Preventing Being Labelled an "Orphan Series"

The other day, I was trolling the internet for tidbits to add to my post about the TV series Castle that my wife and I just finished binge-watching.

While on the site TV Tropes I came across the term orphaned series.  That is, an abandoned storyline, series, etc.

I'm trying not to have Breakout from Bongolaan fall into this category, which webcomics seem highly susceptible to.  Yes, even mine.

I know I haven't posted anything about the webcomic for several months now.  My wife's nephew has been residing with us for nearly a year as he out processes from the Army.  This is relevant because the room I would use to do my photo shoots is his bedroom.  I hope to resume shooting next year, when my nephew-in-law moves out and the Holidays are over.

No, I'm not going to declare this as my New Year's Resolution, since such promises become orphaned in their own way.

But having physical creative space isn't my only issue.  I was planning on posting pages of Breakout from Bongolaan on to Tumblr, which seems to be a more picture/comic-friendly site than Blogger.  The problem is that I've been using the program Comic Life that converts pictures into a bmp file, which is a format Tumblr won't accept.

So I'm looking into using another comic program.

I've also made a tiny, but I think significant change to this blog.  This started out as a Star Wars Legacy Era Campaign journal.  That is, I'd post about any Star Wars games and role-playing sessions my friends and I'd play.  Unfortunately, the gaming group broke up a while ago.

So I thought I'd expand this blog to cover all types of sci-fi gaming, and decided to change the sub-title to:  Ted Henkle's science fiction gaming blog.

If I think of a catchier subtitle I'll change it.  But until inspiration hits me, I'll keep this boring, yet practical one.

In the meantime, I'll troll TV Tropes' orphaned webcomics list to make sure Breakout from Bongolaan isn't on it.

That is, if TV Tropes even knows this exists.

Thank you for your continued interest and patience.

Two New Tools of the Trade

(Image from Amazon.com)

Back in February, I announced on my Stern Rake Studio blog that I got a new camera, which I'm still trying to figure out all the functions.

If that wasn't enough, I thought I'd use the funds in my tax return to buy a new laptop.

The influx of funds wasn't the only factor in this decision.

For years I've been using a Toshiba Satellite a305-s6905, which actually got a decent review on CNET--back in 2009.

But it wasn't the age of my laptop that was bothering me.  Starting about a month ago, anytime I logged on to the internet, I'd get a message along my toolbar notifying me that Google Chrome won't be supporting Windows Vista.

So I was presented with choice to either upgrade my laptop to Windows 10, or buy a new laptop.  (Later I found out my old Satellite doesn't seem compatible with Windows 10).

When I began my search for the best laptop for my needs,  (or as any computer illiterate like me could fully fathom what I need), I discovered that every laptop, along with just about every other techno-gadget on the market, were better than my current model.

Based on the performance statistics--and the price discount Amazon.com offered--I decided to buy an HP Pavilion Flagship with a 15.6" screen.  I was thinking about buying the version with a 17.3" screen, but I liked the handiness of the 15.6" screen my Satellite has and thought the larger one would be too big.

My New Tool of the Trade was hand-delivered to me two days after Easter.  Seriously.  The UPS guy arrived just as I was heading to the gym that afternoon.

Since then I've been transferring files and learning the ins & outs (mostly outs) of my Flagship.  While I'm certainly experiencing "growing pains," I'm happy with my purchase because even if I don't learn everything there is to know about my Flagship, I can at least tell it's a better model than my Satellite.

The Force Has Awoken!

(Image from:  Star Wars.com Theatrical Poster)

By now, thousands of fans have probably seen midnight showings of Star Wars:  The Force Awakens.

From initial accounts at the premiers in Hollywood and London, audience response has been enthusiastic.

It will be about a month before I see it due to my wife's and my own work schedule.  But at least we have reserved seats in a deluxe theater!

In the meantime, I submitted my picture of my Tantive IV fighting a couple of TIE fighters to the Seattle Times.  It was included in the gallery of an article asking Star Wars superfan? Share pictures of your favorite collectibles.

(Image:  From my Tantive IV product review, and Picture #3 in the article's gallery)

For those who'll see the movie before I do:  I hope the movie and the big-screen experience was everything you hoped it to be.

Upgrading the Millennium Falcon

Part of the appeal of science fiction in general, and Star Wars in particular, is the ability to roam the galaxy at ludicrous speed.

So for a Star Wars role playing game (RPG), acquiring a starship, but not necessarily "buying" one, is a critical goal for player characters (PCs) starting out on their misadventures.

If you're involved in a game which relies heavily on miniatures, representing a starship can be difficult.  While two-dimensional deck plans or graph paper, while effective, loses "cinematic appeal."  Models specifically made in typical "RPG Scale" (usually 15-35mm Scale) are invariably scratch-built by talented modelers, like Maker.e2oGame.

For those of us lacking talent and patience to construct our own ships, we turn to toys.

For my, now dormant, Redshift Chronicles Campaign, my friend Joe placed his Millennium Falcon Playset in my care, which was utilized on a couple of adventures.

(Utilizing the same Ink-Sketch program as in my Breakout from Bongolaan webcomic)

The playset isn't exactly to scale as my Star Wars Miniatures, but I figure starships are suppose to be big anyway.  Besides, there's enough room inside to get interior pictures.

(Han Solo and Chewbacca making last-minute repairs before taking off)

I've had Joe's 'Falcon for a few years now.  During this time, I've made half-hearted inquires about buying my own, but have balked at the "Collector's Edition Prices."

However, two events motivated me to acquire my own 'Falcon.

First, we're just 10 days away from the premier of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Which means Star Wars merchandise has deluged the market long before the movie appears on the silver screen.

And second, Joe is now the father of two little boys.

I reached my decision point a couple weeks ago, when I stumbled across Hasbro's "Force Awakens" Millennium Falcon, while Christmas shopping with my wife.  (Isn't it amazing how you manage to find gifts for yourself when shopping for others?).  I was hesitant to buy it, but my wife assured me it was okay, thus salving my guilty conscience, and the Base Exchange (department stores on military installations) was knocking off $25 for purchases of $100 or more as part of their "Black Friday Weekend Sale."

The price tag on this new 'Falcon alone qualified me for the discount.

I haven't opened it yet, since we've been busy putting up Christmas decorations.

Yes, at the risk of loosing some of the collector's value, I do intend on opening the box, because I want to have the ship "ready for flight" for any future Star Wars RPG/skirmish adventures.  But my "cunning plan" is to open it carefully and keep all the parts I won't utilize, in order to maintain a decent portion of any possible collector's value.

One possible point of concern is the new 'Falcon looks smaller than the older one, but I'm hoping it may be more appropriate for my Star Wars Miniatures I use.

In any case, I have a new 'Falcon, Joe gets his old one returned and he'll get to experience all the parental joys of watching his two boys fight over play with an iconic toy.

Everybody wins!

Honest Trailers - Star Wars

With less than a month to go before The Force Awakens, the folks at Screen Junkies has provided us with an Honest Trailer of Star Wars "...the first one..."

From everything I'm hearing, The Force Awakens will reboot the whole Star Wars franchise.  That is, a lot, if not all the material in the "expanded universe" (EU) will be null and void.

Attempting to reconcile Breakout from Bongolaan and the Redshift Chronicles with whatever direction The Force Awakens will take Star Wars, will be far too difficult for me. 

(I know this blog looks dormant, but I assure you I am working on posting content--I'm just moving at glacial speed--thank you for your patience).

So this tiny Star Wars niche will be some alternate reality.

In the meantime, I hope The Force Awakens meets, or exceeds our hopes and expectations.

Of Spammers and Derelict Sites

(Image by Seraphmx)

My apologies for this late post. 

Thanks to a Google-search, I discovered the sources of the spam I mentioned a few weeks back.  I posted the results on my Stern Rake Studio blog, but forgot to do so here on the Redshift Chronicles.

Here's what I found out:

 Last week I discovered the Reading List on my blog's administration page was overrun by Indonesian gambling sites. 

In response, I changed my password and filed a complaint with Google, who owns and runs Blogger.

The gambling spam was still in my Reading List the following day, so I fired-off another complaint to Google.

On the morning of the third day, the spam was gone, so I thought my problems were over.

But then a couple days later, I discovered two spam posts from the same Indonesian gambling sites.

This time I Googled "Spam found on Blogger Reading List."  Fortunately, I found a woman who had the same problem two years ago.

The first person to respond told her that the problem wasn't her blog, but one or more of the blogs she had on her reading list.  Spammers hijacked one of the blogs she was following and was using to spam other blogs.

It was like facehuggers infesting a derelict spaceship.

(Image:  The derelict ship in "Alien," found on Electric Shadow)

The recommended solution was to find the infected blog and delete it from her Reading List. 

I was following over 100 blogs.

Was I reading them every day?

No, of course not, but they were blogs I was interested in and would check out some of them when the mood struck me.

So I scrolled through my list.

I found five that were infected.  

However, I didn't just delete the five infected ones--I deleted over 40.  Some of them were from close friends and family.

These blog owners hadn't posted in anywhere from 1-5 years.  I figured sooner or later, these "cyber derelicts" would be too inviting for facehugger/spammers.

There were some I hated deleting, but I didn't want to run the risk of being spammed, or worse, passing along viruses.

(This Halloween-appropriate image found on The Richest: The 10 Most Dangerous Computer Viruses Ever)

Now I scroll down my Reading List every day I log on and scan for facehugger/spammers.

Possible Blogger Account Hack

I know it's been a while since I posted.  I'm currently working on Chapters 12-14 of Breakout from Bongolaan.

Unfortunately, a status update on my webcomic isn't the topic of today's post.

I think my Blogger account has been hacked.

On my Blogger homepage there's usually a Reading List displaying the latest posts from the blogs I follow.

About an hour ago, instead of seeing other bloggers' activities, I now have a list of Indonesian gambling sites.

I filed a complaint to Google, which runs Blogger, along with initiating a password change.

I'm not tech savvy enough to determine whether reading any of my blogs will cause any virus or malware to be transferred, but I thought I'd transmit this warning.

I hope to get this resolved soon.

Please accept my apologies.

Family Emergency/Last-Minute Cross-Country Trip

My mom passed away just over a week ago after spending the past several months in the hospital, rehabilitation center and nursing home. 

I got "the call" from one of my sisters when I was on duty. Fortunately, the folks my wife & I worked for (WA State Emergency Management and Alaska Airlines) pulled out all the stops to send us back to my hometown of Binghamton, in Upstate NY.

We didn't make the wake, but were in time for the funeral mass at Saints John and Andrew Church.

I didn't post anything earlier for two reasons.

One, is that I was simply too busy at work and then preparing for cross-country travel. Second, I don't like broadcasting impending travel plans on social media. In fact, when we returned late Monday night, we discovered my wife's car was broken into while at the park & ride. Fortunately the thieves didn't follow-up and break into our house. (I've heard reports of crooks breaking into cars just to get the addresses of the drivers so they can break into their homes). Fortunately, our house was secure, but we weren't expecting to call-in a police report and schedule an auto-glass appointment when we got back.

But, despite the circumstances, there were a couple silver linings surrounding this trip.

The First Layer of the Silver Lining was that I had a chance to see all my siblings. Like most families, it's difficult for all of us to gather, unless it's a significant event, like weddings and funerals. The Second Layer of the Silver Lining was a chance to see most of our friends from a family that lived one house up from ours.  (Or for all intents and purposes "next door").

There are six siblings in this family and we all grew up together--and more often than not--got in trouble together. Our respective moms were friends as well. Their mom passed away 11 months ago, and the siblings still in the local area attended our mom's wake and/or funeral.

Not only were our "K-12 Friends" the last to leave the reception, but we got together the following night at their mom's house, now up for sale, in The Old Neighborhood.

We spent our time lounging in the backyard, reminiscing and catching up.  In fact, the radio station we were listening to, WAAL 99.1 ("The Whale"), is now plays classic rock.  So we heard the same songs we did during our collective childhood/adolescent years.

When I think about my youth, I like to say: We didn't just watch The Little Rascals (aka Our Gang)--we lived it!

On Jury Duty

(Image from:  Wookiepedia entry on the Galactic Senate)

Hey Folks!  I know it's been a while since my last post.  Thank you for following this blog.

I've been working on Chapter 10 of Breakout from Bongolaan, but I'm also hoping to resume the Red Shift political/military campaign eventually soon.

In the meantime, today starts my first day of jury duty.

This life-getting-in-the-way will take a week or two, depending on how the court schedule and the jury selection goes.

I hope all of you had an enjoyable Holiday Season and best wishes to you in 2015!

Breakout from Bongolaan Book Trailer II

For the past several weeks I've been working on Chapter 9 of Breakout from Bongolaan, which I hope to post within the next couple of weeks.

During this time I also took a look at Breakout from Bongolaan's "book trailer," and decided some renovation was in order.

After spending more time tweaking it than I originally planned to, I posted it on my YouTube Channel.

Thank you for watching.

New Acquisition: J-Type 327 Nubian Royal Starship

The J-Type 327 Nubian Royal Starship you see zooming through space in the above image is part of the Star Wars Titanium Series I purchased several years ago.  This is the model I used to illustrate the pirate attack against the Tarsan ambassador, while on board the Tangletree Envoy.

Since then, I've felt I a growing need for a larger version of this vessel to use with my 34mm Star Wars Miniatures.  I already have a Millennium Falcon playset on long-term loan from my friend Joe.  This has been used as the player character's (PC's) transport, Gadnek Survivor, earlier in this campaign. 

Back in January, while looking for the The Panzer Depot, I stumbled across Amazing Heroes next door.  Venturing inside, I discovered they had a Star Wars Episode 1 Electronic Naboo Royal Starship Blockade Cruiser Playset. 

I didn't buy it then, because I had my doubts:  Do I really need such a ship?  Where will I store it?  Is it worth spending nearly $100 on? 

Over the past several months, I thought about the Nubian Royal Starship--a lot. 

Then a few weeks ago, I happened to be in the Kirkland area, so I swung by Amazing Heroes, hoping they'd still have the playset.  They had two.  One brand new, still sealed in the box, and one used with no box (and $50 cheaper).

I decided to go with the used ship for a couple of reasons.  One, was to save money.  But more importantly, I'm not planning on using the original action figures at any time during this campaign, so I didn't want to deny a true collector the chance of owning an unopened version.

An inspection of the Nubian Royal Starship

Look at the size of that thing!:

 

Yup.  As advertised, it's over 3 feet long.  (By comparison, my micro-machine version is just over 3.5 inches in length). 

 

The ship's size, however, is a proverbial double-edged light saber.

 

On the dark-side, the ship is technically much too big for my 34mm Star Wars Miniatures...

 

...seen to the right of the standard (3.75 inch) action figures the playset comes with.  I may even have trouble taking pictures of the entire ship, while still maintaining scene integrity.

 

This is fine by me.  I'll merely make this a J-Type 327 "Super Deluxe Model."  Starships are suppose to be big anyway.  Right?

 

Which means there's some light-side aspect of the ship's size. Looking "under the hood," there's ample space for the lots of 34mm figures.

 

Here's an image of Ambassador Heraud (a Mon Mothma figure), standing next to one of the original seats:

 

With all the seats removed, there's enough room to place several bridge crew figures, and the control panels still look relatively normal.  I'll just have to use some judicious photo-editing to block out the seat tabs.

 

Not only is there a large "hatch" to expose the bridge, but the ship slides apart to reveal the lower deck. 

 

 

Plenty of room to stage boarding actions, like this: 

 

There are three entry points on the Naboo Royal Cruiser.  The first two through what's normally the Astromech Elevator.  Crewmembers can go up topside...

 

...or down dirtside.

Then there's the Grand Boarding Ramp...

No mention is made anywhere within Star Wars canon of the Royal Naboo Cruiser carrying other vehicles. 

However, this didn't stop the folks at Hasbro from including one.

 

Originally made for a humanoid pilot and astro-mech action figure, it makes a passable shuttle craft for my 25-34mm figures.

 

 

Provided, that is, I figure out a way to plug the giant astro-mech hole.

 

Since this is an electronic toy, the Naboo Royal Cruiser Playset also comes with a droid fighter mounted on a pistol grip.  Once the batteries are inserted, both ship and fighter emit all sorts of sound effects, which I haven't gotten around to...playing with...testing.

 

Some panels also come off as battle damage and exposes portions of the ship's circuitry. 

 

New or Used?

If you're interested in acquiring such a beauty, new and used models can still be found, even though the playset has been long out of production.

There's pros and cons to both.

Buying one new, still in the unopened box, it should be guaranteed that all the pieces are included, they fit, and aren't broken.  During my research for this post, I discovered my set is missing all but two of the action figures, a throne and a hyperdrive block (which is placed along the right-side of the lower corridor). 

Fortunately, I don't have any plans for most of the pieces.  Other than the hyperdrive block, I won't miss them.  If I ever sell this, I'll be sure to inform any perspective buyers of the set's shortcomings.

A new set is also likely to have an owner's manual.  ("Congratulations on your new purchase....").
Mine was lost in space somewhere, so it took me several days to figure out how to discombobulate the ship--without breaking it. 

While I might miss having an owner's manual, what I won't miss is having to apply all the stickers the ship needs.

Remember the interior shots I included in this post?

Take a look again.  See all the nifty deck and bulkhead colors, along with the control panels? 

Yup.  Those are all stickers.  The ship has lots and lots of them.  Over 90. 
The previous owner did a great job of applying them on my model.  There's only a couple of spots where the adhesive has worn off.  Hopefully some glue will remedy that.

Unlike my small die-cast model, or the Millennium Falcon Playset, the landing gears on this super-sized version don't retract.  Since I plan on using this for interior shots, and or planetary landings, this should only be a minor inconvenience.

From what I've seen, prices vary between $75--250.  A "bargain" compared to the playset for the "fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy" is going for twice as much--or more.

Ratings

Since the Naboo Royal Cruiser Playset came out, reviews range from 3 to 5 stars.  One of the most common complaints is that the panels are thin, don't close all the way, or are too loose.  From what I've seen so far, the reviewers are correct on this score.  But I'm not planning on rough-housing with it the way a kid (the playset's original demographic) would.

Despite the, semi-flimsy panels, missing action figures and equipment; I'm happy with my purchase, and give it a 4-star rating.  If I bought a new set, I'd probably rate it 5-stars.

If you're interested in what a still-in-the-box version looks like, here's a YouTube video, which displays a complete set.

Webcomic Status Update

(Image:  Raw footage of palace cantina reshoot scene)

Hey folks!  I know it's been a while, but I haven't forsaken this blog, or my Star Wars campaign and webcomic:  Breakout from Bongolaan.

The past few months have been busy for me: Family members and friends moving to & fro, car issues (which cost money), spouse's new job (earning less money), daughter's new job (earning more money), room re-renovations, and an enormous tax bill (costing even more money).

And then there was last month's Enfilade! convention.  Which despite the frantic call-to-arms for game masters and volunteers prior to the event, managed to go well.  (This year we had record-breaking attendance).

As a result of our annual gathering of gamers, I wanted to clear The Studio decks of the post-convention projects before resuming work on Breakout from Bongolaan.

So far I finished Two convention game reports, a SAGA Tournament report and an 19 page webcomic based on the tournament.  Now, the only non-Bongolaan project remaining is my "Enfilade--The Movie" for YouTube.

Despite having all these irons in the fire, I still managed to conduct a large photo re-shoot three weeks ago, taking over 500 raw photos.  I'm now at the point of story that's actually based on a session of the Star Wars Role Playing Game (SWRPG) I hosted a few years back. 

Even though I have hundreds of photos, even ones I already worked on, I'm not all that crazy about many of the original photos, because of too much game-table clutter and off-table backgrounds.

(Image:  Original palace cantina scene)

So what I'm doing now is retaking photos in a manner that hides all the junk.  To "hide the puppet strings" so to speak.  To help create a semblance of "reality" I've been trolling the internet for images that make for suitable backdrops.  Sometimes, this process alone has absorbed the time I had originally planned for picture taking.

But for now, I have more than enough to get started on Chapter 9, maybe even Chapter 10.  I'm also working on advancing the Redshift campaign as well.

Thank you for your patience and support.

Situation Report (Sitrep) # 3: Strategic Withdrawal

Stardate: Wonday, 107-130 ABY/TAg Market Island Security Forces

Subsector: Shannekam

Planet: Zenya

Region: The Tau-Tau Autonomous District

Situation Report:  Evacuation of Vandalla Island and Re-disposition of TAg Market Island Security Forces

Mid-day, Local Time 

Since the Ooverton Constabulary Battalion suffered fewer casualties than the Vianda Constabulary did, it was redeployed to Kulovaan Island to bolster the defenses there.  Meanwhile, the civilians and the survivors of the Vianda Constabulary were brought to Pierson Station.  Two days after the Battle of Vianda, the civilian population of Kulovaan Island was also evacuated to Pierson Station, but without incident.

The 599th DIL task force currently remains on Vandalla Island.  Since battledroids can be repaired in the field, it is not known how many of the droids were actually destroyed during the Battle of Vianda.  Other than aggressive off-shore patrols, the battledroid invasion force has not advanced beyond Vandalla Island.

This situation could change within the next day or so.

Reinforcements from Bongolaan (and Tarsus) are estimated to arrive within one to three days.  During this time the Zenyan Planetary Assembly has been called to debate and possibly vote on a course of action regarding these islands.  An Imperial ambassador is reported to have arrived at the capital of Kairobi.  How his presence will affect any vote is unknown at this time.

Meanwhile, the Tau-Tau defense force is in the final stage of mobilizing against the Sith Mutant infestation on Gadnek Island to the south.

GM Notes:

The actual battle discussed in the previous posts was played-out solitaire using the rules Future War Commander.  I made a small modification to the rules in order to adapt them for boardgame play.  The Battle of Vianda was fought using Squad Leader boards.  Since each hex in Squad Leader represented about 40 meters (m) and one centimeter (cm) in Future War Commander (FWC) represents 20 m, I simply reduced the weapon ranges and movement rates by one-half.

The rules themselves are based on Warmaster and is more of a game than a simulation.  This fit the bill and was fairly easy to play, even solitaire.  The game can be somewhat frustrating because you have to roll two six-sided dice (2d6) against a headquater's command rating in order to successfully activate a unit.  That is, get a unit to move and/or shoot.  Units can be activated more than once per turn, provided their commander makes his command roll against worsening modifiers.

During the Battle of Vianda, the 1st Maniple (Company) of the 7th Cohort was suppose to quickly seize Vianda Mountain.  Instead, thanks to my bad die rolls, the unit stood in place for several turns.  This also happened to me during a Korean War scenario of CWC during a convention.  My friend Adrian ran a CWC game for a convention a couple years ago.  One player consistently blew his activation die rolls, so his forces remained stationary for most of the period.  Towards the end, Adrian finally let him start moving his forces just once if the player failed his activation rolls.  (He suggested doing this after three unsuccessful activation roles during a convention game).

An even bigger issue I have with FWC and it's cousins Blitzkrieg and Cold War Commander (BWC & CWC, respectively) is the way it handles commanders.  According to the rules, commanders, or any command group is immune to direct fire, but can be subjected to indirect fire (artillery and airstrikes).  Also, the command radius (the ability to control combat units) is based on the distance between the commander and the farthest combat unit within the group.

I think both of aspects of these rules is outright silly, especially when you have situations of headquarter units far in front of their combat units.  So several months ago I wrote a two-page set of house rules modifications to change this.  In short, command units can be attacked directly, if there are no combat units closer to the attacking unit.  In a sense, combat units screen their headquarters from direct fire.  I also changed the command radius measurement from the farthest unit to the closest.  I figure with even World War II-level communications, combat units can effectively relay orders from their headquarters.

Despite these issues, FWC is an easy enough set of rules to host mass sci-fi battles.

Breakout From Bongolaan Webcomic: The Plot So Far...

Well it's been nearly 11 months since I posted Chapter Six of my webcomic Breakout from Bongolaan.   With the exception of my father-in-law passing away, this year-long binge of "Life getting in the way" has been filled with happy occasions.  However I was left with little time to add to the story in terms of both pictures and narrative.

Now, I'm getting ready to--finally--post Chapter Seven!

For those who've been waiting, I appreciate your patience.

For those of you who've wandered off, I hope I can regain your attention.

The story so far weighs-in at 182 pages.  

Because so much time has lapsed between Chapters Six and Seven, I thought I'd include a synopsis as a refresher.  Although for anyone new to the story, I recommend you read webcomic itself:

It is the last day of the year 129 ABY (After the Battle of Yavin, annotated as Stardate 365-129 ABY).  The citizens of the planet Bongolaan are celebrating the Galactic New Year, along with the election of a new president, Zeveg Bharzi.

However, the former president, Bunda Akhtar, has decided he doesn't like being a former president and is planning a comeback coup.  Despite having only two cohorts of battledroids available, Akhtar is confident he'll succeed, because reinforcements are on the way.

After defeating the Galactic Alliance at the Battle of Caamus, the Imperial fleet overran the Core and Mid Worlds and is now sweeping through the Fringe.  One such Imperial task force is now dropping out of hyperspace and is bearing down on Bongolaan.

Meanwhile, four offworlders have gathered at the Presidential Palace Masquerade Ball and are awaiting the arrival of President Bharzi and his entourage.

Cad So Billes:  A Durosian shuttle pilot for the Jedi Support Corps.  He's spent the past year on Bongolaan flying supplies, equipment and personal to various work sites.

Callithea Lockridge: "Calli" is the shy administrative assistant to the Tarsan Ambassador, Fitzroy Heraud.  She's scheduled to leave Bongolaan the next day and return to her homeworld of Tarsus.

Sei'do Avari:  A man of questionable background and reputation, but appears to have considerable technical skills.  Is suspected by Cad of being up to no good, but has been vouched for by Nance Windu.

Nance Windu:  Claims he's not a Jedi, despite being the Jedi-in-charge of the earthquake recovery effort on Bongolaan for the past year.  Unbeknownst to his companions, Nance is haunted by an evil Force Spirit.

By the end of Chapter Six, Calli's comlink conversation with her ambassador was disrupted by interference, assumed to originate from an approaching thunderstorm.  Ambassador Heraud, along with the Twi'lek singer Shiri Blen and her Rodian agent Geelo, are currently on the outskirts of the capital city, Ratankiri, with the presidential motorcade, getting ready to lead New Year's Eve Procession to the Presidential Palace. 

In actuality, the communications disruption is the opening phase of Bunda Akhtar's coup.  

It's about to rain on everyone's parade, but first there's some loose ends to tie up...

Improving Webcomic Images II

It's said that change is the only constant in the universe.  This certainly applies to any creative endeavors.  The published authors I know often talk about how their writing style improves over the course of their careers.

I've been working on my Star Wars webcomic, Breakout from Bongolaan, for over a year now and I hope my writing has improved during this process.  Although after doing a complete review of the chapters so far, 1 through 6, I've already spotted one typo!  And I'm sure there's more...

...anyway, a comic is more than just words.  It's also a visual medium and I continually look for ways to improve on this aspect of it too.  Since I'm no good at drawing, I've relied on taking photographs of my miniatures and model terrain to tell my story.  (I'm not all that great at painting my figures, but that's another issue).  Thanks to a graphic novel workshop during a PNWA (Pacific Northwest Writers Association) Conference a few years ago, I learned this technique is a valid art form known as Fumetti.  

But valid or not, there's definitely room for improvement on my part.  Despite having figures and terrain on-hand I eventually realized I needed some background to give readers a sense of place.  The picture above is my initial depiction of the Bongolaanian Presidential Palace again, as seen in my YouTube book trailer.  

A couple months ago, I stumbled across the site Wallpaper Up and I'm now in the throes of shooting new & improved images, like this...

...which I discussed at length on my Redshift Chronicles Blog a few weeks back.  

One of the programs I've been using is Paint.Net, described as a "poor man's Photoshop," to add various special effects to the photos.  However, while I enjoy taking pictures, and I know photography is an art form in and of itself, I feel my images aren't...well..."artsy" enough.  

Also, despite the size of my Star Wars Miniatures collection, I don't have the variety of models and figures needed to create all the necessary scenes.  So I've turned to real-life photography to fill in these gaps.  But in order to make these images "blend in" with the ones of miniatures, I've used the oil painting function under Paint.Net's artistic effects.  The result is somewhat "Impressionistic", like this image here...

...of the New Year's Eve Masquerade Ball at Roberson Mansion, which helps soften the starkness of a photograph.

And speaking of stark images:  It seems like the imperfections in every picture I've used jump out at me.  Maybe because I'm the director's chair, so to speak; or because I'm a closet perfectionist.  Either way, since I want to create the best possible content for my readers, I've been playing around with the oil painting function a bit more.  

This softens the image and helps hide the imperfections, as in this oil painting version of the Presidential Palace...

...but I also think it blurs the areas I want to draw the readers attention to.  Which is why I haven't used this function on any scenes involving miniatures.

Then, just a few days ago while compiling images for Chapter 7, I found myself idly playing around with Paint.Net's ink sketch function.  I applied it to the Presidential Palace photo and...

...WOW!  

I don't know about you folks, but I really like this style.  It hides the imperfections I'm worried concerned about, and yet the "ink" brings all the objects into a sharp focus.  I just have to fiddle with the black-to-color ratios for the best result.

Best of all:  It makes it look like I actually drew this stuff.

Part of me wanted to hold-off using this technique until I begin work on Book Two of the Redshift Chronicles, but I'm too excited about this to wait any longer.  

So starting with this upcoming chapter (#7), Breakout from Bongolaan, along with the subsequent Redshift Chronicles books, will have a whole new look.

Unless, of course, I find something better...

Improving Webcomic Images

For those of you who've seen my Breakout from Bongolaan book trailer, you may recognize the image above as the Bongolaanian Presidential Palace. 

One of the issues I'm having about posting material on-line, via blogging or writing a web comic, is that as I gain (hopefully) more experience, my old stuff looks--well--old.

For the past several days, intermittently I admit, I've been shooting and assembling pictures for Chapter 7.  Some of the photos I took actually fall under the category of "re shooting," since I've made several backdrops that I'll incorporate into the story.

Here's a glimpse of the final-ish version of the Presidential Palace:

The black & white image I use as the backdrop is of a large storm sweeping over a city.  I'd love to use color, but for large images such as this, it's prohibitively expensive:  $35-$70 a piece versus several dollars/each for b&w.

Another justification for using b&w images for backdrops is the action will be unfolding at night.

Although I do need color backgrounds, for now these will be limited to something I can run off my printer.

One more reason to keep playing the lottery...

Your Name in the Galaxy Far, Far Away...

 

The "Star Wars" name game floated around Facebook last week. 

 

Mine is:  Henkte Rosom.

 

Some of  my friends include:  Deena Otbad, Hosjo Lokon, Leako Sheug, Houni Shnew and Arkpi Kekan. 

 

The one that has been getting the most laughs is Botwi Wiwie.

 

Amazingly enough the names do sound Star Wars-ish, even poor Botwi's name.

 

I have several books and booklets on names and name meanings that I use to create characters.  Now I'm considering using this gimmick to conjure-up character names.

 

One problem, though, will be coming-up with appropriate city names.  Or in the case of the city/planet capital, everyone from Coruscant will have "cor" at the end of their names.

 

Talk about coming from an extended family.

The Stage is Set

 

I really like my new desk.

However, earlier this week I started working on new backdrops to use in Breakout from Bongolaan, when I discovered I needed more space to do such project. At first I used the dining room table, but I was constantly worried I'd stain it, or scratch it--like I did to my old kitchen table.

After completing the first three backdrops, I brought up one of my small banquet/gaming tables from the shed.

It's the cleanest of the two.

This arrangement worked well for the past couple days as I assembled several more backdrops.

The process involved:

Taking downloaded images to the local printshop and having copies made.

Pasting the copies to foam white boards and trimming as necessary.

Once that project was done and out of the way, I planned on shooting some pictures, but realized this arrangement wouldn't work. I needed to place the table next to a wall somewhere in order to prop-up backdrops and build scenes for each photo shoot.

So, I came up with this:

I had to move one of my foot lockers, but had enough room under the table to keep the second one, especially since I don't plan on doing much sitting at the table.

This arrangement may not be in tune with Feng shui, but it is functional. I can replace the floor lamp with one of my studio lights, or at least remove the shade to provide better illumination.

Now that the "stage is set" so to speak, I'm ready to resume my photo work, which I plan to start next week.