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Post by japaneseteeth on May 26, 2019 0:27:51 GMT
FYI I am currently vacation and driving to New Jersey to go to the beach. I am currently in a hotel in Terre Haute, Indiana. Weather has been great so far, which is nice, because last time we did a trip like this we got deluged with rain.
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Post by japaneseteeth on May 23, 2019 14:35:02 GMT
Yeah, at this point character names are largely irrelevant anyway. ;p I have no clue when I'll get on writing more of it, though. On Saturday my family is going to be leaving on vacation, so I don't know how much I'll be on for the next week or two after that. I will have internet access but I'll also be pretty busy.
And yeah, the book is really interesting. Even if you aren't that familiar with the series, it's fascinating how they put the world together. Especially because early on the games were intended to be more standalone rather than having an overarching mythology.
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Post by japaneseteeth on May 20, 2019 21:44:00 GMT
How did the trip go?
I'm doing okay. It's super rainy here right now. Haven't had a chance to look for the 3rd book yet, but I have been looking through the one I do have. There's a lot of interesting stuff in there. They aren't kidding when they call it an encyclopedia about the world. Here are a few of the pages.
Also, I added more to that scene:
HoT: Hmmm. There are a number of problems that could result in this sort of issue. Maybe the software that generates the soundwaves that comprise Halley’s vocalizations are not fully compatible with the hardware used to produce the sounds. Or perhaps the drivers for the speaker systems were corrupted. It’s also a possibility that the coding of the voice generation system wasn’t correctly incorporated into the rest of the program.
C: So, you don’t know.
HoT: I’ll run some diagnostics to pinpoint the precise nature of the problem. Shouldn’t take more than a few minutes. [pause] Or hours. Could go either way. It depends.
C: If it could take hours, you’ll need to hold off until after the Status Report meeting. Everything is working except for the voice, right?
HoT: Every other process is perform according to the expected parameters.
C: As long as the data organization bit works, that’s fine. If not, I’d have to have DC do it.
HoT: When is the meeting, anyway?
DC: It’s scheduled to begin at eleven, which means it’ll start in [checks watch] eighteen minutes.
HoT: Already?!
C: I sent out a memo over the colo-net right after we first touched down. All the department heads are supposed inform me about how the initial colony set-up is going. The colo-net is up and running, right?
HoT: Of course it is! That was the very first thing I worked on after we landed! In fact, I spent so much time troubleshooting the damn thing that once I finally got it working, I can’t even look at it without twitching!
C: ...Have you actually checked your memos since you set it up?
HoT: [thinks for a long moment before answering] Now that you mention it…
C: Check your memos. There are probably other things in there that might be just a little important. Since it’s our primary means of communication and all. But yes, the meeting is at 11 in the conference room. Yes, attendance is mandatory. No, I don’t want to be there either.
DC: Do I-
C: Yes. Didn’t you check your mail? You were on the list.
DC: I’ve been busy documenting the base set-up.
C [groans]: Is there any way that I can check who actually got the message I sent out? At this rate, we’ll be the only three to show up.
HoT: Ooh! Halley can check that for you! Can’t you, Halley?
Halley: AFFIRMATIVE.
Hot: Great! Why don’t you ask Halley if everyone received your message?
C [with a shrug]: Halley, did everyone receive the message I sent out concerning the status meeting?
Halley: THE MESSAGE WAS OPENED BY NINE OF THE TWELVE INTENDED RECIPIENTS.
C: Well, that’s better than I thought. Aside from [HoT] and the Deputy Coordinator, who did not open the message.
Halley: THE MESSAGE WAS NOT OPENED BY HEAD OF EXPLORATION [NAME].
C: I should’ve figured he wouldn’t bother. I guess I’ll have to go tell him.
HoT: Actually, that won’t be necessary. Halley should be able to connect you directly to him.
C: I guess that’ll work. Halley, can you connect me to Head of Exploration [name].
Halley: NEGATIVE.
HoT: Negative!? I know that’s part of your capabilities. We just tested it this morning! Why can’t you connect to the [HoE]?
Halley: HOE [NAME] IS CURRENTLY OUTSIDE THE RANGE OF MY WIRELESS NETWORK AND STANDARD RADIO COMMUNICATIONS HAVE NOT YET BEEN SETUP.
DC: Outside the range? I thought this network covered the entire base!
HoT: It does! Perhaps there is some sort of error in [HoE]’s geo-locator that caused it to return an-
C [holds up hand for silence]: I doubt it’s that complicated. Halley, can you give me the HoE’s current location, relative to where we are?
Halley: [HOE]’S GEOCOORDINATE LOCATION IS APPROXIMATELY (-12.32, 8.79).
HoT: But that’s miles outside the confines of the camp!
DC: I guess after being cooped up on the ship for so long he needed to do some exploring. I’m surprised he didn’t run off to climb the nearest mountain as soon as we touched down.
C: Actually, for him to be that far away in that amount of time, that’s almost exactly what he did.
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Post by japaneseteeth on May 14, 2019 20:14:37 GMT
I'm glad you like what I have so far. I'd be lying if I said Red Dwarf wasn't at an influence, although the average IQ of my cast is a smidge higher.
As for the book I'll keep scoping out that bookstore, since it's where I found the first two. Failing that, I'm pretty sure I could get one off of Amazon, though that would probably be a little more expensive than getting it used.
I don't even remember which games we went through. I know we played one called Stone Age, which is kinda like Catan, if you're familiar with that. We also played a card game called "the Mind" which is less of a game and more some sort of weird experiment. There was another one that was themed around car racing. I think that one was called Downforce.
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Post by japaneseteeth on May 12, 2019 3:37:48 GMT
I'm pretty sure Marvel has "higher level" stuff in its mythos somewhere, but I'm not familiar enough with it to say what that would include. It's definitely more obscure than the stuff we've seen so far. Whatever they do, it's going to have to be pretty epic to top Endgame though. Especially given that Endgame basically had a full decade and over 20 movies leading up to it. It's honestly pretty spectacular that it actually managed to live up to the hype. Models are looking pretty good. That one looks enormous. How tall is that one? It's hard to tell the scale since I'm not sure how tall a standard model is. Not much really going on this weekend for me, although Friday was fun. I managed to find a relatively cheap copy of The Legend of Zelda Encyclopedia at a used bookstore. It's one of a set of three books Nintendo put out that contain lots of information and artworks about the world of the games. I already had one of them (Art and Artifacts, which as the name implies focuses primarily on the artwork and direction of the games), whereas this one focuses more on the lore of the world and the various races that inhabit it. The only one I don't have (Hyrule Historia) focuses more on the history of the world and the series, and is actually the first time the series actually got a (somewhat) canon timeline showing how the games relate to each other. Now that I have 2 of the 3 I really need to get that third one, because not having a complete set is going to bother me if I don't. ;p
Then in the evening I had another game night, which went until like 12:30. It's surprising how fast 6 hours can go by.
In other news, I finally started writing out some scenes of that sitcom idea. I don't have much so far, and honestly I haven't gotten to what I'd consider the "good part" yet, but it's worth sharing what I have so far. Note, I don't have names for any of the characters other than the AI, and even their genders are pretty much totally random.
Characters:
Coordinator (I imagined him as being sort of a larger guy. Not like super tall and buff, but just not super skinny or slim. Age-wise he'd probably be maybe in his early forties.) Deputy Coordinator (probably on the skinnier side, I guess? I really have no idea) Head of Technology (all I've got is that she probably wears glasses, hasn't combed her hair in a few days, and probably always has a cup of coffee on hand)
[Scene opens in the Coordinator’s office. The Coordinator and the Head of Technology are behind the desk. The HoT is seated at the computer, with the C watching over her shoulder. the Deputy Coordinator enters from the left.]
DC: Is the network reboot almost complete?
HoT: At the moment progress is at 98 percent.
DC: Great!
C: It’s been at 98% for the past three hours.
DC: Oh.
HoT [apologetically]: It’s always been difficult to program a progress bar so that it accurately reflects the time remaining for the computer to complete a given process.
C: Yet you were able to create a program that accurately emulates a human neural network?
HoT: Yup. Oh, good, we’re up to 99%!
DC: That’s what, another four hours?
C [shakes head]: That would means that the progress bar is consistent, which is just about as likely as this planet being hollow.
HoT: A bit less likely, actually. My professional estimation would be either be upwards of six hours, or [the computer beeps] … a matter of seconds. Good news! The reboot is complete. The AI should now be online! It has access to all information on the network, and is specifically optimized for data organization and retrieval. It has immense processing power and is one of the most complex and intricate artificial intelligences ever created. In fact, it’s the first ever AI created via the process of organic neuron emulations, which means that its CPU is modelled after the human brain, allowing for intuitive problem solving backed by the strength of the most powerful processors ever developed. The AI has been given the name Halley. C [Nodding]: So we have an immensely intelligent and powerful supercomputer with access to all our information that’s also capable of thinking like a person, and its name starts with ‘HAL’?
HoT [totally missing the implication]: Yep!
C: [mostly to himself] I can’t imagine that that will turn out badly.
DC: How does it work?
HoT: That’s the best part! All of Halley’s functions can be accessed by simple voice recognition. All you have to do is address the AI by name and state your request.
DC: So it’s like a really souped up version of a home assistant?
HoT [miffed]: Well… yes. With the computing power of a whole city behind it. [to the C] Give it a try.
C [to himself]: If this thing responds with “I’m sorry, I can’t do that,” I’m stealing a shuttle and flying back to earth. [normal voice] Halley, are you online?
Halley [in an extremely stilted, robotic-sounding voice]: GREETINGS. MASTER. HOW. CAN. I. BE. OF. SERVICE?
C [to the HoT]: Correct me if I’m wrong. This AI was developed by the greatest computer scientists the world has ever seen.
HoT: Yes!
C: Billions of dollars in funding
HoT: Trillions, actually.
C: State of the art components.
HoT: Only the best!
C: The best, most powerful artificial intelligence that has ever been created.
HoT: Yep!
C: Spared no expense, every single aspect of its development, construction, programming, installation all done according most exacting specifications; couldn’t have possibly been improved in any way.
HoT [nodding]: Every single facet of this project was done to the absolute highest standard.
C: Then why does does it sound like a Speak-N-Spell?
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Post by japaneseteeth on May 8, 2019 2:56:39 GMT
I'm sure there are more out there, although I'm not that familiar with them. I'd heard of the infinity gauntlet storyline before, but not much other than that. Topping it is definitely going to be tough, though. Personally I hope that for the next few years they focus on developing the characters of the second wave of heroes (Black Panther, Dr. Strange, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, etc.) so that they'll have a solid basis the next time they do a big crossover event. Part of the reason this one worked so well is that it acted as closure for a bunch of individual character arcs along with the whole Thanos storyline.
Honestly, I think coming up with a villain to match Thanos will probably be their biggest hurdle. Not just in terms of scale, but in terms of how well they executed the character and how popular he ended up being.
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Post by japaneseteeth on May 5, 2019 17:45:22 GMT
Yeah, I'm really curious about where they're going to take the franchise as a whole now, given how much they messed with the status quo.
I was also pleasantly surprised by how character-driven it was, especially in the first half. It would've been really easy to just coast along on the spectacle of it, but it did a really good job with balancing everyone's motivations.
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Post by japaneseteeth on May 4, 2019 19:36:05 GMT
Saw Endgame today.
Holy shit was that intense.
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Post by japaneseteeth on May 3, 2019 21:13:12 GMT
Mezzaphor: Oddly enough, that's right around the time I actually started getting more interested in it. The individual movies at the start (outside of the original Iron Man) didn't do a lot for me, but once they started feeding into each other more I started to get more interested. @apple: Yeah as far as magic goes, it's actually sometimes more interesting to put some strong limits on it, both because it keeps it from turning into a solve-all plot device, and also because stories are generally more interesting when the characters have to put more thought into things because they can't just do whatever.
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Post by japaneseteeth on May 2, 2019 20:10:57 GMT
I haven't yet; planning to do so this Saturday.
That character description kinda reminds me of some character I've heard of, but I can't for the life of me think of who it is. Sounds pretty fun though.
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Post by japaneseteeth on Apr 30, 2019 20:18:20 GMT
Honestly, either one of those would work just fine. If you want it solidly set in the world of the show, the latter option is probably lined up a bit better. And no, it wouldn't really be a rehash. There would be similarities, but it sounds like the plotline would be different.
In other news, I'm finally caught up enough on the MCU that I can go see Endgame and know what's going on. Got around to Thor: Ragnarok and Infinity War over the weekend.
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Post by japaneseteeth on Apr 29, 2019 1:51:02 GMT
I've thought about the idea a little bit, yeah. Aside from the three main cast members that I already described, I had ideas for a few supporting cast members, although they're less fleshed out. Most of them are the heads of the various departments who manage different aspects of the colony:
* Head of Medicine/Heath: Their job is basically to analyze the flora and fauna of the planet and see if any of it safe for human use. I'm not sure what their personality would be, but I'm thinking that the main quirk would be that as a doctor, they've seen so much weird stuff that they tend to have skewed views about what's safe for consumption. Like they find a new food thing that they claim as being safe to eat, but they neglect to mention that if you eat too much of it, it turns you blue, or something like that.
* Head of Engineering: basically a glorified custodian who has to build and/or fix everything the rest of the cast needs. Rather put-upon and a bit worn out from all the stuff the rest of the cast dumps on them, but ultimately surprisingly resilient.
* Head of Exploration: Their job is to survey the planet and gather information about it. I'd think of them as sort of a take on the "intrepid explorer" type, but they have a tendency to get in over their head.
Also at some point I should really try to write out a scene of it. It would probably help me iron out their characterization more.
As for your idea, either the band idea or the treasure hunting thing could work. The band idea would be a great jumping-off point for spoofs of 80's era cartoons about bands (Jem, Jabberjaw, etc.) A lot of it would also depend on the setting. If you're going to go more modern, I'd say the band idea fits more. If you're going for an older era with more fantasy trappings the treasure hunting would be a better fit.
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Post by japaneseteeth on Apr 28, 2019 0:42:59 GMT
Between 8 and 9 I think, yeah.
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Post by japaneseteeth on Apr 27, 2019 14:44:24 GMT
Well, at least now you know. Enjoy the day off, I guess.
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Post by japaneseteeth on Apr 27, 2019 1:13:49 GMT
Honestly, I think the main reason that the movie underperformed is just that it just general deviated a bit too much from the show. Focused too much on the adventurey stuff and not enough of the characterization and slice of life content that made the show such a big hit.
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