I'm sure you're all familiar with the countdown on the main page. While I'm sure you all noticed that it was counting down, not many were aware of other things going on... in the background. This is the original research of Aegis Imperium and a combined community effort. Below is our findings upon delving into the mysteries surrounding the counter.
On Tuesday, February 3rd, Lachrymose brought to the discussion the possibility of the MO Counter's background having changed. Upon further inspection, we came to the conclusion it had. How it had changed we weren't quite sure. Speculation began on what exactly was in the images, and how they fit together with each other.
After a bit of searching around the website and discussion with other members of Aegis Imperium, I discovered that the images we were looking at were indeed sequential. What did I find... An orrery, which is a device that shows the rotation of planets and moons within a solar system. This orrery shows a few planets and moons rotating through the system, and possibly asteroids moving through as well.
The discussion of new findings circulated the guild chatter as we discussed more possibilities. Then we noticed more within the animation. Also contained within are a few other layers that are moving on their own.
[removed]<One of these sections looks as though it's music notation, with lyrics underneath. The language is currently unknown, we have speculations on origins of the language and once such possibility is that it may be a real language, or it's one of the unique languages to the world of Mortal. The other section appears as a larger text in another language, scrolling the opposite direction. Origin speculation the same as the other text, its purpose however not clear as there seems to be no context to put it in.> (see Note 1)
After a break in discussions, we commenced the next day on discussions of the possibilities of such a timer and the material within. So I went in search of more answers. Considering the material at hand, I went to the Lore sections to skim over topics to see what I could find. And there it was the possible meaning of the animation. Discussed within the Tindrem Lore is an artifact recovered from after the Conflux and the Great Washout. This artifact is the Armillogion, it is an ancient orrery that according to legend could predict the future.
So, what does this all mean? More speculation of course. But something founded on more than just pure guessing. Here's the current supported theory. The Counter's background is showing us, frame by frame, possibly, the intro portion to a trailer that the Devs may be planning to release. Speculation is that in this trailer, they show the Armillogion predicting the conflux. The Conflux, we know little about, but may speculate that it was caused by the asteroid like figures seen in the animation, or something yet to be revealed. How exactly, we can't be sure, as we currently do not have enough animation to see that.
[removed]<As for the text and music in the beginning, they could be symbolism of past and present events; the large text may be documents from the old world. The music may be a song documenting the Conflux, or perhaps a lament to the times> (see
Note
1).
This project is ongoing and we will continually be researching and deciphering what we find so that maybe we can crack the mystery surrounding this counter. We haven't revealed everything to you, as we have other aspects we are currently looking into, but as it stands this is the best scenario and explanation we have.
This is all of course open to discussion and interpretation from each individual. So what's your take on the counter images now?
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Henrik @ GameSNAFU Article
What we do have, are very big quests in the form of riddles and chains-of-events spread about in the world that will often involve several players or guilds, and from time to time affect the development of the world. These quests will start slowly even from day one, and we have some deep events planned for the players - where their actions will get reflected back upon the world and the rest of the future players. We’ve even presented clues for some of these events before the game starts, one is embedded in the countdown image on www.mortalonline.com
http://www.gamesnafu.com/readarticle.php?ArticleID=180 |
How's this for satisfying your need for a purpose? One of the very first quests of the game, before it's even released. Want to help, dig in, be sure you look over all of the present information to be kept up to date.
The counter, ended on March 18, 15:00 GMT. This brings the count of frames to 193 in total.
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The last frame shows a simplification of the orrerry and the planets. An enhanced image by Baron is found here:
http://www.mortalonline.com/forums/141201-post555.html
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Possible cipher information found using different parts of text found within the counter at different times. Read a summary of it here:
http://www.mortalonline.com/forums/139319-post522.html
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The animation can be found, at it's most current state:
Java Application by Necromantic:
http://www.regrol.de/mo_countdown
YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nvyq8LvVVAc
You will need the current Java to run the Java App, you can download it here:
http://java.com/en/
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Ghost-like letters that very quickly and briefly showed throughout the animation at one point have been placed on one composite image, and have been revealed as names of the planets in the MO universe:
Image:
http://www.mortalonline.com/forums/98951-post126.html
Verification:
http://www.mortalonline.com/forums/147343-post598.html
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Sheet Music that enters later in the animation from the upper left corner is currently being extracted and deciphered. One such possible translation can be found so far in this post by Unomat: <Posted Deleted by Author>
Alternate posting here:
http://www.mortalonline.com/forums/137802-post476.html
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Note 1 - One of the sheet musics that scrolls through the counter has been discovered. It is a real life document that has been found by Volkira. You can read more about this document in this post: http://www.mortalonline.com/forums/118239-post264.html
Also from this collection and comments from developers, the music and large blocky text seen in the beginning of the animation have been revealed as "filler" material with no direct correlation to the meaning of the counter.