Desven

The shading is a bit too rough, maybe smoothen it a bit with a color in between a pixel below.

Hello, sorry for the delay. I really like your app, the only nitpick being that I believe you meant 2462 instead of 52. I have some questions: What does Zek think about Flagsdale, particularly the chaotic late Summer the district had? On the same line, what does it think about the Queenless factions that roam around the City, and the introduction of the Bulwark caste?

I really like your proposals, I think it's always a great thing in lore to think more of the basics: sometimes they're overlooked, when it's really important for when it comes to create a character. I'll make you some questions. 1. You've applied for Unathi lore before, do you think you've learned something since that experience? 2. Do you disagree with the portrayal of any faction currently, and how would you fix that? 3. What are your plans to expand the K'lax relationship?

The small glass box could use windoors to the hallway too, not just having one way out. As for the uniforms, the crimson and gray look weird for Nanotrasen. I don't dislike them, I think they're good sprites, but there's really no instance where NT uses those colors.

I can understand if my comment came as harsh, but I ultimately can't change my opinion of this application. I shouldn't uphold old lore to current standards, and even our current lore isn't exempt of this. At the end, the situation changes and our writing requires maintenance, I'm even starting to see it myself with some pieces I wrote a few months back as my first wiki contributions. However, I don't think Marlon/Jackboot has showed willingless to change his ways and take a more current, modern approach of lore, and I do fear his presence, even as a deputy, will have us discussing much more about the past instead of finding ways to deal with the future— maintaining and fixing past lore being pretty much a task every team (except maybe Tajara, because of their amazing seasoned coordination and history of pretty much consistent writing) faces. I do not want to sound unfair, and I do understand, perhaps even if I sound new and bratty, just how important his lore was in our server, and pretty much what still sets apart Aurora from any other SS13 server. However, I believe my “fresh” perspective also allows me to not see old lore with rose tinted glasses, and I would feel it would be a setback to what other people, present or not anymore, have been building for the past 2 years. Addition: ultimately, I encourage any imterested readers to apply. Don't be scared, it's better to take your chances then just sit on this. Lore needs new, fresh perspectives and, in my own personal opinion, those should be given a greater chance than the usual suspects, even if they're deemed the safe option. So if you feel like you have something interesting to say about Unathi, anything, give it a shot.

I don't think it would be a good decision to take you back in lore. We have interacted not too much, but I'm familiar with your writings as I deal with them all the time. I've also seen your conduct on the Discord servers, and without going too much into detail, it is really hard to talk with you. Just a few days ago a discussion dragged for literal hours were you defended a really flimsy point of view. I know I can be stubborn, but it was just tiresome and you were getting in the nerves of others that eventually got involved too. While it wasn't exactly lore related, I think the discussion we had about how much the game mechanics on the science department are canon and not a minigame just goes to show your point of view in lore, which I believe to be antithetical to how we currently understand it: you see lore as something not as serious and that has to be confined to the basic game mechanics and culture of SS13. Other than that, I do have problems with what you've written. Your outline of Vaurca history and general outline of the species have created plot holes which I believe stagnate the species. Just how many District 9 references were inserted into the development, while still trying to implement the original draft of C0vert0ddity (which I have to admit wasn't anything special) are a problematic. Not only that, but it was done and documented in a poor manner that plenty of your article lore was in the wiki. This problem comes up often. You have a poor track of keeping record of the events and arcs you begun, many of them not being as significant ever. A recent example is just how pressing you were on your old Biesel parties. You said they were crucial to Tau Ceti lore, but that is not true. They weren't fleshed out, which is why future lore writers discarded them. The way I see it is that accepting you would make us look backwards and not forward, which we desperately need to do in the team.

These look nice, but I would recommend the blazer for the service manager to be a different item (a coat on its own). As for the gardener, maybe make it look like it has overalls? The shading looks much better.

New Vaurca Queen Announced! The Court of Queens shared some exciting news today. Inside their chambers in New Sedantis, the K’lax Hive crowned a new Queen. Vaurcae were informed of this decision almost immediately. It is usual for when a new Queen emerges in the Zo’ra or K’lax Hive that there is a strong signal sent through the Hivenet. Today, with Vaurcae all over the Orion Spur, the signal may have reached even the farthest corners of the Skrellian Traverse. For us, however, we had to await for the official announcer to address the press that the Court of Queens requested to be present one day before. While we had our ideas of who the new Queen might be, it still surprised us to hear her name. Everyone, welcome Ta’Akaix’Tupii’maxk’rekxak K’lax! Queen Tupii has been on our radar for a while now. Just a few days ago, we published an article speculating if the K’lax Hive was ready to elect a new Queen. For those unaware of Tupii’maxk’rekxak, here is a brief introduction to this wonderful leader. Tupii is one of the eldest surrogates of the original K’lax, and she has remained an important figure in the Hive even today. As one of the Breeders representing the original K’lax brood, she has now been officially recognized for her efforts, and will now take care of her own. She will reign in Tret, Uueoa-Esa. Her full speech is yet to be available in Basic, but here are some highlights: “I am honored by the decision my sisters have taken in revitalizing our brood, the original brood of the K’lax Hive, which our Mother founded from nothing and grew to become the jewel of our species. ”We should remember now the troubles she faced when, in Sedantis so long ago, she was all by herself and those first generations of workers that we keep in our records. Similar to her, our Hive and the rest have had to start over again and adapt to this new situation with wonderful partners. We are not alone. We have the Skrell, the humanity and, of course, the Unathi that have assisted us and welcomed us to their own homes. ”I am excited for any future endeavors and remain optimistic about what the future holds.” As of now, Queen Tupii is to return to Unathite space, while a delegation of her is to join Caprice later this week. The ceremonies will continue there in Tret, alongside the rest of the Hive.

What can I say about Myphic? He's cheerful and has done this job before. He constantly tries to improve and tries to get rounds going. I think he's a great player and would be nice to come back to the CCIA. I actually asked him to apply before apps were even open.

I think Ramke is a great player in the community. Her characters are great and she has an ability to get immersed. We've spoken about her experience in that other space game before (can't recall the name) and that's basically why I told her that applying for CCIA is a good idea.

I won't say a thing about the consoles because I've already written much about it. However, the ringer button looks really off. I dislike the codersprite we currently have, but this one looks huge and I thought it was a sprite meant to go in a wall before. It doesn't look good for a table, especially with how huge it is.

Editor's Note: Our Mission On behalf of the staff of the Caprice Sun, I wish to thank all of you who supported this newspaper to come to fruition. Founded after the Court of Queens Session of 10-25-2463, our goal is to have an outlet for everything related to Vaurcae. Ever since their arrival to Biesel, their voices have been desperately in need of being heard. Passionate stories from countless lives and an ancient culture have been neglected due to xenophobia. It is time to change that and let the Vaurcae be heard and seen for what they truly are. Our subscribers can expect to read everything related to the three great Hives that have pushed the economy of the Orion Spur forward. Our talented team of writers is non-partisan when it comes to inter-Hive issues, and will treat them all with dignity. If you have anything to say to us, you can write to our address in Balbuena Avenue #58, Belle Cote, Biesel. We try to read all the mail and your letters might even become featured in a future issue! We hope you enjoy our coverage and, most importantly, promote tolerance and respect towards the Vaurca people. Melissa Wahlberg Editor-in-chief of Caprice Sun and Chairman of Vaurca Equality

Insider Report: Grand Councilor Weashbi in Diulszi Translated to Tau Ceti Basic After the news of the Qukala reformation, Warble Inquirer has confirmed the rumors of a face-to-face meeting between Grand Councilor Weashbi Jrugl and High Queen C’thur, being the first time the Vaurcesian Queen and Weashbi meet, and the first official visit of a member of the Council to Diulszi. What follows is insider confirmation, as well as a direct interview with the Grand Councilor, regarding these events. High Queen C’thur arrived at the Federation injured and seeking aid in an undisclosed age a few years ago. While the documentary Whispers of Glorashi was for many the introduction to the C’thur Hive, Vaurcae by then had already made an impact in our economy, from mining to scientific research. Ever since, C’thur has come into prosperity inside and outside the Federation, both brokering deals with human megacorporations and coming closer to the core of our society. Nowadays, Aliose and Qerr’Malic, just to name a few examples, house important populations of Vaurcae. The status of High Queen C’thur has been a matter of speculation to those outside the borders of Xevrax, Diulszi’s capital. The C’thur Hive is led by a Council of three Queens, with the two others, Queen Mouv and Queen Vytel, leading an age of mutual aid for the two species. Earlier this year Queen Mouv gave a holographic speech at the Aliose University of Medical Sciences as part of the ‘Understanding Vaurcae: New Paths to Xenobiology’ colloquium. What followed were questions regarding the health of her mother, after which the hologram disconnected due to a tight agenda. Queen Vytel, in any confrontation with the press, has opted to ignore these questions too. While Weashbi Jrugl was vague when approached about his opinion on the C’thur Hive before the elections, it is true that he aided the Vaurcae to permanently settle in Glorashi. Now, years later, he returns to a changed system. “He was here for like three days,” said an employee of the Sulvix shuttleport. “I was honestly shocked at first, but pleased to see our Grand Councilor outside the elementary systems.” Reports from confidential sources say that the meeting took place in over six hours and was behind closed doors. Queen Vytel and Queen Mouv are now confirmed to have assisted. According to these reports, at one point past the third hour mark the four of them were left alone in High Queen C’thur’s royal chambers. What happened next is left for speculation, as here is where our sources contradict each other, with the reactions of the Grand Councilor left for speculation. However, following this report Jrugl Weashbi has provided us with a brief interview about his visit. Following this meeting, it is said that Weashbi remained in Hotel Ver’kolt at Vrona, a C’thur-run resort already listed in our top ten places to spend your vacations at. It was after his return to Kal’lo that the Qukala information was made public.

Turns out dexalin and dexalin plus aren't dangerous for Vaurcae. Well, they are in the same ODs for other species (think the added effect is blurriness), but other than that you can inject them the blue juice.

Yet again I find it hard to defend the sprites shown for NBT. What strikes me the most strange is the calls of consistency. Here is an example sprite of the teaser that I discussed in depth with an artist. As you can see up close, the shape makes little sense. I don't particularly dislike overhaul of machines, I've done some myself, but it's weird that a machine that, while currently flat in dimensions, is tall, here it's either on a really strange shape or two small machines. It remains to be flat, however, despite what the rest of the machines in game currently look like. Is he planning on flattening them all? Even if that's the case, his other additions are inconsistent. Current processor sprites. The shape of the resprite. The bottom box looks strange to justify in that position. The clothing machine has a completely different palette, type of shading and details. The only consistent thing is the thick dark outline, which the game rarely uses and is just vestigial in some ancient sprites now, and the fact that analyzing the shadowing makes it look odd and just placed without much thought. I've said this is a problem with Kyres sprites in uniforms too, but in machines it's much more obvious. I actually had to resprite this machine so it would match other vendors. What I rarely share, though, is that before Kyres I made a sprite for the very same machine, which is this and looks more like the rest. My resprite, following the Kyres palette (that also made little sense, like the strange magenta at the bottom despite the color not being anywhere as bright elsewhere), now blends too much with the room. (My original machine sprite). But the other teasers shown don't match either. The metal used in the wall consoles is nothing like the base of the computers or the purpleish color these machines, for no reason, have. They don't blend with the rest of the sprites, we don't have those hues. I like the tone, but it makes no sense for that purple to be the shade (and again, in that pattern) or complimentary color of the other one. It's something I see consistent with Kyres art, which is worrisome. Without going too much into detail, he made two Earth globes that look nothing like the planet. The first one had Canada colide with Europe, the second one had random lines as rivers in known areas of the world. When confronted about this, he just said to add to lore that canals were made, even though it would just be easier to actually follow any picture of Earth available online. Back to the wall consoles, other than being cluttered, smaller versions of the superior consoles we have, the only new thing they add is the ATM reskin, which is arguably a machine that should look different as it is the bank terminal of a particular company. I can see why some are attracted by the battle station idea of the computers, but I've also addressed why they're tiny, cluttered monitors that don't really look like they belong in the same room in what has been shown. So I ask one more time what's the consistency you're looking for? Is it the work of a single person? This brings me to another point that may seem out of place, but I feel that Kyres is partly working out of spite. He only began to tease about respriting every single machine after I started porting or designing machines myself. It wouldn't surprise me if that's still his goal here, but is it really worth it to be “consistent” if they are going to be inferior versions of current machines at worst even more inconsistent with each other at best? I urge you to reconsider this whole project. I really don't understand why it's something that can't be altered at all. There is no reason for the server to look like this at all.Back to the wall consoles, other than being cluttered, smaller versions of the superior consoles we have, the only new thing they add is the ATM reskin, which is arguably a machine that should look different as it is the bank terminal of a particular company. I can see why some are attracted by the battle station idea of the computers, but I've also addressed why they're tiny, cluttered monitors that don't really look like they belong in the same room in what has been shown. So I ask one more time what's the consistency you're looking for? Is it the work of a single person? This brings me to another point that may seem out of place, but I feel that Kyres is partly working out of spite. He only began to tease about respriting every single machine after I started porting or designing machines myself. It wouldn't surprise me if that's still his goal here, but is it really worth it to be “consistent” if they are going to be inferior versions of current machines at worst even more inconsistent with each other at best? I urge you to reconsider this whole project. I really don't understand why it's something that can't be altered at all. There is no reason for whole the server to look like this.

Also, the morgue being dirty feels the opposite of how much more clean the current morgue is. I know it adds the atmosphere probably, but it's a sterile area. Not a butcher's shop.

As with other Kyres sprites, the outline is way too dark for the machine. It looks specially odd since he decided to make the shading lighter than the body of the computer. Other than that, they look a bit too flat. The servers and hub perspective, mostly.

Hello, sorry for the delay but a few questions. What does Mak think personally of the refugeees? Has it found affinity with them, or quite the opposite? Being from the only group of punished that is still recognized as part of the brood, Mak would probably start feeling less bitter towards Vytel, since hormones still keep it tied to her, but its frustation is understandable. Has it been able to fully forgive this, and how would this affect when interacting with other C'thur? How does Mak feel about all these aliens? Until now, they would've known Skrell and maybe Dionae only. Does it have any thoughts on humans?

As I explain in what I wrote, the consoles, both computers and walls, feel fairly cohesive in that they are contributions that have been done for Aurora with very little that has aged on them- I would say at most the frame of the current computers may look a bit flat, but otherwise, from screens to holographic looks, they look like a full set. Let's be honest, it would be impossible to resprite the whole server for a consistent style unless you payed somebody to lock themselves for months, go through every item in game and do it. Which I doubt it would happen. It is a game done by contributors over time and it's just one of the cons of the system, even though it has a lot of pros too. You can start to make the server look more unique (and I think it does, Aurora feels a lot more sterile than other servers), but instead of the cool computers, there are things that look really ancient now (telecomms machines, APCs, the window system we still use...) and are more clashing than the work Wezzy and others did (which is consistent with other Wezzy sprites too, like guest passes etc). If you really want to update some computer sprites, I recommend doing the laptop ones. They're basically the same since before Aurora took the split to change how console computers look, and some screens just don't fit anymore (red security in laptops, etc). The stationjobs.dmi has a bunch of different machines we see still in game that could use a serious glow up.

Not to beat a dead horse, but I wrote an essay on why I don't think we should resprite this stuff. It's not meant to be rude or anything, and I apologize in advance if it sounds a bit heated, but I'm mainly talking about computers here instead of my myriad of comments about wall consoles because the same reasons @Carver pointed. I hope you read it and consider it.

Here's the comparison I posted yesterday on the Discord: As I told Kyres too: there's nothing to tweak with these. Don't touch them. There are other sprites that require an upgrade urgently, but these (and I would argue the computers too) have nothing to 'fix'.

I'm sorry, but those wall machines look like a downgrade from our current sprites. Even the ATM, while interesting, is not as good as the Idris themed one (given it's an Idris ATM).

Yes, I'll reply to both. Basically, my previous suggestion was more radical: have borgs specialize to one module only. This one is much more tame in that it's just limit their acccess. As for the IC justifications: Head of staff access is still great access, especially without any whitelist involved. Also, mechanics in game change all the time. There was s great controversy when sec got maintenance access removed, and it wouldn't surprise me if this same argument was brought up. Basically, I don't think you can reduce this issue to a few bad apples when you are encouraged by your access to act like this. The laws will get lawyered no matter what. There really is zero reason for a science module borg, which is helping in science, to be able to access the supermatter and power it. Again, stick to your lane. Any other person doing this, playing a human character, would get bwoinked even if your records say you have a PhD in robotics and the supermatter. There are so many other ways to help if you see a lacking manifest that even joining as a drone is viable. I don't really understand the borg urge to act as a jack of all trades.