//TESTDRIVE2.0.EXE

[reparator]

//TESTDRIVE2.0.EXE Welcome to the Castle-town of Valoria The prototype of ViViD's newest level has been complete. However, right now, only a single castle-town is open and available to be accessed with a mini-mission for all registered players. This castle-town is currently undergoing a terrible plague that causes those who drink the water to become strongly infected by the venom laced within. The venom creates a form of volatile madness known as The Maenas, and it is said to originate by a single flower growing in the center of the castle-town's lake. In order to purify it, everyone will have to work together to rescue the Priestess who is being held hostage in one of the castle-town's main towers, which is currently being guarded by a large dragon. Who that dragon is working for is currently unknown, but right now, it's preventing the priestess from helping the villagers. At the log in screen, players will be greeted by Vidia, giving them a friendly announcement and providing them with the mission details: "You're here at last! There's no time to delay, Player. The priestess mourns the more you hesitate. Come on, get equipped, and follow me! Are you ready? You simply have to follow my instructions. ✩ Get to the tower and defeat the dragon. ✩ Do not kill the townsfolk. They don't know any better! Knock them out, but do not let them die, or the imps will eat their corpses! ✩ Kill the imps, they're aggravating the madness! Each imp will release a soul orb on death. Grab it! It'll protect you from the madness, too. Each soul orb is worth ten credits! ✩ You have six hours. Please rescue the Priestess in that time, and she will be able to let you out. ✩ If you encounter people already from Tellus, you'll get a bonus orb for each soul orb you collect for all players. ✩ If you don't fight, you'll end up affected by the flower's curse... please, band together with someone and travel with them to slow the effects. ✩ The dragon will continue to re-spawn if it's fought alone. Please fight as a pair or group to bring it down if you can! ✩ Remember, you only have six hours... hurry, please!"

//SCENARIOS.EXE PHASE I [ xxxx ] You're standing right in the center of the entertainment district inside the main ViViD hub. The machines sit before you, beckoning to being worn so you can test out the newest level in ViViD. There are others around you, in similar positions. Researchers are on stand-by to document your every move and make sure there are no glitches at all. As you settle into your chair, you slowly put on the helmet and find yourself being immersed in a world that's so real, you can hardly tell whether or not you're in the game or still in reality. (Please don't attack the researchers, they're only doing their job and they won't hurt anyone!) PHASE II [ xxxx ] You're fully immersed in the game now, wandering around with the list of objectives Vidia gave you. It's your choice where you want to start first. You can talk to the NPCs, engage in a grueling battle, level up, or head straight to fight the boss in a daring suicide run. However, as you walk through the castle-town, you catch glimpses of shifting faces. The NPCs look familiar for a moment, maybe reminiscent of someone back home. The effect lasts too short for it to be noteworthy until it continues to occur. Feel free to explore, but remember, you have six hours, a holographic timer to the side of your screen will appear when you wish for it. PHASE III [ xxxx ] Another glitch appears. This one is more debilitating than the rest, leaving you hanging mid-attack. The game seems to freeze completely for a solid two minutes. In that time-span, the world shifts to your own. You're standing right in the middle of the one you remember, staring up into a sky painted red with fire while a blood-curling scream erupts from the back of your mind. You glance down around, and one by one, the people start to fall to the ground, shattering like glass. In the distance, the dragon looms, staring straight at you and roaring, though its voice seems equally agonized. Then the game resumes normally as though nothing happened. Your complete your attack and continue as normal. Then something else appears within the darkness for a moment, lost in a single blink. That one second passes so swiftly it's barely noticeable. It might throw you off, it might leave you facing a pair of imps or crazed hordes. Whoever is with you had better started fighting... And you'd better run if you're alone! PHASE IV [ xxxx ] You've reached the end. Victory is yours. The townspeople are cheering, and the Priestess is rewarding you with a kind smile and several credits to your name. The dragon lies on the ground defeated, though its eyes are open still, hollow and black. In the reflection, you can still see the traces of a world left behind. In that moment, you can also swear you see it blinking when it should be dead, but there's no time to dwell. You're being logged out and the researchers are shoving surveys in your face or asking you questions about your experience. BONUS [ whyo'clock ] Welcome to the Dressing Room. This is where you can dress up your character in ViViD in all kinds of costumes. Completing missions will open up new outfits that will be delivered in the real world to character's flats. As a prize for completing the above mission, characters will be rewarded with some special outfits (both are unisex). Characters will immediately be launched into the Dressing Room upon completion so they can see themselves modeling their brand new outfits to one another. [ You can choose to set your threads in the game or before/after if you'd like. Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with trigger-y or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ]

//RUN.EXE Welcome to CEREALIA's second Test Drive Meme. Please forgive our appearance as we are still going through the final stages of game completion… mostly fighting with table codes. While most pages are under development and/or hidden from the public eye, please don't feel discouraged, since knowing everything doesn't always make the experience. Your characters will know as little as you. For your convenience, we have compiled a post detailing everyone's arrival experience and a FAQ that should explain everything in more detail. Please read them thoroughly before playing. Thank you!

Comments

Phase II

[mermaiding]

[Fighter Oona to the rescue! She doesn't really like these fighting game things, but it's clear that this guy is not some NPC.]

Fool! Do not hang around! Will die! [She swings her fist to connect with the nearest NPC and grabs at Cynbel with a scowl]

Child! Leave this place, come!

[changeably]

[What the hell is happening? When this strange lady appears, Cynbel's head whips up, and he stares at her. My, that sure was some hit!]

I think you may have broken his nose! And where are we going, Miss!?

[Cynbel's not much of a fighter, and when surprised like that, he's easy enough to grab and move as Oona likes. At least he's moving now, though he doesn't know which way to go.]

[mermaiding]

Away! [She's quick to drag him along, swinging her fist or anything solid she can grab onto to clear a path.]

Stupid boy, what were you thinking? Could get killed! [She needs to get them away somewhere, but it's getting a little difficult to shake them.]

What role are you? Have magic? Need to get away.

[changeably]

I was told we were meant to be helping the townspeople, so I thought to ask them some questions! That's all!

[He hadn't been expected to be attacked that quickly, or by that many at once, even though he'd been warned. Does he attract trouble or something? He doesn't mean to get into this nonsense, really!]

If it's magic, I don't know if I'm allowed to--.

[At that moment, an imp nearby takes a swipe at them that's too close for comfort. By then, he's ready to forget justifying it. He doesn't want to die, so he waves a hand and drags her and himself into a fairy pathway, where they can't be so easily reached. She'll probably notice the light around them turning a little pinker, but be careful not to get sick from the weird way things are moving around them, Oona!]

[mermaiding]

[There's a low growl in Oona's throat and she's ready to grab at Cynbel and do... something crazy to get the imp away, when she's suddenly dragged into the fairy portal. Huh. Little guy was stronger than he looked, apparently.

She stumbles a little before straightening, looking around before her eyes begin to hurt and she focuses on him instead.]

What? What? Where are we?

[changeably]

[No, he's just a cheater who overbalanced both of them into a slightly diagonal portal. There's no way this tiny thing would ever be ever to yank her around the way she did to him, otherwise.

But the ground below them is flat now, and Cynbel puts his hands on his knees and tries to breath deeply.]

You said to use magic, and so I did! They can't get us here, so we can get away from them, then go back to the town proper.

[That is not what she asked, and he knows it.]

[mermaiding]

[She tugs (lightly, thankfully) on his hair for emphasis-- she knows that he knows that totally wasn't what she meant!]

Meant other magic! Set on fire, or something like that! Tch!

[Still, though, it did get them out of harm's way. Oona rests her hands on her hips and takes a deep breath herself to relax from the adrenaline rush.] Got us away, though. [Despite her earlier hair pulling, her hand rests gently on top of his head then] Good work.

Should kill imps though. Get orb things, survive longer.

[changeably]

[Oh, goodness, please treat his hair gently. It wouldn't be this long if he didn't love it so much!

But since she's doing it lightly and patting him on the head, he'll allow it. It's not often he gets compliments from the larger people, and she helped him out, too.]

I can't control fire. Are there those who can? Don't they burn themselves?

[That just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.]

...And thank you for helping me, but I don't know how much help I can be to you for that sort of thing! Everyone made sure I never got into a fights like that before.

[For fear of accidentally gutting another child with his claws. Safety first!]

[mermaiding]

Hm, do not know. Only control water. But, am not always wet, so person who controls fire probably not burned either.

[She tilts her head to the side and shifts her weight, considering. Well, at least the portal thingy is pretty neat and useful...]

Is good time to learn. Throw child into water, teach to swim. Throw child into fight, learn to fight or they die. Is simple. Hit things harder than they hit you until they stop moving.

See? Simple.

[Oona, the teacher of the future. Also available for babysitting gigs and parties!]

[changeably]

[His jaw drops, and he stares at her with undisguised awe.]

You can control water? But that is even better than fire!

[Fire's good for cooking and keeping you warm, but you can drink and swim and play in water when you can't even touch fire. It's clearly the superior option.

And that's all well and good, until he registers the rest of what she said.]

--And are you saying you're going to throw me into a fight with those monstrous things again!?

[Please no.]