#reset from the state they were in when you activated the cutscene and it drops you off right in the middle of town in your rowboats

[rinmemesuoka]

[Video Description: the octopath traveler party going down three flights of stairs in rowboats in the city of Ku. End Description.]

Having a normal one in Ku.

[rontufox]

Silver & Blaze Origins Theory

NOTE: This is just for fun and isn’t proven by canon material. EDIT 4/26/2020: Added a read more & better Silver evidence.

A lotta things bother me about these two. Based on the canon info we have (outlined in this in-depth post), we know they both originate from the distant future. When Blaze seals Iblis inside herself, she leaves the distant future and fades into the Sol Dimension. In turn, she becomes princess of the Sol Dimension, which later involves her in the events of Sonic Rush. Neither Blaze nor Silver remember one another because the Sonic 06 timeline resets. However, they do meet anew in the new timeline.

Time reset paradoxes aside... I have questions. 

How did Blaze seal Iblis inside herself?

How did Blaze seal herself into another dimension?

How did Blaze arrive in the Sol Dimension’s present rather than its future?

How did Blaze become princess of the Sol Dimension by dropping into it? 

How does Blaze have an affinity with the Sol Emeralds when she’s not from their dimension? (enough to turn into Burning Blaze)

Before anyone points it out, yes, I’m aware several of these can be answered with “bad writing.” But I want to have fun with lore and logic.

I’ve created a theory that satisfies all these questions. I acknowledge that one of the questions has a canonical answer, but the rest are based on assumptions made by the player. For fun’s sake, let’s question those assumptions. Then at the end I’ll present my theory.

1) How did Blaze seal Iblis inside herself?

Because her soul is alit with flames. That is, if you believe the answer from Sonic 06. 

Let’s establish the rules the game lays out for sealing Iblis. First, Iblis can be sealed inside members of the Soleanna royal family.

Eternal Sun! The Living Flame that has been entrusted to the royal family! Fall into slumber with a royal soul!

- Duke of Soleanna

Second, Iblis cannot be sealed inside Silver. 

We can rule out that Silver used the wrong incantation, wrong number of Chaos Emeralds, or that he must have special training or bloodline, because the third thing we learn is Iblis CAN be sealed inside Blaze. And she used the same method he did. The only difference is her soul.

Don’t worry. My soul is already alit with flames. I will be accepted.

- Blaze the Cat

To me, this explanation seems a little too convenient. An exception to the royal soul rule exists? And it’s a soul alit with flames? Which in of itself is a rarity considering no other character consistently wields fire powers, much less has these powers associated with their SOUL. And Blaze just happens to exist in Silver’s timeline AND is close enough to him to be involved in the events of Sonic 06 and have the opportunity to perform the seal? 

Convenient as it is, it’s still an explanation. I could accept this answer... Or, I could point out a much more interesting factor to consider. Blaze just happens to have a royal affiliation... more on that later.

2) How did Blaze seal herself into another dimension?

This takes place in-game, yet there’s no explanation. Add in the fact that it’s apparently something Silver can do too, and it makes even less sense.

Come on, make it quick. Use your Chaos Control... to stop time. Then... seal us into a different dimension.

- Blaze the Cat

Considering Silver learned to use Chaos Control, it’s plausible he could’ve stopped time like Blaze asked. But how exactly was he supposed to seal her into a different dimension? There’s two possibilities: 1) Chaos Control, or 2) It’s an innate ability.

Innate ability is absurd. It’d make Silver way overpowered and begs the question why he never helped everyone escape from Iblis to a different dimension before this. But Chaos Control isn’t much better. Sonic, Shadow, and Silver all use Chaos Control to open time portals throughout Sonic 06. But not dimensional portals. On top of that, 2 people and 2 Chaos Emeralds are required to open these portals. 

What amazes me is when Silver prepares to do as Blaze told him, he’s not even holding any Chaos Emeralds. How does he expect to do it with a flick of his arm?

In the end, it doesn’t matter, because Blaze herself is the one who does it. But establishing how unlikely it is for Silver makes it even less likely for Blaze. She never learned Chaos Control. And, seeing as only hedgehogs are known to wield this ability, it’s doubtful she can.

So... how did she do it? Maybe it’s some combined effect of Iblis, the Chaos Emeralds, and her soul, but... that’s a lame explanation. 

There’s one more possibility if we watch the cutscene closely.

The Sol Emeralds.

It can be debated that she’s turning into Burning Blaze here. It lasts maybe 2 seconds. You can watch and decide for yourself here.

Burning Blaze brings the Sol Emeralds into the equation. And for me, they’re the best explanation for how Blaze transported to a different dimension. After all, they were a contributing factor in her transporting to Sonic’s dimension in Sonic Rush. Another thing of note is almost immediately after turning into Burning Blaze, she starts to fade away, suggesting that activating the form triggered her fade into another dimension.

There’s a problem though. Up to this point, Blaze has had no association with the Sol Dimension or its emeralds. So how can the Sol Emeralds be here? 

Maybe you can argue she gained access to the Sol Emeralds by beginning to fade into the Sol Dimension itself. But how did she start fading into the Sol Dimension without first accessing the Sol Emeralds? A lotta people allow time and dimensional stuff to be a little paradox-y, but I don’t wanna be so lax.  

This leads me to believe: Blaze has always had an association with the Sol Emeralds. How? More on that later. 

3) How did Blaze arrive in the Sol Dimension’s present rather than its future?

Or, to ask it another way, if Blaze entered the Sol Dimension from the future, why does she end up in the present when she crosses back over in Sonic Rush and other games? Shouldn’t she end up in the future with Silver?

Frankly, if a series lets characters jump dimensions and timelines, it’s not that far-fetched to let them jump both in one go (see: Eggman Nega). But to give a less magical answer, the reason could be Iblis. The Duke was conducting experiments on Solaris in an effort to manipulate time. If Iblis is associated with time too, it could’ve taken Blaze to a different time in the Sol Dimension.

This question doesn’t add or detract from my theory, so I won’t include it in the last section. I included it here cuz it’s a good question I’ve seen asked.

4) How did Blaze become princess of the Sol Dimension by dropping into it?

Now here’s a big one. 

Surely the Sol Dimension existed before Blaze entered it, as evidenced by its long history and heritage. And part of this heritage states the role of guarding the Sol Emeralds is passed down the princesses of the royal family. How can Blaze just drop in and become the princess when she hasn’t had any association with the Sol Dimension up to this point?

I see 3 possibilities: 1) Blaze transporting to the Sol Dimension caused the dimension itself to change and... conveniently make her the most important person in the dimension, 2) Some circumstance convinced the royal family to change their tradition and appoint Blaze, or 3) Blaze was always a princess in the Sol Dimension.

Now, earlier I said that I think Blaze has always been associated with the Sol Emeralds. I also think she’s always been a princess in the Sol Dimension. But, how, if she originated from the future? Hm... maybe it’s because she didn’t...

5) How does Blaze have an affinity with the Sol Emeralds when she’s not from their dimension?

I’m won’t bother presenting other possibilities with this one. The only option I can accept is Blaze was always from the Sol Dimension. Always a guardian of the Sol Emeralds. 

So let’s get to the theory!

Theory: Silver and Blaze are from the past.

Oh yes. It’s conspiracy theory time

I don’t think Silver and Blaze are from the future. They were definitely there in Sonic 06, and Silver continues to reside there. But I don’t think that’s the time they originated from. I think they came from the distant past. Silver, from Sonic’s dimension’s past, and Blaze from the Sol Dimension’s past. And I think they knew each other there.

Blaze being from the Sol Dimension’s past makes the questions disappear.

1) How did Blaze seal Iblis inside herself?

She has a royal soul.

2) How did Blaze seal herself into another dimension?

She turned into Burning Blaze and the Sol Emeralds returned her to the dimension she belongs to. 

4) How did Blaze become princess of the Sol Dimension by dropping into it?

She was already its princess in the distant past. When she returns, she’s recognized as such and re-appointed to her role.

5) How does Blaze have an affinity with the Sol Emeralds when she’s not from their dimension?

She IS from their dimension!

So here’s the basic narrative: 

Long ago, in the distant past, Blaze was princess of the Sol Dimension. An unknown event displaced her and Silver to the distant future of Sonic’s dimension. They both lost their memories. Later, Blaze returned to the Sol Dimension’s present after sealing Iblis inside herself. Her memories were again lost. But the people of the Sol Dimension recognized her. Amazement spread across the land at the return of the lost princess of old. The royal family helped her regain her memories, or re-taught her who she was. She was then re-appointed to her role and continued life in her rightful dimension.

So what about Silver? What information supports Silver being from the past? 

Truthfully, not much. At least not compared to Blaze. But I have a few broad points to support it. To explore them, we’ll need to go to the past.

The Past

What do we know about the past? 

We know that technology was more advanced. Understanding of magic (emeralds, etc) was more advanced. The civilizations that wielded them flourished, but now, no longer exist. Doom was brought upon them after they misused their technology.

This narrative has been consistent in the games from the 90s to present day (seriously, check out the translated Japanese Genesis era manuals). Despite that, we rarely see this past for ourselves. Even time periods fans consider “the past,” such as the flashbacks in Sonic Adventure, don’t depict this technologically advanced time. 

The only glimpses we have are rare ancient ruins that haven’t completely succumbed to nature yet--locations like Sky Sanctuary. 

Sky Sanctuary’s more technological side is best seen inside the ruins. Revealed there are lots of glowing, geometric, cyan lights. 

Now, where have we seen that before?

Usually, Silver’s futuristic design is attributed to him being, well, from the future. But what makes things “look” futuristic? Appearing more technologically advanced than the present. Now, is there anything about the future in Sonic 06 that screams “technologically advanced”? Everything is in ruins. It’s an apocalyptic world. 

Which time seems more advanced than Sonic’s present? The past, or the future? Which time does Silver’s design most belong to?

Being from the past also better explains Silver’s powers. Technology and magic were better understood back then. If people can wield powers in Sonic’s world, the past is the time period it would be most common. And isn’t it unique how Silver and Blaze are the only two characters who consistently wield powers without the aid of technology or magical gemstones/items?

If you want a more direct comparison of Sky Sanctuary’s technological motifs next to Silver, here’s something I whipped up:

That’s all the support I have for Silver being from the past. Him originating from the past isn’t required for this theory to work, I just prefer it cuz it dovetails nicely into the whole theme SEGA has going for them. And into the next thing I’m gonna talk about.

I like to imagine that Blaze and Silver knew each other when they lived in the distant past. But how, if they’re from two different dimensions?

Dimensions

Let’s talk about dimensions. Sonic’s world has several. Sonic’s dimension, the Sol Dimension, Maginaryworld, maybe the storybook games? And there’s probably others I’m forgetting. 

I’d argue the Babylonians are from their own dimension too. If you don’t already know, Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity reveals that the Babylonians were aliens that got marooned on Sonic’s planet in the distant past. But if dimensions are a thing in the Sonic world, what’s more likely? That the Babylonians were considered aliens because they’re from outer space, or because they were from a different dimension? 

Knowing the Sonic world has these dimensions, and that people of the past were much more advanced... What if they realized there were other dimensions? What if they began communicating with each other? Formed relationships and alliances?

A world where it’s commonplace to communicate with those outside your own dimension. This is a world where Silver and Blaze could know each other.

The only evidence I have to support this is the guardian structure. The first three dimensions I listed (Sonic’s world, the Sol Dimension, and Maginaryworld) all have their own guardian structure that started in ancient times and remain preserved to this day. What if the rulers of the past agreed to form this guardian structure to protect the magical items of the worlds, and to also preserve the autonomy of their individual dimensions?

Final premise

I’ll conclude this with a premise that resulted from my imagination running wild with this. If you like this theory, feel free to explore your own ideas! _____________

It’s the distant past. Thousands of years before Sonic’s time. 

There are many dimensions. And within them, civilizations. Some more are advanced than others. Those with the technology to detect their neighboring dimensions have formed loose alliances with one another. This encourages cooperation between dimensions and is especially helpful when threats appear within or between dimensions.

In this era, there lives a princess named Blaze the Cat. She’s an inhabitant of the Sol Dimension, and Guardian of the Sol Emeralds. Her high position naturally involves her in interdimensional affairs.

Blaze is called to help investigate a problem shared between her dimension and the dimension famous for its Chaos Emeralds. While there, she meets a hedgehog named Silver (or already knew him beforehand). The further she progresses her investigation, the more serious the problem proves to be.

This is nothing we’ve seen before. Our worlds are in danger!

- A line I could imagine Blaze telling Silver

Perhaps it’s the first manifestations of the doom that will later be brought upon their worlds. Or maybe it’s one of the series’ godlike beings--Solaris, Time Eater, Dark Gaia, etc. Or maybe someone, or something, is meddling with powers they shouldn’t.

Eventually, Blaze and Silver face a final culmination of this problem. An event that either sucks them into time and space, or presents such danger to their lives that the Sol Emeralds pull them into time and space to protect them. Either way, they are ripped from their current time and thrown far, far into the future. 

And they are never heard from again.

[dingotheanimal-blog]

Patch Notes Day one

DAY ONE PATCH NOTES

What’s changing between Early Access and World Wide Launch

For those of you who have been playing the Early Access version of the game, we wanted to let you know that a Day 1 Patch is on its way. The patch will deployed before worldwide launch.  On February 22, 2019, the game will include the following updates and our Live Service officially begins.

High level fixes

Decreased loading times for older disk drives

Fixed many infinite loading screens

Fixed multiple challenges not tracking properly

A number of issues have been fixed that were causing players to disconnect or crash

Weapons and gear now have numbers present for modifiers

General Fixes and Improvements

Loot Reveal and Expedition Summary now correctly play during the end of expedition screen.

The gather party mechanic has been made more lenient in a number of situations

At the end of expedition screen players will no longer get stuck on “Recording Victories” or “Skipping All”.

Game no longer hangs in Javelin menu when unlocking the second, third or fourth javelin

During the mission “What Freelancers Do” dying after killing Junkmaw & freeing Arcanists leaves you unable to progress, this has been fixed

Challenges now unlock for players at the correct levels

Fixed some camera issues during cutscenes

Legendary Contracts can now be accepted from the Social Hub contract board

Some enemies have had their shield values decreased

Loot now properly drops for players who are downed

The texture quality on the NPC Prospero has been improved

Final boss of strongholds now drop loot instead of only being shown on the end of expedition screen

Fixed the time outs on echoes and relics to prevent griefing and to handle disconnections properly

Players can no longer fall through the floor during the 3rd trial in the Fortress of Dawn

Completing the tutorial expedition will now show the correct Ranger appearance

After disconnecting, rejoining an expedition will now place you back into a squad if you were in one previously

Corrected an issue where players could not interact with each other in the launch bay in certain circumstances

Corrected an issue during the Mission “Bad Deal” where outlaws won’t spawn, blocking progress

The start of expedition screen has been improved

Addressed a variety of situations where killing enemies does not properly progress world events

Opening a chest now increments Tomb of the Legionnaire progress for all squad members present

Scar snipers can no longer shoot through Storm Shield

Corrected an issue where players would get stuck on the end of expedition screen in some situations

Players will no longer get disconnected if joining the “Finding Old Friends” mission while the cinematic is playing

Addressed a number of situations where players can get stuck on the environment in the launch bay

Increased the damage of the electric status effect

Corrected an issue where the Shield of Dawn could be crafted with less materials then intended in some situations

The Platinum Mission feat now grants completion as intended

Status effects can more reliably be applied to Titans

Fixed loading animations on Marksmen Rifles

Players can now access the Vault from the Forge

Swimming into jellyfish underwater no longer leaves a visual effect stuck on players.

Idle animations will no longer sync up over time in the Launch Bay

Haluk is no longer dual-wielding canes in the epilogue scene

Corrected an issue where players could not interact with each other in the launch bay in certain circumstances

Fixed an issue that could cause players in the launch bay to have identical emotes and be unable to use them

Interceptor melee ability animations will no longer stretch out in certain situations

Corrected an issue where the default Ranger appearance doesn’t preview in the forge in some situations

All animations now play as intended in the Forge

Players can now enter the Tomb of Gwanes while in a party

The default Javelin wear state has been changed from “Dirty” to “Old”

Sentinel Loyalty 2 text no longer incorrectly states that it will lead to a larger vault

Picking up ammo from the ground now properly gives you 30% of that ammo back into both the current magazine and the maximum spare ammo

Fixed a bug where some global (Javelin Icon) inscription bonuses were not being properly applied to the Javelin and other gear/weapons.

Fixed some issues that could cause the Armor Pip count on the UI to break and not display properly

Strongholds

Fixed an issue that would cause a Stronghold server crash after defeating the last boss

Temple of Scar – Players can no longer get stuck in the mined tunnel in the explosives room

Temple of Scar – Players can no longer be blocked from entering the explosives room due to fog wall

Fixed Tyrant Mine so people that join the stronghold in-progress do not end up locked away from their team

Adjusted lighting in Tyrant Mine underwater section to make it easier to navigate to the exit

The Swarm Tyrant will no longer get stuck in the side cave entrances in some situations

Corrected an issue where players would spawn into different areas of the Tyrant Mine in certain situations

Implemented more safeguards to stop players from going AFK in Strongholds

Challenges

Only Masterwork items can now be used to progress Masterwork challenges as intended

Corrected an issue where some Challenges track progress simultaneously instead of incrementally, as intended. (ex: Blast Missile I and then Blast Missile II instead of both incrementing at the same time

Gear and Weapons

After having 1st pilot unlock suit after tutorials, creating a new pilot and going to forge no longer causes load screen hang

Ice damage bonuses are now correctly applied on ice gear

Suit-wide bonuses from inscription are now functioning properly

Players can no longer salvage equipped items

Javelin specific gear and/or weapons are no longer able to be used on javelins they aren’t intended for

Corrected an issue where in some circumstances Masterwork Components do not have any inscriptions

The Endless Siege Masterwork Autocannon no longer displays a damage increase of 0% in its tooltip

Suit-wide specific weapon ammo bonuses coming from infusions are now correctly applied

A Network Error Message no longer appears when opening an item chest in the second tutorial

Colossus shoulder gear will now share the appearance of the rest of the javelin as intended

Deadeye has increased spare ammo 10 -> 20

Cloudburst has had increased damage 16.3 -> 21

Torrent has had increased damage 22.2 -> 28.6

Lightning Strike’s pre-visualization will now accurately depict that the explosion snaps to the ground.

(Ranger) Inferno Grenade base damage 130 -> 175

(Interceptor) Cryo Glaive base damage 20 -> 50

(Storm) Living Flame base damage 50 -> 60

(Storm) Glacial Beam base damage 150 -> 120

(Storm) Arc Burst secondary damage 100 -> 150

(Ranger) Pulse Blast base damage 225 -> 300, and now deals extra damage to Shields (previously did extra damage to Armored).

(Ranger) Blast Missile now properly scales up in damage as the item level increases

(Interceptor) Melee attacks now have some minor resistance penetration

Large Area of Effect abilities will better register multi-kill activities for challenges and medals

Spark Dash functionality has been significantly improved when the target enemy is at a different height (above/below) the Interceptor.

Several gear pieces that had missing primer or detonator icons have been fixed.

Several improvements have been made to ensure gear use on PC prioritizes turning the Javelin towards the reticle when used rather than casting in front of the Javelin’s current direction.

Interceptor

Colossus

Tempest Strike – Detonator Icon

Spark Dash – Detonator Icon

Venom Spray – Primer Icon

Detonating Strike – Primer Icon

Lightning Coil – Detonator Icon

Shock Coil – Primer Icon

Flamethrower – Primer Icon

Javelins

The Colossus javelin is now able to activate its shield more quickly after using an ability or firing a weapon

The Storm javelin now reacts to getting hit when its shields are up

Fixed an exploit that allowed the Storm’s ultimate attack to be used more times than intended

The Colossus exo can now shield and revive at the same time

Interceptor Combo Aura has been increased in power and now has a damage over time component

Ranger melee now has a cooldown when striking in the air

The Target Beacon ability now correctly seeks targets

Spark Dash and Venom Spray now target based on player cursor instead of character facing. This should also improve the travel path of Spark Dash.

The Colossus will no longer be knocked out of the sky in some situations when the attack was blocked by their shield

Combos + Status Effects

Combo indicator icons above creatures now are correctly removed when detonated.

When a Storm detonates an electric status effect the chained electric effect now correctly deals damage.

Combo damage now penetrates resistances

Crafting

Non-Masterwork materials purchased from the crafting store now show as their proper rarity instead of incorrectly showing as Masterwork

A number of javelin components that had different icons for their recipes and the actual items are now the same

The Battle Cry gear recipe now has the correct description

Fixed Spark Beam gear having the wrong description when being crafted

Crafting recipes are now sorted alphabetically

The items in the crafting store are now sorted by type to be clearer

Controls

Additional Mouse and Keyboard control improvements have been made

UI

Some conversations were not popping up the reputation points post conversation completion, this has been fixed

The squad screen now displays the correct information for each player

Fixed a number of issues where subtitles will no longer get stuck on the screen after dialogue has finished as often

Settings should no longer reset upon exiting and restarting the game on Xbox One

Motion blur can now correctly be turned off

The Electric Status Effect now shows scaled damage properly

An option has been added to hide the Squad Member HUD

The edge of the compass will now pulse to indicate enemy locations

A notification has been added in Fort Tarsis if a player’s vault is at the cap of 250 items

On the “Repair the Strider” step of “A Cry for Help” the search radar has been adjusted to correctly lead the player to all 4 tools

Primer and Detonator icons have been added to all Interceptor gear

Corrected a user interface issue where a player’s ultimate would show as available when it isn’t

Toggling the HDR option now properly prompts the Apply Changes button

Player banners should now display correctly

Camera shake slider has been added to settings menu

Players may now track 10 challenges instead of 5

An option to adjust screen boundaries on consoles has been added

Changing a player banner through the banner menu now properly saves the selection

Health, cooldowns, and key bindings now light up on supported keyboards

Players will now receive more clear messaging when a squad is disbanded or are kicked from a squad

Squad leaders will no longer always show as ready

The icon for players in a downed state will no longer appear in cutscenes

Cypher Annotations will now appear for more than one player if they are looking at it simultaneously

Removed mentions of respawning on the player UI when they die in a restricted respawn area

The Player Banner now updates immediately when updated from the squad screen

Fixed a number of situations where a combo will trigger but no combo floating text appears

Pressing esc to pass a notification screen no longer opens up the in-game menu

Quick chat messages will no longer appear from an ignored player

Removed a message from the mailbox which incorrectly stated that messages will be removed after 3 days

A number of inscription icons have been updated to properly reflect whether they are Javelin specific or not

Corrected an issue where players could not change loadout names on PC

Players no longer need to exit and re-enter the forge for loadout names to update

The on-screen VOIP indicator which shows a player speaking will no longer be active if that player is muted