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beta testing 0.1: tutorial & dungeon
beta testing 0.1
BETA NOTE: This log is being used for Duocaeli’s Tutorial & Dungeon Beta Testing. Please note that some game features are limited and will be noted in this format on pages, and an invitation is still required to play. Thank you and have fun!
"On" Tutorial
It’s pitch black. Is the darkness an old friend or a source of anxiety for you? Who’s to say what you were doing before, but right now there’s only one thing before your eyes: an ominous word over a slowly generating bar.
All at once - you’re plunged into color.
> A1. TUTORIAL START
If you’re lucky, the first sights that greet you are lush greenery, dancing street performers, and a grand statue of an elephant with assorted birds nesting nearby. Welcome to Avisle’s Town Square.After a quick once-over, you’ll find that everything that you had on you before arriving is accounted for–so if you were barefoot and in your pajamas, you might not have much–with one notable addition: a glowing crystal in your pocket. The roughly cut gem fits in your palm and is already fastened on a chain for you. Convenient!
Soon after finding it, the crystal will begin to project information in front of you that is remarkably legible, even if you’ve never seen these particular runes before. It reads: New Worldwalker’s Checklist. Below, a series of tick boxes await you. You may need to start asking around or exploring. Seems like you’ve got things to do!
If you’re less fortunate, it seems you’ve landed just a bit outside the maintained grounds of the city itself. Somehow you’ve spawned in the middle of a pack of wolves. Huh! Well. You can see the city not too far from here, so maybe if you’re quick… Time to learn on your feet!
Whenever you do get to safety and complete the same inventory of your person, the crystal will respond to you just the same. Apparently you just decided to play on Hard Mode.
> A2. THE BUSTLING GUILD TOWN
☑️ Join a Guild
Avis Isle is a deeply uncharted place, welcoming explorers and curious adventurers. The Guilds do their best to provide structure for the city proper and for those getting a grasp of their magic; the Interguild Alliance (IGA) oversees the Guild Hub where quests are posted and dungeon crawls are organized. While there are all sorts of Guilds around, there are five main wings for each of the Grand 5.
Why not get to know them better? NPCs will call you over and try to encourage you to join them, some with challenging jeers and others with sincere, kind invitations–don’t you know that the very first guild that you join is free? Choose wisely! The guild’s mascot animal, some type of Avian, sits upon a very nice and color-coded throne in their respective wing awaiting your choice. Once you’ve made your selection, it will croon (or honk) at you, and your membership is complete. While you can’t actually hear the words, you have a feeling you’ve been told something like, “Now get to work, fresh meat!”
—Though if you're dallying, guilds aren't without mischief. A stray bird (though never The Throned Mascot Bird) may suddenly run by, webbed feet slapping on tile, and steal one of your items before ducking into the respective wing of their guild. The same goes for those that try to leave without joining a guild. Theft is a great marketing strategy, right?
> A3. BEGINNER’S QUEST: DUNGEON CRAWL
For all new worldwalkers, there is one quest that you must complete upon joining the server. Some call it fun-datory, some call it hazing. Don’t worry about it! Your crystal will blink at you before providing the details of the quest:
☑️ Dungeon Mission:
Retrieve the Hiccuping Hifloon
Retrieve the Hiccuping Hifloon
Though should there come a moment that you find yourself low on energy, whether it be from simple exhaustion or magic use, your communication crystal will flash. A new understanding will come to you: it is possible to transfer mana to one another via gestures of affection, borrowing from your traveling partner’s own energy. Why don’t you go and try it now? Holding a hand might just make you feel better, and not just emotionally!
> A4. TUTORIAL END
And with that, you’ve wrapped up the Duocaeli tutorial! Congratulations!! That said, while it's understandable to get off-track—if you outright ignore the prompts from your to-do list, you’ll find yourself respawning in front of the goal you need to accomplish! Come on, work with us a little here. Or don’t? You can be trapped in a loop if you really want.
Now you’re free to explore the rest of town. While there are some land masses in the distance, out past the wolves, it seems they're not quite open to you at the moment. Attempts to wander closer will lead to you getting turned right back around, and some glitchy text coming from your Communication Crystal that reads SERVER TRAFFIC.
If you poke around the options on your Communication Crystal, or just spend long enough logged on confused, you will eventually find it prompting you through the steps of Logging Out. Seems like there’s more still that awaits you.
"OFF" Tutorial
> B1. HOME SWEET HOME
When you awaken in the OFF world, the pressure on the front of your face is a little more apparent. Taking off the digital visor is easy—and it can turn compact right in your hand! Getting it to snap back into your cell phone just right might be a pain, thank goodness it’s durable—oh right, did we mention you have a cell phone? Whether you’re familiar with the device or not, it’s right there in your palm, the same color as your Duocaeli crystal. A closer examination of your clothes will also reveal that while your threads are familiar, they’re not exactly what you had in Duocaeli. Ever heard of a department store? They’re a little more like what you’d find there! Finally, your phone will suddenly beep and provide you with a new checklist, starting with:☑️ Locate Domus Hosus Room
Seems like the first one is to find your room… But as you take a closer look around you, you might finally notice it—the way that the tiles on the floor seem to be shuddering in excitement at your awakening, the opening and closing of windows and cabinets to get your attention and say hi. Not only is the house alive, it seems to be happy to see you! Make your request—maybe a passing soul tells you that the house likes to be called Dodo, rather than the formal Domus Hosus—and see if it can be answered! Dodo so wants you to be comfortable here.
…and perhaps be a little mischievous? As you try to find your room, designated by your name on a plaque, you might be in for a surprise. Maybe the stairs suddenly turn into a slide, prompting you to tumble into another person. Perhaps the doors flicker and switch at the last second, prompting you to find an unfamiliar neighbor instead of your own lodgings. Is this what they call… a meet cute?
> B2. SURVIVE THE INTERNET
☑️ Post on DUONET
You have some questions, right? Don’t worry, whether for the inquisitive mind or the petty complaint, there’s always the internet! Through your cell phone, you’ll be prompted and guided through the steps of posting on DUONET, which is available to your fellow Worldwalkers. Don’t forget there’s also an Anonymous function, though it’s not without its own hiccups!
> B3. HELLO, MY NAME IS
At some point in your exploration, you’ll be interrupted by a neat little beep beep! On the screen of your phone:
☑️ Go to Dodo's Welcome Mingle
Or It'll Be Sad It Worked Really Hard On It :(
Or It'll Be Sad It Worked Really Hard On It :(
O-Oh. No reason not to drop in for a little while at least, right? Heading down to the Lobby of the Dodo House will reveal that it's been spruced up for all the new arrivals—sweet little string lights and dinky party streamers probably look a little silly against the grand art nouveau architecture, but don't you see how the lights surge happily at your arrival? It's the thought that counts!
All arrivals to the party will also find themselves with a name tag that lists one fact about them, regardless of whether it's a closely guarded secret or an actual fun fact! Those are impossible to think of when you're put on the spot—isn't it nice to have one thought of for you?
> B4. THE GOOD FORTUNE CITY
Once you're done partying, you and your newfound friends are free to hit the town. There are an unusual amount of signs that read CLOSED FOR PRIDE PARADE PREP, but you'll at least find that the local convenience stores and basic modern amenities are open.
Perhaps you should focus on the way other people here treat you so familiarly, as though you’ve been here all your life. Maybe some of it is jogging your memory, maybe not. Regardless, it seems that, for now, you’re here to stay. The question is how, or whether, you’ll make the best of it.
OOC Notes
During Beta Testing, we'd like to remind players that we're accepting any and all feedback that could help us improve the game before official start!
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duocaeli duologs duolingosTaken / Applications / Hiatus & Drops
FULL NAVIGATION
no subject
that said rin is just going to roll her eyes - at least her back is to him so she can be rude that way, right - and it doesn't even matter because she's going to be rude out loud too]
Duly noted!
[so maybe her temper flaring means the next blast of mana is a little more vicious. that's not careful, rin. it's also not the same careful management of her energy so it's more tiring.
she coughs up a lil more blood. maybe she should focus on one thing at a time]
no subject
[ just an observation!
he'll hop to his feet then and walk over to her. is he offering to jump in to help? no. rin seems to know what she's doing (?) so he's happy to just stand here until he's asked to do otherwise. ]
There's blood on your face.
no subject
[though this is about when a wolf jumps in a little too close, and rin reacts more on instinct. she takes a gem from her batch and lets it fly near her feet - in a shine of light, a barrier rises—though it's a lil weak baby one. this baby used to be able to take such a beating and now it's already flimsy against wolves but it's enough to buy her time as she gives her attention to this weird, rude, man in white.
she points an accusatory finger at him]
I'm trying to clear a path for you and if you don't plan on taking it, can you at least prove that [pointing at the sword at his hip. i'm assuming he has it. did you pick him from a canonpoint where he does't have it, does that exist] isn't just for show?
no subject
but he glances down at his sword with the kind of air that someone who completely forgot it was there would have. he did not actually forget this, he just thinks this is funny. ]
That's really kind of you. I think. [ she seems too rude to be kind but it's fine. ] If you don't mind, I'll be happy to help. I think.
[ and with that, he unsheathes his sword in one quick and graceful motion along with a bow. i have no idea if you can still attack on this side of the barrier so he is not attacking and i do not think you are awake for me to ask. ]
no subject
I threw a wolf at you! I haven't been kind to you this entire time! [she's rude, she's kind at the same time, but right now the rudeness is definitely winning out. by a lot. she clears her throat and shakes her head to dispel some of her fluster.
the bow confuses her instead - even Archer, rudeass that he was, never bowed to her despite his loyalty - but she moves past it. the barrier honestly isn't going to hold up much longer because it's a weak baby version, and rin shifts her focus now that she doesn't have to deal with this rando's commentary (for now)]
I'll cover you - don't get hit.
[which is the best warning she has before the wolves charge at the barrier one last time, shattering it. she holds her hand out, prepared to fire again - but she'll let tsurumaru move first so she can get an idea of how he fights so it lowers chance of friendly fire. co-op fights are interesting.]
no subject
with the barrier gone, he'll quickly leap towards the wolf that's closet. it's a little different from fighting the usual types of enemies, but he'll still aim to drive his blade through the animal's neck. ]
They sure are mad!
no subject
They're probably hungry - and smell blood.
[Rin, the equivalent of a large injured rabbit, until she just started firing back....
though she does hope the battle doesn't last much longer now that he's actually helping - blood loss is bound to do its thing eventually.]
no subject
[ take a bath, damn.
but the extra time she supplies is much appreciated, since it lets him recover his sword and rush to the stunned wolf without getting mauled first. for this one, he'll aim his sword into its side, close to where the ribs would be. ]
Are you used to this sort of thing?
no subject
[me pulling up tsuru's gallery to see how obvious his crest is and he really wears it on his chest. that said rin's tone is so dry. the -san is clearly condescending.
but she'll let him get rid of wolf by wolf - this at least helps her conserve her mana some more. she repeats the rhythm again, stunning each wolf that gets too close to him before he also ends up smelling like blood. despite the relative ease of her magecraft, she has the audacity to answer:]
Fending off wolves? No. I don't have such a weird hobby.
no subject
[ he is calling her a furry
but after a while, the power of teamwork manages to bring down all of the wolves because i do not want to thread out all of them. once the last one falls, he'll move to wipe his sword clean of the blood. ]
Good work.
no subject
[wow rin make some battle small talk. but there go all the wolves!! rin sighs because of course just slashing them all would be faster... note to self, find something sharp.
though she'll just let herself balance against a tree trunk, maintaining her footing mostly on pride]
.... you too.
[why was that so begrudging he clearly helped,]
no subject
but now that the battle is over with, tsuru will actually take a longer look at her-- specifically, at any visible injuries. he doesn't make any move to help her though, as she'd probably punch him. ]
What were you using to fight?
no subject
Magecraft.
[she can answer it honestly enough... though she doesn't really know what he is exactly, she figures it's not modern era tokyo normal.
rin's mind continues to work on problem-solving, as it often does, and she wonders if there's a way to make it to a doctor who won't question the weird nature of her wound. the other option is healing herself, but she isn't sure she has the mana left to manage it....
which is about when the crystals start blinking, prompting the mana exchange knowledge. ah.]
no subject
[ at the very least, a sword he would know how to treat battle injuries to the point where you are not immediately dying from them-- although something that needs more serious treatment is a problem. he isn't yagen, after all.
...
hm. ]
Um...
no subject
It could be worse.
[fate/ your canon mana exchange
it doesn't mean rin's look is less withering though. she waves her free hand.]
Though if it's too much for you, I won't be offended.
no subject
[ tsurumaru is an incredibly touchy person, so he doesn't even blink at that. the idea of how it works in general though is still a little strange to him though... weird...
but hm. okay. they're going to hold hands. ]