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In Progress Let's stir the Creature Soup in Vangers - One for the Road

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Just a clarification - asking about Xplo or Infernals as stated in options 1 and 2 doesn't end there. If any new words show up, I'll be asking about those too, until the dialogue tree is exhausted.

On an unrelated note, I find it funny how you guys stopped exactly 1 tabutask short of getting a warning from Oboorez who gave us specific instructions on what to do on Necross to not get shafted. :lol:
 

PocketMine

Savant
Patron
Joined
Apr 14, 2014
Messages
185
Location
Land of lóve
Serpent in the Staglands Codex USB, 2014 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech
- Who or what is raffa, Counselor?
- The raffas are all Zeephra's former husbands, without exception. After divorce, they go to Glorx to hang around the Beeboorats, but the latter don't give a fig about them.

I knew it she was interested only in my beebs :keepmyjewgold:


- The bios?.. We stopped at ProtoZeek deciding to recreate the Softie and the Cryspo, right? He started collecting bits and bobs from the dead bodies and composed new friends from them. A Softie's leg here, a Cryspo's head there, the eye of a beeb - he stuck them together. He toiled on and on, and that's how the bios were created. Perhaps they are not too attractive, but at least they are quite numerous.


:prosper:is called ProtoZeek and has a church ingame :updatedmytxt:




3B - Xplo
2
1
2
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Votes locked.

Let's see... Bring a Larva from Xplo, go fix Last Moggy, and get back to Boorawchick. Ask about Infernals... and there is one vote that wants to ask Zeephra about Xplo but not pursue it further.

Questions:
To Zeephra:

- Who or what is Xplo, Counselor?
- A mysterious world, the only one on which no bios have ever lived. There is an escave there, but it was not built by ProtoZeek, and the chronicles don't mention anything about it. It's a hostile place.
- It's a terrible secret. Among the Softie there were ProtoZeek's foes who envied his gift to build the Passages. When their envy made it impossible for them to stay, they moved to Xplo and built a lair for themselves. They were called
Spectators-Observers. They only observed and didn't want to work.

To everyone else:

- Who or what is Infernals, Counselor?
- We are a little afraid of them. With our P-beam we can sense an alien mind on Threall, watching the other worlds and directing the other species. You'd better keep away from Threall, my youthful friend.
- The Eleepods believe that the Infernals rule all the worlds. Isn't that nonsense? Everyone knows that the Buro is the ruler here!
- If you ever find yourself on Threall, remember the legends about the Infernals before they melt you down...
- I'm too old for conversations like this. But the Zeexen say it was the Infernals who cooked the Creature Soup.
- The story of the Infernals was devised by Zeephra to fool the vangers. An unfortunate creature goes to Threall, takes a bath in the lava, and goes home beside himself with fear. And Zeephra is there like a shot, with her false sympathy and old tales. Personally, I don't think the Infernals exist at all! Probably.
- They are mysterious creatures, and must be very mighty, since the Cryspo didn't gulp them down. They helped ProtoZeek create vangers, that's why we should, in theory, glorify them. But all the bios fear them... Why, don't you like your wife Zeephra? For ProtoZeek's sake, forget about the Infernals! I'll even wash my ears if you do...

- Who or what is Threall, Counselor?
- Guests on Threall are met with a storm of blinding fireballs and heat. The spirits of the lords of the Chain are there, and you are but a speck of dust to them...
- A strange, nearly incomprehensible symbol is your goal on Threall. If you should ever reach it, be ready for a real mind-quake!
- An Agent once served me, a good example Agent for everyone. Then he visited Threall and came back scared to death. Since then, he's remained stupid and never leaves Glorx. I had to degrade the blockheaded Agent to Commissar...
- Quiet, dry paws, or you'll bring trouble to our doorstep!
- You're on the wrong path, buddy. Some vangers stronger than you have left their wheels in the lava. And they say you can hear strange voices on Threall.
- A terrible world. Zeephra says some Infernals live there and drive the vangers mad, tricking them into getting themselves trapped, and then eating them up. But I didn't see anybody. Only the crazy Zeephra can sit in the middle of the lava, and I bet the Infernals are just another fruit of her fantasy, her way to fool the vangers.
- While he was creating the Chain of Worlds, ProtoZeek bumped into a mysterious world of the Infernals. These were very strange creatures. ProtoZeek scorched his leg on Threall, so he told everyone to preserve their sanity and not hang around there without a good reason...

We've seen a passage to Threall on Xplo...
 
Last edited:

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Part 21. Progress is stagnation.
First things first, though, we should look into fixing the Lawn Mower mechos, since we have decided to collect them all.

We can install Wheezer on that thing.
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It doesn't look so broken anymore.
A conlarver can only fit on a truck, and there are none on sale. I am afraid that I may not find one in the shop when the time comes to hunt for a Larva, so I sell mine and buy myself a lighter mechos. Hopefully, my Rivet Bier would still be there when I come back on Last Moggy.
2016_01_28_230444.jpg


Here we go!
2016_01_28_230718.jpg


Et tu, Zeephra? What is this sudden interest in Xplo from all bios? Isn't that the world with the Protozeek ill-wishers? Aren't you afraid that their Larvae could be corrupted or something?
2016_01_28_230800.jpg

- It's Saturday now, honey. Somewhere far away our Larva is crawling around deep underground. That place is called Xplo.

Later, darling. We are here for Last Moggy.

All that is left is to install Put-Put, and it should be like new.
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The stats are scary. The only drawback is the slow restoring speed, which makes it hard to jump. But the mere thought of this thing jumping fills with awe.

Note the cost of 1 beeb. Apparently, if you fixed it - you bought it. It will go up on your next visit, though.

In motion:
latest_cb_20120218201205_path_prefix_ru.gif
The first thing you notice about Last Moggy - IT'S FREAKING HUGE!
2016_01_28_231457.jpg


It's a behemoth among mechoses, a real escave on wheels. Here is a Blurry Dot, for comparison:
2016_01_28_231516.jpg

No contest, right?

Mechoses try to jump as far away as possible when they see me approaching.
2016_01_28_231630.jpg


It is also a drawback, though. There are a lot of narrow places on the map where the humongous carcass simply doesn't fit. Good thing it can make its own entrances and exits!
2016_01_28_231830.jpg


And sometimes it needs a Degradator just to enter escaves! I wish I were kidding.
2016_01_28_231920.jpg

There is a lot of loot lying around since our last massacre. Good times.

Also, did you notice that the cycle has changed two times since after I left Zeepa? Zeeklope racers couldn't even reach B-Zone in time! The Zeexen would greatly benefit from some stability in their cycle timings.

Zeekatrix meets us with enthusiasm, as always. Oh, right, I must have picked up a cirtainer on my way here.
2016_01_28_231940.jpg

[Cirt in Inventory]
- Wow, cirt has been brought for us to try. Where did you get it, you plucky guy? Must have scared a poor raffa stiff with your gun. Come on, I'm kidding. But we can't take the cirt, we aren't authorized. We have a rare disease that we caught from you, you Zeexen killer. We may die soon...
- Take the cirt to ZeePa and give our last regards to Zeephra. Her dream has come true at last, let her rest from copying popons: we decided to lay our hands on our chests and turn up our toes like the glorious Softie. Remember to remind her: she should send a companion to assume the post. It's high time she did.


[Bad Cirt in Inventory]
- Hold on, wheeler, I'd like to say something important to you. You've been making a bad impression lately, like a sapless ProtoZeek. After you dropped in on us, our spirits drooped and we don't feel like making fun of popons anymore...
- Do something with yourself, would you? Paint your mechos with polka-dots or something. Or catch a mischievous beeb.


Must be the wrong kind of cirt.

I think this car can beat the previous record of accidental kills set by my Rivet Bier. Merely exiting the escave at the same time as me is a death sentence for lighter vehicles.
2016_01_28_232051.jpg


Zeeklope riders arrive in one big swarm. All light cars. I can't let this lie, can I?
2016_01_28_232108.jpg


One runs into me headfirst and explodes. The other takes a bit of encouragement from the double-barreled ghOrb cannons.
2016_01_28_232126.jpg


The fumes of one explosion barely disperse, and there is already another in the making. In 7 seconds, they are all dead. I counted.
2016_01_28_232239.jpg


And to top it off, when I moved backwards looking at the loot, a mechos emerged from the escave underneath me.
2016_01_28_232747.jpg


I didn't even have time to react. :M
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I think this is the definition of the Ultimate Mechos. It can take on atTractor and its dreaded sawblade, and barely scratch itself while dealing out massive hull damage.
2016_01_28_232919.jpg


This must be what the Clash aftermath looked like. There is loot for miles around.
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But all good things come to an end, eventually. We must return to Glorx and prepare for the Larva hunt. First, though, I want to check through the rest of hideouts.
2016_01_28_233041.jpg


It's Star, a part of a Lawn Mower. Now we will be able to restore it fully.
2016_01_28_233111.jpg

Star
latest_cb_20120218203802_path_prefix_ru.gif
I see a Rivet Bier in Beeboorat colors. Why do I have the feeling that I won't find mine on Glorx?
2016_01_28_233231.jpg


Come to think of it, it's the first time I've seen a Beeboorat vanger trying to escape from me. Especially towards the impassable repelling barrier. It does not help. :lol:
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We have filfilled our mission and return to the Buro for our rightful reward.
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- Agent! For your achievements in the struggle against the enemies of the Buro you are assigned to conduct an audit in one of the Buro's underground sealed bunkers. It was built in case of war with the cunning Zeexen.
- It's near the residence of Geer'ah and stocked for the accommodation of an important counselor in case of emergency.


Let me guess who this important counselor is... :roll:

Anyway, we wanted another unique mechos? Here!

2016_01_28_234554.jpg

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What do you know! You can identify as an attack helicopter in this game! It's Vangers' take on a Soviet Mi-24.

It has medium weapon slots, and its cargo bay is miniscule, but WHO CARES, IT CAN FLY!

In motion:
latest_cb_20120218203803_path_prefix_ru.gif

But we need something larger if we want to catch a Larva. Like a Heavy Lady, which is conveniently present in a store. Also, a conlarver.
2016_01_28_234812.jpg

It is big. So big, in fact, that it doesn't fit in Last Moggy. I had to sell the Cogged Widget to fit this monstrosity inside.

There is only one last thing left to do... check the Hidden Vault! What treasures await us there?
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Meh, another spare part. This time it's Husker. I have no idea what's it for.
latest_cb_20120218210840_path_prefix_ru.gif
Finally...
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One must be careful on Xplo. The sands will try to drag you down and drown you, and it is not easy to weaken their iron grip on your mechos.
2016_01_28_235327.jpg


It makes some cool footprints when you do, though. Or is it wheelprints?
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I track the Larva to the mysterious pyramid... where I encounter one of the Zeexen cirt hunters. Great. And here I was hoping for some privacy.
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I open and close the inventory to glance at the map and verify the Larva's location...
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...and throw the conlarver right on top of it. The shrill alarm sound informs me that something got caught, and a mouseover confirms it!
2016_01_28_235541.jpg


We have a winner! That was quite easy. Don't know why Oboorez warned me to stay away from this business.
2016_01_28_235635.jpg


Oh. Maybe that's why.
2016_01_28_235649.jpg


A killer mechos decked in best gear awaits us on the other side of the Passage. It's probably some impostor who wants to take credit for our achievement.
2016_01_28_235717.jpg


But at this stage of the game, I think it is impossible for me to lose a 1v1 encounter.
2016_01_28_235729.jpg


I drop by Ogorod to boast about my latest prize.
2016_01_28_235745.jpg

[Larva in Inventory]
- Oh, my peepers aren't cheating! I see a conlarver with a Larva! It's been a long time since vangers last brought the queen of cirt here. Guess you caught some good fortune in your conlarver, soldier! Or your doom... Depends on how diligently you've been studying the Manual and the instructions of the Buro.
- Yeah, the Beeboorats pulled off a great coup and whipped those carcasses from the sapless worlds. Go to VigBoo quickly and check the Larva into the reception committee according to protocol KD-83.
- If you pull it off, put in a word for the old chap. For example: 'Oboorez helped me in all possible ways and personally guided my actions throughout the whole campaign.'
- Why are you blinking? Don't you remember what happened, pupa? There you go.


Heh. Always a social climber. He must have really wanted that post in Lampasso.

Well, here goes nothing! If we did everything right, the Buro will be extremely happy.
2016_01_28_235852.jpg


And what do you know, it is!
2016_01_28_235951.jpg

- Whee! It finally happened! The old dream of the common Beeboorats about the final settlement of Progress came true.
- Heroes dreamed of it as they died in the stadium; I dreamed of it when sending shrubs for correction; even the Buro dreamed of it when training Agents...
- And now, as our enemies started raising their heads, as clouds of dark plots started gathering above us, and as toxick was about to flow into the virgin waters of Glorx, a plain vanger came who was once given the shelter and care of the Buro.
- All the plots of our enemies and traitors fail at once, and all that is left for them is to flop their scratchers in impotent anger and crash their popons against their popped eyes.
- Jablees flew high above Glorx again and Beeboorats thundered their loud NO to the plots of the sapless carcasses.
- How much effort and patience the legendary Boorawchick displayed in developing this committed fighter for the Beeboorats' cause! So many cycles passed before his nursling developed a firm love of the Manual and instructions, before it finally became possible to plan and implement this delicate operation.
- The strategic genius of Boorawchick and the outstanding push of an Agent nurtured by Boorawchick have brought happiness to the escaves of Glorx. March on, Agent, and make your way to great feats and accomplishments under the guidance of the Buro and me!
- The Buro is giving us the highest awards! Boorawchick receives the All-Glorx Beeborat Award and a permanent pass to the cirt bunker.
- One of the rockslides of Glorx will be named after Boorawchick. Ten raffa offenders will be drowned in his honor.
- You will receive the Certificate of Participation in the 'Farewell to Progress' operation. Be proud of that, Agent. You've had the good fortune to take part in an operation with Boorawchick himself! You are now a veteran vanger and will have something to write home about!


And once he is done praising himself, he gives us another hint:

- Agent, remember: the Larva responsible for Heroism is temporarily residing in a zone of the Chain codenamed Fostral...

However, we have already milked the Buro for what it was worth, so there are no additional rewards except for a load of beebs and a bonus of 10 Luck. Fair enough. I can organize the celebrations myself. With fireworks, too.
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It is time to check on the second vault. You would never suspect something should be there if you don't look at the minimap.
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This time, however, there is some weird greenish thing inside. Doesn't look like a mechos part...
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It's an Artefact! Our first artefact!! One that is called 'Peelot' in the old translation, though the new one has it renamed to Flymatic.
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However, soon I realize that I can't pick it up. Last Moggy is too huge! It just drives over.

Shouldn't be a problem, though. I remember selling a few spare Degradators to Stylish Geer'ah for his games. He still have some spare ones left.
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Alright, tasty artefact, come to daddy!!

It is gone. Stolen by a passing vanger, no doubt.
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:rage::rage::rage:

I lash out at anyone I see, hoping that the thief couldn't have gotten far and one of them drops the item.
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No such luck. Vangers die in droves, but there is no thief among them. He must have sneaked away during the commotion.

Dejected and utterly crushed, I limp to Lampasso as the cycle changes. Maybe no one had it because they sold it to Geer'ah? His place is closest to the bunker.
2016_01_29_001303.jpg


Nope. Nothing in Geer'ah's stash. Maybe he hid it?
2016_01_29_001203.jpg

I dig at the walls, and discover his personal item. No artefact still.
Noboom
latest_cb_20120322113840_path_prefix_ru.gif

Some stuff of an unknown nature. It'd be a good idea to throw in into some deep ditch on Glorx, or Geer'ah will find a way to punish the rascal who tries to present it to him pretending it's a genuine Nucleoboom.
It is time to calm down and think of what to do next. Boorawchick is always happy to provide a helpful suggestion.
2016_01_29_001443.jpg

- Agent, remember: the Larva responsible for Election of Castaways is temporarily residing in a zone of the Chain codenamed Necross...
What do we do next, my Codexian Brothers-in-Monad?
1) We can't seem to enter the escave on Xplo. Try to get a passage to one of the secret worlds, maybe there is something you can find there.
- a) Weexov (choose whether to get it through tabutasks, cirt or Larvae)
- b) Boozeena (choose whether to get it through tabutasks or cirt)
- c) Ark-a-Znoy (choose whether to get it through Larvae or... some other method)
2) We already have the key to Khox. Let's explore that world first.
3) Serve the bios (choose a bios, then choose whether to do tabutasks, or to bring them cirt or Larvae)
4) Freeform (specify).

If you are catching Larvae, specify the world you want to bring them from.

A thief has stolen our first - OUR ONLY - artefact we discovered so far. Should anything be done about it?
1) They'll probably sell it to one of the shops once they are done playing with it. No need to get all worked up.
2) This crime can not go unpunished. From now on, we will stock up on weapons and will kill every vanger we come across on the off chance they carry the item, until either it is found or the Chain runs out of vangers.

There is a nagging feeling that something is wrong with the world ever since we brough the Larva to Glorx, though we can't quite put our finger on it.
1) Reflect on your actions and try to reason out what has changed and why. (submit your theory)
2) Of course something is wrong, WE GOT ROBBED, THAT'S WHAT! Anything else is just our frazzled nerves talking.

You can ask any counselor 10 questions, or you can explore the Spectators dialogue tree.

Known vocabulary.
mechos - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeephra
vangers - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeephra
raffa - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeephra
escave - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
bunch - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
bios - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeephra
beebs - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Clash - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Creature Soup - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Softie - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra

Cryspo - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Passage - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Spiral - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Departed Bios - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Infernals - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra

Spectators

The Chain - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Fostral - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Glorx - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Necross - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Xplo - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Threall - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra

Khox - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Ark-a-Znoy - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Eleepods - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Beeboorats - asked Leepky&Feenger (low trust), Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Zeexen - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Leepky - asked Leepky, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Feenger - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Podish - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Incubator - asked Feenger (low trust), Beeboorats
Plump-up - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Eleerection - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Gulp-down - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Boorawchick - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Geer'ah - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Oboorez - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
VigBoo - asked Beeboorats
Lampasso - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Ogorod - asked Leepky, Beeboorats
Progress - asked Beeboorats
Heroism - asked Beeboorats
Election of Castaways - asked Beeboorats
Zeepa - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
B-Zone - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Zeephra - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Zeekatrix - asked Zeekatrix
Saturday - asked Zeekatrix
Spring - asked Zeekatrix
December - asked Zeekatrix

pod - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
P-beam - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
ruBeecation - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
The Buro - asked Beeboorats
The Manual - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Jablees - asked Beeboorats
Slave - asked Beeboorats
Commissar - asked Beeboorats
Agent - asked Beeboorats
Nuclear War - asked Beeboorats
PeepShow - asked Beeboorats
castaway - asked Beeboorats
Zeeklope - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra

eLeech - asked Leepky&Feenger (low trust), Beeboorats
nymbos - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
phlegma - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
cirt - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Larvae - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra

peeperette - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Nucleoboom - asked Beeboorats
shrub - asked Beeboorats
Valorin - asked Beeboorats
rubbox - asked Beeboorats
toxick - asked Zeekatrix
popon - asked Zeekatrix
ProtoZeek - asked Zeekatrix
Updated session information:
Cirt and Larvae:
The Larva responsible for Heroism is on Fostral
The Larva responsible for Election of Castaways is on Necross
The Larva from Xplo is delivered to VigBoo

Somewhere far away Saturday Larva is crawling around deep underground. That place is called Xplo.

Broken mechoses:
Lawn Mower - Glorx, repaired, currently on Glorx
Last Moggy - Necross, repaired, currently in use

Star is a part of the Lawn Mower. (Installed)
Wheezer fits the Lawn Mower. (Installed)
Put-put is a spare part of Last Moggy. (Installed)
Husker - specifications unknown. (In the cargo hold)
Remember that full data is available on the first page.

:prosper:is called ProtoZeek and has a church ingame
You are not wrong.
ProtoZeek
latest_cb_20120330213148_path_prefix_ru.gif

An integral part of Zeeklope, a Zeexen ritual.
Then let's go there next! Sounds like a Fun place to hang out. :dance:
We don't have the key. :(
 
Last edited:

lightbane

Arcane
Joined
Dec 27, 2008
Messages
10,140
2-2-2. Also explore the Spectators' dialogue tree and show off how the helicopter works, I wonder how it compares with the rest of the game's vehicles. You could even do a video of it if you wish, it's been a while since you made one.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Alright. Votes closed.

Go to Khox and kill every vanger we meet on the way. Also, close your eyes, plug your ears, and lalala really loud. :lol:

Questions.
- Who or what is The Spectators, Counselor?

- That's what the Passage architects, now gone forever, were once called. But their traces can still be found on the hot and empty world of Xplo.
- That brook of theirs is a little tributary of the flood of Threall, which wrecks the fates of living beings and drives events to unprecedented extremes...
- You're telling me Zeexen fables. You're risking much.
- According to Zeexen assertions, these are creatures from the time of the Clash. These are evil rumors which undermine the Buro's authority.
- I think they were crazy Softie once. But the Buro won't give me any cirt for these conversations.
- Those were pretty smart guys. They were able to build Passages to other worlds, but the tricky Softie cheated and exploited them. The Spectators fled to Xplo, though, shortly before the Clash, and wouldn't let anybody in. You can go to Spobs and see everything for yourself!
- These are the Softie-renegades, the prisoners of Xplo. They are ProtoZeek's competitors, those who didn't want to help him dig the Passages. The rumors say that the Cryspo failed to get at them during the Clash. But we believe that ProtoZeek was the only Softie who survived. He always said that!

The translation of Feenger's reply is mistaken. He says that their 'brook' lies 'outside the roaring current of Threall'. He also says the extremes are unbeknown [to anyone].

- Who or what is Spobs, Counselor?

- A derelict escave on Xplo. From it, we feel a flood of weird thoughts.
- The One Who Has Left has settled in the heart of Xplo. He fights against the unknown, for reasons also unknown.
- Spobs is an escave on Xplo. It's hostile and very suspicious. Population unknown.
- A certain someone from Necross claims it's an escave on Xplo. It's true that there is some rubble there, but nobody has ever managed to get inside.
- It isn't that easy to get into this escave. Many Agents have failed and fallen there.
- Spobs is the refuge of the Spectators. The Softie set up a nuthouse there before, which is why it has such thick walls and odd customs. It looks like you have to carry three cans of toxick with you if you want to get in there. Spectators adore toxick, especially Parapheen.
- A cursed escave on Xplo. The legends say the Spectators hid there. No bios has ever lived there, even though the inhabitants of the Chain of Worlds never pass up a chance to occupy a suitable hole... For ProtoZeek's sake, don't go there!

- Who or what is Parapheen, Counselor?

- I know all the counselors in the Chain - the stupid Geer'ah, for example, and the vain Zeephra. It's been a long time since the malicious Boorawchick has inspired me with disgust. But anyway, this name is unknown to me.
- The master of the Protractor, the witness to many things.
- Did you get your brains wet on Necross? Go dry them on Xplo.
- The Buro has long been awaiting its chance to encounter him and find out if he's eatable!
- I think Parapheen sits on Xplo. The Buro wants to investigate, but so far they haven't succeeded.
- Parapheen, my dear, is the main Spectator. I've talked to him through the escave window before. Since the Softie duped his kinsmen, he's been scared stiff and won't trust anybody. But he has a story to tell.
- Parapheen is the name of an apostate. That's what the main Spectator, the one most envious of ProtoZeek, was called. He made the Protractor in the hopes of outshining ProtoZeek. Some say he can be found on Spobs. But beware! It all of this is true, the Spectator will destroy you since you are ProtoZeek's favored one!

It is a rare case when Feenger knows more about something than his Master Leepky. Or maybe the main Eleepod is just tight-lipped.

- Who or what is Protractor, Counselor?

- A weird object. Don't know where to find it. Can't tell what it's for. The rumors say, however, that it threatens all of Threall...
- This will reveal the mystery of Xplo to you. The living entity that dwells in Spobs commands the Protractor, giving it its power.
- I know it's a funny item, though I can't tell you who left it. The rumors say it can do all kinds of magic tricks. I need it in the stadium so that the Heroes can test it properly...
- According to our quick-look data, the Protractor is closely related to Xplo and the local escave. Your mission is to investigate this criminal connection.
- A vanger was once bragging about his Protractor, saying it made his mechos invulnerable. That's hard to believe. I haven't seen the bragger since then.
- The Departed Bios used to organize ritual races. The rules were very strange. A protractor is put into a vanger's cargo hold, and the vanger has to drive backwards to the finish, collecting beebs along the way. What a silly custom...
- The envious Softie made their own stick to open Passages. They broke off a bit of ProtoZeek's magic stick and placed it into their device. But their stick couldn't open the Passage. So the envious Softie threw away the no-good tool - which we call the Protractor - and fled to Xplo to escape derision.

Hmmm... what did the Buro tell us about Xplo?
"The fourth inhabited world. No one can get into its escave. According to the available information, a magical device is needed to get there. Nothing else is known."
Looks like the Protractor is the device we are looking for. Too bad we don't know where or how to find it...
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Uh, sorry, bros. It was a busy week.

Part 22. Flight makes right.
I'll just leave it here.



Khox is one of several unique secret worlds. Each of them has... well, a secret. The theme of this particular world is 'ride or die'. You have to follow the arrows and reach checkpoints in time. The worlds grows darker with each second. When it plunges in darkness completely (safe for the pulsating arrows showing the way), you start losing air. When it runs out, you die. If you reach the next checkpoint, the light and the air come back... and then everything begins anew.

I don't know what is it about Khox that scares me so much, but a journey there is always tense. Trying not to lose the sight of the road with only a slight shimmering to show you that you are still on the right path, while the air slowly trickles away and you know that if anything goes wrong you won't be able to get out... yeah, that tends to unnerve me.

Worse still, for some weird reason physics behaves differently on Khox. I don't know whether it's intentional or not - it could be a side effect of the developers making everything tiny and controls tied to the framerate or something, - but a slightest keypress makes your mechos turn as if you have weighed the key down with a stone. You have to unlearn everything you knew about mechos handling... in a hazardous and deadly environment. Who ever thought it was a good idea?

And the funniest thing is that the only device that would be able to help matters and get you back on the road if you fall off - CopteRig - does not work on Khox.

Here is what the developers have to say:
The official guide said:
Khox: Don't try to get there by any means other than the teleport. Those who tried to jump directly to the hideout where an artifact is hidden, all died. The only way through this dead city is from the teleport and then down the road along the arrows. If you don't go astray, you'll get to the artifact eventually. You have to go through all checkpoints, which are displayed as yellow points on roadsides. If you do it right, the checkpoints will turn red as you pass them. Should you stop or go astray, darkness will come and you will die. After you go through all the checkpoints and they all turn red, a hideout with the artifact will open. Considering all that, you should not go to Khox on a light and fast mechos. A stable one with good air reserves would be better. The most difficult in this race is the third checkpoint. It's located on a bridge, and the bridge is kind of hard to get to. It's where you wish you had a CopteRig... Alas, it doesn't work on Khox. You have to jump as you approach checkpoint 3 and it's not easy, we should admit.
The said checkpoint is located very high, and the path to it lies through a very narrow bridge that you fall off from more often than not (see mechos' handling).

All in all, fixing Lawn Mower before we got there was a good idea. If I were playing Ironman, I would not risk visiting Khox without it or Function83+.

But enough of that. What is this thing that we got?

Boot Sector.
latest_cb_20150716095342_path_prefix_ru.gif


[Khox visit]
- You've been to Khox, I see. And did you see the city, did you try the darkness? Say, is it true that there's a lot of wrecked mechoses on the sides of the roads that tried to push through to the light... in vain...? Not that I care, though. I've never been and don't plan on going there!
- Been tooling up and down the roads of Khox? You're the real master of the wheels, admit it! You have your swiftness and driving skills thanks to the Eleepods and their Eleerection!
- It's been a long time since I last saw survivors from Khox. You are the first in many cycles who has gotten through. The last one who returned from there complained about the darkness... I advised the dolt to take a torch with him, and that was the last I saw of him...
- Have you been to Khox? Good. This world neighbors Glorx. You must visit it often so that you can quickly detect any potential threat to the Buro coming from that strange rubble...
- You've been to Khox, soldier? The Buro once decided to get rid of a few dodgy Agents who were suspected of having relations with the Zeexen. They sent the Agents to Khox on 'patrol.' Few came back...
- Congratulations, vanger. Welcome back from Khox. Its dwellers, the invisible Beeboorats, trick strangers into traps and then cause a blackout. When it gets pitch dark, they attack the mechos. Savages they are, indeed.
- Tell me, was it scary there on Khox? Oh, I'm such a yellow-belly! They say that world was built by the Softie, but then something went wrong there, the world began to fade, and they all fled. It's so unfortunate: they say the world turned bad and smelly. On the way back from their screw up, the Softie were devoured by Beeboorats. Isn't that romantic?!

Who or what is Khox, Counselor?

- Legend says that the Softie built this world. You'll have to rush from post to post without stopping, outrunning time itself.
- Just steer your mechos to where the arrows point, and you'll find what you want in the end. But be careful - much darkness lies along that precarious route...
- The ruins of some kind of strange structures are preserved there. We suspect it's one of the worlds that belonged to the Softie.
- To get out of Khox, you must be able to handle your mechos better than any Agent. Any lingering on the roads of Khox is fatal!
- Khox is a long highway where you've just got to drive flat out.
- A vanger once begged me to accompany him on his voyage to Khox, but I'm no fool! I don't feel like feeding the dwellers of that place with my own flesh. If your mechos starts playing pranks, you're done for. They say that only the Softie who have gone wild are still on Khox, and if that's true, there's no place for me there! I'm a Cryspo!
- While creating the Chain of Worlds, ProtoZeek came across a world of Softie who were unknown to him. There were no inhabitants, only some strange structures. This scared ProtoZeek, and he sealed the Passage to this world, thus plunging it into darkness and making all wanderers steer clear of it...

[Boot Sector in Inventory]
- You don't have Boot Sector by accident, explorer. You want to own a dozen mechoses, little rogue? Your dream has come true! Kind Leepky will take care of your gear while you're out in another mechos combing the worlds for kusowocks...

-
Oh, you picked up Boot Sector? I have to say, you are invulnerable now. The ultramundane powers prepared this gift for you. I don't know why...

- You dug up Boot Sector? You wasted your time. Today's vangers will filch your spare mechos piece by piece before you set up this rusty old thing... Better give it to me to use in our competitions...


- Where in the bogs did you find Boot Sector, you piece of garbage? I thought it was buried forever.
- An Agent once served me who'd gotten himself eight mechos. The dodger wanted to violate the rules of subordination. Later he got completely mixed up with his motor pool and went nuts.
- The generous Buro gave him a rebuilt raffa and now he's shipping mail to earn his pension. That's what excessive push leads to.


- Well, it looks like Boot Sector. Yeah, I remember, an Agent had it once. He grabbed it in a fight, but lost his Rubbox in the heat of the moment.
- Boorawchick, as expected, stripped the brave Agent of his mechos and property upon arrival, and sent Boot Sector to my farm.
- Just imagine, that sad sack had three mechos in a cache and all in good condition, but without this thing he couldn't get them back...
- So the fellow came on a raffa and started weeping and begging me to give the widget back to him. But the instructions forbid this, you know.
So we made a deal: I gave him Boot Sector and he gave me two of the three mechos on the down low. That rascal cheated the old chap, but my guys caught the bamboozler later and settled his hash good.


- Have you brought Boot Sector, gadder? Once it's started, it gives me a headache, and a splitting one, worse than the one the nasty popons give you when you read too many of them. Zeephra must be scribbling her screeds with Boot Sector.
- You don't spare my health, dear heart. I've worn myself out on toxick with clottish vangers hanging around with their rusty, harmful gadgets along with them.


- So now my vanger has Boot Sector! Don't you forget your Zeephra while bouncing between the mechos and escaves. I once tried to apply this widget to myself. I stuck my head inside it and tried to put it on my feet, then I applied it to my ears...
- I still have not succeeded in capturing a mechos. I must have many sins, as only pure vangers are able to commune with Boot Sector, the gift of ProtoZeek.
- Have you ever been told this amusing story? It happened like this: one day a daring vanger caught a lot of beebs...
- He sat down all abashed and cried. He didn't know what to do with such a catch, and in the meantime the beebs were crawling all over the place in various directions. ProtoZeek was passing by and, having analyzed the situation, he gave the poor vanger this Boot Sector and said, 'Let not one of the beebs be saved!'
- Since those times skillful vangers can have as many mechos as they want...


Who or what is Boot Sector, Counselor?

- They say the vangers made it. But I don't believe it - you're too dumb for that. There are some greater powers which dictate the fate of the Chain.
- The Boot Sector helps us understand both the real character of the vangers and their ultimate objective. And all traces lead to Threall...
- An anti-Beeboorat appliance which lets a vanger own several mechoses at a time, wreaking havoc with the Beeboorats' record keeping!
- The Boot Sector is not recommended for Agents. The Buro is not responsible for any mechos left unattended and will not accept any claims.
- I haven't heard much else about it...
- Another enigmatic object. First you think that a vanger is in one mechos, then suddenly it's on a different world, in a new hearse! Once I was so frightened when they left me alone in an empty mechos. Vangers are such scoundrels, I thought I'd never get back home!
- The Infernals help the vangers, as their co-creators. Boot Sector is their creation. Don't you be scared - the tool is harmless and has been tested by many of my hubbies. They all died, but certainly not because of it.

Alright, Codex, it looks like there is may be a connection between the secret worlds and the artefacts. Do we continue our search?
1) Yes, let's try getting on Weexov next. (choose whether to get the key through tabutasks, cirt or Larvae)
2) We should try Boozeena. (choose whether to get the key through tabutasks or cirt)
3) Ark-a-Znoy would be best. (choose whether to get the key through Larva delivery or... some other method)
4) Freeform (specify).

Again, you can ask any counselor up to 10 questions.

Known vocabulary.
mechos - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeephra
vangers - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeephra
raffa - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeephra
escave - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
bunch - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
bios - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeephra
beebs - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Clash - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Creature Soup - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Softie - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra

Cryspo - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Passage - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Spiral - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Departed Bios - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Infernals - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Spectators - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra


The Chain - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Fostral - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Glorx - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Necross - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Xplo - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Threall - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Khox - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra

Ark-a-Znoy - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Eleepods - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Beeboorats - asked Leepky&Feenger (low trust), Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Zeexen - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Leepky - asked Leepky, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Feenger - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Podish - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Incubator - asked Feenger (low trust), Beeboorats
Plump-up - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Eleerection - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Gulp-down - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Boorawchick - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Geer'ah - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Oboorez - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
VigBoo - asked Beeboorats
Lampasso - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Ogorod - asked Leepky, Beeboorats
Progress - asked Beeboorats
Heroism - asked Beeboorats
Election of Castaways - asked Beeboorats
Zeepa - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
B-Zone - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Zeephra - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Zeekatrix - asked Zeekatrix
Saturday - asked Zeekatrix
Spring - asked Zeekatrix
December - asked Zeekatrix
Parapheen - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Spobs - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra


pod - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
P-beam - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
ruBeecation - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
The Buro - asked Beeboorats
The Manual - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Jablees - asked Beeboorats
Slave - asked Beeboorats
Commissar - asked Beeboorats
Agent - asked Beeboorats
Nuclear War - asked Beeboorats
PeepShow - asked Beeboorats
castaway - asked Beeboorats
Zeeklope - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra

eLeech - asked Leepky&Feenger (low trust), Beeboorats
nymbos - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
phlegma - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
cirt - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Larvae - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra

peeperette - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Nucleoboom - asked Beeboorats
shrub - asked Beeboorats
Valorin - asked Beeboorats
rubbox - asked Beeboorats
toxick - asked Zeekatrix
popon - asked Zeekatrix
ProtoZeek - asked Zeekatrix
Protractor - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Boot Sector - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
If you still want to make a theory about what changed since we brought the Beeboorats one of their Larvae, feel free. There are a few things that might help deduce what happened and why:

The last few screenshots of Part 21, obviously. As well as Boorawchick's speech.
Information on Beeboorat cycles.
Leepky's explanation of cirt.
Boorawchick's explanation of cirt and Larvae.
A strange phenomenon that took place in Part 14, the cause of which may be related to our actions in the previous part.
 
Last edited:

lightbane

Arcane
Joined
Dec 27, 2008
Messages
10,140
Don't worry about the delay, that doesn't make the game any less confusing. About the next step... I'll vote for 1-Larvae. I'll post the questions later. No idea what changed with the Buro freaks, it is a bit hard hard to keep track of the plot plus I prefer to read the lp updates to relax.
 

Donaroriak

Augur
Joined
Jan 19, 2006
Messages
101
Project: Eternity
1-cirt
Plus freeform explore the possibilities of the Boot Sector. Is it like a GTA garage for storing mechoses? How is it activated?
 

lightbane

Arcane
Joined
Dec 27, 2008
Messages
10,140
Questions to ask (go to the remaining Counselors who have not been asked about said issue yet):
pod - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
The Buro - asked Beeboorats
The Manual - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Jablees - asked Beeboorats
Nuclear War - asked Beeboorats
PeepShow - asked Beeboorats
castaway - asked Beeboorats
eLeech - asked Leepky&Feenger (low trust), Beeboorats
Ark-a-Znoy - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
ProtoZeek - asked Zeekatrix
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
I'll get to this LP eventually. We are entering the final stretch, too late to give up now! :argh:

If there is no tie breaker, I'll just throw a die. Just to specify, though, which world do you think the Larva should be from? Or do I grab one at random?
 
Last edited:

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Rejoice, for I have returned! Ok, well, not really, but I am finally getting ready to pick this up.

A reminder of who is what color: Leepky, Feenger, Geer'ah, Boorawchick, Oboorez, Zeephra, Zeekatrix.

Questions.
Who or what is pod, Counselor?
- Here is the true story of the pods. Have you ever noticed that the Eleepods have tails? Listen to this: sitting in their dark holes, the worms cling to one another by their tails, and after that they can't split apart. This bunch of Eleepods is called a pod. I'll tell you more about this wonder later, once you've grown up a little...
- Do you want to listen to the rest of the story about the pods? Good. After the Eleepods bind themselves in pods by their tails, each of them starts twitching, trying to break off the pod. Those who succeed become the Eleepods' counselors. That's how the story goes.
- In this universe, there's nothing more scary than a pod - a flock of Eleepods that have gone wild. They spend their time digging underground corridors and traps. You're walking along, minding your own business, then, all of a sudden - bang! The ground disintegrates beneath you, and before you can say Jack Robinson you're being gnawed on by their dribbling jaws. Hey, stop trembling. The pods can't get you here.

A pod is just a conglomerate of Eleepods that themselves identify as a hive-mind. But that concept is not an easy one to grasp for other bios.

Who or what is The Buro, Counselor?
- Let me tell you something. Beeboorats don't have pods like we do, and, driven by jealousy, they invented the Buro in an attempt to copy us.
- The Buro strives to exterminate all Eleepods.
- Ah, the Buro... That's a mysterious thing. The Beeboorats are very much afraid of it, although they've never seen it. Its decisions are regularly announced, by Boorawchick exclusively. These Beeboorats are very weird. They've never seen the Buro, but they believe in it. But when I showed them an icon of ProtoZeek, they wouldn't believe...
- I've got an idea about that. The Buro is a Board of beebs which governs the Beeboorats. The beebs are tiny, and that's why nobody notices them. And Boorawchick is a disguised beeb. This explanation fits all the facts perfectly!

- The Buro is Boorawchick's invention. It's a big iron barrel, painted brightly and decorated with seaweed. Boorawchick gets inside and starts yelling crazy orders everywhere, and the silly Beeboorats prostrate themselves in terror and obey!

The Zeexen really have an interesting insight in Beeboorat politics, and for once, they are probably right. The Buro is the ultimate authority on Glorx, even though it may consist of Boorawchick alone. But while no one would want to listen to Boorawchick, everyone has to listen to and obey the Buro. It's ingenious.

Who or what is The Manual, Counselor?
- The dull beasts invented their Manual to make up for the lack of little gray cells in their brains and to add color to their dull existence. But we, the wise Eleepods, can see through this nonsense.
- The Manual is on Glorx, but here there is freedom for wise thoughts.
- ProtoZeek willed all the bios to compose popons so they wouldn't forget him. The stupid Beeboorats got it all wrong, and write manuals instead. What crass ignorance!
- Distorted popons is what it is! Their manuals are good-for-nothing, especially since the Beeboorats can't read!

- Everything that Boorawchick yells from his barrel, as the stern Buro, is written down, decorated with beautiful pictures, and proclaimed as compulsory. It's the smartest hoax in the Chain of Worlds, other than the popons and ProtoZeek.

Who or what is Jablee, Counselor?
- This filth flies above Glorx quite often, and it comes from Ogorod. From cycle to cycle the Jablees scatter their seeds, and the Beeboorats are terribly proud of them. Their stupidity just keeps growing...
- Jablees are the spawn of the Glorx, the source of all rubbish and rot.
- Jablee is a seaweed, which sometimes flies around Glorx and grows in plots together with peeperettes. Oboorez tries hard to get rid of them, he pulls them up by the roots, but all is in vain. It's funny to observe that.
- Lo and behold! Once ProtoZeek was sitting in the waters of Glorx, steaming a blister off and blowing bubbles. He would blow and then pop them. It was very beautiful. But some of the bubbles, he missed, and they floated away and turned into Jablees. Then ProtoZeek realized that one must always burst all of one's bubbles!

- The Jablees are enigmatic thingies. I think they're Beeboorats germinated in Ogorod. They must have been either improperly looked after or overwatered, which makes them spoil, swell, and fly away with an armful of peeperettes, scattering them around Glorx out of spite.

Ah, here Zeephra verifies the theory of Jablee being just a seaweed. Of course, she gets everything else wrong - Ogorod exists for the sole purpose of sprouting seaweed in their castaways as both a horrible punishment for wrong-think, and a way to grow Jablees for their seeds that get used in Beeboorat competitions.

Who or what is Nuclear War, Counselor?
- Well, this performance is like the PeepShow. The same fuzz-buzz, Nucleobooms and Jablees. Beeboorats hardly realize how silly it all looks...
- Hoards of dolts run after a Jablee, trying to steal its fruits...
- Nuclear War is another ritual race of the Beeboorats. No, 'race' is the wrong word for it. A vanger waits for a Nucleoboom to drop on his head. It's really exciting!
- We know for sure the Nuclear War was the Softie's favorite amusement. They used to go to open spaces and gather the gifts falling onto their heads. The foolish Beeboorats have continued this tradition without knowing anything of its real meaning.

- Nuclear War was the Softie's favorite tactic to use against the Cryspo. They would collect the worst of harmful, smelly rubbish and dump it on their enemies' heads. There were never any survivors...

Who or what is PeepShow, Counselor?
- That must be a funny show. Crowds of silly vangers stuff their cargo holds with rotten peeperettes, hurrying and shoving each other all over the place.
- You should see the PeepShow if you ever want an incentive to forget about the Beeboorats.
- A PeepShow is a harvest of peeperettes by the vangers captured for this very purpose. It's a good idea in theory, 'cos peeperettes help the unfortunate castaways recover.
- Remember, vanger: PeepShow is not only a wacky race but also a sacred Softie word, as well. In ancient days before the Clash, it meant a great gathering in which only a chosen few took part. The silly Beeboorats don't believe in the Softie, despite their use of their words...

- The PeepShow is a ritual race on Glorx. I once took part in it, and boy was it fun! My driver followed the Jablees, speeding like mad, while I was busy grabbing peeperettes and tossing them in. They said we were the best crew in Ogorod!

Naturally, peeperettes are not medicine, but since castaways cease their complaints after the application, Zeephra might be forgiven for the confusion.

Who or what is castaway, Counselor?
- Beeboorats don't have pods, and so their thoughts collide. That's how castaways originate, the poor things that were kicked out...
- The journey of a castaway ends in Ogorod, among the moldy peeperettes...
- A castaway is a crazy Beeboorat. Haven't you guessed that yet?
- To be more precise, it's the castaways that get treated with peeperettes, not the shrubs. A shrub is a castaway in a straitjacket. Oh yes, it's really easy to get confused!

- A castaway is a Beeboorat who has started to think he's a plant. He bugs the bunch to such an extent that they have no choice but to get rid of him. Vangers take these specimens to Ogorod as shrubs, having to listen to their nagging and sighing the whole way.

Who or what is eLeech, Counselor?
- eLeeches come into the world in Incubator. Any vanger who attempts to take an eLeech's life or ruins him during Eleection deserves death.
- An eLeech is an Eleepod embryo. They are made from nymbos in the depths of Incubator. Then vangers take the little sprats to Podish for nursing. In Podish, a real treat awaits them... Go boost your intelligence, and then I'll tell you more about it.
- eLeeches are real monsters. They terrify all of Podish! When an eLeech arrives there, it starts pouncing at and hogging down the worms alive! After it's satiated, it demands they read him poetry to improve his digestion. These are the sort of ridiculous customs the uneducated bios have!

- All you've heard about eLeeches so far is gibberish. Here's the scientific truth: the eLeech is a species of Crooked Crawling Leech Vulgaris that inhabits ditches and feeds on old Eleepods. I once dissected an eLeech in the lab. Incubator sends them in swarms to Podish as a symbol of friendship, haha.

Here it's Zeekatrix who shows her bias. Of course, since she regularly sends toxick to her colleagues in hopes they suffer a horrible accident, she believes that eLeeches - who devour their predecessors to take their place in the pod - are being sent from Incubator as a diversion rather than a way to maintain Eleepod population.

Who or what is Ark-a-Znoy, Counselor?
- Vast, evil sands, with masses of weird rocks among them.
- Sand and stones, skull and bones. Comb this world well, and you'll find something to fill your cargo hold with.
- After the Clash, some of the beebs stuffed themselves with Cryspo parts and started growing and going berserk. They began to pounce on everyone, without exception. So, ProtoZeek decided to drive them out into a separate world, after losing a toe to the wild beasts. This world is called Ark-a-Znoy.
- Eh, I love taking rides around Ark-a-Znoy on a jaunty vanger. You forget everything there, even Zeephra. I'm trying to persuade the local dwellers to move to Necross. It would just take strewing some popons over a couple of bogs to make a dry spot. Necross would become a happier place right away!

Who or what is ProtoZeek, Counselor?
- Oh, the dream of every Eleepod. Our scratchers cling to the strange figurine and stroke it endlessly... Just bring it to me. Your reward will be massive!
- To bring kusowock from Necross here, use our sacred phlegma. Three jars will keep the precious thing from rotting when the cycles change.
- The Zeexen do not only make popons. At times they produce some foul freak they call ProtoZeek. A single glance at ProtoZeek is enough to mesmerize a weak-willed Beeboorat and drive him into a stupor unless somebody hits him on the head.
- An unknown object. Seems like the Zeexen in B-Zone use it to mix toxick, to make it more poisonous.
- I hear the Eleepods like this ugly thingy. That makes sense - both the Zeexen and the Eleepods are extremely stupid!
- ProtoZeek was a great Softie and a bios creator. His deeds were so numerous that one could pave a double-layer road from ZeePa to B-Zone with popons describing them and still not run out! He was the only one who could survive the Clash. The Cryspo, impressed by his magnitude, dared not touch him.
- After he had created the bios, ProtoZeek wandered around the Chain of Worlds for quite a long time, bringing knowledge and enlightment to his creations. But obviously the material he used for creating the bios had gone bad, and the bios didn't understand their creator. Only we, the Zeexen, his favorites, remember ProtoZeek. He's gone, but he has promised to return.

- Arriving in ZeePa, a vanger is astonished to learn that ProtoZeek is none other than himself! Alas, that's the gist of Zeephra's madness. She believes herself to be Softie refuse, and that ProtoZeek statuette is the very image of an ideal Softie. So they take a vanger, coat him with clay, and send him off to us. Probably as a boast. It's hilarious!

And here we finally learn what those elusive kusowocks are! They are artefacts and rarities from other worlds, and the Eleepods consider ProtoZeek to be one. They are willing to reward you for bringing it to them, and even have advice to preserve it (as normally the clay dries out at the end of the cycle and ProtoZeek expires)

The summary so far.
The Chain of Worlds consists of 3 major inhabited worlds: Fostral, Glorx and Necross. There are rumors of Xplo and Threall being inhabited too, but they are just that.

Fostral Eco-System: Eleepods are the worm-like beings that inhabit Fostral. They form a sort of hive-mind existence where every individual is a part of a greater whole, which they call pods. The world of Fostral has three cycles: Plump-up, Eleerection and Gulp-down.
Plump-up - the worms grow fat and somehow produce nymbos in Podish. It is implied that eLeeches are born out of nymbos (which kind of looks like six embryos joined together at their tails), but the Eleepods are very secretive about everything related to Incubator and their young. Whatever the process is, a lot of phlegma seems to be involved.
Eleerection - the cycle during which eLeeches are delivered to Podish, the sacred race of the Eleepods.
Gulp-down - the eLeeches devour old Eleepods, taking their place in the pod. It is suggested that those eLeeches who for whatever reason are deemed unfit to join the pod are cast out and become vangers.
Eleepods are greedy and cowardly, with a flair for poetics. When several pods join their efforts, they can form a P-Beam, which is best described as an out-of-body experience which allows them to observe other worlds.

Glorx Eco-system: Beeboorats are a war-like bios presiding over Glorx. They seem to have some connection to beebs, and the bugs can often be seen crawling all over them (sadly absent in the remake), but the nature if this is unclear, and is a topic of endless speculation by the Zeexen. They are proud of their Cryspoid ancestry, and highly collectivistic. They are ruled by the Buro and follow its rules that are listed in the Manual. They are also fairly prolific, and thus their society has in-built measures for population control. Those who are too eager to follow the Buro and further the Beeboorat cause are sent to Lampasso to participate in deadly sports games. Those who are lax in discipline and sow dissent with their opinions are dubbed castaways and are sent to Ogorod to be never heard from again. The world of Glorx has three cycles: Progress, Election of Castaways and Heroism.
Progress is the time where the Buro holds their meetings. It is implied that this is when the peeperettes are sprouted in shrubs, turning them into Jablees.
Election of Castaways is, as the name suggests, the cycle when the next batch of outcasts are chosen for a trip to Ogorod as shrubs. PeepShow, one of the two of Beeboorats' sacred races is held during this cycle.
Heroism is when the Beeboorats hold their 'sporting' events, and Heroes are being delivered to Lampasso packed as Valorins. It is also a time for Nuclear War, the second of the sacred races. Jablee unripened seeds, Nucleobooms, are collected en masse to be used in the various contests.
Beeboorat are aggressive and often are considered dumb by other bios. However, they are numerous and powerful, and their world sits on the crossroads of the Chain of Worlds, so one has to play along with their games if they want to get anywhere.

Necross Eco-system: Zeexen are the last major bios living in the bog-world of Necross. They are by far the craziest one of the lot, too. Half of them believes themselves to be Softie, the other half consider themselves Cryspo. Naturally, they hate each other guts. The Softie bunch worship ProtoZeek, the last Softie, and create popons to spread tales of their Lord and Savior to the uneducated masses. The Cryspo ones, led by a surprisingly sane and stable individual who fancies herself a scientist (probably to spite the religious rival) are being more direct and send back outright poison, which the 'Softies' - trained not to inhale the stuff by natural selection - use it as insecticide to kill off beebs infesting their escaves, and the cycle of petty grudges continues. It's the only world where the wares cost more to buy than to sell as they are held in universal contempt by their intended recipients. The world of Necross has three cycles: Saturday, Spring and December.
Saturday - the cycle preceding the ritual race. Zeephra molds clay for popons and poisons stray beebs and fellow Zeexen who incur her displeasure.
Spring - it's the time for Zeeklope, the sacred race of the Zeexen. Some poor vanger gets scammed out of his mechos, wrapped in clay forming an image of ProtoZeek, and sent to B-Zone as a religious relic.
December - the cycle when the water dries up. It does not appear to hold any other significance apart from that.
Zeexen are curious, talkative, and for the most part utterly illogical beings. Half of their stories are glorified kitchen rumors or plain gibberish, and the worst part is that you never know which half that is.

There are tales that Xplo is a home to the Departed Bios, and that a being called Parapheen resides in the escave of Spobs, but to enter it we need an artefact that we do not currently have. There are varying speculations about the nature of the Departed Bios - some say that they were the ones who collected all Larvae, and that Parapheen has occupied Spobs after they went extinct, others say that Parapheen was there since the beginning. The truth is somewhere out there, and the mysterious item known only as Protractor is the key.

And there are hushed whispers of the Infernals and the world of Threall hid beyond Xplo. They are said to be the creators of vangers, the ones who taught the bios about cirt and installed Spiral into mechoses so that the bunches could get their much needed fix. By all means, they should be worshiped... yet no matter whom you ask, they are mentioned with abject, almost superstitious terror. What's up with that?

On cirt and Larvae:
The thing I alluded to, which I admit, is hard to notice just from the screenshots, is the change in cycle order.

As mentioned, the normal progression of the Glorx cycles is this: Progress -> Election of Castaways (PeepShow, PPS) -> Heroism (Nuclear War, KRW) -> Progress. However, at the end of the update 20 one can see the letters KRW replaced by PPS, bypassing the Progress cycle completely.

Have you noticed that each Larva corresponds to a single cycle? That's right, after bringing the Larva that is responsible for Progress, there is no more Progress cycle on Glorx.

I don't know if you remember what the bios need cirt for, so I will quote Boorawchick on that:
"Who or what is cirt, Counselor?"
"Were it not for cirt, Progress wouldn't happen, the Election of the Castaways would never start, and the time for Heroes' exploits wouldn't come. Time would stop and life would become impossible."

"Who or what is Larvae, Counselor?"
"Larvae are everything to all bios. It's thanks to the Larvae that cycles change, Heroes perform exploits, and castaways pay for their crimes. Larvae live deep under the ground, beyond our reach. But the Buro overcomes these difficulties by... Hmm, enough said."
Cirt is necessary for communication between Larvae and the bios. You bring them cirt, they get their instructions, and the cycles change as they move on with their lives. The cycles are tied to the bios and their eco-systems rather than the other way around.

You can delay cycles indefinitely by standing in front of the main escaves and shooting vangers who try to deliver them cirt. Without new instructions from their masters, the bios never switch their activity... and they exhibit said activity for the sole purpose of getting a new dose of their sweet, sweet drug.

On the other hand - and we have seen this in action - you can end cycles prematurely by delivering loads of cirt from the Larva corresponding to the cycle in question. Remember update 14 where the Heroism cycle expired early, causing several tabutasks to fail? Yes, that's because we brought cirt from Fostral in update 13, and...
The Larva responsible for Heroism is on Fostral
Similarly, the reason why Zeexen cycle times are so unstable is because their main escave is right next to the Passage to Glorx. Vangers stream in and out constantly, bringing cirt with them, and it is nigh impossible to stop them. The closer the Passage, the easier it is to deliver cirt, and the shorter the cycles potentially become.

What that means for our decision to bring an Eleepod Larva from Necross... well, we'll see. It is likely that one of the cycles on Fostral will close. Hopefully, it's not Eleerection.

Next time we will visit the secret world of Weexow and hopefully find something worthwhile in there... after we get the Eleepods their Larva in exchange for the Passage key, that is.
 
Last edited:

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Part 23. All is transient, only the legends are eternal.
Right. To business, then.

We won't catch any Larvae with Lawn Mower, that's for sure. So off to VigBoo we fly. Pictured: the mechos underbelly due to an unfortunate tumble in the air.
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Switching mechos to the Queen of the Roads, Heavy Lady. There is just enough space to fit a Conlarver.
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Moving to Necross. The Nucleoboom just fell in my cargo hold from a passing Jablee, I didn't pick it up on purpose.
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Zeephra is glad to see it nonetheless.
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[Nucleoboom in Inventory]
- I'll cook a treat for you, my dear, of Nucleoboom. All wives do! I even have a recipe somewhere for how to cook it...
- There: twist off a vanger's head and place a Nucleobooms in its place. Oh no, I must have mixed it up with a Beeboorat recipe. Right, oh, I'll sort it out later.
- However, I believe we have already surpassed the Softie in our love for our husbands! I've got to write to B-Zone about this immediately to boost ZeePa's reputation in the eyes of those rebels!


She also congratulates us on our successful return from Khox, and makes a comment about Boot Sector in our hold. Speaking of which, we ought to test it...

I find a nice, quiet place off the roads, and scroll through the menu options on the right. There is now a BOOT SECTOR option there, right underneath COMPASS, CAMERA controls, and PARAMETERS. Clicking on it offers us a choice between two options, 'Zeepa' and 'Off'. Well, Zeepa it is, then.
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Streaks of energy start circling around my mechos as the screen gets darker... until I find myself in the main Zeexen escave I just left a couple minutes ago. In a rusty raffa, whose only possession is the artefact. At least all of my beebs are intact. We quickly switch the vehicle to a more comfortable one.
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And hurry up to check on what happened to our old mechos.
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Fortunately, we find it where we left it, fully intact. We check the BOOT SECTOR menu, and indeed, it now has 3 options, with the recent addition of 'Heavy Lady'. If we choose it, it plays a different animation, with streaks of energy bursting out of our mechos...
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...and converging on the other one. The transfer is thus complete, and I am in control of the truck again.
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Voila! I now own two mechoses on Necross and can switch between them at will.

Unfortunately, Boot Sector has some very serious limitations that make it far less awesome than it otherwise would be. First, and the most important, is that you are not guaranteed to keep the mechoses you buy, because no one actually looks after them once you leave them behind. They can easily get destroyed, and losing a car that holds several other artefacts is never fun. You have to find remote, secluded places where you can hide your spare vehicles, and those are few and far between. Second is that it does not allow jumping between the worlds. If you own several vehicles across Fostral, Glorx and Necross, you can't switch between them unless you are on the same world. Third... it transports you to the main escave of the current world, and only transfers Boot Sector with you. Which means that if you try that on Glorx, both your money and the artefact will get confiscated upon arrival because you are caught entering without your rubbox - an unforgivable offense by Beeboorat standarts.

It's a cool idea in theory, but the realization is lacking.

Back to our Larvae catching duties. Thankfully, the Eleepod one is lazing around right outside Zeepa. Gotcha!
2016_09_16_003933.jpg


Just for fun, I parade my prize before Zeephra. She does not appreciate it, since alien cirt is said to be poisonous - or at least repulsive - to other bios.
2016_09_16_003953.jpg

[Bad Larva Delivery]
- Oh, my dear fellows, watch me dying! My eyes cannot see any more, my wings cannot fly any longer! Now you've done it: you have killed your wife, you bloody butcher!
- I will no longer write popons or poison beebs! Instead of me there will be an alien and evil Larva sitting in my place, and nobody will kiss you or caress you, you self-centered egotist! She'll gum your eyes up with clay and dust you with hostile cirt, but by then it will be too late...
- Your Zeephra will be lying all cold and dead in this escave. Beebs will be crawling over my body, and I will feel nothing! Then you will drown in the bog from sadness according to the Law on Husbands. Get out of here, you stupid larva-catcher! No longer am I your wife! Go to your dear Eleepods and Beeboorats and forget the way back!


Oh, you drama queen. You'll be fine. Hm, someone is waiting for me near the Passage. Is it a killer hoping to retrieve the priceless package?
2016_09_16_004019.jpg


Nah, just a random Beeboorat refugee. Off with his head!
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I drop by our Glorious Leader Geer'ah, safe in the knowledge that he does not have the equipment necessary to open the conlarver, and thus can't know we are carrying a hostile one. Otherwise I wouldn't tempt fate like that.
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[Larva in Inventory]
- Oh, my sensitive nature is on the edge of collapse! Something interesting is sitting in this conlarver! And what can sit in a conlarver? A Larva can sit in a conlarver!
- Do you even understand what you've brought, you peeperette tail? I think I'm going to weep... At last, another vanger who listened to the wise mentoring of stylish Geer'ah and brought glory on his Rubbox forever. If you only knew how many vangers must be converted into shrubs before you come across a gifted one...
- All right. I hope you haven't forgotten the way to VigBoo after all this joy. Boorawchick will take charge of his trophy. Our trophy, to be precise. Any vanger will tell you that you can't get a Larva without the wise mentoring of Geer'ah, even if you ride a conlarver!


Yeah, yeah. Everyone wants to bask in the glory of a Larva-catcher. Like this vanger trying to ambush me near the Fostral passage. This time it is the designated killer.
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Or rather, a victim, because his Ripper does not stand a chance against my Heavy Lady. It doesn't even have the slots to fit all the weapons he carries with him!
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I arrive in the middle of Plumb-Up, hoping to glab a quick eLeech while I'm at it, but the cycle changes to Eleerection a few meters before I reach Incubator. Just my luck.
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At least Feenger is happy to see me.
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[Larva in Inventory]
- Wow, wheeler, your cargo has me more excited than ever before... My pod is strung up and you have a conlarver in your bay... And it's full...
- A Larva is in there... I feel the breath of eternity, a great event is coming... But I'm not up for opening the trap, you know. Leepky is the master of Eleepods. Fly over to him quickly and take care of your precious cargo!


Can't help but notice a strange item the worm has. Hmm. To steal, or not to steal?
2016_09_16_214126.jpg

Nah, I don't have time for this right now.

We exchange a few pleasantries, but I hurry back to the surface. I have never been defeated in the sacred race before, and I am not about to be now. If I was late to get an eLeech, I just need to procure one myself! The leading vanger is a tricky contestant, and he proves a fast and tenacious racer, evading my attempts at confrontation several times...
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...but with my knowledge of the road I manage to overtake and ambush him in the middle of the map, even on a slower vehicle. An eLeech flies out of a half-drowning half-exploding carcass, and lands safely on top of the bridge. That Eleepod will have a hell of a tale to tell to his fellows when (if) he makes it to Podish.

Having exhausted my ghOrb weaponry, I take a chance to recharge it at a Broken Station... a move that proves to be a mistake as I loose my shields, and my eLeech with them.
2016_09_16_004900.jpg

It falls into one of the many crevices Fostral has, and I lack the DigRig to pick it back up. Guess he won't be telling anyone anything, after all.

After about 20th attempt and losing even more equipment to the malfunctioning machinery, the Station finally does what I want from it, and lets me have my weapons back online.
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And not a moment too soon, because the second contestant is here!

He drives a slow Ripper, though, so it's hardly a challenge to keep up with him. A few moments later he goes up in flames and his eLeech is up for grabs. Yoink!
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Hurray! I have become the first out of six - er, four - yet again! The Legend remains undefeated.
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However, there is a nasty bug that caused me to lose two saved games in a row before I figured out what is going on. If you enter Podish with both the Larva and an eLeech, the game crashes. The reason for this will become obvious in hindsight, but for the moment I have to drop the conlarver. The Larva escapes shortly after, and I lose 10 Luck... not that I care at this point.

Fun fact - with the Larva released so close to the main escave you can farm cirt in unholy quantities for infinite beebs. But you probably don't need money at this point of the game.

Leepky is overjoyed, as always.
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- Vanger, you are the best! The Eleerection is yours; there's nothing for the others to catch here...

He goes on about how awesome we are for quite some time, commenting on Khox, Boot Sector and other things. While there is no such thing as too much praise, we all have heard this before. But then he mentions something new, almost as an aside...
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- Fostral is where the Larva is, the Queen of the Eleerection!

...I don't know whether to say 'Oops!' or 'Jackpot". :roll::roll::roll:
Welp, what do you know? This was the Larva of Eleerection. The question is, Codex, do we care?

Given that I've spoilered that part already, you guys now have a choice.

1) Give the Larva to Leepky. This is what we came here to do, and we are not easily discouraged.
2) Abort, abort! If the cycle of Eleerection ceases to be, then what is to become of the Eleepods? Just bring him a different Larva from another world!

I would also note that the escaves can only be dug for Counselors' personal items during the sacred races. That means you won't be able to steal shit if you close the corresponding cycle, be it accidentally or on purpose. Not that we were making use of this mechanics all that often. Still, there is that one item in Feenger's possession we have not looted yet, and Leepky undoubtedly has kusowocks of his own...

Known vocabulary.
mechos - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeephra
vangers - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeephra
raffa - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeephra
escave - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
bunch - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
bios - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeephra
beebs - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Clash - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Creature Soup - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Softie - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra

Cryspo - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Passage - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Spiral - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Departed Bios - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Infernals - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Spectators - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra


The Chain - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Fostral - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Glorx - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Necross - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Xplo - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Threall - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Khox - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Ark-a-Znoy - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra

Eleepods - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Beeboorats - asked Leepky&Feenger (low trust), Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Zeexen - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Leepky - asked Leepky, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Feenger - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Podish - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Incubator - asked Feenger (low trust), Beeboorats
Plump-up - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Eleerection - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Gulp-down - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Boorawchick - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Geer'ah - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Oboorez - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
VigBoo - asked Beeboorats
Lampasso - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Ogorod - asked Leepky, Beeboorats
Progress - asked Beeboorats
Heroism - asked Beeboorats
Election of Castaways - asked Beeboorats
Zeepa - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
B-Zone - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Zeephra - asked Beeboorats, Zeekatrix
Zeekatrix - asked Zeekatrix
Saturday - asked Zeekatrix
Spring - asked Zeekatrix
December - asked Zeekatrix
Parapheen - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Spobs - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra


pod - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
P-beam - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
ruBeecation - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
The Buro - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
The Manual - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Jablees - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra

Slave - asked Beeboorats
Commissar - asked Beeboorats
Agent - asked Beeboorats
Nuclear War - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
PeepShow - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
castaway - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Zeeklope - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra


eLeech - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
nymbos - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
phlegma - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
cirt - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Larvae - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra

peeperette - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats
Nucleoboom - asked Beeboorats
shrub - asked Beeboorats
Valorin - asked Beeboorats
rubbox - asked Beeboorats
toxick - asked Zeekatrix
popon - asked Zeekatrix
ProtoZeek - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
Protractor - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra

Boot Sector - asked Leepky&Feenger, Beeboorats, Zeekatrix, Zeephra
You have 10 questions to ask any of the counselors.
 
Last edited:

lightbane

Arcane
Joined
Dec 27, 2008
Messages
10,140
I dunno what to ask the counselors, but I can make a vote about the other thing:

2) Abort, abort! If the cycle of Eleerection ceases to be, then what is to become of the Eleepods? Just bring him a different Larva from another world!

We first must "recover" all of their shinies before locking them out.
 

Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Heh, just in time. I actually played past this part all the way through Weexow and beyond, but being busy with work I only typed out half of the update and thought this would be a reasonable place to cut it short.

The reason game crashed if you brought a Larva simultaneously with an eLeech is that bringing a Larva closes the cycle instantly, and eLeeches don't live past their sacred race cycle. The game wants to congratulate you on winning the competition, but the object you were transporting has ceased to exist. I only understood the reason behind it after I dropped the conlarver and then Leepky told me that it was indeed the Larva of Eleerection inside. Which is how I still have the save game to fall back to and redo this segment.

Next part is going to be FUN as I have caught a glimpse of what artefact lies on Weexow. The vanger population of the Chain is going to take a serious dip.
 

nlspeed

Barely Literate
Joined
Apr 25, 2017
Messages
2
Hello! Is this still going on, I wonder? I signed up just now to ask this question, as I would really like to know all about this universe - posts such as the one quoted below are golden! - but it seems to be abandoned? :)

As if. I can restock everything I lost in ten minutes tops. I know this game as the back of my hand. :)


Well, if you want to know what you are supposed to be doing, you have two answers - the short one, and the long one.

The short one is already known to you. Ship shrubs to Ogorod and Valorins to Lampasso, and don't mix them up. The Buro doesn't need absentminded slaves. :salute:

The long answer is that very rarely in this game you have something besides your immediate goal in front of you. Remember how the Eleepod chapter worked?

1) Go ship nymbos to Incubator.
2) Go ship phlegma to Podish.
3) You and mildly useful to us. We can trust you with an eLeech now. Try your scratchers at racing.
4) Oh, you are one speedy wheeler! Become our agent and bring us cirt, Larvae, kusowocks and everything we ask you for.

After which you got a key to Glorx. The thing is, at no point did you have any motivation for it other than a desire to know more, and to become more. We tried ignoring and derailing the plot in the 2nd update, and came to the conclusion that a life of mindlessly blowing stuff up is not for us because we need better dakka, better mechoses, and better everything. And so we decided to serve the Eleepods to get this stuff.

The Beeboorat chapter follows the same pattern.

I'll say this to the game's credit - nothing of it is necessary to complete it. The options I gave you in the first update? They were all viable. You can finish it without shipping a single pile of nymbos. You can finish it without participating in the Eleerection once, without doing a single tabutask, or without bringing a single portion of cirt (though not both). You can even finish it without stuffing your bay full of shrubs and Valorins. Cooperation with the bunches is optional. But it makes the game easier both to play and to understand.

You also have a 'bonus' goal as a player. The worlds of the Chain form a certain delicate eco-system. You know the Eleepod part of it already - their cycles, their lives from birth and to their deaths, their customs and their woes (which involve Beeboorats, mostly). A lot of it is just amusing fluff, but there are also major elements related to the story where you need to connect the dots. You have guessed the connection between Larvae and cirt, but many questions remain unclear. What is the connection of cirt and Larvae to the cycles? What happens when you bring the bunches their cirt? What would - theoretically - happen if you brought them a Larva? What happened to the Departed Bios, and can it happen again? Is there a danger looming over the Chain's inhabitants, and where does it come from?

Of course, you do not hear any of these from the bunches, who are mired in their own little problems, so it is easy to lose track of it, but nonetheless, the pieces of the puzzle are there, scattered in the dialogiues.

The gameplay of Vangers is the essence of sandbox games. The experiment is key. People who only heed what the bunches tell them rarely find success. The Eleepods need nymbos in the Incubator and eLeeches in Podish, so no one explains to you how to open secret stashes and complete tabutasks, which is a far, far quicker way to riches than mere trading and racing - you have to figure it out on your own. The game rewards exploration and thinking outside the box. Sometimes. :M

Even though we seem to have 'failed' a few times and got punished for it, we now have a much better understanding of what is and what isn't acceptable on Glorx. Oboorez and Boorawchick make some obscure threats about sending you to Lampasso, but you wouldn't know why that might be bad if you didn't drive there without a rubbox and learn your lesson first-hand.

The freeform option, although rarely taken as of now, is there for a reason.


They are hardly thinly-veiled, and hardly Soviet. More like Soviet Army parallels, which is not much different from any other conscript army.

The so often cited Manual is the Servicemen's Manual (or whatever its English equivalent is called) - a collection of regulations that determine the everyday life in the military. The Beeboorats, who inherited much more from Cryspo than they did from Softies, take pride in their Cryspoid ancestry - which you wouldn't know if you never ask them anything :roll: - and it was only natural that they have picked on collectivist ideas and the strict hierarchy that the human military was founded on.

It is not very noticeable in the updates, but every vanger has a behavioral pattern depending on the world they hail from.

Fostral vangers are mostly traders. They are cowardly - they try to avoid conflict and scuffle away after exchanging a couple of shots, - and greedy (they become enraged if they see you picking up anything from the ground, though not to the point that it overrides their natural cowardice). Vangers from Necross are highly erratic - they can follow you for days, just observing you, they may attack you, but they may just as quickly reconsider and lose interest. Beeboorat vangers, though? Yeah, these guys are crazy aggressive, and they won't stop firing at you until they are dead. Never give up, never surrender! Ever wondered why the previous update has 3 dead cars, and all 3 of them belonged to the Beeboorats? Because Fostral vangers know when to get the hell out of dodge, and that's before the fight even starts. :lol:

I love these little details, they add to the charm.

The Beeboorats are not senseless, though. Their Manual is not something that can't be overlooked, provided they have enough reason to do so. They give ample warnings when you break the rules for the first time, and if they had any other leverage over you (say, you were of a higher rank) they would try using those first, demoting you, or taking a fine. But you were a slave - you had nothing to lose but what you had in your cargo bay, and so they took that. Because every transgression of the military law and code of conduct needs to be strictly punished. An army can not survive without discipline.

So it's not like they are the bad guys, in fact, they are my favorite bios - you just have to get into a proper mindset when dealing with them, and back off when they fire a warning shot.

I hope that doesn't discourage you from experimenting. They have some hilarious lines.


That's the impression every civilian has of the military men. :lol: A stupid bunch of paranoid and delusional discipline freaks. However, when shit hits the fan, somehow the 'dumb' ones turn out to be the best organized and the best equipped for survival. Who is the smart one now, eh?


Already want to get to the good Beeboorats Zeexen? You sure they won't make you miss the Beeboorats like you did Eleepods? :lol:
 
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Nevill

Arcane
Joined
Jun 6, 2009
Messages
11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
It hit an unfortunate roadblock simply due to the fact that I ran out of space on my laptop drive, losing some footage in the process... pretty rare footage, actually :argh:, and then I ran out of free time on weekends. But it is not abandoned, just on a long hiatus. I've seen LPs recover after years of being dropped.

When I return to it, I'll probably have to do a post of 'the story so far' because of how long it's been, and that saps my will a little. :oops:
 
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nlspeed

Barely Literate
Joined
Apr 25, 2017
Messages
2
Ah, I see. Perhaps do not do such a post then? But do whatever feels best, really, and take all the time you need - you replied very quickly! This should be something fun, not something to force yourself to do. :)
 

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