ROCKtropia - MS9's Journal (Part 2)

MindStar9

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With my Friday night MidNite Moods show out of the way, and a good night’s sleep, it was time for my trip to ROCKtropia. As I walked from the pier at Corinth Beach to the teleporter, I thought about my JSA society mates and how we’ve generally taken these adventures together. However, this time I wanted to be able to give full focus to this excursion and absorb it without distractions.

Upon entering the teleporter and activating the transport sequence, a message was presented informing me of the cost to travel to ROCKtropia. There has been much discussion in the community surrounding the 40 PED transport cost to this new planet, as well as the 40 PED return cost to Calypso. Quite frankly, I don’t feel that this is an unreasonable cost considering this is a planet in the outer corridor of Calypso and part of our expanding universe, regardless of how quick we get there.

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I envision this planet being a destination not for short, frequent visits by Calypso colonists, but rather long extended stays, much like vacations. Just like those who will travel to ROCKtropia as their first port of entry from Earth instead of Calypso, and look at Calypso much in the same way.

I am in agreement with those of the mindset that each planet must be self-sustaining, and to clone certain features or systems across the universe would be more detrimental than not, in my opinion. I for one don’t want the same things available to me on every planet, including storage. I want to pack my bags and take off on an adventure, making full use of what’s available to me on each planet.

I feel it is the responsibility of each planet proprietor to kick it into high gear and give us reasons to fully immerse ourselves in their environment. It is also their responsibility to be creative in how they populate their planet, and populate it well, because I don’t mind using the independent auction, or work with the traders at each location. I just think it’s going to take some time to get to that point, but can appreciate the struggles we may have in the meantime.

We have become perhaps complacent with the comforts of home, and maybe even take it for granted, without a much broader view of what expansion into space really means. I haven’t been all that happy, and have been quite vocal about certain developments regarding Calypso, but it doesn’t mean that I can’t take an objective approach and look at the big picture.

Historically, we’ve had our issues, and despite my grumbling at times, I just don’t want to lose all hope that moving forward isn’t possible, even though (again) historically we’ve stumbled. I’m a perfectionist, but even I have to step back and admit that I’m not fully aware of the intricate details behind the scenes of what it takes to deliver a fully functioning universe as we’d like to see it.

Travel from Earth to Calypso was difficult enough with all that we’ve had to contend with in settling ourselves. However, I will be verbose in saying that I think several issues could have been resolved first, prior to moving on to other things.

Enough reflection, now on to my ROCKtropia adventure

I chose City of Dreams as my first point of entry, and upon my arrival, the first thing I see is a big sign on a building entrance-way that said Club Neverdie. I suppose there could be two CND’s, and give us a choice as to where we would like to rock out, but both clubs are rather quiet at the moment. RT’s club has a somewhat impressive entry, but the interior is not only minimalistic in style, it also seems to be lacking in brilliant color and pizzazz.

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It actually doesn’t look like a club to me at all (except for the outside), especially with the Auctioneer and Technician center stage, but given that this is just a shell of what everything will eventually evolve into, it will be interesting to see what they do with it. However, I am curious why the scantily-clad female NPC’s have a vampire appearance, unless Lestat de Lioncourt is in residence somewhere.

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While pondering this thought, I came upon two long-time friends near the Auctioneer (perhaps at storage, couldn't make it out from a distance) that I haven't seen in quite a while. Freyr from =NotA=, and Jess from Skillin' Villains. It was nice to have a chat with them before moving forward with my exploration.

Anyway, one thing I thought was cool was the design of the red carpet entry. I can picture a real life rock star walking this red carpet into the club, with fans and paparazzi on either side of the wooden plank dividers trying to get a glimpse, and perhaps even interact. Although, it would be kind of difficult for cameras to get a good angle since the red carpet area is more elevated. I think the paparazzi will have to get creative.

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Inside the club, I found a long set of red-carpeted stairs, and was thinking that maybe it led to a dance platform, or a VIP area like on the CND asteroid. However, after about 4 sets of long staircases and a few long hallways, I ended up on an external balcony. Something strange occurred though, and the exit that led to the balcony seemed to close up and become a wall with no entrance back into the club.

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I met CyberTrash from Irken Invaders on the balcony and we both found it impossible to re-enter the building. However, the balcony was clearly visible in the hallway prior to exiting. Maybe a glitch in the matrix needing fixing, or perhaps the balcony isn’t meant to be open for business just yet, and will be connected to a future part of the club. Whatever the case, we eventually took a leap from the balcony, but not before taking in the view.

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The cityscape from the balcony was interesting, but the moon seemed to look like a photo you may have enlarged too much, and it appeared unfocused and not clear. Not sure why the view from Calypso was so crisp and detailed, and why it would look differently on ROCKtropia.

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The other thing that caught my eye was the teleporter, which seemed to be shaped in somewhat of a baby grand piano design and kind of cool, but wasn’t sure how the running man on top of it fit into the music theme of the planet. Perhaps this is something else I will eventually discover as well.

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I saw that Neverdie entered the universe, so took a chance that he wouldn’t be too busy to chat with me for a minute. It took a while for him to respond, but he eventually did. He said he saw my ROCKtropia journal thread and was glad I was taking the approach I am, and then in the next breath asked if I had the live stream going. I had to make some adjustments, but finally got it to work properly.

Neverdie said that the radio and music aspect of City of Dreams will become increasingly more critical as ROCKtropia evolves, but didn’t expand on that thought too much. There seems to be criticism within our community that more than just the rock genre is played, and I suppose given the name of this themed planet I can appreciate the opinions about this, but I have a different perspective.

As much as I love rock, one of my favorite groups (Metallica) is considered to be metal, and even though it may be looked at as more hardcore rock, I think the term “ROCK” may have been used to be all-encompassing. I think rocking out to music can be quite generic, and incorporate many flavors. After all, my guess is that when City of Dreams was constructed, it wasn’t just with a rock sound in mind, but many sounds that will appeal to many people.

Why be limiting when the potential to introduce a variety of artists (celebrity and otherwise) is at your fingertips, with the possibility of inspiring visitors, residents, and even future rising stars, but that’s just my guess. For myself, I’m glad that there’s variety, because I get tired of listening to one genre all the time.

After moving outside Club Neverdie, I decided to take a 360 view from the center of the city before navigating to another area for exploration, and it was then that I discovered the huge ROCKTROPIA sign up on the hill. The sign is very reminiscent of the Hollywood sign outside Los Angeles, California in the United States on Earth, and quite looming.

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Personally, I think the sign would look a bit more authentic if it weren’t as large as it is, because it seems to be detracting from the actual center of the city which should be the focal point. It’s kind of cool though, and gives one the feeling that you have entered perhaps a vibrant and happening place, but maybe that will be more in the future than now since the population and activities are rather minimal at the moment.

I decided to ask Neverdie about the teleporter regarding its shape and the running figure atop it. I told him what it looked like to me and he responded with a chuckle, but also said that he learned a lesson a long time ago, which is, to leave certain things up for interpretation.

My first impression was I liked the response, because it indeed leaves the experience at the level of being uniquely personal. Every little thing doesn’t need to be precisely defined, and allows us in our own imaginations to build the experience subjectively, and that’s my mission during this exploration of ROCKtropia. However, I’m still working on my interpretation of the running man.

While at the teleporter, I ran into another Irken Invader friend (Skeezer), who first blew me a kiss, and then promptly broke out into dance. I believe dance is embedded in his DNA, but he has the ability to inspire dance in others as well, so I joined him briefly before carrying on with my exploration.

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One of the things I noticed quite readily is that the approach to helpful tips is presented in the way of roadway billboards in and around the center of the city. However, I’m thinking that perhaps aesthetic-wise, it would give less of an appearance of clutter (many signs being clustered together) than if a different system were in place, like one central location near the arrival point that one could interact with.

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At least the initiative was present to give new inhabitants from Earth a means to navigate this new environment. Some travelers don’t have friends and relatives able to assist in what I’m sure would feel like a strange place.

Something else I thought was totally cool was the PvP ring just outside the center of the city. I love how it’s set up as a glass dome with a staircase on either side that leads to a platform at the back of the ring for elevated viewing. There’s also plenty of room on the staircase for observation as well, but what I thought was rather interesting were the two bar-looking structures on either side of the pathway to the ring, like concession stands. I wonder if refreshments will be offered during PvP events.

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I took a look at only one other area near the center of the city before calling it a night, and that was the three towering buildings up a paved and winding road. It became clear that this area was still under construction as there were fences that did not allow access to the buildings, and visible cranes giving the impression that activity was ongoing. I’m not sure what type of buildings these are, but I know that residential facilities will eventually become available. Will be interesting to see what kind of final architecture will grace the landscape, as well as what views will be offered.

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Would be kind of cool to have an apartment at mid-level with a balcony in a towering building overlooking the city where perhaps the energy level will become quite elevated with activity at some point in time, not to mention being able to see the ROCKTROPIA sign on the hill. Maybe that’s why it’s so big, so that the buildings that are a distance from it will still have visibility, who knows.

Overall, I enjoyed the initial introduction to this new planet, but I also know there is much more to explore. This portion of my exploration at the City of Dreams is more or less an aesthetic view of the central core of the city. I got a late start on Saturday, but plan on spending more time on Sunday outside the city, and I will most likely be introducing myself to some of the wildlife, which should be rather interesting.

Until then, I am pondering just what the City of Dreams might mean, as well as what we have to look forward to. For me, I'm thinking possibilities, but there is still much that needs to come forth that will help us give definition to what it may mean to each of us as individuals.

Time to turn out the lights.




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Awesome story :)

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has the issue with the moon being blurry...I thought it was just me :laugh:
 
Well done MS9. A balanced and thoughtful view, and some fantastic pics. Thanks so much for taking the time to share it all!
 
Very well written, as usual. I can't wait for the next chapter. :)

Cheers :beerchug:
 
Awesome story :)

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has the issue with the moon being blurry...I thought it was just me :laugh:

Hey Shawty ... and I'm glad it's not only me who's experiencing this. It was kind of odd to me that everything was just fine, but the moon looked weird. Oh, and thanks. ;)

Well done MS9. A balanced and thoughtful view, and some fantastic pics. Thanks so much for taking the time to share it all!

I'm having fun with it ... but again, it's an in-character presentation, which hopefully gives it a different sort of flavor. It makes it different for me too, rather than approaching it as a player. I think in that respect we lose ourselves in the mechanics, which is not to discount or minimize that we truly have some issues, but it takes away from what could be a unique experience from a role-playing perspective.

Very well written, as usual. I can't wait for the next chapter. :)

Cheers :beerchug:

Hello again my dear ... Part 3 will most likely be posted sometime late Monday night, if not before. Then I may just stay on and continue another segment before heading back to Calypso to prepare for Friday's MidNite Moods show. I'll be going back up again next weekend as well to continue my adventure and exploration.

Now ... it would be kinda cool to see what ND might have to say about my first exposure to RT. :D



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Awesome! I love this chapter and I can't wait until the next. I have heard mixed impressions about RT from many different people and it is great to be able to actually see some of these things through your eyes and hear a unique perspective on the world itself. I won't be heading to RT until at least some time into may summer so this is a great tease as to what is to come :D
 
Awesome! I love this chapter and I can't wait until the next. I have heard mixed impressions about RT from many different people and it is great to be able to actually see some of these things through your eyes and hear a unique perspective on the world itself. I won't be heading to RT until at least some time into may summer so this is a great tease as to what is to come :D

Glad you enjoyed it ... I had another fun adventure on Sunday, and will finish up with Part 3 on Monday sometime. I'm going to be adding a bit of fun video too (besides the usual pics). I have to say, I really like having something different to do, with new waters to test, and at the end of the Part 3 adventure, I definitely tested the waters ... but I couldn't resist. :laugh:
 
Very nice read :) Keep em coming :wtg:
 
Enjoyed reading and looking forward to the rest :)
Yea I thought the moon was quite strange looking as well. Having experienced the graphics on Calypso being so awesome, I was expecting the same there.... that was my reasoning for traveling up there :scratch2:
 
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