What are you working on?

[Nique]

I worry that the most active forum activity comes from big blowouts, and I don't want all of my most memorable or inspired discussions to be had due to anger. Anyway, we don't need to talk about that here, I just wanted to give a little context for a more lighthearted discussion.

What sort of projects have you all got yourself involved in these days? Videos, art, research, work? Anyone making a game? Developing a unique RP campaign? Collecting anything interesting?

I just got hired as a city admin for a small town so right now I'm doing a lot of research on city ordinances and land-managment. I now known the difference between an urban growth boundary and city limits!

Also, I am still working on my tabletop RPG. The guide is getting quite robust now, and I'm hoping to but some art from Matt to complete it eventually, as time permits him. The wolrd-building is a little challeneging since the game is intended to work in multiple settings, but I have a pretty decent world-map and history in a draft right now.

[MSperoni]

Well you all know what I'm working on.

Nique and Bio were big helps last night on it too, btw.

[Daimo Mac, The Blue Light of Hope]

Working on a writing project.

[Amake]

I'm still writing my book, as seen below. After eleven years I can now see a clear path to the end of act 1, and the work seems to go faster, but I'm putting everything I have into every part of it and it's so exhausting and scary and lonely.

[Nique]

Amake, a lot of your book reads in an odd tense - It feels more like poetry, which is interesting. What's that about?

[Toast]

changed my mind about leaving this link here.

[Aerozord]

I'm writing a satirical manga right now.... oh and about a year later my diet was a success. Lost about 30lbs and at my clinical ideal weight. Not perfect but definitely a healthier life style.

Something abit more somber, I decided to get another fox after what happened. I figured I shouldn't give up on the idea of giving one a good home due to an accident caused by another.

[mauve]

I still have my 100 Theme Challenge on the backburner, although I broke my own arbitrarty rule and burned myself out working on a single story. I'll get back to it eventually. I just have to stop being bored of the theme I was working on.

I was planning on taking a Nia class, but it looks like that ain't happening due to bullshit and shenanigans. So the lifelong commitment to Never Interacting WIth Other Humans Outside of the Internet continues. Yay hermit life.

I'm playing tabletop RPGs in play-by-post (the local Pathfinder Society apparently doesn't want new players so see above lifelong commitment). Right now I'm in 3 different games: Two Pathfinder games and a D6 Star Wars game. I have a cowardly, stuck-up, spoiled alcoholic human Alchemist who is the most fun character to play. He's rolled SIX critical failures IN A ROW on rolls regarding everything he's supposed to excel at (failed a knowledge roll on the town he's lived in his whole life, failed a roll to throw a rock at a simple target even though he has the Throw Anything feat, failed to search a room for an exit, etc), but somehow that actually suited his character really well. I also have a dwarven ranger who is super boring, and a Zabrak cyborg pirate who has effectively managed to annoy every single person in the party with her very first post in the game. She's fantastic.

[Amake]

Amake, a lot of your book reads in an odd tense - It feels more like poetry, which is interesting. What's that about? It's about choosing every word with utmost care, to have the story not only enchant and inspire but also sound good.

Thanks for noticing. :3

[Aerozord]

I was planning on taking a Nia class,

a what?

I'm playing tabletop RPGs in play-by-post

Oh yea, I got a skype voice chat game, we have openings if anyone wants to play

[shiney]

Working on new jobsville. Getting pretty close.

[Nique]

Aero - Congrats on the weight loss goal! That's something I need to work on myself, I need to drop about 40-50lbs. I'm glad you are going to get another Fox, I know how down you were about the last one.

Mauve - Your characters sound fun! How do the play-by-posts work? NPF RP threads always read as just storytelling and no mechanics, so I'm kind of baffled by the process?

---------- Post added at 12:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:12 PM ----------

Working on new jobsville. Getting pretty close.

Good luck! I've been doing a lot of job searches in the last few months since we moved - It's rough!

[Terex4]

Where do I begin?

We have a statewide trans* organization that is about a year old and is finally starting to form a proper structure. I just finished a proposal to restructure what they just built and I'm delivering it next week.

I'm working with our local police department to schedule transgender sensitivity training which I will be conducting probably some time in the next couple of weeks.

We have two major statewide projects that we're building: a mobile "clinic" to help with name changes and other legal services, and a support line for people to call and get information on services or just to have someone to talk to.

My organization has a massive event at the end of this month where we are trying to get a bunch of doctors and social workers in a room with a bunch of trans people to help improve the availability of health care in our area. I finished scouring the internet for names and addresses and built a list of around 130 providers to invite. I'm working on a series of speeches and introductions since I'll be the MC for the event and I need to put together a new brochure for it as well.

I keep writing a new article on the back burner but I really need to do that too.

Somewhere in there I'm supposed to find actual, paying employment that will still allow me to do all these things.

There's plenty more but those are the actual projects, not the day to day stuff.

[mauve]

a what? Nia is an exercise that combines different kinds of dance, aerobics, and martial arts like tai chi and qigong. It's non-impact and focuses on individual ability, so you don't have to do the exact same motion as the instructor if you're not able to (ex: if you have bad knees, you don't jump. You bend your knees instead.) I thought it would be fun and something I'd be capable of doing with my physical limitation (I have serious health issues).But it turns out that when a community center says they have a Nia class, what they MEAN is that they have a Nia class for people over the age of 50.

Skype voice chat game I'd love to play in real-time via skype or text chat, but I'm on the west coast so timezones are always an issue.

How do the play-by-posts work? It's basically like the RPs we have here, only with die rolls interspersed when necessary. It's usually written in 3rd person rather than 1st, just like ours, except players write in dice code when they want to attack or make a check. (i.e. "He swung his sword at the goblin, trying to strike it down before it could reach the caravan. d20+3 d8" or "She searched the room, looking for any hidden doors or unusual stonework. d20+5) The GM either posts prerequisites beforehand ("Everyone roll a Fortitude check in your next post to resist the poison gas. Failure if below 12.") or handles the results of the die rolls in his/her post ("The Fighter's sword slices through the goblin's armor like it was made of paper. It staggers and falls over.") RPs move much slower in PbP than in-person, but they accommodate most any schedule and better allow you to express your character's thoughts, backstory, etc.

[Aerozord]

Aero - Congrats on the weight loss goal! That's something I need to work on myself, I need to drop about 40-50lbs. I'm glad you are going to get another Fox, I know how down you were about the last one.

the trick is small changes over a long period and accepting that most of those dietary changes are forever. So make sure its a diet you can live with.

[Bard The 5th LW]

I just got turned down for the job I really wanted, so I guess its time to look at alternatives.

If those don't work I'll take out my pent up frustration towards the world via vandalism like a low-level Banksy or something so we'll see.

[Flarecobra]

I recently had surgery on my bad ankle to immobilize it. On crutches for another week and a half, then I go in to have it looked over again.

[Nique]

Are you going to need a significant amount of PT?

[shiney]

the trick is small changes over a long period and accepting that most of those dietary changes are forever. So make sure its a diet you can live with.

This is what RaiRai finally discovered. She lost 50 pounds over the course of a year, and has kept them off for another two years. She had to change her diet and her physical activity patterns permanently. I'm next, but I lack the will right now. I acknowledge that I lack the will and I know I will find my motivation soon enough. I'm not actively looking for it right now, but I feel like that's okay.

[BB]

I succeeded in my writing challenge last year so I'm doing the same this year- so most of my projects are of the writerly persuasion.

I want to finish this painstaking fanfic asap so I can begin work on my own series. That's going to be a webcomic series that I've had rattling around for a few years now- time to make it happen for real, although I'm constantly too afraid to begin work and there's always something else I can do "just for now until the time is right", you know?

Also, anniversary is coming up, so I'll be doing A Thing for that too.

I got fired from one game project last year but my friendship circle wants to try making a game this year and I'll be acting as writer for that once things start rolling, which will be fun.

I'm working on about 4 years of steam sales' worth of backlog. No new games until I've whittled it down!

And... super long-term, I'm working on getting married and moving to the US. Gonna be a WIP for a long time though, that one.

[Grandmaster_Skweeb]

I'm workin on a big ol bowl of salty popcorn. Shit's so cash right now.

[Nique]

Did I stumble ass-backwards on a way to lure in lurkers? Cool.



It's basically like the RPs we have here, only with die rolls interspersed when necessary. It's usually written in 3rd person rather than 1st, just like ours, except players write in dice code when they want to attack or make a check. (i.e. "He swung his sword at the goblin, trying to strike it down before it could reach the caravan. d20+3 d8" or "She searched the room, looking for any hidden doors or unusual stonework. d20+5) The GM either posts prerequisites beforehand ("Everyone roll a Fortitude check in your next post to resist the poison gas. Failure if below 12.") or handles the results of the die rolls in his/her post ("The Fighter's sword slices through the goblin's armor like it was made of paper. It staggers and falls over.") RPs move much slower in PbP than in-person, but they accommodate most any schedule and better allow you to express your character's thoughts, backstory, etc.

Do we have dice code like that here? Cause I badly need to play test stuff!

[RickZarber]

I have quite a few projects that I spend a lot of time not working on and feeling guilty about not working on.

I've got my read-through of The Hobbit (http://www.nuklearforums.com/showthread.php?t=43126), which is now all recorded but that I'm still painstakingly cleaning up (at an average rate of about 1.5 hours' work per minute of audio). I've been sporadically cleaning Ch 12 for almost a year now. :crying: If I'd have known it was in such bad condition, and wasn't so happy with the vocal performance, I probably would have just re-recorded it. But yeah, once I finally finish that, I'll have the remaining seven chapters, and then I'll want to go back and re-clean chapters one through eleven to my current standards. And maybe once all that's finally done, I might start in on The Lord of the Rings.

Then there's that webcomic (http://www.nuklearforums.com/showthread.php?t=43416) that I might be doing with my roommate. I've been doing designs and he's been writing and we've been discussing the story quite a lot lately. I don't know if it's any closer to actually happening yet, but we work on it quite a bit.

I've been making custom DVD covers for missing Doctor Who stories (http://rickzarber.tumblr.com/tagged/Doctor-Who). I've done four out of the nineteen so far and plan to do the next soon. But it's hard to get motivated 'cause it's a large time commitment both to watch the reconstructions (which can be tedious) and to make the actual covers.

I've been transferring home movies to my harddrive so I can get them on disc. I've finished with the Betamax tapes, which were the worst, because our old Betacam couldn't white balance properly, so every scene is either badly purple or green-tinted and often fluctuates wildly between the two sometimes dozens of times per scene. So I've been doing my best to try to correct the colors. http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/661/rJbb1I.jpg Then I've done some of the VHS tapes, which is much easier, but now I've got a few dozen hi8 tapes to transfer and nothing to play them. I've been looking into ebay-ing a digital8 cam, because they were backwards compatible with hi8 tapes and have firewire ports, so they can convert the analog signal to digital without me having to run it though my miniDV cam, which is how I've been doing the rest of it all. But I've no money right now, so I'm stuck on that one.

There's a few other long-untouched projects that I still consider to be "on my plate" as it were, but I doubt they count. Then of course there's the biggest guilt-causer: the JAQ book, for which several people already gave me money two years ago and for which I still need to finish several illustrations. At this point I should just commission someone else to do them, but yeah, no money, so...

Which brings us to the non-project subject of I Need A New Job, 'cause I'm too disabled to go back to the retail job I was doing for the last eight years, and I've spent the last ten months on leave of absence, but I was only able to do two months of needed physical therapy, so now I'm two months out from running out of leave and not only am I not any better, I'm worse off and several thousand dollars in debt. So I am working on, not even climbing out of that hole, but groping in the dark for a hand-hold. EDIT: Turns out writing out this whole post has just served to stress me the fuck out about everything, haha whoops

and blah blah blah i'll shut up forever now

[mauve]

Do we have dice code like that here? Cause I badly need to play test stuff! I think the chat has some sort of dice code, but don't quote me on that.

[Overcast]

The chat does have a dice code, we used it a lot during the Exalted games, Shadowrun games, and Anima games. The forum ALSO does, but most dice games are not great to run in a PbP fashion since they can be really slowed down by things like combat or other test intense moments.

Meantothewizzile, mostly just working my way through a big ass deployment, digging through a few videogames, despite what I just said also trying to work with some new acquaintances to play in a game of NWoD, post God Machine Chronicles, Mage the Awakening. Also trying to work a few other freeforms together, and planning to run a couple games of my own when the summer ends.

Roleplaying has become an incredibly central part of my life, I mean it has always had a presence but nowadays it is becoming a hobby that I want to integrate into more and more of my life. I want to attend conventions, run games, play games, listen to podcasts about games, everything.

[tacticslion]

Raising kids.

(It takes a lot of time.)

[Kim]

Working on my relic weapon in FFXIV.

I'm broke as fuck tho so I can't afford the materia I need for this part

[Nique]

Working on my relic weapon in FFXIV.

I'm broke as fuck tho so I can't afford the materia I need for this part

Any chance FFXIV is going to go subscription free soon? I'm thinking about playing it eventually.

[The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk]

Speaking of Pathfinder, my friends and I recently got into that ourselves. It's been pretty fun so far, though for most of us it's our first time playing a proper RP. I rolled a neutral evil mercenary ranger for my first character, but at some point I wanna make a planeswalker of some sort, to combine my love of MTG with PF. Not sure how to do it yet though.

Also trying to think up scenarios and settings so I can eventually try my hand at GMing, but I need a much more detailed understanding of the rules and such before I do that. When I do though, I'm gona send my friends on the most excellent adventures in space, time and the multiverse.

We're also looking into playing either Dark Heresy and/or Rogue Trader at some point too.

And on the MTG front, I'm still competing in FNMs on a weekly basis, usually coming top 8 but only rarely winning first (2 actual first places so far, several 2nds and 3rds). Had the most insane 8 hours of Commander last weekend (5 games, mono-blue Thassa deck, won all 5 games, highlights included stealing my opponents Planeswalker the turn before he ultimated and then blowing up all his lands with it, then next game stealing his 15/15 trampler as it came into the field, and basically playing my entire deck in other players endsteps by generating 26 mana a turn whilst everything had instant speed and the top card of my deck is revealed, allowing me to draw cards simply by playing other cards, then untapping to take my actual turn, was nuts). My last opponent basically conceeded due to the sheer card advantage I could create for myself, and the fact that by that point I basically had an answer to anything he tried.

Although whilst that deck is fun I'm now starting to put together a new Animar, Soul of the Elements deck, because massive creatures are fun and the recent Khans block has provided a bunch of great Temur coloured support for an already powerful commander. And next block we're going back to Zendikar, which means new Eldrazi... Massive colourless creatures with powerful abilites, in a deck which supports massively powerful creatures by specifically making them cheaper to cast, yeah, it's a good time to start making an Animar deck.

[Kim]

Any chance FFXIV is going to go subscription free soon? I'm thinking about playing it eventually.

I highly doubt it. They seem to be doing really well and they're coming out with an expansion June 23rd

[phil_]

I'm working on nursing school /slash/ trying to figure out what I'm going to do when I inevitably flunk out of nursing school /slash/ not really doing either of those and playing School Idol Festival like a full-time job.

I'm a terrible human being, basically. It's my life's work, and I hope it inspires artists of the future.

[Hatake Kakashi]

I'm just finishing up the final quarter of my undergrad. Finals begin on Monday. Already been accepted to two grad schools, but haven't locked in the one I really want just yet. In any case, I'm finding ways to continue dropping weight. I lost 60 pounds last year, planning to lose another 130. My wife is happy with the change. I've found the only thing I really dislike about it is having to buy new clothes every 3-4 months.

We're also making solid plans to move to Osaka in September. I'm incredibly excited for that.

[Bum Bill Bee]

I'm hopefully getting real close to starting off a weeky original characters webcomic series, I plan to try and update it twice a week along with my SATW spinoff, which has started to get a small following.

Its just that I keep getting sidetracked and worry about the technique with digital coloring, shading and speech bubbles not being good enough.

[BB]

...playing School Idol Festival like a full-time job.

Oh, yeah, that's right- I'm also working on preparations for the next event in SIF, where I plan to hit the top 3000 players. Gonna idolise that event SR, yo!

[shiney]

We're also making solid plans to move to Osaka in September. I'm incredibly excited for that.

I don't see why you'd want to live in a restaurant, but more power to you.

[phil_]

preparations for the next event in SIFSo, quitting your job and taking out a loan to buy Loveca stones? Building a robot to play while you sleep? Learning how to not sleep for more than 90 minutes?

[BB]

Learning how to not sleep for more than 90 minutes?

Nah man the trick is to empty the LP bar before bed, set an alarm for when it'll be full again (six hours for me), start an Expert song and pause it, and enjoy 2.5 more hours of luxurious sleep B)

...Okay I MIGHT have a problem, but I've been saving up freebie gems for a long time so I should have enough to get me there without spending any money at least. My fiancee did the same for the Maki event just past and the brackets have increased since then.

...robot, eh?

[Flarecobra]

Are you going to need a significant amount of PT?

Not too much as they basically fused the joint so it won't be moving so much. The hardest part is mostly having it heal, which can last several months.

[RobinStarwing]

Not much here. Just trying to get by and grinding up the Japanese Mediums now that they are on the 360 version of World of Tanks.

[MasterOfMagic]

Working on my relic weapon in FFXIV.

I'm broke as fuck tho so I can't afford the materia I need for this part
How fun is FFXIV? I've been itching to play an MMO, but Guild Wars is kinda not doing it for me. Too much stacking on top of each other.

[Hatake Kakashi]

I don't see why you'd want to live in a restaurant, but more power to you.

There must be a joke that I'm missing....

[Overcast]

Be careful Kakashi, from what I remember the Kansai region folks are much more friendly and tolerant than most of the rest of Japan, it may be a bit of a shock. But in all seriousness it was probably my favorite reigon when I got the chance to be there, all the luck to you.

[Krylo]

Working on my relic weapon in FFXIV.

I'm broke as fuck tho so I can't afford the materia I need for this part

Make sure you're turning any dungeon gear drops you can get into GC, then turn that into cordials, potash, and/or whatever other crafting material is currently going for a lot on the AH (I have a .txt around here of GC per gil for everything from immortal flames on Balmung).

Soldiery -> sellable crafting materials is also good.

Also if you're maxed out on a beastman tribe see if they sell anything for less gil than the AH.

Alternatively, get to the point you can make i70+ gear in crafting, make yourself a whole set, get some spirit bind potions, and make your own materia--sell what you don't need.

[Aerozord]

There must be a joke that I'm missing....

Osaka is the name of a Japanese restaurant franchise in the US

[Kim]

Make sure you're turning any dungeon gear drops you can get into GC, then turn that into cordials, potash, and/or whatever other crafting material is currently going for a lot on the AH (I have a .txt around here of GC per gil for everything from immortal flames on Balmung).

Soldiery -> sellable crafting materials is also good.

Also if you're maxed out on a beastman tribe see if they sell anything for less gil than the AH.

Alternatively, get to the point you can make i70+ gear in crafting, make yourself a whole set, get some spirit bind potions, and make your own materia--sell what you don't need.

Well I've been basically spending my cash on Zircon accessories, spiritbinding them, and hoping the resultant materia are either stuff I need or stuff I can sell to recoup my costs / make some extra cash. Been buying some stuff like Tawny Latex and Potash with GC seals tho. Not spending my soldiery on stuff to sell cuz I spend the soldier on Alexandrite Maps. Also, I am a lazy brat and haven't maxed out any crafting or beast tribe stuff. On the bright side, I'm over halfway done with this. Just need to wait for price to drop on stuff (all the prices jumped up cuz its the weekend) so I can buy what I need.

[Hatake Kakashi]

Osaka is the name of a Japanese restaurant franchise in the US

H-uh. Learned something new. Much appreciated.

But yeah... the city, not the restaurant.

[Kyanbu The Legend]

I'm still working on "D-Resonate of the Phantasm". More specifically sprite work when I'm able to be near my PC. And brain storming and concept work while I'm away.

Outside of that, an old friend of mine got me back into Card Fight Vanguard. Though I technically didn't quit, just took a break for a very long time. So many new card mechanics to learn.

I've also started playing Cosmic Break again for a bit. Now that Cosmic Break 2 is coming out next year, I might as well enjoy CB1 while the servers are still up. I'm going to really miss all of my old bots I've built. Gonna really suck to have to start all over again in CB2. Which I have to get a new PC to run because wow that graphical leap was huge! Like PS2 to early PS4 big. Will all be worth it for a number of reasons. Especially if Cyber Step is telling the truth and actually learned for all of the player complaints in regards to the many issues CB1 has. From balancing to the way the shop is set up. Seeing as the grappon is still going to be around...probably not but hey they finally learned why running a fast paced online game off of Java was not a great idea and will be running a much better engine. That's something I guess, and they did say they'd balance things better this time and that seems to be true so far with the closed betas. And the new gameplay changes are pretty cool like wall jumping MMX style and destructible terrain and structures. So I have some hope in it.