James

[font=franklin gothic medium]Okay guys, I've been talking to a few of you over the last couple of weeks and I've decided that this will essentially be the final landmark for VBO. I will make a new post shortly and then after that, I'd like everyone (except Shy) to write a [i]final[/i] post for their character. Essentially this RPG will end with your character being "abducted" by the aliens, once your character escapes from the ship itself. In reality we are only halfway through the RPG; the story is supposed to continue on the alien planet and beyond. But I don't want to force the RPG to continue for longer than it can. Once everyone has put their final posts up, I will put [i]another[/i] post up that will basically seal this off. So we are almost there! I look forward to seeing your last posts. :catgirl:[/font]

[quote name='summercrane']Queensland! Well the Sunshine Coast to be exact lol...what about you mate?[/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]Melbourne here. I did live on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane for about a year and traveled up to the Sunshine Coast a bit. Very pretty up there! :catgirl: I missed Melbourne after a while because I was used to being in the middle of the action! Haha. And Melbourne is really a hub for media and such. I also regularly travel to Sydney, where I have some extended family. So I get around a little bit![/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Yup, I'm from Australia. I think you'll find a few local members, although we did used to have an entire group that was from Queensland who are no longer here! So I'm not entirely sure who is left these days. Where in Australia are you from?[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I have raised this with Adam today and linked him to this thread. So now it's in his hands. Having said that, Viviane, I would also consider what others have posted here. It's a good idea to use one comment to respond to multiple people - this is pretty easy to do and it saves space as well. Alternatively you could definitely send a PM their way to thank them (after all, you may prefer your comments to only relate to your art rather than to be filled up with thank you notes). So you have a couple of good suggestions there. :catgirl:[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]You're referring to commenting limits on theO here, yes? I will raise this with Adam when I see him, but in the meantime, any theO moderators should feel welcome to post in response to this. I am not sure if the system will be modified at all, but this is worth raising if it's becoming an issue or limitation. Thanks for doing so. :catgirl:[/font]

[quote name='Mr. Maul'][SIZE=1][COLOR=DimGray]Speaking from experience, whenever an intelligent, logical, and factually accurate post is made, the vast majority of people will not only completely skip over it, as if it had never been said, but they will also continue to post in antithesis to it, almost out of spite.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]That's probably the most false thing I've ever read on OB. And it sounds - dare I say it - almost [i]emo[/i]. :animeknow I think that posts which make a good point are often recognized as such. Posts that state the obvious probably aren't recognized so much because, well, [i]they state the obvious[/i]. Most people aren't going to respond just to say "Yes I agree!" My mind keeps going back to that kid in the mini van.[/font]

[quote name='Kenso'][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=1][COLOR=seagreen]Make sure to tenderize properly. Parents tend to be pretty tough, so it needs some extra care. Perhaps some lemon-pepper seasoning to finish it. :animesmil[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]Hm, ironically if my dog could read this, her mouth would water. If you visit and look in any way sickly or injured, she gets a little gleam in her eye. A little "that would do well roasted" look. :catgirl:[/font]

[quote name='SaiyanPrincessX'][SIZE="1"]Sure thing James, except I think the flight here would cost even more than the little dinner cruise. O_O; [/SIZE][/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]Hm, good point. :catgirl: I guess I will just have to be there in spirit, heheh. :p I may have to have my scary movie night at a different time, now that everyone is going to be busy. I have no idea what I'm going to do though. I was thinking of having my parents over for dinner. Hm, we'll see. :catgirl:[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I'm really not sure what I'm going to do on NYE. Originally we were actually planning to have a scary movie night. But that was kind of a fall-back plan. Now most people in the family have plans, so I'm really not sure what's on the agenda now. My sister wanted us to do a dinner cruise in Victoria Harbour (where they're doing all kinds of stuff, including fireworks obviously). But that was too expensive with such little notice, so that's off the list. I kind of wish I were in Sydney for NYE this year, since I think it'll be the biggest yet. So at this point I don't really know what I'm going to do. Anyone have a free space for me at their place? :catgirl:[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I thought I'd give this a listen, since I notice you only just posted this and nobody has yet commented on the actual interview. :catgirl: Anyway, I found this very interesting. It was nice to see another side to you, Kevin. Obviously your experiences (especially dealing with hosts) have given you a lot of perspective. So I found that pretty interesting, especially considering that a lot of young web sites have major struggles in this area - and I think a lot of people let it beat them. Your persistence is a good example to others, for sure. Unfortunately I think you do yourself a disservice by investing so much time with revisionist history. You say it was an imaginary war, but you manage to keep it alive despite everybody else's attempts to let everything go. But you know what? The proof is really in the pudding. Despite everything, you're still here and we allow you to be - you are still as welcome as any other member. That says a lot about what we believe in. I would rather be judged by my actions, as opposed to rumor and gossip. :catgirl: Anyway, it's nice that you could at least share some useable info for people who are wanting to start their own new sites.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I don't think it's the end of the world, but I do think people are right to criticize it. People must be responsible for what they say and Rick Warren is no different. Having said that, I suspect that the reaction would be a lot harsher if this guy had been chosen by president Bush. At least right now - and throughout 2009 - Obama will benefit from a strong honeymoon period. So that will help. And therefore, he may have more leeway to try to incorporate many different views early on. Nevertheless, there's no question that it's an unwise choice. If Obama had wanted to represent evangelicals or the religious right in some form, he could probably have gone with a more middle-of-the-road representative. Still, I guess that if I had to look for something positive here I'd say that at least Obama is attempting to bridge the gap between himself and others. It may be a somewhat awkward bridging, but the strength of his Cabinet choices helps to temper that quite a lot.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I think claim +2 is good, but I don't mind. And yeah I'd be happy to kick off the 2009 worm. When should I have the first image ready by? Jan 01?[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Don't forget though, that "science over magic" was principally dominant only in Czenovia - not in the Old Globe, where the opposite is true. I think you'll find that Al Ahmar is far more magical than scientific in nature, where Anova is a mixture of both I guess (but probably closer to Czenovia). Also if you create organizations for Anova, try to bear in mind that the country is roughly similar to France in terms of language/geography/etc. Refer to the original map of Le Monde for some more guidance on that, I guess.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Congratulations to everyone involved in this. The Graphic Worm is just so awesome. I'm really proud of everyone who contributed. Will there be an '09 worm?[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Hi Dark Passenger, nice to meet you. I've just merged your intro thread with our main introductions thread to keep things tidy. I hope you enjoy OB and theOtaku! :catgirl:[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Welcome to OB, guys. And Merry Christmas![/font]

[quote name='Matt']Wait, so people are going crazy that Obama invited Warren, who opposes homosexuality? Despite the fact that the opposition of homosexuality is a standard in Christianity (God, specifically, was against it! I'll look up the verse later). lawl[/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]No, I think people are annoyed because of his apparent inflammatory comparisons. It's one thing to think homosexuality is a sin (and even that idea is becoming very outmoded among mainstream religion globally, as it should) but even if you hold that view, it's another thing to start digging in and attacking an entire group of people. I haven't read his comments so I'm only going on what's been said here, but I doubt there would be much controversy if he just followed the most basic line of the Catholic church. As much as people want to love Obama, I think everyone will soon realize that he simply can't satisfy everybody. Nor should he - however, a [i]lot[/i] of people voted on the idea the Obamessiah can do no wrong. People will discover that, invariably, he'll make mistakes and he'll have flaws - just like everyone else. As long as those decisions can be debated properly, I don't have a problem. [b]Edit:[/b] Okay, just read some of his quotes. He did indeed equate gay marriage to incest and even child abuse. So I can understand why people would take issue with that. On the other hand, I also think Obama may be doing a good thing by trying to be inclusive of people with many different points of view. It certainly does follow through with what he said in his campaign. While I don't agree or disagree with the choice, I can see why people would legitimately disagree.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Mine would be Kanon in D Major by Pachelbel and possibly Untitled 4 (Njosnavelin) by Sigur Ros.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]We are having a hot, dry Christmas... because it's summer here! Heheh. I think it'll be rainy in Sydney (and probably humid), but it's not too bad here in Melbourne.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Looking good so far. I think it strikes a happy balance. I will have to edit some things related to Anova and the Achard family (there actually were businesses and other things mentioned during the RPG), but we will have time for that. In any case, it is definitely moving along the right path. I like some of the touches that refer to how Czenovia has changed post-Revolution.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]And the winners are up! Congrats guys. And thanks to everyone for your submissions. You guys know how to make it tough to choose. :catgirl:[/font]

[quote name='Gavin'][SIZE="1"] Agreed, I was thinking Dwalish might even have been able to get his hands on some of the debris from the canon and that may have been the trigger to found his own company outside of the Almagest's main company who have disavowed that arm of the business since Daedalus' death. [/SIZE][/QUOTE] [font=franklin gothic medium]Good point. I think this could lead to a lot of different scenarios... for instance other countries in the Old Globe might be eagerly competing to win the favor of any business trying to develop these technologies further. I like the idea of working this tech into a new plot - after all, once that canon was discovered, I doubt the leaders of the Old Globe would just ignore it; they'd be doing what they can to learn more and take advantage of it.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I like the idea of some inter-marrying with Old Globe families. As mentioned, this will give the characters an opportunity to travel. Perhaps the fact that the Czenovian government essentially fell is what is now leading to a surge in arms around the Old Globe? These countries could not have competed with Czenovia's military dominance while it was still essentially a monarchy. Now that the nature of its government has changed - and it has become an essentially peaceful country - this may kind of mean that the Old Globe can now leave it out of the equation. There's a re-ordering to the global balance I guess. Perhaps acquiring those relics is part of the key to general global dominance. After all, that canon alone had huge destructive potential. Our main cast could now be shifting their interest to broader things - like taking the relics back and returning them to Czenovia, so that they don't fall into the hands of other nations. This would also give us an excuse to travel to multiple locales. Anyway whatever happens I'm interested in joining in. I'm not sure which character I'll play though. Probably more than one, although I may have a "main" one.[/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]Wow, I'm so impressed! All of these entries are so great. You guys are making it difficult for me to choose, haha. There's a couple more days for entries so that should be enough time for everyone I think. Thanks for your work so far everyone![/font]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I think it's really cool that most people seem to have a pretty similar idea of how this could work in future. In terms of this being set in another country... I don't think it means we have to disregard Czenovia. In fact, I agree that our story will have to build off the experiences in Czenovia in several important ways. Those characters who return for a sequel and who travel overseas will obviously be referring back to the last few years in Czenovia pretty regularly anyway. I wonder how else we can tie it in without it seeming forced. Also, I think the potential for this world is pretty limitless. I mean... I know I'm getting ahead of myself here, but what if Almagest 2 is set in another country and Almagest 3 returns to Czenovia? I guess what I'm getting at is that even if we set a sequel elsewhere, all we're really doing is fleshing out the world further. We're giving Czenovia added context. And comparing it to the way other countries exist would be pretty interesting I think (especially related back to Sandy's views on religion and other elements). In terms of theme/art I had a couple of ideas there too. For instance: [url="http://img135.imageshack.us/my.php?image=concept010pageat9.jpg"][color=red]I like the image of this ship - again pointing to olden days, but having that touch of fantasy as well.[/color][/url] What if our characters made arrangements to meet several weeks after the funeral at, say, Cobalt Bay... to board a ship like that bound for the Western Continent? I imagine that being kind of interesting. And it means the first couple of landmarks would take place on the existing continent, where we see the characters making the relevant preparations. And then I imagine the characters visiting amazing and mysterious structures like [url="http://img68.imageshack.us/my.php?image=concept001lrgat5.jpg"][color=red]this[/color][/url] or [url="http://img95.imageshack.us/my.php?image=concept013pageoz5.jpg"][color=red]this[/color][/url]. Again these are just ideas I'm throwing out there... I figure the more ideas we have to choose from the better. :catgirl:[/font]