[IronForge]

Hi, I just have a few questions about transcend.

1-How can one transcend the universe? I get the image that that guy was some kinda test subject strapped onto a ship and sent to the end of the universe - if there is an end.

2-Whats all that talk about something important but not being able to remember it? I think that is the greatest mindf*** ever. And at the end shooting it down by saying I was never a merc and therefore whatever convoy they mentioned wasn't important?

3-What happens to the transcendent AFTER the end? You know, after everything is reset? Will this just keep playing in a loop?

[NGTM-1R]

1. That's not a very transcendant method.

2. Uh, you were never a merc to begin with. You were always regular GTVA.

3. He erased himself. Or rather, you erased him for himself. Or...well, this is Transcend. You want a clean answer, you're screwed.

[General Battuta]

2-Whats all that talk about something important but not being able to remember it? I think that is the greatest mindf*** ever. And at the end shooting it down by saying I was never a merc and therefore whatever convoy they mentioned wasn't important?

The merc thing is a creepy allusion to Sync.

[-Norbert-]

Maybe the whole campaign was just a weird dream the protagonist had during subspace transit. And then at the very end he woke up.

[Mobius]

The cutscene kinds of suggests that it was real...

[S-99]

Maybe the whole campaign was just a weird dream the protagonist had during subspace transit. And then at the very end he woke up.

How easy and convenient this is. Something tells me you didn't really appreciate how nicely crafted this story is with being complicated and following a set of events so you can follow the story and understand it. The story requires brain power not feeble guesses; play transcend again. Some people who play it claim "mind ****", and don't even try to understand. Transcend doesn't leave you guessing; something absolute did happen in the story. Another thing to mention is that transcend isn't about shooting down as many ships as possible as the glorified A1 (instead transcend is a mystery that your character solves). So, if you're focusing on playing through the game with the best score possible and just following orders, then you missed the point and should play again (but this time enlightened).

To the main meat. Transcend as i understand it.
It's a lot like the theoretical situation of time travel where if you travelled back in time and killed your father before you were conceived. So, you travelled back in time, then you killed your father before you were conceived, which means you no longer exist. Since you no longer exist, then you never travelled back in time from the future to kill your father before you were conceived...which translates to nothing happened at all since your father was never killed and then you got conceived and grew up. If this situation i mentioned here is too much for people to bear then they should not play transcend.

Transcend is like this scenario i mentioned but in reverse (as opposed to the past affecting the future, it's the future affecting the past (this is unnormal)). And also it's not quite the same thing, since you see from the cutscene after killing the transcedent everything rewinds back to the very first mission; but with a difference being that you do meet up with that destroyer like you were suppposed to on the first mission since there is no more meddling from the transcedent after you killed him.

The transcendent exists outside of time while being able to participate in it at the same time. This allows for the killing of the transcendent in a future that never happened to the point that you don't see him ever again (because he's dead). That might sound like bollocks, but whatever, this is a scifi story after all about someone who "transcended the universe", warps reality, influences the mood and thoughts of others just simply by flying by some ships, etc, and came back for a visit.

I know a much simpler story that has driven people up the walls for centuries.

[-Norbert-]

The story requires brain power not feeble guesses

Transcend as i understand it.

Funny combination those two....

Besides just because I have a different opinion than you, doesn't mean I have "less brain power" than you. I am just able to see that there is more in reality than my opinion and while I don't think the author meant that campaign to be a dream, there is the possiblity of me being wrong and it being the case.
I wonder if people will ever start to read and understand the meaning of the word maybe...

The transcendent exists outside of time while being able to participate in it at the same time.

If he extisted completely outside of time as you think, how comes his power is growing over time? No. He may be able to "reach through time" so to say, but he certainly is ancored in the present for the most part.

[S-99]

Really just tired of seeing the "oh it was a dream?" kind of conclusion when something very obviously wasn't. It's an uneducated conclusion that many utilize. And when something really is a dream, many don't know what to think (vanilla sky). That's really the only thing i recommend the more brain power for.

Besides just because I have a different opinion than you, doesn't mean I have "less brain power" than you.

You didn't state an opinion. The word maybe that you used suggests that you most very likely indeed made a guess. And i pointed this out in my earlier post by using the word guess in referring to what you wrote.

If he extisted completely outside of time as you think, how comes his power is growing over time? No. He may be able to "reach through time" so to say, but he certainly is ancored in the present for the most part.

You said the word "completely" where as i did not. He may exist partially outside of time which would mean the affects of time would be different on him. Keep in mind, the transcendent is no longer a normal humble human being. He doesn't even exist the same way in reality that the vasudans and humans do; reality starts to get warped from simply his presence, and his effect on people is in a reverse empath kind of way. I only mention the existing out of time while being able to still interact with it to be an oddity as the transcendent most definitely is, as well as it also provides a way for destroying something in the future that also existed in the past somehow destroyed it completely (even from the past).

Ok, now were not on the same page. You're misunderstanding me when i say the word future. In the end of the game when time rewinds back to the first mission waiting for the destroyer. You accomplished this by killing the transcendent. Killing the transcendent made time rewind but without his meddling in the first mission waiting for the destroyer in the past. Now that you're back in the past and the destroyer picks you up, it means that your character in an alternate timeline fixed things.  Ultimately events that happen in a future that can never happen again as we witness because events of the past which is now the new present where the destroyer picks you up is playing out differently than where before the destroyer didn't pick you up which is when the transcedent started his hissy fit.

Transcend as i understand it.

Funny combination those two....

Well, it wasn't transcend as i guessed it. And not saying you have less brain power, but umm, transcend was definitely not a dream. I probably could have said it nicer, sorry i don't mean to be an ass (sometimes i write and post things without thinking them all the way through).

[NGTM-1R]

The Transcendant only appears to us as a Pegasus, chosing a form our brain can accept, and accept we can destroy, so that we can kill him/destroy his last remaining physical link to the universe, thereby freeing him of physical effects.

Really just tired of seeing the "oh it was a dream?" kind of conclusion when something very obviously wasn't. It's an uneducated conclusion that many utilize. And when something really is a dream, many don't know what to think (vanilla sky). That's really the only thing i recommend the more brain power for.

Dude, "it was all just a dream" is one of the few perfect answers for Transcend. It's not the only one but it's one that fits all the facts.

It's also not common at all, mainly because it's infamous (but that would be so like Ransom to screw with us that way, yes?) so whatever you're on I'd like some please.

You didn't state an opinion. The word maybe that you used suggests that you most very likely indeed made a guess. And i pointed this out in my earlier post by using the word guess in referring to what you wrote.

Uh, hate to break it to you, but you clearly have no conception of criticism and how it works. He did state an opinion, since we are discussing a situation without an objective truth and very little in the way of factual basis.

Or does all the political discussion stuff that you spout in GD also count as a guess? It's equally lacking in a final objective truth, because it's opinion, but the lack of factual basis there is entirely your own fault.

You said the word "completely" where as i did not.

You did not qualify it either. Absent any qualifying complete is a perfectly reasonable assumption.

Well, it wasn't transcend as i guessed it. And not saying you have less brain power, but umm, transcend was definitely not a dream.

Can you prove this? No? Didn't think so.

In fact, It Was All Just A Dream is the final result of the campaign almost any way you cut it, because we have no real reason to assume the player character forgot anything that happened to him despite those events no longer having any basis in reality.

[S-99]

A dream does explain away very well the story yes. The story just seems too grand and awesome for me to think of it as just a dream since it involves the transcendent. So far, we don't know much more of the transcendent other than sync which was just a cameo. But, yes, since it involves the transcendent, the story could easily be a dream or not a dream, it's hard to tell because the transcendent is a rather special reality warping character. I wouldn't put it past ransom for either.

The way norbert said "maybe it was all just a dream." isn't opinion, it's entertaining a possible idea for transcend which reflects uncertainty because of the word maybe. If it was opinion it'd probably be stated as "i think it was just all a dream", or something similarly direct to what the person thinks happened. You don't state an opinion that starts off with uncertainty or a possibility otherwise its too much like a question even though it's a sentence.

It was later that norbert confirmed that his opinion was that he thought indeed that transcend was just a dream when he replied to me.

[-Norbert-]

It was later that norbert confirmed that his opinion was that he thought indeed that transcend was just a dream when he replied to me.

Did I? I know quoting one self is frowned about, but for the sake of the argument:

[...]while I don't think the author meant that campaign to be a dream[...]

I was just providing an alternate theory (one that I think is possible, wether I believe it's true or not) in the hopes of getting a constructive discussion about why this part of the campaign would support the theory, while this other part discourages it and so on....
It's just something I like to do, probably because this way is very often used at the University I'm at. First formulate your theory, then formulate at least one counter/alternate-theory and then eliminate those that contradict the facts.
In my experience just formulating your theory without any alternatives theories results in less objectivity and/or overlooking of side-effects, since you can much easier get fixated on one aspect disregarding or overlooking other aspects.

While my post did start a kind of discussion about why the theory is or isn't a good one I was hoping for more tangible (in-campaign) arguments than "The story just seems too grand and awesome for me to think of it as just a dream".
Just a last little nitpick: Many a grand and epic idea started as a dream

[Grizzly]

A dream does explain away very well the story yes. The story just seems too grand and awesome for me to think of it as just a dream since it involves the transcendent. So far, we don't know much more of the transcendent other than sync which was just a cameo.

You sure? I think Sync is heavily involved with the Trandescent. It is obvious from Sync that the Sync device has seriously bleeped up subspace. Since the Trandescent comes from subspace, the power of the Sync device might be the reason he has gone insane.

As for the dream thing... Dreams don't usually provoke that much thought as the Transcend campaign has . And, if it was 'just a dream' (the product of a characters past and his imagination) that would ruin the fun of these entire speculations, and mean that Ransom Arceihen (sp) hasn't been given it that much thought, but just... did things. I don't think he did that.

[S-99]

You sure? I think Sync is heavily involved with the Trandescent. It is obvious from Sync that the Sync device has seriously bleeped up subspace. Since the Trandescent comes from subspace, the power of the Sync device might be the reason he has gone insane.

As for the dream thing... Dreams don't usually provoke that much thought as the Transcend campaign has . And, if it was 'just a dream' (the product of a characters past and his imagination) that would ruin the fun of these entire speculations, and mean that Ransom Arceihen (sp) hasn't been given it that much thought, but just... did things. I don't think he did that.

Sync is involved with the transcendent otherwise i wouldn't have mentioned it. Just that you don't see too many appearances of him in sync which is all i meant by the cameo comment. But that the events in sync are heavily involved with the transcendent...yes definitely.

It can be easily explained away as a dream experienced as i agreed with that. But....

As for the dream thing... Dreams don't usually provoke that much thought as the Transcend campaign has .

I feel you hit the nail on the head with what i was trying to communicate earlier. You succeeded whereas i sucked at it.

Ransom definitely did not just do some things most definitely, he meant all of it to be a certain way follow along as such. And i think ransom would have left some clues in the story if it was a dream (not to mention after completing the campaign is just totally does not leave me with the feeling that it was a dream (i've played it twice, it's fun as hell, and twice it doesn't leave me with the feeling that it was a dream). This is also one of the other reasons i don't take transcend for being a dream. For others, stories do leave clues as to what's actually happening in subtle or strong ways. Otherwise, stories that don't make sense suck, stories poorly written suck, stories without any awareness suck.

I guess people chose to ignore my reference to the movie vanilla sky. It was hyped as one of the most confusing movies ever created, but i didn't think it was confusing. It was an audience not paying attention that didn't pick up on all the clues, and vanilla sky had a lot of them (vanilla sky was about someone who was trapped in a dream and didn't know it and was about to go off the deep end when his perfect dream was turning into a nightmare). So it was hyped as a confusing movie whereas people that put in some brain power and paid attention to the story and analyzed it made sense of the movie. I don't mention using brain power as an offense, just that it's simply required (and you guessed it, the story in the movie largely takes place in a dream, and there are lots of clues that it is a dream, first they're subtle, then they get to the strength of hitting you with a baseball bat in the head as the dream transitioned into a nightmare).

Again, someone coming in here and stating "maybe it was all just a dream" (it's pretty clear that this is a guess desiring further input). Give some answers, if you don't have any, play transcend again, and see how the theory that it was all a dream pans out.

Also the cutscene at the end doesn't really make too much sense if it is a dream. You can just sort of wake up from dreams, and that whole rewind cutscene doesn't make too much sense in that aspect. Now someone's going to hop in here and claim "well obviously it was a really vivid ****ed up dream given the cutscene".

I will raise a question that i think should merit some serious attention, how long ago was it that you all played transcend? I will answer this question too if other people will.

[IronForge]

Either way, I'm really really confused right now. What has Sync have to do with transcend? Sync is about a mad scientist with some kinda portable eve-online titan style mass teleporty thing that ran outta control. Transcend is about a merc who meets something and then weird things happen. Please explain, I couldn't sleep for a week after playing it and so there is no way I am touching either games again. Thanks

[MatthTheGeek]

The main thing that links the two campaigns is the author and the atmosphere, but the stories aren't linked.

[General Battuta]

Either way, I'm really really confused right now. What has Sync have to do with transcend? Sync is about a mad scientist with some kinda portable eve-online titan style mass teleporty thing that ran outta control. Transcend is about a merc who meets something and then weird things happen. Please explain, I couldn't sleep for a week after playing it and so there is no way I am touching either games again. Thanks

If you pay close attention in Transcend, particularly to some of the freaky static transmissions you get, you can see/hear echoes or mimicry of events and dialogue from Sync...as if the Transcendent is a character from Sync, forcing the universe to act out the moments that drove him mad.

[NGTM-1R]

That and the Transcendant can be spotted in a couple Sync missions.

[Dark Hunter]

There was a big discussion on this over at Game Warden a few years back. The consensus was that the person most likely to be the Transcendant was Phi 2 from Sync (the details as to why, exactly, are pretty involved).

As for how he transcended... well, if we knew how, that would ruin the mystery.

[IronForge]

At what point in sync did you see the transcendent?

[NGTM-1R]

At what point in sync did you see the transcendent?

There's an early subspace mission where you can spot a black spec moving about. It's a Pegasus, though you'd have to open the mission in FRED to find out.