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 Sunrider is pretty much exactly what it looks like: an anime sci-fi visual novel featuring teenage girls piloting giant robots made with Renpy. It’s also a fairly complicated strategy game ala Advance Wars. And, if you dig a bit under all of the anime, a pretty decent military sci-fi story. We’re actually going to be playing through all three games that have been released: First Arrival, Mask of Arcadius, and Liberation Day. Think of these more as “seasons” of an anime series rather than distinct games, though. The first two are bundled together in such a way that I’m not even a hundred percent sure where one ends and the other begins. There’s also a DLC that acts as a sort of sequel to the third game but let’s just say it’s of dubious canon status since there is a fourth game currently in development. We’ll talk about it when we get there. A note on format: I’ll be doing some editing of the dialogue, both to correct some typos and grammar errors, and to tone down some of the more overt, obnoxious, or borderline offensive anime tropes. I will not necessarily be pointing out what I change, but it won’t be a significant amount. After all, anime is blood. Updates: Episode 1: First Arrival Part 1: Reminiscent, but Vastly Different Part 2: Welcome Aboard Part 3: The First Battle of Cera Episode 2: Picking Up The Pieces Part 1: In Exile Part 2: A Pirates Life Not For Me Part 3: Ryde or Die Part 4: New Friends Episode 3: A New Purpose Part 1: Trafficking Violations Part 2: Base Desires Episode 4: The Versta Incident Part 1: Shades of Grey Part 2: The Die is Cast Part 3: Escort Mission Episode 5: Medical Emergence Part 1: Crew Check Part 2: History Lesson Part 3: The Doctor is In Part 4: The Graveyard Part 5: The Wrong Princess Episode 6: You Are Cordially Invited ... Part 1: Wedding Plans Part 2: OUTATIME Part 3: Operation Wedding Crash Part 4: Asaga's Big Day Part 5: War Episode 7: A Port Too Far Part 1: Captaining Part 2: Shenanigans, Assorted Part 3: Strategery Part 4: The Battle of Far Port Episode 8: The Beach Episode Part 1: Ava's Lament Part 2: Never Go Full Anime Episode 9: Attack at Ongess Part 1: Election Part 2: Meetings Part 3: Dark Tea-Time of the Soul Part 4: Captured Part 4b Part 5: Setting the Stage Episode 10: The Second Battle of Ongess Part 1: Veniczar Fabulous Part 2: Knockoffs Part 3: Look What You Almost Made Me Do Episode 11: What's Past is Prologue Part 1: Schemes and Memories Part 2: Run Silent, Run Deep Part 3: The Line Must Be Drawn Here Part 4: This Far, No Further Episode 12: The Mask of Arcadius Part 1: From Hell's Heart ... Part 2: ... I Stab at Thee Part 3: Legion Episode 13: Paradox Episode 14: Core Values Part 1: Assessment Part 2: Götterdämmerung Episode 15: Turning and Turning Part 1: Cry Havoc Part 2: ... And Reign In The Dogs of War Part 3: Peace In Our Time Episode 16: Things Fall Apart Part 1: It Was a Dark and Stormy Night Part 2: Any Port in a Storm Part 3: And They Have A Plan Episode 17: The Centre Cannot Hold Part 1: We Few Part 2: We Happy Few Part 3: The Second Battle of Cera Part 4: Out, Damned Spot Episode 18: Mere Anarchy Part 1: The Second Day Part 2: Blue on Blue Part 3: Nightmare Episode 19: Blood-Dimmed Tide Part 1: Si Vis Pacem, Fac Bellum Part 2: Cera's Last Gleaming Part 3: Sine Qua Non Episode 20: Blank and Pitiless as the Sun Part 1: The Paradox Contingency Part 2: The Last Flight of the Sunrider Part 3: Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost Episode 21: Vexed to Nightmare Part 1: Adrift Part 2: You Can Never Go Home Again Part 3: The Gang's All Here Part 4: It's Only When We Fall We Learn To Fly Coda: What Rough Beast, Its Hour Come Round At Last Moon Slayer fucked around with this message at 00:52 on Nov 9, 2020 |
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Jul 20, 2020 23:32
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Episode 1: First Arrival Part 1: Reminiscent, but Vastly Different  quote:Humanity has spread to the four corners of the galaxy. Subjugating all life, we have become the dominant species throughout the stars. Yet, we are far from secure. War brews from the northern quadrant of the galaxy. PACT, the People’s Alliance, has toppled the once mighty New Empire. Led by a mysterious individual known only as Veniczar Arcadius, PACT seeks to subjugate the galaxy under its new world order.  Yes, our protagonist’s name is “Kayto Shields.” He looks like this:  We won’t actually be seeing him very much since we’re looking through his eyes most of the time.  How much further until we get there? Just a moment now. Can't wait until you meet your girl, can you sir? I haven't seen Ava since we were in high school. I doubt she even remembers me. The commander? Psh, not her! I mean the Sunrider. The newest ship in the fleet! Here, let me turn the ship around and give you a view. Aye, there. Have a look at her. So advanced that the brass needed to train a new line of officers to fly her. She looks like a fine vessel. Just hang tight, captain. Won't be long now.  Captain on deck! Welcome aboard, captain. First Officer Ava Crescentia reporting for duty.Alas, I’m going to have to cut this first update very short because we have our first decision to make. Kayto seems to have some history with his first officer. So, how does he greet her on this reunion? A: Professional At ease, commander. Give me a report on the Sunrider's status.B: Friendly It's been a while, Ava.Choices actually matter in this game, and I’m going to put all of the ones that will actually have an effect in the future up for a vote. These will affect everything from dialogue to character availability to who survives the story. There is also a hidden affection mechanic that plays a part as well. Having said that, though, I want to make it clear that this is not a dating sim. Mostly. Kinda. You’ll see. Voting will be typically open for roughly 24 hours so that I can keep this thing moving. I’ve yet to LP an entire game in under two years but there’s a first time for everything! Moon Slayer fucked around with this message at 15:46 on Dec 13, 2020 |
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Jul 20, 2020 23:32
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A.
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Jul 21, 2020 00:12
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Ah, yes. The Affection mechanic... I fondly remember looking through the code to find out where it would be relevant. Anyways, let's be Professional with Ava.
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Jul 21, 2020 00:33
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Professionalism is a hoax concocted to subjugate the working class! B.
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Jul 21, 2020 00:46
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i played this a few years ago and i remember being struck by how bad the writing is. tactical game is decent but really makes you want to cluster up, overlap your shield bubbles and out-attrit the enemy which is rather novel as far as i know. me and buddy always told each other we should do a drunken LP of this game but never got around to it. glad someone's showing off this shitpile, settle in folks it's time to laugh at bad anime. Ava is actually good, unlike literally everyone else. She's also your XO, not your childhood friend; be professional.
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Jul 21, 2020 02:19
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I don't know if I'd go that far. It's certainly not good but like I said in the OP I think there's a decently enjoyable military sci-fi story under the anime. I guess it depends on your anime tolerance, I guess. Since this is going to be an anime thread, I watched a series over a decade ago that was set in the future where men and women lived on separate planets and were fighting a war. A male and female ship collided with some ancient technology and got fused together and flung a month's travel away from their homes and had to slowly make their way back. There were also giant robots and the robots could only be piloted by one of the men with a lady pilot sitting in his lap. Also Earth was sending out probes to harvest a bunch of colonies for body parts. Anybody know what that series was? Because Sunrider kind of reminded me of that. edit: Vandread. It literally came to me 30 seconds after I posted.
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Jul 21, 2020 03:10
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Ah Sunrider, also known as "Literally Western Galaxy Angel," even if the story itself very much goes its own direction. Even the company's mascot is drawn from a Galaxy Angel gag (which itself might have been drawn from Trek, but there's no accessible proof one way or the other there). Makes me rather regretful there's never been an LP of those so there could be a better comparison, but the first GA is a pain to play on modern systems (and the later 2 aren't free of issues either). As for here, we're fresh out of officer school... or close enough. Let's stay (A.) Professional for now.
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Jul 21, 2020 03:13
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eh, maybe i'm being a bit too harsh on it. i guess we'll find out! 
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Jul 21, 2020 04:32
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It's equally likely that I have bad taste.
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Jul 21, 2020 04:37
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Part 2: Welcome Aboard At ease, commander. Give me a report on the Sunrider's status. We've been working for the past two weeks testing her systems. She's prepped to go on your word, sir. Good. It sounds like High Command wants us out of here ASAP. Tell me more about the Sunrider. She's the newest ship in the fleet. She's armed like a warship, but built like a carrier. We can field up to twelve ryders and also provide capital ship support for them. Her biggest asset is the vanguard cannon. They took a gun from a battleship-class warship, modified it extensively, and put it on the front of our ship. It works like a charm and can rip holes through ships over twice as big as ours. Not only that, but the Sunrider can be flown with a crew of just 50 and has one of the most efficient warp drives in the fleet. We'll be able to jump across the galaxy in just days. Sounds like a fine vessel. What have you heard about this fleet-wide alert? Don't tell me you don't know. Rynar surrendered to PACT this morning. Already? That's another neutral world that's been taken by PACT. Not only that, but PACT's taken Minerva, Barona, and Gerald in the past three months. One neutral planet after another. What do you think that means? Encirclement. We're next. Exactly. So that's why High Command's not taking any risks. If any hostiles enter our gravity well, we're to open fire first and ask questions later. Let's move on. What's next on our agenda? First, a tour of the ship. Oh good. As you've noticed, this is the Sunrider's hangar. We can store up to twelve ryders here. I don't see any ryders here. Where are they now? We won't be receiving them until Wednesday.  This is the Sunrider's main bridge. This is where you'll be commanding the ship. I’ll usually be here if you ever need me. This is engineering. The ship's main reactor is located here and we can also use the lab to research and construct new equipment. Unfortunately, the research lab's not open yet. That's also going to be available on Wednesday? Correct. This is the ship's mess hall. We can come down here to eat and relax after work. Sounds good to me. Finally, these are your personal quarters. Looks like I've moved up in life. Wow, it's almost like a loft in Cera City.  Please don't mess up your room too much, captain. I've already got some ideas on how to redecorate it.  You can come here to access your personal logs and other material. Furthermore, if a member of the crew needs your help with something, they'll be waiting outside of your door. Alright. A happy ship makes for a strong ship. And that concludes our tour. Like I said, I'll be on the bridge most of the time, so you can come to me if you need help. What's next? I'm afraid we'll have to cut the formalities short, captain. Like I said, Command wants us out of drydock as soon as possible. We are scheduled for our first live engine test. We'll be undocking shortly and making one loop around the moon. Fine with me. Let's return to the bridge and see what the Sunrider's capable of. All hands, this is your captain speaking. Man your stations. Activate the main reactor and light the engines. Momentarily, we'll begin a live test of our engines by undocking and making one loop of the moon. We are to enter condition two as soon as we clear drydock. Raise shields and scan for any possible hostiles. I know this is just a test, but keep your guard up. I want everyone to be on their feet in case we run into any problems. Main reactor is coming online, captain. Power is increasing. Wake our lady up, Ava. We're getting out of here. Aye sir. Helmsman, light the engines. Engineering reports the reactor is working within acceptable parameters. Power is increasing to the engines. Umbilicals disconnected. Engine activation in three, two …Suddenly the screen shakes and there’s an explosion sound. It’s hard to convey so when bangers get dropped on the ship I’ll probably just put in a *BOOM*.  Ugh... What the hell was that!? Engineering reports the reactor core is still stable. No explosions reported in either deck 0 or 2. Captain, the only place that blast could have come from is outside. Outside!? As in- Contact! PACT warp signatures detected! What? Missile boats! They jumped in right under our noses! Cancel the engine test! Battle stations! Aye, captain. All hands, battle stations! Set condition one throughout the ship! This is not a drill! This is turning out to be one hell of a maiden flight. Ava, what's our weapon status? Limited. The vanguard cannon is still offline. We have flak turrets, saviors, and a few shots of hell darts. ... Captain ... you're not seriously thinking of taking the Sunrider into battle, are you? We haven't even completed any of our engine tests, much less any munitions checks. No time like the present, Ava.*BOOM* And from the sound of things, I don't think PACT's going to wait for us to finish our tests. Get this ship operational, double time. Aye sir. Helmsman, all power to engines! Warning, we have one bogey inbound! Computer identifies it as a PACT missile frigate! Ava...! Engines online!   We're in the clear. Sunrider is joining the fight.Next time: The First Battle of Cera! Moon Slayer fucked around with this message at 16:05 on Dec 16, 2020 |
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Jul 21, 2020 19:45
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Part 3: The First Battle of Cera Welcome to the battle screen. I’m still figuring out how I’m going to handle showing off the battles; I would think that they could get pretty tedious to read. I’m just going to cover the very basics in this first one though so I at least have something to talk about in the future.  Starting with the basics, the red bar is the unit's HP and the blue bar its energy. Actions cost energy. That’s pretty self explanatory. You can see how much it costs to move the Sunrider around the map, and in the lower left how much the various attacks cost. There are three damage types in the game: lasers (called trinities in dialogue), kinetic (saviors and hell darts in dialogue), and missiles/explosives. Accordingly there are three types of defenses: shields, armor, and flack. You can probably figure out what defenses are effective against what attacks on your own.  Our opponents are two PACT missile frigates. As you can see they don’t have any shields or flak, so we’re going to fire some lasers at them.  (Yes, lasers curve in this universe. Just go with it.)  The Sunrider’s lasers damage one of the PACT frigates heavily but there isn’t enough energy for a second attack, and the enemy remains out of range of the kinetic weapons. However, since they lack any anti-missile defenses …     The frigate’s armor also nullifies some explosive damage, but not anywhere close to enough to save them.  As you probably also noticed, missiles are in short supply; the Sunrider can only currently use that attack once during a battle. Once you use your missile up, they’re gone for that battle, so you have to be pretty picky about when you’re going to use them. Unless you are a specialized missile unit, like these frigates, in which case you have unlimited missiles.   Speaking of which …  Unlike the frigates, however, the Sunrider does have anti-missile defenses, which shoot down two of the incoming.  Our armor ensures that the remaining missiles don’t do too much damage. And so we use lasers to mop up the last frigate, ending the battle.  Our forces are pushing the remaining PACT units back. The PACT frigates are no longer a threat. Join the rest of our fleet. Let's pitch in with the mop up operation. Aye captain. Two missile frigates down with hardly a scratch. Not bad for my first command, huh Ava? Charge up trinities again. Let's give the rest of those missile frigates a parting gift before they warp out of Cera. Aye captain. Charging trinities. They must have been trying to warp in missile frigates and take out our ships before we could respond. Given how small the attacking force was though, I'd say the entire operation was ... Alert! New contacts on scanner! More missile frigates? No ... It's unlike anything I've ever seen before.  Sweet mother of god... What is that thing, Ava!? I don't remember PACT having anything that colossal! I'm just getting intel from HQ... It's the PACT Super Dreadnought-class warship Legion. That thing is Veniczar Arcadius' personal flagship! Warning! I'm detecting a massive power surge coming from it ... Wait! Brace for impact!  Damage report! Hull breaches reported on section 34-A! Our port trinities are no longer operative! Break away! Our ship doesn't stand a chance against that! What’s the status of the fleet? Battleships Gallant and Behomian Maiden have been destroyed! The Fearless has sustained severe damage! … HQ has issued a general retreat! All units are to fall back! The Prime Minister's office has been advised to issue an immediate unconditional surrender. Retreat? It's over already? Power surge on the Legion!   R-report! Direct hit on Cera City. I'm still trying to figure out the scope of the damage, but... U-unbelievable … To use a weapon of that magnitude on a civilian target … All contact has been lost with civilian and military leadership! The rest of the Cera Space Force is scattering! We're going to get overwhelmed if we don't get out of here! … What are your orders, captain!? ... CAPTAIN!! Fall back … … Fall back! Warp to the nearest safe system! Understood. Navigator, punch in the fallback coordinates into the computer. Spool up the warp drive and prepare to jump! Warping out in 3 … 2 … 1 …   Next time: Episode 2: Picking Up The Pieces Moon Slayer fucked around with this message at 16:08 on Dec 16, 2020 |
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Jul 22, 2020 18:08
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Not even out of the prologue and already those PACT bastards are committing atrocities. No moral grey area here, no sir-ee.
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Jul 22, 2020 18:16
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No spoilers allowed but let's just say that yes, there are plenty of shades of grey, even with PACT. This is just the prolog, there's lots more world building to come.
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Jul 22, 2020 18:26
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Episode 2: Picking Up The Pieces Part 1: In Exile  It's been a week since the fall of Cera. Despite our best efforts, we have been unable to regroup with the rest of the Cera Space Force. The crew is starting to fear that we may be the only ones who got out of that massacre in one piece. To tell the truth, I'm beginning to believe that too. I don't know what we're going to do or what next step to take. All I know is that we're going to be alone from now.*DOORBELL* Come in. Any news of the fleet? None. ... The crew's beginning to get worried. We've been doing nothing but scanning for the past week. If a PACT force finds us, we're sitting ducks here. You're suggesting that we give up the search? What's left of our government surrendered and was dissolved six days ago. Most likely, what's left of the Cera Space Force has either gone rogue or been impressed into the PACT fleet. ... That's agreed. I think we've wasted enough of our time here. Ava ... tell me something. What's a ship without a flag? Sir? Well, a pirate ship.Very short update here because we have another decision to make! A: Pirate ship Sunrider. I like the sound of that.B: I don't intend on becoming a pirate captain.
Moon Slayer fucked around with this message at 16:09 on Dec 16, 2020 |
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Jul 22, 2020 20:57
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B. No piracy here, nope.
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Jul 22, 2020 22:15
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B. I feel like piracy is a bit of a jump, we might want to see all of our options before we put on an eyepatch.
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Jul 22, 2020 23:35
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As hilarious as the fast turnabout would be, let's B. Not jump immediately to piracy.Moon Slayer posted:
To expand on the battle information for those interested... -Armor is damage reduction against all incoming damage, but it degrades over time as a ship takes damage - it's also doubly effective against kinetics. So while your rapid fire PD guns are going to to precisely jack poo poo to another full health warship (even a piddly one like the destroyers here), they're quite capable of mopping up a low health one for fairly little energy as its armor has been reduced to minimal levels. -Shields are a flat reduction to all incoming laser damage, and they do NOT degrade over time. So as long as a ship has its shields up (there are ways to disable them), it will always subtract that amount from incoming laser-based damage - which will then of course be further reduced by the armor value of the ship. -The flak number has some relation to a percentile chance of destroying each missile in a salvo - it is not precisely equivalent to the number actually given on the screen as far as I know, and there are ways to reduce the chance of missiles getting shot down by flak as well, but in general higher numbers are obviously better. As a percentile chance there is variation in just how much damage it stops, of course. -Flak and shields can both cover area other than just the generating source, and overlapping sources do stack for effectiveness. Slight side note, but missiles flying through flak screens immediately check for losses, whereas shields only cover what they're illustrated to cover - so lasers can go straight past a shielded ship and hit an unprotected target behind it perfectly fine, but a completely defenseless ship 10 hexes behind a ship with flak coverage does still benefit from it. Something of a side note, Moon Slayer, but are you planning on posting the OP and music at some point? Regardless of opinions on the game, and I personally feel there are good and bad points, I definitely found it to have some pretty decent commissioned music. Lord Koth fucked around with this message at 00:06 on Jul 23, 2020 |
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Jul 23, 2020 00:00
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B. This ship seems like it needs more support than piracy would provide.
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Jul 23, 2020 00:03
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Lord Koth posted:Something of a side note, Moon Slayer, but are you planning on posting the OP and music at some point? Regardless of opinions on the game, and I personally feel there are good and bad points, I definitely found it to have some pretty decent commissioned music. I was considering leaning even more strongly into the "you're watching an anime" format by posting the intro credits at the start of each "episode," but the first game's video is actually kinda ... NSFW. Or at least very borderline.
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Jul 23, 2020 02:31
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Ah, what the hell, let's be bad guys. A.
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Jul 23, 2020 02:45
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Moon Slayer posted:I was considering leaning even more strongly into the "you're watching an anime" format by posting the intro credits at the start of each "episode," but the first game's video is actually kinda ... NSFW. Or at least very borderline. Rewatching the entire thing, I'd completely forgotten about those few inset frames as the vast majority of it is completely unobjectionable. It's still safe enough to fit in YT's guidelines, so it should be alright, but yeah I can see not wanting to post the one for Ep. 1. The music for the first game looks like it would need to be uploaded somewhere to share, as it doesn't seem to already be up broken down in individual tracks. Liberation Day is, but that's a while off.
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Jul 23, 2020 03:39
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B - Pirates get the airlock.
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Jul 23, 2020 16:03
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Part 2: A Pirate’s Life Not For Me I don't intend on becoming a pirate captain. I wasn't suggesting we turn to piracy. Remember, Ava: the Sunrider will always be carrying the flag of Cera. So what are you suggesting? PACT won't get away with what they did to our home. We're going to take the fight to them. With just our one ship? We'll find allies. We're not the only neutral world to have been conquered by them. We find others like us. Build a fleet together. And then retake all of our planets, one by one. Hm. I suppose you've already got a plan. Just like old times, Ava. It's a good thing they put me as your first officer. I don't even want to imagine how much trouble you'd cause if I weren't here to clean up after you. Hahaha. Come on now, is that all you can remember of me from high school? Well, I do recall that you were certainly one of the most frustrating youths for a student council president to have to deal with. I remember the time you installed an anti-gravity device in the student council room. It was impossible getting everything cleaned up afterwards. Ah, that little thing. Come on, you had a good laugh afterwards, didn't you? No. In the meantime, what are your orders? We'll warp to the nearest neutral planet: Tydaria. Chances are, after the fall of Cera, they're going to be jittery about PACT. Understood. The ship will be prepared to warp at your command. What's the status of the Sunrider? She's had better days. We had to leave drydock before we could finish any of our tests. Our missile stockpiles are empty and our Vanguard cannon is still offline.  And that's not even the worst. We had to leave Cera before we could pick up any of our ryders. Not only that, but we're missing our chief engineer and our doctor. Both Research and Development and sickbay are still dark.Try to make do with what we have. We'll have to resupply and finish our tests at Tydaria. On that note, I have one more issue. Running a ship is going to take money. I've looked into some ways to raise some immediate cash. The various galactic powers all post bounties on rival factions. I've been putting together a folder containing letters of marque from governments currently aligned against PACT. In other words, our only way of making money right now is privateering for other planets which have a grudge against PACT. Which is pretty much everyone, I'm guessing. Correct. Alright, keep me posted on the money situation. … How are you holding up after what happened? I'm ... fine, captain. There's no reason to worry about me. Are you sure? Yes. We've got more immediate problems than that. I suppose you're right. Indeed. Still, if you need to talk about anything, my door's always open. Report to the bridge. I'll see you there once I'm ready. Understood.
Moon Slayer fucked around with this message at 16:12 on Dec 16, 2020 |
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Jul 23, 2020 18:22
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A note on update pacing: I'm kinda just going to be working through the script and throwing up new updates whenever I hit a good transition point or vote. So the length of each update will be pretty variable, but they will go up fast. For example I'll probably post a much longer update later today. If this is too much too fast please let me know.
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Jul 23, 2020 18:29
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"Oh, a Moon Slayer thread, I wonder if they decided to do something smaller than TOR," I think to myself. This is certainly something. tell me, are the morality choices just Mass Effect's paragon/renegade choices in .... I can't really call it "in disguise" but you know what I mean.
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Jul 23, 2020 18:48
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Oh good, looks like we're still pirates, just ones with a license.
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Jul 23, 2020 18:50
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Psion posted:tell me, are the morality choices just Mass Effect's paragon/renegade choices in .... I can't really call it "in disguise" but you know what I mean. Even less so, I believe. There is a "morality" meter of some kind that the game is tracking, but I haven't dug through the code too much to figure out exactly how big the differences are.
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Jul 23, 2020 19:20
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I mean, the devs claim that the morality meters are nuanced and complicated... But they still largely boil down to "be a dick/don't be a dick" in most cases. The dev's goals for the morality meter was intended to be idealist vs Machiavellian, at least.
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Jul 23, 2020 19:33
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Moon Slayer posted:Even less so, I believe. There is a "morality" meter of some kind that the game is tracking, but I haven't dug through the code too much to figure out exactly how big the differences are. ah, the good ol "if choice 1, paragon +=1, if choice 2, renegade +=1" style of variable tracking Python should have ++, if you ask me  which, I'll point out, you shouldn't ask me because my brain has been warped by languages which let you get away with some wild poo poo that you probably shouldn't be allowed to get away with
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Jul 23, 2020 19:54
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sullat posted:Oh good, looks like we're still pirates, just ones with a license. Ava Crescentia would make a catchy pirate name. You can't ignore this potential. Not sure what to do with Kayto Shields though.
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Jul 23, 2020 20:08
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OutofSight posted:Ava Crescentia would make a catchy pirate name. You can't ignore this potential. Is Kayto Shields related to Marauder Shields?
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Jul 23, 2020 20:21
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OutofSight posted:Ava Crescentia would make a catchy pirate name. You can't ignore this potential. Nothing. Nothing can be done about Kayto Shields. It's a terrible name. Ironically, I don't think he's that terrible of a protagonist. It's early days still but as time goes on we'll get to know him better. He's no William Adama, of course.
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Jul 23, 2020 20:32
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In regards to the effect of choices and the hidden scales... there really isn't much in what's currently released outside of immediate dialogue differences for the current situation and possibly a bit after. The devs have gone on record saying the points are mostly being tracked for potential usage in 4, so we'll see whether they follow through or if we end up with a ME3 situation. Some choices do end up potentially setting up major repercussions later down the line, and there are a few which directly affect the next mission, but I can only think of one situation where the overall track of your points (rather than a choice then and there) affects something major. There might be some text differences in various parts too, but it has been a while since I've looked. sullat posted:Oh good, looks like we're still pirates, just ones with a license. While somewhat true, there is kind of a large legalistic difference between being a pirate and being a privateer. Plus they really mean more hired gun than a proper privateer. And the only other real option would basically be flat out joining up with another military (ala the Dutch in ABDA) in this circumstance.
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Jul 23, 2020 21:53
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Part 3: Ryde or Die  Warp complete, captain. We're arriving at Tydaria. What kind of help do you think we'll be able to get here? Resources and supplies, at least. There's a big space mining operation going on around the rings of the planet. You might want to hold that thought. I'm detecting unknown vessels on an intercept course for us. Identity? I'm not finding any of them on any of the flag registries … drat. Pirates! Battle stations! All hands, battle stations! Battle stations! Set condition one throughout the ship. This is not a drill. Captain, we are being hailed. Haahaaahaaa! This is the pirate ryder Havoc! Lower your shields and surrender your cargo!Yep, this is happening. Also, it isn’t actually spelled out until much later, but the Sunrider apparently has some kind of holographic communications system, similar to season 1 of Star Trek: Discovery. Stand down. This is an armed warship of the Cera Space Force. We will not hesitate to open fire if you approach. Cera Space Force, huh? Your ship will make a lovely addition to my pirate fleet. After we've dealt with you, of course! Boys, rough them up! Two pirate ryders, inbound fast. Both infantry class. There's one more bomber-class ryder leading them, designation Havoc. Also, two pirate destroyers shortly behind them. Concentrate on the lead bomber. These pirates think about nothing but themselves; once Cosette realizes we mean business, she'll probably back off. Understood, captain. Let's hope this goes as planned.  All right, time for our second battle, and our first time coming face-to-face with enemy   The Grunts, as the name suggests, are pretty disposable: they have no shields or armor. The Havoc, our target, is a bit more formidable, with both high armor and high HP.  Rounding out the pirate forces is a pair of destroyers. Similarly lacking shields and missile defenses and lightly armored, they are at best an annoyance.   Our opening laser barrage one-shots a grunt.   Ava called the Havoc a bomber-class ryder, and she wasn’t wrong. Bombers carry torpedoes, which carry much larger warheads than rockets. Fortunately, they are only fired one at a time (despite what the launch animation might lead you to believe) and the Sunrider’s flak shoots it down.  Unfortunately, the Sunrider did end up leaving spacedock without a shield generator. Our high armor and HP will keep us in the fight for a while, but I wouldn’t want to have to get stuck in a protracted battle until we acquire one. Which, fortunately, this won’t be, because … Damage report! We're venting air in four sections. Our systems are stretched to capacity! How did so many missiles get through!? Are the gunners blind, Ava? We're still recovering from Cera, captain. The Sunrider's giving it her all.  Now's our chance! Take their engines out, but leave the ship intact! We'll board and cut down the crew hand to hand. You're awfully persistent for a little girl, aren't you? Hurk... Did... you... just... call... me... Uh... yes? Y-YOOUUUU!!! KILL THEM ALL! BUT LEAVE THE CAPTAIN FOR ME! HE'S... MINE! Captain … Please do not provoke the enemy. drat... Just one problem after another… Eh?  The cavalry has arrived! What the... Who are you? A HERO OF JUSTICE! Looks like you could use a hand there! Don't worry, my Black Jack will take care of these guys in a flash! She's flying a freelance ryder licensed by the United Mining Guild, captain. Probably hired security for the mining operation on Tydaria. Do you think we can trust her? Doesn't look like we have much of a choice. Alright, Black Jack. Let's see what you've got. No problem! And just like that we’ve got control of our first ryder unit. I’ll get into details about what the Black Jack is capable of later in its own dedicated post, so nobody jump the gun.   The Sunrider hits the remaining Grunt with a laser barrage which almost but not completely kills it. This is very annoying because damage does not reduce weapon effectiveness. A unit with 1 HP will do just as much damage as an enemy at full health.  Without enough energy for a second laser barrage, we resort to small-caliber kinetics. Normally this would be pointless because of the ryder’s armor, but with the armor worn down by the laser barrage it’s more than enough to finish them off.  Her torpedoes may be expended but the Havoc still has several rocket barrages remaining, and enough energy to fire off two per turn. Our flak takes a handful down but enough get through that I should start thinking about finishing this fairly quickly.  The Black Jack also has lasers and follows them up with a rocket barrage, taking down one of the destroyers.  I fire off a rocket barrage, but the Havoc’s flak range is enough to cover the destroyer. That one intercept is enough to barely keep the destroyer alive. Annoying. Red hexes indicate the flak coverage and yes, in the future we will run into dedicated anti-missile units.  While the Sunrider wastes time on that remaining destroyer, the Havoc has moved up close to the Black Jack, which presents a perfect opportunity to show off this button that you may have spotted in a previous screenshot:   Moving up next to the Havoc does trigger a counter attack, however.   However, with the Black Jack’s high armor rating it is not particularly effective.  Energy sword time!  Since they were already so close the Black Jack has enough energy for two melee attacks, which is more than enough to take Cosette down..  These guys aren't worth it! Fall back! Enemy units are withdrawing. Whoo! That sure was exciting! We’ll open up our hanger bay. You have permission to dock, Black Jack. And to explain yourself. Roger that! Coming aboard!
Moon Slayer fucked around with this message at 16:15 on Dec 16, 2020 |
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Jul 23, 2020 22:36
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Moon Slayer posted:Nothing. Nothing can be done about Kayto Shields. It's a terrible name. Ironically, I don't think he's that terrible of a protagonist. It's early days still but as time goes on we'll get to know him better. He's no William Adama, of course. I disagree (this is becoming a theme, haha), Kayto Shields ranges from extremely vanilla (as we've seen) to pretty cringeworthy and doing that thing at the end of the DLC in the last game was an very satisfying and cathartic moment. You punch him in the face. Just full on deck the guy. He deserves it. quote:...hey. wait a minute.  right arm chainsaw, left arm gun.  right arm gun, left arm chainsaw 
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Jul 23, 2020 22:59
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Radio Free Kobold posted:I disagree (this is becoming a theme, haha), Kayto Shields ranges from extremely vanilla (as we've seen) to pretty cringeworthy and doing that thing at the end of the DLC in the last game was an very satisfying and cathartic moment. We might be using "good" differently, but my standards for a good video game/VN protagonist are admittedly pretty low. I'm happy with anyone with even just a little actual backstory who acts on motivations from said backstory. So long as they're not a complete blank audience surrogate like so many are I'm willing to cut them a lot of slack.
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Jul 23, 2020 23:22
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Radio Free Kobold posted:Oh man she's got missile kneecaps. Tell me we can recruit this lady. I mean, you kind of answered your own question with that observation. Flip the first image around so she's on the left like our friendly units, and her armaments are the right way around Or is that obviousness the reason you 'd?
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Jul 24, 2020 04:28
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Oh hey, Sunrider! Gotta say, I like this game, though the high school AU didn't quite catch me (that may be me liking mecha more than homework though, ahaha). Looking forward to future updates, Moon Slayer!
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Jul 24, 2020 12:49
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| # ? Apr 20, 2024 02:51 |
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Radio Free Kobold posted:Oh man she's got missile kneecaps. Tell me we can recruit this lady. If that bothers you you're going to hate what I end up having to do to some character portraits to make them all face the same way.
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Jul 24, 2020 14:36
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