A few observations

[Rathius]

Hello everyone, I've finally gotten out n about to just kind of roam around and look at things, and have a few short observations that come as somewhat odd. Or just bring up questions.

I realize some of these could be entirely changed by a full launch, but still questions that may continue on.

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First thing is... after reading the stories posted, I'm either missing something, or there's an official story in the works that explains why there are so many ARC outposts about the planet and why there doesn't seem to be that much Imperium.

It's my current understanding that the Imperium was supposed to essentially have the planet on military lockdown, and ARC in hiding. Not the other way around. What struck me the most was the outpost right across from the island that Janus is on. It's just right there on the shore.

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Second, the "New Arrival Experience" is pretty non existent. For example on Calypso there are new arrival equipment specially geared towards being inexpensive and and teaching aids. I could understand not having the missions yet as they could still be getting worked on, but the new arrival equipment would be a huge step forward. Especially so Mentors could easily access this stuff for, well, mentoring, heh. Player content is generally much more intriguing and rewarding, so again the equipment would go a long ways toward keeping new players around.

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Third, somewhat relating to the "New Arrival Experince" as mentioned above... is that it seems right outside of Janus may be getting built up for this? Since I found a puny mob and generally low level creatures there and some little outpost setups along the path. It just seems odd that players would start at the ARC HQ, yet then have to transfer to Janus to do this. Unless they're being "re-integrated" in to Cyrene as part of some mission that doesn't exist yet...

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Anyhow, that's it for now that I haven't seen really posted anywhere else yet. So if it is, I apologize. I'm also still doing rounds about the planet, so I'll update if I find anything else peculiar.

 

[MindStar 9]

Thanks for your observations Rathius, feedback is always appreciated.

With regard to "storyline" ... what you have read in the Covert Ops Zek series so far are bits and pieces of the "official" Cyrene storyline that will show itself in quests and other mediums, including the official character development "Chronicles" that are being written behind the scenes.

With the Covert Ops series, Ed has been feeding me "official" Cyrene storyline to weave into the fabric of the Covert Ops episodes, including exclusive content such as photos, graphic sketches, items, etc., and ... it's been a way for us to reveal more about Cyrene.

As I've mentioned many times in the past (but for those who are new), the Cyrene storyline is massive (already written), with many side stories and sub-stories, and as the planet evolves, these stories will present themselves in many ways.

I agree with your assessment that Cyrene is supposed to be on military lockdown, something that the Supreme Commander Will Winters initiated, giving everyone the impression that he thought his wife Zorra Winters was killed by terrorists. We learned this from the first Covert Ops episode in last year's June issue of the EntropiaTimes magazine, along with the fact that Zorra had escaped in her husband's Fenris Power Armor and made it out of the city in time to miss the mini-nuke that Will set off trying to kill her because of her discovery.

You are also right, that A.R.C. (Acacia Rebirth Corps), developed by Zorra, is in hiding right now from the Imperium, and especially from her husband Will. This is why she had MindStar hijacked from the Zek Swamp and brought to their camp, so that she could get a message to the Senator to let him know they needed his help, and specifically - to get Vida at the Skylabs to work on an antidote for the (purple) mind control drink that Will was using on people.

As mentioned in that first episode, the Turrelions are cloning DNA and passing it to Zorra, which is how she is building her army (think newbies), and needs the Senator's help to re-integrate these individuals into society. Perhaps this is the reason there are so many A.R.C. camps, but if you take note, the ARC HQ is nestled nicely in an area out of sight, and on an island not close to anything, other than the Southern Base.

If you're talking about the Aerial Base on the shore, it's across from the Secluded Outpost XABY, which is only a TP with a turret and a revive terminal, and not an ARC Camp. Also, the Shadowed Glade TP is just a TP, turret and revive, and not an ARC Camp near Janus island. The Hunting Grounds TP could be considered a camp, but it's far enough away from Janus island that it could be considered somewhat secluded. However, I think there is a robot factory where Imperium hang out near the Southern Base camp, so that's pretty close.

I believe the City of Janus is the HQ for the Imperium, Sons of Remus, and the Senate, which Senator Calvin Neff is an official of (my understanding anyway), but we need to see what the developers do with the city going forward in this respect.

At any rate, I totally understand what you mean about the storyline, but I think Ed will have to address his perspective on why there are so many ARC camps (other than what I proposed), and the situation regarding the planet being on military lockdown. I think with the hardcore launch we may see other things come to light.

However, keep reporting your observations, because I agree that, in spite of the storyline being there in fragments at the moment, it should make sense with regard to flow and how the planet evolves. I'm sure we can work at making this more clear.

Thank You!

 

[Rathius]

Alrighty, thank you so much for the extra bits of info. I did manage to read through the rest of the stories, which why some of this came up.

In regards to the 'camps that aren't camps' thing, I just figured they were since they had the same type of tents and turrets as the ARC HQ. It's I guess an 'artistic' thing that I feel could use a bit of tweaking if that's the case. In most cases that I'm aware of, even if a rebel faction re-purposes enemy technology, structures, or what-have-you, they still end up putting their own unique flair to it, even it it's subtle. Especially if they've had enough time with it. Not only as an artistic thing, but a way to tell friend from foe and suit their specific needs.

 

[EyEs oFtHe PiTt]

The Vigilnates of Cyrene will be keeping the peace during lock down..