The official "out of character" thread

[cricket]

I don't want to squelch the enthusiasm that has recently sprung up for this little project ... but it's drifting in a direction completely different than I intended.

The whole conceit is/was this:

SFO was a REAL SHOW in the '80s that we all knew and loved and got us into sci-fi in the first place. The discussion on the Yahoo! list, then the Omegapedia, was intended to help flesh out our collective memories of this REAL SHOW. (It was fun to see more than a few people get confused -- and complain that they couldn't find any reference to the show elsewhere... )

No offense to Dugan or others who want to help, but that's the over-arching rule of this particular sandbox -- if we're going to drop that part of the exercise, then this is no different than any other setting development.

So -- I am willing to suspend the suspension of disbelief for THIS THREAD ONLY, so that we can talk about the direction in which we are going to take this project. But I must insist that posts outside of this thread remain "in character"; otherwise, there's no point in it at all, IMHO.

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Honestly, I don't know exactly what I want to see happen -- there was a certain "camp" to our original discussions that I'd hate to lose sight of, although I don't want to get too silly.

The end result has never been clear (is this going to be a Starmada setting? A different game altogether? An RPG?). But there are a couple of rules of thumb that I think we should all be able to agree to:

1) Unless completely off-base (and for the time being, I'll have to put myself in the role of arbiter ) nothing posted here is "wrong". At worst, it was "misremembered".

2) Remember this is supposed to be collaborative. Don't post too much, too quickly... that means (for example) that the episode synopses, as written, are probably a Bad Idea. Considering rule (1), too much detail ties other peoples' hands.

3) Have fun! This is not to be taken too seriously...

[thedugan]

I don't want to squelch the enthusiasm that has recently sprung up for this little project ... but it's drifting in a direction completely different than I intended.

The whole conceit is/was this:

SFO was a REAL SHOW in the '80s that we all knew and loved and got us into sci-fi in the first place. The discussion on the Yahoo! list, then the Omegapedia, was intended to help flesh out our collective memories of this REAL SHOW. (It was fun to see more than a few people get confused -- and complain that they couldn't find any reference to the show elsewhere... )

While it WAS fun to watch the confusion, (even here on the forum at first) I think that confusion and lack of focus was what killed it.

No offense to Dugan or others who want to help, but that's the over-arching rule of this particular sandbox -- if we're going to drop that part of the exercise, then this is no different than any other setting development.

I can see your point in that regard....

So -- I am willing to suspend the suspension of disbelief for THIS THREAD ONLY, so that we can talk about the direction in which we are going to take this project. But I must insist that posts outside of this thread remain "in character"; otherwise, there's no point in it at all, IMHO.

Hmmm... I'll try my best to keep OOC stuff here....

This thread could get VERY long...

Honestly, I don't know exactly what I want to see happen -- there was a certain "camp" to our original discussions that I'd hate to lose sight of, although I don't want to get too silly.

Would the following be too much:

- a monkey that starts to throw poop if you change it's diet or put it in new surroundings.

- a robot that starts to worry about it's 'hair' if it's left on long between reboots.

- a computer that tends to be pesimistic, despite the actual odds

- a computer that suggests we should 'kill them all', and sort them out during reboot.

The end result has never been clear (is this going to be a Starmada setting? A different game altogether? An RPG?). But there are a couple of rules of thumb that I think we should all be able to agree to:

I'm STILL waiting for that. My view is that it be a Starmada setting with a 'fleet version' - the one you sent out a while back?

1) Unless completely off-base (and for the time being, I'll have to put myself in the role of arbiter ) nothing posted here is "wrong". At worst, it was "misremembered".

Sure, I'm perfectly amenable to having myself 'corrected'. I'd HAVE to be, now wouldn't I?

2) Remember this is supposed to be collaborative. Don't post too much, too quickly... that means (for example) that the episode synopses, as written, are probably a Bad Idea. Considering rule (1), too much detail ties other peoples' hands.

I disagree - and here's why:

They're pretty general, and I did it that way on purpose. They might also be 'how I understood it", or "how I would have done it" or "how I'd do it today if it was a web comic" - which is, incidentally - how I started out.

Anything "broadcast on the network" should be available on Amazon.

Now, apochryphal unbroadcast shows, yeah - those are conjectural, as would be anything shown at a 'con, or on a blooer reel...

3) Have fun! This is not to be taken too seriously...

Me, serious?

[jimbeau]

While it WAS fun to watch the confusion, (even here on the forum at first) I think that confusion and lack of focus was what killed it.

spammers killed it. but i agree with the not too much too soon mentality. also have to remember that you are the ONLY one (besides Dan, and he doesn't count) who has anything at all left over from the original posts.

[thedugan]

While it WAS fun to watch the confusion, (even here on the forum at first) I think that confusion and lack of focus was what killed it.

spammers killed it. but i agree with the not too much too soon mentality. also have to remember that you are the ONLY one (besides Dan, and he doesn't count) who has anything at all left over from the original posts.

Alright..spammers killed the Wiki, true enough.

I was thinking about the Yahoo thing - there was just not much participation there after the initial rush, same thing with the Wiki. There was a period of several months there (when I could still get to the Wiki from work, and it was still there), where there just wasn't anyone except me and the Cialis guy posting anything.

I don't think the Cialis guy was doing too much that was useful.

I'm wondering just how much guidance (or whatever) it takes to get creative contributors to contribute. Not that we aren't getting it in some places, but as a general concept. I say this as someone who initially didn't warm to the SFO concept, but now see it as at least a good story generator. I'd be lying if I said I had a firm grasp of where this is going...

[thedugan]

spammers killed it. but i agree with the not too much too soon mentality. also have to remember that you are the ONLY one (besides Dan, and he doesn't count) who has anything at all left over from the original posts.

Dan doesn't count?

To address the concept of "too much, too soon".....

Do I stop now, slow down? Do I edit my recent posts to be more "in character"?

I'd love for there to be more input from others, but I haven't seen that happen yet, and I want to see how the story ends.

[thedugan]

Someone recently made a post about an actual (I think) actor, a real person.

Wouldn't that be sort of ...eh... problematic?

[jimbeau]

only if they remembered incorrectly, where was it, maybe I can shed some light

[Blacklancer99]

only if they remembered incorrectly, where was it, maybe I can shed some light

It was me, I was trying to run with the Gil Girard/Buck Rogers reference in-character on the Omegapedia thread. Sorry, I got caught up in the momment I will put a phoney baloney fix in that thread, and will never use a real actor's name again.
Cheers,
Erik

[thedugan]

only if they remembered incorrectly, where was it, maybe I can shed some light

It was me, I was trying to run with the Gil Girard/Buck Rogers reference in-character on the Omegapedia thread. Sorry, I got caught up in the momment I will put a phoney baloney fix in that thread, and will never use a real actor's name again.
Cheers,
Erik

FLAWLESS RECOVERY.....

Yep, that's the spirit that I think that Dan is going for.

So, this occured to me - SFO is effectively open-ended? It doesn't really end?

[cricket]

So, this occured to me - SFO is effectively open-ended? It doesn't really end?

As conceived, there were three versions:

1) An anime/manga from the mid-70s.

2) A live-action American TV show, based on the anime/manga, in 1983-84.

3) A mini-series revival, that was supposed to lead to a second TV series, sometime after that.

There have been others (comics, fan faction) but that's it for "official" SFO. There have been rumours of a "reimagined" movie, but no confirmation yet.

[thedugan]

So, this occured to me - SFO is effectively open-ended? It doesn't really end?

As conceived, there were three versions:
1) An anime/manga from the mid-70s.
2) A live-action American TV show, based on the anime/manga, in 1983-84.
3) A mini-series revival, that was supposed to lead to a second TV series, sometime after that.

There have been others (comics, fan faction) but that's it for "official" SFO. There have been rumours of a "reimagined" movie, but no confirmation yet.

Unofficially....?

Stankin and Rass's feature length Animated movie based on SFO, an obvous ripoff. The same basic story, with the names changed.

A recent 5-part youtube posting using pieces from other scifi movies.

At least 3 web comics along similiar lines. One is a more 'serious' in-depth re-telling of the series.

[starbreaker]

At least 3 web comics along similiar lines. One is a more 'serious' in-depth re-telling of the series.

SFO: Dark Times, right? With the fancy 3D renders and everything? Love that one. The new post rate is a little slow, but you have to love the ship designs. Story's a bit grim in spots but it's clearly a labor of love for the creator. That crossover week episode with Schlock Mercenary was very strange - seeing Tagon and his lads in realistic 3D renders just felt wrong.

[Erik M]

There's that episode 81 examining the lives on-board the auxiliary frigate Kapa-547. About seven ensigns as they strive to enter a Groakk system through a particularly hazy asteroid-field. The entire expedition seen through the eyes of Sad Laceri, the first mate.
Look a bit like a pre-amble to those Schlock Mercenary, doesn't it?

\\That was right, right?//

[starbreaker]

Right on the money.

It's more fun the more people play the game.