Editorial #15 - 13 June 2009, Editorial: The MechScape Environment II Rating Options

[mike470]

Issue #15 - 13 June 2009

The MechScape Environment II
Written By Dizzy

Click Here To Read "The MechScape Environment I"

Hello dear reader and welcome to my second editorial!
For those who are a first time reader of my work, allow me to introduce myself.
I am Dizzy of the MechScape World writing team. My main focus so far with my editorial work has been speculation about MechScape’s environment and races of the game. This new editorial would almost be considered a continuation of my last and I will be focusing this time on the races and their habitats. For this editorial, I will be writing about the Pliigi and other inhabitants of their planet. I will mention missions, equipment, creatures, and other NPC characters. In this two part editorial, we will tour through this fictional town through the eyes of a “player”. We will go through a simple mission and describe the creatures we come across as we adventure through a fan-fiction MechScape world. This editorial will be different from the others you may have read before, but it will be an interesting experience nonetheless. Please, enjoy the read and tell me what you think when you’re done.

Note: Just for fun, I will be using the ancient elf language known as “Quenya”. This is a fictional language spoken by the elves in J.R.R Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”. For this editorial, we’re going to pretend this elf language is actually the language spoken by the Pliigi. You may find a English-Quenya dictionary here.

Important Disclaimer
NOTE; THIS IS NOT A RESEARCH ARTICLE, IT IS WILD SPECULATION BASED ON KNOWN INFORMATION! .....VERY, VERY WILD SPECULATION.

All the names, back-story, and characters mentioned in this editorial are fictitious and do not apply to the actual MechScape storyline. This editorial is considered “fan-fiction” and should NOT be taken seriously. The creature images provided in the bios are from real MechScape concept art and are copyright Jagex/Darren B. All other information provided in this editorial is mere speculation and is not a proven fact.


Chapter One: The Town and its History

We will be venturing through the fan-fiction Pliigi town known as Tulu-Mak. The town is well-known for its history with mining. The Pliigi have found the area an ideal place to mine for a special rock known as Ilmen-carca. This rock is melted down along with Eren-erma to make a metal used by the Pliigi for armor and weapons (like copper and tin to make bronze in RuneScape). Along with having a great mining resource, the Pliigi have found this area useful for trading since the camp is located only a few miles away from Port Loxi, which hosts a massive bazaar for merchants to sell their goods at. Incidentally, Port Loxi is also home to the universe's most unmemorable motto, which, due to its very nature, I cannot currently recall.

The general idea of what the encampment looks like is a somewhat run down place in middle of a desert land. The concept of the buildings would look similar to those found in MechScape World’s gallery, in Darren B’s section of work. A close to perfect example of a building found in Tulu-Mak can be seen here.

Now that you’ve gotten a small example of the area might look like, let’s enter the world of MechScape and check out the town, its inhabitants, and the variety of missions found here.

Chapter Two: Our Fellow Adventurer "Pliigi225"

Pliigi225, the fellow adventurer we will be following, has just created his new character and finished the Pliigi tutorial. Now, he must use the skills learned to make it through the harsh environment surrounding him. The only problem right now is that he is lacking the proper equipment to protect himself with; a weapon, armor, and some food for his travels. So now, his first destination shall be the market place located on the East side of Tulu-Mak. On his way to the market, Pliigi225 spots some interesting looking creatures – one of which looked like it had the mouth of an ant-eater, walked almost like an ape, and had huge spikes sticking out of its head. This creature was a captured Carcaras -- it looked as though its new owner, a travelling merchant, was trying to sell it to some random passers-by and they all seemed to have been revolted by the looks of the creature and told the merchant how crazy he was for keeping such a thing in town. The Carcaras, on the other hand, was thinking about the complex and deeply philisophical issue of what it should have for lunch. The creature, not known for its modesty, chose the same answer as always for what should be on its menu - everything. Fortunately, or unfortunately from the gluttonous creature's point of view, it was unable to feast [due to some reason].


Creature Bio #1: The Carcaras
Stands for: “Row of spikes”
Provided by the Grand Information Center, Fauna Research Division - Alpha-Sector 9

The Carcaras is a lesser-known creature among the inhabitants of Erumë-Nór (stands for “Desert Land”, which is a continent on the planet Sheravi, the Pliigi’s home planet). The reason for the Carcaras' unpopularity is because of its massive appetite for just about anything it can get its tongue wrapped around. The Carcaras’ diet is easily compared to that of a goat’s (if they were carnivorous). The only recorded information about the Carcaras creature is located at the Grand Information Center on Alpha-Sector 9, a planet inhabited by a human colony. The information is provided on a photo-copy of the original writings made by a human explorer – there isn’t much information about the Carcaras since the explorer’s papers were torn in to pieces, along with the explorer himself. It was only six years ago when the few pieces of the documents were found in an empty cave in the middle of Erumë-Nór. The only information that survived was a few words about the creature: “Alien Creature #277: Carcaras, Creature Information: A big creature with large spikes on its head. Appears to be a peaceful creature and eats only plants -- scratch previous note: eats small creatures--"

Unfortunately, it is difficult to take notes while being hunted down by a large raging monster and the only other information gathered was all scrabbled up in to a few simple words on separate shreds of paper: “never mind all other notes: Eats ANYTHING”...“DANGEROUS!!!”... – there were also some other notes that were impossible to read as they were written in a panic, but our researchers believe they were an SOS, written just before the death of the explorer.

A Pliigi farmer that claims to have seen a Carcaras in person has provided one of our talented artists with some information on what the creature looks like. Despite not being able to understand a single word the farmer had said to our artist, he has managed to come up with a rough idea of what the Carcaras may look like:


Continuing Chapter Two…

As Pliigi225 arrives at the market, he is approached by an odd looking Pliigi fellow; “Hey you! Yes, you! You look like someone in need of a few supplies! Now then, what I have here is a –“…. Pliigi225 is now presented with two options: either stay and listen to the merchant blab about all his wears, or just walk away. Our adventurer makes the decision to stay and listen just in case the merchant has something useful for a low-price.

As the merchant continues to show off his parcels, he begins to break down into panic. The adventurer then asks the merchant what is wrong…
The merchant replies to Pliigi225: “I’m so sorry, but I am desperate for money right now and no one wants to buy any of my wares… I’ve been like this all week. You may as well leave me be now; you probably don’t want to buy anything from me anyways.”
The merchant is of course right, Pliigi225 found nothing interesting of the merchant’s wears, but before walking away he wanted to ask a question.
“Now listen, you’re right, I don’t want to buy anything from you. If you don’t mind me asking: where can I find the nearest weapons dealer?”
Just as the merchant hears Pliigi225’s question, he grows an interesting look on his face and laughs, “The only weapons dealer around here is Vor-Tulto and trust me, he is not worth your time; his weapons are poorly made and his prices are outrageous! But, if you are really in need of a fine weapon, I may be able to help you out. I have something that I didn’t want to sell, but it looks as though I’m going to have to do it anyways or else I’ll never make enough cash to get off of this dreaded continent. I got stuck here on accident, you know! Anyways, I have a fine sword that I’ll be willing to sell you, but I won’t sell it for cash.” The adventurer raises his eyebrow and responds, “Not for cash? But I thought you were broke–” the merchant cuts him off and says, “I AM broke! Let me finish! Now then, what I was going to say is that I will sell you the sword, but instead of cash, I want a pair of Rimpa-Rauko wings and in good condition.” Looking a bit confused, Pliigi225 asks, “Rimpa-Rauko?”
“Yes Rimpa-Rauko! They’re all over Erumë-Nór, those flying bastards. You should be careful; they’ll tear you to pieces!”
“Now, how do you expect me to get a pair of wings? I don’t have any weapon!”
The merchant scratches his head and then with an excited look on his face, dives below his stand and grabs something from underneath. “You, my friend, DO have a weapon! You will use this crossbow! Here…” The merchant hands Pliigi225 the crossbow and continues to speak, “Right then, I know I have some ammo around here somewhere… Ah, here we are!” The merchant hands Pliigi225 a satchel full of barbed crossbow bolts.
“Now then, looks like you’re set –” Pliigi225 interrupts the merchant, “Now just wait! Where the heck am I supposed to find these flying things?!”
“Ah, yes, right then… Well, I saw a swarm of them flying over a field of yávinqua plants. That would be North-West from here. I’d be careful on the way there; I saw a wild Norsa-Ranyar wandering around over in that area and that crossbow will not protect you from one of those. Now, you best be off before nightfall!”

Creature Bio #2: Norsa-Ranyar
Stands for: "Giant Wanderer"
Provided by the Grand Information Center, Fauna Research Division - Alpha-Sector 9

The Norsa-Ranyar, a massive beast, is a creature most commonly found being herded by Pliigi farmers. The tamed Norsa-Ranyars are as harmless as flies, but when wild they are as dangerous as 30-foot tall lions who have just set their sights on someone they really really hate. The Norsa-Ranyar was first discovered by the Pliigi during year 374 of the Lelya-Hoster intergalactic migration (a mass migration of Pliigi clans, due to their previous home planet being conquered by the Tredbur Empire, which no longer exsists due to the race developing a genetic predisposition to prudishness). The first unfortunate Pliigi to have an encounter with a Norsa-Ranyar was Retun who, after deciding he liked a challenge, attempted to use his wits to defeat a baby Norsa-Ranyar, and promptly failed resulting in fatal death. The second encounter was with the Aldëa-Nandors (Tree-Shadowed Farmers), who made an attempt to catch the creature in hopes of using it to scare off any thieves from stealing from their crops. They failed the attempt and only angered the beast greatly. After that little maneuver, the Aldëa-Nandors were never heard from again. How it is that we come to know these facts considering it had no known witnesses with the ability to string a sentence together is the subject of intense and rigorous debate which has so far resulted in no less than nine civil wars and several strongly-worded letters in the local newspaper.

After large technological advances and many lessons learned, the Pliigi use the shells of Norsa-Ranyars to make armor and weapons. Some Pliigi even use the beast as a means of transportation. How the Pliigi have managed to tame these deadly creatures is a closely guarded secret of the Onna-Fara clan (Creature Hunt). The only known area where the Norsa-Ranyar inhabit is the Erumë-Nór continent on planet Sheravi. Recent rumors have suggested sightings of a closely related species of Ranyar on Sheravi's swamp-like continent, Nenda-Nór. Confirmation of these sightings is not yet available.



To Be Continued

Now as much as I love to write stories, I’m going to have to separate this editorial in to two different parts. It is quite a big editorial compared to the last one I’ve written and it takes a lot of work to create interesting ideas and names for creatures. The creatures bios in this editorial were made up by yours truly (with the help of Ren) and I used the elf language Quenya (J.R.R. Tolkien’s fictional elf language) to create the creature names. Every name has a meaning and if you go to the Quenya-English dictionary, you can translate the names to English (link to dictionary provided at the beginning of the editorial).

I will continue to write this awesome fan-fiction story over the weekend and hopefully it will be done before it’s time to release the next editorial. I would like to mention that this work may evolve in to my very own fan-fiction stories that I will post in the fan-fiction forum. I really like the idea of the “Grand Information Center” and that too may turn in to a regular ‘hobby’. Expect more creature bios as well as character and town bios soon! So tune in next time for the rest of this story and some more interesting ideas of the creatures roaming around MechScape!


MechScape and Community News


Jagex Wins One of Duke's Choice Awards
This week, Jagex won an award at the Duke's Choice Awards under the category of Best Desktop Game Project (Java). (Read more)

Still No Release Date
In his clan chat, Mod MMG states that there is still no release date for MechScape. (Read more)

Previous Issues:
MechScape Post #14: The Community of MechScape
MechScape Post #13: Codename MechScape
MechScape Post #12: The Importance of Music to MechScape as a Game
MechScape Post #11: How MechScape Will Appeal to an Older Demographic
MechScape Post #10: "Dynamic" Combat in MechScape
MechScape Post #9: Freeplay in MechScape
MechScape Post #8: The Future of MechScape World
MechScape Post #7: Situational Awareness: How the Concept Applies to MechScape
MechScape Post #6: Removing the Need To RWT
MechScape Post #5: The Hype Surrounding the Release Date of MechScape
MechScape Post #4: Gerhard's Influence on MechScape and Jagex
MechScape Post #3: A Great MechScape Flood?
MechScape Post #2: The MechScape Environment and Concepts
MechScape Post #1: MechScape Clan Leadership

Footnotes
Contributors: Ren (Content Research Team); Dizzy, mike470, Oscar, Xela (Writing & Editing Team).
Disclaimer: The views expressed by members of staff do not necessarily represent the view of MechScape World.

[ForeverOath]

Wow, this totally made me even more excited for Mechscape to come out. It was very creative and entertaining. Really great editorial Dizzy, can't wait for your next one!

[Rick Astley]

I like the speculations, lately the editorials have becomemuch better IMO

[whovian39]

Wow theres quite a lot i didn't know about mechscape in that. Nice post!

[Pliigi]

Wow theres quite a lot i didn't know about mechscape in that. Nice post!

Wow... did the you read the disclaimer?

Important Disclaimer
NOTE; THIS IS NOT A RESEARCH ARTICLE, IT IS WILD SPECULATION BASED ON KNOWN INFORMATION! .....VERY, VERY WILD SPECULATION.

All the names, back-story, and characters mentioned in this editorial are fictitious and do not apply to the actual MechScape storyline. This editorial is considered “fan-fiction” and should NOT be taken seriously. The creature images provided in the bios are from real MechScape concept art and are copyright Jagex/Darren B. All other information provided in this editorial is mere speculation and is not a proven fact.

The article was interesting

Note: Just for fun, I will be using the ancient elf language known as “Quenya”. This is a fictional language spoken by the elves in J.R.R Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”. For this editorial, we’re going to pretend this elf language is actually the language spoken by the Pliigi. You may find a English-Quenya dictionary here.

There isn't a link

[TeraByte]

Is it pronuonced: pli-gay? or ply-guy?

[Pliigi]

Is it pronuonced: pli-gay? or ply-guy?

I think it's Plee-gee. Where Plee=Plea and Gee=Plee with a G, not gee from "Gee, I'm bored."

[TeraByte]

Is it pronuonced: pli-gay? or ply-guy?

I think it's Plee-gee. And the gee sounds like the plee not like "Gee, I'm bored."

I wonder what gannon is up to?
But seriously, so its plee like Please and gee as in Gregory

[Pliigi]

Is it pronuonced: pli-gay? or ply-guy?

I think it's Plee-gee. And the gee sounds like the plee not like "Gee, I'm bored."

I wonder what gannon is up to?
But seriously, so its plee like Please and gee as in Gregory

Hopefully Jagex will have a pronunciation guide.

[Dizzy]

Note: Just for fun, I will be using the ancient elf language known as “Quenya”. This is a fictional language spoken by the elves in J.R.R Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”. For this editorial, we’re going to pretend this elf language is actually the language spoken by the Pliigi. You may find a English-Quenya dictionary here.

There isn't a link

Ah, sorry about that.
http://www.geocities.com/aikanaro42/dictionary.html

[TeraByte]

Is it pronuonced: pli-gay? or ply-guy?

I think it's Plee-gee. And the gee sounds like the plee not like "Gee, I'm bored."

I wonder what gannon is up to?
But seriously, so its plee like Please and gee as in Gregory

Hopefully Jagex will have a pronunciation guide.

Hope jagex but has done was that before never though.

[Lord John]

But seriously, so its plee like Please and gee as in Gregory

How does Gregory give a "Gee" sound. It's pronounced Grrr - egg-ore-ree (Gregory) not Gree-gory. Anyway, great article. Let's hope MS really is that cool!

[Sofee]

But seriously, so its plee like Please and gee as in Gregory

How does Gregory give a "Gee" sound. It's pronounced Grrr - egg-ore-ree (Gregory) not Gree-gory. Anyway, great article. Let's hope MS really is that cool!

His accent is probably different to most people

Fantastic Dizzy, once again . You are very talented at writing!

Edit: Wrong name

This post has been edited by Sofee: Jun 14 2009, 08:48 AM

[TeraByte]

But seriously, so its plee like Please and gee as in Gregory

How does Gregory give a "Gee" sound. It's pronounced Grrr - egg-ore-ree (Gregory) not Gree-gory. Anyway, great article. Let's hope MS really is that cool!

I, but ah tawk difrint fea yooh cause am scotish.

[Vaskor]

Very nice editorial, thank you!

P.S. Could you please not use red font on gray background? It is almost unreadable and hurts eyes...

[aron]

when you close your eyes and make someone read this editorial out loud you can make the perfect image of how you want the town to look like