Thargoid Wars

[Cholmondely]

Very much enjoying this one! It really adds to my game and my immersion. But I've only just started it.


Since my current Jameson started in G2, I also started with the Thargoid Wars pretty much from the outset (I'd not read the bit about it starting in G2 to allow a chance to equip one's ship - it started with my being armed with the regular pulse pea-shooter and no equipment!)


Minor quibbles:
- 3 attacks in a row at a station (not yet sure if this is really a quibble - if it ends up happening all the time, then it will be a quibble. Just once or twice is fine).
- No accompanying picture of the satellite referred to in the "Incoming Intergalactic Navy Transmission". Presumably due to my cocktail of OXPs. The Galactic Almanac OXZ? Less likely - XenonUI? One of the many others?
- I don't hear the siren either (effects of BGS?).

[phkb]

Working on an update to this. One question though, which goes back to the original design:
As you complete battles, you are awarded various medals: bronze, silver, and then gold, and each have a fairly benign background image. All fine. But, after you've been given the gold award, the next award, which is technically the pinnacle achievement of the mission pack, is a "Crystal Grail", but which, inexplicably, has a picture of a toilet.

First, let me say, what the heck?
Second, does anyone have an explanation for this? (Puns about being "flushed with success" will not be accepted!)
And third, would anyone be opposed to me changing this to better reflect the achievement?

[Wildeblood]

... inexplicably...

"Inexplicably" is a strong word. Three obvious possibilities spring to mind:-
- It was indeed a pun (English was not Eric's first language):
- It was a placeholder file:
- Eric was making a brutal anti-war statement.

Each of those (and there's no guarantee any is correct) examples of possible explanations has a different moral weight, and therefore requires a different level of moral authority to over-ride. Meanwhile, what level of moral authority do you claim, and what level of reputational risk are you willing to accept? This looks like a [Latin for can of worms]. Were I in your situation, I would refer this to the Ethics Committee. They are professional ethicists, it's their job to work this stuff out, not yours.

[phkb]

"Inexplicably" is a strong word. Three obvious possibilities spring to mind:-
- It was indeed a pun (English was not Eric's first language):
- It was a placeholder file:
- Eric was making a brutal anti-war statement.

Hard to know what Eric or (more likely original author) Cmdr Wombat was thinking, based on this image.

Spoiler

It feels like it should be a joke, but I also feel like I'm missing the punch line.
If it was a placeholder, then it shouldn't matter if I change it.
If it was an anti-war statement, it probably should have had a better message to tell the player if they choose not to get involved (other than having someone paint "Coward" on your ship).

and what level of reputational risk are you willing to accept? This looks like a [Latin for can of worms].

If people truly don't like my replacements, I can leave the original OXP available on the wiki page, and they can glory in the Crystal Grail toilet.

Or I could get locked out of the website. Whatever people think. I'm not too worried about what people think of me.

So it's clear, my goal here is to update the models/textures to better fit in with the rest of the universe, and to smooth out the inconsistencies between this and other OXP's. Having a major achievement represented by a toilet, after previously giving them seemingly normal progression awards, seems like a bait-and-switch: "Yes, you've done a great thing, fighting all those Thargoids. Have a medallion. Well done. Here, have a shiny medal. Very well done, indeed. And another shiny medal. You have done an incredible thing, sir! And here's you're final trophy" cue image of toilet. Very strange.

[Cholmondely]

I would guess that it is Cmdr Wombat's - see his sense of humour here and in the following pages of posts (his images are sadly buried in the mausolea of history).

I would guess that it is a placeholder - or a jape aimed purely at those inspecting the entrails of his OXP. Is Cmdr Wombat's humour sufficiently surreal to presume otherwise?

Edited to add

But, I notice that Murgh was involved in the script...

Code: Select all

this.name        = "thargoid_wars"; 
this.author      = "eric walch"; 
this.copyright   = "� 2008 Murgh."; 
this.description = "script that brings the war to normal space"; 
this.version     = "4.6"; 

[Old Murgh]

But, I notice that Murgh was involved in the script...

Code: Select all

this.name        = "thargoid_wars"; 
this.author      = "eric walch"; 
this.copyright   = "� 2008 Murgh."; 
this.description = "script that brings the war to normal space"; 
this.version     = "4.6"; 

Now Sir.. That is strange to see. It's not an indication that I know the answer to the above mystery.. (I think it's tongue in cheek "anti-army")

No involvement that I can understand. 2008 was two years into my 15 year hiatus. My only guess it's a bulk copy/paste slip from one of the OXPs I started that Eric Walch improved upon.

[phkb]

Updated textures for Thargoid spy satellite.