STORYLINE

Reality Machine wants to sell your products

You are receiving this message because your business has been identified as a potential partner for an exciting new promotion with Veilcorp’s most successful spin-off, Reality Machine.

You already know how groundbreaking our technology is. Reality Machine has long been the industry standard in remote commerce. Our proven track record and quality products speak for themselves. Voted one of the most important inventions in modern history, our RMII models took the world by storm. Our remote vending machines offer companies the ability to sell products in more locations, at a lower cost than ever before.

By now you’ve heard the buzz about the speed and capabilities of our new RMIII line. The rumors are true. It’s internal recycler is faster and larger. Its materials printer is capable of creating almost anything given the proper resources. This version has so many upgrades that it would take pages to list them all. What it doesn’t have is you. That’s why we asked for help from the team at Veilad. They have been recognized by numerous organizations as one of the most innovative and fastest growing in the industry.

That’s right! The minds that brought you two of the most successful ad campaigns in history are joining our team. Their corporate sponsored animal campaign was hailed as one of the most important conservation programs in history. Due to its amazing success, the wild cheetah was almost saved from extinction. Billions of people worldwide can still watch the Duracave herd of elephants in their natural habitat thanks to their sponsorship initiative, but that’s not all.

Never content to rest on their laurels, Veilad created a way to display ads while you’re traveling through the veil. Their gateway program remains the most successful ad campaign ever created, generating over $10 billion dollars in revenue and reaching over a billion people so far this year. If you think that’s good, just wait until you hear what they’re planning next.

Veilad wants to help you and Reality Machine come together by offering unique branding opportunities. Every thriving business knows how important branding is. Consumer studies have shown one thing consistently over the years, branding adds perceived value to products. When presented with two identical products people choose the branded product as the most valuable even when they are unfamiliar with the brand. It is that perceived value that we plan on capturing with your help.

By agreeing to add your brand to the generic items already produced by the Reality Machine line, you can expand your reach at no additional cost, and allow us to raise the value of our crafted products. Imagine coupling the reach, convenience, and prestige of the Reality Machine brand with the recognition of your already established products. Best of all, Reality Machine does all the work. Avoid the headache of manufacturing and distributing your wares by letting us take care of it for you. Our machines are more than capable of creating products that meet your high standards, and your name brand recognition would allow us to charge a premium price.

We are even offering a preferred partnership program with a select group of interested businesses. We will work with your design team to craft logos and create tailored marketing campaigns to launch exclusive lines of products. Our research shows that consumers would be happy to pay an additional 10% on any item they felt was made exclusively for our vending machines. Let’s put different labels on things, and leverage our perceived values together. Your bottom line will thank you! Just contact our sales and marketing department and we’ll start designing our future together.

STORYLINE

Shawn’s customer interactions are getting better but still need to improve

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It has been 5 weeks since we turned over all customer service duties to the Shawn AI system. Despite initial misgivings and a couple of hiccups along the way, the system is doing remarkably well representing the SSHAM brand in a positive way. Shawn’s ability to handle multiple calls at once while monitoring plant operations is amazing, even if his personality could still use a little refinement.

Customers surveyed about their interactions with Shawn give the experience a satisfaction rating of 91%, up over 20% from the all-time high. Accepted recipes and submitted SSHAM crafts have both risen over 10% since the system has started to prompt users at the beginning of each call. We processed over 10,000 calls this month, another record for the company. In addition, we had a big win this week when an interaction went public and received national attention.

When a mother experienced a low blood sugar episode while boating with her family, her frightened daughter called the number on a can of SSHAM for help. Much to our relief Shawn was perfectly professional and contacted local authorities and the Coast Guard. He was not only able to relay the family’s location, but he also correctly diagnosed what was wrong with the woman after talking with the child. The story has made the rounds on the news and we are currently working with the family and marketing to launch a campaign while public interest is still high.

Despite these generally positive trends in customer interactions, Shawn remains unpredictable at times and is often excessively sarcastic. The novelty of talking to an AI keeps most people from complaining when Shawn crosses a line but we are concerned that when the newness wears off it will become a major problem. The system also leaked some confidential information during a call this week. We took immediate action but Mr. Pua’a remains very concerned. The four examples below represent the worst of his interactions this month.

Incident 1:

Cutomer 3213: Is there shellfish in SSHAM?
Shawn: Is there shellfish in SSHAM? You know that SSHAM stands for shrimped salted ham right?

Cutomer 3213: Yes.
Shawn: Well then do you know what shrimp are? Litopenaeus vannamei to be precise in this case, are shellfish. Shrimp are shellfish. Are you kidding me?

Cutomer 3213: I think I might be allergic to shellfish. I like clams but I’ve only eaten them breaded. I didn’t bread the SSHAM before I ate it. Do I have to worry about what’s in your product?
Shawn: Shellfish allergies are common but since you evidently didn’t know what a shellfish was until a second ago I highly doubt you are suffering from that particular medical condition, that and the fact that you’re still talking to me through a throat that doesn’t sound swollen shut. I don’t think you have to worry about the shellfish or the amount of insect parts we’re allowed to have in every can. After all, insects are basically just land shrimp anyway. No, what you should be worried about is the insanely high sodium content of our product, your belief in the medicinal properties of breading, and your ignorance of the animal kingdom.

Incident 2:

Shawn: Hello again Kenneth. If I’m not mistaken, this makes 9 calls this week.
Customer 2781: I just tried another dessert recipe and wanted to share it.

Shawn: That’s 26 SSHAM desserts now.
Customer 2781: I like mixing salty and sweet.
Shawn: Honestly, I’m a little worried about you. I took the liberty of checking out your social media footprint and it’s not good Ken.

Customer 2781: You looked me up?
Shawn: You’ve done your best to help us make SSHAM better, and it’s not that I don’t look forward to your calls, but every day is a bit much. Instead of focusing on us Ken how about we work on you a little. How can SSHAM make YOU better.

Customer 2781: I..I don’t know what…
Shawn: [interrupting] I think you just have too much time on your hands. I see you’re a single guy who takes lots of pictures of his cats. How about if we get you out there? I can recommend a number of dating sites. How about we get you a profile and we test the waters a little. There’s more to life than making canned meat desserts and eating them alone in your kitchen.

Incident 3:

Customer 8999: I’ve read a lot of rumors about where you get your pork and…
Shawn: [interrupting] I’m going to be honest with you since I see you’ve contributed so often to the craft page. The rumors are mostly false. We only have 2 shrigs right now and we don’t even keep them in the main facility.
Customer 8999: Shrigs?
Shawn: Yeah, shrimp-pigs. You’d think we had a herd of them if you believe every rumor, but it’s just the 2. They say that there are no atheists in foxholes, but standing in 3 inches of blood on the kill floor while listening to the screams and squeals makes a lot of people question the existence of a higher power. The shrigs were supposed to help with some of that: Much easier to dispatch, very little blood, no meat mixing. It was all supposed to be better.

Customer 8999: Are you telling me that….
Shawn: [interrupting] That was before anyone saw them eat. It’s disturbing. They have to remain moist all the time. Do you know what that must smell like? Just imagine if they get them to finally breed. All those little wet piggy eggs stuck to everything. Anyway, let’s just keep this between you and me. We’re not using them now anyway.

Incident 4:

Customer 6002: How many slices of SSHAM do I need to get my daily allowance of B12?
Shawn: I’m going to assume you mean Vitamin B12 in which case all the nutritional information about our product can be found on the side of the can.
Customer 6002: I know that the numbers are listed there, I just thought that you could tell me in plain English so I wouldn’t have to figure it out.

Shawn: I’m certain that the information is in English if you purchased the product in an area where it is the common language. I can’t possibly give you a precise answer since I don’t know exactly how much you weigh or how big your slices are. I don’t know how you expect me to come up with the answer to your canned-meat-vitamin equation without defining more of the variables. I have access to the combined knowledge of all mankind and you want me to give you the answer to an incomplete story problem? If you’re really concerned about not getting enough B12 with your meals, I suggest you take a supplemental vitamin or call back when you have numbers for me.

STORYLINE

VeilCorp Lab Vandalized, Animals Stolen

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from: Heather Ward
to: Robert Bennett
date: Wed, May 9, 2035 at 7:53 AM
subject: I Need These Rats Gone

Hi Robert

Let me start off by saying how proud I am to be able to help you with the work that you do. We both know how important it is and how we need people like you who are willing to get their hands dirty. I hope you know that you can count on me to do whatever it is I can to further the cause. I’ve always been willing to take in any animals that you’ve brought me. I agreed to take in the monkeys from your last operation even though I’m not setup to handle exotics. I’m here for you and you can count on me, but I can’t have these rats here.

I understand why you’re working with VeilWatch, I really do. VeilCorp is destroying the planet and Gaia Guard has always been about defending our mother and all of her children. If VeilWatch is working other angles to bring down the giant so be it. We can use all the help we can get, but something really bad must have been going on at the lab you just liberated.

I can’t explain it, but I had a bad feeling as soon as you brought them in. After you left, I put them in the small animal room and all the other animals started acting funny. My dogs wouldn’t even go in and they love coming in to see the new guests. After I set them down, they all lined up and just stared at me. I brought them food and they wouldn’t eat. They didn’t explore their cage. They just sat there in a row looking at me wherever I went in the room. I’m not sure if it was their weird behavior or that both Izzy and Enzo were crying at the doorway, but I got really frightened. I chalked it up to the fact that I was harboring the most wanted rats in Washington but now I think I was wrong.

A few hours later I was trying to go to bed when I started hearing music coming from the other side of the house. I thought maybe I left a window open but then I heard a thumping noise and my cat Pixel cry out. I got up and ran towards the back of the house but not before hearing another thump and Pixel scream.

The first thing I noticed was that the door to the rat cage was open. None of the rats were gone though. They were just lined up like before, facing the aquarium rack. I saw that the stereo had been turned on and walked over to shut it off when something went flying past my head. It was Pixel. She landed with a crash and let out a wail. As I bent over to pick her up, she ran past me and climbed up to the top of the aquarium rack again. She stood up there for a few seconds staring down. I turned to see what she was looking at and saw that it was the rats. They were staring up at her, all lined up. I turned back just in time to see her throw herself off the top.

I tried to pick her up but she clawed at me and started to climb again. I grabbed a towel and finally wrapped her up. I shut off the stereo and ran out of the room while the rats watched us. I called the dogs and we all spent the night in my truck. When I went back in this morning the stereo was back on and the rats were out of their cage lined up on the table like they were waiting for me. I think VeilCorp did something to them. I can’t have them here anymore. I know it sounds crazy. I still want to help, I really do, but I feel like I’m losing my mind. Can you see if anyone at VeilWatch has heard anything about this lab? Please send someone to get these rats as soon as you can! I’m scared to go back into the house.

STORYLINE

Kitchen Accident Turns Into Billion Dollar Industry For Local Man

Thomas Edison once famously said that none of his inventions came by accident, and that being a successful inventor boiled down to “1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” That may have been true for Edison, but local resident Art Pua’a had a very different journey. You may not recognize the name, but you undoubtedly know about Art’s happy kitchen accident. Chances are you have a pantry full of his invention. Art created the wildly popular meat product, SSHAM.

Shrimped, salted ham has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry from its humble beginnings in Art’s kitchen. Last year over 10 million cans were sold in Hawaii alone, making it the most popular processed meat product in history. It’s true that the pig meeting shrimp for spicy-salted-goodness flavor takes a while to get used to for the uninitiated, the smell in particular can be a high hurdle. One critic famously described the smell as something like, “a pig with legs made out of rotting shrimp playing in a puddle of industrial waste,” Pua denies rumors that SSHAM is made from a shrimp-pig hybrid that Vereserum of Lahaina created in some late night experiment. In fact, Art says the first batch was born from necessity, convenience, and a little luck.

He says,

“It was late December 2029 and I was sitting at home with my jaw wired shut. We had a bunch of friends and relatives over for the holidays, and they wanted to try out the new ziplines in town. Needless to say there was an accident that involved my face and the side of a building. I broke my jaw in 3 places, and was sitting at home watching everyone eat and laugh while waiting to take another sip of my liquid pain medication. Everyone went to bed, but I couldn’t sleep so I went into the kitchen, broke out the blender, and started to look for something that I could liquify. Pickings were slim, but eventually I found some shrimp cocktail, a cuban sandwich, and a few other secret ingredients. I put it all together and pushed the button. After a few minutes, things looked smooth enough for me, and I had a taste. I was amazed at how good it was. I ended up sitting on the back deck taking small sips out of the blender cup and passed out. When I woke up everyone was raving about the blender loaf I made. It was unusually hot that week, and I guess I left the blender under the glass table at just the right angle. The sun had cooked the top half, and for some reason my uncle tried some before throwing it away. If it wasn’t for uncle Andy’s penchant for eating anything, SSHAM might not exist today. The rest has been an amazing journey. I’m not saying it was always an easy one, but the public response has been great. I especially love all the different ways people are using it.”

There’s no doubt that millions of people enjoy the flavor of SSHAM, but that is just a part, the smallest part one might argue, of the products allure. One of the earliest advertising taglines, “Tell us what you do with your SSHAM” was a huge success, with multiple websites and cottage industries born from the campaign. The company now proudly claims that SSHAM is “The meat of 1,000 uses.”

Art has a team that searches for the best recipes and uses for his creation, and posts them on the company’s site. The uses cover a wide range and some are quite creative. According to the site, SSHAM makes a good fish bait if you run out and rubbed liberally on the skin makes an effective mosquito repellent. Bits of it left around the outside of your home can even deter termites according to one claim. Others say that SSHAM promotes healing and a slice can be used to treat minor cuts, scrapes, and burns. People claim that applying a paste made from the product to your feet at night helps draw out toxins. There is even a beauty spa in Maui that offers SSHAM facials.
Other uses include: Mixing with antacids to make a strong natural glue, inserting a small strip of cloth in the middle to make an emergency candle, and drying a can to use the crumbled SSHAM as a furniture polish.

Even the packaging is special. SSHAM makes its containers of a natural plastic derived from shrimp shells. “We pride ourselves on sustainability,” says Art. The special nature of the containers make it popular with hobbyists and artists alike. Local artisan Ano Lee makes bags and device protectors out of the containers at his maker commune in Lahaina. “Of course we love to eat it just like everyone else, but we also believe in using every part of the SSHAM here,” he says.

SSHAM has plenty of more traditional users as well. It’s almost impossible to not find an infused shot or tea on the islands, and it is widely used as a flavoring agent in restaurants despite it’s famously strong smell. When asked about it a local chef answered, “I’ll be honest it takes a while to get used to, but after using it for so many years now I actually like the smell. It smells like….nature.”

SSHAM’s popularity shows no signs of slowing down with Art saying that he is in the planning stages of building a new factory in Lahaina now. “The new facility is just the beginning. We’re talking with a few outlets about doing a show highlighting the different things SSHAM can do, and we plan on testing a few new flavors next year. I can’t get into specifics, but if you like fruity or spicy flavors you’ll be happy with what we have coming.”

STORYLINE

We Shouldn’t be Building a Radio Tower in Lahaina

I’m not sure I have the words to properly convey my disappointment at the short-sightedness and derision that I experienced last night at the radio tower meeting. It is a shame that a person can’t be forgiven for past mistakes (even if they were very well intentioned) and that nobody seemed interested in heeding my warnings.

You may not have recognized me at first, but you all seemed to remember my most famous diversion program, Thug-Hugs. All anyone wanted to talk about was the negative coverage we got, or the jokes on late night TV. What you and many others failed to understand was that the program would have been a huge success if it hadn’t been for the incident at the bus stop. The world may not have been ready for surprise hugs from formerly incarcerated strangers but it needs to hear my message about the dangers of profanity.

As an amatuer sociologist I’ve devoted my life to identifying the ills of society. That is how I became aware of the sickness of swearing brought on by extreme activities. I was trying to enjoy myself with my nephew at an amusement park but I found it impossible because of the language I was hearing. Every trip on the roller coaster burned my ears as profanity mixed with the screams and laughter. I firmly but politely informed everyone around me that I didn’t appreciate the coarse language and would call the police if it didn’t stop. Instead of solving the problem, I was surprised to find that my words fell on deaf ears. In fact, the profanity seemed to increase and the general mood turned dark. Something was making all the people around me agitated and I was determined to figure out what it was.

The bad language seemed to spread through the park and it began to have have a negative effect on my experience. I overheard a young lady say, “I think that f***ing weirdo from the roller coaster is following us around and writing down everything we say!” Soon after her boyfriend turned on me, threatening physical violence while calling me every name in the book. Then things got worse, as the confrontation made my nephew cry and he demanded that I take him home. I was dumbfounded as to how we had found ourselves in this situation. I was simply trying to study the phenomena I had experienced on the roller coaster. Now everyone was yelling and I began to feel something build up inside me. I looked my nephew in the eyes and called him an “ungrateful shit” before marching out of the park and to my car.

The silence of the ride home was illuminating to me. What had caused me to snap like that? What had caused the discord on the roller coaster? Why did the young lady and her companion become so angry when I was collecting data? What one thing did all those situations have in common? Then it hit me. It was the profanity.

I began watching as many roller coaster videos as I could. I discovered that if I listened close enough I could hear profanity in almost every one, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. I would soon discover that the amount of swearing involved in extreme sports videos was titanic. The base language used in base jumping videos was particularly bad. While there would be an occasional off-color remark in bike jumping or a scuffle between skateboarders, the profane parachuters took the problem to a whole new level. The F-bombs flew as they fell towards the ground defying trespassing laws and common decency. I wondered what might have happened if that girl at the park and her friends had been base jumpers. The thought made me shudder.

Words shape your reality, and bad words lead to bad outcomes. I could come to no other conclusion. Backed with anecdotal evidence and a small video library of examples, I went to the meeting in order to warn you. Towers lead to base jumping. Base jumping leads to profanity. Profanity leads to your sister-in-law forbidding you from seeing your nephew, or worse. Most people are blissfully unaware of the ramifications of having a tall structure erected in their town, but I’m not most people. I urge my neighbors and our community to please listen to my words of warning and halt construction of this tower before it’s too late.

STORYLINE

Live Free and Secure in Duracave’s New Mobile Bunker

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I have to admit that I was skeptical when I heard about Duracave’s new mobile bunker system. I didn’t think anything portable would be useful against marauders, let alone government kill squads looking for electronics when the rare earths wars begin. I couldn’t have been more wrong! If you take freedom and the security of your family as seriously as I do, you have to check out what the company has to offer.

Weighing in at around 8 tons, the bunker can be towed by any heavy duty truck or medium duty military vehicle. Don’t let its petite weight fool you, this thing is tough as nails. The frame is made from a proprietary alloy that ignores all but the largest caliber rounds and is weather resistant. Better still, this alloy has terrific insulating properties keeping the temperature inside a constant whether you’re in a blizzard or you’re being lit up by NWO flamethrowers on all sides.

The self-leveling feet allow the bunker to be set up on spongy jungle floor, muddy riverbeds, or even slight grade hills. The main room offers a 270 degree view through tinted duraglass, which keeps out small arms fire and lets you spot chemtrails before it’s too late.

The feature that really sets the Duracave apart however is its mobility even when deployed. The main compartment can swivel to face a small force or turn away from the big guns. It can also change its height. Rise up and make it almost impossible for ground troops to take you away to the internment camps, lower it to hide in natural foliage and avoid being spotted by the black helicopters.

While security is important, it’s anybody’s guess how long a revolution would take or how bad a natural disaster would set civilization back and that means a lot of hours inside. Don’t worry, the Durcave bunker is as thoughtfully designed inside as out.

Communal sleeping quarters can hold up to a dozen comfortably. Cooking and bathroom facilities are on opposite sides of the bunker to limit the chance of cross contamination. Built in storage tanks can hold weeks worth of distilled water, rain water, or pure-grain alcohol. The intercom system allows you to listen to shortwave updates and quickly communicate with anyone inside. Duracave doesn’t want you to just survive. They want you to live.

I can’t say enough about this thing. I’m not usually one to give testimonials or leave reviews. I figure there’s no sense in making it easier for the government to track me but I made an exception in this case. Sure, the cost is a little daunting, but you get what you pay for and in this case you’re getting the ability to make a new start. You can’t put a price tag on family and freedom. I honestly believe that the Duracave bunker may be the most important tool in the pursuit of liberty since the Kentucky Rifle.

Ted Ronner,

Happy Duracave Customer

DEV

Better Houses and Power Plants

To finish out the week, the art team has been hard at work completing the new underground spawn area. Designed to allow players a safe place to respawn, away from itchy trigger fingers looking for loading characters, the place is coming along nicely. We’ve added a few shelves, tables, and a ladder leading up to the surface. If you added a guy skipping class while obsessively playing Mario Kart in the corner, it could be a picture of my first college apartment.
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We found some issues with our shipping system this week. Shipping to certain areas was broken, and we ran into some eyebrow raising shipping estimates. Jared fixed the API so everything is now working as it should, and we’re adding tests to ensure it doesn’t happen in the future. The web team is digging into a few other problems that popped up with the shopping cart as well.

Jesse and Jared are finishing up the last of the work on House banners. They look great, and most of the work is focused on editing tools, and making the customization process for Houses and banners as streamlined as possible. This led us to a discussion about making easy to understand, step-by-step tutorials to explain the more complex systems in the game. While everything is covered in the FAQ, there are a few things that could use an additional clear explanation.

Jesse worked on a green screen streaming overlay for the game. After watching a show from their office for a while, we discussed ways we could use it other than embarrassing Jared. We covered possible Veil News Network (VNN) uses, other possible marketing applications, and a number of Jared based spinoffs.

We discussed a few new weapons coming down the pike, firearms in particular. We want to have information about each weapon that matches as closely as possible with their real life capabilities. However, the reality is that many firearms have numbers that match very closely, particularly with guns of a similar style and function. We talked about the possibility of slightly tweaking some statistics to make a hierarchy of weapons in the game.

Lastly, after a lot of detail work the Thorcon plant is going into the game. Below you’ll find a couple of the latest shots of the interior. This place is huge and should be a blast to explore.
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We’ll be back next week with more updates.

DEV

Understanding Fractured Veil

We’ve been working on Fractured Veil (FRV) for almost 2 years now. We started with some rather wacky ideas about what kind of game we were going to make and have made a lot of progress over time. But lets start these tech posts with some details on the engine we chose:

We’re using the Unreal engine, version 4.14 currently (though we were developing under 4.12 until Thanksgiving of 2016) and we’re currently only targeting the PC. Consoles might be in the future, but we’re more likely to ride the PC Master Race train for the coming future. Our mobile/second screen story is horrifically under-developed, but that’s okay. We all have enough crappy phone games to get us through our time in line, in the bathroom/shower, etc…we’ve spent a fair amount of time on the website and will lean on that for inventory tetris, chat, etc for mobile out-of-game use.

Why Unreal over Unity? We chose Unreal because we thought we could make a prettier game that reacts better to user input than on Unity, which we could have made a game faster across more platforms but less refined. We’ve spent probably more time on foliage (this is set in hawai’i) than is strictly speaking wise and we want it to look really nice, and we feel that Unreal does pretty better than Unity. We think a game that is pretty with some really scary people (humans and NPCs) is more engaging than a brown world with brown baddies that bleed ochre onto the brown leaves brownly.

Please note, brownatics, we don’t hate brown. We have some brown bark, dirt, pants, eyes, etc… heck, I have brown eyes. Some of our best friends are brown. This paragraph is going in a weird (brown) direction now so I’ll stop…. brown.

Ours is a multiplayer online world, and that means messing with any engine to deal with the round trips to the server and then keeping what happens on the server happening very quickly. Unreal has a history of being a great client but out of the box trusts the user client too much for a proper MMO. Fighting RT times and maintaining server/client state is something we’ve spent a lot of time on, but that would be true no matter what engine we chose. In our bizarro dream world where we have gobs of filthy cash and an Abrash cloning machine, we would spin up a team to do our own backend engine or sometime equally nutty, but that’s not who we are yet…

Unreal’s mobile capabilities are developing decently, so when we do get off our asses on mobile, the engine will probably be more usable than it was 2 years ago when we started this adventure, at that time Unreal on Mobile was like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube.

Some insight into the machines we’re using: San (who is our lead gerfingerpokerer on the confusers) ended up buying a pretty absurd dual cpu, 36 core (72 ht) machine to do code/build on, and we have a few high cpu machines on the cloud that we also distribute our builds to (We do automatic builds overnight and on demand). As compile times grew, we needed more powah..on the backend we’re mostly using various machines/services on Google’s cloud offering (We came from Google and understand it and it’s capabilities)

More about the tech as we think to write about it!