Seasons In SotA

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Wilfred, Sep 28, 2020.

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  1. Greyfox

    Greyfox Avatar

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    The simplest answer is usually the most correct. What we have had from the start is just a bunch of jelly (I hope) thrown on a wall. We get what sticks to the wall.

    There is no consistent theme, lore, or styling. There I said it.
     
  2. Sannio

    Sannio Lead Quest and Level Designer Moderator SOTA Developer

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    Here's the short version of how I think of it:

    Novia is the name of a region. We can assume it's also the name of the continent. It's south of Hidden Vale and Mistrendur, but I don't recall the hemisphere ever being stated. (Any longitude and latitude markings on old Novia maps were for display only and should not be considered as fact.)

    Hidden Vale is the name of a region north of Drachvald. It's probably also the name of a continent that includes only that island. (Any longitude and latitude markings on old Hidden Vale maps were for display only and should not be considered as fact.)

    Mistrendur is the name of a region north of Norgard and North Paladis. We can assume it's also the name of a continent.

    New Britannia is the name of a kingdom which is based in Novia, but reaches far beyond Novia. Some communities in Hidden Vale, Mistrendur, and places we haven't seen yet are considered part of the kingdom of New Britannia. New Britannia's influence is so wide that some people might call the world "New Britannia," but citizens of other communities/realms like Norgard probably have an alternate perspective.

    As a side note, hot and cold biomes can exist anywhere (because the magic/ecology of the world still remains in turmoil from the cataclysm) and probably aren't a good indication of north/south/equator/arctic placement.
     
  3. Cora Cuz'avich

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    So, my take on this is: it was never deliberately placed either north or south of the equator, but at some point the decision was made to tilt the rotation of the sky such that the sun and all other bodies on the ecliptic plane passed through the northern sky, and this decision was made for aesthetic reasons and not because somebody was trying to place the continent in a specific hemisphere. Correct? (This is semi-important to me, because reasons.)
     
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  4. Time Lord

    Time Lord Avatar

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    This raises questions for me, because everything here seems to predate Lord British, as if when Lord British "founded" New Britannia, then what was it to it's natives before he founded it?

    Unless we're saying that Lord British is the Oracle, or built the Oracle, or even the Oracle itself was not there in the beginning of all life on the planet, then there was a name before because the natives must have had names for all the moons and thus their own name for the planet.

    The Obsidian Empire predates Lord British if I'm not mistaken, and therefore New Britannia seems as Sannio describes o_O~Time Lord~
     
  5. Sorgin Txakal

    Sorgin Txakal Avatar

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    I think a major assumption that everyone seems to have is that there is only one "Lord British".

    How many times has a Lord British been killed in prior Ultima games? If prior Ultima games are canon, then so are the deaths of people who existed in them.

    Lord British is quite possibly just a title that has been passed down from family member to family member, or quite possibly assumed by those who came after.

    Like any Imperial Kingdom, they assert their power by changing the names of months, seasons, whole continents and in this instance manifest destiny-ing a Kingdom name as the name of the world.

    Ambiguity leaves a lot of room for imagination and personal connection to the world as your imagination fills in the gaps and allows you to be a part of the story.

    There are very probably other continents and possibly entire kingdoms with their own cultures and names for things existing elsewhere in the world we have yet to be introduced to yet and given that the world contains magic, there could be any number of reasons why.

    As to the tilt and shape of the planet, and its specific rotation and path through its solar system, I think we might just need to wait for a few more episodes as the world is exposed in its entirety, as it were.
     
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  6. Wilfred

    Wilfred Avatar

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    Thanks for all the clarifications! :)

    Any place where the sun travels through the northern sky is in the southern hemisphere.

    Was the sun made to travel through the northern sky in Novia on purpose or by accident?

    If Novia was placed in the southern hemisphere unintentionally,
    do you plan to move it to the northern hemisphere at some point
    by adjusting the sun to travel through the southern sky?
     
  7. Sorgin Txakal

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    Perhaps on Earth.

    The equator is a relational measurement to the poles and rotation of the earth, not the earth's rotation and path around the sun.

    Just like there is there is absolutely no relationship between a month and a year, there really isn't a relationship between an equator and the path a planet takes in a solar system.

    Uranus rotates 90° with respect to its orbital plane and Venus rotates in a manner we might consider "backwards".

    Few things are more arbitrary than the concept of "North" and "South" as even magnetic poles change locations and our planet wobbles on its rotation, plus Sol isn't fixed.

    The cataclysm that took place may have seriously affected the planet's axis or rotation and since we have life and death magic in the world, we don't really have to worry about mass extinction events in "New Britannia" as much as one might on "Earth".
     
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2020
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  8. Time Lord

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    My Story
    by Sherry the mouse

    ‘Twas on a chill night, when the moon shone pasty-faced above the horizon, balanced on the towers of Lord British’s castle, that the events I am about to relate took place, some years ago now. I witnessed them all from my tiny mousehole.

    Milords British and Blackthron are accustomed to a game of chess ‘pon an evening, over which they argue the issues that affect the course of the realm. Lord Blackthorn was on his way to Lord British’s chambers, and Lord British stood by a window casement, just having finished setting the pieces upon the board.

    Suddenly the shutters blew open, and Lord British fell to the ground, one hand shileding his eyes. A chill wind entered the room, and it seemd a gash was torn in the very air. Through the gas I could see stars and swirling clouds of stellar dust, and a coldness sucked all the warmth from the air. A terrible wind tossed books and blankets across the room, and furniture toppled.

    From within this gash issued a great voice, unlike any I have ever heard. And these are the words it spoke (for I memorized them most carefully):

    “Greetings, Lord British. I am the Time Lord, a being from beyond your dimension, as thou art from a world other than Sosaria. I am here to bring thee warning. Dost thou recall how long ago mysterious Stranger came to Sosaria and saved the world from the evil wizard Mondain? He shattered the Gem of Immortality, within which dwelled a perfect likeness of this world.”

    Lord British slowly stood and faced the hole in the air. “I remember,” he said. “Oft have I wished that stranger would return.”

    “He hath returned,” spoke the voice. “But not to here. When the Gem was shattered, a thousand shards were scattered across the dimensions, and in each shard there is a perfect likeness of this world. And thou dost live upon one such shard, for thou art not of the true world-thou art merely a reflection.”

    Lord British looked shaken by this, and I did not know what to think! Was I merely a shadow of the real me, which lives still somewhere else across uncounted universes?

    “My task is to heal this shattered world, Lord British,” said the voice. “And I seek to enlist thee in my cause. Be warned that in this case, healing carries with it a terrible price.”

    Concern warred with curiosity on my liege’s face, but ever one to shoulder a burden, he straightened and faced the gash in the air bravely. “Name thy price.”

    “A shard of a universe is a powerful thing, and universe shattered is always in danger from the powers of darkness. Already three shards were turned to evil, and sent to plague the original universe in the form of Shadowlords. Many times have I brought the Stranger back to Britannia, to preserve it from its own folly or from outside dangers. Yet as long as the world remaineth in pieces, it remaineth vulnerable. We must bring the shards into harmony, so that they resonate in such a manner that matches the original universe. Then the two universes shall merge, and be again as one.

    “But if we are only shadows…” Lord British said wonderingly.

    The light from the stars within the hole seemed to dim. “Indeed, the reflections shall become one with the orginal. Thou wouldst cease to be as thou art, and become part of the larger you. Thou shalt not die; however, uncounted generations have passed and borne children since that day, and they have no counterparts. They would perish utterly.” Lord British sagged in shock, realizing the terrible price that would be paid to heal the universe. “All of my people,” he breathed.

    “Tis for the greateer good.”

    Lord British bowed his head.

    ‘Twas then I saw the movement by the door, half-hid by the heavy red curtains. Lord Blackthron stood there, concealed from the rest of the room, his face white. How long had he been listening? I cannot say, yet I suspect that he had heard all that the mysterious voice had to say.

    “How then, shall I aid thee?” Lord British said, weariness in his voice.

    “Aid the nobility that resideth in human heart. Protect the Virtues that so recently came to thee in thought late at night. They are the Virtues of life, as your counterpart understands them to be. For when thy populace doth live and breathe these Virtues shall it match the true Britannia, and thy shard shall rejoin with it.”

    The gash in the air began to close, and with it warmth stole back into the room.

    “I was going to discuss my idea with Blackthorn tonight,” Lord British breathed. “Have I no thoughts that are my own? Is my life but a reflection of another me?”

    “Nay,” said the voice, smaller through the diminished opening. “Say, rather, that you are parallel, for there is no guarantee that thou shalt accomplish what I have set thee to. I speak tonight to a thousand of thee, and ask the same of all. Perhaps not all shall seek to aid me.” And with that, the gash closed, and the voice was gone, leaving a room that appeared tossed by a mighty storm.

    “Destroy the world to save the universe,” Lord British said bitterly. “I do not wonder that some may balk.”

    “Lord Blackthorn collected himself, and strode into the room, a decent mimicry of surprise on his face. “My liege! What has happened here?” he exclaimed, feigning dismay well. But not well enough to fool his old friend, whose eyes narrowed at seeing him there.

    “How much didst thou hear?” Demanded Lord British.

    “Why, nothing,” managed Blackthorn, his head ducked away from his friend, as he bent to retrieve the fallen chess pieces. “I merely came for our game of chess.”

    Together, they righted the table, and set the pieces upon the black and white squares. “Such simplicity to the game, Blackthorn,” mused Lord British, idly brushing one finger against the board. “Black and white, each to its own color, as if life were so simple. What think you?”

    Blackthorn sat heavily on a hassock beside the chess table. “I think that matters are never so simple, my liege. And that I would regret it deeply if someone, such as a friend, saw it thus.”

    Lord British’s eyes met his. “Yet sometimes one must sacrifice a pawn to save a king.”

    Lord Blackthorn met his gaze squarely. “Even pawns have lives and loves at home, my lord.” Then he reached out for a pawn, and firmly moved it forward to squares. “Shall we play a game?” he asked.

    The chess game that night was a draw, and they played grimly.

    And the next day, Lord British gathered the nobles to proclaim the idea of a new system of Virtues, and declared that shrines should be built across the land.

    Lord Blackthorn opposed it bitterly, and many thought him strange for doing so, for ever had he been a noble and upright man, and ever had he and Lord British been in accord. Declaring that he should start his own shrine, he departed the castle that day to live in a tower in a lake on the north side of the city.

    They are still the best of friends, yet a sadness hangs between them, as if they were forced into making choices that appealed not to them. And at night, when I creep softly from one corner of my liege’s bedchamber to another, I sometimes see him take a pawn from his night table, and hold it in his hand, and quietly weep.

    But I am but a mouse, and none hear me. This tale goes unknown, save for my writing these enormous letters with mine ink-stained tiny paws for thee to read, for I fear indeed for our world and for our people in these perilous times.

    There was another Ultima Online book which was later banned, telling the tale of Red Knights coming to arrest or kill Lord British for having R.... their women and Pillaged their world, yet left as soon as they came in the book, "because the one there was not the same Lord British". (All copies of this book were hunted down and destroyed by EA games due to it's offensive content and official publishing in the in game spawns of prewritten books).
    ~Time Lord~
     
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  9. Bowen Bloodgood

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    Another way to take that statement is that it is created by Lord British the game developer rather than Lord British the fictional character. :) Alternatively, the founding of a kingdom rather than the world and/or Richard aka Lord British is not speaking in literal terms.
     
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  10. Bowen Bloodgood

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    Officially? Zero.
     
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  11. Bowen Bloodgood

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    If they did that they would have to do the same for the moon and all the planets or you could never have a solar eclipse.
     
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  12. Wilfred

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    Interesting. I need do do some further study on this subject.

    However, I also just realized that I've been thinking about this from the perspective of a heliocentric system.

    Heliocentrism
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliocentrism

    But since New Britannia is at the center of a geocentric system,
    does the arc traveled by the sun through the sky have any relation to latitude and longitude?

    Geocentric model
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geocentric_model
     
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  13. Echondas

    Echondas Bug Hunter Bug Moderator

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    So... what is the name of the planet? I started a thread a few months ago and had accepted the answer that New Britannia is the name of the planet.. but now Sannio is mentioning it's the kingdom?

    So... what's the name of the planet?
    PS @Sean Silverfoot I am not on any good stuff anymore ;)

    PSS - based on the title of this thread, I keep thinking everyone is forgetting about Seasons of ....... Loooooooooooooooove
    I'm sure Sequanna would agree!
    (still not on anything good Sean Silverfoot ) :p
     
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  14. Wilfred

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    Watch the video clip I linked in the last post on page 1 of this thread.
    According to Lord British, New Britannia is the world name.
     
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  15. Sorgin Txakal

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    Are you very certain that the Lord British in all the Ultima games and in SotA are the same "Lord British"? Seems to me, based on my understanding of the lore, Richard was influenced by the works of Michael Moorcock as Lord British appeared in Sosaria, coming from Earth, much the same way John Daker became the Eternal Champion, or in this case, the "Champion of the White Light".

    Seems to me that one could consider the deaths of a Lord British by cannon fire in Ultima 3, a lava field in Ultima 4, various ways in Ultima 6, a falling brick in Ultima 7, and poisoning in Ultima 9 all canon - without affecting the existence of the Eternal Lord British.

    Likewise, all the Ultima games and SotA may be taking place in a multiverse where all Lords British are aspects of the same "Champion of the White Light" without having to be the same person. This also applies to the planets they take place on.
     
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  16. Wilfred

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    @Lord British,
    Since you've been to space, and you designed the orbital system for New Britannia,
    Could you give us a science lesson on:
    how the whole celestial system of New Britannia works in practice,
    and how it is supposed to work in theory?
    Either as a post on the forums, or as a talk on a Twitch stream?
    Edit: Or even better, as both a post and a lecture talk. :)
     
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2020
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  17. Alley Oop

    Alley Oop Bug Hunter Bug Moderator

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    [7/28/2016 9:45:06 PM] Arabella: (to you) This world is New Britannia! Here, your destiny awaits, Avatar!

    ...and yet... why is the below not ON?

    [11/6/2015 9:46:25 PM] Arabella: (to you) Yes, Avatar, you are no longer on Earth, you are now in New Britannia, where your destiny awaits you!
     
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  18. Sean Silverfoot

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    @Echondas, we need to get together for some drinks before the viris hits the fan again!!



     
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  19. Sannio

    Sannio Lead Quest and Level Designer Moderator SOTA Developer

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    In general, you might be looking too closely at game mechanics and systems that probably can't be realistically explained.

    The lead worldbuilder and programmers at the time the skydome was created were the ones who made the decisions for how the celestial bodies made their rotations, based upon suggestions/requests/requirements from Richard Garriott. If we're going to dig hardcore into the nature of the skydome then, technically speaking, all the celestial bodies and stars rotate around each scene's decorations as part of the duplicate skydome that each scene has. But I wouldn't say that that each scene is its own planet, would you? (Although it's a funny thing to think about!)

    Also, I'm pretty sure that the sun and celestial bodies in our skydomes will never get altered. The most that would happen are variations, like a "wartorn" version could always have a reddish tint to the sky.
     
  20. Sannio

    Sannio Lead Quest and Level Designer Moderator SOTA Developer

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    New Britannia is absolutely the name of the kingdom. Whether or not the people who live on its world also consider New Britannia the name of the planet is subject to their personal opinions.
     
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