Hi, folks! Don’t get me wrong. I am addicted to the Zee and I know the game is about the Unterzee, but I have been intrigued by the "Moves in the Great Game" and the ability to go to Naples and Vienna. I want to know what’s going on in the politics of the surface world now that London is gone! Why is Vienna beset by anarchists? Is it just the real-world revolutions of the 1840s and 60s? I was curious if there will ever be more progress in allowing the player to roam Europe? Will Naples get any more stories/storylets (it is, after all, next to Vesuvius and a possible entrance to Hell)? Or, most unlikely, will the player ever be allowed any actual movement/trading around the Mediterranean?
Obviously, Under the Unterzee takes precedence, but I was curious if any players had thought about this or if the Failbetter devs had considered it?
Well, Avernus it’s a lake near Cuma (Have you ever heard of Cumean Canal? :D), west of Naples and it was believed to be the entrance of the underworld (as told in the Aeneid).
It’s been a recurring theme throughout both games’ history that, while events on the surface are undoubtedly of great interest to surfacers, the real story is being told in the Neath, and the only topsiders of any real note are the ones trying to influence Neathy affairs. Obviously, this is, in part, a touch of comic parochialism, but the precise state of surface affairs is certainly deliberately vague. So, as cool as it would be to see more of the world (and your ideas do sound super-cool), I don’t really expect we’ll get more than hints and suggestions. It’s probably for the best, seeing as we Neath-adapted folks can’t necessarily survive very long up there - no sense pining for what we can’t have when there’s plenty of adventure to be had down here!
Well. They could likely take the game mechanics of zubmarines and reskin it to zeppelins for the cave ceilings. And if modding actually takes off. One could possibly turn the zubmarine/zeppelin world into something resembling a broken eastern Europe. I imagine a war with hell broke some things. There is a lot of potential if the expansion works out. More so for modders than for Fail to flesh out. edited by Tim Taylor on 2/19/2015
[quote=GerbilSchooler]
And, is the Zeppelin Expansion still on the table at all, anyone know?[/quote]
Kickstarter didn’t meet that stretch goal. Now if the base game and expansion sells well. Who knows.
It’s in the "hopefully, maybe, if Sunless Sea/Zubmariner do well" basket. So, you know, fingers crossed, and if you have friends who’d like Sunless Sea, that can only help!
[quote=TheD3rp]Which "War with Hell" are you talking about? As far as I know, devils have never been on the Surface.
[/quote]
The war of '68 - between Hell and Fallen London. So far as I know, all the fighting was in the Neath. I’m trying to remember if any devils appear in The Silver Tree, which is set on the Surface. Not sure, but they might.
[li] edited by Sir Frederick Tanah-Chook on 2/19/2015
I’ll admit, when I first found the Cumean Canal, I assumed using it would lead to an entirely new Mediterranean map to sail around. Was a little disappointed that it only led to a storylet when I finally went to the surface, but there was still enough interesting stuff up there that it wasn’t much (and I get that it would kind of defeat the purpose of the game if more surface stuff was in there).
Still, yeah, this seems like it has all kinds of potential for eventual modding.
The war of '68 - between Hell and Fallen London. So far as I know, all the fighting was in the Neath. I’m trying to remember if any devils appear in The Silver Tree, which is set on the Surface. Not sure, but they might.
[li] edited by Sir Frederick Tanah-Chook on 2/19/2015[/quote]
I also don’t think the devils make an appearance in The Silver Tree. I haven’t played any of the nex options, but there have been no infernal influences that I’ve detected.[/li]
The war with Hell was most likely fought in the 'Neath, yes. And given the reactions of people in Naples to gossip, the surface has largely turned a blind eye. Doesn’t mean there can’t be some crossover.
Meant to add this, but finger slipped on the phone:
I would love a mini Mediterranean map, even if it was only the western part of the Italian peninsula, if only because Italy in the 1800s (if we are using any real-world history) was going through such chaos. Revolution, the unification of the country, and the ouster of the Austrians once and for all, for example. I reckon there’s also room for a few more characters, or more interaction with the bureau in Vienna. Another gunnery sergeant from the surface – maybe a Prussian Artillery Officer drummed out of the military for some action in his shadowy past and hiding out in Vienna. Pursued by men from Berlin, he signs up with you to go into the 'Neath and escape. Part of his story could involve going to Aestival so he can see the sun again.
Allow the player to invest in the Cafe Ferstel, either saving it from bankruptcy and taking some of the profits, or buying the plot of land on which it used to stand after the proprietor burns it down. Make it cost about as much as the mansion, but brings with it steady profit and a storylet or two.