Chapter 2: Sponsored by Bludgeon Brew

"Not to be nit-picking, Ozzy, but shouldn't we have done this research before we signed the five-year contracts?" Ben was working on an ancient laptop computer hooked into Ozzie's data net connection. Like anything designed to work with the old internet, it was slow and prone to just giving up.

Ozzie was using a research program to scan all the video sites for any information on GENESIS ENGINE. The game would be their employment for the next five years, they needed information on how the game worked, character creation, and how progression started. In all the other VR games they had signed up for as part of the workforce, there had been ways to make extra money. The obvious one was to get strong enough to farm gold and magic items to sell for real world dollars. They would never have the time that players got. Lots of hours would be taken up at their jobs. But working for 8 hours and then running off to grind mobs and farm items for 8 hours wasn't unrealistic when you were in a pod. They just had to figure out the details and make a plan.

"Sorry Ben, If there had been any information at all, we would have had more of a warning about the game going live. This damn thing came out of nowhere. No leaks from alpha or beta testers, no fake leaks by the creators to get some free publicity. It's like someone said prophet declared: 'New Game Tomorrow'. The corporations involved had to know about it, but if they didn't leak any info, it means they are taking it damned seriously and think it's the next big thing. And the ACME people seemed pretty surprised as well that the timeline was being accelerated. They knew it was coming, but not this fast."

"None of the people I supply information to, or get information from, had heard a single damn thing prior to that meeting in the Grand Malkavian. Things were happening fast and I wanted us to cut a deal quick. ACME isn't the best or the worst corp to be working for. The manager we have is actually pretty good. Smart, ambitious..."

Rolly laughed. "...and ambition leads to being manipulated by Ozzwald the Magnificent. I do like how you got a lot of the folks we've worked with over the years into our crew. Nice to have experienced people around us for a change. And I'm not going to be picky like Ben. Just get me a nice cushy job walking dogs or taming dragons or something."

Ben put his nose in the air with disdain, his voice changed to on a sneering french accent. "I'm not picky, you low-born lout! I simply prefer the more dashing jobs! Maiden rescuing, commanding a troupe of Calvary, or consort to a lonely princess will do me just fine."

He dropped the accent and sneer, turning to Ozzy. "And please, don't get me wrong. I'm very appreciative that you got us the jobs. Pickings have been slim lately. They're shutting down more and more of the old game, or maybe the game is shutting itself down. The paying customers aren't happy, and we're working for peanuts."

Ozzy kept one eye on his screen while he conversed with Ben. "And the commerce sections are going as well. They shut down the Grand Mall permanently on Thursday. Something about not having the resources to keep things going. Nile Books was screaming like a stuck pig. They get 70% of their sales from in-game shopping, with half of that being at the Grand Mall. They are moving back to a primitive platform like they had in the early 2000's."

Ozzy sighed. "And to be perfectly honest, as much as I like to haggle over deals and trip people up on contract details, I don't think there was any chance we could negotiate on those contracts. The pay is decent, but the most important part of the deal is working in a new Mark 7 pod. Those things are amazing! We may all come out of them feeling a lot better than we have in years. It was a great opportunity to be in the first wave of people to move online, and out of the habs."

Rolly patted Ozzy's shoulder. "I get it. You're worried about Suzette. How good are they? Any chance they can help her? I don't like how thin she was after our last job. She was having trouble with the pods again."

Ozzy brought up some information on the newest version of gaming pods. "According to everything I've read, there's a chance. The doctors don't even have a handle on what's causing the problems. They just keep saying 'Stress' and giving her more pills. A lot of people are having the same problems she is."

Ben gave a small nod. "Which is a good reason for grabbing the brass ring and signing five-year contracts, even ones we didn't get time to read through, with an evil-not-totally-evil corporation."

Ozzie closed the program he was working on and stretched. "I've got something. Gamer's Galaxy channel has a program coming on in two minutes with some information on GENESIS ENGINE. A very small group of people have been allowed to log into the game, and information is starting to hit the forums and video casts."

"Oh, nice, they usually get some good stuff, who is hosting.?" Rolly moved to the floor with Ben, letting Ozzy have the only comfortable chair in the small one room apartment.

"Sadly, it's Knucklehead and DD54"

"Really?" Ben raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Those two are ancient. Also notorious for being only half-right most of the time. Plus we have to sit through a non-stop commercial for cheap beer."

"Hey, I like the beer commercials! How am I going to know what NOT to drink unless I watch them? DD54 will tell you horse piss tastes like ambrosia." Rolly only hated a few things in life: the fake chicken taste of the food cubes and the taste of Bludgeon Brew being the top two.

Ozzy spread his hands and shrugged "But it's the first info we've been able to find, and we head to work tomorrow, so be quiet and let's take a look."

Ben asked, "Do you want me to run grab Suzette?"

Ozzy shook his head, not looking happy. "No, let her get some rest. Packing stuff up is hard on her. I think she gave a lot of her stuff away. Let her rest and we can fill her in on the way to the ACME headquarters tomorrow.

"So remember kids, when you need to rehydrate after a long pod session, nothing works as fast or tastes as good as Bludgeon Brew. It goes to work stretching out those stiff muscles and gets some nutrients back to your brain cells quickly.

When you play hard, drink hard. There's nothing like an ice cold Blud!"

Knuckles745: And now that we're done paying the bills with a bit of obvious product endorsement, let’s get back to what we know about this new game, Genesis Engine. I'm your host, Knuckles745, and I'm here with my co-host, DarkDeath54. You'll probably remember DarkDeath54 from his appearances on 'Best Bloopers in Gaming,' especially Episode 32, "How to explode your pet dragon with a can of whipped cream.' And of course, all those whacky episodes of Timmy the Wonder Boy.

DarkDeath54: Glad to be here Knuck!

Knuckles745: Let's talk about this new game! There's a lot of anticipation out there. We haven't had a new worldwide VRMMO since Endless Questing Online3. And EQO3 is pretty stale now. No new content for years, and the whole thing runs slow and laggy. I swear the graphics gets fuzzier and the NPC's dumber, every time I log in.

Knuckles745: Here's what little we know about Genesis Engine. The first peace of info released is a teaser about the name. The game engine is designed to generate new story content based on the actions of the player base. This might be small, dynamic quests for an individual, or for large groups like an entire guild. The game engine will constantly be generating new things. Hence the name, 'Genesis Engine'.

Each of your accounts will only be able to have one active character. That means some hard choices when it comes to experimenting with character classes and builds. You can't start another character unless you delete the old one and start over.

The classes we've seen so far are pretty standard: Warrior, Ranger, Paladin, Martial Artist, several types of Mages, Clerics, Druids, Healers, Rogues, and Assassins. Pretty standard stuff, but supposedly in the future you will be able to customize them further and move into specialist classes.

DarkDeath54: Racial selection is very odd. In the small demos where people were allowed to make their characters, most were human, but with options for something called 'Heritage', that might bring out hidden options.

About twenty per cent of players were allowed to be halflings, dwarves, half-elves, and some different types of beast-kin. But in some of the video footage we've seen ogres, orcs, goblins, fairies, centaurs and other fantasy races. These were hinted at being available after a player completed a special quest.

That's all we know about the races for now, so let's move on to the more important choice of what class you want to play.

Knuckles745: Right you are, DD54, so let’s take a look at the one class they've given us a lot of info on. A staple of fantasy gaming since forever, The Warrior. He's our generic fighter type with some balanced skills who can evolve into several specialized classes.

Knuckles745: While a character only has one class, they can get better as you gain levels. Every player starts with a Basic Class. According to the Developers, which Evolutions you get offered depends on three things: which options you take for your Basic Class, your in game achievements, and completing class quests. A player can choose to evolve up to a more specialized class after finishing 5 levels in the Basic Class. Or they can continue on and have even more evolutions at level 10. It’s a little hazy on exactly how this works, but that's the gist of it.

DarkDeath54: Multiple evolutions sounds cool Knuck. So instead of being stuck with his first class like in EQO3, my Warrior could evolve into a Berserker and then into a Crazed Battle Machine? Like the way a Squirmy evolves into a Sucking Wyrmling and then into Dragothra in Pokecraft. That’s awesome!

Knuckles745: Yeah, just like that DD54, just like that. Except no Squirmy.

Knuckles745: Anyway, let’s take a look at the Warrior. First off, he gets +1 STR, and +1 CON, and +2 additional points. This is important since every character starts with Zero in all their primary stats. Where those beginning points go is important. Toss them into DEX or AGI and it will help if you’re going for a dodge tank or scout build, but you'll need INT if you want to cast cantrips as a Spellblade or blessings as a Paladin.

DarkDeath54: Screw that, Knuck, when I roll up my Warrior, I'm doubling up on more STR. Can't go wrong with being the strongest fighter in a group. Get the biggest, badass weapon you can and start swinging."

Knuckles745: Still in love with big swords I see? Why am I not surprised? You've been a meat shield for your last seven characters. Who knows? Maybe you'll get it right this time. Let's put up the table with basic stats so we see what you have to start with.

Name Race Class Level DarkDeath54 Human Warrior 0 Stat Level Bonus Total STR 0 3 3 CON 0 1 1 DEX 0 0 AGI 0 0 WIS 0 0 INT 0 0 CHR 0 0 Health 100 50 150 Stamina 100 70 170 Mana 100 0 100

Knuckles745: Okay then DD57, let’s assume you toss your 2 free points to STR. You are damned impressive now with 3 STR. That's going to add a lot to your attack and damage values as well as upping your Stamina and your Health. Looking good so far. But what are your choices for skills?

Knuckles745: From what we’ve been told, every class has choices about what to take for skills and they group them into Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary slots. Your Primary skills go up quickly. Secondary will take some work, and Tertiary will go up slowly. It makes sense to have your main skills as Primary to get them up fast, right?

DarkDeath54: Maybe? Think about it. If I always use a sword, even if it's a tertiary skill, it will go up steadily. Maybe I want my mace as a Primary skill. I don't use it as much, but I still want it to get to level 5.

DarkDeath54: As a warrior, I had to pick 3 weapons as Primary skills, and I went with Bastard Sword, Mace, and Shield.

Knuckles745: Sorry to bust your balls DD, but a shield isn't a weapon, it's armor.

DarkDeath54: Not in this game Knuck, it's both! Taking Shield as a Primary weapon will give me an offhand attack with Shield Bash, and a much better charge attack. I can use my shield and a mace for close quarters fighting, like a dungeon. But most of the time I’ll use a shield and a bastard sword when I have a good bit of room to swing. Or just use the bastard sword two-handed for more power. And a shield on your back stops sneaky assholes like you from backstabbing me.

Knuckles745: I’ll have to wait until you have that Shield on your arm then. How about your Defensive skills, you get two of those and a utility?

DarkDeath54: Right, right...offense isn’t everything. Just mostly everything. I went with Cover-up since I have Shield, and Sidestep. Utility was tough, lots of good ones but Second Wind is the obvious winner. Can never have too much stamina, and that will give me a boost in a long fight. Let’s roll right into how I set up my secondary choices. These aren't going to move up as fast, but with a little work I can raise them up before I evolve my class. I grabbed Longbow and Dagger for extra weapon choices. Hasty Retreat is great for getting out of a tight spot; Heavy Armor so I'm not a clumsy tank. Fist of Death gives me a mean left hook, and Appraisal.

Knuckles745: Whoa! Appraisal? What the hell? That's actually a useful skill you’re taking for a change. What brings on this bit of wisdom? You normally don't take a non-combat skill DD."

DarkDeath54: Yeah, well, I'm not letting one of those damn halfling pawn brokers rip me off again. I gave away a lot of great items they told me were broken forgeries! This time around I'll know how much the loot I get is actually worth."

Knuckles745: Ah, the hard earned experience of the veteran gamer. Rip them off 87 times and they eventually figure it out. Speaking of figuring things out....what did you go with for Tertiary skills? These go up damn slow so most people will be choosing abilities that give a nice perk even without leveling them up. Or, as you mentioned, something you use constantly."

Knuckles745: And speaking of leveling up, my thirst just went Epic!......time for another Blud. Nothing puts me in the mood for tasty Bludgeon Brew like talking gaming. "

DarkDeath54: Toss me a couple Bluds while you’re in the cooler Knuckles, those tasty foamy beverages go down so fast you barely notice. And less filling!

DarkDeath54: For Tertiary I grabbed Sleepless in Seattle. Your character needs sleep in the game. You can do that while offline, but with this skill I'll be able to minimize my sleep needed. Then I swapped 3 skills for minor perks: Extra Stamina 1, 2, and 3. Minor perks can be traded for skills. They won't go up in rank, but will give a nice boost early on.

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I round it out with Armor Repair and Wound Stitching; two things I use constantly. They’ll level up quickly with all the fighting I do. I can fix myself up, keep going all day and night, and only need half my normal sleep.

Primary Skills Secondary Skills Tertiary Skills Bastard Sword (STR) Longbow (DEX) Sleepless in Seattle (CON) Mace (STR) Dagger (DEX) Armor Repair (DEX Shield (STR) Fist of Death (STR) Wound Stitching (INT) Cover-Up (STR) Heavy Armor (STR)

Extra Stamina I (+50 Stamina)

Side Step (AGI) Hasty Retreat (AGI) Extra Stamina II (+100 Stamina) Second Wind (CON) Appraisal (INT) Extra Stamina III (+150 Stamina)

Knuckles745: And there you have it folks. DarkDeath57 is ready to hit the road to adventure with his new warrior. But first we'll finish these Bluds! Let’s get in a few commercials and we’ll be back to talk about raising your stats to Hero level.”

Knuckles745: Alright, and we’re back. I’m your host, Knuckles754 along with my old pal, DarkDeath54. We’re talking Genesis Engine. You’ve got the lowdown on raising your Stats higher DD54?

DarkDeath54: Yep Knuck, and again, we have some choices to make. What skill you use to kill a monster or complete a quest will determine where the points go to increase your stats. Here's an example.

DarkDeath54: I’m out adventuring one day when I’m jumped by a Void Lich. After a quick fight where I use Mace and Shield he gets a terminal case of crushed skull. Afterwards, I’m stitching my wounds and pounding the dent out of my helmet while tossing back a cold Blud. The Void Lich is worth 400 experience. I’m going to get 400 EP in my skills and 400 EP in the stats that govern those skills. Mace and Shield are governed by STR, Armor Repair is DEX, and Wound Stitching is INT. So, here’s the breakdown: 100 experience to each of the 4 skills, 200 experience to STR, 100 to INT and 100 to DEX.

DarkDeath54: But now it gets tricky. Remember we said Tertiary skills are harder to level? Only 1/10th of the experience goes to Tertiary; if they were Secondary skills, only 1/3rd."

DarkDeath54: Our final breakdown is:

Mace and Shield at 100 EP each,

STR at 200 EP,

INT, DEX, Armor Repair, and Wound Stitching at just 10 EP.

But if the math makes your head hurt like it does mine, don’t worry, it’s all automatic. You just keep killing things and it will all level up.

DarkDeath54: During Tier 1, before you evolve your class, a player can gain 5 levels in each of their skills. And they could also earn 5 points in each of the corresponding Stats. It might take a lot of grinding to get all your skills up - especially the Tertiary. And I'm sure some people will be short-sighted and go for the quick Evolution with out finishing them all. But I think that's a mistake. That’s around 100 points you can add to your stats while moving through your basic class and getting ready to evolve it up.

DarkDeath54: Don't be a wimp! Grind it out and min-max the hell out of that build!

Knuckles745: Wow! DD54, that really shows how important it is that you allocate your skills correctly. Pick the wrong build and you can really cripple that character. Let's take a final look at DarkDeath54’s Warrior so you can see what the basic Character Sheet looks like when he gets to level 5, and for fun we'll assume he has the patience to level all his skills.

DarkDeath54: And we're guessing on some things here. It makes sense that if raising one skill to level 5 gives you 5 STR points, then raising 9 skills to level 5 should give you 45 STR points.

Name Race Class Level DarkDeath54 Human Warrior 5 Stat Base Bonus Total STR 0 3+5+10+30 48 CON 0 1+10+10 21 DEX 0 15 15 AGI 0 10 10 WIS 0 0 0 INT 0 10 10 CHR 0 0 0 From Level Bonus from stats Health 600 990 1590 Stamina 600 1270 1870 Mana 600 200 800

Knuckles745: I've got a question for you DD54. You're going to start at 3 STR, which is great for a starting character. But you might go as high as 45 is you max it all out. Are you 15 times stronger with that 45? And how much will that let you lift. Are we talking Conan or Hercules here.

"More Conan than Hercules in this case Knuckles. From a bit of leaked info, it looks like a 0 stat is pretty much a wimp human. At STR 0 a character, like some foppish wizard, can only lift about 25 lbs. before they start sweating. STR 1 is 50 pounds. STR 2 is 100 lbs. and it goes up by 50 pounds after that. At STR 5 I'll be able to heft a bag of loot weighing in at 250 lbs. But of course I'll lose a bit of that to armor, weapons and other gear.

"It gets tricky after that. We aren't going to be able to put play Hercules and put a bull on our shoulders even at 45 STR. A lot of that STR is gained from weapon skills and will be reflected in extra damage, armor cleaving, knocking back an opponent, and moving easily in armor. But that's all we know for now Knuckles. I tell you, I'm anxious to take this bad boy out for a spin.

Knuckles745: Now you've done a great job DD54, that's a Hero in the making. And remember folks, when it comes time to grind out those levels, nothing keeps you going like a lot of Bludgeon Brew. Don't worry, it will be sold in game at all fine and not-so-fine taverns.

"Well, that was interesting, if not a bit confusing. I wonder how much of that is going to hold true, and how much is just bull shit." Ben had taken copious notes. "I'm anxious to actually see the system we have to work with. Hopefully we get a few hours for character creation. A couple of the other gaming programs are disputing some of what they said, or have different spins on how skills work. Typical, no one has all the details. But the things everyone is agreeing on are the following:"

"The class you pick gives you some small benefits, and dictates a lot of the skills we can take. We get six each of primary, secondary, and tertiary skills to start with. The big difference is how fast the skill earns experience and levels up."

"Each skill is based on a stat like strength(STR, or constitution(CON). Leveling a skill will increase the stat that goes with the skill."

"Every five levels is a 'Tier'. So we start in Tier 1, and at level six move to Tier 2."

"You can learn other skills at your guildhall, or from trainers, or by doing quests."

"That's not the easiest system, but not the worst we have worked with."

Ozzy was scratching his chin. "Lots of skills. There is a list up, supposedly from one of the beta testers. Hundreds of different skills for all the categories."

"I'm betting we have some requirements for the jobs they want us to do. The key is going to be picking a class to go with the job we have, and get some synergy out of it for when we get days off and can go adventuring."

Ben nodded his head in agreement. "Another game world, and another system to start taking advantage of. After the flaming dumpster fire that EQO3 has been these last few years, I'm really looking forward to it."

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