Wagstaff Projection potato and DST's future

[maradyne]

So uh...some of the recent talk about character additions, reworks, ect got me thinking. You know...characters getting ported from DS to DST. Wagstaff being important specifically to the DST lore, the instigator behind why Winona is here, but regardless he hasn't really been used yet.

Wagstaff is referred to as a projection in the game files, right? Previously this has been thought to be something along the lines of 'he's back in the real world projecting into the Constant', but...

...there's another person who's used projections pretty extensively. I mean, obviously Wagstaff isn't on the throne; Charlie is.
But add to this Wagstaff's rather direct interest in the throne...and what it does...

        MAXWELLTHRONE = "I've found it! The portal that can link worlds! The throne of ultimate power!!"

And of course, he's familiar with portals. He's somewhat interested in the portals in the Constant, as well...

        TELEPORTATO_BASE =
            ACTIVE = "An inspired design! I must remember it for building future portals!"
            GENERIC = "My design is quite similar to this. Though, without those runes..."
            LOCKED = "Requires a PR-76 tuned to the right frequency."

        PORTAL_SHIPWRECKED = "A teleportation device! Oh why doesn't it work?!"

...and he certainly has the, er, outlook to take advantage of these things.

        APORKALYPSE_CLOCK = "Wonderful! I wonder if I could make the world end sooner."

 

But yes. Of particular interest...
He's quite the mad scientist, clearly excited to find the Throne.
He's a projection in-game...like Maxwell was when he was on the Throne; interesting that despite his interest in the Throne, he can only reach it in original DS as a projection. Someone who likely would've done quite a bit of experimentation with the world we find ourselves in, were he to ever physically take it.
He specifically mentions the throne as a 'portal that can link worlds'.

I'm led to believe that Wagstaff is 'projecting' from somewhere within the various realms linked to the Constant; he certainly had the means to get there.
And that his being a projection earlier in the story, before DST takes place, is intended...for plot reasons.
I also believe that he's still around, using the projection. Watching from safety. With those big old googly eyes.
...but why would he wait? What would make a man so close to his dream hold back for all this time?

Well...
He refers to the throne as a 'portal' that 'links worlds'. But...what use is a portal when it's been shut off? The realms of the Constant have been separated for so long...

...until now.
All these new pathways opening up.
All these mysteries unraveling...
But for what?

I've said before that I don't think Charlie quite knows what she's doing. I mean, she's gaining power, sure. That alone fits her more recent personality...but to what narrative end?
The possible answer is that this story doesn't end with her.

There's no evidence that she saw anyone else who came through that portal before Winona.
Particularly...outside of her fits of blind, shadowy fury, she may not have seen a certain scientist familiar with the Fuel slipping through.

 

I think that our Shadow Queen has a little surprise coming for her.
I look forward to the utter chaos waiting at the end of these updates, whatever it may be.

[Cytryn7]

8 hours ago, lifetheuniverse said:

Well...
He refers to the throne as a 'portal' that 'links worlds'. But...what use is a portal when it's been shut off? The realms of the Constant have been separated for so long...

I think Constant, Forge and Elder Bog are different realms, not the same. Each one of them has its own throne and ruler. Ancient Gateway links all realms and allow you to travel between them.

 

Recently I was also thinking, about Wagstaff and why he isn't present in DST. It's interesting theory about him being a projection in the Constant (maybe he is a king of some other realm). But is it possible for a projection to be harmed?

Another possibilty is that Wagstaff got to the Constant, but didn't make it to DST, because something happened to him. Remember that Wagstaff is very wise and can be valuable prisoner. Maybe Maxwell imprisoned him like Wes and ordered to create mechanic clockworks; or Charlie wanted his knowlage for some reason. Well, he could be even dead.

[seffard]

I can see the devs giggling in the background when people speculate about lore because I think they have almost everything planned out. It must be fun to see when players guess it right .

[maradyne]

3 hours ago, Cytryn7 said:

Recently I was also thinking, about Wagstaff and why he isn't present in DST. It's interesting theory about him being a projection in the Constant (maybe he is a king of some other realm). But is it possible for a projection to be harmed?

There's actually a bit of special animation for him being harmed/dying.

[axxel]

Even if Klei stated that Maxwell was the first who sat on the Throne it doesn't mean the portal was a throne all the time and somebody formed it (though it might be irrelevant how it was designed maybe to feel kingly, maybe there is more behind it). I have the feel we play Wagstaff's projection and his other fragment was thrown in the past and make some stupid things. This could explain why the megaphone was near the Throne and you need the Divining rod to activate the Nightmare lock and the similarities between Maxwell's and his teleportato base design. But I wonder...does the Divining rod REALLY activates the Throne. Theory time:

Each portal could have its own key and the diving rod is artificial. Maybe Charlie "sent" the survivor to search for the original key and thus ended in the Forge and Gorge event (yeah "sent" not the right word but she had her plans that Wilson and co. might find something/someone they could bring back). Mumsy stated she saw somebody of their kind. This might be the gatekeeper who holds the real key for the Throne portal. This could be Wagstaff. The Throne binds its master on itself might be a trap built by Wagstaff however it was broken by Charlie. Could Wagstaff see the dangers of the Throne and tried to limit it? Well we will see it in about a year

[TheKingDedede]

Wagstaff is in one of the weirdest positions in the lore right now. Where he could possibly be is anybody's guess at the moment.

Spoiler

For those not in the know, when Wagstaff's health starts to dip below certain thresholds, his voice clips will become more distorted as well as his character model beginning to turn more and more... blurry. He gains this weird sepia tone filter that is really pronounced when he's close to death. It lends credibility to the theory that the version being played by the player is a projection.

The way I see it, every survivor was in their own separate version of The Constant. When Wilson and Maxwell created the Postern, they found a way to bring the other survivors with them on the same version of The Constant. However, Winona and Wagstaff came after certain events had already unfolded, which makes it really odd that Wagstaff was added in Don't Starve and not Together. He might be the spanner in the works, as some might call him.

Also, it's really weird that he found out about the Constant on his own. The place almost feels like it's actively trying to reject him. He was never meant to be there.

Could he possibly be on the Moon?

[maradyne]

3 hours ago, TheKingDedede said:

Also, it's really weird that he found out about the Constant on his own. The place almost feels like it's actively trying to reject him. He was never meant to be there.

That's something that makes me think he'll have further importance in the future. He's possibly the only person who wants to be here, to take the Throne...but it doesn't seem to want him. And yet, I just can't see the guy giving up when it's all within reach.
Good narrative potential, and he seems the most fit for the power of the Throne out of present characters.
Someone who could just ignore the corruption and play god to his heart's content, because he's truly in it for the science; 3 parts GLaDOS and 1 part Gilgamesh. A superior scientist to Wilson, with all of the intellect and none of the restraint.
He might actually frighten Them.

 

3 hours ago, TheKingDedede said:

The way I see it, every survivor was in their own separate version of The Constant.

I didn't manage to find a good quality version of the map that Wilson scribbled his notes on this time around, but his crazed ramblings from the DST Announcement Puzzle mention evidence of other islands and being seen by people on them. Though with the weird laws of the Constant, that could still be somewhat true, while...also not.
 

Also, for anyone who hasn't seen it, that puzzle had some of the first noticeable significance assigned to the Moon and Birds while also being the first public mention of DST's existence.

...hey, wait a second, there's a Spool on that map too. Dangit Klei.

[axxel]

5 hours ago, TheKingDedede said:

However, Winona and Wagstaff came after certain events had already unfolded, which makes it really odd that Wagstaff was added in Don't Starve and not Together. 

Winona was abducted by Charlie. Wagstaff was sucked in without the interference of Charlie or Them. It seems natural to me that both characters were separated. It's the same for any other character from SW or Ham but Warly and Wormwood who somehow entered the DST Constant maybe through the use of the Teleportato.

[Cytryn7]

3 hours ago, lifetheuniverse said:

6 hours ago, TheKingDedede said:

The way I see it, every survivor was in their own separate version of The Constant.

I didn't manage to find a good quality version of the map that Wilson scribbled his notes on this time around, but his crazed ramblings from the DST Announcement Puzzle mention evidence of other islands and being seen by people on them. Though with the weird laws of the Constant, that could still be somewhat true, while...also not.

I think, before DST, all characters were in different dimensions of the Constant. This is why characters couldn't see each other (Except Maxwell, because he was dropped to the same dimension what Wilson was). After Florid Postern has been made, all dimensions were merged to one.

But there is another thing what makes me wonder. What happened to Winona after she was brought to the Constant. Winona enters in 1919, but Wilson in 1921. Nevertheless, Wilson appears in DS, but Winona doesn't. And please don't say "time goes different in the Constant". I underdstand that some factors like speed of the planet's rotation around its axis and around the star, or distance rfom the star can be different which causes different length of the day and seasons, but there is no way that one character enters before another and arrives later. Sorry this is how logic works.

So what are your ideas about Winona and what happened to her in time between her entrance and DST.

[minespatch]

5 hours ago, Cytryn7 said:

But there is another thing what makes me wonder. What happened to Winona after she was brought to the Constant. Winona enters in 1919, but Wilson in 1921.

She might've been in another side of the Constant. In "What lies beyond", Charlie sees her sister after you finish the metheus puzzle.

[Zeklo]

9 hours ago, Cytryn7 said:

Sorry this is how logic works.

Sorry bucko, this is the Constant. Your "logic" doesn't apply here.

"Time works differently in the Constant," isn't just an excuse said by us, but the developers as well.

[4 Da LOLs]

18 hours ago, TheKingDedede said:

Could he possibly be on the Moon?

we had never actually seen what pulled him through Charlie came after it was reactivated

[Cytryn7]

11 hours ago, Zeklo said:

Sorry bucko, this is the Constant. Your "logic" doesn't apply here.

"Time works differently in the Constant," isn't just an excuse said by us, but the developers as well.

I know it's an excuse. But don't you think it's just laziness from the side of developers? Lore of the game should be logic even if it's a fictional world.

[Catteflyterpill]

1 hour ago, Cytryn7 said:

I know it's an excuse. But don't you think it's just laziness from the side of developers? Lore of the game should be logic even if it's a fictional world.

Laziness? Maybe. But for sure laziness with purpose. The difference of time shows how the Constant is like a whole different dimension with its own rules fabricated by Them. It also sets it up for the developers to have more ability to choose which way they wanna go in the story. The game does have aspects of logic, but it's supposed to be whimsical and has its own take on things.

[Well-met]

Doesn't DST have a halloween radio trinket? It had good quotes from the survivors IIRC

[minespatch]

13 hours ago, Hell-met said:

Doesn't DST have a halloween radio trinket? It had good quotes from the survivors IIRC

Particularly this quote.

[Maxposting]

 

On 23. 5. 2019 at 10:18 PM, lifetheuniverse said:

There's actually a bit of special animation for him being harmed/dying.

evidence or dismissed as fake

[maradyne]

15 hours ago, __IvoCZE__ said:

 

evidence or dismissed as fake

https://dontstarve.fandom.com/wiki/Wagstaff
Images section has at least one still of his damaged flickeryness; below that are examples of the differences in his speech files.

If you want to see it in action, open the base game, spawn armor and teleport to some mobs. Clockworks are usually promising.

[-Variant]

On 5/26/2019 at 2:50 AM, __IvoCZE__ said:

 

evidence or dismissed as fake

 

23 hours ago, lifetheuniverse said:

https://dontstarve.fandom.com/wiki/Wagstaff
Images section has at least one still of his damaged flickeryness; below that are examples of the differences in his speech files.

If you want to see it in action, open the base game, spawn armor and teleport to some mobs. Clockworks are usually promising.

The post said: 

"There's actually a bit of special animation for him being harmed/dying."

This however, is false. 
Yes, there is a flicker/static effect that's applied to him when he's below 100% health, but there is no unique death or taking damage animations for Wagstaff.

[maradyne]

On 5/27/2019 at 4:45 PM, -Variant said:

Yes, there is a flicker/static effect that's applied to him when he's below 100% health, but there is no unique death or taking damage animations for Wagstaff.

That's one heck of a nitpick. Might not have been in perfect technical terms, but here:
'Wagstaff has a constant, animated effect different from his original state when damaged and dying.'

The original point was in response to his back-end reference as a projection being backed up by in-game features.

[-Variant]

1 hour ago, lifetheuniverse said:

That's one heck of a nitpick.

Wasn't trying to nitpick, but rather have straight facts.

Else it'd turn into the Wiki incident, where someone said the Iron Hulks had unique animations for attacking shadows, where as they do not.
Or Forge, in the Forge, the player characters have a slightly different death animation then that of the normal game. 
Sorry for the nitpick(?) though.