Oolite Bulletins

Disembodied wrote:

Presenting Stranglehold, another sorry tale from the unorthodox life of Captain Hesperus.

A truly excellent tale. The humor in your writing of these characters is great. Am I wrong to identify too closely with Rus?

After reading this I find myself shaking a fist at every python in the spacelane, shouting Move that decrepit rust bucket Hesperus you damned fool!

Additionally - has anyone attempted the cargo as kinetic weapon trick as described in Stranglehold ?

Thanks, submersible - glad you enjoyed it! Rus is the character I most identify with, myself: I think his voice is closest to my own.

As for the ballistic cargo: this is based on an actual exploit by the good Captain himself (albeit on a rather smaller scale).

submersible wrote:

Additionally - has anyone attempted the cargo as kinetic weapon trick as described in Stranglehold ?

<chortles> Attempted it, yes... but I've yet to log a confirmed kill that way (though I have got myself killed trying).

Would I be correct in assuming that against all odds, Hesperus defeated a Kirin XM in this tale with the ballistic cargo dump trick?

....Which is no easy trick with a ship in good shape, much less a rusting wreck held together by blu-tac, mechanical wizardry, patchwork, and force of will.

Of course it should go without saying that Hesperus has an odd, almost mystical, ability to survive impossible odds. Likely explains why Rus hasn't killed him...yet.

Disembodied wrote:

As for the ballistic cargo: this is based on an actual exploit by the good Captain himself (albeit on a rather smaller scale).

I think that's what inspired the railgun. McLane can confirm or deny.

Good to see you here again, Derik!

Cmdr Wyvern wrote:

Disembodied wrote:

As for the ballistic cargo: this is based on an actual exploit by the good Captain himself (albeit on a rather smaller scale).

I think that's what inspired the railgun. McLane can confirm or deny.

Yes, more or less confirmed.

Cmdr Wyvern wrote:

Would I be correct in assuming that against all odds, Hesperus defeated a Kirin XM in this tale with the ballistic cargo dump trick?

Using a slight upgrade though on the original custard pies canister and the Sidewinder, yes ...

Glad to see you back again, Commander!

Read this one as well! Excellent tale! I kind of liked the first one more, but both are very much worth a read. I simply loved the humour and envy you for your ability to express it in writing!

Thanks, Wolfwood - glad you enjoyed them! The first one was easier to do because I landed the ship and gave the Captain the chance to make planetfall, and there's a lot more room for things to happen in. It'll be interesting to see how all the E:D fiction deals with setting stories on planets, given that players won't be able to make planetfall in the new game for some time. Will that give writers more, or less, freedom?

Anyway, you've encouraged me to take a look at what I need to do to the text of both to get them onto Goodreads, etc. over the weekend, and see what happens.

Disembodied wrote:

It'll be interesting to see how all the E:D fiction deals with setting stories on planets, given that players won't be able to make planetfall in the new game for some time. Will that give writers more, or less, freedom?

I'm not sure how much I should be sharing about this, but the inability to land on planets will be ignored in Elite4 fiction just like the writers ignore it in Oolite fiction. There was a lot of back-and-forth about this, but the final word was that it's basically considered a temporary gameplay restriction, not a characteristic of the universe in general.

Is there any chance of additional Hesperus adventures, by the way?

Wolfwood wrote:

I'm not sure how much I should be sharing about this, but the inability to land on planets will be ignored in Elite4 fiction just like the writers ignore it in Oolite fiction. There was a lot of back-and-forth about this, but the final word was that it's basically considered a temporary gameplay restriction, not a characteristic of the universe in general.

Good - that sounds sensible!

Wolfwood wrote:

Is there any chance of additional Hesperus adventures, by the way?

Yes, probably - although I don't know when. I have some vague ideas knocking about. It's really a question of me making the time ...

I've added Stranglehold as a free download onto Smashwords ... if anyone wants to pass any comments on it, please feel free:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/301781

A damn fine story! Many is the time lately I've passed the time on the train to work chuckling over Rus castigating the good Captain over yet another penny-pinching cost-saving scheme or another rather dubious trade... all the time while Hesperus puts on his mock "Horatio Hornblower" act