Linda Layne

Ltervlet

Re: Guild Social Event - April

April 10 2012
The event went well. We had more participation this time than for the first such event. And there were a few brave souls who entered the contest for the weirdest toon. I believe the photos will be published in the soon to be restarted Stonewall Times and I am sure on the website as well. Just not sure when. :)
Kyle

QiqJoe

Re: Guild Social Event - April

April 10 2012
How'd the event go? Sorry I couldn't make it. I had my 10 year high school reunion that day. Hope the weirdos were out in full force!

Unknown Person

The Squad System

April 09 2012
Great article on the squad system and how it'll work in Guild Wars 2:

http://www.arena.net/blog/jordan-massey-on-the-role-of-the-squad-in-wvw
Hi, everyone. I’m Jordan Massey, a gameplay programmer on the WvW strike team. My job for the last few months has been to implement our WvW designers’ ideas. Today, I’d like to tell you a bit about the squad system. By its nature, it’s something that we’ve had to sneak in since we can only evaluate it in a live game environment, but the time has come to get the word out!

What Are Squads?
Squads are our solution to some of the communication difficulty we experienced early on in WvW. Good communication is an inextricable part of excelling on the battlefield, and our existing channels weren’t quite meeting our needs. Team chat was too large because everyone in the entire map could talk in it, resulting in too much noise. On the other hand, parties—which are capped at five members—were too small. In order to bridge that gap, we designed the squad system, which allows communication on a larger scale than parties, but in a much more focused manner than team chat.

A squad is a one-to-many command structure, with one commander at the top, and his followers underneath him. Each squad receives its own chat channel, which all members can see, but which only accepts chat from the commander. Normal members can only see what the commander says and cannot speak back.

Additionally, commanders gain access to a small set of squad map markers, which they may place on the map just like their normal party waypoint. All squad members will see these markers on their maps and compass. They represent orders such as “attack,” “defend,” “rally,” and “bring supply.”

We made squad communication flow in one direction because we wanted to keep it as simple as possible. We discussed complex hierarchical command structures, but decided they would be too difficult to learn and use. Joining a squad is simple and fast, and allows players to jump into the action right away with clear goals. Players in a squad shouldn’t feel alone or lost in the massive and hostile WvW landscape.

Squad Management
Joining a squad is just as easy as sending a whisper or a party invite. Simply select a teammate and right-click their portrait. If they’re in a squad, you’ll see an option to join their squad. Click that and you’re in! The commander doesn’t have to approve your request—you can join and leave freely. It doesn’t matter whether you click on a commander or a squad member. You’ll join the same squad as the person you clicked on, so you don’t have to worry about chasing down a commander in order to join a squad. In the party menu on the quick-launch bar, there’s a small squad panel. From there, you can leave the squad you’re in if you want to join a different one, or if you’re just done for the day.

This same panel can be used if you desire to become a commander yourself. When not in a squad, you’ll have the option to create one. Creating a squad will make you a commander. You’ll receive a special map marker that other players can see, and you’ll have an icon over your head that lets teammates around you know that you’re a commander. The icon is not visible to members of other squads, but it is visible to your squad’s members, other commanders on your team, and players not in a squad so that they can easily identify you. Once you’re a commander, you’ll have the ability to speak into your squad channel and place order markers on the map for your members. It’s definitely nice to strut around with your special commander icon, but being in charge is also a big responsibility. The right to become a commander must be earned.

In each team’s portal keep in their home map, and in the major cities, there is a Master Strategist merchant. For a substantial sum of gold, you can buy a manual that grants you the right to become a commander when used. This is a permanent right, so the manual only needs to be bought once for each character. The hefty gold cost is in place because we want to discourage people who aren’t really interested in being leaders on the battlefield from becoming commanders. The high cost also makes it likely that any commander you see knows the game well. We decided that gold would be a more fitting restriction for this than character level, because experienced players who start new characters will still have the gold required to buy the manual.

Not Just for WvW
All of these communication features make WvW operations easier, but they will also be helpful for big PvE events as well. That’s exactly why the squad system is currently usable in both WvW and PvE maps. It works the same way no matter where you are, so whether you’re attacking a keep or teaching a big dragon bully a lesson, you can squad up to help get the job done. As with all our features, we’ll continue to polish and adjust squads as necessary to make sure they provide what is needed and fulfill their purpose well. In the meantime, I’ll be looking forward to seeing all of you commanders out there bravely lead your squads into battle.

This'll be great for organisation of guild events which because of the open and social nature of events in Guild Wars 2 will include other players that just happen to nearby. This system should allow us to give clear instructions to everybody.
2 people liked this

Unknown Person

Re: Star Trek: The Journey

April 09 2012
:voy:


Episode 577 - Voyager - "11:59" - 05/05/1999

http://www.allstepisodes.com/megvid.php?n=4523

Janeway reminisces about one of her Earth's ancestors, Shannon O'Donnell from Indiana.


Enjoy!

Re: Impromptu Pride Gathering!

April 08 2012
Looks like you guys had a great time!!
Unknown Person liked this
CJay None

LaceyRand

Re: Guild Social Event - April

April 07 2012
Oh bummer going to the movies to see hungers games with my ex ... so sad I won't be able to attend.
Todd Overton

Toddoverton

Re: Impromptu Pride Gathering!

April 07 2012
Wait... is that why there was a mystery tribble in my pocket today? I wondered where that came from!
Linda Layne

Ltervlet

Re: Guild Social Event - April

April 07 2012
See everyone there! ;)
Joshua (Zepari)

Zepari

Guild Social Event - April

April 07 2012
On Saturday the 7th of April we are holding our second Guild Social event, where we will be taking a group picture of the entire Republic and Empire sides of the guild and also getting pictures of our "weirdest" characters for a forum voting competition.

The event will take place at two different times for each guild meaning we will have 4 events altogether to ensure as many members can take part.


The Republic Guild will meet on Coruscant at:

1st time: 12noon PST, 3pm EST, 8pm BST (British Summer Time, GMT+1)

2nd time: 7pm PST, 10pm EST, 3am BST (Sunday)


The Empire Guild will meet on Dromund Kaas at:

1st time: 1pm PST, 4pm EST, 9pm BST

2nd time: 8pm PST, 11pm EST, 4am BST (Sunday)


So bring along your favourite character to be part of the guild pic, and if you want to enter the Weirdest Character competition, a solo picture will be taken of your character and posted in the forums for us all to vote on.

Please keep an eye on the chat channels for directions and help in the lead up to each time slot. Also please feel free to take part on both sides.
Jamie

tuvak

Re: Impromptu Pride Gathering!

April 07 2012
Great idea! Everyone gets a free tribble. :-)
2 people liked this

Unknown Person

Re: Impromptu Pride Gathering!

April 07 2012
This is awesome!
2 people liked this
Dave (Voleron)

Voleron

Impromptu Pride Gathering!

April 07 2012
This afternoon, between approximately 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM PST, members of Stonewall Fleet gathered on Deep Space Nine to show their fleet pride! Among those who were present were:

Alcide, Apkal, Bret, Darl Edrick, Sunny, Traull and Voleron, among others!

[attachment=850]DS9001.jpg[/attachment]


The gathering attracted many other players, who stopped by to dance their time away on the Promenade!


[attachment=851]DS9002.jpg[/attachment]


The group then moved to Starfleet Academy for an impromptu Mokbara session under the old Oak tree, until we were finally chased away by the Holo-Boothby!


[attachment=852]SFA001.jpg[/attachment]

[attachment=853]SFA002.jpg[/attachment]

Show off your fleet pride by posting screenshots of any impromptu fleet events! Let's see who can come up with the most interesting ones!

Show us the best of what you've got, Stonewallers!

3 people liked this

Unknown Person

Re: Star Trek: The Journey

April 07 2012
:voy:


Episode 576 - Voyager - "Someone to Watch Over Me" - 04/29/1999

http://www.allstepisodes.com/megvid.php?n=4522

Seven of Nine explores dating with some help from the Doctor.


Enjoy!
Seannewboy

Seannewboy

Re: Star Trekian Birthday's-Master List

April 07 2012
15 from 4-5 to 4-6.
Sam

SamRonin

Re: Fave novels? I'd love some recommendations!

April 06 2012
I do love a good read myself. My shelves really do bow under the amount of books I have. I also have the Kindle apps on my PC, phone and ipad.

Authors I especially like include:

Peter F Hamilton. Scottish author and famous for his HUGE space opera. Nights Dawn Trilogy being the classic point. Still great books though.

Iain M Banks. Another Scot who is well regarded for rekindling Sci-Fi around the UK etc. His Culture series is his most well known. He often writes very dark stories. But also has a good dose of humour espeically when it comes to the spaceships, their super AI Minds and attitudes.

Alistair Reynolds. Another fairly recent addition. Likes his Hard Sci Fi. And his music, as most of his books are titled from songs. Revelation Space. Century Rain and so forth.

Most of these will not feature any overt sexuality and so wont cover GLBT books really. Most of those will see you looking to small press stuff which is where the Kindle can come in very handy.

Anne McCaffery RIP. Sadly passed away now. McCaffery did feature some subtle but prevalent nods to Homosexuality etc in her Pern novels. These are more of a Sci Fantasy kind. The earliest books read like regular Fantasy with people flying on dragons and so on. However it is later revealed that they are actually a Lost Colony. Began as a colony effort from Earth but find their existence nearly wiped out. A rogue planetoid dubbed the Red Star passes the planet every few centuries and when it does spores are drawn from the planetoid to Pern where they consume anything Organic. The only solution the ccolonists find is some small reptiles that seem able to chew certain rocks to trigger flames that can score the spores before they land. They genetically modify these lizards into something big enough for a human to ride on and mentally meld with, bonding the 2 from the "Dragons" birth.
The dragons in question are intelligent and mentally equal to their human bond mates. They also vary in size and colouration. Colours also denote their gender with Gold and Green being the only female dragons. Green are the smallest and Gold the biggest. The dragons themselves do mate and when they are in their Heat their riders will be driven by that urge to mate as well with the others rider. Women riders are typically only Golden riders so the Greens are typically paired with men. Men who will be inclined to the riders of the Male dragons above them as well.
I can only recall one book which gave one of these pairings a definite face. Dragonsblood. Where a dragonrider in the early part clearly talks about a male partner and mate of his and his dragon. Alas it is a sad romance as said lover had died. But it is an overt acknowledgement of Homosexuality in her Pern Universe and that they can attain any goal including bonding with and riding the dragons.
TL:DR: Pern dragons have small females who mate with the smaller males and when they mate, so do their riders. Which in terms of the smaller dragons are almost all male. And to quote the book. Green dragons will bond with riders who are not adverse to mating with the larger dragons rider. I may have got that quote badly wrong, but that is the essence of it.

Back to regular fantasy without all the above added...

Robin Hobb. Writes some very moving and intelligent fantasy books. Very much worth a read. And her covers are done by John Howe. Otherwise known as the artist for Lord Of The Rings etc. He helped shape the look of those films.

David Gemmell RIP. Gemmell is a writer of the so called Heroic Fantasy. Think vaguely along the lines of Conan etc. However he also was a very smart writer who widely acknowledged there being no such thing as pure good or evil. Everyone has reasoning behind their actions, even if their actions lead to evil acts happening. And his Heroes are always deeply flawed people for whom doing good typically is forced upon them.
His Drenai novels are very good and what led me into reading him when I read an analogue to Samurai etc were in it. From there I was hooked.

Arthur C Clarke RIP. If you don't know this name then you must be fairly new to Sci Fi or not have seen or read much yet. He is one of the great Grand Masters of the 50s onward. Typically a Hard Sci Fi author. His books although somewhat dated at times, can be extremely impressive and moving.
He often writes books that see humnaity far ahead in the future or having to come to terms with very advanced cultures.
Rama sequence being a classic case. A small group of scientists are sent to this odd alien ship that arrives near Earth. They become trapped on it as it accelerates away from Earth and have to find a way to live and learn about this new home of theirs. There are perils and discoveries aboard and they encounter a lot of the course of the 3 novels.
A Space Oddysey. aka 2001. Yes the books and film are dated now, much like early Trek. But so much of 2001 and its 3 sequels is great.
TL:DR synopsis. Humans find a big black Monolith that sends a signal to Jupiter. Humans follow and something all together more wide ranging triggers. 2001, 2010, 2061 and finally 3001 are the books of this, covering leaps in time and developments as the names ssuggest.

Now if you really want GLBT stories and are relatively open minded you might consider some of the so called Furry Fandom/Anthropomorphic stories. Yes we are talking stuff like the Caitians here. And as mentioned above with Nifty, a lot of it is highly sexualised Erotica. But if you are open minded about your Sci Fi and it does not need to be Human romance then you have an outlet there. Because they are very much a niche deal they do not feel such an urge to mute any sexual suggestions or aspects that might see a bigger publisher turn away from them.
Kyell Gold would be worth a look at for someone from that fandom who I gather has spread beyond into even having his books added to some American School libaries...
Gaz

Ozy

Re: Sixu's Inspirational/Creative Video Finds

April 06 2012
The best amateur CGI animation of BSG, I have ever seen. Ever. Wow!

3 people liked this
Volkrov (Eurrsk) Ruk

Eurrsk

Re: EA stands with LGBT content ;)

April 06 2012
Much

Unknown Person

Re: Star Trek: The Journey

April 06 2012
:voy:


Episode 575 - Voyager - "Juggernaut" - 04/26/1999

http://www.allstepisodes.com/megvid.php?n=4521

The crew respond to a distress call from Malon escape pods contaminated with radiation.


Enjoy!

Re: EA stands with LGBT content ;)

April 06 2012
That's pretty cool. They're setting the standard for future RPGs.
Edited April 06 2012 by nicholasjohn16

Re: Pretty cool....

April 06 2012
That isn't cool. It's friggin awesome!!