Salt Touched

There are days when the job is hard, even though I love it, there are days when I’m exhausted, there are days when the hours are long. There are days when people say to me that I have a glamourous job, and I laugh behind my hand and respond that I really really don’t…

And then there are the days when the job is absolutely everything that the regular people think it is…

We were in Curasco, with it’s (very) warm sun and brilliant colours, plus the swinging bridge. Usually we dock practically in the middle of town, but this time we were about a fifteen minute walk outside of it, which didn’t really bother either Amras or I, as it was a nice walk along the water and breeze made the heat a little more bearable. We had only one real primary purpose (and as usual, not that much in the way of time) and that was lunch, but we did manage a little bit of window shopping before reaching what probably qualifies as the town square.

So, eat here with all the people? Or walk further and go to the coast?

Definitely coast.

I’m not exactly sure how Amras developed his keen sense of being able to locate the perfect restaurant, but he definitely seems to have one. Off the beaten path, tucked into a corner in what looked like a former cigar factory, was a perfect sea-side Italian café – and we were the only ones there. Perfectly cooked pasta, crisp rose, and crashing waves that were within arms reach…in those circumstances? With the right person? Everything tastes right, everything smells right, everything is right.

Life…life is just right…

Good morning player, welcome to Level Two!

Scenario: you are a worker on a cruise ship. Your floating home is still currently not floating, and is also in a state of a bit of chaos. Do not fret about this, it’s not your job to fix any of it.

Objective: This level’s objective is to reach the various meetings you have been called to (and find out what time you are supposed to be there) and to relocate your sleeping quarters by the end of the day. To accomplish this, you will have to complete multiple mini-games and NPC (Non-Player Character) interactions.

Task 1: Breakfast

Oops, looks like you missed the NPC interaction that would have given you the information as to when and where you could obtain this power up. The next power up slot isn’t avialable until lunch…which is…in play hours, approximately 4 hours away. Good thing you have a few ‘gummy bears’ bonus power ups in your purse as carry over from the last level!

Task 2: First day training

There will be some debate as to whether or not you actually have to be at this particular mini-game. But ultimately you will end up sitting in a room, listening to an NPC character tell you a lot of very important data that your character likely has stored from previous versions of gameplay. If you are a senior player you will be able to bypass the bulk of this data transfer by providing proof that it is not necessary. Please note: you will require a high “charisma” or “trustworthy” stat in order for approach to be successful.

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Once the first two tasks of the level are complete your character will have free time to explore the play area. But your movements will be curtailed by restrictions that are in place from the previous level. For example if your character was unable to shed their excess luggage weight in level 1, you will have to stay in the local play area until advised that the task can be completed in this level. This will render you mostly to staying in your sleeping quarters attempting to regenerate the rest of your hit points.

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At an unspecified point in this level you will be prompted to begin the final series of tasks

Final Task #1 – The Gangway

Yup, it’s back, and any gear you still have on your person must be taken up it. If you have a high charisma stat you will be able to gain assistance with this particular task.

Final Task #2 – Locate temporary sleeping quarters

If you are fortunate with RNG (random chance) then you may be able to be assigned to your ‘proper’ sleeping quarters, in which you (and more importantly your belongs) will remain for the duration of the rest of the game.

If you character does not have a high “luck” skill, then you will be assigned to temporary sleeping quarters. These will be considerably smaller than your normal sleeping quarters, and will likely have at least one malfunctioning feature (the most common of which is plumbing). Hopefully your character befriended someone who has a higher sleeping quarter class than you.

Wherever you end up, this is the end of this level. Good luck tomorrow!

Player Advisory: “Dry Dock” is a high intensity interactive experience featuring some smoke, heat, fire and other unsettling and surprising atmospheric effects. Therefore, this game is recommended for advanced players only.

Scenario: You are – once again – a worker on a cruise ship. Your floating home is currently…not floating. For your first level you must get yourself and your gear from the small local airport to the ship you are staying at. Be aware that there are surprises in most levels. Good luck player!

Day One Objective: Board your vessel, stow your gear, and find your proper assigned sleeping place.

In order to achieve this objective you must first actually reach the first stage of the level, which requires you to go through the “travel tutorial”. To this end you have two options:

Option 1: Assigned travel path
(available perks with this option: refreshing hotel stay with unlocks multiple power ups including ‘breakfast’ for extra hit points before beginning proper level)

Oops looks like this option has been mishandled by a bad airline. This voids all perks and power-ups and leaves you with

Option 2: Alternate emergency travel path
(This option will get you to the vessel, but will cost an extreme amount of in-game currency in order to reach the journey’s start point. It also comes with only one ‘pizza’ power-up applied 8 hours before task start, it also comes with a low level ‘sleep’ perk – use it wisely)

Upon completion of this option you will be at the airport cut scene – if at all possible grab a ‘coffee’ power-up to get you through the rest of the day. Once you land successfully at the other end of your journey you must secure transportation to your (possible) final destination. However, before you can secure entrance to that bonus material you must work through several obstacles:

#1 – Local immigration: if you have the ‘prior warning’ perk you already have the necessary paperwork ready to bypass or successfully clear the stat check by the customs agent NPC. Those players who are not equipped with such perks will lose approximately a half hour of play time to this intricate mini-game.

#2 – Baggage inspection: if you have your ‘trustworthy’ or ‘charisma’ stats high enough then you will easily be able to pass this mini-game. Those without the necessary stats to pass the check will have to complete the rest of the mini-game. If the player has selected “musician” sub-type as their avatar there will be no way to bypass this particular mini-game as your avatar will trigger the “suspicion” reaction in the relevant NPC.

#3 – ‘Handsome’ Taxi Drivers: this only applies if the player possesses a female avatar, as long as your “self-esteem” stat is high enough you should be able to dodge the sales pitches and compliments.

Upon successfully completing the last obstacle you will be automatically transported via the “port agent” cut-scene to the entrance to the docks. At this point it is important to have your “stamina”  at it’s highest (which will be difficult given the lack of perks earlier in the level). You will be able to see your destination almost immediately, but getting there will require yet another series of mini-games:

#1 – Port Security: This one will be easy to get by if you have a female avatar, however, you will still be required to present your in-game documentation and your playing authorization papers.

#2 – the Boarding Ramp: in order to even reach this particular mini-game you must carry your +40lbs of luggage (you will be over-encumbered and therefore unable to run) through the working shipyard, dodging people, cranes and the occasional fork-lift. Once that path is complete you will presented with a gangway, but not just any gangway – this is the major challenge of this level – a gangway that is 111 steps, nearly straight up, which you must navigate yourself, with a 40lbs weight punishment, in tropical heat. Warning: this task will be particularly difficult to complete if you ‘high temperatures’ is listed as one of your weakness.

#2a – Companion care: if you are a senior player, you will automatically assume the ‘mother hen’ perk, which will cause you to be the default player to complete the gangway task first, while leaving your ‘charges’ to await your return with possible assistance. Bear in mind, you will have no ID, no documentation proving that you are allowed to be where you are, no real idea where you are going. This side quest is not recommended for junior players.

#3 – ID procurement: This task is mostly run by the Crew Officer NPC, however it will require several trips in between floors to be rid of your luggage, and ultimately will result in you being assigned an ‘official ID’ perk which – in theory – will allow you to freely move around the remainder of the play area for the rest of the game.

#4 – Sleeping accommodations: this is the last mini-game of this level. Due to the fact that the world structure of where your actual ship is not prepared for your arrival, so you will have to move your possessions (those that you still have access to) to another nearby play area. Note: the sleeping accommodations provided are not guaranteed any comfort perks other than ‘bed’ and possibly ‘tv’. It does however come with access to “dinner” power-up.

This completes Level (day) one: The Arrival.

Good luck with Level 2 player! Remember, level starts first thing next morning

I awoke this morning to creaking metal and vibrating thrusters, as the ship swayed heavily from side to side. Mentally, I checked our location, but it wasn’t my mental itinerary that reminded us where we were – it was something else. Woven in and underneath the modern sound of protesting metal was something much older: the shrieking sound of resisting wood, of tearing sails and splintering masts, of heaving waves and snapping lines.

Ladies and Gentlemen – this is Cape Horn.

I have rounded the cape several times in my career, and you never know what it’s going to bring you. Sometimes it’s like glass, and you wonder if this fearsome turn of land at the bottom of the world has lost its bite; and sometimes it’s like this morning, when you know that it hasn’t.

Even after we left the Cape, the seas are extremely swell-ridden. A long slow swell that almost lulls you into a false sense of security, you don’t realize you’re tilting until you suddenly find yourself having to shift your balance. Not exactly rough per say, but not exactly glassy either. Somewhere in the middle.

I can only imagine what these waters must have been like when it was wood, sails and rope instead of metal and propulsion. It’s no wonder that rounding the horn under sail is still considered a major accomplishment (I haven’t “earned’ my earring, and I probably never will – even if I do one day crew a tall ship).

I do not normally develop a people allergy until much much later in a contract. But lately? I cannot quite seem to bear being around too many people. I come home from class, close the door behind me, brace my back against it and take a very deep deep breath, and dread going back out again.

I’m not quite sure where this is coming from – I didn’t have this difficulty last cruise. It’s somehow, something about these particular people. Something is setting my teeth on edge and I don’t know precisely what it is.

I think it’s possibly because there has been a rush of people coming to me with internet questions. The last cruise I worked was a Grand, so I was able to dodge most of the internet questions because we had someone stationed at the old library desk. But that’s not the case here, and in a lot of cases these people have nowhere else to go, or don’t think to look anywhere beyond where all the computers are. The thing is, I’m not supposed to deal with the ‘net anymore, I can help you get to the main login screen but that’s all I’m really qualified to do – ending up with people complaining to me about it just makes me start having some rather nasty flashbacks.

That said – or rather, that aside – there is something to be said for walking into your office and seeing a miles high glacier towering outside your office window, and a huge waterfall cascading down from a mountain high enough that if you were standing at the bottom of it you’d have to lie flat on your back to even think about seeing the top.

Yup, that’s my office view this morning, I have difficulty wrapping my head around it sometimes – and an equal amount of times I have difficulty wrapping my head around the idea that most of the world goes to work in the morning and just sees an office building or a road…

Edgy teeth aside…I still know I am one lucky woman…