Warp Pipes

[Claws]

Warp Pipes--are they products of transportation engineering or the result of enchantment?

I think they're the interstate highways of the Mushroom Dimension. Their creation was probably a scientific breakthrough. I think the governments install warp pipe lines between densely populated areas, as they have a tendency to connect areas like these (see the Mario rpgs). They can also serve as mere hallways between two areas (see the original Mario trilogy). And, in a few cases, they have been built over tears in the dimensional fabric to serve as a more effective means of transdimensional travel. This is because of the warp pipe at DK's Jungle Adventure Board (which, as I said earlier, I believe to be in our dimension. You'll find many of my theories depend on that one). There was probably a dimensional tear there in the first place, and when it was discovered by the government, a warp pipe was built on each end of it. Also, the Mario brothers entered the Mushroom Dimension through a warp pipe such as this.

[Kamikaze Koopa]

Hmmm, plausible theory. I personally tend to lean towards the "ancient civilization" theory, myself. I think most Mario fans will agree that warp pipes are certainly not naturally occuring phenomena.

[Claws]

I think the government (and even talented individuals) is able to place direct routes between places by use of warp pipe technology. I think they dig really long tunnels and then place the pipe in the tunnel. Because if it was an ancient civilization, how did they make such good choices for warp pipe placement? You know, between each town and city. I doubt these places were around back then.

[Kamikaze Koopa]

Well, I don't think that's a matter of the warp pipes being placed near the towns, so much as the towns being built around the warp pipes. Once the races figured out how the pipes worked then they knew they could be used as forms of transportation and trade, so once they found a useful warp pipe they would build a town near or around it.

[Claws]

I guess that would work. I don't know, I just liked the idea of them having a choice as to where the pipes went. My thinking now is, why did the ancient build so many pipes?

[Kamikaze Koopa]

Exactly the same reason: transportation.

[TakuTheSamurai]

If you will notice, warp pipes have been becoming progressivly faster. in SMB1, for example, it took almost 3 second to get down a pipe. in SM64, travel was instantanious. Perhaps due to the advencement of Mushroom Kingdom technology in general. While the groundwork itself may have been developed pre-Mario, the advancement and expansion has mushroomed(pardon the pun) out, effectively becoming the new roadway.

[Kamikaze Koopa]

Hmm, good point. Perhaps Professor Gadd and the Hooniversity could have contributed to this.

[Claws]

Probably Warp Pipes were developed by an ancient civilization, and it's just recently that the governments have learned to harness their power. Now that this view has been presented, I think that Warp Pipe travel is such an odd method of transportation that I don't see how the Mushroom Kingdom could've developed it. But I think now that they have used them and learned how they work, the government has been able to duplicate the process and add lines where needed in addition to improving the performance of all of them. Is this a nice compromise between our two views, Kamikaze?

[Claws]

And I too think Professor Gadd and the Hooniversity were the leading minds behind the attempt to understand Warp Pipes.

[Yoshi Master]

I like this one guys story that warp pipes have some magical object in them that serves as a portal. In many games pipes stopped at blocks. This must mean warp pipes are not full pipes but just the ends.

Like a teleporter your molecules go from one portal to the next instantly. Without this going through a long tunnel, it's instant.

I hope I made sense I might rephrase this later.

[Kamikaze Koopa]

It made perfect sense. I never really thought that the pipes were physically connected to where they came out.

[Kamikaze Koopa]

Here's an example of pipes ending at blocks.

img.photobucket.com/albums/v217/predalien85/pipe_stop.png

Credit to YoshiMastar for sending me the pic. Thanks, man.

[Claws]

That completely displaces my theory. I think YoshiMastar is on the right track--They're transporters, and the pipes are just visual markers for the portals. But why make these markers look like pipes? Perhaps pipe-like tunnels were used for transportation at one point, and while portals are now used, the tradition of pipes serving as transportation continues.

[Kamikaze Koopa]

Perhaps they've always been used as transporters, but the ones that lead into tunnels acted more as storage bunkers?

[Yoshi Master]

They look like pipes because thats more appropiate than anything else I suppose.

[Claws]

They're definitely easy to spot and use.

[Yoshi Master]

I'm thinkin about the warp portal in the movie... how about this:

( the portal is a pipe cealed with whatever )

The pipe can only be opened by significant power sourses ( " the rock " peice ), but most of them are cealed with a door. ( lid, like sewer lid, like the submarine doors with the spinning wheel on it. )

[Claws]

It's been a long time since I've seen the movie. Is it cannon?

[Yoshi Master]

What is this cannon you speak of?