Candor Posted February 28, 2014 Share #1 Posted February 28, 2014 So, before I ask the question I've posted for, I would like to state what I think I know regarding the nature of linkshells. They're quite basic, in that there is a shell (which I assume physically resembles an oyster shell) and to it are linked numerous pearls. Anyone possessing one of these pearls can speak directly into it, and their messages can be heard by the holders of the other pearls. The communication requires audible speech, and some sort of touch activation (as seen by various NPCs using linkshells throughout the main scenario.) Right, so if I have that correct, awesome. If not, please feel free to fill in my gaps of knowledge. And now for the actual question: How far would the RP community say is reasonable to take the function of linkshells? I've been considering this for a short while, wondering at different applications and the inevitable evolution of telecommunications devices in the real world (cellular/mobile phones.) In the world of technology, these things advance at a rapid rate, so what about in the world of magic? I've been wondering about the following features and how the community would regard them (and in advance, none of them are either supported nor contradicted by canon.) 1. Telepathic link. Instead of speaking into the pearl and hearing words from the pearl, the user would think the outgoing message and then mentally perceive all incoming messages. 2. Visual feedback. I've been considering this in two different aspects. The first that the pearl itself would act as a camera, and fellow users could see as the pearl sees - much like video chat or Face Time. The other relies more on the telepathic link, and the pearl would transmit images as the user sees them, similar to a head-mounted camera or first person view video game. 3. Location tracker. The linkpearl would inform other users where the user is located, just like any cell phone tracker or global positioning device. That's it, really. I don't RP as if my linkpearls can do any of these things at present, but they're things that I consider to be interesting and not categorically far-fetched. So I'm curious what others think. EDIT: I'm not asking what the main scenario supports. I know what the main scenario supports. I'm asking what players think about the ideas presented above regarding the evolution of these devices, as it's completely unrealistic to assert that linkshells will always be limited to "touch and talk" functions. Link to comment
TheLastCandle Posted February 28, 2014 Share #2 Posted February 28, 2014 I tend to use them as audio-only devices, as the way they're presented in the story suggests that's all they're capable of. Various NPCs throughout the storyline contact you via Linkpearl, and despite a visual being advantageous in various situations (particularly in the final dungeon...) we never see it happen. What we do see as an example of Linkshell use is Raubahn appearing to touch his ear and speak to a soldier remotely. There are likely other instances in various cutscenes, but I just woke up and my brain may still be slightly sleep-addled. Link to comment
Ciel Posted February 28, 2014 Share #3 Posted February 28, 2014 I have some theories on how they work, but I'm posting from my phone at the moment so I'll have to wait until I get in from work tonight. Please look forward to it. o.-d Link to comment
Siha Posted February 28, 2014 Share #4 Posted February 28, 2014 Just to reiterate something that the OP said, he/she knows how they work they're asking if we think the ideas above seem like they would be something that would be possibly feasible down the road. I personally have to say that it doesn't seem too far fetched to me that with enough research into it that all of those ideas could be possible especially since Eorzea is technically a world of magic AND technology with the Garleans present. I don't think it'd be too impossible for someone to modify their Link Pearl to be able to include video and audio, the telepathy is only a bit that seems like it might be a stretch. I know there's the trump card of 'because magic' but that one just seems like it takes the idea a little too far from the original for me personally, it's not a bad idea it's just not one that I could easily justify but if someone were to use it sure that's all for them! That's just my small take on it though. Link to comment
Ildur Posted February 28, 2014 Share #5 Posted February 28, 2014 I don't feel like linkpearls are advanced enough to be 'telepathic' or even include visual feedback. I do think that using them for tracking the location of the users could be a thing, though it probably wouldn't work properly if the user is in an area filled with envioremental aether (like Mor Dhona). The exactitude of the tracking can be anything from "he's in X region, in the backroom of Y's house" to "he's in Eorzea, yup!". Since that doesn't seem to be a thing in the lore (that I remember), I'd suggest requiring a long ritual or a very big and bulky device for the tracking. Depending on the exactitude, of course. Link to comment
Adolar Posted February 28, 2014 Share #6 Posted February 28, 2014 I can see the possibility in having the linkshell track its users. If the device is giving off some sort of aetheric energy then there could be a way to pinpoint the person's location through some sort of magical GPS system. Visual feedback sounds like it could work as well. Seems like something that would happen naturally over time if Eorzea's technology advances at all. Or maybe I'm just thinking too much in RL terms? On the other hand, the Garleans seem to have machinery much more advanced than a simple video camera so Eorzeans just need to steal all of their secrets at some point. :cactuar: The telepathic thing is really iffy for me, mainly because I'm not too big of a fan of the concept in general. I would assume it would require a person to properly organize their thoughts so that they don't accidentally broadcast the wrong message floating around in their head and that doesn't seem like something an average adventurer would be very good at. I suppose that could lead to humorous situations though. A telepathic MT? Link to comment
Ciel Posted February 28, 2014 Share #7 Posted February 28, 2014 Just to reiterate something that the OP said, he/she knows how they work they're asking if we think the ideas above seem like they would be something that would be possibly feasible down the road. I got what the OP said, but I have some additional ideas. Thanks for pointing out that I failed reading comprehension though. I'll keep my theories to myself then. Link to comment
Siha Posted February 28, 2014 Share #8 Posted February 28, 2014 It wasn't meant as an insult Ciel, not in the least, I was just pointing that out as I wasn't sure if that was added after or before replies. My apologies if I offended you but it wasn't intended that way. I must have misunderstood your post. Link to comment
Sounsyy Posted March 1, 2014 Share #9 Posted March 1, 2014 Location Tracker: I would say Linkshells having a "GPS" of sorts could be considered canon. If you go to your linkshell menu in game, it has the zone of each person online in your linkshell. So I don't see why this Game Mechanic couldn't be translated into an RP or story thing. No one would be able to pinpoint your exact location (that sounds like satellites to me) but you could get a general zone or region off of a character in your linkshell sure, why not? Visual Feedback: To me, this sounds a little out of reach for Eorzean linkshells. However, it doesn't sound at all farfetched if combined or enhanced with Garlean technology. Definitely sounds like something that could come out of the Garlond Ironworks. Regular linkshells on their own, probably not so much. Remember Eorzea is pretty primitive/savage compared to other parts of the world. The airship was a fairly recent invention in Eorzea, and it was only possible through stealing Garlean tech. Telepathy: Eh... maybe. Gotta agree this one seems a bit of a stretch. A linkshell is just a magically imbued shell that when sound waves vibrate within it, it carries that sound to all of its sister pearls by some means that is not specific. The key to it is it has to have sound waves. Kinda like when you put a real world spiral seashell up to your ear you can hear the ocean. Otherwise your linkpearl would pick up all the thoughts you don't necessarily want to broadcast to your fellows. "Gods, this Sounsyy chick is such an idiot! ...Oh sorry, did I think that outloud?" Link to comment
Tiergan Posted March 1, 2014 Share #10 Posted March 1, 2014 I've seen all of these ideas implemented in various different LSes and FCs already. With enough creativity and careful thought, you can get virtually any of those ideas to be plausible. Personally, (and this is not a slam on anyone who prefers them) audio-only linkshells tend to leave me feeling like I'm missing a core part of my RP experience even if they are more authentic to the lore. I like writing descriptive emotes, so only transmitting 'dialogue' makes me a sad panda. Different strokes for different folks though. Link to comment
ArmachiA Posted March 1, 2014 Share #11 Posted March 1, 2014 ^ We use our LS as a long range communication device to help facilitate close quarters RP, so for us it's not the only place we RP like at all. Link to comment
FreelanceWizard Posted March 1, 2014 Share #12 Posted March 1, 2014 The visual element is something that we know can be done via magitek, at the very least; the Garleans have a system in at least one of their bases that allows visual monitoring of everything in the base. Since magitek in general seems to be replicable through magic, I could see some kind of visual system in the future (albeit as Sounsyy said, perhaps not with linkpearls as we know them). The location tracker is eminently plausible, IMO. The Mysterium has been experimenting with ways of using linkpearls' connection to the Lifestream to track them like beacons, starting with general location and eventually locking onto specific positions. IC, they haven't had much progress yet, but that's because it's not been a high research priority for those involved. Telepathy isn't something we see through any form of magic or magitek in game, save for the Echo (which is out of its holders' control, largely). I'd put it in the "possible, but well beyond anyone's capabilities" category. It would require a much better understanding of the Echo and mental magic than anyone is even on the cusp of having at the moment. All of that said, if you wanted a group of people to have a linkshell capable of any of these, I think it'd be fine as long as you have a justifiable narrative reason for how you got it and you take into consideration all of the side effects. It would need to be difficult or impossible to replicate, or everyone would have it (and it'd probably be seized by someone for military use). You'd probably want to keep it quiet to prevent it from attracting undesired attention. Finally, you'd need to accept that some would find it implausible IC and respond accordingly. Link to comment
synaesthetic Posted March 2, 2014 Share #13 Posted March 2, 2014 The way I've used linkshells and linkpearls in RP is effectively like a police radio. The pearl is worn as an earring; touch the pearl with your finger and then talk and everyone with a matching pearl or the original linkshell can hear you. There are the beginnings of a future plot with my character where she, attempting to circumvent the limits of linkshells and other communications methods, accidentally ends up developing the magitech equivalent of a quantum entanglement communications device, so that plot will have a lot to do with linkshells, Garlean radios and other bits and pieces of communications tech. Link to comment
Steel Wolf Posted March 2, 2014 Share #14 Posted March 2, 2014 The only entities in all of Eorzea capable of telekinetic transmission are the Ascians and Hydaelyn Herself....so, that's out of the question, even with the power of Garlemald's magitek. That said, magitek is capable of making a near-sentient walking robot weapons platform, so I don't see how some level of engineering couldn't create a linkpearl that has visual input abilities and a rudimentary, broad-range (but imprecise) location tracking ability. I'm not sure how portable both features would be, however. Magitek always comes off as very "steampunk" in its aesthetic and functionality, so that might pose some problem, unless people don't mind IC whipping out the Eorzean equivalent of an 80's era cellphone. Link to comment
synaesthetic Posted March 2, 2014 Share #15 Posted March 2, 2014 People will always have a problem with what other people do. I always get some science fiction involved in my fantasy, and considering Allagan tech, there's stuff already on Eorzea that makes an 80s mobile phone look like tin cans and string. I mean, come on, a good chunk of Coil takes place in the ruined interior of an ancient Allagan SPACESHIP that crashed millennia ago. Link to comment
Kage Posted March 3, 2014 Share #16 Posted March 3, 2014 I think I can see the 'technological' advances of allagan and Garlean stuff for visual input and output on the linkpearls (they also sometimes seem to be only one way but that is probably because of main-character-no-speaking!!! I don't think telepathy would work out though until far, far, far, far, into the future. Link to comment
Naunet Posted March 3, 2014 Share #17 Posted March 3, 2014 Telepathy doesn't have to involve technology. Possible scenario: Bobby is a member of an isolated cult (what they worship/idolize/cult-ify isn't important here) and highly skilled at aetheric manipulation. This cult regularly performs a ritual "linking" amongst members that bridges the gaps between their aether and is said to be their group's greatest spiritual act. Over the years/decades/centuries, this periodic linking develops into something more, after the cult's members decide that they need to be eternally connected, both to monitor their group for unrest, communicate with one another over large distances, and to simply experience that spiritual euphoria whenever they wish. By tearing open "windows" in their aether, they allow for the entrance and ultimate merging of others with themselves. Through a very meticulous, likely painful, and morally questionable ritual, the cult indoctrinates new members by consuming them into this spiritual link. Many go mad from the cacophony of mental input, and those individuals they deem unworthy to their cause. Those who maintain their sanity, however, can - with time and careful instruction - learn to control and filter the flow in such a way that they can function in the day to day. Communication between members in this way happens in both voice and image, a metaphysical overlay of mental sight and sound that to the uninitiated would be painful nonsense. Distance affects this link, and the closer cult members are to one another, the more powerful (and potentially overwhelming/spiritually uplifting) it becomes. Opening one's self fully to the communal aetheric flow is considered an act of extreme devotion to whatever it is they worship. The link can also be used as a weapon against members thought to be plotting upheaval, with skilled manipulators forcibly drawing out the member's thoughts through the link - a rather thorough method of interrogation. Ahem. I think I'll stop there. Got a little carried away. Link to comment
Ignacius Posted March 4, 2014 Share #18 Posted March 4, 2014 I think the fact that people seem to be touching their ears when they get a call from the Scions means it is, somehow, an auditory device. Kind of like a Hydaelyn Bluetooth, maybe? In any case, your linkshell doesn't necessarily have to be a linkshell per se, it's just a standard method of communication. I am part of a small group that uses a "linkshell" that is actually more of a technological radio system. It's hidden and encrypted in the background static of an actual radio station, ICly. We are somewhat unsavory characters. Link to comment
SeijiTataki Posted March 5, 2014 Share #19 Posted March 5, 2014 One thing I've been playing around with idea is that my character is (technically) a Garlean (off spring of conscripted soldiers, technically, but a Garlean defector none the less) and so she's slightly more apt at playing with exotic tech that might not normally be available in Eorzea. One thing we see in the story is the ability for linkpearls to be jacked and intercepted or even stopped, so I was thinking that the logical evolution of that technology would to also be able to make artificial pearls that only ever read or broadcast on certain frequencies, or simply only ever read, and do not broadcast. Basically turning linkpearls into radios. In my mind I'd like to think that somewhere in a workshop my character is cranking out Yukimura Brand Linkradios that someday will be in every Eorzean household where thousands of people can sit back and listen to news, stories and entertainment at their leisure. My mind is also a crazy place. This was originally something I had wanted to do to give a lore reason to maybe run an in-character radio station that people could listen to radio plays and submit their own, but I lacked the funds to really get something like that going. Link to comment
Candor Posted March 5, 2014 Author Share #20 Posted March 5, 2014 Thanks for all the replies so far, folks. I'm aware that certain FCs and LSs have already employed each of the three ideas that I proposed, and I was curious what general consensus was regarding the wider player base and regard for lore. Seiji, I personally think your idea for a radio linkshell is great and could generate some real fun for the players wiling to participate. Good luck if you ever decide to make a go of it. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now