Things are about as shaky as taking an unsupervised walk on the halon ring around planet Nexus right now. For Carbine’s happily cartoony SF MMO WildStar, doomsayers are proclaiming its end before the year is out, thanks to some reports from overseas about their potential lack of financial success and delays in pushing out new non-holiday or special event content. On the other hand, the devs do seem to be starting to whisper hints of new things to come. Late last year, we sat down with a couple of the more well-known devs from the Aliso Viejo studio to ask some questions about the game to see what might be coming up. At least one of the questions we asked Creative Director Chad ‘Pappy’ Moore seemed to have been prophetic, as he recently asked on his Twitter feed about what race players would like to see become playable.

MMOC: So, we know what happened to the Eldan, solving the biggest mystery of the universe. What’s next?

Moore: [WARNING: Spoilers ahead!]

Well, for those who played through Journey Into OMNICore-1 (the first chapter in the Nexus Saga), we know that the Eldan did not actually engineer the Protoplasmic Resonator – the device that was responsible for the creation of Drusera and the subsequent emergence of the Entity. Unfortunately, the specific data concerning exactly who did engineer the device seems to be located in a mysterious location known as “the Vault of the Archon”, a place which even the Caretaker knows nothing about. The next chapter in the Nexus Saga will focus on the discovery of this secret location, and obtaining the elusive information concerning the Protoplasmic Resonator’s creator. During this adventure, players will be joined by some of WildStar’s most famous and colorful characters – all of who will be vital to the mission’s success, as well as to the larger goal of discovering a way to separate Drusera from Entity. Get ready for some action!

MMOC: Will players get to explore other planets or can you tell us what other nooks and crannies we’ll discover on Nexus itself?

Moore: I can say that we have had extensive conversations about where the story of WildStar will go next, and many of those conversations have centered around the idea of visiting other planets in the WildStar universe. The homeworlds of the player races have loomed large in many of these discussions, along with other more mysterious locations. I think it’s safe to say that the story of WildStar will definitely lead players off the planet at some point in the future – but exactly when is something we’re not ready to talk about yet.

That being said, there are still some pretty epic places on Nexus itself that players have yet to see. Back in September I talked about some of the best stories in WildStar, and each one will take players to new and exciting places that they haven’t yet seen. Nexus is a big place, and we’re a long way from knowing everything there is to know about it.

MMOC: There are a good number of other sentient races on Nexus that players have been requesting to join either faction to be playable. Can you tell us if this is on the table, and if so, what progress has been made on making it happen?

Moore: In the short term, we aren’t actively working adding additional player races – but we have definitely discussed it as an option for the future. I always find it interesting to hear what races people think would be fun to play. Lopp Warrior, anyone?

MMOC: Other than Shade’s Eve, Winterfest, and Foundation Day/Starfall, are other holiday events being worked on for in 2016, and if so, what are they about?

Moore: The answer to that question? YES. We are currently developing a brand new major holiday event that we have never talked about before. I can’t reveal too much about it, but I can say that it is going to be awesome, and that it is chock full of WildStar personality. Players can also expect more events like the Hoverboard zPrix Invitational. [ed. So far, we’ve seen the Space Chase and Sim-Chase.]

MMOC: Expeditions, formerly Shiphands, have become a great way to level up and get cool loot along the way. Are there new Expeditions in the works?

Moore: Again, the answer is YES. I just recently played a brand new Expedition in development, and in my opinion is it one of the coolest (and creepiest!) yet! And given the popularity and accessibility of the Expedition format, we are currently looking at ways to reflect it in other kinds of WildStar content. I think that they are a great example of how fun gameplay, compelling stories, and great rewards come together to make an awesome experience.

There you have it from Pappy himself. While his Twitter query about playable races might just be an idle question, it once more engaged the playerbase almost as much as Senior Designer ‘Downtown’ Morgan Brown tweeting to ‘stay tuned’ for news about non-event content. The resulting spamming of memes and gifs in reply to Brown’s tweet was entertaining, to say the least.

We also turned our attention to Audio Manager and Lead Composer Jeff Kurtenacker, whose music tends to be one of the highlights of WildStar even in the most curmudgeonly player’s opinion. There has been some controversy over some of his recent additions to the game via the two recent Chase events, because the only way to acquire a handful of exclusive tracks he’d written for player housing was to spend real money on extremely stingy RNG boxes or an inordinate amount of in-game plat on the items if someone put them up on the auction house. Coupled with the lack of account-wide housing options, even the most loyal WildStar fans were disenchanted with how it was handled.

MMOC: You’ve teased new music on your social media, but haven’t really said what you’re working on specifically. The latest new stuff we’ve seen widely in-game is the Shade’s Eve and Winterfest music, which players have raved about, so can you tell us a little more about your current projects without getting too specific?

Kurtenacker: Shade’s Eve music was so much fun to write. I really enjoyed diving into that style for a bit. As far as upcoming music, I have been busy … so there is some new and exciting stuff coming up. In particular, you heard some more themed music for [Winterfest], and some other exciting musical surprises that I can’t talk about yet. But the great thing about WildStar is that we are constantly adding to it and evolving the game, which opens up opportunities for new audio. There is some upcoming content that I’m really excited for fans to hear.

MMOC: We’ve seen footage of you conducting the orchestra in the past. Which part of the whole process of creating a piece of music and getting it made is your favorite, and why?

Kurtenacker: Definitely the most satisfying moment, as an artist, is when the conceptualization stage fades into the actualization stage. When the music that has been rolling around my head gets played by a live orchestra and when it comes to life in the air – that is always a powerful moment. It is the most nerve wracking and satisfying part of the process. I love the writing process – with all of its headaches and stresses – and there is something blissful about pulling music out of me and putting it on paper. But still, a greater moment, is hearing it come to life in the masterful hands of such talented musicians.

MMOC: We’ve asked [Product Director Mike] Donatelli what progress has been made on getting an original soundtrack officially published. In lieu of that, are we likely to see more tracks up on your SoundCloud?

Kurtenacker: This is a question I get asked about a lot from fans. It’s a great feeling that so many of you love the music in WildStar and are hoping for an official OST; I myself have been hoping that is a project we get to share with you all eventually. I share music occasionally on my SoundCloud, but I’ve been careful not to overshare in hopes that we do release an OST soon. I appreciate everyone’s patience and I’m hopeful things will come together sooner than later.

MMOC: Time to pick a favorite child. Which track is your single-most favorite and why? Conversely, are there any tracks that you’re now dissatisfied with and want to redo?

Kurtenacker: Ha! I love the redo part of the question. There are some early tracks I wish I could go back and change. There’s 8 bars in the Northern Wilds theme I would adjust, just from an orchestration standpoint. Every time I hear it, it drives me nuts because I know what I’d like to do differently with voicings and doublings. Also there are a few zone cinematic moments in early levels that I know I could do better now. We also recorded a lot of the earlier music with a smaller orchestra, so it doesn’t sound as full or rich as the rest of the soundtrack. Favorite track? Well… I definitely have tracks that are very close to my heart for different reasons. Tracks like Reaching (Farside theme), Our Perception of Beauty (Drusera’s Theme), the WildStar Main Theme … but I think the track that I am most proud of is Into the Unknown – which is the character creation music. It’s a longer stretch of music, about 7 minutes long, and I’m really happy with how I weave thematic material in and out and around the orchestra and I’m really happy with the brass and string writing and how it all came together at the session. There’s some stunning moments in the string, and I still get chills when the brass stacks up at the end. I love the feeling I still get from it when I hear it, and I think that piece of music says everything I wanted to accomplish as a prologue to the WildStar adventure.

And there it is from the Maestro himself. While there might be some concerns floating around about the future of Nexus, it seems Carbine hasn’t given up on WildStar yet. Coupled with Brown’s tweet regarding staying tuned, the official WildStar Twitter feed dropped a brief video teaser featuring an Unknown Osun artifact that was rather large and requesting information from the Caretaker. Personally, we would recommend buckling up and to keep your hands and feet inside the ride, it’s about to take off like a rocket.