Guns Of Icarus Online

Main => World => Topic started by: Lady Veronica on March 28, 2016, 11:18:29 am

Title: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Lady Veronica on March 28, 2016, 11:18:29 am: I haven't found any solid statements of where this mythical wonderland of steam exists on earth, so i decided to take a crack at theory craft. In case you are wondering, this does happen on earth, that much is certain. Also, one of my main pieces of evidence might be an oversight by Muse, but I doubt it. The solution just fits so perfectly.

Well, right off the bat you can say this world is definitely not in the Americas. There's too much history and European architecture in Labyrinth that proves otherwise. By the way, a lot of my guesswork is based on that massive city, as there isn't much given anywhere else. Labyrinth is the only link to our timeline we really have. That said, this also can not be in Africa, Australia or even Asia. Let me explain Asia for a second, as the Yeshan Empire is derived pretty much of complete Asian culture. There just isn't enough cities in that part of Russia, and not to mention the biggest clue we have, is the language of the original people of Labyrinth. Below, I posted a picture of the only remaining sign in the map from the time, its of a hotel. You can't really make out the name of it, but you can definitely see all the letters of the word "HOTEL". That alone tells us that Labyrinth was in a part of the world that used a modern English or like-English alphabet. So, now we have Europe, and with information gathered from the official website and here, we know that the north piece of the map in Alliance its at the edge of a massive ice sheet that blankets the earth from the north pole. That, along with the information that hotel in french is hôtel(throwing the entirety of France out of the question, even though the nearby town is called "Paritan"), takes out any southern European contenders, even though hotel in Spanish is hotel. Now, we have only northern Europe excluding countries with Slavic languages. So, pretty much, all we have left is Germany if we assume the temperate zones that make up the Firnfeld are actually pieces of anywhere Stockholm, Sweden down, that gives us Germany and Poland. Looking at Labyrinth, the pointy architecture on the railway and the construction of the clock tower all point to German styles over the Polish. Now, our only option is Germany, but wait you say, the current world looks nothing like the one in the Alliance map. Well, on the website there is a list of book names that supposedly explain everything (just the names and dates of their coverage) and the first book on the Great War has a timeline of 50 years. Then, the Red Death(sequel) lasts another 50 years all equating to a century of old world conflict. In the first fifty, keeping the trailer for Co-op in 2014 in mind, massive bombing would have happened everywhere. With all the technological advancement it isn't too much of a stretch to say that places like Poland, being the eastern front, was bombed into oblivion. This bombing and excessive resources required to sustain the armies and ships like the Leviathan and other sea-faring ships you see lying around the Firnfeld would have put massive strain on the environment, causing deserts in the forests of France (Arashi Desert) and the sea surrounding Chaladon(which we are now assuming as a surviving piece of Poland, or Polish wilderness). Also, the ships that are just left in the middle of canyons in the Firnfeld indicate there being a sea there, that sea could have very well been the North or Baltic seas. How the Yesha Empire existed in old France, well, it was 300 years. Perhaps Asian peoples sailed over there in that time, or a massive population of Asian people were gunned down over there. Maybe France is just exterminated by Asians and colonized during the war. The Mercantile Guild on the other hand, strongly enforce this theory. They are a nation of strong Venician influence, and Venice is right below Germany. On a final note, The Labyrinth, is probably Berlin or Frankfurt. That is if it is any city that existed before the Great War. The narrow streets and architecture, as I said before, strongly suggest that.

TL:DR (that really is a big wall of text, woops)

The Hotel picture below along with architecture from Labyrinth prove the location to be northern Europe. It can't be France (even though the town is called "Paritan") because they put a silly thing over the O in hotel that can't be placed on that sign (no supports or evidence of it, it also just doesn't work in that font). The mercantile guild to the south is from Venice, the sea-faring ships littering the Firnfeld suggest a dried up sea (the Baltic or North sea) and Germany is right in the middle. Its in Germany, and Labyrinth is probably Berlin or Frankfurt. It also makes Poland a sea except Chaladon, and France a desert run by Asians. Within the three hundred years, Asians either sailed over there or during the war a massive ship (or fleet) from Asia was gunned down around there, or maybe they took over France and got stranded, who knows.

Thank you for reading, if you think I missed anything or think I'm blatantly wrong please let me know. This kind of theorizing is really fun.

The Hotel (The E fell down a bit, but it's there)
(http://i.imgur.com/MYxrD7V.jpg)

The Clocktower
(http://i.imgur.com/kcpkm77.jpg)

Nice Easter Egg Muse
(http://i.imgur.com/o3W5CwC.jpg)
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: The Mann on March 28, 2016, 11:45:33 am: Very good analysis :D

There are many examples of the world in which Guns of Icarus takes place in.

There is speculation that the world formed after a great war which left the land barren. Below is a map of the world.
Note there are tanks scattered on the floor all around Labrinth.

I assume Paritan is based of the town of Paritus - A settlement based on the outskirts of The Dunes near Nalm and Sylka - Arashi Territory.

(http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/gunsoficarusonline/images/2/27/Guns_of_Icarus_Map.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140314035859)
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Lady Veronica on March 28, 2016, 12:07:02 pm: Wow, I meant Paritus every time I said Paritan. The map name Paritan Rumble must have just stuck in my head. Woops.

Quote from: The Mann on March 28, 2016, 11:45:33 am
There is speculation that the world formed after a great way which left the land barren.

Do you mean war or wave? I also thought that it was canon that the great war that lasted 100 years caused the destruction everywhere. I just literally spent hours pouring over what little lore there is available, so I don't know if I missed anything.
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: The Mann on March 28, 2016, 12:20:01 pm: If you would love to discuss the Lore of the games, the Developers are very helpful.

When making my steam guides, I spoke to the Designers who offered me some very interesting insights into the lore of each weapon and ship.

Maybe they can help if you shoot them an email to feedback@musegames.com
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Lady Veronica on March 28, 2016, 12:31:35 pm: Thanks for the tip, I'll make sure to do that. I'm kind of a lore junkie, and I just find this lore so fascinating. Usually whenever I thought steam punk before I just thought how unlikely it was for humanity to take such a turn back in the early 1900s. This game really opens up a legitimate chance that could have changed the world if certain events took place. Also, on a side note, its been 300 years since the great war when the game itself takes place. Thats just about the same year as the Fallout series, somewhere in the 2200's.
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Kamoba on March 30, 2016, 03:21:59 am: Good read, and food for thought, I'll have to start digging into the lore again..
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Solidusbucket on March 30, 2016, 07:36:45 am: Quote from: Lady Veronica on March 28, 2016, 12:31:35 pm
Thanks for the tip, I'll make sure to do that. I'm kind of a lore junkie, and I just find this lore so fascinating. Usually whenever I thought steam punk before I just thought how unlikely it was for humanity to take such a turn back in the early 1900s. This game really opens up a legitimate chance that could have changed the world if certain events took place. Also, on a side note, its been 300 years since the great war when the game itself takes place. Thats just about the same year as the Fallout series, somewhere in the 2200's.

I read your wall of text. I enjoyed it. I would be interested if you somehow linked these two games.
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Richard LeMoon on March 30, 2016, 11:28:29 am: I think it would be a good thing to assume that this is an 'Alternate Earth' that followed an almost identical history up to the point of the World Wars, but with completely different landmasses. So, this takes place in Alt-Europe and Alt-East Asia.

Otherwise, you have to figure out what would cause a landmass changing event that would leave some cities mostly intact. I am not sure of a Crustal Displacement event (can't really happen) would fit the bill.
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Solidusbucket on March 30, 2016, 08:08:56 pm: And then, the hero woke up and realized Guns of Icarus was all a dream. The end.
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Richard LeMoon on March 30, 2016, 09:52:48 pm: (http://i.imgur.com/6953tNV.gif)
(http://i.imgur.com/u6JUfsm.gif)
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Lady Veronica on March 31, 2016, 12:34:28 am: Quote from: Richard LeMoon on March 30, 2016, 11:28:29 am
I think it would be a good thing to assume that this is an 'Alternate Earth' that followed an almost identical history up to the point of the World Wars, but with completely different landmasses. So, this takes place in Alt-Europe and Alt-East Asia.

Otherwise, you have to figure out what would cause a landmass changing event that would leave some cities mostly intact. I am not sure of a Crustal Displacement event (can't really happen) would fit the bill.

Yes, from what I have already gathered from the trailer for co-op 2014 especially, is that this is indeed a world that is a carbon copy of our own(up to about 1914), and it doesn't have to have an alternate landmass. See, there has never been a war that lasted 100 years with the kind of power from WW1 and beyond. From the strange planes also seen in that trailer, you can deduce that the years of war had a huge impact on technological development, setting the world decades ahead of where it would have been in our timeline. Even the basic technological achievements we had back in 1914 was enough to cause massive damage to the environment, some of which is still visible today. Also, keep in mind that massive gun in Anglean raiders (I think its that one anyways, either that or Firnfeld). They obviously went above and beyond weapon-wise. Perhaps there is some super-weapon, or maybe bomb development well surpassed our own technology without going nuclear. Such a mega-bomb, if deployed continuously could quite possibly sink an entire landmass. Such as Poland, seeing how that is the western front, a total destruction doesn't seem so strange. If such a large piece of land were sunk the waters of both the Baltic and North seas would fill it, and would in turn lower the water levels in other parts, such as the Firnfeld. In the pictures below, there are four maps, one of the Alliance DLC and the other of northern Europe, a water depth map including the area in question, and the last one a very rough and not to scale sketch of what I am proposing. As you can see, the Angleans have a very similar land mass to a slightly less watered and totally glacier covered version of southern Denmark, the one island owned by Germany can clearly be seen in the top left corner of the Alliance map. The Firnfeld lies in the shallower area above Germany close to the one island they have on the top right of the European map. As it just so happens, there is a mountainous area known as the Fjord baronies roughly in the exact same place with a similar coastline to that island in our world. If you look at the depth map you can see that the water there isn't deep at all. If anything happened to lower the landmass of Europe, it would likely dry up while filling the void, but not before the water left in the North Sea (Glaciars do take a lot of water) rushed in. On a final note, looking at this map closer, Berlin was probably bombed and turned into the abyssal gulf. Makes more sense, considering it is a major city. Though seeing Poland with so much of it gone, this was probably a case of mutual assured destruction, without the agreement between nations.

Basically, we have no idea the kind of firepower and technology this alternate world achieved, and with such similarities as seen below its entirely possible for our world to look like this given the right, and utterly horrible circumstances. 50 years of straight bombing will have an effect on the world. Funny thing though, if this 100 year war started in the same or a similar way to our WW1, then it would mostly be due to spoiled, proud tyrants on pretty much every side. Sad, but funny. Crust Displacement doesn't work for a number a reasons and one of them would be this is just such a precise change that something so macro like that would probably not make this happen. Also, what if America is completely fine, and is just a little frozen over due to the partial ice-age? Anyways, I hope that covers this.

Quote from: Solidusbucket on March 30, 2016, 07:36:45 am

I read your wall of text. I enjoyed it. I would be interested if you somehow linked these two games.

I don't know what you mean by two games, but if I get some more info from Muse about the world, I'll make a video series to assemble all this lore together.

Maps:

Alliance DLC Map
(http://i.imgur.com/mH6HsSE.jpg)

Central Europe
(http://i.imgur.com/Bnnwkzp.jpg)

Water Depth of North European Waters
(http://i.imgur.com/L4DdLAL.png)

My Great Representation of What I am Suggesting
(http://i.imgur.com/grDwzZK.jpg)
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Richard LeMoon on March 31, 2016, 06:16:45 pm: The scale on the map does not allow that. The entire map would fit between Hamburg and Berlin so would be about half that size. That actually gives it a lot more options as to where it would 'fit'.

I think you are looking at it backwards as well. With an increase in ice, sea levels would fall instead of rise. Not sure what Muse has put in the lore about that. Also, the map could be upside down if the poles have shifted, which has happened before. Compasses would all point the wrong direction, making South the new North. Or, if the norther hemisphere was completely devastated by war, and people just made the choice to make the south the 'top' of the map and change N and S. This could put the GOI map in Australia or Tasmania, both very English oriented countries.

So, let's make the case for Australia.

Deserts. Europe has no 'Dunes' type of desert, and likely could not have one due to it's waterlocked location. Australia does, though conceding a bit far from where they would have to be. Climate change could cause desert creep, though.

Ice. If the war did, in fact, bring on an ice age, it would effect just the southern tip of Australia and Tasmania, as well as changing the coastline.

(http://nationalunitygovernment.org/images/2013/ice-age2.jpg)

Architecture. Obviously, Europe had what it takes. So does Australia and Tasmania. Would they still? Given that Europe would be ground zero for a massive war, there might not be much left at all. In fact, it could be completely unlivable and toxic. Southern Australia is pretty out of the way as far as strategic targets, so there is a good chance of having many abandoned cities. The damage we see could be modern damage after the war, especially given the flat arc of some of the holes going through the buildings. The lack of bomb craters shows that they were never subject to air bombing raids, which is quite unlikely for a wartime major European city. Contrary, it is quite likely for a southern Australian wartime city to suffer no bombings.

Tasmania:
(http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01945/clock_1945595c.jpg)
(http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/6583330-3x2-700x467.png)

Culture. We already covered the English speaking aspect. Now how about the Asian aspect? Europe is a ponderous landmass away from your typical 'Asian' cultures. They would have had to have conquered a chunk of Spain or Germany after crossing Russia and build a small empire. Not likely. A more likely scenario would be a war devastated Asian culture retreating south to Australia (which becomes the new North).

Finally, here is Southern Australia and Tasmania with the GOIO map inserted to scale-ish.

(http://i.imgur.com/QAHTfzx.jpg)
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Lady Veronica on April 01, 2016, 01:18:13 am: That case for Australia is really cool, but I am going to have to disagree with it for a number of reasons. One of the things that worked out really well with my model (and yes, that scale was way off, I didn't know it was only 200 km across. Still, I hold that it is something similar to that, but smaller .) was that the Anglean Republic is based off of a Viking-esque culture, you can see it in the clothing. In the case for Germany the Angleans are decendants of Denmark, the original Vikings.

I do really agree that it is more likely for Asia to pull down into Australia rather than run right around to France/Germany, but let's consider the Leviathans (place holder name). They are the giant machines that dwarfed everything, their engines and control rooms are still in Battle of the Dunes and Duel at Dawn. A representation of their size was made somewhere on this part of the forum, I recommend checking it out if you haven't already. If one existed, it would be the size of a small town, potentially carrying a huge number of people from place to place. I propose that in some form of alliance or pursuit of self-interest, some Asian superpower (like China or Japan) took a few of these and landed a flank on France while they were fighting on the western front. If done at the right point in the war, it would cripple the already weakened France (over-exertion of resources) but may leave the army isolated from their homeland, and after all the fighting is over, they would have to create their own society in their conquered land. We have only ever seen what nations can do in a period of roughly ten years or so of hard war like this, and out of them we got nuclear energy, tanks, advanced air fighting machines, chemical warfare and much more. Imagine what a power mad alliance of tyrants could do in fifty, especially without the restrictions set in by the Geneva convention of 1925 preventing the usage and production of chemical and biological weapons. The effects are unimaginable, and potentially worse than even nuclear bombs themselves.

I'd also like to make the point that the Mercantile Guild is of Venician origin, a city directly south of this part of Germany. Because people didn't really interact with each other before the age of air, I don't think they had naval technology to even cross the Abyssal Gulf. Even if they did, would they really be able to navigate from the Mediterranean all the way to Australia? They would have to be extremely talented navigators and have tons of supplies, and besides, once they found this place, why would they stay? If they traveled that far, they likely are just traveling traders and while they might stop there a lot, there's no real reason to set up a country.

As for water levels, I wasn't saying they would raise up, the Firnfeld is proof they fell. Though I think the maps you are looking at are in the event of a maximum ice age, in which all of northern Europe is covered. In the game, and in my theorized location, the Ice only goes to the south of Denmark, leaving the north of Germany mostly ice-free. While the amount of water saved from that ice may not be much, it would be enough to flood a plane such as the Abyssal Gulf and the Sea of Devils should they have been bombed to a lower altitude. If there were some sort of mega-bomb deployed in carpet bombing runs enough times over generations, the result should affect the altitude significantly, seeing how low most of this piece of Europe sits. Again, the technology created is of unknown magnitude, but if human nature has anything to say about it, we should assume the extreme.

While Labyrinth shows no significant signs of bombing, that may just be a result of speedy construction. You can see the cranes everywhere, the place went up faster than they could manage, which would mean that this was definitely a time where the work was valued over the worker. Regardless of the cost of life, they would have to grow, and should they be bombed, they might have just picked up the rubble and continued building. That is a more fantastical idea, but a different slightly more practical explanation for Labyrinth is that is is not any major city at all. In fact, it may just have been a town that the people from the heavily bombed areas of Germany ran to, causing the massive need for shelter and jobs. If Germany was being forced into a corner on all sides, this may have been one of the last stands for the Germans. If so, all their military might would be on protecting this one city, which would probably allow for them to destroy any foreign bombing raids before they even come close. The tanks all over the streets of labyrinth could suggest extreme martial law, or the dying battle of Germany, the one that ended with everyone dead. From what I understand, Labyrinth is one of the few cities of it's kind, so having it as the final city for an entire country doesn't seem like such an unrealistic idea after all.

Cool stuff.
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Kamoba on April 01, 2016, 01:52:40 pm: *Reads in awe.*
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Richard LeMoon on April 01, 2016, 02:58:35 pm: The largest issue is still the deserts. People can move. Climates can not. At least not too far from their origin.

Quote
They would have to be extremely talented navigators and have tons of supplies

Perhaps you are right, and the Leviathans were used for mass migration during/after the war. It would still make more sense to get as far from the devastation as possible. That goes for all people. You proposed that Leviathans existed during the war and were used to transport entire armies large enough to conquer a country and set up their own. This in itself provides the means to move massive amounts of people to new lands.

Using Vikings as reason for design after the wars makes little sense as well, since no culture had Viking design at that time. It would have all had to be recreated. However, if you wanted to go that route, a Leviathan could have arrived full of 'Viking' minded people that could have picked up where their ancestors left off.

Now what I propose is this. The war had started and was raging for some time. The Leviathans were being crafted as a war weapon to move armies. By whom? I would say the Fjord Baronies. Why? They are the only ones described as being descended from an army. They are also described as having a "forgotten ability".

Let's say they had at least six Leviathans being built at a secret location. As with a lot of secret military projects, those doing the piloting are kept in the dark about the actual design and building of the machines. The first one is taken out for a test run manned by an entire army. It is flown far from any enemy while the others are operational, but not yet furnished. Nearing completion, the Red Death strikes, infecting their homeland, including everyone at the secret hangers. The Leviathan returns, but is commanded not to land or rescue survivors in case they are infected as well. They will literally become the last of their people. They know the Red Death will soon spread to all corners of the Earth. Making a decision, they decide to change their mission from war and country to the protection of the dwindling peoples of all countries. They order the other Leviathans to be cast adrift without crew. Once aloft, a detachment is sent to crew each ship with the orders to disperse to other countries that have not yet been infected and save as many people as they can, and rejoin the fleet at a set location.

The Leviathans land away from each other to try to prevent the refuges from kindling bad blood and continuing the war in their new homes. The people come from a disparate set of rescued people, each eventually setting up a faction and small state of their own rather than integrating. Not long after the mission is over, the Leviathans stop functioning due to no one knowing how to maintain the secret components. They are abandoned in the desert, only to become the source of scavenging and technology much later.
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: MightyKeb on April 01, 2016, 03:00:42 pm: Quote from: Kamoba on April 01, 2016, 01:52:40 pm
*Reads in awe.*
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Richard LeMoon on April 01, 2016, 03:22:57 pm: Oh, also, I am the one that did the comparison.

https://gunsoficarus.com/community/forum/index.php/topic,6219.msg106143.html#msg106143

Quote from: Richard LeMoon on May 23, 2015, 06:33:31 pm
500+ meters tall. 2000+ meters long.

This thing was a floating town.

(http://i.imgur.com/UAv8sHo.jpg)
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: GeoRmr on April 01, 2016, 07:33:05 pm: (http://gunsoficarus.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/paritan.png)

Looks like present day Detroit tbh fam.

(http://lawstreetmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/11205516133_9641e6da8d_k.jpg)
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Richard LeMoon on April 01, 2016, 11:58:49 pm: Well, there is this image from the factions page.

(http://gunsoficarus.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/faction.png)

A Squid in New York, you say? Possibility of being in the Americas increases.
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Lady Veronica on April 02, 2016, 03:35:21 am: Quote from: Richard LeMoon on April 01, 2016, 02:58:35 pm
The largest issue is still the deserts. People can move. Climates can not. At least not too far from their origin.

Climates are based on lots of things, and if the poles changed like you said possibly happened earlier, then they can change absolutely. Pars of Antarctica used to be a tropical forest, for example. Change the Ecuador, you change deserts to forests and forests to deserts. Hawaii was just a ball of solidified lava, now its a tropical holiday destination. Climates are dynamic, just like everything in the world.

Quote from: Richard LeMoon on April 01, 2016, 03:22:57 pm
Oh, also, I am the one that did the comparison.

Sorry, I didn't check. Really nice work on that by the way.

Didn't see that picture of the Chrysler building though, cool stuff. Still, I took this question to the devs, and I got a response. We are both wrong, although we were right about some things. It seems Muse is purposely throwing all these different locations in to confuse us, because they still haven't claimed one region to be the map. The Alliance map is the only known place left in the world that can sustain life, although people haven't traveled too far so even that isn't for certain. The map has almost no specific correlation to any part of the world, reason being that there was so much war in literally every part of the world everything changed. Seas were made and deserts of both ice and sand swept the globe. Basically, nothing is the same, at least in the known world. A point that was also made was that there was no Berlin in this world, removing the possibility of Labyrinth ever being that. Though it was a great city of some population, and possibly the last stand for that people. It is also mentioned that there were two world powers that started the war, then there were potentially more who joined in. Nothing was mentioned about alliances dragging people in like in WW1, just that two world powers started to have a little fight. Another note, the Vastness (area where the Mercantile Guild come from) is thought to be a site of detonation for one of the many doomsday devices (but no one knows for sure). So that's pretty cool.

So, with that in mind, we can't zoom in on any one piece of the globe, but with the little details we have, we can narrow it down to a few places. America being a solid possibility, especially the eastern seaboard seeing as that is the most likely place to find the Gothic-like architecture found in Labyrinth, not to mention the Atlantic being near. It definantly can't be anywhere that doesn't speak English, Portuguese, Spanish, Afrikaans, Albanian, German, Czech, Hawaiian, Latin, Italian, and a lot of others. Basically anywhere Europe touched, except France, Iceland, India, the like. That being said, I'm pretty sure we can forget about the Midwest of the entirety of North America, because there is nothing out here and really no incentive to ever put anything here. Grass is terrible.

Who knows what happened to the poles, the continents and pretty much everything. It could all be different, after all, we only know of one absolute doomsday device in our timeline. That would be the Nuclear Bomb, who knows what a crazed pre-nuclear society came up with to blow up the world.
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Richard LeMoon on April 02, 2016, 10:22:50 am: Quote
The map has almost no specific correlation to any part of the world

This has been my assumption from the beginning, really, like most alt-Earth games. They take place in pretty ambiguous places. In reality, it could even be in currently non-English speaking places, since signage is pretty easy to change post-invasion.

Pole reversals don't have any direct effect on climate, though. They just switch north and south. (http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012-poleReversal.html) There is a hypothesis that a pole reversal is either caused by or would cause magma flow changes, creating more volcanic activity. This could explain the volcanic maps in Alliance. Pole shifts have also weakened the Earth's magnetic field to as low as 5% of what it is today, making it very vulnerable to solar flares. This could explain why there are not really any complex electronics in the world, as any flares would destroy them.

SOOOOooooooo...... maybe one of the doomsday devices helped cause the Earth to have a weak magnetic field, preventing the advancement of electronics past basic diesel engines and overbuilt dynamos.
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Lady Veronica on April 05, 2016, 12:14:44 am: Quote from: Richard LeMoon on April 02, 2016, 10:22:50 am
it could even be in currently non-English speaking places, since signage is pretty easy to change post-invasion.

Yeah, it is easy to change signs, but it isn't really possible to completely change a city's architecture without completely leveling it first. Something I don't think would have been possible in a span of just fifty years, nor would it be economically or politically viable. So, I guess France can be in the mixing pot as well. Oh well.

Quote from: Richard LeMoon on April 02, 2016, 10:22:50 am

why there are not really any complex electronics in the world, as any flares would destroy them.

maybe one of the doomsday devices helped cause the Earth to have a weak magnetic field, preventing the advancement of electronics past basic diesel engines and overbuilt dynamos.

I forgot to mention some other details in the email from Muse, but the old world never advanced their tech past mainly steam because they simply hadn't gotten any further technologically and their industrial revolution favored steam over combustion. So a lack of old world super advanced tech is explained there, but it was mentioned also that there has been many technological improvements since the war, so it may still be possible that they haven't been able to create electronics because of some pre-existent magnetic weakening. Just thought I would throw that in there.
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: IntrepidFusion on April 05, 2016, 02:58:11 pm: Does it help to know that there are Canada Geese in Northern Fjords? (irl, Canada Geese have made it to Europe)
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Lady Veronica on April 05, 2016, 07:20:47 pm: Now that is something I didn't know. I could never tell what those birds were, nor did I ever pay attention to the audio. Well, lots of things could have happened to land them in Europe or wherever. Like massive climate change(which is shown to have happened during the war, that much is certain), humans shipping them over because birds, or maybe this really is North America. I mean, there is that Chrysler building. It would just be really cool for a whole new alternate world to not take place in New York. So many books and TV shows have done that, just stop already.

Maybe Canada is the ultimate battleground that the war went to as a sort of no man's land. I mean, I live here and all, but you can fit the entire population inside of Mexico City like three times. It is also pretty centered for global assault, and if the Empire that started the war owned the country, then there would be lots of cause to attack the poor maple syrup polar bears that live here.

How did you find that out by the way? Did you do some sort of call matching?
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: IntrepidFusion on April 08, 2016, 01:48:28 am: Pretty sure I screenshoted a Northern Fjords flock once but I can't find it, I'll take another. The birds are silent but their texture is that of Canada Geese if I recall correctly.

edit: Got some screenies.

(http://i.imgur.com/CznkoPD.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/tpTGbDa.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/1wTLb0B.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/dRIdRZt.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/8TmJuKR.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/fgXPe3S.png)
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Helios. on April 11, 2016, 05:39:50 pm: you can see deserts even in more temperate climates if there is a rain shadow, think the cold deserts of the gobi. the huge mountain ranges that the yeshans live in could be the reason for the deserts even if the land was freezing cold.

we know that this world is designed around the eventual destruction of the ecosystem after a ww1 style battle dragged on for decades, rather than only a few years.this obviously insn't western or even eastern europe: this world is in a fictionalized world. we don't have to worry about wich parts look most like our world
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Lady Veronica on April 11, 2016, 10:55:08 pm: Quote from: IntrepidFusion on April 08, 2016, 01:48:28 am
edit: Got some screenies.

Yeah, those are Canadian geese. I like the pink by the way. :)
At least we know they somehow got placed in this last surviving piece of earth. Majestic animals they be, Very bitey though.

Quote from: Helios. on April 11, 2016, 05:39:50 pm
we know that this world is designed around the eventual destruction of the ecosystem after a ww1 style battle dragged on for decades, rather than only a few years.this obviously insn't western or even eastern Europe: this world is in a fictionalized world. we don't have to worry about which parts look most like our world

Like I mentioned before, I got some official word on this and it is actually an alternate earth that contains similar if not exactly the same landmasses and cultures in their respective places. The bulk of the changes happened in the industrial revolution and machine age, where steam was favored over combustion. There are other things as well, such as Berlin never existing, so we can assume that all if not most capitals and landmarks are different in some way, but still similar. I would say we should treat this more of a fictional parallel world, rather than a total fabrication. There is some stuff on the website as well that outlines how there was a strict period of warfare for fifty years sometime after the turn of the 1900s and another period of fifty years called the red death(some virus) right after it. The game itself takes place some two hundred years after all that rubbish. Also, I found some signs hanging around Labyrinth that are really interesting and prove that whatever civilisation that held the city before everyone died did, in fact, speak English. Here are some pictures below, and a little lore treat for all you hungry hungry hippos.

This is cool, It says Jerroefur Coats as far as I can tell.
(http://i.imgur.com/JKFNnIF.jpg)

Zoomed out version, shows the title and picture.
(http://i.imgur.com/ilGs2TE.jpg)

Some kind of military propaganda poster as far as I can tell, it might be just the way the sign is shaded and broken but he does look a little Asian. Perhaps this city was either originally the home of the ancestors to the Yesha empire, or was taken over by them, possibly explained how burned and blown up it looks. That would also explain how the other coat sign looks new in comparison.
(http://i.imgur.com/tJ9TMBE.jpg)

Another sign suggesting an originally Asian population. Perhaps this was a festival of some kind. Or maybe this is just an Easter egg in disguise, I can't tell. Who watches anime?
(http://i.imgur.com/9XPQPDW.jpg)

A sign for Covell Casino, I knew there was another shop sign somewhere, this one was kind of hiding though.
(http://i.imgur.com/FrSyns8.jpg)

Finally, I found this tank kind of interesting. There are a few of them on the King of the Hill map at the globe, these are particularly interesting because we actually have these in our timeline. They are the Mark V British tanks from WW1. The WA on the side is an identifier of some kind, probably to a fictional government or unit of some kind. This suggests a reliance to some degree on combustion engines and that the events that led to this tanks creation in our timeline would have to be very similar to produce the exact same tank. Very cool little tidbit for y'all.
(http://i.imgur.com/2ut7BFf.jpg)

Here is a comparison, just so you can see how precisely the same these two are, both in our world and Muse's.

(http://i.imgur.com/FHZNfBW.jpg)
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: The Mann on April 12, 2016, 04:17:46 am: Interesting theory about the tanks but how do you explain this?

;D

(http://puu.sh/ofm2Z/4ff9bd6279.jpg)
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Lady Veronica on April 12, 2016, 04:34:54 am: OMG Yes XD!! I saw that while scouring away at the map and, it's just so perfect. IGN needs to give this game 10/10 just for that at this point.

If we want to at least "try" and explain this, well, here we go.

Towards the end of the war, there were many casualties on both sides, piling in numbers unthinkable even in Holocaust standards. Nations had to adapt. They could produce more machines than they could produce men to man them. There was one hope, seen by the invaders of this desolate city, a technology so immense that it could animate, snow men. These brave soldiers would be trained by only the best ninjas in the secret dojos beneath the earth so that in any situation, these small men are ready to battle. Since this technology uses snow, it was probably the Norwegians and by extension, probably the Angleans who made these fluffy water commandos. This really led to major destruction and utter flattening of entire cites now unmarked as all that remains is gravel in their wake. Here, in the final years of the war, this great city fell under siege by a rogue legion of these men, now seeking on furthering their own agenda for the betterment of snow man kind (in honour of the great Frosty the Snowman), but their efforts proved fruitless. Too many fell, and by the time victory had been achieved, only one snow man remained. This is that snowman, and he is ready to fire his tank at you without warning, because he, he is the lone survivor. He, Is, Legend.

That or somebody left a model snowman on top a tank for absolute lols, but I suspect the former theory to be the most concrete and likely in this scenario.

Also I found this in the Fjords at the tower with the bridge:

(http://i.imgur.com/p6OJ1kl.jpg)
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: TimTim LaBaguette on April 12, 2016, 06:30:38 am: nice finds !
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: The Mann on April 12, 2016, 10:02:16 am: There's more in the world which you will need to find :P
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: The Mann on April 12, 2016, 10:06:53 am: What are your thoughts on this?

(http://puu.sh/ofzUO/455281841e.jpg)
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: TimTim LaBaguette on April 12, 2016, 10:18:45 am: I get the feeling I saw someone speak about that some years ago, but I can't remember.

There seem to be drawing of Junkers though...
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Lady Veronica on April 14, 2016, 01:42:53 am: Well, it's some sort of an inscription, and the likes of that would take huge amounts of effort so it clearly has some importance to some group. That design that you can see of what looks like a junker really has to be a junker. The details are so particular when you look at it closely that it really can't be anything else. The swirly object in the center is most likely the sun, as it would play an exceptionally major role in the lives of these locals. It would be really nice to find the source file for this, because you can't really make out all the little inscriptions here. Right at the bottom, there is at least one figure running, which is really weird.

Best bet is this is some kind of Totem pole, It could also be pre-flight, which would really make it a testament to the tenacity of the creators. I'm betting on the tribe idea, it seems like something people would do in that environment and culture.
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: MightyKeb on April 14, 2016, 02:19:07 am: It seems like you missed the fact that junker is considered to be a an arashi ship, and considering the sun does play a huge role in their lands they could very well be arashi descendants that ended up in canyons with or without consent.
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: The Mann on April 15, 2016, 02:26:07 pm: I am impressed by all the observations :D

But I will now unveil the most striking evidence for analysis.

How would you explain the craters of Selogorod?
(http://puu.sh/ojjN1/ced8e363df.jpg)

UPDATE:

Now that I think about it, Im pretty sure these are the mercantile mineral mines....

Or Are they?
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: C r o w on April 15, 2016, 04:18:11 pm: I bet a biscuit that this was the cause of that silly craters.

(http://cdn3.collective-evolution.com/assets/uploads/2015/05/cof.jpg)
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: MightyKeb on April 15, 2016, 04:28:37 pm: Quote from: Crow of Cainhurst on April 15, 2016, 04:18:11 pm
I bet a biscuit that this was the cause of that silly craters.

(http://cdn3.collective-evolution.com/assets/uploads/2015/05/cof.jpg)

But why is there even an airway passing by one of the craters? Why travel a bombed site that could be potentially dangerous to your wellbeing and is probably devoid of resources?
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: C r o w on April 15, 2016, 05:04:15 pm: Because you might find some remnanats of the thing that was bombed and scavenge it.
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: MightyKeb on April 15, 2016, 06:27:00 pm: Quote from: Crow of Cainhurst on April 15, 2016, 05:04:15 pm
Because you might find some remnanats of the thing that was bombed and scavenge it.

"Devoid of resources"

That could make sense, if paritan was bombed and is still being scavenged then this site could be aswell.
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Daft Loon on April 15, 2016, 08:48:40 pm: The craters could be something like the mine attacks of WW1 but on a much larger scale.
Essentially an enormous quantity of explosives in tunnel/s under enemy lines.

"Gentlemen, we may not make history tomorrow, but we shall certainly change the geography" - General Sir Charles Harington

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lochnagar_mine (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lochnagar_mine)
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Lady Veronica on April 15, 2016, 10:23:17 pm: Wow, took a break for a day and lots happens. In the email I got from the guy who writes all the lore, he heavily hinted that the vastness is ground zero from some doomsday weapon, so not just plain old bombing. The rest of it was likely bombing though. Also, just because it blew up doesn't mean it has no resources. Perhaps the aftermath of the explosion created some cool materials, or maybe those bomb sites are where the "gas" in the balloons comes from. They could also be just giant pit mines from before the war, desperately trying to get as many resources as possible to fight the enemy.

In any case, seeing how there is no town inside of it but an airway through it, you don't want to live there. If there is only a dock, then there's some commodity it has that you can't get anywhere else (at the same cost at least).
Title: Re: Where in the World does this Game Happen?
Post by: Richard LeMoon on April 15, 2016, 10:46:09 pm: That is not a sun on the rock. That is an explosion. The jellyfish look like crude drawings of bombs in motion, all pointed to the center.