Re: General Discussion

by **StoneWall** Fri Nov 25, 2016 5:45 pm

So I'm hoping Prussian will show up at some point. The forum is rather devoid of striking notifications, or even a bar letting you know who's been online recently. That could be advantageous, though, to an extent.

by **Tarragon** Fri Nov 25, 2016 5:58 pm

This was the best look I could get thus far. I can probably make new icons, but if the internet image provider decides to make you pay for service, they'll delete all your stuff.

by **Canis_Dirus** Fri Nov 25, 2016 6:09 pm

I suppose the Roleplay Club section idea works.

As for the human issue:
The RP galaxy doesn't have to be the Milky Way. Instead it could be just some galaxy that sends out wormhole 'tendrils' or something of that nature, meaning people can easily have their empire which is based in their own canon come in to play without being restricted to originating in the galaxy here. This way, multiple people can play as humans and it presents a fun dynamic of meeting alternate realities.
This solution avoids pretty much all the conflict since it doesn't make owning humans a special privilege. In fact it makes having aliens all the more interesting, since humans are familiar in a lot of ways while a properly written alien race is not.

Tarragon wrote:I just tried to use GIMP to color in the design I did for my race, and then the thing stopped working and I lost all the data just as I had finished it...

....I am so sad....

Use paint.net. Much more stable, and much easier to use. My condolences for losing your work

Stonewall wrote:The forum is rather devoid of striking notifications, or even a bar letting you know who's been online recently. That could be advantageous, though, to an extent.

A bar showing names of who's online would be nice.......and of course if you want to be stealthy or are afraid of being noticed or something, the option to be hidden would be available.

by **Tarragon** Fri Nov 25, 2016 6:23 pm

Paint.net doesn't achieve the effects that I was trying to use. This is the first time GIMP has ever messed up, though.

I blame Windows 10

At any rate, reason for me trying to digitally color stuff in is that since I got a new computer because my old one started to fail, I haven't been able to use the scanner to digitize my drawings. I'm stuck taking photos with my phone and then editing them. Even linked up the connections don't seem functional (Again, I blame Windows 10).

I did quickly color in the actual sketch and take a photo. Sorry for the blurring on it, but I don't have the best resources these days.

General Discussion - Page 2 Duo_Calcarata_Monte_Pruina

General Discussion - Page 2 Duo_Calcarata_Monte_Pruina

by **StoneWall** Fri Nov 25, 2016 11:07 pm

Your drawing is dope, as usual, Vipes.

by **Prussian** Sat Nov 26, 2016 2:13 am

NO, WAIT, I'M HERE. And as long as you three are here, I'm gonna stay here, too.
And now that this forum has a permanent population, kicking off a new RP, with new and fun stories, should be a lot easier, so I'm excited to participate in that way.

by **Tarragon** Sat Nov 26, 2016 9:34 am

Well, that's awesome, then.

Also, Prussian, that RP we had with the humans and the Natives, I re-designed the aliens so that they would look a little more seamless. The old bear-like ones seemed a little ridiculous for flight capabilities.

Here's a photo of the new design:

General Discussion - Page 2 Natives

They don't exactly look dangerous, but they actually have very long, sharp spurs on their wings, and that's sufficient enough to do damage. The tail is holding a basketball for size comparison.

by **Prussian** Sat Nov 26, 2016 10:33 am

Have to agree, this looks better! It's sleeker and more realistic in shape.

If you'd like, we could meet again in the chatbox and talk about what else needs to be finalized?

by **Valnarian** Sat Nov 26, 2016 11:55 am

I've been banging some alien ideas around, and there are at least four I really like. I will have to work on them, maybe make some RG styled sheets for them so as to illustrate them, pictures, too, if I can.

by **Tarragon** Sat Nov 26, 2016 1:17 pm

Sure, I would like to do that. I'm still very eager to do this RP. It has a lot of potential. During the middle of the day though I'm going to be re-potting some plants, since this is the warmest part of the day. I have a circulation issue and my joints lock up in the cold, so doing stuff outside in winter is tough.

At any rate, Duo Calcarata are much easier to create new variants for because I don't have to design detail for wings, scales, or feathers. I've already got the second variant, native to salt marshes, colored in.

Here's the photo of the second variant, from Pantano Sal.

General Discussion - Page 2 Duo_Calcarata_Pantano_Sal

General Discussion - Page 2 Duo_Calcarata_Pantano_Sal

Half the details are messed up because I'm stuck using photographs, but it has upturned nostrils and a kind of otter or walrus-like mustache of sorts. It has a cat-like mouth, and the eyes are actually dark blue.

This one is native to a salt-marsh and ocean climate, so it can't handle below-freezing temperatures or a lack of water like its ancestor, but it has a natural capacity to survive despite high saline content in the diet, or even in the drinking supply. If these guys get stuck out at sea in some sort of shipwreck, they can actually still drink the seawater and live because they have systems for filtering excess salt from the blood and then expelling it. They tend to be like marine iguanas, they expel salt from the nose, so they have to groom their whiskers a lot to keep them from getting covered in white crusts.

Also, while not really built to spend their whole lives in the water, they do still live around it enough that they can hold their breaths for a considerably long time, and their facial structure makes surfacing to breathe easier. Their fur has really fine and dense guard hairs that keep them waterproofed, and they can swim for hours and at a faster speed because of their webbed hands and feet.

I know their horns are just as big, but actually, they're not as dense because of the need to be lighter so they don't sink. If you pit the alpine variant against this one, the Monte Pruina variant could probably snap this one's horns clean off if they started charging at each other. Tusks are about the same, except one is more longer and less curved.

Technically, you wouldn't want to get charged by either one, though.

by **Canis_Dirus** Mon Nov 28, 2016 9:12 pm

Hey I'll take being charged....

If I can sit in my tank that is xD

by **Tarragon** Tue Nov 29, 2016 6:54 pm

Something tells me my aliens are probably going to turn into a meme fostered by hypothetical battles.

by **Prussian** Tue Nov 29, 2016 7:45 pm

Hold on a sec...

Canis, would you rather fight an Alpine Duo Calcarata- sized Salt Marsh Duo Calcarata, or two Salt Marsh Due Calcarata-sized Alpine Duo Calcaratas?
No but seriously designing ecosystems is a fun thing to do

by **Canis_Dirus** Tue Nov 29, 2016 8:24 pm

Tarragon wrote:Something tells me my aliens are probably going to turn into a meme fostered by hypothetical battles.

Well what do you expect when you make sentient aliens that headbutt stuff? xD
On a more serious note though, I think that it's a cool idea and that you did a great job drawing and coloring them.

Prussian wrote:Canis, would you rather fight an Alpine Duo Calcarata- sized Salt Marsh Duo Calcarata, or two Salt Marsh Due Calcarata-sized Alpine Duo Calcaratas?

Quite the tongue twister there.
Well if I get to use the aforementioned hypothetical tank, either works. Unless they're a lot bigger than Vipera made them seem an autocannon should work, and they wouldn't dent the armor.
As for just myself, I might attempt it if I get a gun. Otherwise no way xD

by **Tarragon** Tue Nov 29, 2016 8:49 pm

The original Monte Pruina variant is eight feet in height, not including their horns, which I'm still trying to figure out what the rough length of them would be. Prussian is correct in suspecting that the Pantano Sal variant is somewhat smaller, in fact, they're about six feet in height. Again, not including horns here, because it's kind of hard to measure when there's a sharp curve, and I'm trying to picture it in a balanced way. The Duo Calcarata are aliens that are meant to be big and somewhat imposing in appearance.

I'm thinking the Monte Pruina version has horns almost three feet in length, though that's when you're following the curve.

Tusks.....well, still a little confused regarding that. Maybe extending a foot in front of the Alpine one, excluding the curve, and the other one that has straighter tusks is about sixteen inches.

Measurements are hard.

At any rate, my original races had horns, too, and could headbutt stuff in fights. I wound up enjoying the concept so much I decided to make that and slashing tusks a major thing, because in my opinion, as scary as claws are in a concept (They have long, sharp claws, but I imagine that wasn't what your gaze was initially drawn to), you spend more of your time trying to examine a creature's eyes to figure out what it's looking at when you encounter one, so naturally, you're looking at its face. When you find sharp fangs, tusks, or very large horns attached to that face, it's somehow a lot more intimidating, because recognizing danger is an instinctive thing. I figure, it would be interesting to make a race that was clearly very dangerous in a manner where you were reminded just by looking at them, and then the fact that some races can interact with them safely makes the concept really interesting, because there's that tension, and the kind of uneasy relief that you know they don't really intend on hurting you if you're on good terms.

I might also make an exceedingly tiny race that also inhabits their planets, and they always have positive relations because they're constantly helping each other. I think it might be cute if the big, terrifying monster race has small, very weak-looking creatures that they whole-heartedly trust and adore. I know that a concept like that is extremely cliche, but there needs to be some point where people don't think they're vicious.

by **Prussian** Tue Nov 29, 2016 10:58 pm

General Discussion - Page 2 Image_preview

Stuff like that happens all the time. I wouldn't worry about something being cliché if you can pull it off well. And besides, no single idea's really 100% original. Not with 7 billion people around.

Actually, here's a fun thought exercise (okay, "thought exercise" is a little too fancy for this). What animal on earth would you say could stand up to the Monte Pruina in a fight?

by **Canis_Dirus** Tue Nov 29, 2016 11:19 pm

Probably a rhinoceros (they can throw buffalo into the air), elephant, tiger (strong bite, claws and likely quicker), a large crocodile (if in the water), grizzly bear, and of course a human (with tools of course)

by **Tarragon** Wed Nov 30, 2016 8:13 am

Elephants and rhinoceros are no-contest winners against Monte Pruina.

The others could hold their own, but victory isn't guaranteed for either side in those scenarios. Don't forget, Monte Pruina, while not relying on their claws to fight, do still have ones like a bear's. Although their ability to use a swiping motion isn't as great, their hind legs are really powerful, and if something like a bear pinned one and it decided to kick, the bear would probably get ripped open. Never underestimate their kick, or their capacity to scratch you, because they can still do that.

Monte Pruina are also intelligent fighters, so they can use strategy, and on some level, it's an bred-in trait that they're good at quick-thinking. When two Duo Calcarata fight, they not only have to deliver their own blows, but whenever someone tries to cut upward with their tusks (The tusks are used at close range, imagine how fighting bulls slash upward with their horns, that's kind of what it's like with the tusks) They have to make sure they see that attack coming and move to parry it with their own horns and tusks, because there's no way they're going to manage to back off fast enough and actually dodge it.

Actually, fights between them would probably be something like a sport, culturally. It'd be a major form of entertainment for alien visitors, because it's very intense. It's sort of like watching deer fight, but because they don't have branched antlers, their horns never actually lock together. The sound of two individuals clashing is plenty of clues as to how much power their charge has. It's like watching two really strong gladiators fight.

Of course, that's going to be whether or not you can handle bloodsport.

by **Valnarian** Wed Nov 30, 2016 9:33 am

Concerning a sci-fi RP, I have four races in mind. There would be one race that is young compared to the others, and they would look a lot like griffins (I love griffins); I haven't worked out a name for them yet. They would be a "good-guy" race. Another "good-guy" race would be an ancient one, known as the Vorons. The two "bad-guy" races would be an ancient scorpion-like species called the Rath Ir'Ann (emphasis on the first and third syllables), and another race who I forgot what they were called. The former would be the main villains, while the latter would act as their lackeys. Stay tuned for drawings and expansion.

by **Tarragon** Wed Nov 30, 2016 10:22 pm

I got really excited over this design. I was initially going to make something rabbit or ferret-like, but then I made this guy and I was like 'That's it, this is the design!" I got a ton of ideas for it.

Before anyone says anything, although 'spider monkeys' come to mind as playful and energetic, these guys are actually more quiet and calm, almost like orangutans in their mannerisms, and are more ape-like in appearance. They don't have tails and their build is more stocky and compact.

General Discussion - Page 2 Alien

Wow, I Talk A Lot About My Races, Here's a Spoiler:

by **StoneWall** Fri Dec 02, 2016 9:34 pm

Building upon the concept of Vipera's idea for various worlds which are mysteriously connected to portals, I came upon the idea of expanding a single roleplay about various linked worlds, to a more meta level. What if each person could create a roleplay, with its own characters and plots and events, and be able to build and experiment with that as much as they please, but also become connected to other roleplays via the mysterious portals of Vipera's contrivance. We could even dispose of calling each roleplay simply a roleplay, but rather a Domain, for each person. These Domains are then potentially interconnected by the portals, allowing for greater cooperation and participation between the roleplayers. We could even have a hub domain, of sorts.

Speaking of Domains, I have an idea for a new one, with the working title of Cell.

Perhaps these ideas of mine will whet all of your interests'.

by **Tarragon** Fri Dec 02, 2016 10:22 pm

I think that's been done several times before. There's usually always enthusiastic responses, but the RP's used to die a bunch because depending on the RP's, the standards for how strong a character can be changes.

For lack of better terms, the weak characters get one-upped a bunch. It's even worse when you try to mix magic and sci-fi, or powers with normal humans....or talking cats...

I think if we wanted this to work, there would still have to be a net set of standards, or at the very least some sort of world where there's something resembling a level playing field. The dramatic differences between the types of characters and how that can cause a plot to spiral out of control is the main reason I'm leery about these ideas, though I think if we pulled it off, it would probably be the most fun.

...Also...Honey and Scylla, I really want to bring my guys back. Two good characters, I don't want my best works to go to waste. Anything to be able to make them realize their full potential.

by **Prussian** Sat Dec 03, 2016 1:01 am

Maybe it's just me being tired, but if we want to feature our characters in a big meta-RP, we could create a sort of hub world. Like the "bar scene" Where all the characters meet up and have a chat.

Well, you get the idea. Plots get complicated when you force characters together that won't fit, so why have a plot at all?

by **Tarragon** Sat Dec 03, 2016 9:50 am

I could see a universe where portals appear so frequently that the locals don't care, and a cafe taking advantage of the fact that they're some sort of hot spot, and that the portals close behind people and strand them there.

Also, just because I had to go and troubleshoot my computer thanks to a failed update that corrupted some data and made my computer try to freeze up, why did they ever make Windows 10? Even if the fix was easy, I shouldn't have to fight my own computer.

by **StoneWall** Sat Dec 03, 2016 7:32 pm

Tarragon wrote:I think that's been done several times before. There's usually always enthusiastic responses, but the RP's used to die a bunch because depending on the RP's, the standards for how strong a character can be changes.

For lack of better terms, the weak characters get one-upped a bunch. It's even worse when you try to mix magic and sci-fi, or powers with normal humans....or talking cats...

I think if we wanted this to work, there would still have to be a net set of standards, or at the very least some sort of world where there's something resembling a level playing field. The dramatic differences between the types of characters and how that can cause a plot to spiral out of control is the main reason I'm leery about these ideas, though I think if we pulled it off, it would probably be the most fun.

...Also...Honey and Scylla, I really want to bring my guys back. Two good characters, I don't want my best works to go to waste. Anything to be able to make them realize their full potential.

If crossovers were arranged only as special events, with heavy pre-planning and an understanding about which characters are allowed to interact with each other, it could work.

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