Difference between revisions of "User:Valaggar/Sandbox"

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This is a list of mysteries that are still open at the end of [[Star Control II]].
+
{{IRC1998}}
 +
::<LordR-man> Fwiffo- how did you come up with the StarControl seriese, what enspired you and Fred Ford to make these games?
 +
::<Fwiffo> The genesis of the SC series is a long story, beginning, believe it or not, at Electronic Arts.  After finishing World Tour Golf for EA, my old partners Evan and Nicky and I decided to make a modem game (code-named Camero at that time) and we proposed a science-fiction Archon game.  
  
=Major mysteries=
+
{{IRC2003}}
Mysteries referenced by more than two [[canon]] sources.
+
::23:05 < fwiffo> On our most recent game, one of the testers kept hearing 'ghost voices' in our dialog.  Seriously.
 +
::23:08 < fwiffo> McMartin: What was funy (not funny) was that because our producers took the bug report seriously, I had to carefully listen to each and every WAV (hundreds and hundreds) listening for the ghostly voices.
  
===What happened to the [[Precursors]]?===
+
{{IRC2003}}
From the [[Slylandro]]:
+
::23:13 < fwiffo> Meep-Eep: We play Bomberman a lot here, and whenever Chris plays with us the TV goes all crazy. Hence, EMF.
:Joyous Lifting, who has a better memory than I recalls that the Shaggy Ones were described as being... worried.
+
::23:14 < eotus> When Chris plays bomber man with us the TV starts to go crazy like its being hit with EMF hmm is that EMP?
:They were always hurrying from place to place, seeking knowledge as though they were in a desperate search for some important secret some answer to a question that they never shared with us.
+
{{IRC2003}}
:Sullen Plummet remembers that the last time the Shaggy Ones visited our world they came aboard a great circular starship, one even larger than your own.
+
::23:32 < fwiffo> Yep. The game I have played the most over the last year (besides SUPER Bomberman on the SUPER-Nintendo) was a palm-pilot version of Star Trader.
:They had discovered their Answer and were leaving to go somewhere and they didn't tell us exactly where 'somewhere' was.
+
{{IRC2007}}
 +
::00:01 <@Meep-Eep> Do you still play SC melee yourselves?
 +
::00:02 <+PR3> Greg J and Toby S and I used to play, but mostly it has been Super Bomberman lately.  Like the past 8 years.
  
From the #StarControl Efnet IRC chat of 1998-10-18 (Fwiffo is both [[Paul Reiche III|Paul]] and [[Fred Ford|Fred]] here):
+
{{IRC2003}}
:<Fwiffo> In our rambling thoughts about SC3 we did seriously consider having the [[Orz]] assume a much larger and more ominous role, opposed to the return of the [[Precursors]].
+
::23:23 < fwiffo> Funny story about Pandemonium for the n-gage: Crystal called us about 18 months ago to see if we had the source code and data for the game.  Now they had tape back-ups of the server, but for some reason they couldn't restore them.  We found about 20 floppies, made over the last 4 months of the project and sent them off to a developer in England.  That dude must have HATED us.  But hey, there it is on the n-gage.  Nice job.
  
=====What is the purpose of the [[Rainbow World]]s?=====
+
{{IRC2007}}
From the [[Slylandro]]:
+
::23:03 < PRH_> My question actually, Paul... What is your opinion of the SC2 3DO voices? Do you think they fit the races' characters as you designed them?
:We were told the planets were... again this is confusing... organized (?) in some pattern which in some way alluded to the Shaggy Ones' ultimate fate.
+
::23:04 <+PR3> The sc2 3do voices... hmm... some were good, some were not perfect. My son Devin (now 24) played UQM last week and said that the ONLY voice he liked was the Talking Pet.
 +
::00:09 <+PR3> Honestly, there isn't much I regret about SC2, except maaaabe for some of the voices.
  
 +
{{IRC2007}}
 +
::23:18 <@Meep-Eep> Just to change the Q&A nature of the chat a bit: what's your best development anecdote for SC2 (question from the forum)
 +
::23:20 <+robot> Meep-Eep:  This may be out there somewhere, but I particularly enjoyed when we showed Accolade a version that had no text in it (e.g. when you would meet an alien his text would say "Hyperspace hello 1") and they didn't realize the game wasn't done.
 +
::23:27 <+PR3> Recording the dialog for the Syreen was one of the most awkward experiences in my adult life.  She as the parent of one of my kid's friends (I think) and we were alone in the office.  She was quite professional, but I kept blushing and coughing.
 +
::23:34 <+Erol> Development pseudo anecdote:  I remember feeling extreme joy while painting aliens for SC2, it was one of the the bestest and finest projects I've ever worked on.  Paul gave just the right amount of description for me, leaving lots of freedom surrounding the core concepts.  It would be great to experience such a thing again... Duh.
  
===Who are [[They|They/Them]]?===
+
{{IRC2007}}
 +
::23:52 <@Meep-Eep> The pieces of dialog missing from the 3DO version of SC2 consistently contained important gameplay hints. The Supox home world location, the Metachron, how the Melnorme can be contacted from Hyperspace, all references to them are gone. Did you have any plans for presenting this information in another way, or did the Crystal Dynamics hints line people get their hands on the source before it went gold?
 +
::23:52 <+PR3> We must of had a good reason... right, Fred?
 +
::23:53 <+robot> Umm... right.
 +
::23:53 <@Meep-Eep> I see
 +
::23:53 <+PR3> Maybe we thought we might juggle key locations to make replay more fun.
 +
::23:53 <@fOSSiL> Ah
 +
::23:53 <+PR3> Maybe it was a wizard
  
=====What happened to the [[Androsynth]]? Are any still alive?=====
+
{{IRC2007}}
From the #StarControl Efnet IRC chat of 1998-10-18 (Fwiffo is both [[Paul Reiche III|Paul]] and [[Fred Ford|Fred]] here):
+
::00:10 <+Newa> what kind of state did you get best design results in? Office, lakewood camp, late night party, what? And what were the reactions when you retreated to make some "finishing touches" originally?
<LordR-man> Fwiffo- What really happened to the Androsynth in sc2?
+
::00:12 <+robot> Newa:  I think continual play-testing was probably the best.
<Fwiffo> In regards to the Androsynth: They were snagged by the entity who/which projected its fingers into our dimension (which looked to us as the Orz.)
+
::00:12 <+PR3> Regarding creativity, it seemed to wax and wane almost at random.  Occasionally a milestone deadline would spur us on too!
 +
::00:14 <+PR3> I find the best ideas occur when you are telling someone about a different idea, which they hate.  In desperation you start making it all up and act like that was the plan all along.
 +
::00:15 <+Jimmy> PR3: Agreed. I think I get more ideas off the top of my head, lying to people that "i've been thinking about it".
 +
::00:15 <+PR3> Episodic content seems much harder, since both the individual pieces as well as the whole need to work.
 +
::00:15 <+Erol> Often a good idea comes just as one is falling asleep, its kind of a test.  Do you get up and write or sketch it or do you, ahhh just fall asleep.
 +
::00:16 <+tfb-chris> Newa: I'm a big believer in the occasional all-nighter, when working on something especially interesting or challenging. As Jimmy said, working on the occasional tangent often yields great results, or at least greater understanding of your primary problem.
  
From a fan email with Fred Ford:
+
{{IRC2007}}
:> Were ALL the Androsynth destroyed when the [[Orz]] came?
+
::00:18 <+Psyringe> Who came up with the idea of using different fonts for the alien dialogue? It was a little detail, but made the game look very polished imho.
:Perceptive lad. This was a leading plot candidate for our theoretical sequel.
+
::00:19 <+RainDaemon> that was really cool
 +
::00:19 <+robot> It added to each alien's character.
 +
::00:19 <+RainDaemon> <3 the vux font
 +
::00:19 <+PR3> One of the very first things I wrote on my Atari-800 was a font editor and I must have written 3 or 4 more since then. I love fonts! (are there font nerds?)
  
 +
::00:25 <+Slylendro> Do you like a certain sci-fi show? Babylon5, StarTrek, etc'
 +
::00:26 <+PR3> Babylon 5, Firefly
 +
::00:26 <+robot> Old Star Trek, Babylon5, Firefly
 +
::00:27 <+tfb-chris> Firefly was pretty excellent.
  
=Lore mysteries=
+
::00:25 <+Spellweav> what do you think about having a periodical Melee championship held online?
Minor mysteries with an eventual impact on the plot.
+
::00:26 <+Spellweav> an official championshipt with..say..T-shirts or the likes for prizes
 +
::00:26 <+Spellweav> signed by ours truly
 +
::00:26 <+PR3> I would love to be part of a Supermelee competition!
 +
::00:28 <+tfb-chris> Meep-Eep: Put me on the list for SuperMelee competitions, too!
  
===[[Arilou]]===
+
:Paul Mail:
=====What are the [[Arilou]]'s motives for messing with [[humans]]?=====
+
::>Another thing: How do you like all the fan creations the fans are making
 +
::>about starcontrol?
 +
::>I've read somewhere that you aspired to become a Scifi-writer, so I want to
 +
::>ask you this: Have you ever written a story? I would love to see it if you
 +
::>have! Second, do you ever read the starcontrol Fanfiction over at home of
 +
::>the Maelnum? (http://www.star-control.com/maelnum) because A lot of
 +
::>FANTASTIC stories are being written lately! (and ofcourse, all about
 +
::>starcontrol)
  
 
+
::I think it's great that you want to be a science-fiction writer. If I was a better writer of novels, that's probably what I'd do half the time (I love making games too, of course!) I read "The War of the Spaces" a few years ago and was delighted with the creativity the author put into it. I've glanced through most of the other fan-fiction, but I haven't had time to really give it the attention it deserves.
=====Were the Humans and the [[Syreen]] the same species initially?=====
 
Were the Syreen some sort of control group for the Arilou experiments on the human race?
 
 
 
 
 
=====Did the [[Arilou]] interfere in the development of other races besides the [[Humans]]?=====
 
Commander [[Hayes]] mentions that the Arilou intimated that they "had some fun" with "an alien race in Draconis" (the [[Thraddash]]).
 
 
 
 
 
=====Who or what are the [[Nnngn]] that the [[Arilou]] are chasing?=====
 
 
 
 
 
===[[Orz]]===
 
=====Do the Orz have a special purpose for the [[Humans]], as the [[Arilou]] have?=====
 
From the #StarControl Efnet IRC chat of 1998-10-18 (Fwiffo is both [[Paul Reiche III|Paul]] and [[Fred Ford|Fred]] here):
 
:<Mephisto_> Fwiffo: What exactly did the Arilou *quickbabies* do to piss off the Orz so much?
 
:<Fwiffo> The Arilou always *jumped in front*, which was both a physical taunt as well as a political one. They got to the humans first.
 
 
 
 
 
=====Where did the [[Orz]] come from?=====
 
They name their dimension "[[*below*]]", so it apparently has a lower [[reality phase]] than [[HyperSpace]] and [[TrueSpace]], but how exactly is it like and why did the Orz leave it?
 
 
 
 
 
=====What is the history of the [[Arilou]] with the [[Orz]]?=====
 
 
 
 
 
=====Are there still [[Taalo]] alive?=====
 
From the #StarControl Efnet IRC chat of 1998-10-18 (Fwiffo is both [[Paul Reiche III|Paul]] and [[Fred Ford|Fred]] here):
 
:<_Stilgar> <che`z`puf> Are the Taalo really dead, and when the [[Pkunk]] spoke of rocks that were awakened, did they mean the Taaolo?
 
:<Fwiffo> The Taalo LIVE!
 
 
 
 
 
===Post-SC2===
 
=====How were the alien societies affected by the fall of the [[Ur-Quan]]?=====
 
*The [[Battle Thralls]]
 
*The [[Fallow Slave]]s
 
*Other races
 
 
 
 
 
=====How will the Ultron change the [[Druuge]]?=====
 
How did it change the Supox?
 
 
 
 
 
=====What happened to the [[Talking Pet|neo-Dnyarri]]?=====
 
Did he survive as it is said in the out-takes?
 
 
 
 
 
=====Is the [[Ultron]] still in working order?=====
 
Are the events in the outtakes with respect to the Ultron to be taken seriously?
 
 
 
 
 
=====How did [[The Captain]] find the Mark II?=====
 
How did he use it?
 
 
 
 
 
=====What does the rest of the galaxy look like?=====
 
 
 
 
 
===Pre-SC2===
 
=====Who created the [[Mother Ark]] that built the [[Mmrnmhrm]] and with what purpose?=====
 
 
 
 
 
=====How did the Pkunk and the [[Yehat]] get separated?=====
 
 
 
 
 
===Trivial===
 
=====What does the face of an [[Utwig]] look like?=====
 
 
 
 
 
=====What is the relevance of ground warfare in the Star Control Universe?=====
 
What ground weaponry is used by the various alien races?
 
 
 
 
 
===Additional===
 
=====Who are the [[Keel-Verezy]]?=====
 
 
 
 
 
=====Does the [[Black Spathi Squadron]] really exist?=====
 
 
 
 
 
=====Why did the [[Melnorme]]'s bridge turn purple?=====
 
The Melnorme offer to tell you this piece of information for 120,000 credits (on the PC version) or 12,000,000 credits (on the [[3DO]] version and [[UQM]]), but it is impossible to gather this many credits, and their conversation tree doesn't include a response for this.
 
 
 
From the #StarControl Efnet IRC chat of 1998-10-18 (Fwiffo is both [[Paul Reiche III|Paul]] and [[Fred Ford|Fred]] here):
 
:"<Fwiffo> I promise here and now, that in our next SC project, we'll answer that Purple Bridge question to your ultimate satisfaction."
 
 
 
=====How can [[slave shield]]s be shut down?=====
 
Can they decay, as it may have happened with the Faz's planet?<br>How did the [[Chmmr]] shut down the slave shield from withing?
 
 
 
Note that one method of cracking slave shields is known: in the ending video of the 3DO version of Star Control II, the Chmmr insert a network of satellites in [[Earth]]'s slave shield, the resulting disruptions causing its collapse.
 
 
 
 
 
=====How does the [[MetaChron]] work?=====
 
 
 
 
 
=====Does the [[Spathi]]'s [[Ultimate Evil]] really exist?=====
 
From the #StarControl Efnet IRC chat of 1998-10-18 (Fwiffo is both [[Paul Reiche III|Paul]] and [[Fred Ford|Fred]] here):
 
:<_Stilgar> <Spyhunter> Fwiffo: "How does an "Ultimate Evil" -race in an SC2 -style game behave when meeting the player?"
 
:<Fwiffo> You mean the big carnivorous teddy bears on [[Spathiwa]]?
 
:<Xxyl> I believe those were those "[[Evil Ones]]"
 
:<_Stilgar> <Spyhunter> Fwiffo: "No, I mean the main enemy in the game. ;)"
 
:<Fwiffo> Oh yeah. Well, I rarely paint someone as absolutely "evil" -- it's all a matter of perspective. What is interesting is why people (aliens) do things that seem evil to you or me, and what prevents us from doing the same.
 
 
 
The fact that Paul/Fred didn't recall the Ultimate Evil suggests that this is not an important plot point, but merely a product of the Spathi's paranoia. [[Fwiffo]]'s description "[...] it lurks just outside the range of even the most sensitive, long-range detectors [...]" supports this idea.
 
 
 
 
 
=Other mysteries=
 
Minor mysteries resulting from extrapolation or critical analysis of the [[canon]] lore.
 
 
 
=====Why didn't the [[Mycon]] [[Sphere of Influence]] expand more during the years?=====
 
Their primary goal is expansion; why, then, do they progress so slowly?
 
 
 
 
 
=====Why is the [[VUX Beast]] the only one left of its species?=====
 
Is it really a superorganism? Is it the same Beast documented by [[ZEX]]'s ancient alien handbook or a descendant of it? What alien species wrote the handbook? What did the Beast after killing ZEX?
 
 
 
 
 
=====Are there [[Spathi]] still out there not under the [[Spathiwa]] [[slave shield]]?=====
 
 
 
 
 
=====Are there any [[Ilwrath]] and/or Thraddash left after [[Ilwrath-Thraddash war|their war]]?=====
 
 
 
 
 
=====Where are the new [[Shofixti]] settling?=====
 
 
 
 
 
=====What happened to the [[Tobermoon]] and its crew in the Vela Oort Cloud?=====
 
The Star Control II manual states that The Captain finds the drifting, battle-damaged ship, "Strangely, there were no bodies at all on board." Who attacked it, and why take the bodies but leave the ship?
 
 
 
 
 
=====Why did a [[Slylandro]] [[Probe]] only disable the Tobermoon?=====
 
 
 
 
 
=====How can ships reach half the speed of light in [[TrueSpace]] without side effects?=====
 
 
 
 
 
[[Category:About the Star Control series]]
 
[[Category:Trivia]]
 

Latest revision as of 15:36, 15 June 2007

From the 1998 IRC chat with Toys for Bob (Fwiffo is both Fred Ford and Paul Reiche III here):

<LordR-man> Fwiffo- how did you come up with the StarControl seriese, what enspired you and Fred Ford to make these games?
<Fwiffo> The genesis of the SC series is a long story, beginning, believe it or not, at Electronic Arts. After finishing World Tour Golf for EA, my old partners Evan and Nicky and I decided to make a modem game (code-named Camero at that time) and we proposed a science-fiction Archon game.

From the 2003 IRC chat with Toys for Bob (fwiffo is Paul Reiche III, wimbli is Fred Ford):

23:05 < fwiffo> On our most recent game, one of the testers kept hearing 'ghost voices' in our dialog. Seriously.
23:08 < fwiffo> McMartin: What was funy (not funny) was that because our producers took the bug report seriously, I had to carefully listen to each and every WAV (hundreds and hundreds) listening for the ghostly voices.

From the 2003 IRC chat with Toys for Bob (fwiffo is Paul Reiche III, wimbli is Fred Ford):

23:13 < fwiffo> Meep-Eep: We play Bomberman a lot here, and whenever Chris plays with us the TV goes all crazy. Hence, EMF.
23:14 < eotus> When Chris plays bomber man with us the TV starts to go crazy like its being hit with EMF hmm is that EMP?

From the 2003 IRC chat with Toys for Bob (fwiffo is Paul Reiche III, wimbli is Fred Ford):

23:32 < fwiffo> Yep. The game I have played the most over the last year (besides SUPER Bomberman on the SUPER-Nintendo) was a palm-pilot version of Star Trader.

From the 2007 IRC chat with Toys for Bob (robot is Fred Ford, PR3 is Paul Reiche III):

00:01 <@Meep-Eep> Do you still play SC melee yourselves?
00:02 <+PR3> Greg J and Toby S and I used to play, but mostly it has been Super Bomberman lately. Like the past 8 years.

From the 2003 IRC chat with Toys for Bob (fwiffo is Paul Reiche III, wimbli is Fred Ford):

23:23 < fwiffo> Funny story about Pandemonium for the n-gage: Crystal called us about 18 months ago to see if we had the source code and data for the game. Now they had tape back-ups of the server, but for some reason they couldn't restore them. We found about 20 floppies, made over the last 4 months of the project and sent them off to a developer in England. That dude must have HATED us. But hey, there it is on the n-gage. Nice job.

From the 2007 IRC chat with Toys for Bob (robot is Fred Ford, PR3 is Paul Reiche III):

23:03 < PRH_> My question actually, Paul... What is your opinion of the SC2 3DO voices? Do you think they fit the races' characters as you designed them?
23:04 <+PR3> The sc2 3do voices... hmm... some were good, some were not perfect. My son Devin (now 24) played UQM last week and said that the ONLY voice he liked was the Talking Pet.
00:09 <+PR3> Honestly, there isn't much I regret about SC2, except maaaabe for some of the voices.

From the 2007 IRC chat with Toys for Bob (robot is Fred Ford, PR3 is Paul Reiche III):

23:18 <@Meep-Eep> Just to change the Q&A nature of the chat a bit: what's your best development anecdote for SC2 (question from the forum)
23:20 <+robot> Meep-Eep: This may be out there somewhere, but I particularly enjoyed when we showed Accolade a version that had no text in it (e.g. when you would meet an alien his text would say "Hyperspace hello 1") and they didn't realize the game wasn't done.
23:27 <+PR3> Recording the dialog for the Syreen was one of the most awkward experiences in my adult life. She as the parent of one of my kid's friends (I think) and we were alone in the office. She was quite professional, but I kept blushing and coughing.
23:34 <+Erol> Development pseudo anecdote: I remember feeling extreme joy while painting aliens for SC2, it was one of the the bestest and finest projects I've ever worked on. Paul gave just the right amount of description for me, leaving lots of freedom surrounding the core concepts. It would be great to experience such a thing again... Duh.

From the 2007 IRC chat with Toys for Bob (robot is Fred Ford, PR3 is Paul Reiche III):

23:52 <@Meep-Eep> The pieces of dialog missing from the 3DO version of SC2 consistently contained important gameplay hints. The Supox home world location, the Metachron, how the Melnorme can be contacted from Hyperspace, all references to them are gone. Did you have any plans for presenting this information in another way, or did the Crystal Dynamics hints line people get their hands on the source before it went gold?
23:52 <+PR3> We must of had a good reason... right, Fred?
23:53 <+robot> Umm... right.
23:53 <@Meep-Eep> I see
23:53 <+PR3> Maybe we thought we might juggle key locations to make replay more fun.
23:53 <@fOSSiL> Ah
23:53 <+PR3> Maybe it was a wizard

From the 2007 IRC chat with Toys for Bob (robot is Fred Ford, PR3 is Paul Reiche III):

00:10 <+Newa> what kind of state did you get best design results in? Office, lakewood camp, late night party, what? And what were the reactions when you retreated to make some "finishing touches" originally?
00:12 <+robot> Newa: I think continual play-testing was probably the best.
00:12 <+PR3> Regarding creativity, it seemed to wax and wane almost at random. Occasionally a milestone deadline would spur us on too!
00:14 <+PR3> I find the best ideas occur when you are telling someone about a different idea, which they hate. In desperation you start making it all up and act like that was the plan all along.
00:15 <+Jimmy> PR3: Agreed. I think I get more ideas off the top of my head, lying to people that "i've been thinking about it".
00:15 <+PR3> Episodic content seems much harder, since both the individual pieces as well as the whole need to work.
00:15 <+Erol> Often a good idea comes just as one is falling asleep, its kind of a test. Do you get up and write or sketch it or do you, ahhh just fall asleep.
00:16 <+tfb-chris> Newa: I'm a big believer in the occasional all-nighter, when working on something especially interesting or challenging. As Jimmy said, working on the occasional tangent often yields great results, or at least greater understanding of your primary problem.

From the 2007 IRC chat with Toys for Bob (robot is Fred Ford, PR3 is Paul Reiche III):

00:18 <+Psyringe> Who came up with the idea of using different fonts for the alien dialogue? It was a little detail, but made the game look very polished imho.
00:19 <+RainDaemon> that was really cool
00:19 <+robot> It added to each alien's character.
00:19 <+RainDaemon> <3 the vux font
00:19 <+PR3> One of the very first things I wrote on my Atari-800 was a font editor and I must have written 3 or 4 more since then. I love fonts! (are there font nerds?)
00:25 <+Slylendro> Do you like a certain sci-fi show? Babylon5, StarTrek, etc'
00:26 <+PR3> Babylon 5, Firefly
00:26 <+robot> Old Star Trek, Babylon5, Firefly
00:27 <+tfb-chris> Firefly was pretty excellent.
00:25 <+Spellweav> what do you think about having a periodical Melee championship held online?
00:26 <+Spellweav> an official championshipt with..say..T-shirts or the likes for prizes
00:26 <+Spellweav> signed by ours truly
00:26 <+PR3> I would love to be part of a Supermelee competition!
00:28 <+tfb-chris> Meep-Eep: Put me on the list for SuperMelee competitions, too!
Paul Mail:
>Another thing: How do you like all the fan creations the fans are making
>about starcontrol?
>I've read somewhere that you aspired to become a Scifi-writer, so I want to
>ask you this: Have you ever written a story? I would love to see it if you
>have! Second, do you ever read the starcontrol Fanfiction over at home of
>the Maelnum? (http://www.star-control.com/maelnum) because A lot of
>FANTASTIC stories are being written lately! (and ofcourse, all about
>starcontrol)
I think it's great that you want to be a science-fiction writer. If I was a better writer of novels, that's probably what I'd do half the time (I love making games too, of course!) I read "The War of the Spaces" a few years ago and was delighted with the creativity the author put into it. I've glanced through most of the other fan-fiction, but I haven't had time to really give it the attention it deserves.