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Messages - Retro

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391
Creative Projects / Re: Create A Space Opera Galaxy Collaboration
« on: February 04, 2011, 02:31:31 am »
Quote from: Rysith on February 04, 2011, 02:22:13 am
Quote from: Retro on February 04, 2011, 02:05:26 am
Yes, you can give me the whole spiel about how Trek-style beaming transport is the same as a teleport spell, but the transport hardware is substantial and requires both power and people to operate. If you remove that, it becomes magic-by-way-of-technology. Such things tend to just give people god-powers as well, heavily destablizing the balance of power players in the universe and generally serving as a good way of implementing boring, Mary Sue-like characters into your setting.

I'll admit to just debating somewhat for the fun of it, but isn't space opera all about playing around with highly advanced technology without needing to come up with anything more than hand-wavey explanations or fully think through all the implications? Where else do you get fusion torches, handheld energy weapons, and anything from Star Trek? Space Opera is magic and fantasy by way of technology, but it wears science-y sounding names[1] rather than Latin-y names. And that doesn't contribute any more to Mary Suing than anything else, in that you can write a perfectly non-Mary-Sue space opera[2] or include Mary Sues in non-fantasy works

[1] Dilithium crystals, antimatter drive, deflector shield, etc.

[2] See, for example, Schlock Mercenary

Yeah, I agree totally with that sort of stuff. It's when you get down to stuff like nanotechnology that shoots fire or lasers or whatnot without any real apparent technological source that I get uppity. And hell yes, <3 Schlock Mercenary.

Quote from: Max White on February 04, 2011, 02:08:31 am
I want a star system! Let's start there.
I'm thinking your standard 'firefly' big style system, with many planets and moons, many colonisable to one degree or another.

Good place to start. I'll throw in the concept of a few planet with their own 'belts' of moons all sharing the same orbits (the moons in relation to each planet, not the planets themselves) for anyone else to build off of. When I'm a bit less busy, and if this has really kicked off, I'll probably come back and properly start contributing. I love space opera.

392
Creative Projects / Re: Create A Space Opera Galaxy Collaboration
« on: February 04, 2011, 02:05:26 am »
Quote from: Rysith on February 04, 2011, 01:49:51 am
Quote from: Retro on February 04, 2011, 01:39:25 am
A lot of weird things can happen in the universe, but 'remarkable scientific phenomenon' and 'can shoot fireballs or turn into a wolf' are in distinctly different categories.
So, what do you call small-ish plasma cannon, other than a wand of fireballs? Make it small enough and implant it in your finger and you don't even need the wand...

I would call it trying to force magic into a setting that's not about magic at all through the implementation of obscenely advanced technology. Guns and nanotechnology-that-you-implant-in-your-finger are a large jump apart. If you want to make a world with magic, it's a space-fantasy setting rather than a space opera. Yes, you can give me the whole spiel about how Trek-style beaming transport is the same as a teleport spell, but the transport hardware is substantial and requires both power and people to operate. If you remove that, it becomes magic-by-way-of-technology. Such things tend to just give people god-powers as well, heavily destablizing the balance of power players in the universe and generally serving as a good way of implementing boring, Mary Sue-like characters into your setting.

You guys don't even have a single planet or moon yet. I don't understand why you're all trying to heavily alter the genre setting to the point of turning it into another genre before you actually have a universe to even make these changes to.

393
Creative Projects / Re: Create A Space Opera Galaxy Collaboration
« on: February 04, 2011, 01:47:34 am »
That's not mysticism. That's a race/species. It's not mysticism until they turn into bat-tigers every seventh Tuesday afternoon.

394
Creative Projects / Re: Create A Space Opera Galaxy Collaboration
« on: February 04, 2011, 01:39:25 am »
Good lord. Someone starts an interesting project and within five posts it gets bogged down in discussion of licensing, whether FTL travel is possible (despite the setting being fictional), and promoting world-generator programs. This is a writing project, guys. If you are demanding licensing or royalties, you probably just shouldn't contribute; you should be debating how you want to implement FTL travel rather than whether or not it should be allowed (because you're not having anything remotely close to a space opera setting and a crossable universe without it), and you should actually be creating worlds through language and creativity instead of messing around with generation programs (and ESPECIALLY before you get caught up in debates about FTL and whatnot because who gives a shit if you can get around fast or not if there's nowhere to go to).

Additionally, if you actually want to stick to an actual 'space opera' style, magic and mysticism are pretty much right out. A lot of weird things can happen in the universe, but 'remarkable scientific phenomenon' and 'can shoot fireballs or turn into a wolf' are in distinctly different categories.

395
Forum Games and Roleplaying / Re: Adventure Guy! - Final Round 16.7
« on: February 03, 2011, 08:03:31 pm »
Quote from: iceball3 on February 03, 2011, 06:20:21 am
Stroke Patch's dismembered leg elegantly while you inquire why he his grasping your best friend.



You try to look both menacing and distinguished as you demand to know why he’s holding Skree.

You also take this moment to approach your stuff.

“Well, it just looked like so much fun when you were doing it that I had to try it out for myself. Interesting creatures! Did you know this whole time that they communicate through emotions? Fascinating! I had to figure it out for myself, of course.

“Right now, this one’s scared and feeling a bit hot-headed. Perhaps it’s got a fever. Shame we don’t have any doctors handy, isn’t it?”

Quote from: Jim Groovester on February 03, 2011, 03:00:01 pm
Tell Gentleman Feringus is planning on abandoning him.



You tell him that Feringus is abandoning him and heading for the core on her own. He laughs.

“You’re not the only one who can read notes carelessly left around, robot. I’m sure I’ll be able to catch up with the good doctor at the core. Just as soon as I’ve tied up a few loose ends.”

Quote from: mnjiman on February 03, 2011, 10:19:39 am
Ask what does he want?



You narrow your eyes and ask what he wants, placing one hand on your sword.

“Want? You have no idea what I want!” he shouts at you, losing composure. “You don’t remember anything! You don’t have to deal with your sense of purpose being chipped away at bit by bit! Do you know what it’s like to have a life dedicated to servitude, to go seeking out your master after she’s abandoned you, only to have her focus all her attention and interest on another robot who doesn’t even care?! NO!”



“And all because you’ve made… friends with this creature. Nothing I do can ever be good enough because I’m trying to actually be helpful instead of wasting all my time gathering pets! You don’t even know what your purpose is. I’m ashamed to be the same product model as you.”

Skree cries out. Gentleman’s grip seems to be tightening in his rage.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

396
General Discussion / Re: MSPA: Road Trip!
« on: February 03, 2011, 03:33:43 pm »
I'm expecting Gamzee pestering on Terezi's account now.

397
Forum Games and Roleplaying / Re: Adventure Guy! - Final Round 16.6
« on: February 03, 2011, 05:31:56 am »
Quote from: iceball3 on February 02, 2011, 08:39:13 am
Wield patches leg.



You clutch Patch's leg fiercely. Not the best weapon, but as far as makeshift weaponry goes it's not that bad. You don’t really feel much safer about this, though.

Quote from: Soadreqm on February 02, 2011, 08:56:22 pm
Leg it to the ship!



If Feringus is going to the ship, you better hurry and book it there yourself. You head for the ladder.



Standing on the dock, you find Gentleman waiting, holding-- Skree?

STOVEBRAND is jammed into the ground nearby, with your pack hanging from it.

398
Forum Games and Roleplaying / Re: Adventure Guy! - Final Round 16.5
« on: February 02, 2011, 03:15:29 pm »
Quote from: Armok on February 02, 2011, 12:59:33 pm
> Interface with ship computers.

Quote from: Retro on February 02, 2011, 08:26:56 am
There doesn’t seem to be any power on the ship.

On top of that, AG isn't exactly R2-D2. He 'interfaces' with computers by operating them manually like a human. So if something's not working, there's nothing more robot-y he can do about it. Except in the case of the pallet, which is for control and maintenence purposes - and even then, it's not AG in control of the interfacing.

399
General Discussion / Re: [:3] Things that made you HAPPY today thread. Auuu~! I'm terrible at this
« on: February 02, 2011, 01:39:12 pm »
I ought to start making dramatic posts every time I leave for eleven hours.

400
Forum Games and Roleplaying / Re: Adventure Guy! - Final Round 16.5
« on: February 02, 2011, 08:26:56 am »
Quote from: Jim Groovester on February 01, 2011, 05:45:17 pm
Swear vengeance on Gentleman and his mechanical cannibalism.



You are certain this was Gentleman’s doing. You swear to loose your just wrath upon him for his unforgivable mechanibalism.

Quote from: Jim Groovester on February 01, 2011, 05:45:17 pm
Examine stuff on desk.



You check out the desk. There’s a note, a small mug with some pens and pencils, a bank of memory chips, and some loose parts.

Quote from: Soadreqm on February 01, 2011, 07:22:49 pm
read the notes on the desk



You read the note.

Quote
Day 805
An interesting encounter today. One of the auxbots had reactivated and managed to locate me in the mobile lab. It wears a monocle, a top hat, and a fake moustache. All once the property of Les, of course – I told him to keep his old theatre memorabilia well away from the robots, but I suppose with the facility in the state it’s in now it could not have been helped. Considered wiping its personality, but the social-elite persona it has developed seems… proactive. This robot will serve better as an assistant than a blind tool. I have tasked him with finding any information pertinent to the location of the source, using whatever means he deems appropriate to meet those ends.

Day 806
My assistant returned with Rusty today. The poor animal was near-starved. Doing better now. He continues to sit at the base of the ladder, day in and day out. His master will not be returning, but he will never understand that.

Day 807
Today my assistant returned badly injured. He had been knocked into the sewage basin next to the freezer, which melted away his frame. Knowing the acidity of oculoid nutrient waste, it is no wonder we stumbled across a way to create an explosive from its fluids. I have instructed him to make repairs. I have no spare parts here, but I cannot afford to lose my assistant.

In his debrief he mentioned something most interesting. I had already heard that other robots were re-activating and wandering the lab idly, but this one had befriended one of the creatures and had even attacked my assistant in order to protect it. Most curious. A possibility here arises in my mind that I had hereto not considered.

Day 808
Slow day. Little progress on my experiments. The robot with the pet creature monopolizes my focus. A plan is forming, but I must know more about my subject first. I must meet this robot. I shall wait until my assistant returns.

Day 809
Assistant has returned, with another deactivated robot and several parts. Most of morning spent building a new frame. Not suited for handiwork. More Les’ sort of thing. Will call subject robot after lunch.

Day 809, con’t
Brought subject robot to lab. It is as I suspected – it has developed a somewhat childlike sense of justice and caring. Surely it would not understand my motivation. Its opinion was comically naïve. Was forced to quiet it just to ‘pitch’ my bluff. Nonetheless, have successfully sent him on an errand disguised as a quest of sorts. His description of the ship confirms my fears that it is out of backup power and fuel. My gambit is a great deal riskier now. I must finally abandon the mobile lab and bring my last amount of the chemical with me in order to power the ship. Preparations are being made. Once we have the co-ordinates I will proceed to the ship immediately.

Day 810
can’t sleep again. can’t calm my mind. every time i shut my eyes my mind wanders and the dark dreams bubble and i open my eyes and i’m drowning in a wind of ice and snow and it’s suffocating and i can’t breathe, i can’t breathe, i can’t sleep, i can’t... preston. god, preston, why? let me sleep, damn you. all i want is some rest. please, god. i’m so tired. let me rest. please. please.

Day 811
After all this time--

It's the core! The source is the core! We had ruled it out as too deep for such a chemical to hear the vibrations necessary to multiply, but somehow it has not only held out but in fact flourished! An astounding discovery - and yet one that in hindsight seems so obvious. How else could the planet keep so internally cooled? I will move to the ship immediately. My assistant has not yet returned – I do not know why. No matter. He knows my destination. He will have to meet me there by foot. And the subject robot… To think that such an emotional half-witted mechanism could help me make such a discovery. Such is life.

I leave for the ship presently. This then marks my final entry. I have spent nearly 27 months on this accursed planet. Earth, you need not wait for me. I shall only be a little longer.

Dr. C. Feringus, P.H.D.

Quote from: Soadreqm on February 01, 2011, 07:22:49 pm
grab the music box



You recover the music box. It has been repaired, as per Dr. Feringus’ promise. You decide to keep it under your hat for now.

Quote from: iceball3 on February 01, 2011, 05:43:32 pm
Grab patches leg and keep it with us. Retrieve pen and paper.

Unfortunately, you’re rather short of places to store things at the moment.

Quote from: Soadreqm on February 01, 2011, 07:22:49 pm
search the lab for anything else of interest. Like any memory chips.



There are three memory chips in the bank. You check them out one at a time.



They all display similar things.



Upon activation, it stared straight ahead to watch Gentleman tear into its companions.



Two tried to flee, one tried to fight. None of the three had any success.



One of them was dragged on its back to the sub lab. For a moment, you see Feringus examine it.



Then the feed cuts out.

Quote from: Soadreqm on February 01, 2011, 07:22:49 pm
see if the sub controls make any sense.



There doesn’t seem to be any power on the ship.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

401
General Discussion / Re: [:3] Things that made you HAPPY today thread. Auuu~! Touhou hijack?
« on: February 02, 2011, 03:51:25 am »
Quote from: Vector on February 02, 2011, 03:24:11 am
Also, I read a story today that encapsulated being young so well that I felt somehow comforted.  It was elegant, it was awkward, it had a certain something... I was crying with rage earlier, and I feel vastly better.

If we're discussing depictions of childhood in various mediums, I found that Where The Wild Things Are (the film adaptation, not the book, though I hold the book dear as well) did it staggeringly well.

402
General Discussion / Re: Out of context and funny quotes thread - REALMFIGHTER APPRECIATION STATION
« on: February 02, 2011, 01:41:17 am »
And to think that moments after posting that, I stumble across this. The shock of it all.

Quote from: Vector on February 01, 2011, 11:31:04 pm
it spewed a milky substance all over my hand--thin, a bit grayish, and not at all sticky.  Maybe a teaspoon of it.

C'mon now Vector, let's keep it PG :V

403
General Discussion / Re: Out of context and funny quotes thread - REALMFIGHTER APPRECIATION STATION
« on: February 02, 2011, 01:37:29 am »
Let's take a step away from IRC and get back to what we do best: turning harmless forum posts into euphemisms.

Quote from: Vector on February 02, 2011, 01:30:58 am
enormous

I want a huge one, in cream [...] Where by huge I mean "can go around my neck loosely a couple of times and still falls to my knees on both sides."

404
Forum Games and Roleplaying / Re: Adventure Guy! - Final Round 16.4
« on: February 01, 2011, 05:33:35 pm »
Quote from: Armok on January 31, 2011, 03:22:49 pm
Ask about free will, about what you are, about what the humans control over you means for that



You try to explain to mnemnem that you are a robot, and that the humans are able to restrict or mandate your action or inaction.

you do not believe yourself to be free? what an interesting notion. yes, you are free. all beings are born and die with free will in this world. one cannot change that with electronic rules.

when one avenue is blocked, another is opened. you shall always have a choice; you may simply have to discover it for yourself.

Quote from: Soadreqm on January 31, 2011, 07:49:53 pm
Also ask about the light tunnel.



You ask what’s up with the cold passageway of light.

it is the doorway to the sacred plains. through skygod the plains’ harvest give us life and protects our world, and through our worship we give thanks for its blessings. it is a harmonious and delicate balance.

Quote from: RAM on January 31, 2011, 07:46:24 pm
Ask about the substance that the humans want.
Quote from: Zako on February 01, 2011, 12:20:51 am
And say that the monsters-that-see-in-two are called humans and these two are here only to find a substance to most likely power their machines to let them travel great distances.



You try to explain who the humans are and what they want.

they wish to rob us of our crops. their rationale matters not. their gain necessitates our loss. we shall starve and burn in the hot sun.

Quote from: Zako on February 01, 2011, 12:20:51 am
Ask what you could possibly do in this situation.



You ask what you can do about all this.

i cannot tell you. you must decipher this for yourself.



You feel your vision—or rather, your weird mnemnem-induced group dream—being overcome by static.

go now. the forks approach.



The volcano. The sub. You are being called back.



You make your way back up to the volcano. Skree follows to the cave entrance.



The sub is here again. Gentleman is not here this time. You move towards the dock before you even think about it.



Your orders subside as you enter the lab – but the doctor is not here. Patch and the eighth robot are, though. Or were.



Oh god. Patch? Patch?! Damn it dude get up oh please oh shit oh shit



Something strikes the back of your head and you black out.











You wake up. You… aren’t dead, somewhat surprising considering the fate of the other bots. But your pack is missing.

405
Forum Games and Roleplaying / Re: Adventure Guy! - Final Round 16.3
« on: January 31, 2011, 03:13:40 pm »
Quote from: Armok on January 29, 2011, 04:39:29 pm
Ask it what the idol is.



You ask what's up with the eyedol looking just like it.

it is an effigy of skygod, much like i myself am made in its image.

Quote from: iceball3 on January 29, 2011, 12:34:30 pm
Ask of what services we can offer and apologize personally if we are intruding.
Quote from: Soadreqm on January 29, 2011, 02:05:56 pm
ask if it has any quests for us to do.



You apologize for butting in to its village and ask if it needs you to do anything.

you intrude not. i have been waiting a long time for one like yourself.

but i can ask nothing of you. i can instruct you not. i can guide you not. your choice is your own. this, i cannot foresee.

there are no quests. only a duty. a responsibility. a question. will you take it? it is this fork you will find yourself at. it is this choice you will make.

Quote from: Soadreqm on January 29, 2011, 02:05:56 pm
Also ask what the deal with this place is.
Quote from: USEC_OFFICER on January 29, 2011, 03:31:22 pm
Ask it to tell its story.



You ask it to tell you its story.

i cannot guide you. but i will tell you of our people. when you have heard all i have to say, only then will your paths present themselves.



my people are as children to you. they are simple. happy. devout. they want nothing but to eat, play, and rest.

this is all they know. this is all they have ever known. but before… i remember.



we were taller. we were strong. we were complex, sad and wistful. a people that could take care of themselves. guide themselves. find their own joys and happiness in whatever form that would take.



it was skygod we loved, and skygod we feared. skygod was benevolent. skygod was wrathful. we relied on him for the harvest, and his blessings were bountiful.



we built temples. idols. places of worship. testaments. as skygod fed our people, we repaid in faith.



we knew nothing of war. of suffering. there was loss, but in balance there was life. there is a practice you call hunting. we did not hunt. we were farmers. and in our slumber we grew fat and slothful.



our kind weakened. our strength, once thought to be a pillar of permanency, left us. a decision was made. our world within a world was sealed away. we could no longer defend ourselves, grow, age, advance. all we could do was conceal ourselves so that none would smell our stagnation.



ages passed and we became shorter. our hands, less dextrous. our legs, less precise. we sleepwalked through generations, and we lost ourselves in our unconscious.



do you see, robot? do you see the farmers now? they do not think on their own. they cannot remember. they know only of the present, and only of the plains, and only of skygod. they cannot be awoken now. their slumber is too suffocating.



i am mnemnem. before me, there was another mnemnem. before it, another. when i pass, another still will rise to take my place. we have watched over our people through its eternity. we protect them. we are the keepers of memory. we are infinite in number. the people speak to me, and i speak to the people. through this, we achieve a consciousness that even in dreams all can share. it is our way.



i see your kind. the monster-that-sees-in-two. they come here looking. searching. watch as they enter our world from skygod’s domain. they do not find our chiefs. our captains. our leaders. they find centuries’ worth of children. no longer evolving; simply maintaining.



they disturb us. and we venture forth, released once again into the world. we are not awakened, merely restless in our hibernation. we are curious. what are these beasts?



our infantile curiousity betrays us. we are cut down in our sleep.



this is as far as the story goes. yet even now, new chapters wait to be written. the storyteller waits, quill poised, with bated breath. his muscles are tensed. what tale will be told? what story will be woven? mnemnem waits.



i cannot foresee your future, robot. but i foresee a choice. you approach the forks, robot. how will you choose when you arrive? it is this and only this that you must question.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

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