Azimuth
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As Dale took a shower, he thought about his plans…
And without realizing it, he started to reminisce about his motivations and why he was doing this in the first place…
'... I still can't believe Azimuth is finally going to be released… And I will be the first to play it… Even if just for 10 minutes…'
"The first game of the most successful game company in the world… Elden Throne."
The history of Virtual reality goes back several decades into the early 21st century and it keeps going even after several decades.
However, it only started to take over the world around 35 years ago when the first full dive gear was released to the public at an affordable price.
Being able to feel the wind on your skin, touch objects with your hands inside a game… It took the world by storm.
And that was when Elden Throne made its first appearance, taking the first step and releasing the first Full dive RPG, not yet an MMO at the time due to server problems and technological issues.
At that time, virtual reality was still rather… Clunky.
The feelings felt artificial, and many people compared it to the feeling you have when you are sleeping. You could feel the dream but you could also feel your bed… It was a rather bad experience.
Nevertheless, this technology was still sought after, especially in the movie industry which had a revitalization due to it.
At the time, movies and such forms of media were completely dwarfed by the ever-growing gaming industry, but now, movies could make you feel as if you were truly there…
This era lasted 10 years and many iterations of the Full dive gear were made, but they weren't that much more advanced and were simply slight evolutions of past nodels.
But this was the time when Elden Throne showed its superiority as a company for the first time and introduced the Pod technology, allowing someone to fully immerse themselves into the game without outside interference.
No more dual feelings, now, you are fully inside the virtual reality. All senses were augmented, and some even said this was the pinnacle of this technology, that there was no way to improve upon it…
Not only that, this new technology allowed people to play while sleeping without any consequences, which means that the Human total lifespan nearly increased by a third.
No more wasting ⅓ of your day with sleep, make use of that time and go play some games!
If that wasn't enough, this technology allowed for time dilation, meaning, you could experience 2-3 minutes in-game, but only one minute would pass in real-time…
To top it off, It was also at this time that they released their first MMO with a time dilation of 2 and it shook the world…
Being able to fight and do quests in a completely foreign world while feeling everything perfectly… Magic, Dragons, foreign people, and kingdoms…
This was when Virtual reality truly became a reality of its own. And Elden throne enjoyed its rule like a tyrant releasing many products and updates for their game…
This era lasted 15 or so years, but in the last 2 years of it, the game stopped being updated as Elden Throne announced the end of this game, despite it being very profitable.
That was considered a terrible business choice by many, but there was nothing that could be done as the company did not budge at all.
Dale was born right in the middle of this era, he played the game almost every day until it stopped being updated and was eventually left behind in the sea of games…
Sadly, Elden throne did not release a new game and the company eventually went silent over time.
But Dale did not stop playing their game, he grew up hearing about this game, and even after this era ended a new technology was made, he still played it because the other games didn't feel nearly as real as this game…
The only exceptions were some combat games since he loved fighting, and a few…
COUGH! Inappropriate games…
Cut Dale some slack, not having maidens can do a man real bad…
The next era saw the rise of the so-called 'Neuron Pods', and they are currently the next-gen of pods on the market, allowing for absolute immersion. It was so perfect that 99/100 people wouldn't even realize they were inside virtual reality even after spending a day inside…
It works due to the discovery of the Neuryne Solution.
The new Pod models completely submerge their users in it, making them feel as if they are trapped inside a box with water…
It's obvious some people disliked this and there are many measures available to help people adapt to it.
Dale himself wasn't a fan of putting on a mask and slowly seeing his body be submerged in liquid and there was nothing he could do to escape it in case something bad happened…
Some advanced products even include medical facilities, allowing for body growth and care while you dive into virtual reality…
Imagine spending a few days in virtual reality, only to see that one day passed in real life and that your body was now stronger since the pod stimulated your muscles…
It was a no-brainer that this technology exploded… Although advanced pods with these features are expensive even after a few years…
It has been 5 years since this technology was made and so far, it has been considered the best in the world, with India being at the forefront of VR technology, followed by Russia, China, the US, Japan, and surprisingly enough, Brasil…
Until this year that is…
Elden Throne was back! And with another massive hit!
A new Pod machine, better and cheaper. It could go as far as to have a 4.1-time dilation. Not the best, but extremely good for its price.
In comparison, military-grade Pods are said to have up to a 5.0-time dilation, and some of the experimental prototypes currently shared with the public can go as far as a 5.7-time dilation.
And not only that, they announced their new game! And that it would run with a 3:1 time dilation in order to have everyone on the same page.
After all, most of the players cannot afford pods with such high time dilations, even if Elden Throne's pod was relatively cheaper than those in the same category, some families would still have a hard time buying one and maintaining it.
And to press it forward, a lot of advertisements and even Beta gameplay were given to the population, including footage of what the game's Beta looked like…
And Dale had been one of the lucky few to have participated in the Beta before its footage was released…
…
[Last year…]
One year ago, Dale was relaxing in his home during the new year when he received a sudden Email.
At first, he treated it as Bull or some sort of stupid scam, but one day later after he received the message, a lawyer actually went to his house to confirm his participation, and Dale almost crapped his pants.
He understood that it was real and that he was being invited to participate in the company's next game, Azimuth.
He had been chosen from tens of thousands that still played the game to this day and even a few influential content makers… He and 99 others.
That's right, only 100 were chosen… But still, the chances were rather big since at the time, the game only had several ten thousand active players, and a few were only returnees while a few were just people passing by.
If we count the players that were just like him, playing the games for years, then it would be just a couple hundred.
So his chances were quite high even if we count the few slots that were given to influential Virtual Reality content makers…
Stupefied by the news, Dale got ready and almost locked his college period so he could enjoy the game to its fullest, but his parents didn't allow him and he was forced to go normally.
Even so, he had 2 weeks of vacation to play the game, although the Beta would last one month, that was enough for him to do everything he needed!
And now, one year after the Beta, Azimuth is being released to the public, and Dale already had a plan to get ahead of everyone, even if just for a few days…
No, that would be an understatement, Dale was already weeks ahead of everyone… And that was because he found out the 'truth'...
"DALE! GET OUT OF THE SHOWER!" Screamed his brother as he banged his hands on the door
"... Stop being such an ass and calm down, we still have… over 2 and a half hours…"
"BRO! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! I STILL NEED TO GET ONLINE AND TALK WITH MY GIRLFRIEND, AND YOU KNOW HOW SHE IS, 2 AND HALF HOURS IS THE TIME I HAVE TO CONVINCE HER TO LEAVE ME ALONE FOR THE NEXT WEEK!"
He seemed desperate…
"So just be away from her man…"
He suddenly got silent.
"Man… I want to play the game in peace knowing I will be able to live after this weekend…" He said in a depressed tone
"..."
"If you so desperately go take a shower elsewhere, there are 3 other showers in the house."
/Silence…/
"Guess you're right… I wasn't thinking straight. At least give me my towel…"
Dale rolled his eyes and opened the door, giving his brother a red towel.
Dale shook his head at his younger brother's stupidity and aggressiveness and went back to shower in peace.
"But he is right, enough showering, time to eat and get ready…"
…
/Half an hour later…/
/Clack!/
"Done… Now to some testing…"
Dale was back in his Pod room, checking a few instruction manuals and making sure everything was fine and dandy before pressing the On button.
/DING!/
[System Online]
Hearing the male mechanical voice, Dale shuddered as he was finally going to play it…
"Let's see the command list… So uh… Here… Start Mechanical check."
[Mechanical check, in progress…]
[Structural stability… 100%]
[Attachable equipment stability… 100%]
[Electronics… 100%]
[Safety measures… 100%]
[Neuryne containers… 100%]
[Neuryne purity… 100%]
[...]
[Mechanical check has been completed, no abnormalities detected]
"Well that's expected, that guy should've tested it before me but it's better to do it before it's too late, if something happens there is still time for maintenance to arrive."
Following this, Dale checked several more systems and eventually booted the machine…
[Preparing… T-34 minutes until all systems are operational]
"Hmm… It sure takes a while for the Neuryne to flow…"
'But this is it… 34 minutes… I can't wait.'
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Notes