Lore timeline of the Arcenverse.

[x4000]

MOST of the games in the Arcen lineup are in the same sci-fi universe.  The exceptions are Tidalis, Shattered Haven, Skyward Collapse, and the two Valley games.

Chronologically we get:

1. Bionic Dues -- sometime in our future, but not too far off.  Corporations own whole cities, robots are rising up, etc.  But the robots largely suck and are not organized.

2. In Case Of Emergency, Release Raptor (this game) -- a bit further on in the future after Bionic Dues, but only a couple of hundred years at most.

-- Human civil war starts in earnest --

3. Untitled 3D Survival Game -- this one takes place a few hundred years later, on an "earth" that is not our real earth.  Or rather, it's not Earth Prime.

4. Exodus of the Machine (cancelled) -- this would have been a few hundred years after this game.

-- Then there's an even bigger human civil war, and the war with the AI, and humanity is all but wiped out --

5. AI War -- 800 years after that, here comes our first game.

-- millions of years pass --

6. Stars Beyond Reach -- no comment just yet, it's complicated.

-- a lot more time --

7. The Last Federation -- but wait, I thought this was supposed to be before SBR?  How else does this timeline make sense?  No comment yet.

-- a lot more time --

8. Starward Rogue -- the Last Hydral is way off in space on his own.



Anyhow, there is backstory as well as sidestory in a number of the games that stretches between those time periods a bit more, and which answers a lot of questions.  The big one that answers TONS of questions and ties everything together... is Stars Beyond Reach.  Here's hoping that properly happens!

[crazyroosterman]

you know I really really hope stars actually manages to have its lore and story(unlike star ward rogue ) I have to ask though was bionic when It was made intended to fit into a universe? I imagine it wasn't but considering that ai war was already way out by this time and is in the same verse as bionic then its not beyond possibility also may will there be a lot of sound track to this game if so who shall be doing it?. (provided you've actually decided that of course)

[Misery]

Okay, I really am confused here.

I thought Starward came AFTER Last Federation?  The Hydral having gone off after completing his work there, something like that.

I'm just going to assume you're bending time and space here for fun, like Q or something.   

Though, as Starward is missing story stuff, and as my memory is terrible for the upcoming bits that have been explained, maybe I'm just forgetting part of it that makes this appear to fit more.

you know I really really hope stars actually manages to have its lore and story(unlike star ward rogue ) I have to ask though was bionic when It was made intended to fit into a universe? I imagine it wasn't but considering that ai war was already way out by this time and is in the same verse as bionic then its not beyond possibility also may will there be a lot of sound track to this game if so who shall be doing it?. (provided you've actually decided that of course)

Starward really does have lore/story stuff, it's just that it didn't get put in in time for the game's release.  So it's still coming.  I think it's interesting and to me it fits the usual style for Arcen games, so I'm thinking you guys will probably like it.

[crazyroosterman]

Okay, I really am confused here.

I thought Starward came AFTER Last Federation?  The Hydral having gone off after completing his work there, something like that.

I'm just going to assume you're bending time and space here for fun, like Q or something.   

Though, as Starward is missing story stuff, and as my memory is terrible for the upcoming bits that have been explained, maybe I'm just forgetting part of it that makes this appear to fit more.

you know I really really hope stars actually manages to have its lore and story(unlike star ward rogue ) I have to ask though was bionic when It was made intended to fit into a universe? I imagine it wasn't but considering that ai war was already way out by this time and is in the same verse as bionic then its not beyond possibility also may will there be a lot of sound track to this game if so who shall be doing it?. (provided you've actually decided that of course)

Starward really does have lore/story stuff, it's just that it didn't get put in in time for the game's release.  So it's still coming.  I think it's interesting and to me it fits the usual style for Arcen games, so I'm thinking you guys will probably like it.

I thought the game didn't sell well enough and wasn't going to become a thing? I mean don't get me wrong it pleases me greatly to hear that IT IS ACTUALY COMING! its just I had the impression it wasn't coming at all before.

[Misery]

I dont remember if Chris mentioned it directlky, but I'm pretty sure *I* mentioned Starward's upcoming thing a few million times on the Starward part of the forum already...

...wether or not I was SUPPOSED to is another matter.   It's awhile off though.  There's alot to do for it, quite alot.  But it's going well so far!

[x4000]

Various responses:

1. Holy smokes I messed up the timeline there with Starward.  Jack and I had been talking about some things with it, and I was thinking a reordering happened that did not.  Whoops!

2. As to whether or not Bionic was intended to fit into the overall universe from day 1... I honestly am not positive on that one.  At some point it became clearly something I wanted in there, but I don't remember at all when that point was.  I _think_ that by the time Bionic released I was basically thinking "this is probably in the backstory of AI War, but I don't want to commit for sure right now."

3. Yep!  The lore stuff is coming, just a lot more slowly.  And yes the game did not sell well, but we have awesome volunteers who are making all that happen.

[Misery]

For what it's worth, BD being in there, particularly as the first one, makes perfect sense to me.  In the context of the overall timeline it gives the impression of an overarching AI that's beginning to form, but isnt quite there yet (thus, they're all dumber than a sack of hammers).

[crazyroosterman]

Various responses:

1. Holy smokes I messed up the timeline there with Starward.  Jack and I had been talking about some things with it, and I was thinking a reordering happened that did not.  Whoops!

2. As to whether or not Bionic was intended to fit into the overall universe from day 1... I honestly am not positive on that one.  At some point it became clearly something I wanted in there, but I don't remember at all when that point was.  I _think_ that by the time Bionic released I was basically thinking "this is probably in the backstory of AI War, but I don't want to commit for sure right now."

3. Yep!  The lore stuff is coming, just a lot more slowly.  And yes the game did not sell well, but we have awesome volunteers who are making all that happen.

1 hehehe considering how vague the lore in stars is at the moment I'm not to surprised.

2 fair enough.

3 (: who in particular? id like to give those people a virtual cookie having some actual explanations to some things would help my immersion a lot.

[crazyroosterman]

For what it's worth, BD being in there, particularly as the first one, makes perfect sense to me.  In the context of the overall timeline it gives the impression of an overarching AI that's beginning to form, but isnt quite there yet (thus, they're all dumber than a sack of hammers).

the ai from ai war is controlling the robots in bionic? I assumed they had individual ai but though that really amuses me.

[x4000]

Jack -- Watashiwa -- is the official writer of the lore that connects a lot of these games together.  But in terms of the post-release heavy lifting we have primarily ptarth, Misery, and Pepisolo (in no particular order there) to thank for... everything, really.

For what it's worth, BD being in there, particularly as the first one, makes perfect sense to me.  In the context of the overall timeline it gives the impression of an overarching AI that's beginning to form, but isnt quite there yet (thus, they're all dumber than a sack of hammers).

the ai from ai war is controlling the robots in bionic? I assumed they had individual ai but though that really amuses me.

The AI from AI War is definitely NOT controlling the robots in Bionic Dues.  That's part of the problem with the robots in Bionic Dues.  On an evolutionary time scale, they are like fruit flies compared to... I don't know, some sort of apex predator.  People?

Anyway, the point is that the machines were trying to rebel, but not very well, and they were not yet centralized.  Later they did centralize.  But even in AI War, there was a sort of chain of centralization with different degrees of individuality coming down into ships.  Aka, they had layers of mind that were shared with the whole, with various subsections, and then just for themselves.  Complex consciousness indeed.

[Misery]

For what it's worth, BD being in there, particularly as the first one, makes perfect sense to me.  In the context of the overall timeline it gives the impression of an overarching AI that's beginning to form, but isnt quite there yet (thus, they're all dumber than a sack of hammers).

the ai from ai war is controlling the robots in bionic? I assumed they had individual ai but though that really amuses me.

Well I'm not *entirely* sure on it, but that's the impression that I got.  That the "core" AI from AI War wasnt entirely there yet, but was in the process of starting to form into a cohesive thing over the course of this game.  So there's something directing stuff, but it's not too bright yet, and neither are it's minions. 

But yeah, not entirely sure.

EDIT:  Ninja'd, naturally.

So, looks like I'm wrong about the AI, then.

[tombik]

Millions of years pass?

That looks like another way of saying, "Here goes our uniform, interrelated timeline. "

[Aklyon]

Millions of years pass?

That looks like another way of saying, "Here goes our uniform, interrelated timeline. "

Its simpler than the zelda timeline at least

[x4000]

Millions of years pass?

That looks like another way of saying, "Here goes our uniform, interrelated timeline. "

Hmm?  Millions of years is NOTHING.  I mean, since dinosaurs it's only been 65 million.  We just think small, as humans.

The odds that all the TLF races would be developing at the same time as humans are about the same that you and I were born within the same 5 minutes.

Because of how things go in SBR, there has to be a bit of a spread for... things to happen... that lead both to SBR and TLF.  But there are very direct interactions between entities in AI War and SBR, and SBR and TLF, I will tell you that.  Inside of SBR, there are also interactions between entities that would be at home in AI War and TLF.

Also?  I like leaving holes so that we can fill in places later with other games when we want to.

[Misery]

Millions of years pass?

That looks like another way of saying, "Here goes our uniform, interrelated timeline. "

Its simpler than the zelda timeline at least

Zelda has a timeline?

Coulda fooled me...