I admit, it’s a bit baffling that people are interested in the surface. The Neath is the bizarre new world; the surface is basically just our world with a bit of alternate history.
It’s like reading Alice in Wonderland and wondering what things are like in the regular world instead of Wonderland.
[quote=Kaijyuu]I admit, it’s a bit baffling that people are interested in the surface. The Neath is the bizarre new world; the surface is basically just our world with a bit of alternate history.
It’s like reading Alice in Wonderland and wondering what things are like in the regular world instead of Wonderland.[/quote]
Yearning for the Surface is a part of the setting, though, and the Surface isn’t as disconnected as real world is to Wonderland. The Empress’ Shadow, for example.
There is indeed potential, but it will never happen. Why? Because Cider-owners are a vanishingly small percentage of players, and that’s a lot of effort to put into Surface content when barely anybody will see it. It’s a similar reasoning to the postponement of the later stages of the Ambitions - only a small amount of people have reached the current content boundary for them, although naturally it’s larger than the number who have Cider.
edited by JimmyTMalice on 9/9/2017[/quote]
This is a fair point, but I think there is still story potential for the surface. As we know from Sunless Sea, it is possible to go to the surface even without cider, although it is probably unwise to do so for a prolonged amount of time.
I think the surface is intriguing too, as an avid player of the game my character would certainly be interested in any news and events that transpire aboveground, and I myself think there is quite a bit to discover to an alternate history surface where the british empire lost its monolithic capitol at the peak of its power. Did the industrial revolution even happen?
The Industrial Revolution was before the Fall.
I generally work on the principle that the Surface is almost indistinguishable to our own, except that London disappeared in what the general public thinks was some sort of tragic natural disaster.
I created an alt meant to be a Seeker, but found the process too slow and went North with my main instead. Afterwards, when I had switched over to the old Seeker for a new main, I still had some Seeking progress…and found myself picking it up again (though admittedly with much less desperate zeal than before and more as a slow-burning self-destruction). I guess whether or not it’s inevitable depends on who you ask, cos for me, I would have to say it’s a solid yes :P
For me, it is probably inevitable, just for more to do that doesn’t cost Fate. I’ll probably seek again once my new main nears the content boundary, but turn back at the Gate. I’d love to have the Knock.
[quote=Teaspoon]The Industrial Revolution was before the Fall.
I generally work on the principle that the Surface is almost indistinguishable to our own, except that London disappeared in what the general public thinks was some sort of tragic natural disaster.[/quote]
The Industrial Revolution had started before the Fall, yes. but the big economic growth period that led to widespread modernization was in the 1870s, after the Fall - and London was the core of that. Not to mention the political chaos of the world’s most powerful empire suddenly losing its government and capital city - imagine 1960’s Washington suddenly disappearing, or 1990’s Beijing. that sort of thing would certainly overthrow the political landscape of the entire globe, not to mention longterm effects…I wonder who’d jump into the power vacuum if Britain crumbles, the Prussians or Russia seem likely candidates, but the Ottomans are also a contender… perhaps even the French? Without a powerful British Navy to defend their shores and colonies from, they certainly have one less enemy to worry about.
This topic seems to come up a lot…