Best Of
Re: How bushy is your foliage?
This is how it all begins, isn't it? The first of many foliage jokes... 
Jerom
5
Re: Which Client?
I'm going to experiment with using Nexus because it's come a LONG way and I want to see if it's worthwhile now.
Pollivar
5
A small question about syntax
Oh great Devs, I have a small question for you. At this stage of development, is it possible for you to do something like
ADMIN LAUNCH STARMOURN
?
Shhhhh... Don't think about it too much. Just do it. Type this code. Or better yet, look into this gas light:
It's light is so warm... Why are your eyelids getting heavy? Wouldn't it feel great to just relax? It's easy... You just feel like typing this command:
ADMIN LAUNCH STARMOURNIt's so gentle... Like slipping into a warm bath...
Quean
9
Intergalactic Space-Jokes, Idioms, Insults and Colloquialisms
This is a thread for lore-friendly jokes and expressions you might hear thrown around in-character in Starmourn.
I'll start:
I'll start:
- What did the bartender serve the Scoundrel who couldn't pay?
Jin & Tonic. - How do you spot a Shen at a barbecue?
They taste a little gamey. - How do Decheeran show respect?
Through their boughs. - I've never really liked Nath-el. They just kind of bug me.
- What do you call a flighty woman?
W'hore. - How was the copper wire invented?
Two Celestines fought over a penny.
Kestrel
6
Re: Ry'nari songs
Oogah. Chakha. Oogah. Chakha.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Oogah. Chakha. Oogah. Chakha.
Blood. Limbs. Debris.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Oogah. Chakha. Oogah. Chakha.
Blood. Limbs. Debris.
Will there be player housing?
One thing that's been mentioned, that I would LOVE to see, is player housing out in the genuine world. It may be a small thing, but to have a place where a character can quit the game from at home is something that adds to immersion for me, rather than just disappearing from the middle of the city streets. And I think Imperian had housing that was part of the real world, rather than tucked away in a subdivision or only purchasable out of subs through auctions.
I'd love to see something where you could spend a LOT of money and live in one of those biodomes for the wealthy on Scatterhome or spend less money and live in a moldy shack in Scrapston. And maybe something like regular property taxes to keep properties from being held forever by dormant characters. Not necessarily at launch but somewhere down the line?
I'd love to see something where you could spend a LOT of money and live in one of those biodomes for the wealthy on Scatterhome or spend less money and live in a moldy shack in Scrapston. And maybe something like regular property taxes to keep properties from being held forever by dormant characters. Not necessarily at launch but somewhere down the line?
Xiru
5
Re: Small tales with character.
“Roaches always come back.” - Malash
*******************
Zain's eyes opened to the sting of saline, his body weightless within a stasis capsule. Through the glass he could make out two hulking figures on either side of a smaller one, all facing the capsule opposite his.
Gerdey.
All at once his mind put the pieces together and instinct kicked in. He jerked his body in the fluid, pawing at the glass, frantically looking for a way out.
"Well, would you look at this..." the smaller one said as he turned toward the writhing Nath-el clone, "Zain... you mean to tell me after all that, he got you?!"
Gerdey stood at knee-height between a massive Krona on his left and a burly Ry'nari to his right. There was humor in his voice, and he smiled with brown, expressive eyes. He had a calm demeanor that complimented his expensive pin-striped suit. His fur looked recently conditioned and was brushed down, save for a downy tuft between his ears. He motioned to the Krona, who then sauntered over to a small panel beside Zain's capsule and pressed a few buttons. The fluid began to lower inside the tube, triggering the hatch to open once it had all been drained. Zain's newly minted body collapsed on the floor awkwardly, his mind still unable to command it with any grace.
"I mean don't get me wrong, I'm happy to see you, but I was very much looking forward to seeing Buck, you understand," Gerdey motioned once again, and the Krona picked Zain up by his throat, and yanked the breathing tube out of his mouth before throwing him back to the floor. He let out a long and painful gagging sound, then filled his new lungs with their first breath of atmospheric oxygen before going into a fit of gasping and choking. The three onlookers waited patiently for him to catch his breath.
"He says 'hey'," Zain croaked, chuckling between gasps.
Gerdey glanced back at the dormant clone of Buck Langdon floating peacefully in its own capsule, then snorted, crouching down beside Zain.
"Y'know, I had a lot of time to come up with some pretty nasty stuff. I'll admit, I went a little overboard," the chiding little Elgan conceded, "Hell, I'd wager that some of it isn't even physically possible, you know?" Gerdey leaned closer, "But now I have you, Zain. And you're going to help me by testing all of my crazy ideas. That way, I know which ones work the best for when I do get Langdon."
Zain followed Gerdey's gaze toward a large hall, filled with capsules. There must have been twenty on reserve, filled with full-grown clones waiting in stasis.
"I know, I know, you probably want to get things started right now. After all, time is money, right?" Gerdey curled his face into a wide grin, "But please don't worry on my behalf, because I've got a lot of both."
The Elgan stood up and fixed the creases in his suit pants. He turned to walk away, then stopped.
"What, are you just gonna stand there?" he looked at one over-sized thug, then at the other, "He's a bug. Squash him."
The last thing Zain saw was the Krona lift its leg, just before it drove its boot through his head.
*******************
Zain's eyes opened to the sting of saline. He flexed his fingers and arms within the capsule, trying to get used to the feeling of his new body. He could just make out Gerdey and his henchmen through the glass, when a searing pain enveloped his right side. He turned his head to look, and was surprised to see small ribbons of brownish-red blood clouding the water around his flank. He felt another stab of pain, this time from his left leg, and as he turned to inspect it something swam passed his face. Another bite behind the knee. Then another on his neck. Soon the tank was filled with a blur of small creatures, swarming around him, obscuring his vision. He slammed his fists against the glass, trying in vain to break out of his water-filled prison. The pain numbed his mind as they continued to feast on his body. He recognized the bits floating in the water around him were parts of his flesh, and then he fell unconscious.
*******************
The sting of saline was somewhat less surprising to Zain this time around. His head swiveled right, then left, looking for anything in the tank with him. Then the liquid drained around him and the capsule swung open, throwing him out onto the floor. Gerdey was midway through a fit of laughter.
"Aw Zain, I'm sorry... I'm sorry, the piranhas were just too good to pass up!" the Elgan wheezed like a hyena, "I mean, you should have seen your face!"
He stopped laughing abruptly and cocked his head as if an idea had just occurred to him.
"What am I saying? I can show you, it's right over there!" Gerdey grabbed Zain's face and turned it to see the vessel of his previous incarnation, or what was left of it.
The shock of seeing his own mutilated remains froze him in place. His mind was at once petrified by an existential conundrum: his corpse looked foreign to him, as if it looked nothing like him and at the same time, it used to be him. His mind was just getting itself wrapped around the concept when giant hands yanked him off the floor and interrupted his thoughts.
"I won't lie, that was fun," Gerdey said as the goons carried Zain away, "but this time around we're going to make it last."
*******************
Zain squeezed his eyes tight, allowing them to water on their own before opening them to the saline. He waited for the liquid to drain, head lowered, and stepped out once the hatch had opened to allow the Krona to pull the breathing tube out. Although it felt like an eternity, he had no idea how long he had actually been in Gerdey's custody, but he did know that it had been fifteen lifetimes. He knew that because Gerdey showed him after every rebirth. The image was etched into his mind: corpses burned, drowned, strangled, electrocuted, beaten to death, thrown from balconies... all genetically identical but mutilated in such different ways that they looked nothing alike. He shook the thought from his head, and it occurred to him they still had not removed the breathing tube. He opened his eyes, seeing a red tile floor underneath him instead of the usual metallic plating. He flinched, expecting some cruel fate that hadn't yet befallen him, but nothing came. He removed the breathing tube as gingerly as possible, lest the tube itself be serrated or some other awful, fatal trick.
The room around him was empty: no other capsules. No Gerdey. No Krona or Ry'nari. Zain crept up to the only door in the room and peered through the small view port. A holomap on the hallway wall outside showed he had spawned halfway across the Starmourn sector. He backed away in confusion, his antennae twitching as he pondered the possibilities. Was it a trick? Could Gerdey have orchestrated this just to give him hope, only to tear it away at any moment?
No. That doesn't seem right. I am free... but how? he asked himself, The only other person able to change my cloning facility is--
"Don't get the wrong idea Zain," Buck's recording played over the room's PA system, "I didn't help you because we're friends, that ship has sailed. I did it to piss off Gerdey. Don't make me regret it." The voice ended as suddenly as it had started, and he had the profound and peculiar feeling that he would never hear it again.
And for the first time since he was a strung-out teenager jonesing for Black Nova in a Scatterhome gutter, Thorzain Nill'j wept.
*******************
Zain's eyes opened to the sting of saline, his body weightless within a stasis capsule. Through the glass he could make out two hulking figures on either side of a smaller one, all facing the capsule opposite his.
Gerdey.
All at once his mind put the pieces together and instinct kicked in. He jerked his body in the fluid, pawing at the glass, frantically looking for a way out.
"Well, would you look at this..." the smaller one said as he turned toward the writhing Nath-el clone, "Zain... you mean to tell me after all that, he got you?!"
Gerdey stood at knee-height between a massive Krona on his left and a burly Ry'nari to his right. There was humor in his voice, and he smiled with brown, expressive eyes. He had a calm demeanor that complimented his expensive pin-striped suit. His fur looked recently conditioned and was brushed down, save for a downy tuft between his ears. He motioned to the Krona, who then sauntered over to a small panel beside Zain's capsule and pressed a few buttons. The fluid began to lower inside the tube, triggering the hatch to open once it had all been drained. Zain's newly minted body collapsed on the floor awkwardly, his mind still unable to command it with any grace.
"I mean don't get me wrong, I'm happy to see you, but I was very much looking forward to seeing Buck, you understand," Gerdey motioned once again, and the Krona picked Zain up by his throat, and yanked the breathing tube out of his mouth before throwing him back to the floor. He let out a long and painful gagging sound, then filled his new lungs with their first breath of atmospheric oxygen before going into a fit of gasping and choking. The three onlookers waited patiently for him to catch his breath.
"He says 'hey'," Zain croaked, chuckling between gasps.
Gerdey glanced back at the dormant clone of Buck Langdon floating peacefully in its own capsule, then snorted, crouching down beside Zain.
"Y'know, I had a lot of time to come up with some pretty nasty stuff. I'll admit, I went a little overboard," the chiding little Elgan conceded, "Hell, I'd wager that some of it isn't even physically possible, you know?" Gerdey leaned closer, "But now I have you, Zain. And you're going to help me by testing all of my crazy ideas. That way, I know which ones work the best for when I do get Langdon."
Zain followed Gerdey's gaze toward a large hall, filled with capsules. There must have been twenty on reserve, filled with full-grown clones waiting in stasis.
"I know, I know, you probably want to get things started right now. After all, time is money, right?" Gerdey curled his face into a wide grin, "But please don't worry on my behalf, because I've got a lot of both."
The Elgan stood up and fixed the creases in his suit pants. He turned to walk away, then stopped.
"What, are you just gonna stand there?" he looked at one over-sized thug, then at the other, "He's a bug. Squash him."
The last thing Zain saw was the Krona lift its leg, just before it drove its boot through his head.
*******************
Zain's eyes opened to the sting of saline. He flexed his fingers and arms within the capsule, trying to get used to the feeling of his new body. He could just make out Gerdey and his henchmen through the glass, when a searing pain enveloped his right side. He turned his head to look, and was surprised to see small ribbons of brownish-red blood clouding the water around his flank. He felt another stab of pain, this time from his left leg, and as he turned to inspect it something swam passed his face. Another bite behind the knee. Then another on his neck. Soon the tank was filled with a blur of small creatures, swarming around him, obscuring his vision. He slammed his fists against the glass, trying in vain to break out of his water-filled prison. The pain numbed his mind as they continued to feast on his body. He recognized the bits floating in the water around him were parts of his flesh, and then he fell unconscious.
*******************
The sting of saline was somewhat less surprising to Zain this time around. His head swiveled right, then left, looking for anything in the tank with him. Then the liquid drained around him and the capsule swung open, throwing him out onto the floor. Gerdey was midway through a fit of laughter.
"Aw Zain, I'm sorry... I'm sorry, the piranhas were just too good to pass up!" the Elgan wheezed like a hyena, "I mean, you should have seen your face!"
He stopped laughing abruptly and cocked his head as if an idea had just occurred to him.
"What am I saying? I can show you, it's right over there!" Gerdey grabbed Zain's face and turned it to see the vessel of his previous incarnation, or what was left of it.
The shock of seeing his own mutilated remains froze him in place. His mind was at once petrified by an existential conundrum: his corpse looked foreign to him, as if it looked nothing like him and at the same time, it used to be him. His mind was just getting itself wrapped around the concept when giant hands yanked him off the floor and interrupted his thoughts.
"I won't lie, that was fun," Gerdey said as the goons carried Zain away, "but this time around we're going to make it last."
*******************
Zain squeezed his eyes tight, allowing them to water on their own before opening them to the saline. He waited for the liquid to drain, head lowered, and stepped out once the hatch had opened to allow the Krona to pull the breathing tube out. Although it felt like an eternity, he had no idea how long he had actually been in Gerdey's custody, but he did know that it had been fifteen lifetimes. He knew that because Gerdey showed him after every rebirth. The image was etched into his mind: corpses burned, drowned, strangled, electrocuted, beaten to death, thrown from balconies... all genetically identical but mutilated in such different ways that they looked nothing alike. He shook the thought from his head, and it occurred to him they still had not removed the breathing tube. He opened his eyes, seeing a red tile floor underneath him instead of the usual metallic plating. He flinched, expecting some cruel fate that hadn't yet befallen him, but nothing came. He removed the breathing tube as gingerly as possible, lest the tube itself be serrated or some other awful, fatal trick.
The room around him was empty: no other capsules. No Gerdey. No Krona or Ry'nari. Zain crept up to the only door in the room and peered through the small view port. A holomap on the hallway wall outside showed he had spawned halfway across the Starmourn sector. He backed away in confusion, his antennae twitching as he pondered the possibilities. Was it a trick? Could Gerdey have orchestrated this just to give him hope, only to tear it away at any moment?
No. That doesn't seem right. I am free... but how? he asked himself, The only other person able to change my cloning facility is--
"Don't get the wrong idea Zain," Buck's recording played over the room's PA system, "I didn't help you because we're friends, that ship has sailed. I did it to piss off Gerdey. Don't make me regret it." The voice ended as suddenly as it had started, and he had the profound and peculiar feeling that he would never hear it again.
And for the first time since he was a strung-out teenager jonesing for Black Nova in a Scatterhome gutter, Thorzain Nill'j wept.
Cosmpiercers (org v org conflict system)
Just put up a short page on them here: https://www.starmourn.com/cosmpiercers/
Aurelius
9