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Re: Main OOC Thread

Reply #1000 –
STAR TREK: THEURGY POLL CONCLUSIONS

I have decided to reply to the poll here on the OOC thread with my own conclusions, comments and explanations. To know what I am referring to, check the Poll Results above.

Does your GM generally need to increase, decrease, or keep to the same posting length when he writes?

Unanimously, you have said that I should keep to the same posting length. One comment suggested that I would limit my posts to 2 characters at the time for ease of reading, and I will bear this in mind and favour doing so over posting with 3+, but it might be hard to live by this at all times.

Do you feel lost and without direction in the game? If so, how would you like to be informed about story development?

While some of you have been lost, it seems like I take accurate measures to help, either by sending personal notes or answering questions over PM or IM. Overall, I reckon that the guidance I gave you all, with story overviews and prompts is working okay. One comment in particular stood out:

Quote
I truly don't want to overtax you, Lucan, nor do I want to give you the sense you need to constantly hold my hand, but I LOVE when you PM me with suggestions for how you see X helping out.  Sometimes I forget the complex history of the game, and you give me other angles to explore (or you help me see why my ideas aren't feasible given what's ahead) that I wouldn't otherwise consider.

I will bear this in mind and send such notes when I think there is due cause for it, but on the other hand, I do not want to direct you all too much with notes about what your characters should think or do. I find great enjoyment in reading your characters act and think for themselves without my direction, and I promise, I will make every effort I can to incorporate news ideas into the story. The request was, I realise, to high-light connections that your characters *should* be drawing because of this and that. Connections that might not be entirely clear to new or old writers, and this is something I will bear in mind. I don't think I can do this on a regular basis (foreseeing and sending notes unbidden), but I always enjoy brainstorming after being requested to do so.

Name one thing you want me to continue doing as GM.

Indeed, I have every intention to 1) Keep the story going and moderate it as I have 2) Post chapter progress and update lists here in the OOC thread, so no worries there 3) Still be involved and encouraging. I do not feel like I have to change anything in my routine in these regards.

Name one thing you want me to stop doing as GM.

Nothing much received here besides a spelling oversight. My bad!

Name one thing you want me to start doing as GM.

The fun thing here was that one of you wanted me to add characters while another wanted me to kill off the surplus, lol! I am not sure what to make of that, but I will keep as many NPCs alive as might be needed in the stories to come, but I am no fan of having too many of them. They might not all be Redshirts to me, but some more than others, and in the true spirit of Star Trek... they may all die one day or another. I also noted a comment about Department Objectives, and I will keep it in mind for future reference. It might be a good way to offer direction in a more conventional storyline than in the current Episode.

Quote
Possibly create an OOC (on topic) and an OOC (Off topic) a group chatroom via a browser friendly IRC or similar thing.  Alternatively a creation of an Off topic OOC thread for non Roleplay related OOC talk amongst us players.

The first alternative is not very feasible since we are hosted by House of Eros and HoE has its own chatroom and plenty of discussion threads on its main board. I am not sure how much use we will have for an off-topic OOC thread on our own board when we have plenty available on the main site, but if there are more of you who want a second OOC thread for discussions not pertaining to the Theurgy story, then I will take it under advisement. Please post your comments here about that.

List the times/periods in the last couple of Chapters where the story seemed to drag on, you were bored, or the energy in the Group seemed the lowest.

Several comments suggested that the Festival of the Moon was somewhat of a drag, which was made evident in the score it got in the ratings below, and I agree in the most part. However, it did have its uses and helped build up to the later events, so I am not sorry we held Lohlunat on the holodeck. It might have been shortened a bit more, but I did cut the Chapter down a lot mid-way through it (removing one IC encounter from the original three possible in the spreadsheet) since posting had gone down and people wanted to move on.

As for the nature of events in the Festival, writing erotica - not to mention the portrayal of your own character's reaction to events in his or her life - is and remains optional to all our writers in their written expression. We strive for realism, but as for psychological burdens and how they accumulate, I don't think there is one sci-fi (or police) TV-show out there that can capture the true toll of their characters' accumulated experiences. I will not tell our writers that they can't write their characters in this or that way because of something that happened to them earlier in this adventurous (and sometimes dark) story we write. That being said, I am definitely not pro-rape in any regard, which some of you may already know. More on this later on.

If someone wants help knowing what to read and not to read, however, I will gladly send some notes, so no worries there.

Do you feel rail-roaded in the story? (meaning: you get pushed into an IC-situation you do not want to write) If so, when was this?

The gist of it all is that if you stay in touch with me over PM or IM things will work out fine if this should happen. I will aim to reply as quickly as I can to sort out things like these.

Are you enjoying playing your character(s), and if not, what would you like to happen to them?

A lot of character-based comments, and again, please let me know if you have ideas for your characters and I will do my utmost to incorporate them into the storyline. I have several examples, but one of the most prominent ones is the sub-plot where Brutus' character Sarresh Morali was genetically re-engineered into a human after taking a bath in an acidic lake. That whole arc spanned 3-4 chapters (I think), and it was based on a member request. Brutus and I worked together to make it happen, and this in the middle of the major storyline.

Is your GM fair or do you feel he favours any particular player over the others?

I was especially pleased to hear that no one thought I was playing favourites, since that is something of the worst a GM can do. I make every effort for everyone to have their characters shine through in the story, but I can only do so much as to suggest and present opportunities, then it is up to you guys to actually play your characters. And like I have said, I do help out as much as I can with direction if you guys need it, but its not something I shove down your throats. I want you to make your own imprints to the evolving events!

Would you like to see graphics, maps or floor plans used more often, particularly in combat situations?

LOL, ok, ok. I get it. I will do more of those.

For each of the following scenes/events, rate them 1-10, 10 being best.

Looking over the scores that the different Chapters got, it seems evident you guys like action and conflict far more than sex on the beach. Got it, lol. The scene what got the most varied opinions was the Senior Staff Meeting, and I can understand how some likes such scenes a lot, and others don't. It will always be a necessity to lesser or greater extent to keep things as realistic as possible when writing the governing of a ship, but it can be done effectively and to the point. I tried to restrain posting length in that thread, but the next time, I think I will (after the intro of each topic) actually set a maximum word limit to the following posts and encourage quicker and more dynamically conversational posting between the Senior Staff members.

For each of the characters listed, rate them in terms of interest level or how entertaining you found them, from 1-10, 10 being the best.

As for this section of the Poll, I just want to thank everyone for the input. A lot of flattering and warm comments on my primary characters and a clear indication given to me which ones of the NPCs might be killed off at some point. I was also pleased to see that the villains of the current plot invoked a lot of ill will towards them, and some were so scary that they were not even given a rating (as if they would jump out of your monitor and kill you?).

My personal reflection is that some of you still don't see Ida or Rihen the way I do, but that is up to me to fix somehow, lol.

On a scale of 1-10, 10 being best, rate your role-playing experience in the Star Trek: Theurgy Group RP. If you have no opinion, please say so. Also, can you think of what might make the Group RP score a rating of 10?

The Group RP got an Average Score of 8,8 points!

A lot more than I had expected, and some added many warm words to embellish that score. Thank you, and I hope to raise that score with the next poll if I can. :)

Name one thing the next Episode should have more/less of.

A lot of good advise in the last section. I have saved it all and will have it under advisement as we proceed. As for linearity, which one comment detailed, I would love to try and have it... but as you may already guess, it is quite hard to keep events streamlined when we are all collectively writing 40 characters that all wants their time in the spotlight, so I do try to keep to the ground rules for story composition but it gets... tough at times, to say the least.

Oh, and I love how one member wrote "more smut!" and another urged towards for "less sex!". It just goes to show how I will leave the sex scenes in our story optional to write and read for all members. Again there was the call for more action, and with the ship going to Starbase 84 eventually, I think we'll have our fill. Psychological repercussions of what the crew has been through there is absolutely room for, but its a choice for each writer.

I whole-heartedly share the opinion about less rape, though, since with the latest portion of the plot, I come to shy away from those scenes more and more. I found myself deeply disgusted writing the recording of Narik Cinsaj being raped, feeling truly sick and dirty afterwards, and have after that tried to keep it on a more okay storytelling level. I am far more ok with mind-control aspects, but as one of you said, we have had elements of that throughout three Episodes now, and its quite enough, lol.

That's it! The OOC thread is open for discussion about the poll results and my comments!

Best Regards,

Auctor Lucan

Re: Main OOC Thread

Reply #1002 –
STATUS UPDATE

Just letting you all know that I am on a business trip to Berlin these next three days so while I have my work computer to write on in the evenings, I do not have access to my graphics software on the home computer. Therefore, those of you who are waiting for character images or species graphics will have to wait a bit for them. Sorry for the delays!

Speaking of graphics, I know I said I'd make a new tactical map for Sickbay a while ago but things have kept getting in the way. As it stands, Vinata Vojona has done his best to restrain Phantom from behind with a blanket in the main surgical suite in the CMO Office, while Ryuan Sel has started shooting at the Harbinger Pilots Freya and Riptide, who are standing in the entrance to Medical Lab 01.

Best Regards,

Auctor Lucan

Re: Main OOC Thread

Reply #1003 –
Actually Vinata has not moved in yet, he is waiting for the opportune moment for rushing to attack with his blanket.

Re: Main OOC Thread

Reply #1005 –
It pains me very much to tell you that as much as I have loved my time here at Theurgy, I will not be able to continue roleplaying with you.

While short-lived, I have enjoyed my time here so much, and loved every second of it. I regret not being able to play out the characters that you and I created together, I really was looking forward to it. I thank you endlessly for all the hard work you have put into this game, and being such amazing people with such confounding creativity.

This is the most in-depth, detailed, interesting roleplay I've seen in my history of Star Trek. I just don't have the time to continue it, and I feel like I owe you an explanation. When I first started, like I might have said before, I had been putting it off for a while because I didn't know when I was moving out. I was moved into a new house by the time I sent in my application for Axius, and all was well. I was living with my mother who does not receive income and supporting the both of us. However, the cost of the house began to rise in utilities, and my paycheck was barely enough to have a little money to save after groceries and bills. But then my mother broke her leg, and I had for the expenses, and have a full time nurse at the house when I was at work. I didn't have enough money, so I took in more hours. Now my workload is interfering with my free time for the game, I don't feel it's fair for me hold everyone back in the story while giving myself more stress. I hate it, but it happens.

God bless you for everything you have done, and I wish you and everyone in the story a wonderful continuance. You all have created a masterpiece in which I lived in for a short second, and I am grateful for such. If you have any questions, please let me know and I will try my best, but at this point I simply can't keep up with the story.

Re: Main OOC Thread

Reply #1006 –
Thank you for your kind words and the time you wrote with us. So sorry that you're leaving and you'll be missed. Good luck in the future, and please stay in touch, but I can understand how RL takes up a lot of time.  I would especially like to thank you for inspiring ideas that came to me in relation to SB84, which will be detailed to the Group as a whole later on. I will be playing Axius as an NPC for the time being and we'll see what happens.

STATUS UPDATE

I have posted a lot today but I still have two more to write, the next one being Anodyne (in three locations) followed by Calamity (two locations). I will get to them tomorrow, and to those who have been waiting for others in almost two weeks in Anodyne, I hope to pick up the pace with some effective and fun progress.

Best Regards,

Auctor Lucan

Re: Main OOC Thread

Reply #1007 –
It is finished! A big project of mine has come to an end. I hope you all like the update to the Lone Wolves Group image. Click the image for a larger version:


[ Click for Larger Version ]

This image also depicts the flight suits that they have always worn. I will be updating the Tactical Conn info with more info on the suit, but that won't be tonight since its 3 am in the night here, lol. The never-used atmosphere version (Class A?) will be removed as well. With the completion of this project I will be able to make additional individual character images for the Lone Wolves too.

Good night!

Best Regards,

Auctor Lucan

Re: Main OOC Thread

Reply #1009 –
Holy fuckballs.  That image is amazing.  well those images but Seriously that squadron image. is perfect.    Also thank you for the changes to Miles's Appearance.

Cant wait till you make an info post about the suits in the dept info thread detailing them.  I Can only hope to see an image of the helmet in that post heh.  I can only imagine how the helmet that matches that hardsuit looks.


BTW I have been playing old Space fighter squadron sims in the last week.  bought all of wing comander and the star wars X wing series off of GoG and for good measure reinstalled tachyon the fringe too.  Reecently been binge playing some space fighter stuff.  ALso rewatched all of cowboy bebop recently and been looking for a good download of either Robotech or the original Japanese version Super Dimensional Fortress Macross.  Needless to say when Miles gets back in the cockpit I will be more than eager to apply some fresh memories of Space fighter action into my writing.  ANy other good recomendations for games anime TV etc to inspire space fighter stuff.

P.S.  I didn't forget Battlestar Galactica I just don't know whether to watch the old series first or watch the modern remake.

Re: Main OOC Thread

Reply #1010 –
Thanks for the feedback! When I find a good font, I will be adding numbers to the chests of the suits. I will use the same fonts on the shoulders of the female suits in the image, move the Tac Conn emblem to the right side of the female chests and add numbers on the left side of their chests too.

As for the helmets, as I have stated on the DeviantArt page for the new Lone Wolves Squadron image, I take no credit for the original designs I have been photoshoping. Original images used: 1) https://cdn.artstation.rocks/p/assets/images/images/000/285/038/large/wipyuka.jpg?1415133844, 2) https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/474x/e3/70/c7/e370c716caea7c6286703f68711be457.jpg, 3) https://cdn.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/000/066/653/large/courir_F.jpg?1400146323, 4) https://mxnarch.artstation.com/portfolio/col-rigel-lightweight-eva-suit-full-suit . Due credit has been given to Chris Chui, Teruyuki and Yuka after contacting them, artists who's fantastic art can be found here: http://www.telyuka.com/ & https://mxnarch.artstation.com/.

I hope you all won't be too disappointed in the lack of an aggressive design, but I am going to use Chris Chui's helmet design for both the female and male Tac Conn suits: https://mxnarch.artstation.com/portfolio/col-rigel-lightweight-eva-suit-full-suit . I have already checked, and the two designs work really well with the helmet in my own opinion, and it is also not too far off from the design of the cannon 2373 space suit helmet: http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Environmental_suit?file=Garak%252C_EV_suit.jpg

I might, if I have the time, edit Chris Chui's space suit above and make it Star Trek: Theurgy's standard EVA suit.

Best Regards,

Auctor Lucan

Re: Main OOC Thread

Reply #1012 –
And you MUST play Battlestar Galactica Online, all of you! :P

But yes, watching the remake is good too. Plus, I like that they concluded the storylines in an interesting way.

Re: Main OOC Thread

Reply #1013 –
I've played Galactica online, though it was in the early stages. Got too boring after a while ^^
But yes, BSG's remake is definitely worth a watch!

Re: Main OOC Thread

Reply #1014 –
I got the board game.  Roll snake eyes, your character needs therapy  8)

Re: Main OOC Thread

Reply #1015 –
TACTICAL CONN INFORMATION UPDATED

I have done a minor overhaul of the collected Tactical Conn information post in the Ship and Department Info thread:

http://houseeros.com/roleplay-role-playing-forum/index.php?topic=5460.msg450276#msg450276

Reading this old information again made me spot numerous mistakes, like how some edits were not made in all places of the text, causing some contingency errors in the descriptions. So, I spent some time weeding out all such stuff when adding the new information about the Tactical Conn Exosuits (as depicted in the Lone Wolves Squadron image) and the section about Squadron Spirit. Formerly, we had one section describing the background of Tactical Conn and a separate one for the Valkyrie production history, but now I have merged the two sections into one for ease of reading and cutting out some irrelevant stuff. If you spot any mistakes, please let me know in that case so that I can fix it.

Besides the edits, the important additions are the Tactical Conn Exosuit info as well as the text about Squadron Spirit, where you will find some images of off-duty stuff.

Best Regards,

Auctor Lucan

Re: Main OOC Thread

Reply #1016 –
You now I think Vinata is going to be unfit for duty for a while after this mutiny, first he gets raped, then strangled, now he has a bleeding burnt corpse laying on top of him...I do not think we will ever be able to stand he smell of cooked meat ever again.

Re: Main OOC Thread

Reply #1017 –
Lucan awesome work on the reworking of the tac conn page.

Re: Main OOC Thread

Reply #1018 –
Quote from: Zenozine on
You now I think Vinata is going to be unfit for duty for a while after this mutiny, first he gets raped, then strangled, now he has a bleeding burnt corpse laying on top of him...I do not think we will ever be able to stand he smell of cooked meat ever again.

True, I think most of the crew could use some R&R after this little mutiny. lol

Re: Main OOC Thread

Reply #1019 –
R & R that involves no surprise assaults and murders. Yes please.

Re: Main OOC Thread

Reply #1020 –
We should have a celebration, some festive occasion for a lot of character interaction. Maybe even give it a them, you know since this is a SciFi roleplay we should name it after some celestial body, like the sun or that big glowing rock that is most visible at night. A festive occasion named after that thing...

I wonder what it should be called...

LOL :D

Re: Main OOC Thread

Reply #1021 –
STATUS UPDATE CHAPTER 04: INVICTUS

Heh heh, well, a quick update from my end.

In 01: Subjection, Kurohigi and Cathreen Dawinter are next in their respective scenes with Rez and Cardamone. I am next to post with Riptor in one of the interrogation rooms. This thread ends as soon as Zenozine and Triage beams their characters into the Brig, where events will continue in 04: Retaliation (see below).

[02: System Reboot] - Finished!

[03: Liberation] - Finished!

In 04: Retaliation, CanadianVet is next followed by RosariaRosette - the latter ending the Distraction Team scene in that thread. With my next post in the Deck 02 scene in 05: Anodyne (see below), the former distraction team characters will be given an opening to show up. In the shuttle bay, Zenozine is next, about to arrange for transport into the Brig (if I have the time, I might be posting with Axius here too).

I will be posting with Cir'Cie in 05: Anodyne soon, about to help Vinata get out, I think. As for the corridor scene on Deck 02 in that thread, I am still waiting on Brutus and Searcher before separating the groups into the cargo hold team and the strike team going for the Bridge (plus adding the former distraction team).  I am also waiting on Brutus and Searcher for the scene in the Medical Labs.

In 06: Calamity, Kurohigi is next to post with Lin Kae and Nathaniel Isley respectively. Nolan is next to post in the Harbinger events, and CanadianVet could be next to post with Carrigan Trent in the Battle Bridge fight against T'Rena. Alternatively, Doctor Maya could post instead, choosing whether or not O'Connell attacks T'Rena while unarmed to allow for Trent to get up and join in - both of them fighting her simultaneously.

Lastly...

After some discussion between Kurohigi and I, the decision is that I will take over playing Declan Vasser for the remainder of this Episode. I am sketching out some ideas for how to best make use of the Commodore's POV when fighting the Calamity, and you will notice when my plans come into play there.

Let me know if you guys have any questions!

Best Regards,

Auctor Lucan

Re: Main OOC Thread

Reply #1022 –
Quote from: Sirus on
We should have a celebration, some festive occasion for a lot of character interaction. Maybe even give it a them, you know since this is a SciFi roleplay we should name it after some celestial body, like the sun or that big glowing rock that is most visible at night. A festive occasion named after that thing...

I wonder what it should be called...

LOL :D

Didn't we just have one of those the night before this mutiny began.

Re: Main OOC Thread

Reply #1023 –
That we did.

Perhaps an interregnum and/or supplemental threads where people deal with the stress, trauma and the like would be more suitable?

Re: Main OOC Thread

Reply #1024 –
I'm probably with that. Just burrow a hole and hide in it for a while. :P But more likely go out and talk to people and make friends. :)
 
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