I don’t currently. I really don’t want to turn this into a battle with my readers by shoving notifications in their face or anything like that. I understand that in a lot of cases, ads can be obnoxious and its easier to just turn them all off. But for me, for this site, ads are a necessary evil. I don’t run a business where I create a product, and then you purchase said product. Instead I give you the work I’ve done up front and THEN hope each month that I get paid for it. The most passive way to… Read more »
I usually try to disable on sites that do a good job with ads. And while the ad-block checks annoy me enough that I may just stop frequenting the site rather than turning off, I can admit that as long as they aren’t too annoying(I.E. just a line at the top of the page explaining that this site is mainly funded by ad revenue or what not) they can serve as a good reminder that that site isn’t whitelisted yet/to whitelist the site if you use it regularly/like it. For example this discussion actually had me look and realize, crap… Read more »
Tim does a pretty good job of squashing the misbehaving ads here, way better than a lot of other sites I visit, and so he gets to keep his whitelist and even gets clicks from me when I see something interesting.
James Rye
6 years ago
Well, after the concession to get Nyrah on board, it was clear that the Chaos Fraction needed something sweet to pamper their voters. XD
Sill think just going straight to their ship would have been smarter choice given where they are.
It was obvious that a distraction on a spaceport could never be loud, chaotic AND non-lethal, but if a majority is ready to take the risks then here we go!
Eldest Gruff
6 years ago
All right! I was hoping that if there was going to be a diversion, it would involve Speck. This is going to be awesome.
Him.
6 years ago
“Two out of three ain’t bad”
-Speck, XXXX
Brent
6 years ago
Wait, which two, Speck? Speck? SPECK!
Glad the distraction route won…mostly. So long as life support isn’t compromised, all should be fineish. Honestly, though, I’m more worried about Cort’s dizziness than the agents. That can’t bode well (then again, this is Cort, so….what would?)
Oh, if that is what the dizziness is, his happiness will know no bounds. (nor will mine, because it means our drinking contest jokes from a few strip ago could become canon)
Brent
6 years ago
I voted for hurry just in case it was paranoia or mistaken identity, but after Cort’s presentation of the evidence that they were in fact Federation officers, I’m on board with distraction.
Also, Speck is great. 🙂
Not a bot
6 years ago
Fun fact:
“Diversion” word does not exist in spanish. But “diversión” is translated to english as “fun”.
“Diversion” may not exist in Spanish, but I expect that the meaning for this context translates just fine. That is, “distract”, “detour”, “throw off the rails” or “mislead”. I expect that Speck will do all of those, except perhaps for throwing off the rails since I doubt they have a railway. 🙂
The Legacy
6 years ago
I forgot to vote, but this would have been my vote.
Just an observation, @Tim, shouldn’t Cort’s ear be back to normal, after putting on the Starcaster?
I don’t think that it heals damage incurred before bonding that the body already dealt with on its own, but I’m sure they’ll go into more details about the capabilities of a starcaster later when Cort gets training on how to use it
Garry
6 years ago
Guessing it wouldn’t heal scars or old wounds…or it takes time, maybe those things will start healing
Voted to hurry. The longer you wait to get to the ship, the more likely they are to have forces in place to interdict you at launch. Better to make a break for the ship and hope to get away before a significant fleet presence shows up.
Scars would be considered already healed. If Cort were to slice open the scar exactly (including sufficiently deep), he would probably have it healed with a much smaller scar (if any) to show for it.
BakaGrappler
6 years ago
I was originally in the “Bug out before you get surrounded” camp, but after reading this page… I think the distraction route is the way to go. Three observers in 10 feet? And those are the ones he saw? They know Cort is there, where he is, and will follow his moves. The distraction will fluster the pigeons and give Cort the chance to at least see which are Federation and which are not, give him the chance to avoid them and get to his ship, with the Feds out of their holding pattern. And as long as it’s non-fatal,… Read more »
Tumbleweed
6 years ago
Really, 60.9% went with “create a diversion” … really?
You can get drama no matter what path you take. So it all comes down to what people expect. Remember he got killed in the first story because people went careful and got into a ventilation shaft.
Well, better changes with diversion to not see maincast dying or captured (guaranteed to be noticed if run, very basics of going unnoticed is not to do anything rash and visible)
Makes perfect sense to me, if he runs for it he is going to just fluster the agents who won’t know what to do between letting him get away and listening to the command that they are not supposed to engage him. Cort/Speck knows how the Feds work so his diversion and his next steps should be based on what he knows how they will react. That should leave us in a situation where we end up in a confrontation with him, his ex-Partner and that sociopath that is out to kill him. Should be a good scene without him… Read more »
Steve
6 years ago
I guess 61% of readers are really gung ho for Cort’s idiocy to catch up with him, after Tim explicitly warned people main characters can die in this series. Here’s hoping he and Speck survive, I wouldn’t really be interested in the Starcaster series without them.
The starcaster gives him some room to play with in regards to being killed – and speck got his own protection. So unless he blasts a hole in the station into space, or his arm is cut off I can´t imagine him dying from being shot.
Um….that might not end too well. Remember how the Starcaster punched through a whole mountain? It might regenerate him, but an eternity of endlessly healing and suffocating whilst drifting through the depths of space doesn’t sound like a fun time.
Cort lacks the proper control over the Starcaster. First of all, it would make everyone notice. Secondly, he can’t turn it off easily and only is able to fire a blast that pierced the entirety of a mountain, atmosphere, and a LOT of space. Odds are he struck another planet and a space station on the beam’s way up. Yeah, probably not a good idea
Ven
6 years ago
And like that, the fun begins! 😀
raven0ak
6 years ago
Hmm so options are: Loud and nonlethal but not chaotic either, chaotic and nonlethal but not loud, loud and chaotic but lethal …
I meant it was likely Cort would accidentally use the starcaster. The Dranglaex, who supposedly have ears everywhere, would hear about a starcast on a station.
24
Video ads are autoplaying every page visit now.
Playing audio or just playing?
Playing.
Just playing.
Working as intended, then.
Adblock.. always working as intended.
You remember that when I switch this comic to Patreon-only then 😉
*white lists site, the first time I’ve ever done so for anyone*
…You win.
I white list all sites I want to support,a s long as the ads aren’t intrusive.
adblock + patreon – win-win.
It’s not like the ads on your site are obtrusive. Does your site even run one of those ad-block checks (I’d whitelisted it fairly early)?
I don’t currently. I really don’t want to turn this into a battle with my readers by shoving notifications in their face or anything like that. I understand that in a lot of cases, ads can be obnoxious and its easier to just turn them all off. But for me, for this site, ads are a necessary evil. I don’t run a business where I create a product, and then you purchase said product. Instead I give you the work I’ve done up front and THEN hope each month that I get paid for it. The most passive way to… Read more »
I usually try to disable on sites that do a good job with ads. And while the ad-block checks annoy me enough that I may just stop frequenting the site rather than turning off, I can admit that as long as they aren’t too annoying(I.E. just a line at the top of the page explaining that this site is mainly funded by ad revenue or what not) they can serve as a good reminder that that site isn’t whitelisted yet/to whitelist the site if you use it regularly/like it. For example this discussion actually had me look and realize, crap… Read more »
Appreciated 🙂
Tim does a pretty good job of squashing the misbehaving ads here, way better than a lot of other sites I visit, and so he gets to keep his whitelist and even gets clicks from me when I see something interesting.
Well, after the concession to get Nyrah on board, it was clear that the Chaos Fraction needed something sweet to pamper their voters. XD
Sill think just going straight to their ship would have been smarter choice given where they are.
It was obvious that a distraction on a spaceport could never be loud, chaotic AND non-lethal, but if a majority is ready to take the risks then here we go!
All right! I was hoping that if there was going to be a diversion, it would involve Speck. This is going to be awesome.
“Two out of three ain’t bad”
-Speck, XXXX
Wait, which two, Speck? Speck? SPECK!
Glad the distraction route won…mostly. So long as life support isn’t compromised, all should be fineish. Honestly, though, I’m more worried about Cort’s dizziness than the agents. That can’t bode well (then again, this is Cort, so….what would?)
Delayed Drunkeness? 😀
He can’t get drunk. The Starcaster burns the alcohol out of his system for him…
Oh, if that is what the dizziness is, his happiness will know no bounds. (nor will mine, because it means our drinking contest jokes from a few strip ago could become canon)
I voted for hurry just in case it was paranoia or mistaken identity, but after Cort’s presentation of the evidence that they were in fact Federation officers, I’m on board with distraction.
Also, Speck is great. 🙂
Fun fact:
“Diversion” word does not exist in spanish. But “diversión” is translated to english as “fun”.
Notice the “ó”
This is the best evidence yet for the diversion plan
“Diversion” may not exist in Spanish, but I expect that the meaning for this context translates just fine. That is, “distract”, “detour”, “throw off the rails” or “mislead”. I expect that Speck will do all of those, except perhaps for throwing off the rails since I doubt they have a railway. 🙂
I forgot to vote, but this would have been my vote.
Just an observation, @Tim, shouldn’t Cort’s ear be back to normal, after putting on the Starcaster?
I don’t think that it heals damage incurred before bonding that the body already dealt with on its own, but I’m sure they’ll go into more details about the capabilities of a starcaster later when Cort gets training on how to use it
Guessing it wouldn’t heal scars or old wounds…or it takes time, maybe those things will start healing
Voted to hurry. The longer you wait to get to the ship, the more likely they are to have forces in place to interdict you at launch. Better to make a break for the ship and hope to get away before a significant fleet presence shows up.
Scars would be considered already healed. If Cort were to slice open the scar exactly (including sufficiently deep), he would probably have it healed with a much smaller scar (if any) to show for it.
I was originally in the “Bug out before you get surrounded” camp, but after reading this page… I think the distraction route is the way to go. Three observers in 10 feet? And those are the ones he saw? They know Cort is there, where he is, and will follow his moves. The distraction will fluster the pigeons and give Cort the chance to at least see which are Federation and which are not, give him the chance to avoid them and get to his ship, with the Feds out of their holding pattern. And as long as it’s non-fatal,… Read more »
Really, 60.9% went with “create a diversion” … really?
It’s the course most likely to create opportunities for drama. And, surrounded as he is, the diversion may prove indispensable…
You can get drama no matter what path you take. So it all comes down to what people expect. Remember he got killed in the first story because people went careful and got into a ventilation shaft.
Different character, different storyline. That was Ethan the space archaeologist, not Cort the reluctant Starcaster
Well, better changes with diversion to not see maincast dying or captured (guaranteed to be noticed if run, very basics of going unnoticed is not to do anything rash and visible)
Makes perfect sense to me, if he runs for it he is going to just fluster the agents who won’t know what to do between letting him get away and listening to the command that they are not supposed to engage him. Cort/Speck knows how the Feds work so his diversion and his next steps should be based on what he knows how they will react. That should leave us in a situation where we end up in a confrontation with him, his ex-Partner and that sociopath that is out to kill him. Should be a good scene without him… Read more »
I guess 61% of readers are really gung ho for Cort’s idiocy to catch up with him, after Tim explicitly warned people main characters can die in this series. Here’s hoping he and Speck survive, I wouldn’t really be interested in the Starcaster series without them.
Won’t be for the first time. Remember old Ethan’s space selfie comic? Where he got shredded to pieces thanks to reader votes?
The starcaster gives him some room to play with in regards to being killed – and speck got his own protection. So unless he blasts a hole in the station into space, or his arm is cut off I can´t imagine him dying from being shot.
Hey, that’s right….now we can REALLY throw him into dangerous situations without worrying about his death bringing things to an early end… *evil grin*
They’re disguises are that obvious? Dude, just Starcast them, they’re too stupid to be allowed to exist.
Um….that might not end too well. Remember how the Starcaster punched through a whole mountain? It might regenerate him, but an eternity of endlessly healing and suffocating whilst drifting through the depths of space doesn’t sound like a fun time.
Cort lacks the proper control over the Starcaster. First of all, it would make everyone notice. Secondly, he can’t turn it off easily and only is able to fire a blast that pierced the entirety of a mountain, atmosphere, and a LOT of space. Odds are he struck another planet and a space station on the beam’s way up. Yeah, probably not a good idea
And like that, the fun begins! 😀
Hmm so options are: Loud and nonlethal but not chaotic either, chaotic and nonlethal but not loud, loud and chaotic but lethal …
When you put it that way, I’m most curious what something quiet and chaotic and non-lethal would be.
Laughing gas or something equally unseeable. Could do a high pitched sonic device freaking out a bunch of space animals.
Lol if the Dranglaex didn’t know where the Starcaster was already they sure will after this
The one that is chasing him knows where it is, Dranglaex don’t yet.
I meant it was likely Cort would accidentally use the starcaster. The Dranglaex, who supposedly have ears everywhere, would hear about a starcast on a station.
awww, no killies…
“Well there won’t be MURDER, but okay yes maybe some manslaughter.”
-Chris Hastings, 2009