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 In 1990, Toys for Bob released a simple multiplayer space battle game called Star Control. In 1992, it birthed a sequel, Star Control 2, an MS-DOS space exploration adventure of dizzying scope. Ten years later, the creators made the source code of the 3DO version available as open source. Another nine years passed, and the game was reborn as The Ur-Quan Masters, a non-commercial PC recreation of the original game for a new generation. The Ur-Quan Masters is one of my favorite games of all time, and although there is already an LP of it in the archive, I want to put my own spin on it, and maybe introduce this classic gem to a new audience.
STARMAP Official 2133 Starmap. Be aware that over 20 years have passed since then, so I can't guarantee the accuracy of this information. TABLE OF CONTENTS Prologue Feb 17 2155 - Return to Earth Feb 21 2155 - Exploring the Sol system Mar 17 2155 - Mining the Centauri cluster Apr 24 2155 - Broadcast from the Rigel system Jun 02 2155 - Human-Spathi negotiations Jun 24 2155 - Psychic Space Birds Jul 20 2155 - Ilwrath Territory Aug 14 2155 - The Vela Situation Sep 03 2155 - Communication Difficulties Oct 20 2155 - Negotiations with the Zoq-Fot-Pik Nov 20 2155 - Too Many Slave Shields Jan 09 2156 - Divine Impersonation Feb 25 2156 - Another Dimension Apr 16 2156 - The Importance of Beta Testing May 16 2156 - The Words Jun 21 2156 - Juffo-Wup Aug 20 2156 - The Shofixti and the Umgah Oct 02 2156 - The Utwig and the Supox Oct 31 2156 - Big Game Hunting Dec 14 2156 - The Crimson Corporation Jan 28 2157 - Of Monsters and Marsupials Mar 11 2157 - Talking Pet Mar 24 2157 - More Juffo-Wup Apr 26 2157 - Oh My Jul 02 2157 - Making Deals Aug 01 2157 - Aged Ultron Bonus: Super-Melee Bonus: Scamming the Druuge Bonus: The Great Apology Bonus: Thraddash Cultures Bonus: Melnorme Spoilers Sep 21 2157 - Final Preparations Finale, Part 1 - Suicide Mission Finale, Part 2 - The End Quinn2win fucked around with this message at 00:22 on Feb 23, 2016 |
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Dec 10, 2015 01:11
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SUPER SA SUPER-MELEE TOURNAMENT BRACKET RULES
 Join us in #sasupermelee on SynIrc to organize fights. CONTESTANTS Roland Jones Oblivion4568238 Byrdman Levarris terrenblade curiousCat Ralphomon Bluhman ProfessorProf GlyphGryph Cimbri Hermetian BATTLES Match A: Bluhman VS ProfessorProf Match C: Ralphomon VS GlyphGryph Match E: Roland Jones VS winner of A Match F: levarris VS winner of B Match G: Oblivion4568238 VS winner of C Semifinals 1 Semifinals 2 (Featuring guest player Seiren) Finals Quinn2win fucked around with this message at 05:54 on Feb 29, 2016 |
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Dec 10, 2015 01:11
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  BGM  Earth and her partners in the Alliance of Free Stars... Against the evil Ur-Quan and its Hierarchy of Battle Thralls. ...and the Ur-Quan were winning... Meanwhile, on the edge of the known frontier, an amazing discovery was made... far beneath the surface of an unexplored, alien world...  Filled with the technological wonders of an advanced alien race, the Precursors... Who vanished a thousand centuries ago. But then the main Ur-Quan fleet broke through the Alliance's defensive line... Isolating the planet, stranding the scientists a hundred light years away from Earth. They wated hopefully for a rescue vessel... which never came.  We, the survivors of the research mission, have colonized this world. We continued our investigation of the underground city... And we have discovered its purpose... It is a factory.  But there aren't enough materials to make a complete vessel. We can finish only the skeleton of one starship. But that must be enough - Because YOU must captain the vessel... And return to Earth!  Find out what has happened over these many years... Tell Earth of our plight! And if the war with the Ur-Quan still rages....  So! Before we can truly begin, there are two decisions that must be made!
Voting will last for 24 hours.
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Dec 10, 2015 01:11
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Since it's leading the polls, I feel obligated to warn you: The exact number of characters isn't consistent, but this is how much space we have to enter the ship name. "Heart of Gold" is too long. All other suggestions fit in at least an obvious abbreviated form.
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Dec 10, 2015 14:23
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 Closing the vote.
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Dec 10, 2015 23:52
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By thread decree, I am Captain Beeblebrox, piloting the Precursor vessel Heart of Gold. Now!  February 17th, 2155. At long last, we have returned to our home system.  I slowly, slowly make my way towards Earth. Depicted above: The Heart of Gold's maximum velocity and turn speed. Full space physics are about halfway in effect in this game - if I stop thrusting, the ship will continue to drift through space, but I still somehow have a max speed.  The closer I get to the center of the solar system, the more the view zooms in. If I touch a planet, I'll zoom in even further. Time to come home!  What? Why is Earth red? What the hell is that thing coming my way?   VIDEO: RECORDED MESSAGE(I'll be including at least one video for each alien species encountered. For a game voiced entirely by devs and no-name local actors in 1992, the acting is surprisingly non-terrible.)  This drone-vessel speaks with the voice and authority of the Ur-Quan. You are tresspassing within Ur-Quan space. This world, Earth, may not be approached for any reason, nor will hostilities against our orbital platform be tolerated.In addition, your ship does not respond to standard Hierarchy identification transmissions, and is therefore deemed to be... independent. This is not permissible - only subservience shall be tolerated. This drone now leaves to inform the Ur-Quan of your transgressions. You are commanded to remain here and await the arrival of the Ur-Quan. Disobedience will be punished.  Sounds like the war went pretty well.  I can't land on or communicate with Earth - there's some kind of glowing barrier surrounding the entire planet.  OK, how about that space station?   I am Starbase Commander Hayes of the slave planet Earth. Our HyperWave broadcasts - extremely weak... situation critical - energy cores exhausted... scanners and deep radar are non-functional... we cannot identify your vessel... Are you the scheduled Hierarchy resupply ship? Repeat, are you the resupply vessel?  Conversations use a typical branching dialogue system - whichever one is lit up is what Beeblebrox is saying. Look, I don't know who you are or why you're here, but right now the only thing I'm worried about is saving the lives of the 1900 men and women aboard this starbase, and right now you're our only hope. I can't keep the transmitter on too much longer - we need the power for heat and air, so if you don't have any radioactives on board your vessel, please get some and bring them back here before it's too late. The fastest way to get radioactives in this system would be to land on Mercury and scour the surface for deposits of radioactive elements. But be careful. Mercury is a pretty inhospitable place! Watch out for earthquakes and high-temperature areas! Thanks! I'll make sure to mention this the next time I talk with our masters... I'm sure they will reward you. Well. I guess we lost the war pretty badly. Off to Mercury!  I can't believe how slow this ship is!  Mineral scan shows scourable resources. Energy scan shows points of unusual activity on the planet. Biological scan shows anything that's moving around of its own will.  The orange dots on the mineral scan map are the radioactives we're after. I load 12 of my crew into a lander, and send it to the surface.  Mercury is a pretty nasty place, between the hotspots moving around the surface and the earthquakes. I'll talk more about the details when I get to doing more in-depth harvesting - for now, the away team grabs some Uranium and heads back to the Heart of Gold ASAP.  Long, slow crawl back to the starbase.  VIDEO: STARBASE ONLINE We are initiating transfer of radioactives, Captain. Now, as soon as our engineers can refit the energy cores......there, that's much better. Power ratings are climbing, life support is coming back into the green. Deep radar systems and sensors are online and I can scan your vessel.   Just who ARE you, Captain? Star Control science mission, eh? Captain, I served as a Star Control officer during the war, aboard several cruisers in the Coreward Front, and if there had been any 'scientific mission' to Vela, I would have heard about it. Hmm... you know, come to think of it... there were some rumors that Corridor Nine, the special operations division of Star Control, was directing some hush-hush operation near Androsynth space. The Vela star system... yes, that would be in the right direction......So, Captain... if you say it's true... how do you explain that huge, alien starship you're flying, and why are you here? What do you want from us?  Ahh... fight the Ur-Quan! Win back our freedom! I remember having such thoughts myself... once, a long time ago. But that was in the first years after the defeat, when it was still terrifying to look up and see the bloody glow of the pulsating slave shield overhead. Through day and night we gazed up at the impenetrable wall, as through the sheer power of our hatred would pull it down.But over the years, I spent so much of my time struggling, down on the surface under the shield and then later up here, trying to keep this station alive, that I'd forgotten what it means to be free... to hate our Ur-Quan Masters! And now, here you are, in an alien ship of unknown power, offering me your assistance to fight against the Hierarchy again, after all these years. Captain, your offer is intriguing. It's tempting to think that with your advanced Precursor technology, we can somehow crack Earth's slave shield and reassemble the Alliance to attack the Hierarchy, and THIS time win the drat war! But... consider the consequences if we should fail. The Ur-Quan won't just punish us here on the station. They will exact a gruesome retribution on the surface below as well. Before I commit this station to helping you attack the Ur-Quan and accepting the risk of annihilation if we are defeated, I have to make sure that you and your ship have what it takes to oppose the Hierarchy. If you can eliminate the alien base on the moon, and get rid of that threat, at least... I will seriously consider your offer.  After the Ur-Quan erected the slave shield around Earth and established this space station, they decided to leave a contingent of combat ships close to the Earth, to keep watch on our planet and confirm that we were obeying the Ur-Quan slave laws. I'm certain they're still out there on the surface of the moon, because we can pick up a constant stream of alien broadcasts. Be careful, Captain. There are probably a dozen Spathi Eluders and Ilwrath Avengers down there on the lunar surface. I don't know why they haven't come after you yet, but when they do, you'd better have your weapons armed, and your thrusters burning hot. Very well. Time to face certain destruction.  That energy signature must be the Ur-Quan base. Are the bio readings the enemy soldiers? I send an away team to a nice open area of the planetary surface.  They appear to just be... little robots, wandering the surface at random.  One shot of the Lander's main cannon takes them out, but they're no threat, so I mostly just leave them alone.  After landing, the away team are free to explore the planet surface. While I'm here, I collect some base metals that will come in handy later. The map scrolls around the edges horizontally, but not vertically.  There's the base! Time to figure out what's going on down here.  quote:...BEEN PROGRAMMED TO ROAM THE LUNAR SURFACE, BULLDOZING MOONDUST INTO RANDOM PILES.  So, listen. There's no reason Hayes has to know about this.   You fought them, Captain!? I hope you didn't suffer serious casualties? I'm delighted to hear it, Captain. I wish I could have been there.Captain, listen closely! Long range sensors show a ship closing on this station, fast! Our computer identifies it as Ilwrath, Avenger-class. I think you've got a fight on your hands, Captain. Your best bet is to wait until you have point bl-nk r-nge... C-pt-in! It's ja-min- ou- s-gn-l!...  VIDEO: FIRST BLOOD A Hu-Man In An Alien Starship... How Fascinating! When I Intercepted That Ur-Quan Drone, And Learned That An Unidentified Starship Had Approached Earth, I Never Expected To Find Such A Remarkable Vehicle In The Hands Of A Hu-Man.Hu-Mans Are Prey Animals - Weak And Helpless - But Here Is A Hu-Man In An Armed Starship! And Therefore In Direct Violation Of The Oath Of Fealty. I Am Sure Our Masters, The Ur-Quan, Will Punish Earth Most Severely For This Treachery When I Present Them With The Twisted Wreckage Of Your Ship And Your Many Charred Corpses.  Since You Will Soon Be Dead, I Will Gladly Explain. We Have Spent Many Years Gleefully Preying On The Pkunk. They Are A Pitiful, Easily-killed Species, And We Would Have Continued In This Divine Worship Of Dogar And Kazon, But We Required Additional Crew Members And Repairs To Our Cloaking Device. So We Departed The Giclas Constellation And Set Course For Home. But Before We Had Reached Our Region Of Space, We Detected The Passage Of A Nearby Vessel - The Ur-Quan Drone. It Informed Us About You... So Here We Are. And Now, YOU DIE!  It's time for a real battle! My fleet so far consists of two ships - the Heart of Gold, and a solitary Earthling Cruiser, piloted by Captain Tuf. The Heart of Gold is still incomplete, so I can't risk it in combat against hostile aliens. Tuf, do your best!  So, how combat works in this game--  Oh. It's already over.  I guess I'll explain it when we get in a more substantial fight than this one.  I haven't seen an Avenger blown away like that since the Battle in Draco. I guess you've shown that you can handle yourself in battle, Captain, so my last reservation about helping you has been dissolved. I will commit this station to helping free Earth and defeat the Ur-Quan. We may get our atoms rearranged in the process, but by God, Captain, we're going to try!So, the obvious first step is to get your Precursor equipment and software over here, so that we can make it work with our ship repair fabricators. But then what, Captain?  If you feel it's necessary, Captain, I understand.By the way, Captain, I think we need a name for this new alliance we're going to forge. And since it was your idea, it's only fair that you get the honor of naming it. So, what'll it be?  Voting will last for 24 hours. Quinn2win fucked around with this message at 22:26 on Jan 12, 2016 |
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Dec 11, 2015 03:56
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Just to be absolutely clear on this - are all you people posting that image voting for Concordance?
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Dec 11, 2015 15:41
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In that case, I think Concordance and Empire are currently tied for the vote. How exciting!
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Dec 11, 2015 15:43
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This game has indeed been described as a spiritual successor to Starflight.
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Dec 11, 2015 20:24
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With a final vote of 26 to 24 against, the winner is Empire of Beeblebrox.
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Dec 12, 2015 03:22
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Lots of walls of text in this update, fair warning. Really, lots of walls of text in this game in general. BGM  Ulp! Well... you're the one with the big starship. So be it - The Empire of Beeblebrox!(The voice acting cuts off after 'So be it' and skips to the next line, for obvious reasons.) Now Captain, I expect the configuration process for the starbase to take at least 2 weeks, so let's get to work... 2 weeks later...  We have successfully integrated the Precursor technology from your ship into our fabricator system, and as you can see, we have already begun minor repairs on your ship, patching up some of the micro-meteorite holes.We noticed that your ship does not have an emergency warp escape unit, so our engineers rigged up some for you and each of your escorts. Now you should be able to escape from a bad situation with the touch of a button. But there is a cost, however - the unit gulps up five fuel units each time your Precursor ship uses it. Also, we now have a limited capacity to make modifications to your ship, to refine starship fuel, to build additional combat ships, and to train new members of your crew for the flagship and any ships you acquire for your fleet. Captain, I know you're eager to get to work, so I'll be brief. If you have any questions - how this Starbase works, what resources we need, or just some background information on the galaxy - don't hesitate to ask.  Time to start putting all those base metals and radioactives I picked up to work.  The more minerals you bring us, Captain, the faster we'll be able to tackle the Ur-Quan. This being the central hub for the rest of the game, Hayes has a staggering amount of extra information he can give us.   Each time I return to Sol, I'll ask him for a little more. For now, I really need to get caught up on the war situation.  Earth got involved late in the game, in 2112, when the Chenjesu arrived in our solar system for the first time, so let's back up a few years to 2098, when the Chenjesu's super-sensitive receivers detected a strange signal from the Ophiuchi constellation. Though even the Chenjesu didn't know it, it was the first sign of the Ur-Quan's arrival. The Ur-Quan, having detected the presence of many sentient species, were beaming out an exulting hunting cry.The first direct evidence of the Ur-Quan's intent was the sudden conquest of the Umgah, a solitary, though not unfriendly, species in the Orionis constellation. The Chenjesu, distraught by the invasion, were furthere angered when the Ur-Quan turned their fleets on the hostile but weak Ilwrath race. A hastily assembled defense force of Mmrnmhrm and Chenjesu vessels turned the Ur-Quan fleet aside, but the invader moved into Spathi space, rapidly subjugating that race. With each new conquest, the Ur-Quan fleet grew larger as it added slave vessels to its ranks. Earth joined the Chenjesu to form the Alliance of Free Stars at about the same time as the Androsynth stars fell to the Ur-Quan armada. Before the ink was dry on our agreement with the Chenjesu in 2116, a new race appeared in orbit around the moon and asked for admittance to the Alliance - it was the Ariloulaleelay. The timing seemed unusual and the Arilou were definitely weird, looking like Saucer Men from Mars, but we were so busy cranking up our moth-balled heavy industry that we didn't really pay it much attention at the time.  At the start of the war, here on Earth we were working like crazy, churning out hundreds of heavy Cruisers and smaller support vehicles. The Ur-Quan were busy too. Unbeknownst to us, they had moved down toward the Luyten star group and were attacking the VUX, who only the Yehat knew existed. Our botched first contact with the VUX took place in 2119, and it was the biggest single mistake we made during the War.After defeating the VUX, the Ur-Quan fleets ran smack ino the combined might of the Yehat and Shofixti, supported by the first wave of our cruisers. Again the Ur-Quan turned away from the hard spot to attack the weak, though we just thought they were running away. In fact, the Ur-Quan had found another independent alien race, the Mycon, in the Brahe constellation. The Mycon's voluntary submission to the Ur-Quan brought the return of the Ur-Quan fleets, now swollen with a hundred devastating Mycon Podships. The last entrants to the conflict were the Syreen, a race of space gypsies who had escaped the Hierarchy by moving their vast fleet of slow-moving habitats into human space. With the sides set, the last Ur-Quan offensive began.  The Ur-Quan came roaring through VUX space, and tried to push past the Indi and Mira star systems. Their onslaught was barely repulsed and our counter-attack made hardly a dent in the Hierarchy forces, but we held the line - the Coreward front remained intact.Over the following ten years, there were many great battles between the combined Alliance starfleet and the Ur-Quan and their Hierarchy of Battle-Thralls. Then, in 2134, a dramatic shift in the balance of power took place - this must have been about the time the science research mission was sent to the planet at Vela - our fleets were pushed back from the Indi-Mira line to beyond Raynet. Holding Rigel cost grievously in Chenjesu forces and the Ur-Quan, recognizing this weakness, shifted the brunt of their forces to Procyon. That was the last we heard from the Chenjesu and the Mmrnmhrm. A few weeks later, waves of ships hit us from all directions. When Ceres Station, our outpost in the Asteroid Belt, fell to the Hierarchy, we knew we were beaten, but we fought on anyway. Three days later the Ur-Quan vaporized our last remaining laser-forts on the moon, and the Dreadnoughts took up geo-synchronous position above Rome, Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo, London, Buenos Aires, and Washington. We'd lost the War and we knew it, but the Ur-Quan decided to make it real clear - and that's why if you check any of our most recent maps, you won't find Buenos Aires.  After the UN submitted their formal surrender, we were given a week to decide the nature of our servitude. The Ur-Quan demanded the decision be made through popular vote. When all the votes were tallied, Earth had chosen not to fight for the Ur-Quan... we had become a fallow slave world. We were given a month to withdraw all of our people and equipment to Earth. Anyone or anything we left off-planet would be destroyed after the shield went up.Then the Ur-Quan broadcast an odd message... all objects of human construction more than 500 years old were 'to be abandoned'. We didn't know what the Ur-Quan meant until they moved their Dreadnoughts to new orbital positions, and opened fire on the surface with their fusion weapons. In seconds, large sections of London, Paris, and other European cities were incinerated. At first we thought they were going to annihilate us after all, and we noticed that they were also striking targets like the Giza Pyramids, the Parthenon in Athens, and Stonehenge. Curiously, the United States was almost untouched. The flaming rain lasted 40 hellish hours. It took days after we crawled from our smoldering shelters to realize what the Ur-Quan had done. Our new masters had targeted every building, monument or other manmade construction older than 500 years and destroyed it. In those two days,w e lost most of the history of Mankind. In some cases, the Ur-Quan destroyed places we didn't even suspect were significant. From their positions in orbit, the Dreadnoughts blew away a kilometer of land in central Iraq, vaporized several targets in the Amazon rain forest, punched a big hole through the Antarctic icecap to destroy something deep under the surface, and melted a broad swath of the ocean floor in the south-eastern Atlantic. Then, just a couple days later, the shield went up, and our contact with the outside world stopped. The next time I saw the stars was 8 years ago, when I was transferred up here to be the new commander of this starbase.  So, that's what we're up against.  Now that we have access to the Starbase, a whole new world has opened up to us!  BGM Let's talk about what all those RUs are good for. First and possibly most important is fuel - I can refuel at the Starbase at the fairly steep rate of 20 RUs per fuel unit. I'll be filling up the tanks every time I return from an expedition.  Next: Ship modules. The Heart of Gold has sixteen slots which can hold modules. Each module increases the ship's awesomeness, bringing our flagship closer to completion. At present, there are five modules available for purchase. First is the Crew Pod, which increases the maximum crew complement of the ship by 50. We have one of these, and at 2000 RUs, a second one is currently out of our price range.  Storage Bays allow us to carry mineral reasources on board, to be deposited back at the Starbase later. We have one of these - each one can hold 500 units of resources, and costs 750 RUs to build.  Fuel Tanks expand our effective range, letting us move around the galaxy more before having to come back to the base. The ship can hold 10 fuel by default, and then 50 more for each fuel tank - we have one now, so the ship can hold 60 fuel. Building more will cost 500 RUs each.  Dynamo Units allow our ship to charge weapon energy faster during combat. The more of these we have, the more often we can fire our weapons, so if we want to build a warship, these are gonna be critical. They cost 2000 RUs each.  Ion-Bolt Guns are the only weapons we have available to put on the Heart of Gold. These are special in that they can only be placed in the blue highlighted module slots - the three at the front and the one at the back. Each time I fire during combat, all of them will go off, pointing in different directions. The front slot fires forward (and is our only occupied slot so far), the second and third slots fire shots in gradually wider spreads outward from that, and the last slot fires a shot backwards. Ion-Bolt Guns cost 2000 RUs to build. Also, the more guns I have armed, the more Dynamo Units I'll need to keep the guns up and runing in battle.  There are other things we can add to the ship that don't take up module slots! The first of these is Turning Jets, which increase our abysmal rotational velocity. Currently, the ship is equipped with two pairs of turning jets, but it can hold up to eight, at a cost of 500 RUs per set.  Similarly, the outside of the ship can be fitted with Antimatter Thrusters. The more we have, the faster the ship accelerates, and the higher its max speed. Right now we have two pairs, but the maximum is eleven, at the same price of 500 per set. Turning Jets and Antimatter Thrusters both operate in combat, in space, and in hyperspace.  Finally, Planet Landers. We have one of these, but it always runs the risk of untimely destruction - planets are dangerous places. It couldn't hurt to bring a few spares - the ship can carry up to ten at a time.  On the Shiphard, I can buy new Crew for 3 RUs apiece. I'll always be filling this up as well, but beyond that, I can use this screen to buy more ships! The maximum fleet size is, counting the Heart of Gold itself, thirteen ships. Right now, the only ship type I can build is the Earthling Cruiser, at a cost of 1100 RUs. I have one already, as saw action against the Ilwrath.  For now, I won't buy any of that. There's still work to be done!  It's about time to scour the solar system for resources.  As we saw before, each dot on the map is usually a mineral deposit. The color of the deposit indicates its value. The teal dots on Venus here are Commons, the least valuable of all minerals. At a rate of 1 RU per point, they're basically never worth the trouble of collecting. The grey dots are Base Metals, worth 3 RUs per point - these are about the lower end of what's worth bothering with, if the planet's not too hostile. The three numbers to look at for determining whether or not to land on a planet are Temperature, Weather, and Tectonics. If Temperature is over about 100 degrees, you'll start to see dangerous hotspots on the surface, like we saw on mercury. If Weather is Class 3 or higher, you'll see deadly electrical storms on the surface. If Tectonics is Class 3 or higher, you'll run the risk of getting hit by earthquakes. In short, no chance in hell that I'm setting foot on Venus.  By comparison, Mars is perfectly safe. It's nothing but base metals, but the risk is zero, so I do a quick mining run.  Only one of Saturn's moons is significant enough to show up on navigation.  On Titan, I suffer my first casualties of the mission! All damage in this game is measured in the lives of the crew. If you take a hit, you lose crew. If your ship (or in this case, the lander) runs out of crew, the ship is destroyed. In scouring the planet for metals, I lose five crew.  In orbit around Neptune, Triton provides more base metals at no risk. It costs 0.5 fuel to land here - the bigger the planet, the steeper the fuel cost, in a range form about 0 to 3.  Jupiter gives us four moons to explore.  Ganymede: Nothing but commons.  Callisto: Literally nothing.  Europa gives us a source of Astatine, a Radioactive! These are the second-most valuable kind of resources, at 8 RUs per point. What isn't radioactive here is simple Corrosives, only worth picking up since I was already down here for the radioactives. They give 2 RUs per point.  Io is a more dangerous planet, thanks to Class 4 Tectonics - Earthquakes wipe out another 5 crew while I explore. However, I get a big fat pile of radioactives for my trouble.  Uranus has nothing we can land on. So, that just leaves...  Pluto! Looks like it was a planet after all. There are two interesting things on the surface.  The first is a single deposit of Exotics. These are by far the most valuable of all resources, at 25 RUs per point. Almost always worth any risk to acquire.  The other was revealed by the Energy Scan - it appears to be some sort of alien starship. Let's say hi!  quote:WE ARE INITIATING EMERGENCY LAUNCH PROCEDURES!  VIDEO: ENEMY SPACE CLAMBGM  This is Spathi Captain Fwiffo. I know you are going to torture me, so let's just get this over with right now. The coordinates of my homeworld, Spathiwa, are 241.6, 368.7, and the ultra-secret Spathi Cypher, which is known only by me and several billion other Spathi, is 'Huffi-Muffi-Guffi.'Sorry about that little mistake with your landing vehicle! I was so startled when it approached my vessel in a threatening manner that... er... my automated defense systems fired on it when it got too close. I hope nobody got hurt!  Of course, of course! As I said, I am Captain Fwiffo of the Spathi voidship StarRunner. Our sensors have tracked your entry into this system, which you are no doubt here to conquer, and while you are certainly welcome to do so, we would be greatly appreciative if you would please just go away and forget this star system ever existed. If you don't go, it will greatly complicate our master-slave relationship with the Ur-Quan, who stationed us here to watch over the Earthlings. Whew, thanks! For a minute there, I thought you were going to kill me! About 20 years ago, this region of space was dominated by a loose confederation known as the Alliance of Free Stars, which was composed of the aliens native to these parts who didn't want to be enslaved. They made a valiant effort against the superior Ur-Quan forces, and it looked like they might miraculously defeat the combined Ur-Quan armada, right up to the point at which the Ur-Quan totally defeated - indeed annihilated them. When the Ur-Quan armada entered this system to subjugate formally the Earthlings, the Ur-Quan presented the humans with the standard slave options: Join the Hierarchy as combat thralls, and retain some autonomy, including the right to travel through space, or become a 'fallow' species and return to pre-atomic savagery on the surface of their homeworld, encased for all time beneath an impenetrable force shield.The Humans chose the latter option, and so were swiftly imprisoned on the surface of Earth, but the Ur-Quan didn't trust them to obey the restrictions, so they chose a small group of Hierarchy combat starships from the Ilwrath and Spathi fleets to create the so-called Earthguard, and stationed them at a base on Earth's moon.  Originally, we were stationed on Earth's moon, which made us Spathi a bit uneasy, because with each passing day, we grew more and more worried about the sneaky Earthlings making a surprise attack, though the Ilwrath kept telling us that was impossible, since the Earthlings had no ships or weapons whatsoever. That made us feel a bit better, but when the Ilwrath left, again we grew fearful, and decided to make a strategic redeployment to Mars.later on, we decided it would be prudent to relocate to Jupiter's moon, Ganymede, then later Saturn's moon, Titan, and finally here to Pluto.  We decided that if the Earthlings figured out we had abandoned the base on Luna, they would be more likely to try something sneaky. So, we rigged up some old service androids and ordered them to drive around on the lunar surface in bulldozers, endlessly pushing around the same piles of dirt. In addition, we connected the base's local radio transmitter to an audio Melnorme FunRom, called 'Winky's Happy Night', hoping that they would think we were still there. The Ilwrath contingent were supposed to be the toughest ridge-crest, er... the most rigid flipper, no... ah yes - the BACKBONE of the Earthguard force; but they departed the system en masse not long after the last Ur-Quan Dreadnought vanished from this region of space. They claimed to have received a direct order from their Gods of Evil and Darkness, who had grown dissatisfied with the Ilwraths' passivity, and wanted them to kill or at least torture someone soon.Personally, I believe they just got bored and went off to have some fun.  Well, when they were pushing up into HyperSpace 18 years ago, we asked them that very question, and I think they said something to the effect of "Real Soon". Our masters don't really keep us very well informed about their goings on, so all that we know is that immediately after the subjugation of the last Alliance race, the Ur-Quan gathered their dreadnoughts and departed towards the edge of the galaxy, commanding us to obey the slave laws or face their wrath when they returned. Over the past years, it became necessary to redeploy strategically some of our Earthguard forces to our homeworld in case of a sudden surprise attack by a vicious, unrelenting alien race which we Spathi call The Ultimate Evil! As yet, the Ultimate Evil remains largely unmanifest, and its powers and exact intentions are still a bit obscure, since it lurks just outside the range of even the most sensitive, long-range detectors, which we feel gives conclusive evidence as to The Ultimate Evil's nefarious intent. Dozens - that is to say, scores and perhaps even hundreds of my brethren stride through the corridors of this specially modified, super-efficient, mass-destruction-oriented starship, which could lay siege to an entire planetary system should we choose to do so, which, fortunately for you, we have decided not to do today. I am undone! You are far too clever for a poor Spathi like me, and now I must submit to your superior, alien intellect. I guess I am not revealing any truly important secrets if I tell you that each of my species's Eluder-class Voidships typically holds 30 Spathi crewmen, though at present my vessel, the StarRunner, is not up to full complement, due to the needs of my homeworld in their resistance against The Ultimate Evil, and in fact my vessel is somewhat understaffed right now, seeing as I am the only Spathi on board, which is a bit frightening as I am sure you can understand. Since it was our most powerful and unforgiving masters, the Ur-Quan, who stationed us here, we knew it would be grossly stupid to disobey them completely, but we decided that it would be okay to send just one ship home. We used one of our most ancient and solumn rituals, Puun-Taffy, to pick the lucky ship. Then... some months later, we decided that it wouldn't REALLY hurt if we sent one more ship home, and then later we sent another, and then another... well, you get the idea.Alas, as fate would have it, when the final ritual was performed, I, Fwiffo, was left here alone, for as even the most immature encrustling knows, there must always beone Spathi who picks the short Ta Puun stick.  How true, Captain, how true! In truth, just between us, during the past seven years I have been quite ill at ease, and yet now I find myself enjoying your company, this witty dialog, and the presence of your huge, powerful, death-dealing starship which - being my friend - you would certainly feel compelled to use in order to save me from any hostile lifeforms who threatened me with death. Happy days and jubilation! I discard all prejudice and hesitations and accept and celebrate your offer of protection, and your undying commitment to my well-being!I must wax melancholy for just a moment, though, and make sure you understand that any other Spathi ships we meet at large in the galaxy are not going to be quite so responsive to your friendly gestures as myself, since they bear more heavily the yoke of Ur-Quan enslavement, and are also apt to talk themselves out of allying with a totally unknown alien, which I, having been left here alone, cannot do. Welcome me aboard, captain!  My fleet has expanded from two ships to three! Back to the starbase!  Not a bad job, Captain.  Now, thread! Loyal crew! It's time for TWO votes! First vote: Resource Allocation. Vote for something to buy, and whatever gets the most votes, that's what I'll buy first, purchasing more than one if I feel it's appropriate. If I still have RUs left over, I'll buy whatever got the next most votes, and so on, until I run out. To recap, your options are:
 For our second vote, we must pick a Destination! The crosshairs in the lower left is Sol, and the gray circle is how far our fuel supply can take us (but not take us back). We've met two alien races, so we can see their spheres of influence. Further information picked up from conversations so far:  The Ilwrath we encountered said it had been preying on the Pkunk in the Giclas cluster. Could their enemies be our potential allies?  According to Hayes's intel, the first race conquered by the Ur-Quan - the Umgah - are native to the Orionis cluster. Looks like that's still out of our reach.  The VUX were around the Luyten cluster, which it looks like we COULD reach, but it's far enough that we wouldn't have fuel for any meaningful amount of planet explorations. Probably a bad plan.  The Mycon were supposedly all the way out here, another no-go.  And Fwiffo revealed the location of the Spathi homeworld here, in Epsilon Gruis. Maybe if I visit Spathiwa myself, I could secure us a proper alliance? In short, which will it be first?
Vote for either resource allocation, destination, or both. EMPIRE RACES: HUMANS CREW LOST: 18 VOTE NOW Quinn2win fucked around with this message at 22:31 on Jan 12, 2016 |
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Dec 12, 2015 15:16
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For simplicity, kindly vote for one purchase at a time. When we have more cash/options, I may increase that.
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Dec 12, 2015 15:57
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I just said four posts ago to vote for one purchase, not four in a row. My total purchase list will be formed by the collective will of the thread. Also, restoring fuel and crew is an auto-purchase, which does not require a vote.
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Dec 12, 2015 16:03
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Fuel consumption in HyperSpace is based on distance traveled, not time spent, so thrusters do not increase fuel efficiency. However, completing tasks quickly may be to our advantage.
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Dec 12, 2015 16:34
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I will indeed allow non-suggested votes if they're doable. This is Vela's location. Even if it doesn't win the vote, I'll swing by next time I'm in the area.
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Dec 12, 2015 17:13
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I'm going to call for a ban on votes for un-suggested star systems from people who have obviously played the game before.
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Dec 12, 2015 18:10
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Nah, Vela was mentioned in narration so I'll allow it.
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Dec 12, 2015 19:22
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HerpicleOmnicron5 posted:Can we get to either Procyon, the Chenjesu homeworld that Hayes mentioned, or investigate the systems around Vela for the Androsynth, again mentioned by Hayes?  It's a little dangerous for us as we are now. I'll add Investigate Procyon and Search for Androsynth as quest options after our next expedition completes.
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Dec 12, 2015 20:05
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I'll see how it works this time, and tweak it as needed. I've been tallying up the votes, and I've got a pretty nice set of upgrades lined up.
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Dec 12, 2015 20:36
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Polybius91 posted:It's been years since I've played, but I'm pretty sure you can only carry one lander at a time. 
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Dec 12, 2015 22:56
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Vote locked! Look forward to the results soon. Also, yeah, I think next time I'm going to use a different resource allocation voting scheme.
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Dec 13, 2015 14:57
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Here are the results of the voting!  The following updates were made to my ship:
 After that, 20 votes dictated that we explore nearby star systems. To the Centauri cluster!  Once I've selected my destination of Gamma Centauri, the auto-piot kicks in, taking me towards the edge of the system.  BGMThe HyperSpace theme is my favorite song in the game.  HyperSpace is different from TrueSpace in three significant ways. First, if I stop thrusting, the ship will quickly come to a stop. Second, moving through it costs fuel.  Third, time passes faster here. In TrueSpace, a day passes for every 30 seconds of real time. In HyperSpace, a day passes every five seconds.  Our first trip to another star system! Few systems have as many planets as Sol.  The Heart of Gold is much less of a turtle than it was, but could still stand to be a lot more maneuverable.  I start with a trip to Gamma Centauri II, which is a sad little planet. Nothing on the surface is better than base metals, and the Class 6 Tectonics make it very dangerous to explore. I don't even bother sending a lander.  Gamma Centauri I has a moon!  The moon is garbage!  The planet itself is much nicer! Yellow dots are Precious Metals, worth 6 RUs per unit. On top of that, there's even some radioactives. The weather and tectonics may pose some difficulty, though.  For dangerous planets, it's safer to take several short hops, quickly returning to the flagship, in order to reduce risk of losing the Lander.  The downside: This is a very dense planet. Each round trip gulps up 2.7 fuel units.  In the end, I manage to scour most of the planet with no losses. I went into more detail because this was our first expedition, but I'm going to start glossing over less interesting planets moving forward.  Next stop: Alpha Centauri!  The color of the orbit circles indicates the level of solar radiation at that distance. Brigther colors = hotter planets. Alpha Centauri is a very powerful star.  We're not alone here.  It's going to be hard to find anything worthwhile here - the powerful star means that even the furthest planets out will be covered in dangerous hotspots.  However, this is definitely a worthwhile expedition.  Gem worlds are some of the most desirable places in the galaxy. The surface temperature is over 400 degrees, but almost any amount of risk would be worth it for the massive exotic mineral deposits.  I dodge fire desperately to get at deposits for Tzo Crystals and Neutronium, but still lose four crew members to the intense heat.  The alien ship continues wandering between planets as I do the same.  Alpha Centauri I, the closest planet to the star, is twice as hot as the ruby world was, and has Class 6 Tectonics on top of that.  I spend less than a second on the surface before taking off, but still lose two crew.  Alpha Centauri III is an even more bountiful ruby world, with over twice the number of exotics. However, I'll be facing dangerous electrical storms as I hunt them.  A staggering twelve crew members die as I pick the planet clean. If I hadn't bought that cargo bay, this would be the end of the trip.  Blue dots are Noble Gases, worth 4 RUs per unit.  Against my better judgement, I make a couple journeys to the surface. Seven people die for the fairly-valuable gases. I have now lost half of the Heart of Gold's crew to planet hazards.  With all the system's valuable resources pillaged, it's time to confront our neighbors. VIDEO: GREENISH BGM   ...'Inevitably Successful in All Circumstances'. I bid you a formal welcome, Captain.Though we Melnorme have just recently arrived in this region of space, we have long desired to make contact with your species, and look forward to an extended, profitable relationship.  Even before our first meeting, we knew of you, Captain. Though your struggle to free Earth shall be a long and difficult challenge, fraught with great danger and mystery, we have great confidence in you and your abilities. We gather information from a thosuand secret sources in space and time. Our charge for revealing even one of these sources would be so high that your species would be in debt to us for centuries. Our origins and purposes are, frankly, mysterious, and due to several unavoidable factors, we are unable to discuss ourselves in any great detail. First and foremost among these factors is our unwillingness to GIVE away information about our history, psychology and mental powers, the exact locations of homeworlds, or our potentially ominous long-range plans. However, these important and relevant pieces of information ARE available, for a nominal sum of Credits. Absolutely. Our primary trade good IS information. Why, right here on my display screen, I have something which I am certain would be of incalculable value to you! We can discuss the details of this VERY significant information later, when we have established normal trading procedures, at which time we shall also discuss the nature of our fees. You are of course correct. We long ago abandoned currency, and now only deal with commodities that have intrinsic value, such as valuable information. No, it is not. In fact, in our culture, 'giving' with no fair exchange of goods or services is considered vulgar and inappropriate. Please do not mention this subject again. Yes, let us get down to business.Since this is your first time trading with us, let me explain how our system works. We are interested in purchasing certain items, specifically biological data on alien life forms, and the coordinates of certain strange worlds whose radiant energies defy all scanners, producing a rainbow-like image. In exchange, we have many interesting and valuable commmodities, such as fuel compatible with your starship's HyperDrive thrusters, technological specifications, allowing you to build new devices for your ship, and many important secrets which may help you in your travels. To facilitate trade, we translate all your sales into Interstar Credits, with which you may make purchases. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. I don't think Greenish knows what 'currency' means.  That's a good question with a very interesting answer! The fee for this information is 12,000,000 Credits. Someone once asked Toys for Bob what the answer to that question was in an interview IRC chat, years after the game's release. Their price for the information was not Interstar Credits, but a new successful Star Control sequel. Anyway, we can't make any purchases without credits.  We appreciate your intentions, but you have nothing we wish to buy. It has been a pleasure dealing with you, Captain. We look forward to your next visit. The Melnorme will be extremely valuable allies(?) over the course of our journey. However, that will have to wait until we have something they want.  Next destination, Beta Centauri.  Much cooler star, six planets. Let's get to work!  Beta Centauri V has a positive on the biological scan. Let's make the Melnorme happy!  The indigenous lifeforms of this planet are wandering green blobs. They're not hostile, but they're a bit tricky to pin down with my clunky Lander's stunner. Especially amidst Class 6 Tectonics.  One shot, though, and they leave behind a pod that I can take back with me to the ship.  Four dead crew later, I emerge with a paltry 16 units of biodata. Those blobs weren't very interesting.  The third moon of Beta Centauri I provides a nice, meaty pile of radioactives.  Beta Centauri III's first moon is littered with varying degrees of useful resources. I pick most of it clean, losing another four crew in the process.  The second moon is inhabited! I send a lander.  However, the alien life here is fast, powerful, and extremely hostile. Between that and the tectonic activity, I give up the chase after losing only one more crew.  Anyway, that's close to a full ship of cargo, and I'm running low on crew and fuel, so it's time to head back.   By the way, I thought you should know:We are being bathed in broad-beam HyerWave transmission from the direction of the Rigel star system. Due to the broadcast's wide dispersion, we cannot discern its content.   Excellent work, Captain!   If you have the patience, I would recommend you spend several months, or even a year gathering mineral resources. You can find such minerals on almost any planet surface, but the quality and density will vary depending on the type of planet you're on. Base metals are probably the most common materials you'll find, but they aren't particularly valuable. You can find rarer precious and radioactive elements on metal-rich worlds such as Mercury.An old miner once told me that you could tell the relative quality of a planet's minerals based on the planet's color as seen from space. To remember the color sequence from good to bad, the miner had a mnemonic which went something like... 'Very Young Orangunans Could Grow Bananas, Perhaps Rather Well'. It is also the case that mineral yields will be better at hotter stars. Temperature is related to the size and color of a star. Red stars are the coolest, then orange, yellow, green, blue, and the hottest stars are white.  That all depends on whom you meet, doesn't it, Captain?Well, in all seriousness, if you encounter the Ilwrath, VUX, Androsynth, or other Hierarchy battle thralls, I wouldn't hold out much hope for a peaceful encounter. So, if you feel you have the advantage, attack! The resources you scavenge from the enemies' wreckage are well worth the effort. If you can find Alliance races who are in a position to help us, then you MUST convince them to join with us! Their assistance may be crucial to our success.  Hmm... let's see...You need to build up and balance the strength of your flagship. I would add thrusters up to say, 5 or 6. Speed is essential in combat, but it would also pay off over the long haul in HyperSpace, and if you prefer to avoid confrontation, nothing beats a great pair of legs. I would add turning jets for increased maneuverability. I would add enough weapons to defend yourself if you are caught without escort ships. You need more crew, at least 50, to make productive voyages into space. You need additional fuel, at least 50 units. Your weapons will be underpowered in combat if you don't have at least 1 dynamo. Use the Resource Units you have accumulated to improve your flagship.  Captain, I wish I had an easy answer, but I don't. The only way I can see of liberating Earth, as well as the Alliance allies, is to destroy the Ur-Quan and their armada of battle thralls entirely. To defeat our enemies, we will need awesome strength, both in your flagship and the fleet, as well as the assistance of powerful new allies. Though combat will be unavoidable, and sometimes necessary to achieve our goals, I am certain your wits will be at least as important as your weapons. You will need to explore this region of space, gathering resources and information wherever you go. It's Christmas in April! We have over 10,000 RUs to play with, so I'm going to change up how the voting works. Loyal crew: Suggest a shopping list for how to spend these resources! Don't feel obligated to spend all of them if you don't want to - there will be plenty more to buy later on. Alternately, vote for someone else's list. Whichever strategy wins, I'll buy everything on their list. Refresher on options:
 As for what to do next, we have a few new options. Some kind of broadcast is coming from Rigel. It's probably not worth spending an entire trip to just go to a single system that close to Sol, but it's conveniently on the way to Spathi space, so we could potentially hit two birds with one stone. On the other hand, we have no way of knowing whether whoever's at Rigel is friend or foe.  Vela is the system we came from before the game began - maybe they'd want to know what the situation is on Earth. Also, Hayes said this was the same direction as Androsynth space. Maybe we could pay them a visit, although last intel was that they were Hierarchy battle thralls...  Procyon is the last known location of the Chenjesu and Mmrmnhrm. However, it now lies deep within Ilwrath space. We took on one Avenger, but it was damaged and understaffed - the real fights here will be much more dangerous. So, our options:
EMPIRE RACES: HUMANS CREW LOST: 52 VOTE NOW Quinn2win fucked around with this message at 22:32 on Jan 12, 2016 |
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Dec 13, 2015 18:58
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Upgrades are only for the Heart of Gold.
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Dec 14, 2015 02:01
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Vote lock! We're using Robhol's loadout and visiting Spathiwa next. e: And sure, it came with the game and is pretty neat. Have the official starmap, which I'll edit into the second post. Be aware that the info on that map is 22 years out of date, so the galaxy may have changed. Quinn2win fucked around with this message at 16:23 on Dec 14, 2015 |
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Dec 14, 2015 16:21
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Yes, the info in that map is free to inform voting.
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Dec 14, 2015 18:21
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 Time to upgrade the hell out of this ship!  Max speed: +75%. Turning rate: +90%. Fuel capacity: +85%. Crew capacity: +100%. Cargo bay size: +50%. When it comes to combat, the Heart of Gold is still a serious lightweight, though.  Our next destination: Rigel!  LOOK AT US GO  In a mere four days, we've arrived at Rigel. There's an alien ship orbiting Rigel III. That must be the source of the broadcast!  At maximum speed and maneuverability, life is much nicer than it was before.  VIDEO: ZFPBGM   We are the Zoq-Fot-Pik. Make no hostile actions! We come in peace, and with good will. But if you make one false move, you're vapor! Don't worry, my companion is just a bit nervous. No, I'm not! ...and argumentative. No, I'm not. We are a scout vessel dispatched from our homeworld. We have traveled far, through hostile, uncharted space to find you. We hale from the green dwarf star at coordinates ziggerfau-gerrrnuf, Ah-ah, Pahoy-hoy. No, you idiot, in their coordinate system! Oh! Er... Coordinates 400.0 : 543.7. He is. No, she is! No, I'm not! Yes, you are. Cripes! We've been through this a million times! That doesn't change anything. You're the Fot! Faugh! Well, Captain, as you can see, this is a point of some contention. Fot! Hurrah! Then we've finally found our saviors! Maybe. At last, our search is over! It is just as the Great Crystal Ones promised! They look sneaky. I think they're lying. Quit, fool! Can't you see our nightmare is over!? This ship is from the Great Crystal Ones' fabled Alliance, the Alliance of Free Stars! Maybe. Our planets are under attack from an invading horde! We do not know who they are, or why they are here. We are being blown to bits. Fleets of alien ships appear out of nowhere, then unleash terrible destructive energies. Fortunately... ...they release these energies on each other. Unfortunately... ...they favor combat near strong gravity wells. Their stray shots regularly strike the surface of our planets, often with tragic results. Fortunately... ...they have never found our homeworld, only our colony planets. Unfortunately... ...all of our colonies have perished as a consequence. In our ancient past, four species evolved intelligence on our homeworld. They were the Zoq... ...the Fot... ...the Pik... ...and the Zebranky. We three, the Zoq, Fot, and Pik evolved in such a way as to acquire sustenance from many sources... ...from airborne zooplankton... ...from solar and ambient energies... ...and from rocky fungal clingers. Our favorite! The Zebranky also consumed a variety of foods, namely: The Zoq, the Fot, and the Pik. To survive the predations of the Zebranky, we banded together, annihilated the Zebranky... ...and formed the cooperative union you now encounter. We are a relatively peaceful group of species. Unless we're angry. So we find ourselves in need of help. We only need a LITTLE! Because of our desperate situation. 'Desperate' is too strong a word. I think 'troublesome' is more like it. Oh, dear. I told you he looked like a creep! No! We must try to understand. His ways are not like our own. You mean his WHOLE SPECIES are jerks? Let us give him one more chance. Just look at him! He's a killer, I tell you! Some of the vessels are huge, green battleships, which launch wave after wave of small fighters. The other ships are black as space, and their hulls are carved with strange alien writing. In combat, the two ships seem evenly matched. One fires blasts of fusion energy, while the other launches spinning projectiles. These are the words we have prayed for! Hey! This trip's not a waste after all! more than anything, we seek an ally to help us survive in a hostile universe. We are having some problems of that general nature. But we are only emissaries. You must meet with our leaders. They are wiser, more powerful beings! They look just like us, though. Fly to the star called Alpha Tucanae. The planet closest to the sun is our home. And of possible, hurry. We go out separate ways. Next destination is Spathiwa, but I need to be able to buy back the fuel I spend. So, it's time for a mining run!  I spend a lot of time doing this, so I'll cut it down to the highlights. Rigel II's fourth moon is a Noble World. Nothing else of value here.  From here, I dive into Spathi territory at Eta Illuminati.  Some radioactives on Eta Illuminati VIII.  Planet VI provides noble gases, Rare Earth Metals (worth 5 RUs per unit), and alien life in the form of more wandering worms. They're worth barely any biodata.  I lose many lives and piles of fuel in an ill-advised quest to kill some giant space octopuses.  Heaping piles of radioactives.  As I head to Delta Illuminati, the radar picks up two other energy signatures heading my way. We ARE in alien territory, after all.  More heavy casualties trying to pick up Tzo Crystals.  Well, I'm here to talk to the Spathi, right? I cut the engines and let the black dot catch up.  That... doesn't look like a Spathi ship. VIDEO: WE COME IN PEACEBGM...?  Huh.   MISSION DESCRIPTION FOLLOWS: TRAVERSE SPACE RECORDING DATA. SEEK MATERIALS FOR REPLICATION. REPLICATE TO EXPAND SCOPE OF MISSION. CONTACT LIFEFORMS IN PEACEFUL MANNER. AFTER TEN REPLICATIONS, RETURN TO POINT OF ORIGIN. END OF MISSION DESCRIPTION.PRIORITY OVER-RIDE. NEW BEHAVIOR DICTATED. MUST BREAK TARGET INTO COMPONENT MATERIALS.  And just like that, it's combat time. BGM  This one won't be anything like the seconds-long battle at Earth. It's time for a real fight! Top-right is the enemy HUD, bottom-right is my hud. "CREW" marks our crew complent slash lifebar, BATT marks ship energy - it's reduced when the ship attacks, and slowly regenerates otherwise.  The Spathi Eluder, Fwiffo's ship and the most rigid flipper of the Spathi fleet, is truly a ship suitable for the Spathi. It's very fast, and turns and accelerates on a dime.  Every ship has a Primary Attack and a Secondary Function. The Eluder's secondary is actually its main source of offense - the Backwards Utilizing Tracking Torpedo. As it runs away, the ship deploys BUTTs from the rear of the ship, which home in on the target at long range for 2 damage per hit. In short - run away, spam missiles backwards.  The enemy ship is the Slylandro Probe, and it's no slouch either. Its engine system is unique, in that its inertialess and never stops moving at full speed - the thrust button instead makes the ship reverse direction instantly. Its speed is even higher than the Eluder's, too. Its primary weapon is some kind of short range lightning weapon. Its secondary function consumes nearby asteroids and converts them into energy. The Probe can't otherwise recover energy.  After a long battle of attrition, Fwiffo sweeps in for a finishing charge with his main gun.  What the hell was that about?  I'm suddenly less keen on alien encounters. I dip into Alpha Illuminati, time for more mining.  Hubris gets the better of me, and I lose a lander trying to scavenge radioactives from an extremely hostile planet. The death toll for this trip is rising.  An attempt to get more biodata is cut short the instant I see more murder octopuses.  Sticking to safer planets now that I'm down to one Lander, I find a nice meaty Treasure Planet in Beta Gruis.  With my new thrusters, I'm able to outrun anything in HyperSpace.  However, once I reach Gamma Gruis, I find the probes are waiting for me here, too.   BEHAVIOR FOLLOWS DICTATED PRIORITIES. REPLICATION. DATA GATHERING. CONTACTING ALIEN LIFE FORMS IN PEACEFUL MANNER.PRIORITY OVER-RIDE. NEW BEHAVIOR DICTATED. MUST BREAK TARGET INTO COMPONENT MATERIALS.  Second fight, same as the first, except I do worse.  A whole lot worse.  Fwiffo is the sole remaining member of his ship's crew. Again.  I redistribute some crew from the Heart of Gold and my Earthling Cruiser to restock Fwiffo's Eluder. It's my best weapon against these probes.  I think it's high time I got on with it.  But more of them are waiting for me when I escape!  Oh, wait. This is the ACTUAL owners of this territory.  I am greeted by the smooth and hostile face of our old enemy, the Hootmans... no, the Huge-glands, no, I remember, the Hunams! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Oh yeah? Oh YEAH!? Well... You are, too. Two aspects of your last statement defy the course of nature as I know it. First... 'Peace' as you call it, is an illusion. If you have 'Peace', you simply haven't yet seen the thing that's trying to kill you. Second... Peaceful missions through the Cosmos rarely require weapons large enough to punch holes through a small moon. We can best be described as 'Meta-Mollusks', possessing the best qualities of both the clam and the Dravatz, which is not native to your world. We are intelligent and clever, though you would never call us cunning.Each day when we awaken, we call forth the traditional Spathi prayer: 'Oh God... Please don't let me die today! Tomorrow would be so much better!'  I want to live forever, with no pain whatsoever, owning vast personal property plus a company of nubiles. If this is in your power to give, I beg of you to do so. Sure, consider it done. Allies to the bitter end. NOT! In case you have not forgotten, we are bonded to the Ur-Quan as slaves. The punishment for the plan you propose can be described as 'Death'. This is a sad tale, so do not even try to contain your tears.After the Ur-Quan demolished the Ilwrath, they turned the force of their Armada against us Spathi. The term 'rapidly subjugated' would best describe what happened next. When the Ur-Quan arrived at Spathiwa, there was a great ceremony. Part of that ceremony involved blasting portions of our planet's surface into radioactive dust, and this part we did not enjoy. But the worst was yet to come. Our leaders were called into the command chamber of Ur-Quan Lord 1's dreadnought, where they were read a long and complicated document explaining the choices given to new slaves. When our leaders heard the term 'forever encased' and 'impenetrable shield', they grew over-excited, I'm afraid, and made a fatal error. The decision was to be transmitted to the Ur-Quan via one of two rods, one colored black, the other white. Our leader handed the white rod to one of the Ur-Quan's servants, signifying 'Fallow Slavery', but the servant somehow exchanted rods and handed the Ur-Quan Lord a black rod, indicating our desire to become fighting slaves! By the time we learned of the switch, it was too late - the Ur-Quan would not permit a change in status. Following that most tragic day, we were forced to assume the role of an Ur-Quan star-thug. We tried to avoid combat, but the Ur-Quan gave us three warnings, each more strident than the last. When we learned that there would be no fourth warning, simply annihilation, we attended to our new role with improved vigor. Oh, and perhaps you have already guessed - the Ur-Quan's servant who made the switch was an Umgah.  Look, can we keep this as a secret between the two of us? It's really rather embarrassing. Next time: Spathiwa. Quinn2win fucked around with this message at 22:33 on Jan 12, 2016 |
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Dec 15, 2015 06:24
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Fun fact: If you datamine their conversation sprites, the ZFP are labeled in the code as Zoq, Fot, and Pik, from left to right. So, they're both wrong - the one in the back is the Fot.
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Dec 15, 2015 06:36
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Xander77 posted:I've only recently learned that polsy has an autoplay function, which is quite handy for making music links. Oh! How do you turn on autoplay? I wish I had known that was a thing back in Undertale. e: Typically, until I have a more heavily-armed flagship, I just run away from the Probes, but this is an LP, so I want to show off the more interesting parts of combat as much as possible. Quinn2win fucked around with this message at 14:42 on Dec 15, 2015 |
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Dec 15, 2015 14:22
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It was kinda minor, and referred to a lot of things that I'm going to be digging into a lot of it in my next update, so I didn't feel it was super necessary to step in at this point. In general terms, though, please don't.
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Dec 16, 2015 17:22
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 I think it won't be hard to find the Spathi homeworld in this system.  I dodge all the Spathi ships on the way in - not because they're dangerous, but because I don't feel like wasting my time on extra talking encounters. For now, let's take a look at Spathiwa's moon.  Huh. This kind of fleet is generally seen at a race's homeworld - it means that, if a fight starts, enemy ships will keep warping in endlessly, one after another, until I die or run away. So what's it doing on the moon?  VIDEO: HUFFI-MUFFI-GUFFI   You get to live a bit longer.   You have given us the corrrect Cypher, and so you will not be destroyed immediately. Now, if you please, tell us how you acquired our most Secret Spathi Cypher, which every Spathi swears never, never to reveal, even when threatened with considerable pain. And just where is this Spathi 'friend' now? Never mind - the answer is all too obvious in your tiny, dry eyes. If you held a weapon to Fwiffo's head, he would say anything you wanted him to say. In fact, if you held a vegetable to his head, he would probably say anything you wanted him to say. No doubt. We are too afraid of the Ur-Quan to consider such an alliance. They would most certainly punish us with extreme tortures. Hello! Hello! Awaken from your dreamy state, Hunam! Now is the time for realism, not wild fancy! Yes, your vessel is unique, and here is the crux of the problem. A 'Unique', meaning singular, starship is not equal to the task of destroying the entire Ur-Quan Armada. If you had, say, ten thousand similar starships, we could take your boasts more seriously. No. No. Well, that would probably work, but I have a better idea - a test, one of those questy kind of things. You must wipe the Evil Ones from the face of Spathiwa! Let us explain the sad history of our species.Once upon a time, many thousands of years ago, we inhabited the warm, safe surface of our home planet, Spathiwa. We were happy and content. During those golden centuries, we evolved from a primitive nomadic culture in a complex, agrarian society. We learned to write on clay tablets, and were well on to being able to read those tablets, when the Darkness fell upon us... when the Evil Ones came! Creatures from the darkest pits of hell they were. They hunted our people - devoured them like tasty nodules - and we had no defense against them. Suddenly, our culture became once again nomadic. We fled across the oceans, from continent to continent, but the evil ones always followed. Spurred by our great need, we advanced from bronze to atomic technology in less than one of your centuries, but none of our innovations was a match for the Evil Ones' natural cunning and ferocity. Finally, with no other option available, we fled our world and took up residence here on our own moon, where we have resided, most uncomfortably, for the last three hundred years.  Two reasons. Firstly, we have an unreasoning fear that the Evil Ones will devour us all painfully. Secondly, in the rare cases where we have overcome our fear, and ventured to Spathiwa's surface, the Spathi who landed there were all devoured painfully. We will await your return with great anticipation. Simultaneously, we will prepare a short, poignant eulogy to mourn your demise. No longer curious about the alien ship in the system, the Spathi fleets return to their orbits. I move from the moon to the planet.  Holy hell, there's a lot of them. All right, I cut my teeth on the murder octopuses of Eta Illuminati. Time to stare death in the face!  I feel like I should have expected this.  The Evil Ones do damage the Lander if it touches them, but they also can be incapacitated with a single shot, and don't move at all.  So, I slowly, methodically clear the planet, losing zero crew members.    This is wonderful - too good to be true! We will immediately begin transporting Spathi from this unpleasant moon down to the safe surface. We shall send encrustlings and the infirm elderly first, as a special honor! Please come back later to receive your accolades. Wait a minute.  You are most heroic and helpful - thank you, thank you, thank you! But now I must return to our festivities. Please feel free to come back any time! Why don't you just wait a while, until after we are resettled on our homeworld? We can discuss details at that time. Ten, fifteen years tops. No, no, no! We are simply taking a more adult, 'welcome to the real world' view of the situation. We cannot simply say, 'Hurrah!' and form an alliance with you this very moment. Surely you see that? NO! ...er... no... please!(sigh) exactly what kind of relationship were you thinking of?  Huh? What? Oh, ok... we're quite familiar with that arrangement. Very well... I'll bet we will regret this decision later on, but you leave me with no choice. We will comply with your needs. A Spathi delegation will depart immediately for the planet Earth.  Success! We have our first allied race!  Before we go home, though, I have one more stop to make.   Now, what can we do for you today?  The 77 units of biological data we downloaded from your ship earn you 154 Credits. What trade items would you like to buy today? Investment! Ah yes, you are so right. These technological breakthroughs don't cost you Credit, they EARN you Credit! Of course, there is an initial charge, but each technological system is GUARANTEED to be useful for something important, somewhere in the galaxy, at some point in the future.All technologies cost 150 Credits. The technology we are now offering includes plans for building blaster weapons twice as powerful as your ion-bolt guns.  Please remember that these weapons consume energy from your combat batteries faster than your familiar ion-bolt guns. You may wish to compensate for this by building additional dynamo modules for your flagship.The technology we are now offering includes specifications for constructing modiications to your planet landers which will double their speed.   As you know, in our many centuries of star-trading, we Melnorme have come to learn much about what happens in our galaxy, both now and in the ancient past. We have also kept records on the diverse alien races in your region of space. We will share this crucial knowledge with you for a fee of 75 credits per informative act. No refunds. At some point, we'll need to decide on how to spend our Credits, but for now I'm going to railroad us towards technology. We need a few more technologies to make it easier to get more biodata.  Anyway, it's time to go home.   I know you're busy, but I've got some news.Captain, a delegation of Spathi has just arrived here under orders from their High Council to form an alliance and assist you against the Hierarchy! They have provided fabricator blueprint data for their 'Eluder' spacecraft, and promise a steady supply of captains for as many ships as we build. Excellent work, Captain!  This will really help, Captain.     The Shofixti are a race of intelligent marsupials who had been 'civilized' for only a few decades when the War began. They were discovered in the Delta Gorno star system by the Yehat, who adopted and then 'uplifted' the Shofixti, giving them advanced technology and cultural definition. Shofixti are noble and fearless warriors, Captain. In addition, their incredible fecundity and rapid maturation rate kept Alliance ranks solid even at the worst parts of the war.You know, I once flew as an observer aboard one of their ships on routine patrol. We never saw the enemy, but I could never stop thinking about the 'Glory Device' it had strapped to the bottom of its hull.  The Yehat are a race of ancient warrior clans that have been traveling the stars for many centuries. The clans are highly competitive and sometimes even wage war on each other, but the clans are all loyal to the Queen and her royal family, known as the Veep-Zeeps. The Veep-Zeeps have been in power for over 2,000 years, and it is said that during their rule, the Yehat never lost a battle. I'd like to think I'm not a bigoted person, Captain, especially when it comes to allies, but there is just something about those Arilou that gives me the creeps. One thing I'll say for them, though - they possess some technique for moving REALLY fast through HyperSpace. They never let us know what it was, but it sure beats the pants off our fastest ships. The Chenjesu were leaders of the Alliance, even though they refused to formally accept the title. I don't know if their silicon-based biology is just plain superior to our old carbon models, or if their fantastic intellects were the product of an ancient, peaceful culture. Whatever the reason, I'd rather be taking orders from a Chenjesu than any other lifeform, absolutely.One of the more amazing things about them was that they never used HyperWave communicators. They could send messages naturally, and their natural HyperWave receptors were much more sensitive than even our best units.  We didn't really get much of a chance to learn about these mechanical beings, but I'll tell you what I know. They are the product of a distant, unknown culture who sent a giant Factory-Ark into our region of space many centuries ago. The Mother Ark (that's what the Earth press called it) churned out millions of robots, and finally broke down.I don't know why the Mmrnmrhm didn't repair the Mother-Ark, maybe they can't. My personal guess as to why they were sent here is that they're on the leading edge of a colonization project, and once the Mmrnmhrm have tamed enough new worlds, the genuine colonists - whoever they are - will arrive and claim their due.  Most raw recruits saw the Syreen as nothing more than warm, breathing pin-ups. Warm they are, and yes, they do breathe most magnificently, but Captain, they are far more than simple joy units. Their history shows that the Syreen established and maintained a peaceful culture from their Bronze Age through their discovery of starflight. Before their planet was destroyed in a horrible cataclysm, their world was an Eden.     Try to avoid getting gruesomely killed, Captain. Time for upgrades! We have two new things to buy now. Fusion Blasters are weapons, twice as powerful as Ion-Bolt Guns, but consuming twice as much combat energy. They're our most expensive purchase at 4000 RUs, and will be difficult to use without more dynamo units.  The Spathi Eluder can now be built at the shipyard for 1800 RUs! We've already seen it in action.  New destinations! Delta Gorno is the home of the Shofixti - what fate befell them during the War?  Alpha Tucanae, the Zoqfot home system, is very far away, but just barely within range. It'd be a long, expensive trip, but on the other hand, they are under seige by evil aliens. So, let's once again vote for a shopping list and a destination. For upgrading the ship, remember that all items that can be bought with RUs can be refunded for their full value - for example, I could replace an Ion-Bolt Gun with a Fusion Blaster for a total of 2000 RUs. Shopping recap (5121 RUs):
Destinations recap:
EMPIRE RACES: HUMANS, SPATHI CREW LOST: 138 VOTE NOW Quinn2win fucked around with this message at 22:34 on Jan 12, 2016 |
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Dec 17, 2015 05:42
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Let's have a lot less cagey references to things we haven't seen yet in this thread.macdjord posted:[X] Plan Glidergun I have no idea what this means in this context.
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Dec 17, 2015 14:27
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Captain's appraisal of the situation:
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Dec 17, 2015 21:31
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We had some late entrants, so I might extend voting a bit in case the scales tip. In the meantime, a question for the thread: This weekend, I'm heading across the country for the holidays. During this time, I will only have access to my laptop, which has sound card issues that result in videos with crappy sound quality. If you were following the first half of the Undertale thread, you may recall this issue. So, which would people prefer: Week-long hiatus, or week-long period where the videos have kinda lovely sound?
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Dec 17, 2015 23:54
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Vote lock! Olesh's shopping list will take us to Pkunk space.
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Dec 18, 2015 14:28
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I'll go ahead and disclose that there is, in fact, no upper limit to the number of crew I can get from the Starbase - Hayes's 1800 number is not honored by gameplay. That being said, there will be consequences if I kill off too many of them.
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Dec 18, 2015 19:34
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 Before!  After! Fuel capacity: +91%. Crew capacity: +50%. Storage capacity: +33%. Damage output: -100%. We are now relying completely on Fwiffo and Tuf to to the fighting for us.  With 210 fuel, I can theoretically reach anywhere in the galaxy. To the Giclas cluster!   First foray into this region of space is an uneventful one. Time for resource gathering!  Epsilon Giclas has only one planet, but it's pretty mineral rich. Next stop: Delta Giclas.   This system has a lot going on! Still no Pkunk, though.  Delta Giclas VIII has some alien life for us to plunder! It's hostile, but there's no other planet hazards, so mopping them up is pretty easy. Gotta be careful with the stunner on mineral-rich planets - I almost blew up some Uranium while capturing the alien lifeforms.  Another Metal World and a few other decent planets. On to Alpha Giclas!  An alien fleet has appeared in HyperSpace - it'll be waiting for me when I leave the system.  Another big system, this one full of planets that are optimally placed for alien life!  Alien ships detected!  VIDEO: HOBGOBLINS OF JOYBGM   Seekers of the deepest truths, askers of interesting and significant questions. Even now a question of great transcendental significance comes unbidden to our minds: 'Who are you and what do you want?' Ah, an insult... a sometimes necessary and constructive release of tension. Now perhaps you can feel better, and we can deal with your real problems. Although we Pkunk have no rank, no pecking order, no arbitrary scheme of dominance, we do recognize that some of the souls in this universe have lived many lives, while others are but spiritual chickadees. I, Captain, have lived thirty-eight lives, a paltry number compared to those wise and ancient souls who guide our race. You must consult them, Captain. They will help you to understand yourself, and in doing so, understand others... who in turn may or may not understand other things. Seek those wise birds at our homeworld, at Gamma Krueger I. They have all the answers.  Ahh, vague omens and mysterious portents. Tangled webs of fate intertwined with the branches of destiny, blown by the capricious winds of happenstance. News, news... uh, actually there is some news!It just so happens that it has come to our attention that Dogar and Kazon, the two gods of the Ilwrath, may actually be a hoax. We don't know who this hoax would have been perpetrated by, but it seems someone has used these fictitious gods to send the Ilwrath down on us.  See the wise ones at our homeworld, Captain. Go to Gamma Krueger for your answers. Yes, by all means, if duty is calling. I'm sure we'll see each other again. Perhaps when the stars are aligned in an appropriate configuration. Yes, my inner voice is telling me that is correct. When the stars align, Captain... Done chatting with the Pkunk, I decide against trying to harvest any alien life from a planet with Class 4 Weather and Class 7 Tectonics.  While trying to reach the other moons in this system, I accidentally bump into another Pkunk fleet.  But we could not hurt you any more than we could squish the helpless Pootworm. We love the Pootworm. We are one with the Pootworm. We are one with you. Of course you realize this means you are one with the Pootworm. Rejoice!! To be one with the Pootworm is to be alive, and why not be alive? Is that not what living is for? Well, we are quite sure now that Dogar and Kazon are a hoax. Aside from never having seen them on the 4th astral plane where most gods like to hang out, we also recently went back and listened carefully to a recording of one of their broadcasts, which was sent to the Ilwrath of HyperWave channel 44. We were able to detect some giggling at the end of the message.Someone out there is playing some kind of joke on the Ilwrath. Or is it a joke on us? We're not quite sure, but what with all the vaporized planets and total carnage, it may be a while before we can look back and fully appreciate the humor.  Back to exploring the system. I decide against tempting the dark octopus gods on this planet.  The next moon over, however, gives a modest pile of biodata and a million radioactives.  Alpha Giclas IV is a fearsome planet, swarming with sturdy, slow, hostile life and covered in earthquakes. At great risk and substantial loss, I harvest a big pile of biodata.  Our map has been updated with the Pkunk sphere of influence! Time to visit their home system.  As I leave the system, I'm flagged down by the alien fleet! Time to learn more about the Pkunk's mystical secrets?  God drat it.   REPLICATION STATUS: EIGHT REPLICATIONS. NEXT REPLICATION 85 PERCENT COMPLETE.ESTIMATED REPLICATIONS SINCE DEPARTURE FROM POINT OF ORIGIN: 583 REPLICATIONS. ESTIMATED REPLICATIONS PROJECTED ONE YEAR FROM THIS DATE: 14,784 REPLICATIONS. ESTIMATED REPLICATIONS PROJECTED FIVE YEARS FROM THIS DATE: 45,786,412 REPLICATIONS. PRIORITY OVER-RIDE. NEW BEHAVIOR DICTATED. MUST BREAK TARGET INTO COMPONENT MATERIALS.  Here we go again... nah, forget it.  Rather than do this long, annoying fight again, I use my Escape Unit. After a few seconds of charging (during which the Probe zaps me a few times), I depart from the battle, at a cost of 5 fuel units.  Gamma Krueger! Positively crawling with psychic space dorks.  Hatchlings of light, spiritual soul beings of the vast cosmic oneness, wayfarers on the river of destiny, students of the mystical dimensions, purveyors of blissful love, birdlike manifestations of glorious light energies from the astral plane. How about yourselves? Yes. We have good news! Well, that is to say, we have no news. But it is good news. Hmmmmm. This is your expression, human Captain. We Pkunk do not pretend to understand it. Easy radioactives on the outer planet of the system.  Gamma Krueger II has some non-hostile but speedy life for the data folder.  Finally, the Pkunk homeworld!  VIDEO: PRESENTS  It tells me that I must give you something... something to aid you on your noble quest! What, spirit? What must we give this young human?Mineral resources? No. Important secrets? No. Starships? No. Then what IS it, spirit, spit it out! What?! That thing? Are you sure? Okay. Here you go, Captain. Take this Clear Spindle. It is an ancient and powerful device built by the Precursors hundreds of thousans of years ago. What does it do, you ask? I haven't the slightest idea. Auspicious portents and serendipitous omens have foretold your arrival. Welcome, alien guest, to the home of the gentle and playful Pkunk... Children of the Cosmic Light... Hobgoblins of Joy... Seekers of Spiritual Truth... and other neat stuff like that.  Yes, yes. We know all that. We are not known throughout the galactic sector as powerful psychics for nothing! Of course we already known the asnwer to this next question too, but we enjoy conversation.Why have you come here?   My telepathic sensors are telling me that you are repressing something. Repress, repress, repress. What is it? Come on. What is it? I see a smile. You're smiling. Tell Pkunky the secret. Come on, nasty alien gonna tell Birdy Pkunky big secret? I sense a deeper reason, a deeper conflict. A conflict of immense proportion, a proportion of... deeper reason. A deeper thing that is... not too terribly deep. A conflicting deeper thing... uh, I'm not really sure what I sense. Are you sure there isn't something you want to say to me? I am forming a psychic link with you. I sense that you refer to our conflict with the Ilwrath. I sense that you are offering to venture singlehandedly deep into Ilwrath space, and do battle with their vast numbers, and I can see that you give not even a thought to the danger you would be in. You are noble indeed, and I accept your offer of aid, but in spirit alone. The karmic burden of your gruesome death would be too great. Still, I say thank you, Captain. Let us unite and form an alliance!!We will provide you with all of the crew, ships, and resources you desire. We will give you... wait! I sense that you are offended by our crass material offer. Yes, I am ashamed. Any war-mongering species could offer this... we are Pkunk! Children of the Stellar Breeze! We shall give you what all others could not! The greatest of gifts! We shall give you our love. Ah, you are speechless. Do not talk now. I can feel the energy connecting us. Let us part while the silence remains. Farewell... But wait! Before we go, as a small token of our love, not as a material gift, mind you, we give you 4 of our meager ships, fully crewed. Good luck!  Well, that was something. We got new ships out of it! However, I wasn't done talking to the Pkunk yet.  In fact, you are here because we wished you to be here. By channeling our psychic energies through a transdimensional flux inducer, we are able to affect the low frequency stream of a soul particle such as yourself, and direct its course. The only thing is, we can't remember why we brought you here. Not at all, we are after all a fascinating species. Of course, modesty prevents me from talking at length, although perhaps if you were to ask me specific questions, propriety might be better served. Ah. An intelligent question. But where to begin?Surely you know that we Pkunk were once one and the same species as the Yehat. Yes, it's true. We were once brutal birds of prey, oblivious to the mysteries of crystal magic or the 7 dimensions of psychic beings. It was not until Weeny Wikki Beeki Birdi sat on the mystical egg of Icelike Temperature, and gave the Original Squawk - 'Rup-Rup-Rup-BGAK!' - that our transformation began. It was the squawk - 'Rup-Rup-Rup-BGAK!' that triggered the Harmonic Oscillations that would lead us to become the enlightened avians that we are.  That depends on how you define friendly. We love our Yehat brethren, whereas they open fire on our vessels on sight. Fortunately, our psychic abilities allow us to sense the deep, abiding love, and yes, even shyness in our Yehat brothers and sisters. How we must have hurt them when we left so long ago. Soon, though, it will be time for the loving reunion, as our destiny is fulfilled and we are once again reunited as one people. Just off the top of my beak, I suppose I would say that our culture could be defined as the ultimate unification of Oneness, if you will, of the extradimensional convergent-chakra being-energies, to form a togetherness self which both is and is not a culmination of the now essence. An excellent question. The answer is itself, an answer, containing the explanation you seek. And more! Let me say the revelation includes the mysteries of Pyramid Power, which is merely a subset of the greater and more general Pointy Power. UFO's and FO's are significant, but their role should not be overplayed. I'm sorry, but I can be no more specific than that. Yes it's... uh... wait... a vision comes to me! A shining light - a crack in the egg! A swirling vortex... a tunnel. I see my past lives! Your past lives! More shining light! Ah, there it is now, the future!It's coming in clearer. Yes. I see tears. Tears of joy! They are coming from our Yehat brothers and sisters, who welcome us back to the next, wings outstretched, beaks stuffed with grubs! Soon we shall return. Soon.  Yes, you are right. I should be careful not to overwhelm you with my psychic intensities, perhaps we could talk about something less overwhelming, albeit less interesting. Why should we mind? We bear the spidery creatures no ill will. Without darkness there is no light. Without death there is no birth. And thanks to the Ilwrath, there's lots of birth. We have delved most deeply into the dark and greasy heart of the Ilwrath. And what do you suppose we found there? Well, we found a torpid, vile, malign, odious, spiteful spirit. Right, no surprises there. What did surprise us, though, was what we saw when we regressed into their past lives! It turns out that in their last lives, the Ilwrath were all shining beings of pure light and blissful love. They had reached the pinnacle of spiritual evolution, and could go no further. They were perfection.And then, somehow, they got just a little bit better, and WHAM, they were all of a sudden totally evil. Wouldn't you know it, get too perfect and you wrap right around to evil. That is why we Pkunk strive to be perfect, but always do little bad and annoying things to keep from ending up like the Ilwrath.  When? That's easy. It was exactly 27 thousand rotations of the 7th planet in the hosue of Plarty Fum, BEFORE the first alignment of the auspicious constellation of Bis Bis with the heavenly body of Shamla Sool, which was really only a partial alignment. I guess you would say 8 years ago. We have calculated that at our present rate of attrition, we will exist only on the spiritual plane in a matter of a year or so. Of course, the physical realm does hold a certain coarse attraction, a material quaintness, if you will... we will be somewhat disappointed to have to leave it. Hmmm. An interesting question. The answer would be... YES! If some benign and loving, yet incredibly destructive and powerful force were to simultaneously rip off all of their legs and drop their putrid egg sacs into steaming pools of molten metal, that would have the desired result of ending the conflict.Ah, but I just. Of course I bear the Ilwrath no ill will... how could I, when I am filled only with love.  Yes, you're right. Why dwell on the heinous Ilwrath, when we could speak of flowers, rainbows, fairies, and crystal magic. Did you know, for example, that there is an invisible fairy spirit at this moment sitting on your head, and making humorous faces at me? Ah, the mysteries of the Universe. Try to understand 'em, but can you? Nope, they're mysteries! Farewell, kind human. Return soon. Next: Resource and data gathering continues... in the fringes of Ilwrath space! Quinn2win fucked around with this message at 15:46 on Feb 2, 2016 |
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Dec 19, 2015 19:56
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Fixed.
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Dec 19, 2015 20:10
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Please stop talking about the Pkunk ships.
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Dec 20, 2015 04:43
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Next update is going to have a nice meaty chunk of Pkunk ship combat. My hope was to have the ship's stranger properties come as a surprise to anyone reading the thread who hasn't played the game before. Is this too strict of a policy?
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Dec 20, 2015 06:30
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GlyphGryph posted:I have decided I do not like the Pkunk. Once a year. Today's update is more or less good to go, but I'm suffering from an area-wide internet shortage. Worst case scenario, it'll be up late this evening. After that my hiatus will begin.
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Dec 20, 2015 16:24
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