Best posts made by Lotherio

@GreenFlashlight said in Good or New Movies Review:

but by their own sins and self-judgment?

Like the first 20-30 books in the first run of new mutants? Where it's the demon bear that's after Dani that's stimulating those fears?

@faraday said in Dice code:

McAwesomePants

Come on now, no haters, my fuzzy batman pajama pants are truly awesome.

I tried to put my thoughts on the final Star Wars trilogy early in the thread but failed horribly with various spoiler tags. I'll try again here.

I will say right off the bat, the only difference I see now is that the critiques all stem from mature adults who saw the original trilogy as children (or when they were younger). I think a part of the more critical view of the last trilogy is that our suspension of disbelief was far greater for the original trilogy and we're more critical of the recent trilogy in our maturity.

***=NSFW content***

@sixregrets said in IRL Space Trucking begins?:

The title of this thread made me want a small scale MUSH with players of the crew of a spacefaring freighter. But very much not Firefly.

I mentioned it a couple of times but Coriolis would be good for this, I’d be interested in collaborating with interested folks.

Pitch, pros for a small-scale Coriolis-like mush:

1. The game is intended for a group that operates one ship together. The mechanics for upgrading/making ships are easy to use, the combat is designed for more than piloting and gunnery. It seems complex but its easy once folks get the hang of it. Its balanced (not that every ship is equal in pure combat so much as the same amount of slots on the same class to make whatever players want).

2. Its set in a cluster of systems in a distant galaxy (more on this in cons). A few have some details, 6 or so, out of 36. There are rules to give a system some details, its intended to only develop as the group plays, so every campaign should be different. It’s a few pages to roll up some ideas and go from there.

3. Its full of shadowrun like corporations trying to dominate things, giving players sources to do various runs from/for/etc. From hauling and such to mercenary and rogue-like work.

4. Above the entities are 6-8 orgs trying to rule the entire cluster of systems, they’re interesting but in cons, this is where the game breaks down for me.

5. It uses a karma system, players use karma, GM gets bad karma to make stuff happen. It ties into the mystic parts of the game, there are minor ‘abilities’ that don’t affect the mechanics too much other than this balance. GM can do things that net the players karma in reverse. Its not bad so much as with a pool of karma, the DM can introduce a roadblock along the way; ship breaks down between two planets in a system, someone chasing the group catches up, an NPC that is owed money shows up at the market with armed thugs.

Cons, or what I’d remove or ignore:

1. The intended meta-campaign from the company itself involves high level save the world stuff. There are other systems, ones the people in this system came from, that were in a war, but portals between those systems and this are closed. But not really, there are natural space portals through the place between space in gas planets. One system found a mystical way to open one and are coming through there to control the campaign set system. Another system has kept a portal open and is amassing an armada to take over the campaign set system. – I’d lock out these other systems and just focus on the developing system the game is originally set in as there is tons to explore as a singular ship crew.

2. The setup of the largest ‘secret’ orgs is half and half with me. I like that they are there, its feels like dune (one controls corporations, one controls free traders, one controls conservative faithful, another controls liberal faithful). There is direct opposition between pairs of these, and then 4 and 4 are on a bigger scale alliance vs alliance. There is plenty to play with, but like the super meta of entire galactic systems, it’s a bet much meta for a small ship crew. I’d keep them for flavor as NPC entities and hurdles for PCs rather than have PCs get embroiled in direct conflict between these super orgs. It was good in Dune, but doesn’t sound appealing to me as a MU, I think most Dune Mu*s had a nice focus more on is the houses and their politics than say Ix vs Tleilaxu or something (because the books have it play out over 5K years or so, just in the originals, his son adds the pre5K+ years, books make the span better than a Mush).

3. Time scale: the system is like 400 years old at best. 1000 Years ago people are only on earth when they discover portals built by a lost civilization in space. They explore these and make the 1st Horizon, the original cluster of stars with earth at its center (this is the group staging the armada for takeover). They finally find another portal to a distance second cluster of systems, the 2nd Horizon (these are the mystics using gas giants to infiltrate other systems), and then 400 years ago this system is discovered (called the 3rd Horizon). They come to escape an ongoing war between 1st and 2nd Horizon, the portal wars destroy portals between worlds, then all the groups seeking freedom go to their own systems in 3rd Horizon and its sort of a dark ages for 300 years (population is low to begin, loss from conflict and folks just try to settle their planets mostly, but the big orgs are growing). The only thing that changes all this is that 80 years ago an ark ship arrives (cause just before earth found the portal they launched a bunch to help with overcrowding and destruction of earth). They somehow have industry and better tech than the current inhabitants of 3rd Horizon, so organize quickly (they form one side of the secret org alliance, the liberal ones, vs they current conservative ones), they start opening contact between all the systems.

Tl;dr I like the game system and mechanics with the basic flavor theme, some of the higher level meta theme seems to fall apart for me, but could be altered while still keeping a lot of the original flavor of space truckers dealing with corporations and large-scale multi-star system groups (missions between the groups, just regular space trucking and hauling while dealing with the various rules and groups and trying to avoid their politics, whatever).

No interest in doing this on my own, my days for trying are done. If folks are interested in collaborating on something for small-scale, I'd be open for discussions, I have ideas for possibilities of a joint effort (such as mutual involving for various storyteller-like folks to alternate running PrPs and such).

@Ghost said in The Hockey Thread:

True story. Saw a Christian high school with their team name "Trojans", which is fuckin weird because Troy was dedicated to Apollo.

Yeah, its certainly better when Christian founded/based schools go with a demonic mascots, like Blue Devils.

@lifebird said in MU Things I Love:

All you beautiful fuckers!

You're too kind -- don't stop

Locke & Key is interesting, conceptually and in execution. Story development is well paced for me. Not done with it but enjoying this series.

@l-b-heuschkel said in A healthy game culture:

Tempted to say that if you want to run a genuine pvp game you need to take it all the way and make no illusions of 'supportive community' or 'team play'. And also make it so that losing a char is not a big deal -- roll a new one, get back in the game, this is not the game for long, deep stories.
Which is fine. Again, boiling down to being bluntly honest on the label.

AKA - make a MUD? The only thing to determine: on death is the new char from scratch, is there partial XP return, or go to the temple and lose a few XP/Skills/Whatevers.

@Ganymede said in It's where you putcher weed ...:

Take one of these:

Ain't gonna lie, when I saw the gas can I was assuming a sturdier, larger gravity bong.

I once had a friend pull this out of his garage to throw away:

An exacto knife, longer tubes and some epoxy cause I wasn't hip to glue guns. His hand held the bowl/stem.

Literally what it says, working on a powers list (spell/enchantment related). Not going to spam it here and have a discussion about it. Just looking for input. If anyone is willing and interested in giving it a review/critique let me know. I can a link to the list.

Thanks in advance for reading/any interest.

@Macha said in The Work Thread:

He tries, but.. jesus Jenkins!.

Looks like a great game. Its in Ares and looks like they, for the most part, used the environment well.

One criticism - CG. Its all FC characters and they're all rostered. Its app-in only. This is fine. My criticism is that to apply for a rostered bit, one has to log in as a guest and basically +submit/mail an app in. The only reference is you give them your e-mail for them to send rejection or connect info to I suppose. I did this a week and a half ago and nothing. I've lost all interest in trying.

This is in Ares, I should be able to go onto the web and use my Ares handle or create an OOC name to interact with the system through this process. It feels like I was requesting to join an e-mail RP group in 1993. I feel it needs something more than a guest bit, like I could log on now and they could say they never got it and I have no way to track a job number or anything. At Least with the 1993 e-mail list RPGs, I could send in e-mails to the server daemons to bounce back the status of my e-mails or my status with the group even.

I know they're not shy of players, they're doing good, but someone may want to recommend to admin updating the roster claiming process to be more user friendly.

@Ganymede said in Good TV:

@ZombieGenesis said in Good TV:

I read yesterday that Comedy Central is bringing back Bevis and Butt-Head too. If I'm being honest, however, I don't see how either can exist in the modern world.

This was already done, and it was called The Big Bang Theory.

Huh. Huh uh .. huh huh huh.

@tinuviel said in Criticism: X-Men Divergence:

@lotherio said in Criticism: X-Men Divergence:

I know they're not shy of players, they're doing good, but someone may want to recommend to admin updating the roster claiming process to be more user friendly.

Without a link to check it out myself, and apathy in googling, I would say it is simply part of their selection process. If one is so easily, in their mind, dissuaded from joining, perhaps that is simply part of their desire. To weed out those unwilling to participate in such a way.

Could very well be. If my effort to spend a few hours reading their wiki then applying is not enough, then yes, I've been weeded out. I mean an email to say I don't fit the character or something would have been nice but severing the tie is cleaner this way I suppose.

Here is the link:
https://xmendivergence.com/

@Auspice This series is good, I had to dig up Melanie's attach scene from The Birds so my daughter's got the one girls Halloween costume thing.

4 and if wiki or something with images, I prefer 1. Artwork seems more make believe to me and my brain doesn't like imagining a cartoon. 2 is off the list, I dislike it becoming a contest to find the best actors that fit theme/period/genre.

I prefer the description first then finding something to fit. I really don't want Robert Downy Jr for someone who acts exactly like Tony Stark. I can watch Iron Man movies for that. I'd rather someone have the attitude but look different, inspired by is good for me, playing the bit exactly like the role and image chosen is a turn off. I think folks have said this, if they see someone like Ryan Reynolds after a Deadpool movie, they avoid the character.

4 for me and I'm good with 1 for web/wiki reference (I prefer an actual desc not a link to a website). I liked playing in the 90s when folks came up with the character and then occasionally there was what if we made the movie who'd play who was fun, but then it was others assigning actors to play your character.

@deathbird said in Good TV:

I'm 1.5 episodes into Teenage Bounty Hunters on Netflix and I'm

Uh ... you're becoming a real boy watching the show, it has you floating on water, its cooling you off, what is it I don't get the image. Should I watch it if I want a drink of water or ...?

@sunny said in Idling all day on MU*s:

and I apologize if it seemed like my suggestion to passive aggressively whine on the boards was even remotely genuine. I'm pretty mortified by the thought. That one was a firm tongue in cheek comment, because it WAS the preferred method of addressing this issue on many an oWoD game. It was stupid. It didn't work. It always made people just log in less.

You're golden, it came off that way, I took it the same and completely agree with you. I just added onto it.

@GreenFlashlight said in Good TV:

Whose Name I Already Forget

Tory ... with a Y

The Teen Drama and sexual oriented stuff I can do without. It just feels like every other teen drama being sold to adults who, like Johnny and Danny, are maybe trying to relive high school or something? I'm guessing its part generational, it pulls my kids into it more (that and Peyton List, Tory, has been on Nickalodeon for years). I want more of the interaction between dojo's and students, like Hawk and Dmitry's stuff and who ends up where based on who is teaching what at the time.

@nessa said in Idling all day on MU*s:

After talking with many more people OOCly who play on MUs I came to the realization, decades ago, that most people on MUs are far more introverted than myself. They don't see activity as inherently energizing they like to feel the connectedness of the online community,

This is besides the point, but extroverted and introverted aren't at play in this. I go out and socialize, more art openings then the bars these days (booze is free at my social events), put me in a room of strangers and I'll break the ice. Digital community is still community. The bar or the movies doesn't make one more part of a community than someone who socializes on-line.

Its sounds more like you see it as a game then a group of people sharing a common interest.