Neumann

Neumann the Magical Rocket 魔導ロケット・ニウマーナ Magical Rocket・Niumāna
Screenshot from Magical Starsign
Species	Ancient robot
Affiliation(s)	Espresso civilization Party

">Spacepod Neumann prepared for liftoff. >Please execute a command."

―Neumann

Neumann the Magical Rocket is a character in Magical Starsign. It serves to transport the party across the planets of the Baklava solar system.

Gameplay

Bridge

At the bridge, the player can talk to the rocket's robot to access a list of functions.

• "Restore HP/MP" fully heals the party's HP and MP.
• "Scavenge" initiates a search for items around the ship.
• "Remove Ally" becomes available once an egg character has been obtained. Characters not in the party stay in the rocket's cabin.
• "Ask a Question" appears after entering the incubator room, giving the player tips on how to use the rocket's features.

By interacting with the navigation globe in the center, the player can choose to fly to any previously visited planets except Shadra. It appears gray upon first receiving Neumann, but after an upgrade with the mystic mouse, it turns green and may fly to Erd, Cassia, Puffoon, or Gren. It then turns blue when upgraded with the aquarino, allowing for travel to Razen. Finally, it turns white after the five millennium gummies are obtained, signifying Neumann's ability to access Nova.

Cabin

The cabin is where inactive characters stay while not in the party. If the party is full, a message appears asking which member the player wishes to replace. Otherwise, talking to an inactive character allows them to join the party. If main party members (Mokka, Lassi, Chai, Pico, and/or Sorbet) are in the cabin during story cutscenes, they will appear in the party for the duration of the cutscene.

Incubator

The incubator is where egg characters' eggs are kept until they hatch. When examined, the player can see how close an egg is to hatching.

Profile

Neumann often makes lighthearted and whimsical remarks if the player chooses to scavenge the ship, typically commenting on the party’s questionable searching spot decisions or briefly chiding the team for the mess they have created. It serves as an informative guide, providing detailed information on the ship’s features, including eggs, the incubator, and Tag Mode. The rocket also announces commands prior to executing them.

Neumann the Magical Rocket has a warm toned, brass-like exterior with a three-dimensional, teardrop-shaped form. Four gray fins are affixed to its body, though only two or three are visible depending on the position of its overworld sprite. The rear of the rocket features four thrust nozzles, each with an attached fin. A walkway deploys from the rocket’s hatch to the ground while docked. When in Tag Mode, a satellite dish extends from the rocket’s nose, which is used to contact players in parallel universes.

Neumann’s interior is divided into two floors. The upper floor houses the bridge, while the lower floor contains the cabin and incubator room. The rocket’s robot is stationed in the northwestern corner of the bridge. The navigation globe is centrally located in the bridge, changing color from gray, green, blue, and white respectively as the player progresses through the plot. A ladder in the southeastern corner of the bridge leads down to the cabin, with the incubator room located to the north, hosting seven large egg incubators.

Biography

Origin

Thousands of years ago, Neumann was among many space shuttles produced for transporting water from Cassia to Erd. These shuttles were also originally restricted to the water and earth planets to fulfill their intended purpose. To travel freely across the Baklava solar system, a mystic mouse was required. Additionally, Neumann likely was able to fly without consuming fuel. This was a feature believed to be characteristic of ships built by ancient, spacefaring civilizations that designed self-sustaining spacecraft.

Magical Starsign

The magical rocket was first noticed by Lassi, who brought it to the protagonist's attention while exploring the Kahve Ruins. The duo decided to follow through with Lassi’s plan of hot-wiring and stealing the rocket. However, as they approached Neumann’s dock, they were surrounded by a group of five ancient robots, led by Robot D12S. The two were then captured and imprisoned in Gumbo Gaol after failing to escape from the robotic entourage.

Later, while venturing the Kahve Ruins again, the party encountered the magical rocket once more, this time guarded by Securitron 2. After defeating Securitron 2, Lassi and the protagonist quickly boarded the spacepod before Robot D12S was given a chance to retaliate. Neumann introduced itself and promptly launched into space.

Due to its programming, Neumann automatically headed for and roughly landed in Cassia’s freezing waters; albeit now unsuitable for lift-off upon landing. The local, banished dwarves repaired the shuttle and installed the mystic mouse, overriding the ship’s navicontrol system and allowing the party access to the earth, wind, and wood planets. The ship was not able to safely enter Razen's scorching atmosphere during this period.

While en route to the wind planet, it settled on a platform that was lowered into Puffoon’s spaceport, becoming the ship’s designated landing site on subsequent visits. During Gren’s first arrival, astro pirates pelted Neumann with arrows, forcing the party to land immediately in Carbonara Jungle, which then also served as the rocket’s landing location.

Once the aquarino was acquired, the Cassian dwarves upgraded Neumann to withstand Razen’s intense heat, allowing it to land on Jalapeño Wastelands. With the five millennium gummies gathered, the party received a message from Condimen Tower, requesting to dock the ship on its top level. Grenadine used the millennium gummies to etherealize Neumann, enabling the rocket to fly into the heart of the sun, onto Nova. Prior to leaving Razen toward the light planet, Persimmon ushered Caldarroste to sneak into the bulkhead near the rocket’s main engine, citing a design flaw that could be exploited. Following their victory over Shadra, the students returned to Kovomaka aboard Neumann, docking at Will-o-Wisp’s rocket hangar.

Trivia

• According to Brownie Brown's former website, br2.co.jp, Neumann was originally called the "magic bus rocket" (魔バスロケット), a likely callback to the magic bus from Magical Vacation. Several prototype versions were designed, one of which featured Café au Lait's head (or possibly Mokka's) attached to the rocket. Version 3 depicted Neumann with a robot form that could fight in "space battles" (宇宙バトル), though this mechanic was scrapped due to time constraints. Neumann's current design is Version 6, and some of its rejected designs can be found at Erd's Ships' Graveyard. Unfortunately, these Neumann prototype designs are currently only known by description, as the artworks were not preserved before the site shut down.
• Before the player actually obtains Neumann, it will still appear when searching for nearby players via Tag Mode.

Nomenclature

	This section is incomplete. You can help Kovopedia by expanding it.
	Reason: Needs names in other languages

The name Neumann means "new man," "newcomer," or "settler" in German. Its Japanese name, Niumāna, comes from 生海胆 namauni, a general term for sea urchins. Neumann's English name may be derived from this.

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	魔導ロケット・ニウマーナ Madō Roketto・Niumāna	Magical Rocket・Niumāna, from 生海胆 namauni (sea urchin)
English	Neumann