All About CASTs ~ Lore / Info Questions

[Ragna_Divide]

Being a shameless fanfic writer, I'm finding myself wanting to elaborate on my characters' stories... and while it doesn't really matter in-game, it's enjoyable to write. But since the game doesn't outwardly elaborate on a lot of things (at least as far as I've been able to see), I had a few questions. In particular, about CASTs... as Newmans and Beasts and Humans seem fairly clear-cut.

And even if you don't know the official answer to any of these questions, feel free to throw out thoughts.

#1: What does 'SUV' stand for, at least in the PSU universe?

#2: Are CASTs organic in any way, or are they completely inorganic? Their appearance would suggest the latter, but they're susceptible to poisons and other toxins. Granted, that could just be a game mechanic thing.

#3: Most CASTs seem relatively human in terms of appearance and behavior, though some like Lou are extremely stiff and formal with no apparent consideration for human emotions. Are CASTs "programmed" that way at "birth" or is it a matter of free will? Do CASTs have emotions at all, or do some / many of them simply try to emulate emotions when around other sentients to facilitate communication?

#4: Who or what is the head of the Parum CAST society?

#5: Can a CAST survive injuries that would kill a regular individual? Such as losing an arm or the like.

#6: What exactly is a "CAST clone"? I read something about this in one of the Episode 2 missions, but it didn't exactly elaborate except to say that they're generally inferior to the original.

Just a few curious questions, and I imagine some or all of them may have no official answer, but I was just wondering.

[fayt6]

1 i dont know what suv stands for

2 casts prolly are not organic...it may be like terminator with human skin over top?

3 prolly programed

4 who the fuck knows

5yea prolly can cause its not like they depend on limbs id say as long as there core processes remain intact they can survive

6and yea casts can be cloned...like sheep =P

hope this helps lol....ps i guessed on all this stuff

[relentless]

Speculation, don't quote me on that. <3

1: I assume that the rl meaning of this abbreviation doesn't make sense at all, and because there's no official answer to this, I guess this is left to your own imagination.
Edit: Possible rl meanings: http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/SUV (nothing fits into the PSU category, meh, some of them even sound weird in general lol)

2: Inorganic, I can imagine CASTs bleed in animes and stuff, but those are still not considered organic imo.
Edit: http://youtube.com/watch?v=h1sb-pzyC8E (1:40)

3: They're programmed to have a certain way of actions and ways they interact with things, but they are able to build up own experiences and "emotions" (if you can call that, you never know) from the time when they are "born".
Example: PSU v1 Offline Story Mode, in a Moatoob scene one of the Lou replikas "cries", and I guess that actually means something. (didn't find a video or pic form the actual scene, but the people who actually played it should know)

4: Dunno, doesn't it have to do something with Mother Brain? Or wait, that was the A.M.F. head? Can't remember and not sure about this question. <.<

5: Yes.

6: I assume if you speak of a CAST clone, you're talking about replikas from the origin, meaning all the Lou and Magashi copies for instance.

And yeah, I'm just asnwering those questions with my own thoughts so shush.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: SeKaI on 2008-05-04 05:18 ]</font>

[Rayokarna]

On 2008-05-04 04:22, Ragna_Divide wrote:

#1: What does 'SUV' stand for, at least in the PSU universe?

#2: Are CASTs organic in any way, or are they completely inorganic? Their appearance would suggest the latter, but they're susceptible to poisons and other toxins. Granted, that could just be a game mechanic thing.

#3: Most CASTs seem relatively human in terms of appearance and behavior, though some like Lou are extremely stiff and formal with no apparent consideration for human emotions. Are CASTs "programmed" that way at "birth" or is it a matter of free will? Do CASTs have emotions at all, or do some / many of them simply try to emulate emotions when around other sentients to facilitate communication?

#4: Who or what is the head of the Parum CAST society?

#5: Can a CAST survive injuries that would kill a regular individual? Such as losing an arm or the like.

#6: What exactly is a "CAST clone"? I read something about this in one of the Episode 2 missions, but it didn't exactly elaborate except to say that they're generally inferior to the original.

Just a few curious questions, and I imagine some or all of them may have no official answer, but I was just wondering.

1) SUV sounds something like Satalite Utility, dunno that the V would stand for tho.

2) Yeah, they can suffer from battle poision but not from general desieses like cancer and such. IMO.

3) Depends at "Birth" if they were programmed or not. Some CASTs in the story seem like that and others dont. Strange =/.

4) Not sure.

5) I dont really see why not.

6) "CAST Clone" Maybe a CAST that is a complete duplicate of one made before. Seem a little obvious but I could be wrong.

[Sinue_v2]

If you need to look over any info, I wrote out a full copy of the PSU Ep I script which should be in the Guides section or over at PSUpedia.

1. I don't recall it ever being mentioned. I know they are AMF armorments which the Guardians lease out. To access them, you need to have a license. The "S" probably stands for "Sub-Orbital" - since you call them down via satellite.

2. Inorganic. Their status effects are simply a gameplay mechanic. Storyline wise, it's why CASTS were never innoculated against the SEED virus since it was assumed they were immune. And they were, which is why the Virus needed to be modified to affect their Behavioral control chips. There may be a small biological component within them to facilitate the usage of "techs", but this is pure speculation. Techniques require spirit energy, and it comes down to whether or not you can accept a machine having a soul.

3. Most all casts are humanlike in behavior. Although some special purpose CASTs are built along more utilitarian lines. Lou's excuse for not having emotions is due to her heavy processing work load. She was "streamlined" in her programming to optimise her preformance. There are over 250 Lou units, and only 1 control.

4. The heads of state are not mentioned. We only know it's a technocracy (government run by machines). Mother Brain is the head of the AMF.

5. Yes.

6. It's never fully explained. I would assume that a Cast Clone is a Cast created in the image of a person - and who's brain (photonic, neural net, whatever) is set up to emulate the brain patterns of said person. They think, act, and behave exactly as the person who was cloned. The only real difference between Magashi and Hauzer is that Magashi knows he's just a clone.

Sorry I couldn't be more help, but the game is pretty vauge on a lot of points.

[Aur87]

I believe SUV stands for Satellite Uplink Vector, I think Lou explains it in episode 1 but my heads a bit fuzzy so maybe someone else can confirm it.

[Katrina]

3. Artificial lifeforms with free will according to the official site.

Misc Lore (official site): CASTs were originally created by humans as laborers, but problems arose when sentient CASTs began demanding rights. As a result of their war for independence, a system of CAST supremacy over humans was established.

After the CAST supremacy was established, Parum welcomed a period of overwhelming peace, unheard of in the days when the lands were divided by human-controlled governments. Ironically, the "dangers of machine rule" that were touted by human politicians during the war never manifested, and the reality is that the social system was welcomed by the majority of the public who wished only for peace.

They are machines, and hence rationalists. Their strong point is in management, but because of their inflexibility, they are disinterested in the subtleties of human emotion.

[Neith]

A lot of this is speculation, most of it isn't explained if I recall correctly.

On 2008-05-04 04:22, Ragna_Divide wrote:
#1: What does 'SUV' stand for, at least in the PSU universe?

My memory on this is a bit fuzzy, but I think SUV stands for 'Satellite Uplink Vector'.

#2: Are CASTs organic in any way, or are they completely inorganic? Their appearance would suggest the latter, but they're susceptible to poisons and other toxins. Granted, that could just be a game mechanic thing.

I think CASTs themselves are completely artificial, but are just modelled in a humanoid image. As for poisons and the like, my guess is that these affect CASTs for 2 reasons: 1) as a gameplay device 2) poison could be interpreted as corrosion, or even a virus.

#3: Most CASTs seem relatively human in terms of appearance and behavior, though some like Lou are extremely stiff and formal with no apparent consideration for human emotions. Are CASTs "programmed" that way at "birth" or is it a matter of free will? Do CASTs have emotions at all, or do some / many of them simply try to emulate emotions when around other sentients to facilitate communication?

My guess for this is that when a CAST is created, it is made for a predefined purpose, and that dictates whether they are able to show emotion to much extent or not. For example, the CASTs which serve you at various shops in the game seem very generic and 'robotic'. It's likely because their only reason to exist is the retail of goods. When you start looking at more important CASTs, it seems like they have a capacity to learn of emotion, but I'm not sure its ever explained whether a CAST can truly develop its own emotions. In 'The Egg Thieves', you can see one of the Lou units smile (or indeed lower her head if you fail). To me, it looks like advanced CASTs have the capacity for emotion, but don't develop the same as a Human- instead they mimic their surroundings and learn from experience.

#4: Who or what is the head of the Parum CAST society?

No idea on this, and I'm not even sure its mentioned in the game, aside from Parum being run by a CAST Government.

#5: Can a CAST survive injuries that would kill a regular individual? Such as losing an arm or the like.

I'd guess so, to an extent. Just like humans though, it'd depend on the severity of an injury- and likely would depend on whether the CAST's 'brain?' was damaged. Considering parts are interchangable in PSU, I'd guess losing an arm would just require a repair, but it'd maybe be fatal if it was unattended for too long.

#6: What exactly is a "CAST clone"? I read something about this in one of the Episode 2 missions, but it didn't exactly elaborate except to say that they're generally inferior to the original.

As you said, there isn't much to go on for this. The only impression we get is that a CAST clone is just a physical replica of an existing CAST, with inferior technology to the original. Again, PSU doesn't cover this much- at least yet anyway.

Most of what I posted is just my opinion, PSU doesn't really expand on a lot of stuff like this, and leaves it pretty wide-open.

[chaostroop3]

On 2008-05-04 04:22, Ragna_Divide wrote:
Being a shameless fanfic writer, I'm finding myself wanting to elaborate on my characters' stories... and while it doesn't really matter in-game, it's enjoyable to write. But since the game doesn't outwardly elaborate on a lot of things (at least as far as I've been able to see), I had a few questions. In particular, about CASTs... as Newmans and Beasts and Humans seem fairly clear-cut.

And even if you don't know the official answer to any of these questions, feel free to throw out thoughts.

#1: What does 'SUV' stand for, at least in the PSU universe?

already ansewed

#2: Are CASTs organic in any way, or are they completely inorganic? Their appearance would suggest the latter, but they're susceptible to poisons and other toxins. Granted, that could just be a game mechanic thing.

#3: Most CASTs seem relatively human in terms of appearance and behavior, though some like Lou are extremely stiff and formal with no apparent consideration for human emotions. Are CASTs "programmed" that way at "birth" or is it a matter of free will? Do CASTs have emotions at all, or do some / many of them simply try to emulate emotions when around other sentients to facilitate communication?


they where created my humans before newmans or beast where created,they where more or least house maids, witch later humans gave free will. But some are still programed to do certan tasks

ex. free will - capt. curtz (yes he has free will)

ex. no free will magashi and lou (most have SOME form of free will thogh)


#4: Who or what is the head of the Parum CAST society?

i would geuss mother brain

#5: Can a CAST survive injuries that would kill a regular individual? Such as losing an arm or the like.

most of them, i recall seeing a cast with no arm walking around somewhere

#6: What exactly is a "CAST clone"? I read something about this in one of the Episode 2 missions, but it didn't exactly elaborate except to say that they're generally inferior to the original.

they are clones of the origanal to to that persons bidding , pepole that own CAST slaves uasaly are clones

EX. magashi/howzer
Just a few curious questions, and I imagine some or all of them may have no official answer, but I was just wondering.

hope i helped

[Ragna_Divide]

Thanks very much, everyone. Some good information, and some good speculation. I liked the 'virus' idea for poison, by the way.