So you want to know about the Formidine Rift? (Part 3)

[GormDeGamle]

And for those who are not able to join the AMA due to time-zones, please post your questions when you can. (...)

Hmmm. How to phrase a question so it's not too specific....?
I'll try: would you consider it a good idea to go looking for more clues in the bubble before leaving it all behind and hang out in the rift area?
(At least that's the feeling I get more and more after having left all behind and hanging out in the rift area for quite some time now )

 

[drew]

Latter.....

Spelling is not my forté! I have editors for that.

Cheers,

Drew.

 

[Saool]

I am 4627ly from Sol, heading for the Heart and Soul via IC 1805 and just found an Unknown Signal source. Specifically "Degraded Emissions Detected [Threat 0].

Is this normal in 2.1? There is no populated system within 4kly that I know of?


EDIT: Never mind. Must be the new way Data Caches are represented.

 

[Saool]

I mentioned before that analysis of spoken dialogue from the books, galnet and in-game is fraught with danger. Dialogue is, by its nature, imprecise, unless specific directions are being given. The characters will have dialects, inflection, pace and tone. Bear in mind that this is a story, and the characters have their own agendas, they are not mouthpieces for definitive statements, you must sift and weigh what they say.

"Right on, Commander" is a phrase from the original 1984 game which was awarded to the player every 256 kills and thus looms large in Elite lore. However in the above case, the intention was to indicate the character is drawing a breath, rather than concealing some cryptographic secret.

Cheers,

Drew.

Thanks for laying this one to rest Drew. 84ers like myself have said several times that 'Right On commander!' is just Elite's 'Live long and prosper' or 'May the force be with you' and that people are reading far too much into it and spending huge amounts of time and effort over it. These young'uns eh?

I'd +1 you but can't right now so have a virtual one.

 

[Legacy_LuckyLuke]

Thanks for laying this one to rest Drew. 84ers like myself have said several times that 'Right On commander!' is just Elite's 'Live long and prosper' or 'May the force be with you' and that people are reading far too much into it and spending huge amounts of time and effort over it. These young'uns eh?

I'd +1 you but can't right now so have a virtual one.

To be fair, I've played Elite since the original and understood the significance of 'right on, commander', yet was still somewhat convinced there was some coded message in what the old woman said on the holofac. Simply because she said 'coordinates are at the end of the message' then we were given none. Either way it's good to get the clarification now. I wonder how many other ghosties will be put to rest later today

I'm still a little sore FD chose to leave the phrase out of ED ... It's not Elite without "right on, commander!"

See y'all on the flip side.

 

[Saool]

To be fair, I've played Elite since the original and understood the significance of 'right on, commander', yet was still somewhat convinced there was some coded message in what the old woman said on the holofac. Simply because she said 'coordinates are at the end of the message' then we were given none. Either way it's good to get the clarification now. I wonder how many other ghosties will be put to rest later today

I'm still a little sore FD chose to leave the phrase out of ED ... It's not Elite without "right on, commander!"

See y'all on the flip side.

Fair enough. I just read that as the co-ordinates where at the end of the message but where not relevant to the novel so where not spelt out.

 

[Saool]

I am 4627ly from Sol, heading for the Heart and Soul via IC 1805 and just found an Unknown Signal source. Specifically "Degraded Emissions Detected [Threat 0].

Is this normal in 2.1? There is no populated system within 4kly that I know of?


EDIT: Never mind. Must be the new way Data Caches are represented.

Can these pop up anywhere? I've seen nothing but regular bodies for 4kly and now have had 5 of these in one hour? Is there a range from a populated system that they can spawn?

 

[crushdepth]

Fair enough. I just read that as the co-ordinates where at the end of the message but where not relevant to the novel so where not spelt out.

Right. They would have been meaningless to the reader, so they were not given in the book (and if they had been, there would be no mystery).

 

[drew]

To be fair, I've played Elite since the original and understood the significance of 'right on, commander', yet was still somewhat convinced there was some coded message in what the old woman said on the holofac. Simply because she said 'coordinates are at the end of the message' then we were given none. Either way it's good to get the clarification now. I wonder how many other ghosties will be put to rest later today

I'm still a little sore FD chose to leave the phrase out of ED ... It's not Elite without "right on, commander!"

See y'all on the flip side.

They haven't left it out, but the thresholds to get it are a little higher nowadays.

Cheers,

Drew.

 

[drew]

And, btw, the Reddit thread is now up.

https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/4lk86o/ask_him_anything_drew_wagar_author_of_elite/

Please fire away and I'll answer questions from 7pm. Look forward to seeing you there.

Cheers,

Drew.

 

[frostypaw]

https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/4lk86o/ask_him_anything_drew_wagar_author_of_elite/

I for one am glad you didn't call it the Crack of Fear.

Not a redditer but hope it goes well today shall read with interest!

 

[lorrad]

Right. They would have been meaningless to the reader, so they were not given in the book (and if they had been, there would be no mystery).

Not a problem for Fdev, even if they had been in the book, when you flew there there'd be f all there anyway. The real question and mystery would be trying to find out if anything from official fiction is actually in the game. I mean other than the sol system and the voyager poi. Boy that gave ya a false sense of hope if they bothered to throw in voyager then surely the official tourist traps must be there? Has anyone found one yet?

If I were Drew I'd sue to get the 4500 quid back. Most agreements are mutual, he follows their NDA and their control over his content, they put that content in the game. If he describes the Tionisla gaveyard and they check off on it, it's them saying it exists and not having it in game becomes a breach! The way FDev seems to be treating it is like a doctor saying patient confidentially binds you to keep his secrets, mainly that he's a wacko doctor.

Face it might as well have not paid for the writer's pack and written non-offical fiction which probably has a better chance of making it in,
people prefer to steal or pickup $10 on the street than have it handed to them, or in this case you paid them to pick up the $10 and they took the $4500 leaving you and the tenner in the gutter. Now I'm not a lawyer or know the terms and I realize Brit civil law is virtually the inverse of common sense designed to protect the "great and the good" [psychopaths and criminals] from pesky peasants, but surely they have some duty to you or there's be no point in paying them.

As the distinction between official and non-official is meaningless, can we please stop calling "the old woman", the old woman and at least nominally name her? It's sexist and misogynist, I know how much my old woman likesto be referred to as such. "I'd like to introduce you to the old woman, my first wife. 'Have you had many?' No, but one may hope." A tired old joke but still do it to annoy the old woman. Try calling an old woman, old woman to her face. Good luck with that.

Unless "the old woman" is a clue t.o.w.; t.o.w.[ie] she's from essex?

The bridal party consisted of Salomi, Hassan, Luko and some old woman?

It's not sexist because the main character is Xena Princess Warrior?

 

[MVP_Bluntman]

Can these pop up anywhere? I've seen nothing but regular bodies for 4kly and now have had 5 of these in one hour? Is there a range from a populated system that they can spawn?

yeah they pop up anywhere, i jumped in one and it was just a rekt eagle with some data caches.

 

[hiciacit]

Not a problem for Fdev, even if they had been in the book, when you flew there there'd be f all there anyway. The real question and mystery would be trying to find out if anything from official fiction is actually in the game. I mean other than the sol system and the voyager poi. Boy that gave ya a false sense of hope if they bothered to throw in voyager then surely the official tourist traps must be there? Has anyone found one yet?

If I were Drew I'd sue to get the 4500 quid back. Most agreements are mutual, he follows their NDA and their control over his content, they put that content in the game. If he describes the Tionisla gaveyard and they check off on it, it's them saying it exists and not having it in game becomes a breach! The way FDev seems to be treating it is like a doctor saying patient confidentially binds you to keep his secrets, mainly that he's a wacko doctor.

Face it might as well have not paid for the writer's pack and written non-offical fiction which probably has a better chance of making it in,
people prefer to steal or pickup $10 on the street than have it handed to them, or in this case you paid them to pick up the $10 and they took the $4500 leaving you and the tenner in the gutter. Now I'm not a lawyer or know the terms and I realize Brit civil law is virtually the inverse of common sense designed to protect the "great and the good" [psychopaths and criminals] from pesky peasants, but surely they have some duty to you or there's be no point in paying them.

As the distinction between official and non-official is meaningless, can we please stop calling "the old woman", the old woman and at least nominally name her? It's sexist and misogynist, I know how much my old woman likesto be referred to as such. "I'd like to introduce you to the old woman, my first wife. 'Have you had many?' No, but one may hope." A tired old joke but still do it to annoy the old woman. Try calling an old woman, old woman to her face. Good luck with that.

Unless "the old woman" is a clue t.o.w.; t.o.w.[ie] she's from essex?

The bridal party consisted of Salomi, Hassan, Luko and some old woman?

It's not sexist because the main character is Xena Princess Warrior?

Got tired of being taken by the nose as well, hey? By now I'm thinking this game is utterly devoid of any meaningful lore-related content.

 

[Elementalist]

Not a problem for Fdev, even if they had been in the book, when you flew there there'd be f all there anyway. The real question and mystery would be trying to find out if anything from official fiction is actually in the game. I mean other than the sol system and the voyager poi. Boy that gave ya a false sense of hope if they bothered to throw in voyager then surely the official tourist traps must be there? Has anyone found one yet?

If I were Drew I'd sue to get the 4500 quid back. Most agreements are mutual, he follows their NDA and their control over his content, they put that content in the game. If he describes the Tionisla gaveyard and they check off on it, it's them saying it exists and not having it in game becomes a breach! The way FDev seems to be treating it is like a doctor saying patient confidentially binds you to keep his secrets, mainly that he's a wacko doctor.

Face it might as well have not paid for the writer's pack and written non-offical fiction which probably has a better chance of making it in,
people prefer to steal or pickup $10 on the street than have it handed to them, or in this case you paid them to pick up the $10 and they took the $4500 leaving you and the tenner in the gutter. Now I'm not a lawyer or know the terms and I realize Brit civil law is virtually the inverse of common sense designed to protect the "great and the good" [psychopaths and criminals] from pesky peasants, but surely they have some duty to you or there's be no point in paying them.

As the distinction between official and non-official is meaningless, can we please stop calling "the old woman", the old woman and at least nominally name her? It's sexist and misogynist, I know how much my old woman likesto be referred to as such. "I'd like to introduce you to the old woman, my first wife. 'Have you had many?' No, but one may hope." A tired old joke but still do it to annoy the old woman. Try calling an old woman, old woman to her face. Good luck with that.

Unless "the old woman" is a clue t.o.w.; t.o.w.[ie] she's from essex?

The bridal party consisted of Salomi, Hassan, Luko and some old woman?

It's not sexist because the main character is Xena Princess Warrior?

Dude ... Have a Snickers or something. We may not like not having the Tionisla Orbital Graveyard in the game, but there are plenty of good reasons why it's not there - yet. For one thing, Frontier had to work on the whole game. Something as big as the T.O.G. (even if it's technically canon by virtue of being mentioned in Reclamation) would likely require a custom set of code just to make. It's a lot bigger than Voyager, and the flak they would catch for "getting it wrong" would be far more than for just not putting it in until they can get it right on the first try.

You know her name. I know her name. Just about everyone who read the Oolite novellas knows her name. Drew had his reasons for not naming her, just like how the old woman never names who it is she lost. She's in Reclamation to drive part of the plot and reveal the existence of a mystery, and as a nod to the Oolite fandom. She is not there to make the Oolite universe canon. So call her Rebecca Weston/Tyley if you want, but officially she's just a crazy old woman with conspiracy theories dancing in her head.

Oh, and she would probably hate being called "Old Woman" for the same reason I would hate being called "Old Man." Because nobody likes being old, or having that fact pointed out to them. So yeah, have a snack or something. There's nothing sexist about the matter other than what we choose to project into it.

 

[clavain]

Summary of some of the relevant points for the Rift mystery from Drew's AMA so far (full link here), my editorial comments in [ ]:

The mythology of Salome and the Seven Veils is relevant;

The "missing" green or Emerald stellar body from Prism system is not relevant;

There are hints in both Galnet and a few in local news, which may or may not be in some form of cipher, and the primary clues will be coming in future in Galnet;

Any astronomical hints or clues would be able to be figured out in game. They do not require Stellarium or the like (although you might find them that way as well);

Altera underpins the clues we already have [so likely does not introduce new clues];

That said, Tionisla is an "odd place" that we should keep an eye on;

It is not necessary to find Hassan's world [and does not appear to be necessary to find Octavia's system, if it is even in game] to solve the Rift mystery;

What is in or beyond the Rift is not a POI, but part of a continuing story. We may not even recognize it when we find it, although it is "becoming clearer each day";

The Dark Wheel has an [unspecified] role to play in the mystery;

A single commander could find the "answer", but it is more likely to be found by a group working together;

Nothing in Elite Reclamation is insignificant - there are many layers there;

The meaning of "core of the problem" can be found by sifting through existing Galnet and watching future Galnet;

Both the Formidine Rift and the Thargoids have their origins far back in the history of Elite, and we should "keep watching" for possible connections;

Those exploring the Rift from now on should do so well-armed, and make use of Engineers to maintain FSD range;

The duplicate Kahina Galnets of 09 MAR 3301 and 06 MAR 3301 – ("Prism Senator will not be late, not even slightly") were an error, there should only have been one published;

The Galnet posts generally "are a tapestry as seen from the back" - the threads may appear disordered, but they are not.

 

[frostypaw]

The Galnet posts generally "are a tapestry as seen from the back" - the threads may appear disordered, but they are not.

Beautiful way to put it - and a great summary thanks Clavain

 

[Kleitias]

Hello Drew, I could not join the AMA so I would like to accept your generous offer and ask a question here:

(This won't come as a surprise for some as I posted quit a lot about this topic Are efforts to interpret the ablative case of Formidine and the accusative case of cor meum et animam wasted because they were chosen for purely 'aesthetic' reasons?

 

[piy]

The thing is....we just don't know how the game works. We don't know if we find something about any mystery if it's going to pop up in big red letters across our HUD. Ofc it's not. The guys in Drew's book are playing the game....now....and even thay don't know what's going to happen. Poor FD can't control what we or anyone else do to solve any mystery thay put in front of us. All thay can do is adapt acordingly. Like drew has said in the passed, who knows what the players Base will do with the info thay have?! Is it to easy? To hard? What will the game mechanic's accommodate? People over think lots of things but then it took big dave himself to say " have you listened to them?" TO get people to understand this is a different kind of game. On another level.

Long time lurker
Some times poster
Piy o7...+ a lot a vodka

 

[piy]

Whoever clavain is aswell...realy good questions. Boom 16 lol. Only read half but I'm definitely getting armed before I head back out