Does Timelines deliver a disturbing message? (Spoiler Alert)

[Venerable_Sin]

It seems to me like the message delivered by Timelines really shows how "some" of the devs "view themselves and their audience". Is it just me? or do they REALLY need a decision maker who can direct a good/positive story/experience without such a direct subliminal message.

I'm not looking to bash, I'm really looking to make sure I'm not crazy. If I'm not the looney toon on this one then I'm also looking for positive criticism that may deliver good information to the people whom it may concern. Timelines, at least for this old player, has reminded me of why I stopped supporting Egosoft back when they released the unfinished game: X Rebirth. 7.0 is amazing, Timelines... not entirely...

[Venerable_Sin]

Diposting pertama kali oleh YouTube.com/StoneLegion:

I assume you also think climate change is fake and EV cars are only fueled up by coal power plants, etc?

It is all fueled by nuclear power, or in other words the sun. Every energy we know of comes from the sun in one way or another... So in other words.... The fattest thing around gives us life...

I'm really looking for intelligent conversation on this post, but I understand I will have to deal with this as well...

I'm starting to think I'm the only person in the world who doesn't view themselves as better than other people...

[Geist]

I don't understand what message you are talking about. A bit more info would be helpful.

[Farrel]

Okay, first up, c'mon, no need to be mean to eachother...

But yeah, I don't know if you're looking too far into things. On the surface level, timelines really doesn't have so much of a message per-se.

As far as the story goes it strikes me as a more benign matrix storyline... With something of a happy ending as far as the characters go, a few unique ships, some new areas, a new minor faction... Which clearly wasn't really tested much... And yeah, the main timelines thing, play some scenarios, get sick of re-playing them, go back to sandbox and collect rewards.

I don't think it was the greatest of DLC options, sure, but Egosoft are trying something new without making the universe even bigger and putting more load on memory and CPU requirements. Sure, it could have been better, but in the current day and age of microtransactions and all-out attempts at gouging everyone's wallet... I'm choosing to view it at surface value... A genuinely good hearted attempt which could use a little more polish, but fun enough for the price.

Sure, a more involved plot could be nice, sure better voice acting could be nice, but in the end, fly ships, shoot guns, explore the universe... and yeah... Don't think too hard on it, just have fun.

*shrugs* Or not, if that's what you choose.

[Venerable_Sin]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Geist:

I don't understand what message you are talking about. A bit more info would be helpful.

Is there a way for me to pull the dialogue from Timelines? I could give you direct references. From what I remember the Paranid guy said something in the beginning of the Timelines story that hit me the wrong way and really set the underlying tone for me, the player, which is then again solidified again during the ending cut scenes after you find the door in the white room.

I wish I could quote it directly, but I just rolled my eyes and put it in the back of my mind and though man, what a nerd.

[Farrel]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Vinerable_Sin:

Diposting pertama kali oleh Geist:

I don't understand what message you are talking about. A bit more info would be helpful.

Is there a way for me to pull the dialogue from Timelines? I could give you direct references. From what I remember the Paranid guy said something in the beginning of the Timelines story that hit me the wrong way and really set the underlying tone for me, the player, which is then again solidified again during the ending cut scenes after you find the door in the white room.

I wish I could quote it directly, but I just rolled my eyes and put it in the back of my mind and though man, what a nerd.

Ahh, this was actually a storyline message we were talking? I don't remember the conversation, but if we're talking about a Paranid?

Well, paranid are generally a very religious people... And several of the paranid aboard are convinced that the creators have brought them here for a special purpose and that they should obey the whim of the creators...

And then they get to meet their quite literal creator...? And yeah, "You're here to run simulations for me, yes, it's quite important, so thank you for doing such a good job, but no, you're technically not real people."

I can imagine that'd blow a few holes in anyone's sense of faith.

[Venerable_Sin]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Farrel:

Okay, first up, c'mon, no need to be mean to eachother...

But yeah, I don't know if you're looking too far into things. On the surface level, timelines really doesn't have so much of a message per-se.

As far as the story goes it strikes me as a more benign matrix storyline... With something of a happy ending as far as the characters go, a few unique ships, some new areas, a new minor faction... Which clearly wasn't really tested much... And yeah, the main timelines thing, play some scenarios, get sick of re-playing them, go back to sandbox and collect rewards.

I don't think it was the greatest of DLC options, sure, but Egosoft are trying something new without making the universe even bigger and putting more load on memory and CPU requirements. Sure, it could have been better, but in the current day and age of microtransactions and all-out attempts at gouging everyone's wallet... I'm choosing to view it at surface value... A genuinely good hearted attempt which could use a little more polish, but fun enough for the price.

Sure, a more involved plot could be nice, sure better voice acting could be nice, but in the end, fly ships, shoot guns, explore the universe... and yeah... Don't think too hard on it, just have fun.

*shrugs* Or not, if that's what you choose.

That's a healthy way to look at it. Thank you for your input. It's very positive.

[Venerable_Sin]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Project Danny:

Diposting pertama kali oleh YouTube.com/StoneLegion:

I assume you also think climate change is fake and EV cars are only fueled up by coal power plants, etc?

Correct climate change is not real.

Let me tell you a little secret the TV people won't tell you about...

A single Volcano burp produces more CO2 than humans have ever made since their existence.

And trust me they do it quite regularly.

That is not true. If you look at the CO2 charts (derived from Antarctica) It shows quite clearly the difference in major CO2 events in the past compared to recent atmospheric CO2. (The issue is deforestation. There is simply not enough tree's sequestering CO2 back into their bodies for the output that billions of machines/factories are emitting, not to mention the weather and ecosystems those trees create/support.

But you are right, many people and entities have taken advantage of the green movement as well as the ignorance of people. It happens with everything, not just the green movement or societal soft influence initiative. :) I can talk crazy talk too.

[varuflur]

LOL climate is fake and evs are charged with coal lp or oil all wind mills solar farms make up less than 5% of total energy production

[Venerable_Sin]

Diposting pertama kali oleh varuflur:

LOL climate is fake and evs are charged with coal lp or oil all wind mills solar farms make up less than 5% of total energy production

Lets go hug a tree!

[Venerable_Sin]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Farrel:

Diposting pertama kali oleh Vinerable_Sin:

Is there a way for me to pull the dialogue from Timelines? I could give you direct references. From what I remember the Paranid guy said something in the beginning of the Timelines story that hit me the wrong way and really set the underlying tone for me, the player, which is then again solidified again during the ending cut scenes after you find the door in the white room.

I wish I could quote it directly, but I just rolled my eyes and put it in the back of my mind and though man, what a nerd.

Ahh, this was actually a storyline message we were talking? I don't remember the conversation, but if we're talking about a Paranid?

Well, paranid are generally a very religious people... And several of the paranid aboard are convinced that the creators have brought them here for a special purpose and that they should obey the whim of the creators...

And then they get to meet their quite literal creator...? And yeah, "You're here to run simulations for me, yes, it's quite important, so thank you for doing such a good job, but no, you're technically not real people."

I can imagine that'd blow a few holes in anyone's sense of faith.

I can see your point, but I believe it to be moot.

The underlying message I received from Timelines is simply this: The devs (or whoever green lighted the dialogue) think they are better then the player because, honestly, we paid for the privilege to be a lab rat. (The rich guy is laughing at you right now)

It seems like a very easy way to create a story if the story is about you (subliminally). I really hope I am looking too far into it because a person like me (who doesn't know the lore very well) can get the wrong impression. They give the same subliminal message several times in several different ways throughout the entire timeline story. I think a previous post gave me a healthier way to view it so thank you for that.

Ignorance is truly bliss.

[Farrel]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Vinerable_Sin:

Diposting pertama kali oleh Farrel:

[words].

I can see your point, but I believe it to be moot.

The underlying message I received from Timelines is simply this: The devs (or whoever green lighted the dialogue) think they are better then the player because, honestly, we paid for the privilege to be a lab rat. (The rich guy is laughing at you right now)

It seems like a very easy way to create a story if the story is about you (subliminally). I really hope I am looking too far into it because a person like me (who doesn't know the lore very well) can get the wrong impression. They give the same subliminal message several times in several different ways throughout the entire timeline story. I think a previous post gave me a healthier way to view it so thank you for that.

Ignorance is truly bliss.

Hmm, I can't help but think that yes, perhaps that's a bit uncharitable, but an interesting meta commentary.

I mean, the characters are in a simulation... in a simulation... The lady that was saying "hey, this is all a game" strictly isn't wrong. As for the price of that simulation? Well, I think the first character you meet in the original X: Beyond the Frontier kinda half makes the point that something is only worth what you're prepared to pay for it... ("How much is one credit worth?" ... "Whatever you can get for it.")

Paying for the privilege to be a lab rat? Well, I dunno, I must admit, that kinda sailed right by me, but it depends on the experiment... I get my food, I get all the cheese I can eat, I'm kept safe from predators? That could be a sweet deal if I'm testing mazes... Perhaps less of a sweet deal if I'm testing pharmaceuticals.

But on a philosophical level, what is the scientist without the lab rat? Can't science much without things to test upon... What is the game developer without the gamer? Sure, they are in control of the gaming experience, they choose how much cheese and water we get... But we contribute to their 'science' with our funds, we trust them with a (fairly small) payment in exchange for what we hope is a fun maze to run around in...

If the maze proves to be fun? Maybe we'll bring in more rats for the next maze ;) If not? Well, maybe they run out of rats.

In reality, I'm thinking it's more a symbiotic relationship.

But that's a bit too meta for this late at night... Dal Busta's calling again and is starting to sweat that I didn't pick up the phone last time.

[Venerable_Sin]

Farrel: They could have done much better, I agree. (Timelines is an information gathering tool that will be used to improve development) This is also directly put into the story a few times in a subliminally kind of way.

Unfortunately the entity known as Egosoft is just that, An entity. You do what you need to do to survive. That story must have rolled off the tongue in a very cheap.. i mean... easy kind of way. I really hope I never get dragged through a lab cage in order to improve or add more to my sandbox universe. I have PTSD from that freakin "reset timelines option" It still scares me and I'm not even in the game menu right now.

[sourpuss]

IMO, the only message that I found is that there is always some force that is helping life in their own ways in X4.

The author of any work is the god. In a sense, these forces are the devs (that insert themselves) to help the player/X4 universe in their mysterious ways.

That is the most 'message' I can draw from Timelines. It is only directed at the X4 lore and not anything outside.

This might be new confirmed plot point.
From this you can also say that the whole gate shutdown was because maybe some big problem about to happen. And maybe this problem will come back but the 'good' guys will be prepared for it this time.

[Wraith]

Well technically the lore of the game support this DLC and it more adding on to previous lore then it is adding into the current timeline.

From what I gather so far from the DLC it actually a prequel that take place around the time when the Terran built their first jump gate.

This surprises the Sohnen who did not have this calculation that this was gonna happen so in order to predict stuff more accurately they started stress testing scenarios that could happen and given that at the end of each chart we are drag into a few scenarios that actually does happen they are definitely predicting correctly.

There definitely some unanswered question I would like to know about.

Oh well maybe x5 will answer it.

[Persony Person]

Diposting pertama kali oleh Vinerable_Sin:

Diposting pertama kali oleh Farrel:

Ahh, this was actually a storyline message we were talking? I don't remember the conversation, but if we're talking about a Paranid?

Well, paranid are generally a very religious people... And several of the paranid aboard are convinced that the creators have brought them here for a special purpose and that they should obey the whim of the creators...

And then they get to meet their quite literal creator...? And yeah, "You're here to run simulations for me, yes, it's quite important, so thank you for doing such a good job, but no, you're technically not real people."

I can imagine that'd blow a few holes in anyone's sense of faith.

I can see your point, but I believe it to be moot.

The underlying message I received from Timelines is simply this: The devs (or whoever green lighted the dialogue) think they are better then the player because, honestly, we paid for the privilege to be a lab rat. (The rich guy is laughing at you right now)

It seems like a very easy way to create a story if the story is about you (subliminally). I really hope I am looking too far into it because a person like me (who doesn't know the lore very well) can get the wrong impression. They give the same subliminal message several times in several different ways throughout the entire timeline story. I think a previous post gave me a healthier way to view it so thank you for that.

Ignorance is truly bliss.

I'm sorry but this is nonsense.

When you look into the lore, the story explained in Timelines makes perfect sense. Why do you think the Sohnen are conducting their experiments in the year 2042 of all years? After reading the X-Encyclopedia, it became pretty obvious to me that they're conducting experiments for Humanity's compatability with all the other species in the gate network that they initially planned to not include humans. The results of the tests in Timelines is what lead to all the subsequent events in the X Universe.

There's no "subliminal messaging". Not from the devs or anyone else.