Arum looked at his computer, debating something. On the computer he had the site for a new game coming out. The first VRMMORPG that is full immersion, the release is in two months.
One of his friends got into the beta, from what he said it is incredible. Due to an NDA he could not say much except it will be worth every penny. Arum is tempted by that alone, on top of just getting out of a toxic relationship. He needed the distraction, his one worry is that it will consume his life.
That is why he is on the site; he wants to see if there is a setting to put an alarm in place. He went to the options, and you can, it is right near the top. Seems like he was not the only one worried about that, it also seems like you can forward your phone so you can respond to anything sent to you.
After seeing this he placed the order, spending some extra to get a higher quality pod. Arum then reads through how it will work when he logs in for the first time again.
Seems like that added some more information as well. Mainly about a starting bonus, ah they want to make sure there is diversity from the beginning. If you randomize your race, you can get two bonus modules at the start. Nice, I have never cared about race all that much so I might do that.
Let's start with modules, they are one of the gimmicks of the game. Instead of set classes you choose four modules at the start, and you learn skills from those modules. Some synergize and even mutate if you chose certain starting modules, the exact details are unknown about that though. I want to be a pilot so I will look for a module for piloting.
The second gimmick is that they took fantasy races and stuck them in a sci-fi game. On top of that they kept magic in, so you can be shot at with a railgun then lit on fire with a fireball.
The third and last gimmick is the secrecy surrounding the game, normally there would be leaks and info dumps from the company to hype up the game. This time they intentionally kept everything locked down about the game. They only gave out the basics, the only reason we know what we do is the CEO revealed it in an interview.
In the lead up to the game release the company Arum works at made an announcement, due to the amount of personal requesting time off for the launch of the game Space Fantasy Online, SFO for short. Hours will be extended so that the current projects our company has can be completed before the release.
Soon those months passed by the overtime he worked paid for the game ten times over. Arum left his place to meet up with John, his best friend and the beta tester. He entered the bar they always met at; he saw John at their normal spot. "Ready for the release of SFO?”
John looked up at him, “do you really have to ask redundant questions like that? Of course, I am ready, so how are you going to choose your faction? I am bummed the NDA is so tight I would talk with you about it so we can play together. So, describe what you will be going for and we will see if we get the same faction.”
Arum grinned at his reaction, “I will be going mainly off of their ships. Mainly looking for a more aggressive design, wedge shaped with plenty of powerful guns. Though if they have a messed-up government, I won't go with them, with that I am looking for a mixed-race group. With a major lean towards the most competent person is put in charge, even if it comes at the cost of some personal freedoms.
Race wise I planned on using the random bonus they have going on.”
John nodded, “there are a few that meet those requirements, okay, I will ask some questions to try and narrow it down. Council or monarch?”
“Monarch.”
“Ruling race is snobbish and a little racist, deal breaker?”
“Yes.”
The waitress arrived then and took their orders.
John nodded, “I know what faction you will most likely pick, I will say I hope you like cat girls.”
Arum laughed, “as long as they are litterbox trained there will be no problem.”
John choked on his drink as he dropped that one, “damn, I will need to remember that one. What are you planning on picking for your primary module?”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Arum grinned, “pilot if there is one for it. If not, the closest I can get to it, for the rest whatever looks good.”
John smiled, “I planned on going a smooth-talking rogue. You fly I get us cargo; it will be perfect.”
Arum sighed, “I plan on going the military route, I want to fly a battleship on someone's dime.”
John paused, “ah, well at the very least we can hang when we are at the same planet. I can see why you want to do that, not my cup of tea though. To many rules.”
Arum chuckled, “I get that. We can always meet up at a bar, can be entertaining seeing some of the cross race drunk hook ups that will happen.
Their food arrived and conversation was put on hold as they ate.
After that Arum spoke up, “so you mentioned your rough plan for your character. What race are you going with?”
John grinned, “was thinking about doing the same thing as you. I was a human in testing and I want to change it up.”
Arum nodded, “got it. Going to head out, I still have some stuff to do before the launch of the game. Talk the weekend after launch?”
John smiled, “sounds good. No spoilers on race or anything like that before then. In the latest patch notes it said there will be a way to meet with others to talk with your avatars. I will look more into it to see if we can do that.”
“Sounds good, let's see if we can get the whole group together for it. Later, stay safe out there. People have gone a little crazy.”
“You to man, talk later.”
Arum then left to get somethings ready.
He looked at the pod, the game is launching soon. As a preorder bonus he can sign in early and create his character before the game is ready. Arum takes a breath and lays in the pod, closing it. “Run SFO”
“Starting SFO, adventure awaits the brave.”
Program loaded...
neural link stable...
Logging into SFO...
Starting character creation...
A purple haired cat girl popped into existence in front of him. “Hi hi, I am Keko. Your creation guide, I can help by answering any questions you might have about the process. Do you have any before we start?”
“Yes, I read that there is a bonus for having a random race. Is that still a thing, if it is how do I activate it?”
“It is automatic once you select the random option. If you want, you can randomize it all or just some of it. For every random button you activate you get more rewards.”
“Understood, for now just randomize the race. What is next?”
“Faction picking, your choice effects many things. From possible quests to modules and how people will react to you. Do you have any preferences to aid in filtering them?”
“Yes, I would prefer a faction with aggressive ship design, a monarch in charge and a variety of races within it.”
“I can see you put some thought into it, two factions stand out. The Zinxalim Empire and The Inlabefactus Imperium. The Zinxalim Empire is ruled by elves, and The Inlabefactus Imperium is ruled by dragonkin.”
“Is there one that is more accepting to other races?”
“The Inlabefactus Imperium are the most open as long as you prove your worth.”
“Then I will go with them.”
“Got it, moving on to modules. Do you have an idea on what you want?”
“Yes, I want to be a starship pilot with the military, main focus being to eventually be able to pilot battleship or bigger ships.”
“That is doable, you will need to start with a military module. Most of the bigger ships are locked and considered advanced modules. I would suggest starting out with the military transport or military dropship modules. Transport is safer while dropship will be dangerous and faster at getting where you want to be.”
“Let's go military dropship, don't want to be bored.”
“Got it, you get to pick two more. If you want, we can interweave them into your past, it will still be randomized to a degree. In return you will start with appropriate skills in them unlocked.”
“Sounds like fun, so starting with my parents. Dad is part of a military family; mom is a private freighter owner. They met when she aided in a rapid evacuation of a planet and fell in love. They kept in contact until dad earned a planetside posting, they set down roots then starting a family.
I am a middle child and learned from both of them. I got my love of flying with mom using a skimmer dad bought her. With it I learned atmospheric flying, once I impressed her, she taught me to fly her freighter. From dad I learned about the military, he also taught me to shoot. Lighter rifles and smgs are my preferred weapons from this training. On my own I studied navigation, focusing on space travel. As soon as I hit seventeen, I enlisted in the military, determined to make it on my own merit and not use my father's status to succeed.”
“I like it, you left it open enough to work it into the game with ease while giving enough details to make a good starting point. It is done, now with the random race your name will be randomized as well to make sure it will work. Any last questions before I start the character generation phase?”
“Nope, thank you for the help.”
She smiled at that, “no problem, enjoy the game.”