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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Lit MACLUNKY -- The Lit Forum Maclunky Thread, v3

Discussion in 'Literature' started by Point Given , Sep 12, 2015.

  1. AdmiralWesJanson

    AdmiralWesJanson Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 23, 2005
    That first pic you could claim was concept art of Padme Amidala, and people would only question if it was from Episode 1 or 2.
     
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  2. Gamiel

    Gamiel Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Dec 16, 2012
    I don't know how many get this but I found it funny

    [​IMG]
    from http://pachycrocuta.deviantart.com/
    To my understanding so was many of Amidala's looks inspired by old Russian fashion.
     
  3. Gamiel

    Gamiel Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Dec 16, 2012
    :ben: This is not the post you are looking for :ben:
     
  4. The_Four_Dot_Elipsis

    The_Four_Dot_Elipsis Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 3, 2005

    That's an awful thing to say.

    Wake me when Todd Rundgren writes a song about Fode and Beed.
     
  5. AdmiralWesJanson

    AdmiralWesJanson Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 23, 2005
    Well, after about a half hour of forgetting passwords, generating new passwords, logging in, creating new accounts, linking accounts, and other fun, I picked up the Grand Strategy bundle from Paradox on sale for 25. CK II, Vicky II, HOI III, EU IV all included.


    Operation Unbidden Turkey Shoot was going well. 28 battleships armed with tachyon lances make short work of the massive unbidden flotillas. It finally fell apart thanks to 3 factors-
    My fleet wants to advance to contact, with no option to tell them to try to keep the range open.
    The Unbidden have massive ship reserves.
    Their ships have a lot more health on a per ship basis.

    So they keep feeding fleets into the system, and my fleet would annihilate them, but be drawn closer to the edge of the gravity well, where the next fleet would jump in. There was enough ships to keep me locked in combat melting their hulls that there was no time to regroup and fall back deeper into the well before the next fleet arrived. Finally, I was close enough that I could not kill them before they got in range, and a new arriving fleet dropped in already in gun range to attack me. The saving factor was that by being constantly engaged, my emergency FTL stayed spun up so I made a blind jump and got 21 of my ships out, but damaged.
     
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  6. AdmiralNick22

    AdmiralNick22 Retired Fleet Admiral star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 28, 2003
    The key to defeating the Unbidden is to knock out the portal. In my current game (longest yet, I'm in the 30th Century), way back in like the 24th Century the Unbidden arrived. Once I found the system with the Portal, I jumped in a few small fleets as distractions from the opposite end of the system with the portal. I left my fleets at the edge of the gravity well, drawing the Unbidden Fleets away from their portal.

    Once the portal was undefended (save the strong fortresses around it), I jumped in my home fleet and destroyed the portal. This prevents them from calling in additional fleets. The war didn't end then, but it turned the tide. From that point on, I selectively wore down their fleets (with some moderate losses on my side for sure) until I achieved total victory.

    The Galaxy will love you for a time if you defeat the Unbidden. It was kinda cool.

    Granted, it is a distant memory in the 30th Century. Kids read about it in their school holos. :p

    --Adm. Nick
     
  7. Ulicus

    Ulicus Lapsed Moderator star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 24, 2005
    Oh my god. The 30th century? That's nearly as bad as the time I removed the end-date of CK2 and played into a medieval stasis 1700s.
     
  8. AdmiralNick22

    AdmiralNick22 Retired Fleet Admiral star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 28, 2003
    Yup, we're in the 2900's. I tend to enjoy playing the same game for a longtime. I control around 25% of the galaxy directly with my United Terran Republic, while my fellow federation members control an additional 10-15%. There are two other large powers, the Lyrite Republic and Kerrim Hegemony. The Lyrite border my south, are a stratocracy, but we have very good relations. We were even part of my first federation back in the 23rd Century.

    The Kerrim are to my west, they are a kind of theocratic empire. Good relations as well, but not as cordial as the Lyrites. My territory and my surrounding federation members are occupy the entire northeast and a good chunk of the east as well, plus it wraps westward around the galactic core.

    There are probably around 10 smaller powers, all weaker than me. The true galactic south is a balkanized mess of minor powers, vassals, and the like. I am slowly working my way through the minor powers, but I cannot bring myself to fighting the Lyrites, as we've been good neighbors for the better part of a millennia. The stupid Kerrim are allies of theirs, so I can't fight them without drawing my neighbor into a war.

    I just wish that the federation presidency would rotate more frequently. I've got seven members, so I wait 35 years to become president. [face_frustrated] Not a lot I can do in the meantime, the galaxy is fully explored and colonized. I REALLY wish there was another in-game crisis. :(

    --Adm. Nick
     
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  9. Dr. Steve Brule

    Dr. Steve Brule Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 7, 2012
    Well, at least Fode and Beed wasn't in Galactica 1980.

    Apropos of Fode and Beed, even if it's not relevant, Greg Proops did a good interview on the podcast I Was There Too a few years ago, on the process of being cast and performing as Fode for TPM. It's worth a listen.

    http://www.earwolf.com/episode/star-wars-episode-i-the-phantom-menace-with-greg-proops/
     
  10. AdmiralWesJanson

    AdmiralWesJanson Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 23, 2005
    It's not quite as bad as when I tried to play Dwarf Fortress, but I am finding the learning curve for CK II to be more of a learning cliff. :(
     
  11. blackmyron

    blackmyron Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Oct 29, 2005
    Janson, it can be rough. I chose one particular starting country and just kept restarting every time I royally goofed up. (But they do make the game going bad fun - having an inbred halfwit ruler who ends up murdered by the nobles, for instance).

    It took a while for me to realize that you could actually tutor your own heir and thereby control their development, for instance.
     
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  12. Karl0413

    Karl0413 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 11, 2015
    New Stellaris Dev Diary, some stuff Nick will be interested in in terms of Federations (they also gave us the name of the first content DLC for Stellaris, War in Heaven):

    Federation/Alliance Merger
    When Federations were given the ability to vote on invites and wars, alliances became a bit of an odd duck in the Stellaris diplomacy. A middle layer between the 'loose' diplomacy of defensive pacts and joint DOWs, they ended up as little more than a weak form of Federation that's usually swapped out the moment the latter becomes available. In Heinlein, we've decided to retire alliances altogether and have Federations be the only form of 'permanent' alliance. When you unlock the technology for Federations, you will immediately be able to invite another empire into a Federation with you, 4 empires no longer being necessary to start one. Once a Federation has been formed, the technology is not required to invite new members or to ask to join it.

    Federation Association Status
    Another issue we ran into with the changes to diplomacy in Asimov is that Alliances and Federations had trouble bringing in new members - since non-aggression pacts, defensive pacts and guarantees were no longer possible with outside powers, building trust is difficult and you have to mostly rely on large bribes to get new members to join, something that just didn't feel right. To address this, we're adding a new diplomatic option to Heinlein called 'Federation Association Status'. This works similarly to an invite to the Federation in that it can be offered and asked for with any member of the Federation, but must be approved via unanimous vote. A country that has Federation Association Status is not actually a part of the Federation, but has a non-aggression pact with all Federation members and will gain trust with them up to a maximum value of 100. Revoking association status can be done via majority vote, or on the part of the associate at any time they like.
    [​IMG]

    Planet Habitability Changes
    The planet habitability wheel is a mechanic we were never quite happy with - it makes some degree of sense, but it's hard to keep track of how each planet relates to your homeworld type, and it ends up nonsensical in quite a few cases (Desert being perfectly fine for Tropical inhabitants, or Arid for Tundra, etc). We found that most players tend to intuitively divide planets into desert/arid tundra/arctic and ocean/tropical/continental, and so we decided to change the mechanic to fit player intuition. Instead of a wheel, planets are now divided into three climate groups (Dry, Wet and Cold) and two new planet types (Alpine and Savanna) were added so that each group has 3 planet types. Habitability for the climates now works as follows (numbers may be subject to change):
    • Habitability for your main planet type is 80% (as before)
    • Habitability for planets of your climate is 60%
    • Habitability for planets of other climates is 20%
    As such, you no longer have to keep track of anything other than which climate your planet type has to know whether a particular type of world is suitable for your species.
    [​IMG]

    We also felt that the number of habitable planets in the galaxy was too large overall, but that we couldn't really decrease it so long as the player only had access to 1/7 of those types at start, which would now become 1/9. We also felt the colonization tech gating could be rather arbitrary, particularly if you had a species suited to a particular planet type but still couldn't colonize it due to lacking the tech. As such, we've done away with the tech gating on colonization, and instead instituted a 30% minimum habitability requirement to colonize a planet. You will also be unable to relocate pops to a planet if their habitability there would be under the 30% minimum. With this change we've also majorly slashed the number of habitable worlds in the galaxy, though if you prefer a galaxy lush with life you will be able to make it so through a new option outlined below. We are, of course, looking into and tweaking the effects that having less habitable worlds overall will have on empire borders.

    More Galaxy Setup Options
    There is an old gamer's adage that says 'more player choice is always better'. We do not actually agree with this, as adding unnecessary/uninteresting choices can just as well bog a game down as it can improve it, but in the case of galaxy setup in a game such as Stellaris, it is pretty much true. With that in mind, the following new galaxy setup options are planned to be included in Heinlein:
    • Maximum number of Fallen Empires (actually setting a fixed number is difficult due to the way they spawn and how it's affected by regular empires)
    • Chance of habitable worlds spawning
    • Whether to allow advanced empires to start near players
    • Whether to use empire clustering
    • Whether endgame crises should be allowed to appear
    Sector Improvements
    Since barely a day goes by without a new thread on the topic of sectors and enslavement, we would of course be remiss not to deal with this particular bugbear. We intend to spend a considerable amount of time on the sector AI for Heinlein, but I'm not going to go into specifics on bug fixing/AI improvements but rather on a series of new toggles that we intend to introduce to give the player more control over their sector. In addition to the current redevelopment/respect tile resource toggles, the following new toggles are planned for Heinlein:
    • Whether sector is allowed to enslave/emancipate
    • Whether sector is allowed to build spaceports and construction ships
    • Whether sector is allowed to build military stations (this will replace the military sector focus)
    We're also discussing having a sector toggle for building and maintaining local defense fleets, but we don't think we'll have time for it in Heinlein.
    Also, the developers teased War in Heaven with:

    Who are you and what do you want?

    and with Fallen Empires given the focus.....

    Babylon 5 references....

    Hey GrandAdmiralJello, would you serve the Stellaris equivalent of the Vorlons or the Shadows?
     
  13. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Focusing an expansion on B5 themes? Arg, I must play this. Especially if they give you the Sheridan dialogue tree option of "Straight to hell." ;)
     
  14. GrandAdmiralJello

    GrandAdmiralJello Comms Admin ❉ Moderator Communitatis Litterarumque star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2000
    I have no idea what any of these words mean.

    But I am excited to see what they do with Fallen Empires.
     
  15. CooperTFN

    CooperTFN TFN EU Staff Emeritus star 7 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1999


    Guess which shot it lost me on.
     
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  16. blackmyron

    blackmyron Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Oct 29, 2005
    Effectively, alien races that are older and far more powerful than most of the galaxy, but have retreated into a more isolationist position where they don't directly interfere with other races.
    Good luck trying to take one of their systems, though.
     
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  17. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    You really need to watch Babylon 5. You'd absolutely love the Centauri.

    But, in broad strokes, order vs chaos, strength gained through unity versus conflict.

    One pitched through mysterious beings who think they know best based on who you are, the other by an evil Rod Serling based on what you want.

    The title logo where the "o" in "Kenobi" is replaced by a Pokeball?
     
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  18. AdmiralNick22

    AdmiralNick22 Retired Fleet Admiral star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 28, 2003
    Hmm, I like a lot of what I see there! I'm just so into my current game I can't bare the thought of restarting to fully enjoy the improvement. :p

    --Adm. Nick
     
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  19. GrandAdmiralJello

    GrandAdmiralJello Comms Admin ❉ Moderator Communitatis Litterarumque star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2000
    Please keep your thoughts fully clothed, thanks. :p


    Missa ab iPhona mea est.
     
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  20. Karl0413

    Karl0413 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 11, 2015

    :eek:

    You have not seen Babylon 5!?!

    (Season 4 SPOILERS!)




    FANCY CLOTHES! FANCY UNIFORMS! SCI-FI SPACE OPERA! ANCIENT EMPIRES! PAVEL CHEKOV PLAYS A PHYSIC SPACE NAZI:







    YOU MUST WATCH!
     
  21. Vthuil

    Vthuil Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jan 3, 2013
    Unrelated to the above save that it involves him, random question for GrandAdmiralJello: what's your take on Sate Pestage?
     
  22. The2ndQuest

    The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2000
    Maybe the best way to entice Jello to watch B5 is not to spoil the near-climax of the plot line he'd be likely most interested in? (In this case, the Centauri and the Imperial court plotting)
     
  23. Charlemagne19

    Charlemagne19 Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Jul 30, 2000
    Hey guys,

    Crossroad Press has continued to release some truly awesome stuff. This has included CTHULHU ARMAGEDDON, which is my post-apocalypse Lovecraft novel.

    https://www.amazon.com/Cthulhu-Armageddon-C-T-Phipps-ebook/dp/B01KUOM7SI/

    “Under an alien sky where gods of eldritch matter rule, the only truth is revenge.”

    CTHULHU ARMAGEDDON is the story of a world 100 years past the rise of the Old Ones which has been reduced to a giant monster-filled desert and pockets of human survivors (along with Deep Ones, ghouls, and other “talking” monsters). John Henry Booth is a ranger of one of the largest remaining city-states when he’s exiled for his group’s massacre and suspicion he’s “tainted.” Escaping with a doctor who killed her husband, John travels across the Earth’s blasted alien ruins to seek the life of the man who killed his friends. It’s the one thing he has left.

    I think this is probably my best work yet.
     
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  24. Karl0413

    Karl0413 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 11, 2015

    [face_blush] Sorry, I was looking for videos that really showcased what the Centauri were like and I didn't think about that part.
     
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  25. GrandAdmiralJello

    GrandAdmiralJello Comms Admin ❉ Moderator Communitatis Litterarumque star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2000
    Okay so then I won't watch those videos then :p