Sugar Shack 50: Westview: The Best and the Rest

**sugaree**

Well! Another district come and gone! I seldom had the deep resonance with Westview that I felt with the downtown and Chinatown regions. It always seemed so slummy. But, really, when you compare it with some of the rogues gallery from Richland, maybe that’s unfair. After all, you don’t have the druggies and fruitcakes here that you do with Richland. And many of Dame White’s children seem to have taken up residence here, as well: of the nine known exiles in Westview, no less than eight are chromatic in nature (Mockingbird seems to be the sole exception). Why this might be remains a mystery, one of the many intriguing, unexplained aspects of this rough region.

Most Interesting and Most Fun: Rose, hands-down! The unconscious humor of her relentless striving to earn the respect of her siblings, and their scorn. Definitely worth doing! And her restless drive to earn respect lays the foundation for many, many more entertaining missions in the future. Bring them on!

Second-Most Interesting: Cerulean. Besides the cool name and her forlorn milieu, her efforts to broker a truce were great. And her speech style was curious. Both made her stand out from most of her brothers, sisters, and peers.

Most Frustrating: Mockingbird, obsessed with artifacts which are never explained or even visualized or even described. Agonizing! I know that detailed descriptions are not part opf the narrative style of this game, sure. Even so, Mockingbird or one of her flunkies could gave gushed a little. Something like this: (Mockingbird on her new candlesticks) "Look at the way the flame above them shimmers when you light them. And the way their russet wax glistens in their slow flame. When they have burned for a few seconds, you start to see the code bits flicker like tiny sparks around the columns; strange shapes form and flow within the code, and you can see people and things from other places. I don’t know what those places are, but I believe that a special gem will let me see them clearly. And that’s what I want in your next mission”.

Most Perplexing: Indigo. He seems to rule the roost around here but he cannot get it together to get ammo to his own folks fighting on his behalf. What’s with that? Considering how mortifying this would be, you would expect some comment from him or his troops about it. How can he ever hope to master the assets of Westview when he can’t remember to bring the hot dogs for the company picnic?

Toughest Mission: Indigo- Gang Rumble. Oddly, Indigo seems to control the actual lakes of the lake area, but we never see the background or the results of this. The backstory is crying out to be explained.

Most So-So: Many, really. Greene. Amber. Grisaille. Not bad at all, just not overwhelming.

Most Missed Opportunities: There are a lot. All the artifacts which Mockingbird wants. e whole business with Grisaille trying to take control of the lakes. The newspaper reporter that we never hear from elsewhere. Greene so strikingly dissimilar from his mobs (as well as the others). Whatever happened to Cerulean to make her look so weird and be so self-conscious about it? Mandarin has angered the Merovingian; what was happening with this? And with so many of their children in residence here, one would expect Dame White and Mr. Black to take more of an interest in this region and its affairs. It killed me not to know! Indeed, there are story leads aplenty scattered in the dark, dingy streets of Westview!

From a larger point of view, the most fascinating finding was the importance of the lakes as a strategic asset, some sort of reservoir of power. In light of this, of course, one must wonder why the Merovingian, that quintessentially power-driven man, takes no apparent interest in the lakes. It’s quite unlike him to leave anything so good so alone. Perhaps future story arcs will trace his efforts to gain control over it.

Conclusion: The Exiles of Westview are personal and intense. What they lacked in big-idea and big-personality missions (like the ones downtown) they make up for in the small-town, small-family qualities which pervade these. You don’t encounter major Exiles. You don’t see the world in danger. You don’t meet curious redpills. It’s more like Desperate Housewives than Star Wars. But the personalities are interesting, and there are intriguing hints of depths left in shadow.

This column, all my past ones, and other writings relevant to MxO may be found at manifoldmischief.blogspot.com.

Message Edited by sugaree on 06.23.2006 10:10 AM
Message edited by sugaree on 06/23/2006 09:10:09.

**Othinn1**

sugaree wrote:

Whatever happened to Cerulean to make her look so weird and be so self-conscious about it?

"A middle child, Cerulean is the only one of the siblings to turn solely to her mind as a source of influence. She invested heavily in understanding the infrastructure of the Matrix in an attempt to learn how to control it better and use its power against her siblings. She is convinced that Indigo's power base can be wiped away or redirected in this way, but she suffered an enormous setback when the Matrix was reconfigured in the wake of the Truce between Zion and the Machines. Much of the code she had stockpiled was wiped out, including parts of her own personal code that she had tried to hide. The result was severe damage to her RSI that has made her physically weak and infirm. She is now dedicated to accumulating more $Information than ever, and proving that her mind is more than capable of overcoming any amount of power her siblings can amass."

Though back when they were posting Tyndall's City Guide, the reloading of the Matrix was originally much worse on her. She was reduced to a ghost-like state. This is the source of the random bluepill dialogue that mentions a "ghost" in Bathary Row.

**cloudwolf**

Gratz on number 50 :smileyhappy:

**zeroone506**

Does this piece of Tyndall's city guide also come from gamespy? Does this site contain all articles?

What I personally really like about the Westview contacts was the tight involvement of gangs. Maybe it's just me, but I like seeing NPCs I spot when running through the neighborhood appearing in missions, having dialogue parts of coming up with some background and personality. Especially since it was a bit later when I started working for the contacts.
In Westview, each contact has a strong relation to the local gang, be it hostile or friendly, and none of them is missing.
That's not something the other districts can claim about themselves -- the story background sometimes doesn't include any relation, but this level of interaction was just something that contributed to my enjoyment of these contacts.

As of the item or lake backgrounds, I can't do anything but agree -- the contact missions are generally a bit too abstract, I think. The only excuse is that certain ones aren't too talkative and simply want you to work for them, without having to hand you their biography, their secrets and their thoughts each time.
Since there's still a large unreleased part of the original city content, I'd hope for more background in further content expansions.

Oh, great work sugaree btw SMILEY

When you're done with the contact reviews, you could continue with PB!

**sugaree**

Great responses, everyone, thanks so much!

It's been so long, I forgot about Tyndall's guies and the backstory; I have to search this all out!

And yes, the close integration of the gangs is one thing that makes Westview special. Plus, you don't have some of the true scum and twits like you do in Richland. And more than with the Downtown and Richland exiles, you had the definite feeling that these folks all knew each other. And their presence here may have something to do with the lakes.... It's great material for future adventures.

Different Exiles could work with Zion, Merv, and machinists, trying to jockey for control of the lakes, with different inducements for each. Conceivably, it could even tie in with The (downtown) Auditor's obsession with "memory leaks" which were threatening the Matrix. Yes, much could be done...

I appreciate your feedback! And Zeroone5069, congrats on being singled out by Walrus in the latest release notes!! It was so due!

**zeroone506**

And more than with the Downtown and Richland exiles, you had the definite feeling that these folks all knew each other.

Well, I agree that the interaction between Spectrum members is maybe tighter than between Elements, especially since the Elements have a lot to do with Downtown contacts and the siblings are more focused towards each other. However, I consider both groups to have the tighter interaction level (their names, their backstories and just the interaction) among the contacts. The ones in Downtown and International are just separate from each other, so the interaction level is significantly lower. Although I haven't done north downtown yet SMILEY

And their presence here may have something to do with the lakes.... It's great material for future adventures.

Well, Mannsdale seems to be nearer to Guiness Lake than let's say Stamos SMILEY

I'm not sure if the lakes play such a crucial role for all the siblings. The district description says something about the code decay in the Barrens being a profitable $info source, or the like. Guess that's the main reason why they're there, and the Machines still haven't fixed (and hopefully will never fix) this district.

Different Exiles could work with Zion, Merv, and machinists, trying to jockey for control of the lakes, with different inducements for each. Conceivably, it could even tie in with The (downtown) Auditor's obsession with "memory leaks" which were threatening the Matrix. Yes, much could be done...

Seeing as how the Devs start including city content into the main storyline more and more, now already into events (or was that already in the first months when I hadn't joined?), I have great hopes for upcoming stuff about them.

And Zeroone5069, congrats on being singled out by Walrus in the latest release notes!! It was so due!

Congrats to you aswell! There were several points I didn't even know of, and some of them sound like we've both reported them (after discussing them here), so it wasn't any less due in your case.

Still a great feeling, though. :smileytongue: I've already sent a new bunch to Rarebit, guess I just can't get enough of the fame :smileywink:

**Super_Jenius**

Hi sugaree,

Did you write reviews for Rose and Cerulean? I've been linking to all of your reviews from my website (http://mxo.mxostory.com/neighborhood2.html), but I don't have links for those two.

Thanks!

**sugaree**

Super_Jenius wrote:

Hi sugaree,

Did you write reviews for Rose and Cerulean? I've been linking to all of your reviews from my website (http://mxo.mxostory.com/neighborhood2.html), but I don't have links for those two.

Thanks!

Sure did! Check out my blog- manifoldmischief.blogspot.com for both.

**Fen**

Hey Sugaree,

If you read up on the Atlas description of the district before doing the contact missions, it helps to understand some of their motivations.

For example, the lakes represent the sheer amount of code that is "flowing" through that area. As a result, I'd say there would be a lot of $information to be had by controlling those lakes.

Also, Greene doesn't look like the mobs in the area because he's actually a bounty hunter that was sent to put some form of control over the Disciples. It's theorized that Greene is actually under the orders of the Machines.

Hope that helps.

**sugaree**

Fen wrote:

Hey Sugaree,
If you read up on the Atlas description of the district before doing the contact missions, it helps to understand some of their motivations.
For example, the lakes represent the sheer amount of code that is "flowing" through that area. As a result, I'd say there would be a lot of $information to be had by controlling those lakes.
Also, Greene doesn't look like the mobs in the area because he's actually a bounty hunter that was sent to put some form of control over the Disciples. It's theorized that Greene is actually under the orders of the Machines.
Hope that helps.

Many thanks for pointing this out. I've come across errors in the Atlas (look at the description of The Succubus at Stamos, for example) and didn't treat it as gospel. But there are definitely insights there. I wish Tyndall had continued her series on the various districts...

**Super_Jenius**

sugaree wrote:

Super_Jenius wrote:
Hi sugaree,

Did you write reviews for Rose and Cerulean? I've been linking to all of your reviews from my website (http://mxo.mxostory.com/neighborhood2.html), but I don't have links for those two.

Thanks!

Sure did! Check out my blog- manifoldmischief.blogspot.com for both.

Can you provide links please? I see your mention of them in the WestView wrap-up, but I can't find the individual entries. Thanks!