SDN Worlds 4 Commentary Thread VI

[Force Lord]

Where are our gruff British gentlemen, dammit!

[Mayabird]

And it's a nice change of pace from writing blatant Marty Stuism or Action Girl lesbians.

You can never have too much Action Girl lesbians.

Yes, you can.

In my experience, he gets fatigued with them when he produces over a certain rate, and that delays further Action Girl lesbians for some time.

So what we need is sustainable production of Action Girl lesbians?
[line 2]

[Shroom Man 777]

Baerne, I got some Braguling for the Ascendants and Formics.

Mayabirdies, Baerne, inhumanism time!

[Simon_Jester]

In my experience, he gets fatigued with them when he produces over a certain rate, and that delays further Action Girl lesbians for some time.

So what we need is sustainable production of Action Girl lesbians?

Precisely.

Where are our gruff British gentlemen, dammit!

Well, the last time I portrayed an Anglian he turned into Blackadder. Oops.

[Karmic Knight]

Well, the last time I portrayed an Anglian he turned into Blackadder. Oops.

You say that like it is a bad thing.

[Simon_Jester]

He wanted gruff British gentlemen. Blackadder isn't gruff, and isn't much of a gentleman.

So bad for Force Lord, if good for most of us.

Um. I think. You'd have to ask him, actually.

[Force Lord]

Brief Crevecia part posted.

[Siege]

I'm having trouble following the Crevecia posts. It's all Bad People doing Bad Things to each other, but I have no idea who the guerillas are, what their ideology is, what they want, how big their movement really is, and so forth.

[Force Lord]

I'm still figuring that out myself. I do have the idea of different ideological groups allied to take down the government, which has recently become a coalition between the military and the local Centralist Party.

[Simon_Jester]

This is why, once in a while, I sit down and bang out a "strategic overview" post. Guy sitting in office chairs talking about things is boring, but at least it gives you an idea what the hell is going on.

That is, for example, what I'm trying to convey with the op-ed I wrote after the Karlacks hit Aray: a broad look at the strategic situation in the Outlands as I interpret it, rather than a bunch of disconnected skirmishes and events on several planets.

Force Lord might want to do the same here with Crevecia- just a relatively short outline of what the hell is going on.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

I'm still figuring that out myself. I do have the idea of different ideological groups allied to take down the government, which has recently become a coalition between the military and the local Centralist Party.

It might be better you quit the "short two lines or so posts" and do something far more coherent. This is not some text based RPG game where you could just text away.

[Simon_Jester]

Well. Strictly speaking, it is a text based RPG, except you're roleplaying a large country.

But yes, I think it's always a good idea to sit down, plan things out, and take the time to bang out a few paragraphs' worth of material. Except under special circumstances*, one-liner and even one-paragraph posts usually won't contain enough information to give the reader a clear impression of what's going on.

That's mostly true in text based RPGs too; any action more complicated than "I stab the monster" or question more complicated than "how many orcs are in the cave?" should contain some information on the player's intentions, thought processes, and so forth.

*(having a unit of troops come to the assistance of another player's troops, which can be done in a few lines as FL just did it)

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Well. Strictly speaking, it is a text based RPG, except you're roleplaying a large country.

But yes, I think it's always a good idea to sit down, plan things out, and take the time to bang out a few paragraphs' worth of material. Except under special circumstances*, one-liner and even one-paragraph posts usually won't contain enough information to give the reader a clear impression of what's going on.

That's mostly true in text based RPGs too; any action more complicated than "I stab the monster" or question more complicated than "how many orcs are in the cave?" should contain some information on the player's intentions, thought processes, and so forth.

*(having a unit of troops come to the assistance of another player's troops, which can be done in a few lines as FL just did it)

It's either that, or it is deliberate. It won't be the first time some player resorted to obfuscation to conceal his real intentions.

But either come up with something more substantial and elaborate, or reading Forcelord's posts becomes a real irritance.

[Simon_Jester]

There's really no logical reason for FL to conceal his attentions, aside from the fact that he's just been smacked upside the head for trying to expand in the backyard of strong players clear on the other side of the map.

If this is an attempt to hide a real plan, and I'm not asking you to confirm or deny, FL, you're going about it wrong. No one's going to show much concern about what you do in your immediate neighborhood unless it happens to be their neighborhood too. It's when you start writing massive insta-victories for yourself in someone else's backyard that you get into trouble.

For more mundane purposes, concealing your intentions from other players is generally not a good strategy; it tends to tick them off more when they find out they've been lied to. You may recall my response to LoC9's Volksland campaign, in which he explicitly lied to me about his intentions when he had no obvious reason to do so. Starting here at a Council of Technarchs meeting, I made it one of my major game goals to get him to come to the table and discuss the issue with an eye to regional interests, and I was somewhat unkind about doing it.

And that was mostly because I was rather upset about the high-handed and dishonest way his nation was behaving- casually conquering planets, telling others you won't annex the place then literally turning around and annexing it the next day. That is not acceptable behavior; trying to hide your intentions so no one can stop you is a dangerous game if you plan to spring a surprise massive victory on your rivals and neighbors.
__________________

That said, in all honesty, I think it more likely that Force Lord has just been banging out little post-lets as they occur to him. Which is a habit that needs controlling, but not all that terribly bad as long as he does sit down and work out what the general underlying picture behind his ongoing plot is.

[Shroom Man 777]

Oh man. Norad. General Duke.

EDIT:

And, oh man. Orange Free is going to be turning into a shade of pink... and all other colors of the rainbow.

Armor. Dildo.

Zigonian Raptor Jesus!

[Bluewolf]

Would anyone have any objections about me settling around the Sepan sector? I am playing as an alienoid race and I intend to post my nation in a day or so. I just want to know if it's generally OK with the local powers to do this so I don't disrupt anything.

[Shinn Langley Soryu]

Would anyone have any objections about me settling around the Sepan sector? I am playing as an alienoid race and I intend to post my nation in a day or so. I just want to know if it's generally OK with the local powers to do this so I don't disrupt anything.

More alienoids means more juicy targets for exterminatus. Also, depending on your foreign policy, you may or may not be on good terms with either the Empire Star Republic or the Holy Empire of Haruhi Suzumiya. Let's see your writeup first.

[Force Lord]

Latest post may sound opinionated, but then, this is the CIS we're talking about here.

EDIT: Especially since the agent in question was...bold. And unlucky.

[Dark Hellion]

So, after a break and writers block I have now been laid up with severe back pain for the last couple of days. I hope it is just muscle spasms or a disc and not something wrong with my gall bladder or kidneys. Anyway, I am making a few short posts which might possibly spawn the evilest alliance yet.

[Siege]

Regarding the wiki, I would sure appreciate it if people stopped editing my articles without consulting me first. Correcting typos or headers is one thing but kindly stay the hell away from my layout would you? Thanks.

[Akhlut]

Still no internet at home! Still interested! Will do lots of goddamn unreal time when I get internet.

[Shroom Man 777]

Holy shits what is an Amplitur doing THERE?

[Shinn Langley Soryu]

Regarding the wiki, I would sure appreciate it if people stopped editing my articles without consulting me first. Correcting typos or headers is one thing but kindly stay the hell away from my layout would you? Thanks.

Ah. Well, sorry about that, then. I'm rarely on MSN nowadays, so I'll probably have to settle for PMing you regarding major changes to your articles. Probably could use the opportunity to trade fluff and story ideas while I'm at it, too...

[Akhlut]

Holy shits what is an Amplitur doing THERE?

Let's just say Klavostani merchants don't always make sure their salvaged goods are free from potential infestations. And that the MEH is full of complete morons who will install any piece of hardware they buy without looking into it.

[Darkevilme]

They're fat, lazy, boring AND they have a case of worldconquering crabs? The more we hear about the MEH the worse they sound.