Awwwwww yeah! Gimme some hope before saying “nope”! xD
Seriously though if the first world to be destroyed is important for the story-line then do it your way. But if not I and I think many of your readers as well wouldn’t mind deciding which race to make (nearly) extinct depending on their looks, economic worth and military might and ofc their alliances.^^
Skyblade
6 years ago
No offense, Tim. But this is easily my least favorite of your works. And I think it’s the decisions that do it. As we saw with the Ethan MacManus: Space Archaeologist comics, a decision can lead to a random death at any point. It makes it impossible to get invested in the story when you know that a decision made by people without information can lead to a “rocks fall, everyone dies” at every page.
And as I’ve said NUMEROUS times over the course of this series, but will retierate once again for newer readers, this is not run in the same way I ran the Space Archaeologist (and really, it was on the first issue of that series that I learned the lesson that sudden deaths, while a novelty, are not fun in the long-term; hence the retcon/mulligan). Starcaster puts story over just arbitrarily throwing out choices to be vote upon. And while it is possible to get a main character killed, it’s never going to be a blindside option. It will be the… Read more »
That “never be a blindside option” still gets to me. That tells me it won’t blindside YOU, Tim. But unless we know that’s what the series of choices is building up to, then it can and probably will blindside us. People vote based on “oh, this option looks fun” (this is the internet). And then the story ends. And that’s what I’m most concerned about. Not even main character death, but series ending death. Right now, Cort could die or Nyrah could die. But if they’re both gone, the series is over. As far as I can tell, Speck doesn’t… Read more »
Explain this to me… you trust me enough to write you a story… but you don’t trust me enough to write a story with multiple paths that are equally engaging?
Or you think that I want to do a ton of work developing characters and story and then have it end abruptly and unfinished in an unsatisfying manner? You think I’d leave THAT much up to the internet?
Dude it’s his comic/story. Of course it’s beyond our control. If we don’t like it, we don’t read it. So far, I’m reading build up to a larger plot and am interested to see where it goes.
Tim, still would love to own these comics in an actual comic book form. Maybe a trade paperback after so many “issues”.
Skyblade, I can almost see where you’re coming from; I felt similar back when there was the Space Archaeologist series. But I mean, this is the sixth season of Starcaster. There’s been plenty of investment so far, on both the audience and on the author, and it should be clear that there’s no “rocks fall everyone dies” situation – no cheap deaths. And I feel that at this point, having the audience make some decisions can make you more invested.
This series is so good, easily one of my favorites, if not flat out favorite.
toughluck
6 years ago
I have two ideas to throw out there: 1. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to have a decision be made at such a focus change? We get to decide, the decision gets unveiled to characters at a later stage. No need for extra work to get a strip out on a specific date, right? 2. To make decisions more meaningful, how about the decisions could be like this: Choose where Cort jumps to: A: System about to be invaded and razed by Dranglaex B: Another system close by C: Another system far away It wouldn’t reveal the plot, but… Read more »
When I give the audience a decision to vote upon, it’s typically based on information the characters HAVE.
So sure, if Cort knew which system the Dranglaex were invading, that would be a valid choice.
But otherwise, the characters would be making decisions based on omniscient intervention (yours) and when all is said and done, and people go back and read the series, it would be full of instances where the characters acted strangely and based on knowledge they didn’t have. It would read poorly.
I was referring to the vote on whether Cort was supposed to take the left or the right corridor. It seemed to many (myself included) that the choice was arbitrary, uninformed and what’s worst, we didn’t know if it changed the end result in any way, like both could have the same outcome, maybe just mirror imaged. I remember it was annoying at the time, and even though I typically voted every time you offered us a choice, I refrained since it didn’t seem to make any sense. As for my proposal, it wouldn’t be obvious to the characters at… Read more »
I gave you a choice based on the information that the characters had (which in this case was none). They were in a dark temple that none of them were familiar with, and running mercs. Yes, it boiled down to a simple “Door A or Door B” choice. But the point is, I’m never going to give you a choice where there’s instant death behind door B.
And that’s the thing we all hope for. I guess too many people think that this is a reboot of Ethan Space Archaeologist, and expect certain death. That said, what was behind door number 2? Did it end up Cort not getting the Starcaster grafted to his arm? And I don’t know what you think about my proposal regarding any choice we might have in the future. The protagonists might not know what they’re getting into, but we would and while it would be a random choice for them, it would be meaningful to us. Oh, and it would be… Read more »
Steven
6 years ago
It’s a great story and it’s your story. Keep up the good work.
Brent
6 years ago
Aw, back with these losers? I wanted to choose planetary destruction, dammit!
Well, I can’t blame Cort for wanting to be done with Nyrah. I’m sure story won’t let that happen, but I don’t blame him either. After all, it’s been a pretty rough week or two ever since she woke up in his cargo hold. Loving this little tension/drama amidst everything else, Tim. Feels very natural, totally in character, and completely earned. Now for the real choice……what childish doodles does Cort draw on the Starcaster?
Maybe we jump back to the two brothers and they are in a war room and the little brother is all “I want this race dead, no wait, those fuckers are superannoying, no wait, attacking and destroying this planet could bring out message to the entire galaxy, no no wait…” while his big bro sips alcohol and waits for the decision aka us.^^
Pretty sure it will be 2-4 planet choices and I doubt one of them gonna be so extremely important. It will most likely be a choice between some Fed planets and planets with no affliction to the Feds. If we get one that is.^^
Wim
6 years ago
I share some of the same thoughts expressed here by a couple others. It’s about 10 years ago now that Idiots in Space came out. At that time I was 12 and I loved the choose your own adventure style. But at this point, I would much more enjoy reading a fully pre-written story. You, Tim, are after all a much more experienced story teller than “Majority rules” is. However, this is just me. Maybe the majority of your audience does like this choose your own adventure style. Also, have you ever done a reader survey? Asking stuff like how… Read more »
And you can rest assured that I will never offer the audience a choice unless I have written two paths that I am equally invested in and excited about following. I take control of the narrative for as long and as much as necessary; plot is priority #1. Letting the audience vote once in a while is just icing on the cake.
That does make sense. I didn’t really consider that you would face off multiple equally developed narrative paths in the votes. I was sort of under the impression that there’s a primary story that’s been developed fully, and the votes allow us to diverge from or follow it. Which in hindsight doesn’t really make much sense.
Why not? it is just fun. We can decide to destroy a Cat race or a Slime race or some kind of rockmonster race or a race that belongs to the Federation or a race that is in some small alliance or a race that told the Empire to fuck off in the old days, etc, it is just fun.^^
Considering how Nyrah’s body is mechanical, I’m assuming that prosthetics are pretty good. Pretty expensive, too, and it’s not like Cort’s loaded or anything. Nyrah’s already missing an arm, and I’m sure that’s not going to be cheap to repair. I have a feeling that his attitude right now is just mostly shock. I’m pretty sure that if he could sit down and think logically about it, between choosing between being dead, having one arm, and having the Starcaster, “being dead” would be last on the list. I’ve got no idea how the Starcaster is affecting him mentally, but it… Read more »
Not sure how much of this is mental and how much physical, but I do know that at the end of Issue 5 he was talking about being able to feel stars exploding like headaches and that being out in freezing temperatures was so hot it made his skin feel like it was melting. Safe to say that he’s a lot more resistant to temperature extremes now and that that shower was hot enough to melt glass while feeling only cool to him.
Yeah, but WHO would get said starcaster. The Feds who are corrupt, the Empire who are genocidal or one of the other 2 starcaster holders? Cort might not be a perfect human being but he is also not an insane mofo who destroys entire worlds just because he can.
Maybe Cort becomes the next evil Overlord of the galaxy due our decisions. He did say something about buying a star system after they found the “map” to the Starcaster. XD
First of all there are a lot of star systems.
Secondly, he wasn’t interested in anything much, just a little 2 planet system, maybe a few uninhabitable planets/dwarf planets for mining. Not like he was aiming to claim a sector or something.
demoncat_4
6 years ago
cort didn’t see that resposes coming from nylah espicaly now that their old enemies are about to say look them up should be interesting to find out what corts response to her staying with him will be
I’m really enjoying this. Getting a glimpse of what makes Cort tick when he’s not under immediate pressure to get things done is a nice change of perspective. He doesn’t want the weight of the universe on his shoulders, but he’s not averse to lending a hand here or there. Seeing the psychological effects of having a superweapon bonded to you is just icing on the cake, Tim, you’re doing a great job with this work, keep it up!
foducool
6 years ago
would be funny if it could withstand the energy of a sun but would still break if wet
Damn Acme Warrantys….they always give out when you least expect them to
Andminus
6 years ago
Yaaaah, you have cosmic power strapped to your wrist, and everyone in the universe looking for the Starcaster… you don’t get to say “I’m done with this” Cort. Classic hero journey rejection of the call.
Josfrey
6 years ago
Yay! My favorite story and characters are back!! Can’t wait to see what will happen. 🙂
Somewhere
6 years ago
I must say, while it isn’t immediately obvious, re reading the series made me notice something about Nyrah- She is basically a head and some internal organs, and then the robot body makes up literally everything else. This also shows an interesting anomaly; the Generic Empire of Doom could have brought her down to nothing but the vital organs in a jar- instead, they left her head and gave her a mechanical body which included limbs and, well, you know… Any explanation for why they did that? They gave her hypothetical free movement, which really doesn’t make sense given what… Read more »
Well, you kind of need a head to talk. No head, no mouth, no talking. Simple, no? This is just a thought – but possibly, the prosthetics in this universe are good enough that they can reconnect nerve endings. It would make sense, seeing as Nyrah seems to be able to sense things by touch. If that’s the case, then it’s basically like you’ve tortured one body to complete uselessness, then get to start anew on a second. Or a third. Or a tenth. To be honest, this is probably the most likely answer. It’s probably not as much fun… Read more »
I guess it also brings up fewer questions- if you are bringing along a preserved body, you can claim “oh, it’s a…friend of mine who got beaten up. We’re bringing her to her family so they can see her in case she doesn’t make it”.
With a bodiless lump of meat and some metal to keep it in…well, not everyone will believe that it’s just a mannequin
Jay
6 years ago
I don’t know how the starcaster is so powerful.
I HOPE it is not like the Infinity Guantlet.
DUN LIEK!
Broken
6 years ago
So selling the merc ship then what
How are they gonna go places
Selling ship+ giving girl money= Money given to girl – enough to buy a ship
Upon closer inspection, it seems that the starcaster can instantly heal a nasty bullet wound to the neck, but not replenish a missing piece of your ear, apparently.
24
We won’t get to decide which planet/race to genocide. Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww~
No order has been given yet, Rye.
Awwwwww yeah! Gimme some hope before saying “nope”! xD
Seriously though if the first world to be destroyed is important for the story-line then do it your way. But if not I and I think many of your readers as well wouldn’t mind deciding which race to make (nearly) extinct depending on their looks, economic worth and military might and ofc their alliances.^^
No offense, Tim. But this is easily my least favorite of your works. And I think it’s the decisions that do it. As we saw with the Ethan MacManus: Space Archaeologist comics, a decision can lead to a random death at any point. It makes it impossible to get invested in the story when you know that a decision made by people without information can lead to a “rocks fall, everyone dies” at every page.
And as I’ve said NUMEROUS times over the course of this series, but will retierate once again for newer readers, this is not run in the same way I ran the Space Archaeologist (and really, it was on the first issue of that series that I learned the lesson that sudden deaths, while a novelty, are not fun in the long-term; hence the retcon/mulligan). Starcaster puts story over just arbitrarily throwing out choices to be vote upon. And while it is possible to get a main character killed, it’s never going to be a blindside option. It will be the… Read more »
That “never be a blindside option” still gets to me. That tells me it won’t blindside YOU, Tim. But unless we know that’s what the series of choices is building up to, then it can and probably will blindside us. People vote based on “oh, this option looks fun” (this is the internet). And then the story ends. And that’s what I’m most concerned about. Not even main character death, but series ending death. Right now, Cort could die or Nyrah could die. But if they’re both gone, the series is over. As far as I can tell, Speck doesn’t… Read more »
Explain this to me… you trust me enough to write you a story… but you don’t trust me enough to write a story with multiple paths that are equally engaging?
Or you think that I want to do a ton of work developing characters and story and then have it end abruptly and unfinished in an unsatisfying manner? You think I’d leave THAT much up to the internet?
I did feel that way, yeah. But you make a good point. I’ll try to approach this a bit more openly now. Thanks for hearing my concerns.
Dude it’s his comic/story. Of course it’s beyond our control. If we don’t like it, we don’t read it. So far, I’m reading build up to a larger plot and am interested to see where it goes.
Tim, still would love to own these comics in an actual comic book form. Maybe a trade paperback after so many “issues”.
Skyblade, I can almost see where you’re coming from; I felt similar back when there was the Space Archaeologist series. But I mean, this is the sixth season of Starcaster. There’s been plenty of investment so far, on both the audience and on the author, and it should be clear that there’s no “rocks fall everyone dies” situation – no cheap deaths. And I feel that at this point, having the audience make some decisions can make you more invested.
This is one of my favorite comics and I cannot wait to see where you take the story! Keep up the good work Tim. There will always be haters.
This series is so good, easily one of my favorites, if not flat out favorite.
I have two ideas to throw out there: 1. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to have a decision be made at such a focus change? We get to decide, the decision gets unveiled to characters at a later stage. No need for extra work to get a strip out on a specific date, right? 2. To make decisions more meaningful, how about the decisions could be like this: Choose where Cort jumps to: A: System about to be invaded and razed by Dranglaex B: Another system close by C: Another system far away It wouldn’t reveal the plot, but… Read more »
When I give the audience a decision to vote upon, it’s typically based on information the characters HAVE.
So sure, if Cort knew which system the Dranglaex were invading, that would be a valid choice.
But otherwise, the characters would be making decisions based on omniscient intervention (yours) and when all is said and done, and people go back and read the series, it would be full of instances where the characters acted strangely and based on knowledge they didn’t have. It would read poorly.
I was referring to the vote on whether Cort was supposed to take the left or the right corridor. It seemed to many (myself included) that the choice was arbitrary, uninformed and what’s worst, we didn’t know if it changed the end result in any way, like both could have the same outcome, maybe just mirror imaged. I remember it was annoying at the time, and even though I typically voted every time you offered us a choice, I refrained since it didn’t seem to make any sense. As for my proposal, it wouldn’t be obvious to the characters at… Read more »
I gave you a choice based on the information that the characters had (which in this case was none). They were in a dark temple that none of them were familiar with, and running mercs. Yes, it boiled down to a simple “Door A or Door B” choice. But the point is, I’m never going to give you a choice where there’s instant death behind door B.
And that’s the thing we all hope for. I guess too many people think that this is a reboot of Ethan Space Archaeologist, and expect certain death. That said, what was behind door number 2? Did it end up Cort not getting the Starcaster grafted to his arm? And I don’t know what you think about my proposal regarding any choice we might have in the future. The protagonists might not know what they’re getting into, but we would and while it would be a random choice for them, it would be meaningful to us. Oh, and it would be… Read more »
It’s a great story and it’s your story. Keep up the good work.
Aw, back with these losers? I wanted to choose planetary destruction, dammit!
Well, I can’t blame Cort for wanting to be done with Nyrah. I’m sure story won’t let that happen, but I don’t blame him either. After all, it’s been a pretty rough week or two ever since she woke up in his cargo hold. Loving this little tension/drama amidst everything else, Tim. Feels very natural, totally in character, and completely earned. Now for the real choice……what childish doodles does Cort draw on the Starcaster?
Maybe we jump back to the two brothers and they are in a war room and the little brother is all “I want this race dead, no wait, those fuckers are superannoying, no wait, attacking and destroying this planet could bring out message to the entire galaxy, no no wait…” while his big bro sips alcohol and waits for the decision aka us.^^
-If Kelias attacks the galaxy’s economic and cultural center, click here
-If Kelias attacks the galaxy’s largest military supply depot, crippling their forces in advance, click here.
-If Vectanix uses the Starcaster on Kelias to stop his whining about Starcasters, click here
Pretty sure it will be 2-4 planet choices and I doubt one of them gonna be so extremely important. It will most likely be a choice between some Fed planets and planets with no affliction to the Feds. If we get one that is.^^
I share some of the same thoughts expressed here by a couple others. It’s about 10 years ago now that Idiots in Space came out. At that time I was 12 and I loved the choose your own adventure style. But at this point, I would much more enjoy reading a fully pre-written story. You, Tim, are after all a much more experienced story teller than “Majority rules” is. However, this is just me. Maybe the majority of your audience does like this choose your own adventure style. Also, have you ever done a reader survey? Asking stuff like how… Read more »
And you can rest assured that I will never offer the audience a choice unless I have written two paths that I am equally invested in and excited about following. I take control of the narrative for as long and as much as necessary; plot is priority #1. Letting the audience vote once in a while is just icing on the cake.
That does make sense. I didn’t really consider that you would face off multiple equally developed narrative paths in the votes. I was sort of under the impression that there’s a primary story that’s been developed fully, and the votes allow us to diverge from or follow it. Which in hindsight doesn’t really make much sense.
I don’t understand everyone wanting to have an arbitrary decision like what planet/race gets destroyed.
Why not? it is just fun. We can decide to destroy a Cat race or a Slime race or some kind of rockmonster race or a race that belongs to the Federation or a race that is in some small alliance or a race that told the Empire to fuck off in the old days, etc, it is just fun.^^
nice poster in the 4th frame
Nice catch. Didn’t even notice that.
And very nice old school reference, Tim
Looks like Ethan has been doing some push-ups, since we saw him last. Maybe steroids.
starcaster is one helluva drug
Cort, not Ethan.
Well, I don’t know how good prosthetic/members regeneration are in this era, but she previously said amputation WAS a solution.
Considering how Nyrah’s body is mechanical, I’m assuming that prosthetics are pretty good. Pretty expensive, too, and it’s not like Cort’s loaded or anything. Nyrah’s already missing an arm, and I’m sure that’s not going to be cheap to repair. I have a feeling that his attitude right now is just mostly shock. I’m pretty sure that if he could sit down and think logically about it, between choosing between being dead, having one arm, and having the Starcaster, “being dead” would be last on the list. I’ve got no idea how the Starcaster is affecting him mentally, but it… Read more »
Not sure how much of this is mental and how much physical, but I do know that at the end of Issue 5 he was talking about being able to feel stars exploding like headaches and that being out in freezing temperatures was so hot it made his skin feel like it was melting. Safe to say that he’s a lot more resistant to temperature extremes now and that that shower was hot enough to melt glass while feeling only cool to him.
Yeah, but WHO would get said starcaster. The Feds who are corrupt, the Empire who are genocidal or one of the other 2 starcaster holders? Cort might not be a perfect human being but he is also not an insane mofo who destroys entire worlds just because he can.
Yet.
Yet.
Maybe Cort becomes the next evil Overlord of the galaxy due our decisions. He did say something about buying a star system after they found the “map” to the Starcaster. XD
First of all there are a lot of star systems.
Secondly, he wasn’t interested in anything much, just a little 2 planet system, maybe a few uninhabitable planets/dwarf planets for mining. Not like he was aiming to claim a sector or something.
cort didn’t see that resposes coming from nylah espicaly now that their old enemies are about to say look them up should be interesting to find out what corts response to her staying with him will be
I’m sorry, what are their old enemies saying?
I’m really enjoying this. Getting a glimpse of what makes Cort tick when he’s not under immediate pressure to get things done is a nice change of perspective. He doesn’t want the weight of the universe on his shoulders, but he’s not averse to lending a hand here or there. Seeing the psychological effects of having a superweapon bonded to you is just icing on the cake, Tim, you’re doing a great job with this work, keep it up!
would be funny if it could withstand the energy of a sun but would still break if wet
Damn Acme Warrantys….they always give out when you least expect them to
Yaaaah, you have cosmic power strapped to your wrist, and everyone in the universe looking for the Starcaster… you don’t get to say “I’m done with this” Cort. Classic hero journey rejection of the call.
Yay! My favorite story and characters are back!! Can’t wait to see what will happen. 🙂
I must say, while it isn’t immediately obvious, re reading the series made me notice something about Nyrah- She is basically a head and some internal organs, and then the robot body makes up literally everything else. This also shows an interesting anomaly; the Generic Empire of Doom could have brought her down to nothing but the vital organs in a jar- instead, they left her head and gave her a mechanical body which included limbs and, well, you know… Any explanation for why they did that? They gave her hypothetical free movement, which really doesn’t make sense given what… Read more »
Well, you kind of need a head to talk. No head, no mouth, no talking. Simple, no? This is just a thought – but possibly, the prosthetics in this universe are good enough that they can reconnect nerve endings. It would make sense, seeing as Nyrah seems to be able to sense things by touch. If that’s the case, then it’s basically like you’ve tortured one body to complete uselessness, then get to start anew on a second. Or a third. Or a tenth. To be honest, this is probably the most likely answer. It’s probably not as much fun… Read more »
I guess it also brings up fewer questions- if you are bringing along a preserved body, you can claim “oh, it’s a…friend of mine who got beaten up. We’re bringing her to her family so they can see her in case she doesn’t make it”.
With a bodiless lump of meat and some metal to keep it in…well, not everyone will believe that it’s just a mannequin
I don’t know how the starcaster is so powerful.
I HOPE it is not like the Infinity Guantlet.
DUN LIEK!
So selling the merc ship then what
How are they gonna go places
Selling ship+ giving girl money= Money given to girl – enough to buy a ship
(i forget their names too much…)
They still have their ship.
Which is on the wrong planet, isn’t it?
No, Speck took it.
Upon closer inspection, it seems that the starcaster can instantly heal a nasty bullet wound to the neck, but not replenish a missing piece of your ear, apparently.
The ear had already begun to heal prior to the Starcaster bonding.
Couldn’t he cut off his arm? wouldn’t replacing it with a cybernetic hand effectively “remove” the starcaster?
Of course. But would losing your arm be your first choice?
really really really loving the series keep up the good work