Best Of
Armormodding Corner
To me current tradeskills are skeleton versions of what they might be in the long run and they have the potential to be the cornerstone of a connected and fluid ingame economical structure. Hence it would be benefical to brainstorm with our fellow players and here is a bunch of feedback along what I would enjoy from a sci-fi tradeskill. Some of my impressions along suggestions:
1. No Level Requirement
The mod quality levels are Simple, Complex, Advanced and Obfuscating with their min/max levels restrictions. Basically there might be several reasons for someone to slap lower level mods upon their higher level gear. They might be far cheaper or more readily available, perhaps that is just the little bit of edge one needs. Hence the level requirements should be removed from all armor mods for fluidity of commerce.
2. Concept of Researching and The Feel(tm) of the Skillset
Currently reverse engineering each mod will give some proprietary parts and 5% on the schematic knowledge of that particular mod. And that is cool to make it a slow progress because that makes a dedicated modder a valuable asset to have for factions and dynasties. Yet it lacks the feel of progress if the process remains as such. What I suggest is to add a skill named Research which will allow people once a specified amount of time (1 day, 2 days, a week etc.) to do research effort upon a schematic. The rolls can have a critical failure with 0% yield, critical success with 10% yield but mostly a yield at range of 1-5%. This could cost a modicum of marks as well. This would not detract from the necessity to acquire mods since to Research you should reverse engineer that mod once to get the schematic.
Overally what I would like to see is that modding skills get more Research&Development feel as a concept rather then being lucky and rich for the rare mods circulating around.
3. Junk Economy
Some junk can be tagged as "Electronic Junk" which could yield proprietary parts when processed and have varying quality. It could be interesting to add quality levels to those electronic junk as well along two skills which I will dub as Process and Appraise. Naturally Appraise would allow you to see the quality of electronic junk. While non-modders can see it as electronic junk (such as a busted module), modders would be able to see their quality. And with Process ability modders can take some parts which can fit their schematics (possibly random or allocating depending on the quality)
4. Modding Focus
An ability which can be changed over a large amount of time (3 RL months or perhaps more) which allows you to specialize on a certain type of resistance mods, meaning what you do will yield a small percent better then what is advertised on the schematic. This would give the feeling of that you are specializing on part of your expertise.
5. Reserving A Part of Cool Things for Tradeskills
Naturally in IRE games artifacts are the most alluring products because as a company they have to make profit. But in my opinion tradeskills could be equally alluring and more expanded. From Armormodding perspective we can see that there are various types of armor slots and each slot can have an interesting utility/fluff/cool mod you can attach it to. Some examples (forgive me for the chosen names!):
a) Disco King MK-3 (Fluff Example)
Be the center of attention with this module at every party you are invited or uninvited! This fine module embedded to your torso will project a holographic disco ball and catch the eyes of all people around. (In practical could add ambient messages, perhaps even a disco-related death message)
b) Doc Trauma Module (Utility Example)
This emergency unit will provide an injection of adrenaline to keep you on your feet when the things are most dire. Ranging from Copper, Bronze, Gold, Platinum packages Doc Trauma always looks out for you! (In practical it will give 5%-10%-15%-20% health injection with a very high cooldown when you go under a certain health level)
c) Boot Thruster Module (Utility + Fluff Example)
Embedded to your boots, this module will cut your feet from the ground literally! No need for those uncool jetpacks or weird techno-magic of nanoseers, anymore! (I guess Star Lord from Guardians of Galaxy was inspiration for this, also can give a cool flying off line as fluff)
d) Grav-vy Premium (Utility Example)
Within low gravity planets it might be a pain in the ass to walk or some people might be trying to drag you along. No more! With Grav-vy Premium, you shall say a big NO when you do not wish to be moved. (Gives a chance to resist forced movement attacks)
Anyways, these are just a bunch of utility
6. Magnum Opus: The Pinnacle of Your Art
After you start to research and fill your list with mastered schematics, focusing and specializing on certain modules will not be enough...you will crave for more...something very personal. You will be sleepless and will want to create something that will define you. When people use what you created, they will be in awe of your expertise and years of effort in the field. It is your goddamn Magnum Opus.
After you master a number of schematics, you have the option of creating a custom and powerful module by merging the schematics. As a concept it could work as a slot system. DISCLAIMER: What next comes is just an experimental idea with no regard to balancing: Let us say a Magnum Opus has 8 slots. A simple module will take 1 slot, a complex will take 2, advanced will take 3 and an obfuscating will take 4. And to add some spice, you cannot fit two same quality of modules back to back. You can go Simple, Advanced, Obfuscating but cannot go 8 Simple in a row as an example.
And you cannot change your Magnum Opus for a whole RL year. It should give the feel that it is your greatest achievement, master module etc. etc. And of course very time consuming to produce.
Final note: Anyways, these are some ideas and concepts which I would like in Starmourn and feel like it would make the whole modding process more profitable, more integrated into the economy and of course more fun thematically.
1. No Level Requirement
The mod quality levels are Simple, Complex, Advanced and Obfuscating with their min/max levels restrictions. Basically there might be several reasons for someone to slap lower level mods upon their higher level gear. They might be far cheaper or more readily available, perhaps that is just the little bit of edge one needs. Hence the level requirements should be removed from all armor mods for fluidity of commerce.
2. Concept of Researching and The Feel(tm) of the Skillset
Currently reverse engineering each mod will give some proprietary parts and 5% on the schematic knowledge of that particular mod. And that is cool to make it a slow progress because that makes a dedicated modder a valuable asset to have for factions and dynasties. Yet it lacks the feel of progress if the process remains as such. What I suggest is to add a skill named Research which will allow people once a specified amount of time (1 day, 2 days, a week etc.) to do research effort upon a schematic. The rolls can have a critical failure with 0% yield, critical success with 10% yield but mostly a yield at range of 1-5%. This could cost a modicum of marks as well. This would not detract from the necessity to acquire mods since to Research you should reverse engineer that mod once to get the schematic.
Overally what I would like to see is that modding skills get more Research&Development feel as a concept rather then being lucky and rich for the rare mods circulating around.
3. Junk Economy
Some junk can be tagged as "Electronic Junk" which could yield proprietary parts when processed and have varying quality. It could be interesting to add quality levels to those electronic junk as well along two skills which I will dub as Process and Appraise. Naturally Appraise would allow you to see the quality of electronic junk. While non-modders can see it as electronic junk (such as a busted module), modders would be able to see their quality. And with Process ability modders can take some parts which can fit their schematics (possibly random or allocating depending on the quality)
4. Modding Focus
An ability which can be changed over a large amount of time (3 RL months or perhaps more) which allows you to specialize on a certain type of resistance mods, meaning what you do will yield a small percent better then what is advertised on the schematic. This would give the feeling of that you are specializing on part of your expertise.
5. Reserving A Part of Cool Things for Tradeskills
Naturally in IRE games artifacts are the most alluring products because as a company they have to make profit. But in my opinion tradeskills could be equally alluring and more expanded. From Armormodding perspective we can see that there are various types of armor slots and each slot can have an interesting utility/fluff/cool mod you can attach it to. Some examples (forgive me for the chosen names!):
a) Disco King MK-3 (Fluff Example)
Be the center of attention with this module at every party you are invited or uninvited! This fine module embedded to your torso will project a holographic disco ball and catch the eyes of all people around. (In practical could add ambient messages, perhaps even a disco-related death message)
b) Doc Trauma Module (Utility Example)
This emergency unit will provide an injection of adrenaline to keep you on your feet when the things are most dire. Ranging from Copper, Bronze, Gold, Platinum packages Doc Trauma always looks out for you! (In practical it will give 5%-10%-15%-20% health injection with a very high cooldown when you go under a certain health level)
c) Boot Thruster Module (Utility + Fluff Example)
Embedded to your boots, this module will cut your feet from the ground literally! No need for those uncool jetpacks or weird techno-magic of nanoseers, anymore! (I guess Star Lord from Guardians of Galaxy was inspiration for this, also can give a cool flying off line as fluff)
d) Grav-vy Premium (Utility Example)
Within low gravity planets it might be a pain in the ass to walk or some people might be trying to drag you along. No more! With Grav-vy Premium, you shall say a big NO when you do not wish to be moved. (Gives a chance to resist forced movement attacks)
Anyways, these are just a bunch of utility
6. Magnum Opus: The Pinnacle of Your Art
After you start to research and fill your list with mastered schematics, focusing and specializing on certain modules will not be enough...you will crave for more...something very personal. You will be sleepless and will want to create something that will define you. When people use what you created, they will be in awe of your expertise and years of effort in the field. It is your goddamn Magnum Opus.
After you master a number of schematics, you have the option of creating a custom and powerful module by merging the schematics. As a concept it could work as a slot system. DISCLAIMER: What next comes is just an experimental idea with no regard to balancing: Let us say a Magnum Opus has 8 slots. A simple module will take 1 slot, a complex will take 2, advanced will take 3 and an obfuscating will take 4. And to add some spice, you cannot fit two same quality of modules back to back. You can go Simple, Advanced, Obfuscating but cannot go 8 Simple in a row as an example.
And you cannot change your Magnum Opus for a whole RL year. It should give the feel that it is your greatest achievement, master module etc. etc. And of course very time consuming to produce.
Final note: Anyways, these are some ideas and concepts which I would like in Starmourn and feel like it would make the whole modding process more profitable, more integrated into the economy and of course more fun thematically.
Zhulkarn
6
Re: The Ideas Thread
In addition to market ads and letters (for when you need paragraphs), a holovid skill could be interesting.
> Buy holovid recording equipment
> HOLOVID NEW <name>
> HOLOVID RECORD <1-10> 'slots' of text, so you could make a mini movie, or record a speech.
> HOLOVID SAVE
> HOLOVID PUBLISH <name>
Once published, holovids could be purchased by others, or shared like datashards, and replayed at their leisure. Maybe have the cost determined by how many entries in Record?
> Buy holovid recording equipment
> HOLOVID NEW <name>
> HOLOVID RECORD <1-10> 'slots' of text, so you could make a mini movie, or record a speech.
> HOLOVID SAVE
> HOLOVID PUBLISH <name>
Once published, holovids could be purchased by others, or shared like datashards, and replayed at their leisure. Maybe have the cost determined by how many entries in Record?
Eshe
5
Re: How much of the in-house paperpusher fighting in Scatterhome is IC?
Not so much as complaining but wanting to see a culture formed from the interactions between folks. RP is so much more satisfying when you can emote. It's like bringing a book to life that you can write in and never know what's coming next. Comm channels are great and all but it lacks that oomph.Tye said:I've never seen someone complain that people AREN'T afk in cities before. Weird.
Solus
8
Re: Good Vibrations!
Landmarks.
Written by: Oryx
Date: Monday, January 7th, 2019
Addressed to:
The LANDMARKS command now displays landmarks for the entire celestial body, rather than just the immediate local area.
Landmarks have been added to the capitals of each racial homeworld.
Written by: Oryx
Date: Monday, January 7th, 2019
Addressed to:
The LANDMARKS command now displays landmarks for the entire celestial body, rather than just the immediate local area.
Landmarks have been added to the capitals of each racial homeworld.
Xiru
6
Celestine Aetherscape Contest
A small Aetherscape chamber.
A strange material covers all surfaces here, muting all sound. Five seats arranged back-to-back in a circle sit at the center of the room. Servos on his suit whirring erratically, Ninvahn stands here restlessly. Ausaeus is here, calmly examining his surroundings. Ren gives the surroundings a look of composed interest. Vaxis is present here, feet barely touching the ground. His wings buzzing occasionally, Urid lurks here. Spacer Kieran is here, sprawled out on the ground. Ata is here, frantically attending to an absurd-looking machine. Sorcha stands here. A crane-armed carrybot rumbles along here. A turret has been deployed here, with a mounted laser barrel. An aerodynamic drone is hovering in midair here. A slim control panel is mounted upon the wall. 3 meat-stuffed rolls are here. 3 cups are here.
Ausaeus retrieves a simple wooden cup filled with fermented vuu honey.
Grek stands off to the side, fiddling with some manner of jurry-rigged handheld device. Her wings flutter nervously.
Ata yells from nearby, "Okay!"
Ata runs erratic laps around his machine, a monstrosity of electronics and 'borrowed' university lab equipment vaguely resembling a piece of absurdist art. It is mushroom-shaped on one side and horn-shaped on the other with iriil circuitry running up along the mushroom-side, glittering and pulsating. It whirs and beeps as he directs his nanites to perform various tasks to keep the machine up, "Come now, Motoko, please be a good nannie and reduce flow to the inverters by six percent. Porter, get ye to the kith-gravitic cabling and check the casings."
Ata seems aware that the chamber is filling up and he shouts a cry, somewhat muffled from his position crouched at a low access panel on his machine, "COMPOSERS to the corners please, AUDIENCE please take your seats in the middle, I've brought some more in for the occasion, I know it's a bit cramped!" The machine churns a plume of smoke with a hiss, "Annie, please work faster on those heat dampeners. WE WILL START RIGHT AWAY!"..
Ausaeus nods.
Kieran stands up.
Kieran shuffles to a more comfortable spot.
Grek fidgets in place for a moment before retreating into a corner, as directed.
Kieran sits down.
Ren nods while moving towards a free seat. "If you say so."..
Ausaeus finds an open seat in the audience area and settles in for the performances.
Ata smacks a button on the side of the machine which suddenly goes deathly quiet except for a barely audible hum. He gestures wildly, mumbling a set of commands to his nanites. The machine is enveloped in a thick cloud of nanites who seem to have taken over its operation for now. Ata proceeds to a position near the center of the chamber.
Ausaeus sits down.
Raseru sits down.
Ausaeus takes a drink from a simple wooden cup filled with fermented vuu honey.
Urid shuffles toward an empty seat.
Ata calls out a loud announcement, his voice swelling at unexpected points, "Friends! Fellow citizens! Thank you for coming today for what MUST be known to us as the first of the UTTERANCES of WILLSPACE. I have devised in the pursuance of OUR GREAT QUEST a SENSE machine which will measure a set of kith-gravitic readings of each composition."..
Kieran stares unflinchingly at the strange machine.
Urid sits down.
Ata seems to transform all at once, normalizing his posture and speech. He takes on the pose of a university lecturer, "It is precisely these measurements which I need to further my research, and the reason for our gathering today. As to not alter the readings I request that you refrain from breathing for the duration of each performance. If you need to breath please do so with long, deliberate breaths, as if sipping through a straw. Kith users are requested to please refrain from using any kith techniques. Kith users should also disable their limbic system from processing emotions, as any emotion, outward or inward, may alter the readings."..
Vaxis gives Ata the once-over, eyeing him suspiciously.
Vaxis ceases levitating and moves to a chair.
Vaxis carefully removes a Blinker 1-XXX goggles.
Ninvahn settles awkwardly into place as the servos whir erratically at the adjustment. His breathing slows in response to the upcoming performance.
Ata has now fully assumed what appears to be a regulated state, devoid of any perceptible mania, "I would like to thank the three composers today, Oacena, Viola, and Grek, for three fantastic submissions. Viola will not be able to join us today, but has provided me the necessary implements to play it for you! It would have been impossible for me to judge between such fantastic contributions to the coveted Shen art. Thankfully, the Sense Machine, not I, will decide the winner of the contest! The theme of the compositions today is the Empyreals, whose Legacy encompasses both the two Kiths and Life itself."..
Grek mumbles under her breathe, "Limbic system?" before shaking her head..
Vaxis carefully removes a Nimble PTX-G-1a gauntlet.
Kamilla sits down.
Ausaeus carefully removes a Nimble PTX-G-1a gauntlet.
Ausaeus carefully removes a Blinker 1-X goggles.
Oacena flows in from the west.
Ren says, "Oh my. What strict requirements, these are."
Oacena exhales tiredly as she returns, now alone.
Ata beams. "Now, lets move on to the music! First up is The Empyreals of Utan Mir, composed by Oacena. You have the floor Oacena." Ata takes his place at his machine and motions for Oacena to begin...
Kieran grins with excitement and anticipation upon hearing the subject matter.
Ausaeus says, "His machine is...something special, that is for certain."
Ronin has been defeated in a Spar in the The Omni Station Fighting Rings by Albion.
Kamilla stares meaningfully at Ausaeus, places a finger on her lips, and hisses, "Shhh!"
Ausaeus smirks at Kamilla.
Oacena is still trying to catch her breath when she hears Ata speak. Amber eyes widening, she goes, "Huh? Who?"..
Kieran flashes Kamilla a subtle smile.
Kieran directs their attention to Oacena.
Ata heads to the corner and boots up the Aetherscape studio equipment, "Whoops, forgot to plug it in!"..
Kieran scratches their head in confusion.
Raseru gazes upon the strange equipment.
Vaxis cringes and drops his face into his palms with a shake of his head.
Oacena fans herself nervously as she drifts over to the back of the chamber where she inserts a datacard into the control panel. Keeping her gaze off the others, she chews on her lip as trembling fingers flip switches and hover over a final button.
Ronin has been defeated in a Spar in the The Omni Station Fighting Rings by Albion.
Urid twiddles his antennae at Ata and the machinery.
Oacena clears her throat and murmurs, "I'd... like to invite you all to kindly take your seats if you haven't, and close your eyes to experience the aetherscape wholly."..
Kieran closes their eyes and tempers their breathing.
Vaxis smiles encouragingly, and does just that.
Oacena makes sure the door is closed, as well. Then... Like the vastness of space, the chamber is a dark, silent void to encompass you in emptiness, allowing for the faintest echoes of sound to twinkle into existence...
Urid lowers his head and holds his antennae close to his beak.
Oacena, too, closes her eyes as the piece begins... Far off stars across the black, the softest strums of notes come lightly. They tiptoe, tread, and tumble, glittering with life in this silent world. Enter a ponderous, low humming that reverberates within the chest, tickling the tips of the fingers. A presence of calm authority has come, as if to cradle the mischievous stars... But of course, to non-Shen ears, they'd be the beginnings of shrill scratches upon concrete and metal.
Sorcha closes her eyes and listens carefully.
Nykara has been defeated in a Spar in the The Omni Station Fighting Rings by Ronin Sa'rogue.
Oacena tries not to pick at her nails in case the sound disturbs the aetherscape... One by one, the trills of tiny, shimmering motes delight in the slurs of their lower-pitched guardian. Some mischievously seek to escape the pattern, singing irregularities in electronic frequencies, but the versatile hum of their Keeper ensures that all stays in tune. All is a harmonious choir of fragile strings strengthened in their unity, their song swelling in the span of a stolen breath.
Urid shivers, pressing the tips of his antennae together beneath his beak in an attempt to minimise the effects the shrillness has on his senses.
Oacena steadies her breathing as the piece continues... A flurry of woodwind-like noises cyclones into the scene, chasing after the motes with the mirth of youth and wanderlust. Up and down, out and around they go, the subtleties whooshing past your ears and doubling back to tease at their whim... To translate, the screechy Shen noises get even more irritating as they surround you.
Oacena peeks an eye open to check reactions, especially from the non-Shen... A tremolo seems to express laughter of this new element. Synthesizing itself between the initial sounds, a great wall of it shudders as it speedily solidifies before you. Once complete, its looming thrum dwarfs you with a gasp into slowed-down bassy trembles, hollow echoes, and whispers that are gone as soon as they've come...
Kieran appears to meditate intently on the subtle sounds, perhaps whisking away nostalgic memories invoked by the Shen ritual, bringing themselves wholly to the present.
Ninvahn is in a visibly relaxed, meditative state.
Raseru's fur stands on ends.
Grek presently has her entire body clenched up in a silent full-body wince, twitching whenever a particularly screechy noise happens.
Oacena swallows hard as the aetherscape carries the listeners to deeper levels of either relaxation or hell... A faraway cry rings out! Then closer to the right, and another to the left. The voices sound like they could be Shen but distorted to meld with the general flow of the aetherscape. You hear the wall of sound start to ripple in reaction, angered and anxious from the digital bell-ringing of intruders coming up behind you.
Oacena holds in a breath as the next part commences, no doubt wracking the more sensitive eardrums present... In all its fury, the sound wall lets out a loud shriek - a blaring cacophony of percussive crashes and crackling whistles, out of which surges a devouring bellow that seeks to quake the chamber. Down falls the wall, crumbling and cracking by your ears in an attempt to drown out the incessant bells!
Kieran opens their eyes open widely.
Urid tries to close his wing cases tighter, his head slowly lowering as if he's trying to put it between his knees, which are pressed together in an instinctive attempt to shrink away from the sounds.
Oacena steals a glance at Ata's odd contraption, checking the readings on it... Like maelstroms do the maddened melodies swivel and swirl all around you, as though trying to drain your lungs of air. In this movement of frenzy and maladies, you barely notice the bells being snuffed out - one here, one there, one a little farther out. You sense the anger slowly dissipating when the piece begins to soften in relief.
Sorcha takes a drink from a simple wooden cup filled with fermented vuu honey.
Kieran lets out a mild, contented smile.
Oacena sucks her cheeks in to suppress a chuckle at those cringing... The piece continues: But alas, too soon, too late. All at once, the shrill ringing comes back to haunt the distrought other presence. The sharpness of the noise, the vibrato... Beneath it, the pained moans of the lower samples, reducing their rage to naught.
Oacena seems to calm down at this point, a little less nervous now... Then, there was nothing at all. Not the bells, not the groans. But just before you think it is over, you catch it... The faintest murmurs of a lone instrument, quiet with a despair that is only magnified by the emptiness that it is left with.
Oacena appears relieved at the calm faces of her kin, despite how the conclusion of her piece seems to drill echoes into the ears of the foreigners... Wisps of relaxing, ethereal tuplets try to rouse their fallen with encouraging musical pulses, but they sound too weak to grow any louder than they are. Too broken. Too defeated. Yet they sing on, despite there being none left to join their requiem. The war is over, but they sing on...
Sorcha smiles softly.
Urid quivers like a tightly strung wire.
With the end of her composition, Oacena breathes out loudly and hangs her head to ease out any remaining tension. "Thank you. That was my interpretation on the Empyreals of our lost ancestral race when the Ishvana brought them to extinction."..
Ata gives up a round of applause.
Kieran congratulates Oacena with some wild clapping.
Ausaeus takes in a breath as the composition ends, his nanites no longer oxygenating his blood. "Splendid."
Ausaeus gives up a round of applause.
Raseru claps his hands together merrily.
Grek clicks her mandibles together as she claps politely. "Bravo."
A strange material covers all surfaces here, muting all sound. Five seats arranged back-to-back in a circle sit at the center of the room. Servos on his suit whirring erratically, Ninvahn stands here restlessly. Ausaeus is here, calmly examining his surroundings. Ren gives the surroundings a look of composed interest. Vaxis is present here, feet barely touching the ground. His wings buzzing occasionally, Urid lurks here. Spacer Kieran is here, sprawled out on the ground. Ata is here, frantically attending to an absurd-looking machine. Sorcha stands here. A crane-armed carrybot rumbles along here. A turret has been deployed here, with a mounted laser barrel. An aerodynamic drone is hovering in midair here. A slim control panel is mounted upon the wall. 3 meat-stuffed rolls are here. 3 cups are here.
Ausaeus retrieves a simple wooden cup filled with fermented vuu honey.
Grek stands off to the side, fiddling with some manner of jurry-rigged handheld device. Her wings flutter nervously.
Ata yells from nearby, "Okay!"
Ata runs erratic laps around his machine, a monstrosity of electronics and 'borrowed' university lab equipment vaguely resembling a piece of absurdist art. It is mushroom-shaped on one side and horn-shaped on the other with iriil circuitry running up along the mushroom-side, glittering and pulsating. It whirs and beeps as he directs his nanites to perform various tasks to keep the machine up, "Come now, Motoko, please be a good nannie and reduce flow to the inverters by six percent. Porter, get ye to the kith-gravitic cabling and check the casings."
Ata seems aware that the chamber is filling up and he shouts a cry, somewhat muffled from his position crouched at a low access panel on his machine, "COMPOSERS to the corners please, AUDIENCE please take your seats in the middle, I've brought some more in for the occasion, I know it's a bit cramped!" The machine churns a plume of smoke with a hiss, "Annie, please work faster on those heat dampeners. WE WILL START RIGHT AWAY!"..
Ausaeus nods.
Kieran stands up.
Kieran shuffles to a more comfortable spot.
Grek fidgets in place for a moment before retreating into a corner, as directed.
Kieran sits down.
Ren nods while moving towards a free seat. "If you say so."..
Ausaeus finds an open seat in the audience area and settles in for the performances.
Ata smacks a button on the side of the machine which suddenly goes deathly quiet except for a barely audible hum. He gestures wildly, mumbling a set of commands to his nanites. The machine is enveloped in a thick cloud of nanites who seem to have taken over its operation for now. Ata proceeds to a position near the center of the chamber.
Ausaeus sits down.
Raseru sits down.
Ausaeus takes a drink from a simple wooden cup filled with fermented vuu honey.
Urid shuffles toward an empty seat.
Ata calls out a loud announcement, his voice swelling at unexpected points, "Friends! Fellow citizens! Thank you for coming today for what MUST be known to us as the first of the UTTERANCES of WILLSPACE. I have devised in the pursuance of OUR GREAT QUEST a SENSE machine which will measure a set of kith-gravitic readings of each composition."..
Kieran stares unflinchingly at the strange machine.
Urid sits down.
Ata seems to transform all at once, normalizing his posture and speech. He takes on the pose of a university lecturer, "It is precisely these measurements which I need to further my research, and the reason for our gathering today. As to not alter the readings I request that you refrain from breathing for the duration of each performance. If you need to breath please do so with long, deliberate breaths, as if sipping through a straw. Kith users are requested to please refrain from using any kith techniques. Kith users should also disable their limbic system from processing emotions, as any emotion, outward or inward, may alter the readings."..
Vaxis gives Ata the once-over, eyeing him suspiciously.
Vaxis ceases levitating and moves to a chair.
Vaxis carefully removes a Blinker 1-XXX goggles.
Ninvahn settles awkwardly into place as the servos whir erratically at the adjustment. His breathing slows in response to the upcoming performance.
Ata has now fully assumed what appears to be a regulated state, devoid of any perceptible mania, "I would like to thank the three composers today, Oacena, Viola, and Grek, for three fantastic submissions. Viola will not be able to join us today, but has provided me the necessary implements to play it for you! It would have been impossible for me to judge between such fantastic contributions to the coveted Shen art. Thankfully, the Sense Machine, not I, will decide the winner of the contest! The theme of the compositions today is the Empyreals, whose Legacy encompasses both the two Kiths and Life itself."..
Grek mumbles under her breathe, "Limbic system?" before shaking her head..
Vaxis carefully removes a Nimble PTX-G-1a gauntlet.
Kamilla sits down.
Ausaeus carefully removes a Nimble PTX-G-1a gauntlet.
Ausaeus carefully removes a Blinker 1-X goggles.
Oacena flows in from the west.
Ren says, "Oh my. What strict requirements, these are."
Oacena exhales tiredly as she returns, now alone.
Ata beams. "Now, lets move on to the music! First up is The Empyreals of Utan Mir, composed by Oacena. You have the floor Oacena." Ata takes his place at his machine and motions for Oacena to begin...
Kieran grins with excitement and anticipation upon hearing the subject matter.
Ausaeus says, "His machine is...something special, that is for certain."
Ronin has been defeated in a Spar in the The Omni Station Fighting Rings by Albion.
Kamilla stares meaningfully at Ausaeus, places a finger on her lips, and hisses, "Shhh!"
Ausaeus smirks at Kamilla.
Oacena is still trying to catch her breath when she hears Ata speak. Amber eyes widening, she goes, "Huh? Who?"..
Kieran flashes Kamilla a subtle smile.
Kieran directs their attention to Oacena.
Ata heads to the corner and boots up the Aetherscape studio equipment, "Whoops, forgot to plug it in!"..
Kieran scratches their head in confusion.
Raseru gazes upon the strange equipment.
Vaxis cringes and drops his face into his palms with a shake of his head.
Oacena fans herself nervously as she drifts over to the back of the chamber where she inserts a datacard into the control panel. Keeping her gaze off the others, she chews on her lip as trembling fingers flip switches and hover over a final button.
Ronin has been defeated in a Spar in the The Omni Station Fighting Rings by Albion.
Urid twiddles his antennae at Ata and the machinery.
Oacena clears her throat and murmurs, "I'd... like to invite you all to kindly take your seats if you haven't, and close your eyes to experience the aetherscape wholly."..
Kieran closes their eyes and tempers their breathing.
Vaxis smiles encouragingly, and does just that.
Oacena makes sure the door is closed, as well. Then... Like the vastness of space, the chamber is a dark, silent void to encompass you in emptiness, allowing for the faintest echoes of sound to twinkle into existence...
Urid lowers his head and holds his antennae close to his beak.
Oacena, too, closes her eyes as the piece begins... Far off stars across the black, the softest strums of notes come lightly. They tiptoe, tread, and tumble, glittering with life in this silent world. Enter a ponderous, low humming that reverberates within the chest, tickling the tips of the fingers. A presence of calm authority has come, as if to cradle the mischievous stars... But of course, to non-Shen ears, they'd be the beginnings of shrill scratches upon concrete and metal.
Sorcha closes her eyes and listens carefully.
Nykara has been defeated in a Spar in the The Omni Station Fighting Rings by Ronin Sa'rogue.
Oacena tries not to pick at her nails in case the sound disturbs the aetherscape... One by one, the trills of tiny, shimmering motes delight in the slurs of their lower-pitched guardian. Some mischievously seek to escape the pattern, singing irregularities in electronic frequencies, but the versatile hum of their Keeper ensures that all stays in tune. All is a harmonious choir of fragile strings strengthened in their unity, their song swelling in the span of a stolen breath.
Urid shivers, pressing the tips of his antennae together beneath his beak in an attempt to minimise the effects the shrillness has on his senses.
Oacena steadies her breathing as the piece continues... A flurry of woodwind-like noises cyclones into the scene, chasing after the motes with the mirth of youth and wanderlust. Up and down, out and around they go, the subtleties whooshing past your ears and doubling back to tease at their whim... To translate, the screechy Shen noises get even more irritating as they surround you.
Oacena peeks an eye open to check reactions, especially from the non-Shen... A tremolo seems to express laughter of this new element. Synthesizing itself between the initial sounds, a great wall of it shudders as it speedily solidifies before you. Once complete, its looming thrum dwarfs you with a gasp into slowed-down bassy trembles, hollow echoes, and whispers that are gone as soon as they've come...
Kieran appears to meditate intently on the subtle sounds, perhaps whisking away nostalgic memories invoked by the Shen ritual, bringing themselves wholly to the present.
Ninvahn is in a visibly relaxed, meditative state.
Raseru's fur stands on ends.
Grek presently has her entire body clenched up in a silent full-body wince, twitching whenever a particularly screechy noise happens.
Oacena swallows hard as the aetherscape carries the listeners to deeper levels of either relaxation or hell... A faraway cry rings out! Then closer to the right, and another to the left. The voices sound like they could be Shen but distorted to meld with the general flow of the aetherscape. You hear the wall of sound start to ripple in reaction, angered and anxious from the digital bell-ringing of intruders coming up behind you.
Oacena holds in a breath as the next part commences, no doubt wracking the more sensitive eardrums present... In all its fury, the sound wall lets out a loud shriek - a blaring cacophony of percussive crashes and crackling whistles, out of which surges a devouring bellow that seeks to quake the chamber. Down falls the wall, crumbling and cracking by your ears in an attempt to drown out the incessant bells!
Kieran opens their eyes open widely.
Urid tries to close his wing cases tighter, his head slowly lowering as if he's trying to put it between his knees, which are pressed together in an instinctive attempt to shrink away from the sounds.
Oacena steals a glance at Ata's odd contraption, checking the readings on it... Like maelstroms do the maddened melodies swivel and swirl all around you, as though trying to drain your lungs of air. In this movement of frenzy and maladies, you barely notice the bells being snuffed out - one here, one there, one a little farther out. You sense the anger slowly dissipating when the piece begins to soften in relief.
Sorcha takes a drink from a simple wooden cup filled with fermented vuu honey.
Kieran lets out a mild, contented smile.
Oacena sucks her cheeks in to suppress a chuckle at those cringing... The piece continues: But alas, too soon, too late. All at once, the shrill ringing comes back to haunt the distrought other presence. The sharpness of the noise, the vibrato... Beneath it, the pained moans of the lower samples, reducing their rage to naught.
Oacena seems to calm down at this point, a little less nervous now... Then, there was nothing at all. Not the bells, not the groans. But just before you think it is over, you catch it... The faintest murmurs of a lone instrument, quiet with a despair that is only magnified by the emptiness that it is left with.
Oacena appears relieved at the calm faces of her kin, despite how the conclusion of her piece seems to drill echoes into the ears of the foreigners... Wisps of relaxing, ethereal tuplets try to rouse their fallen with encouraging musical pulses, but they sound too weak to grow any louder than they are. Too broken. Too defeated. Yet they sing on, despite there being none left to join their requiem. The war is over, but they sing on...
Sorcha smiles softly.
Urid quivers like a tightly strung wire.
With the end of her composition, Oacena breathes out loudly and hangs her head to ease out any remaining tension. "Thank you. That was my interpretation on the Empyreals of our lost ancestral race when the Ishvana brought them to extinction."..
Ata gives up a round of applause.
Kieran congratulates Oacena with some wild clapping.
Ausaeus takes in a breath as the composition ends, his nanites no longer oxygenating his blood. "Splendid."
Ausaeus gives up a round of applause.
Raseru claps his hands together merrily.
Grek clicks her mandibles together as she claps politely. "Bravo."
Grek
5
Re: Earth Media
A girl once stood in front of the airlock and tried to imitate what happened in the Titanic. "Hold me like they did in that movie" she said. I stood there looking at her for a moment, as she was distracted by the thought of romance. My sight gazed over to a button, then back at her, then at my seat belt, then back at her once more. Turning, she looked at me with a seductive gaze. Suddenly, I smash the button and the airlock opens, loud sirens blare throughout the ship. With a look of betrayal, she flies out into the vast unknown space.
Pressing the button, the airlock closes. Mumbling under his breath "This treplings got me flakked up, tryna jinx me like that...". As he turns his back he notices a meteor directly ahead, luckily he wasn't distracted by holding some spacedust by an airlock. He promptly steered away from its course while smoking a joint as Danger Zone plays loudly in the background.
That being said any mentionings of the Titanic would be taboo as hell on my ship. Expect to be keelhualed.
Pressing the button, the airlock closes. Mumbling under his breath "This treplings got me flakked up, tryna jinx me like that...". As he turns his back he notices a meteor directly ahead, luckily he wasn't distracted by holding some spacedust by an airlock. He promptly steered away from its course while smoking a joint as Danger Zone plays loudly in the background.
That being said any mentionings of the Titanic would be taboo as hell on my ship. Expect to be keelhualed.
Solus
5
Re: Player character demographics
Here's what I have. Re-checked everyone in my ndb so far (which is everyone currently over level 10)
edit: Lots of people over level 10 I missed, apparently. Rechecked rankings, is better now. This is everyone from rank 1 to rank 881 (the last level 10)
edit2: Here's people who're only level 20 or above, for a bit more realistic of a spread.
Maruna
5
Re: Player character demographics
I like numbers. I figured I'd pull this again after a few days, now that things seem to be slowly stabilising... Might do another one in a couple of weeks.
This is everyone 10 and above.
This is everyone 10 and above.
And this is everyone who's level 20 and above (more likely to continue playing I feel like, currently. Probably bump it up to 30 the next time I do it).
Class spread is pretty even now it looks like, for the most part.
Bonus because why not. I decided to do one for 30+ mostly what I expected it to look like.
Maruna
13
