bomb, mate, would you be so kind as to tell how to start the Galactus Group missions in F-25 1.4? They were the only group whose missions I never found, and I could start their mission to keep me out of boredom. I could stand the all the bugs of the original cuz it had so much more sidestrings.

OK, now its off my chest. It took me more than a hour to write in a Internet cafe. It was very concentrated writing.

-Cade
View Post

**Like I said, I really have no idea how to find them, assuming they actually exist, which is why I'd recommend sticking to the newer version. I'm not terribly proud of the original, but it did have its good points. F-25 2.0 though is by far a better, cleaner game experience, one that is ultimately more rewarding and fulfilling than the original could ever have been.

_bomb
**

The Apple Cřre, on Dec 26 2005, 07:11 PM, said:

Tantiss... ever hear of Mount Tantiss? It was in a couple of Star Wars books, and was a massive cloning facility. There are many other Star Wars references in the plug.
View Post

**Literally dozens in the original, considerably less in the second version.

_bomb
**

Callide, on Dec 29 2005, 11:29 PM, said:

Cade, the biggest mystery for me was finding missions. (sorry, Bomb) I finished the Querin String, and had to basically cheat to find the elders (with the help of old posts). Then I found the end of another string in the group of planets due south of Kytaan space (or, to the left, when you first enter into the expanded systems).

I really did like the game, though.
View Post

**Hahaha, no offense taken. If you haven't already, I'd recommend you check out the newer version. It cuts out a lot of, (but not all:p ) the irritating aspects of the scenario.

_bomb
**

mrxak, on Jan 2 2006, 08:25 PM, said:

This brings back memories.
View Post

**Yes, it certainly does.

You know, something occured to me while I was looking over this thread; in the original version of the plug, the "Elders" were actually all based on people who were older or at least respected members of the webboards back then, so they do, in small part provide some sort of snapshot of the webboards way back in 1998. I'll have to give it a look, if for nothing else than nostalgia's sake.

_bomb

**

/me claps for the quadruple post.

Bomb, on Jan 3 2006, 06:20 AM, said:

**To be honest, I wrote the scenarios so long ago, a lot of it will be speculation on my part as well. <xogsnip>
**
**That last little bit certainly ought to tell you something about the planet's significance. If the Kytaan are eager to keep it secret, the Querin don't want to talk about it, and the Centurians go so far as to take over a planet that is geographically incredibly distant from their borders, then there must be some sort of reason that binds all three together. Hints about this can be found in the scenario. That much I know, because it was something I purposefully included in the second scenario.
**
**I think its safe to say that the Kytaan Empire is hardly a model of morality, particularly when it comes to wars, and science developed to fight those wars. That said, Tantiss was something I'd intended to develop more fully, but I found it too hard to explore the more mysterious and religious aspects of the Empire within the constraints of the engine (particularly data wise), so I never really got the chance to go into too much depth with it.

**
**I actually think it was some sort of throwaway reference to the two Kelmaon systems in EVO, more than anything else.

The independant world you're referring to is a rather poorly and hastily constructed part of the game. I'd defer to the second scenario, where the entire independant cluster is expanded and fleshed out much more, with more in depth stories and their own ship sets.

That was sort of the point of the scenario; I'd always intended it to be primarily about exploration and how interesting it could be to see what is out there, even in the furthest, deepest depths of space. People used to ask me a lot why I never developed the Centurians any more than I did, and the answer I always gave was honest, but it probably seemed like a cop out. I just thought it'd be better to leave some things to the imagination, which is why it's so difficult to even land at any of their planets. , in the second beta I had testers fly right on by and never even know they were there.
**
**I honestly wish I could tell you where it was, but its been literally years since I even looked at the old scenario. If I had to guess, it would be a spin-off of that string, but I could be wrong.

All the clues you'll find about the Combine are in the scenario, they're just tough to find.
**
**Like I said, I really have no idea how to find them, assuming they actually exist, which is why I'd recommend sticking to the newer version.

_bomb
**
View Post

I hope nobody thinks this is gravedigging. Though remember what Pipeline said: you can write in old topics as long you have something to contibute! If I dont remember wrong, he didnt like the whole term. And I just didnt get around to writing a reply since I was lazy... always something to do. And Bombs reply was LONG. Now I get around to it.

It is speculation or your part too? Sigh... moan
<_< That means we dont get ever to know the definite answers. Atleast with Nova, Pipeline and Frandall remember all the stuff, even if they wont tell us. While they wont tell us, they might leak us something sometimes, like the purpose of Kontik...

I snipped Xog because it is explained. I think I mapped it mysterious only because it is one of the few planets that is marked forbidden at the start.

So the mysterious second F-25 is just a cheap ("throwaway") reference to the two Kelmaons? That it is mysterious in the F-25 universe, like Kelmaon is in EVO. Oh. Why did you make it then, if its "poorly and hastily construed", to the point of being unlandable? Speaking about exploration... mmmmmmm.... exploration. I love exploration! I always like plugs having a lot of systems to explore. I like exploring every system in a plug. Landing on all planets. Reading their desc. Looking at thier services: how many on offer? Which outfits/ ships? Sometimes: whats for hire? Even more rarely: bar desc. Im sorry, but on me bas descs largely go waster since I rarely read them. And the most intriguing of all: does it offers any special outfits/ weaps not avaible on any other planet? Theres always a few in all of the Empire plugs... Or ships? These a readily avaible in it too, and perhaps other large expansions/ TCs I havent played yet... Speaking of deepest reaches of space, I also land at uninhabitated planets and see if they have a interesting desc or a boring desc or something that downright taunts you for landing there (happened in EVO). That explains why the Centurians are so mysterious. Why they have so few missions. I still think you should make more missions. Heck, I would make them myself if I wasnt so bad in 1) in mission bits. 2) Sequencing them so mission come in a order that makes sense.

So Tantiss is meant for religion? And mystery? Interesting. But the engine, especially data-wise blocked you. Was it that the engine prevented you from feeding too much text into it.

As for the Galactus missions: I found olldddd post saying that they start at Churb Station. I found this answer my own, mate, where you failed. So no worries.

Combine: I AM using the second version, and have found only one, the above-being reference. You are confusing. You say first All the clues you'll find about the Combine are in the scenario, they're just tough to find. :), yet you are later unsure that they even exist, and as developer are unsure how they are found. You recommened using the newer, but I get a impression that in light of lack of references they are actually in the old version. I went through the Querin string with a fine-toothed comb, since I always read them. Unless I missed something... you could provide me the names of Querin missions, since they are always confusingly named in plugs so you dont know which it is about. Or I should play the Kytaan string to the point where they deal with the Querin.