As far as dice rolls go, I would choose either A or D. Mostly D.

btw, do you have an online art gallery somewhere? would like to see more of your stuff.

Sarcopholacooda 2016/12/15(Thu)20:06 No. 106560 ID: dd5a72
File 148186116187.png - (246.50KB , 600x500 , CYB005.png )

>>106531
Yes, I do! I haven't posted too frequently but I usually check http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ramos every so often. I would say it's the most active account, but after discovering tgchan only three months ago I've been drawing more. I also have a deviantart account, but it hasn't really been touched since 2011-ish. But you'll find old TPE stuff there. And a lot has changed since then (Eudora and Cybil had different powers and it was going to be a team of six, not three)! I suppose I ought to start going back now that TPE seems to be on my mind again! http://sarcopholacooda.deviantart.com/

>Updates
I may be too busy to update TPE until after Christmas—I'm participating in a Secret Santa and I'm doing the crazy idea of writing and drawing, like, five frames for each character trying to find a gift.

>Picture
Here's a sneak peak for Cybil trying to find the right gift for that giftee!

Take your time on the Secret Santa. You're all doing some pretty fun ideas on that thread.

I just saw the early TPE characters. I'd say it was a pretty good idea to lower the amount of protagonists to keep things simple for the quest.

The three other characters do look cool though. It would be neat if you implement them into the story somehow, like as background characters, villains, or as a rival team that the main characters could compete against in capturing the criminals and the reward money.

Just throwing in some ideas at this point. Feel free to ignore, or use them if you want, lol.

so random question, what does cybil look like without her armor on? or at least without the helmet?

>>106570
They will show up in some way or form! I have grown a liking to the other characters so it's no doubt I'll be introducing them time and again.

>>106574
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I like the idea of making changes to hopefully improve the way combat works as if it was an actual game. Also to bring to light any missed details about the world. So here's Patch 100.003! Also to see how the format looks on here when I make bullet-points...

PATCH 100.003
001 • SMOKESCREEN distracts enemies for three rounds.
002 • Critical hits are made when a 1d100 result is 1/5th of the percentage needed. If you roll to succeed a BRAWL(50%), landing a number from 1 – 10 is a critical hit.
003 • Added damage values to character attacks:
- Unarmed (Victor/Cybil/Eudora) Damage = 1d6, a Critical Hit doubles their result.
- CHITIN GLOVES changes Eudora’s damage to 1d8, A Critical Hit doubles - her result.
- Cybil’s Stunning-Pellets cause 1d3 damage and 1 round stunned. A Critical hit results with 2d3 damage and 2 rounds stunned.
- Cybil’s Electro-Grip stuns enemies for 2 rounds. A Critical Hit guarantees 3 rounds.

I hope to update the quest tonight. Buuuut it's been hard to figure out whether Victor's Stealth Success counted as a move or as an attack on the scout. I have made a final decision but if anyone has something to add or question (before or after the quest update), let me know! I'd love to hear it.

Question Sarcopholacooda 2017/01/08(Sun)07:54 No. 107559 ID: 44cccd
File 148389087583.png - (292.37KB , 1000x750 , VICTOR.png )

Okay, so this is a big question: should I abandon the dice-roll system? I'm concerned that I'm just leaving people out. If someone succeeds to punch a villain in the face—I guess there's not much more to add, right? I can see how boring it could get with "hit, miss, hit, hit, miss, onto next guy, hit, miss, miss" etc. As far as I know (I've only discovered the site in Sept), I haven't seen many quests that depend on a dice-roll system. Even so, it seems they're used sparingly which is what I feel I should follow and take notes.

Perhaps when it comes to non-combative skills dice-rolls can increase chances to get more out of something? Any jump, or lockpick, or intimidation can be a success—but perhaps a dice roll can reward more?

These are just thoughts I've been having recently off the top of my head.

The picture is an example of what kinds of abilities the characters get. It's still being finished, but it's what I had in mind. But if anyone has suggestions to add or improve I'm all ears!

I think I only saw one quest that used dice rolls and it was just fails after fails and the scene ended with the thing they were fighting just leaving in a way where I think the writer just was mercy-ending the fight. That was bad luck, but I think it might be better to handle successes and fails more in a story kind of way. Having a system and rules is kinda clunky when you have to have dozens of people controlling a couple of character. From what I've seen anyway. without the dice rolls the writer has more control over interesting things potentially happening and pacing.

I feel like my quest definitely had a very boring portion in the second part, and a big part of why, I think, was because I handled events based on chance, rather than queue and timing. And I imagine that a similar thing can happen if you put chance in fights.

Tabletop games work with rules and dice rolls cause each person control their own characters, and the flow narrative is broken by design while people roll dices and check rules and etc. But it's also not meant to be a story to be read. Quests are archived and can be read afterwards and I think having to read through a dice roll based fight wouldn't be all that great. Instead a fight scene should be choreographed using the suggestion. Rewarding good tactic with success and poor tactic with careful failure (instead of full failure and make everyone mad at the one person who suggested something not great).

Something like that, I dunno haha. I'm definitely still poking at the quest formula on my end too.

>>107560
That was very helpful! Thank you!

>>107559
I'm not sure how well it would really work, but rolling an actual set of dice oneself after people decide what they want to do could be an option.

>>107593
I believe I may resort to that.

On the plus side I wouldn't have to halt everything just for a single reply. So I'll remove BRAWL, DODGE, and STEALTH; instead I'll present their stats in Strength, Durability, and Agility on a scale from 1 to 5.

As for the non-combative skills—I think those will be optional if players want to try their luck. There are many ways to open a locked door, and Victor's Lockpicking can be voted on if no one finds the key or wants to avoid kicking the door down. A success could also reward XP.

So... I think I will roll all dice from now on—— At least when the first episode finally comes around.

Hm, I wonder if that thing that fridge just produced is "the Divider" Oni Erie. Just a wild guess.

Checking Up Sarcopholacooda 2017/02/12(Sun)00:40 No. 108646 ID: 45984f
File 148688880073.jpg - (220.21KB , 600x708 , Victor 1.jpg )

Hey everyone, just checking up on how the quest is doing so far. I have been reading your comments and I'm open for suggestions and questions—that is, if my answers aren't spoilers. Or maybe I'll make a fake answer...

For the abilities you've just unlocked, I plan to have Victor visit each corresponding character in their room to find out more about them. There's a lot of stuff to submit so I just wanted to split them up in increments instead of posting a bunch of pictures with a ton of information, all at once.

As soon as all that is done... Episode 1 will begin! Hurrah!

PICTURE: I believe it to be the first sketch of Victor, circa 2010.

So the prologue is finished and I'm finally working on the first episode; I would like to thank everyone who has participated so far! I'm generally concerned what everyone thinks of it now—and if there's anything you'd like to see differently, or if there's anything you like/don't like.

Then again I'm still new here and it's my first quest. I understand that some quests don't kick off right away. I find TPE fun to write and make, and as long as I get at least one response, I'll keep working on it!

I'm also wondering whether to try smaller, simpler quests. There are a few stories in my head that I could play around with.
— —
I will say that it's not the last time you see the black orb from the prologue. I feel that the choice to leave it alone may have ruined something (or I'm just paranoid that people didn't like that happening). But I like to set things up like that to unfold in following chapters.

I must applaud you for making these characters very likable within the first part of the prologue through their personalities and actions.

This is pretty good for a first quest, and would love to see those smaller quests you are thinking about, that is as long as you think you can handle working on multiple quests. My suggestion for those smaller quests if you are going to delve into it is probably consider keeping things straightforward not just in the plot, but in the art style, like less color/shading, simpler character designs, etc. That way it won't weigh you down, and mess with your schedule for your bigger quest, Team Port Echo.

As for the black orb, I'm wondering what you meant by leaving the orb alone might have ruined something. Are you talking about plans you had for the plot regarding the black orb being ruined, our interest in the black orb, our decision being a large mistake, or something else? Keep in mind that us quest suggesters think hard about the consequences (most of the time) before taking action if we are very interested in the quest. That is why we chose to leave the orb alone. We didn't want to see these characters get in trouble, especially since they are new to the job. It's not like we weren't interested in the black orb, some of us actually wanted to take it, but in the end decided it might get us in trouble in the long run. That said, I would love to discover that orb's mystery.

Yeah I'm enjoying it! (I was gonna draw Victor that one time but couldn't come up with a pose/etc.) If some updates get little suggestions, it sometimes can mean that the choices might not be obvious (I do that one a lot) or that there might be someone who made a suggestion that covered all the bases. I'd say, just keep on updating!

What this other person said about the smaller quest all checks out. Would be neat to see what you make and make sure it's easier and faster to update by simplifying the art style and etc.

And yeah, I'd say, doing quests, you have to be ready for certain things you plan in doing not "triggering" cause the suggestors steered away from where things would happen. You mostly just have to be ready for it. =P (by revisiting the concept later under different circumstances, like you mentioned, or by having alternate things happen, among other things)

I have a question... What happens with Overkill damage towards Cybil ability: Heliosshield ? Does it also get absorbed and then the shield falls, or does it punch through the shield?

>>110236
>>110239
>Black Orb
The vote was almost tied on what to do with the orb, which leaving it alone was the choice that won. I didn't mind that result! —but I worried that all the anticipation leading to it may have turned some people away. I do have plans to reintroduce it later in the series, no problem.

>Smaller quests
Yeh, I feel that I would turn to stick figures and simpler shapes—and something with a looser plot where literally anything goes. Something involving robots.

>>110241
Overkill Damage
Good question, I haven't thought about that! I think any extra damage from a spread of bullets will be absorbed before the shield falls—but if it manages to block a rocket then anyone nearby will still feel the shockwave.

I'll just pop in quick to say that I am enjoying the quest so far. Fun characters, neat premise, and some pretty great art.

Also don't worry about the orb. It was kind of obvious that it was going to play some part in the quest seeing how much importance you were giving it in the prolog but since we chose to leave it and then none of our dice rolls involving it panned out I figured it would be better just to forget about the thing and let it come back in bite us in the ass later instead of bogging down the quest trying to figure out what's in the box.

If I had to guess what the black orb was though, it was either something that would give someone a huge boast in powers or the 4th teammate. I only say that because I remember you saying that when you originally came up with this idea you had the team consist of 5 characters.

Sarcopholacooda 2017/04/13(Thu)18:04 No. 110623 ID: 2fc5a6
File 149213187939.png - (302.51KB , 1246x838 , CNIDARIAN.png )

Just some exercise! I might make some kind of species sheet. So here are some Cnidarian folk.

>>110623
what do they look like outside of their suits? Because of their helmets I keep imagining something like kabuto is piloting those things.

Sarcopholacooda 2017/04/13(Thu)19:40 No. 110628 ID: 2fc5a6
File 149213761840.png - (69.75KB , 494x427 , CNIDARIAN_nosuit.png )

>>110626
I see it may have been hard to see with them lined up too closely to one another. When I first drew them long ago they were literally just brains with spider legs. So this design is pretty much an update so I can have an idea how they function.

Here's just them without the suit. It's an odd mix of something of an insect with a jellyfish. One thing that terrifies me is how some wasps have their legs just dangle when they fly. (Cnidarians do not fly, they mainly swim but they can crawl as well)

>>110628
oh that's actually them? I thought that was just a helmet that flew around for those that didn't want to spend to much on mech body.

This is a cool quest and I really like it.

>>110660
Thank you! :D

Hm, Eudora's light on Speech skills except for Intimidate. Hopefully we can use feats of physical strength to convince the performers to help us. Like a jumplomancer!

Sarcopholacooda 2017/04/27(Thu)16:49 No. 111197 ID: 4e0923
File 149333698309.jpg - (66.56KB , 558x616 , Cybil - Deathinator.jpg )

Just a little thing I'm wondering—would it be better to leave dialogue open for players to say whatever they want when approaching a situation, or just have options at the ready?

Should dialogue have plenty of options to choose from, while actions/fight scenes are primarily open-ended?

This is something I'm just typing on a whim.

Is it best to let people know they have an opportunity to use their skills (persuade, repair, jump, knowledge) or let it open-ended for players to figure it out themselves?

Again, these are thoughts/questions I'm just saying out loud.

Picture: Fan art of Cybil long ago by a friend. Thought it was the coolest thing.

>>111197
The answer, is yes. I'd point to Enemy Quest again giving multiple choices plus a blank slot. Including skills you think are relevant in the presented paths is handy too, as we might forget about some skills sometimes.

>>111197
Kaaa...meee...haaa...meee...HAAAAAA!!!!!

>Just a little thing I'm wondering—would it be better to leave dialogue open for players to say whatever they want when approaching a situation, or just have options at the ready?

Both. There's a bevy of reasons for allowing suggesters to define an approach, but also a bevy of reasons to give the quest some focus through making them pick and choose from among set options.

This comes mostly from my experiences running RL tabletop games. Whenever I give my players too much freedom, they tend to vacillate and spend ages arguing over which is the most optimal path, so it sometimes helps for me to boil down their options and force them to make actual choices - but within that framework I'm always happy to consider their crazy ideas and schemes.

>Should dialogue have plenty of options to choose from, while actions/fight scenes are primarily open-ended?

Yes, with 'plenty' generally being 2-4 options.

>Is it best to let people know they have an opportunity to use their skills (persuade, repair, jump, knowledge) or let it open-ended for players to figure it out themselves?

This one's a bit tougher. Make your best judgement in each case, I'd say, based on what comes natural to the character to think of.

Sarcopholacooda 2017/05/04(Thu)13:42 No. 111392 ID: 7058f1
File 149393057164.png - (124.51KB , 1000x750 , Talents and Skill Checks.png )

I'm changing things bit by bit, but I believe this could be pretty useful. Pretty much all characters have basic general knowledge and skills. A toughie like Eudora should still have a chance at charming and hacking—even if it's slim—but that's the fun in it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

There will also be some edits in character sheets. Each character by default has seven talents (4 natural and studied, 3 hobbies), and I feel that being able to use a weapon and having high knowledge in something should be in their separate category. So while Cybil has Hack, Opr. Hvy. Machinery, Scan, Repair, and Persuade, I think Knowledge (History/Law) and Weapon (Firearms) can be replaced with something like Heal and Navigate. Meanwhile Language, Weapon Use, and Knowledge will be their own thing.

Side note, although I feel I'll never get around to it until the far future, I would love to have some traditional adventure where the players can craft their own characters. I have a list of 21 species and they all have some random assortment of skills to start off with.

Oh, before I forget, I'm trying to think of a good fighting system. Each character will have Strength, Defense, Agility, and Willpower. Instead of waiting to see whether you hit or miss with percentage dice, I'm trying a rock-paper-scissors method. Still figuring it out!

That's all I have for now!

Sarcopholacooda 2017/05/07(Sun)22:09 No. 111460 ID: 7058f1
File 149422019266.png - (300.65KB , 1000x831 , EUDORA AGILE 2.png )

I've tried updating character sheets to have better talents and keep knowledge and weapon handling skills separate.

I've been busy with rearranging stats and adding a fighting system (hence the STR DEF AGL and WIL). I'll probably use this sheet instead of this one [>>/quest/>>797870] during the obstacle course.

Anyway, I'll be updating an another day or two. I was taking a minor break (and I'm currently in three Pathfinder/Call of Cthulhu games).

[>>/quest/797870] link fix

Sarcopholacooda 2017/05/17(Wed)21:21 No. 111662 ID: fd4e30
File 149508127057.png - (323.66KB , 1000x831 , CYB.png )

Updated character sheet for Cybil! I removed weapon handling and knowledge checks with Heal and Navigate! Other than that, nothing else! She seems alright as-is.

Sarcopholacooda 2017/05/17(Wed)21:25 No. 111663 ID: fd4e30
File 149508150144.png - (291.92KB , 1000x831 , VIC.png )

Can't forget Victor. Same thing with weapon handling and knowledge checks replaced with Covert, and Awareness is now it's own thing. Like 'Spot Hidden'.

Quick question!

When introducing achievements, should some have their descriptions kept in secret or let everyone know how to obtain them?

>>112651
I'd prefer some description text as additional clues on how to get them.

>>112651
Yeah having a hint is nice.

Is TPE worth continuing? I hope to at least finish the episode—but I don't think it's catching anyone's eye, which is a shame (for me) because I felt really invested in this.

The feeling's been on and off and it doesn't seem like I gained any momentum with an audience since its beginning.

>>114144
If you want me to be honest, I think Team Port Echo has some real neat stuff about it, like sci-fi and good character design. But overall, the quest does seems a bit... "unexciting"? I dunno if you'd just need to crank up how many things happens or what. It's possible it's based on my own opinion of how "cop stories" are generally boring to me.

I guess at this point, you'd have to think about what is coming up and decide if things are going to pick up and if you should stick with it. You say that you're into this setting and etc. so I do think you can keep going, but you might want to think about pacing more. Which is super tough for quests and I don't even know if I even do it right, lol.

One thing I'll add is that I like the characters enough that I would rather not see their story end in a full stop. But it's really up to you if you feel like doing something else.

>>114145
Yes, you are definitely right about its current pace. And honestly where they are now will be the only time when no combat sparks—or there's no tension (unless you purposely start a fight). Inspired by the current Call of Cthulhu game I'm in, there was something fun about investigating and using skills to open up different passages to get to Point B. Something neo-noir with superheroes and aliens (like Jessica Jones).

Currently I'm also a part of a pathfinder game where there was at least one combat encounter each session. And there was an interesting balance of learning what's wrong with the town—and suddenly we have to fight a bunch of stirges in the middle of a food market! But it worked somehow and it was nice.

I have been brainstorming on how to fix it in the next section of the chapter. I hope it's not too late by the time I get around to it.

I also think that focusing on what each character is doing was sort of a mistake. I might have to just cut off what Eudora and Victor were doing so we can only control one character at a time.

Maybe I'll backtrack a bit (is it bad to delete posts like that? Even when there was only one reply?)

It's been a long while since we saw some of the clues, so let's collate our facts:
A buoy with a 2 in it is out of position near C03, causing a collision for a boat three days ago.
A map points to it as being a the pickup destination and has another buoy nearby named for reference.
Vic sees three buoys with 2 in the name listed as having something attached.

With a little (a lot) more reading back through and cross-referencing updates, I think we're very close to having all the facts we need to solve the case in front of us. That said... It'd probably take a chunk of time set aside for the task to accomplish. Which is good! You just don't normally see quests on tgchan that can't be completed just by flailing your arms one update at a time.

>>114152
>A buoy with a 2 in it is out of position near C03, causing a collision for a boat three days ago.
No, that actually happened today.

I think intercutting the decisions might be a better approach. Say, follow one character for a bit then hop over to the next. Also lets you have fun with complications developing off camera.

So I have a couple ideas/questions ahead—whether they may ever happen or not.

a. How would anyone feel to control someone interviewing a member of the team—where they would ask questions about the heroes?

b. Two occasions I thought of some of the team members going on a date. Do you think it would be worthwhile to make a separate quest/short centered around that if the opportunity arises?

c. I feel like this chapter is gonna be somewhat railroaded—although there will be multiple choices on how to solve 'the goal' and where to go next. The next chapter I'm going to try to be more open. Less story/more combat and exploration.

d. Anything you'd like to explore with the team? Even if I don't reply I guarantee I'll keep your ideas and suggestions in mind.

Anyway, just a few things bouncing in my head!

>>117369
A. I guess it could work! We could really help spin the team's PR depending on what questions we asked.
B. Heck yeah, whether it's a side thread or a side quest that'd be an interesting adventure.
C. Okay, but expect us to miss the obvious and go off on wild tangents. Multiple choice helps keep readers moving forward while still getting to make their own decisions.
D. Eudora's metamorphosis is the skill tree I'm most interested in exploring. There are so many potential mutators she can adapt to as the situation demands.

Loving this quest so far. I’d say the only thing that truly miffed me was the Point of No Return that we passed out of nowhere upon obtaining all three clues in the first half of “Episode One.” We still had time for two more encounters, and it would have been fun trying to knock out the remaining two achievements with those.

As for your inquiries:
[A]: I think it’d be better if we were controlling the ones giving answers, like in Episode Zero; sure, we can try to avoid pointed or leading questions, but then beyond that, how the team ends up making themselves look would be outside of our control.
[B]: I’m not sure I’m for a dedicated thread for dating unless everyone else is against me. I’d rather see romance and friendship blossom organically during missions.
[C]: It’s only a railroad until we willingly go off the rails. If we don’t even attempt that, then there was nothing wrong with the railroad to begin with. I’m fine with more “contained” scenarios, as long as you’re willing to listen to the more strange or creative solutions that you didn’t take into account before.
[D]: I mean, you mentioned earlier that the roster was originally going to be six? I see no reason why the cast can’t expand, as long as the new additions serve a real narrative purpose. It feels just weird to have a super team with only three heroes to its name. If too many POVs was the original problem with six characters, then maybe put a limit on how many can participate on various missions - a simple meeting with a contact could just take one or two, whereas infiltrating a city-wide lockdown to hit several key targets might take four or more.

Actually, a reporter might be interesting, but only if they were reoccurring, and got to do more than just give reports. Maybe they’re heading up their own investigation into various aspects of the Port Echo underground?

Skill Trees Sarcopholacooda 2017/11/12(Sun)21:27 No. 117762 ID: 11f77a
File 151055083407.png - (182.75KB , 1286x1000 , VIC TREE.png )

So I was thinking of skill trees. And I thought that instead of making a fixed reward system where I choose the reward you earn after advancing a level...

I'll just have you guys vote which ability/upgrade to unlock.

This is a work in progress and I may still change some descriptions. But this is an idea of what I'm going for. I would show the others but I've yet to figure out the upgrades to their abilities. Before this I just had one or two powers lucky enough to be granted an upgrade.

Victor was the hardest, actually, for you can't go very far with 'hide, unlock to hide even better'. Still mixing things around.

Oh, and I have a discord for my quest(s). Excuse me if this link doesn't work, I'm fairly new at the site because I thought Skype wasn't so bad (whoops).

https://discord.gg/XpRctkx

so random question but if Eudora ever used that "moth" form that you showed her in the one from assday for some reason, what kind of bonuses and penalties would that give her? Like how her agility form makes her quicker and sneaker but more frail.

>>117923
I have been thinking of a fourth form for Eudora, even before the 'moth' debut during Ass Day. It most likely would function as a diplomatic or support role. Or at times where it's just to look nice during a high-class party/date/holy ceremony. I may create a faux-chart of what I'd call her 'formal' form without the ass part which gives her an increase in persuasion and charm skills. Perhaps sensitive feelers to be more aware of her surroundings.

The contrast between her personality and beauty could be humorous, akin to Francis (ladybug) from A Bug's Life.

In fact it could happen this episode.

Sarcopholacooda 2017/11/19(Sun)18:30 No. 117940 ID: 11f77a
File 151114500681.png - (231.26KB , 453x828 , SKILL ICONS.png )

Woo, icons! What do they meeeean?

Sarcopholacooda 2017/12/09(Sat)21:45 No. 118635 ID: 11f77a
File 151288475860.png - (377.89KB , 1000x831 , TEAMPORTECHO NEW REF TEST.png )

An idea of revising the stats and character sheets for the heroes. It includes all the other skills and info. It's also a test to see if it's easily readable for its small font.

Anyway, let me know what ya think!

>>118635
I have no trouble reading this.

>>117940
>Woo, icons! What do they meeeean?
Something. They mean something.

>>118635
>Readability check.
Yeah, it's readable.

Sarcopholacooda 2017/12/10(Sun)00:07 No. 118640 ID: 11f77a
File 151289327973.png - (254.93KB , 1000x831 , EUD A 2.png )

>>118638
>>118639
Well good!

Before I sleep for the night here's Eudora's AGL form. Still being worked on and it's quite enjoyable to see everything come together. I think Victor will stand in his character sheet though.

I think these'll take effect after the battle since some things have been changed around combat.

I fleshed out the Wiki, it is no longer a stub and details all major-enough characters. Still not fleshed out completely too my liking, but that requires more time.

https://tgchan.org/wiki/Team_Port_Echo

>>120597
Whoa! That's really kind of ya! Thanks a lot for your time and effort in it so far. Looking good :)

And it's Eudora with an 'E' :P

>>120598

I blame Eudora's head that blocked out the lower part of the E making me think it was an F instead.

Sarcopholacooda 2018/02/14(Wed)11:51 No. 120664 ID: 11f77a
File 151863788180.png - (158.52KB , 673x787 , Old Victor.png )

>>120658
No problem, I could see that when I checked it out.

Picture:
For fun I made Victor all grown up. Chupian spines keep growing and that's why they have longer necks and tails as an adult. Victor has a weird condition to be hairless too, which I always imagined him to be.

Since each alien is based on a trope (Eudora to insects, Jer to reptoids) Victor is like the 'chupacabras' southerners always find but it's just a dog with mange.

Believe it or not his mother (Yamelle) was made first, but had no connection to Victor until late in development. This is a picture from early 2009: https://pre00.deviantart.net/f3f2/th/pre/f/2009/009/7/d/yamelle_girl_1_of_7_by_deslacooda.jpg when I was just dishing out alien concepts. I don't use that account anymore, but she was supposed to be more camel-like than dog-like.

But I wanted her to fit in TPE, so I made the official species design based on her, and so had to work around Victor relating to her look. So the most notably would be the neck and tail (and fur) and just made it simple that all Chupians just keep growing their spine. Science.

a suggestion
if we get a ability to full we get it for free and dont have to choose between it and others

What's your stance on having a kind of synergy mechanic for fully upgraded abilities?
I have some ideas if you'd care to hear them.

>>121193
Although it would be nice, I feel that having all/more than two abilities equipped at once (whether fully upgraded or not) would be a little game/immersion-breaking. I like to challenge players with having to choose and make their decisions count, especially during moments of tension or before combat—instead of having a safety net the suggesters can simply fall back on if their favored abilities don't go the way they want. Plus, players have a chance to be creative with their abilities. Although may be fun to have so much at your leisure, situations could turn bland and there's no fear to experience which I think is important to have.

"Oh, they spotted Victor? Just throw a Smokescreen. Hmm, some robots are unaffected—I'll just use the Tarboye to slow them down. If they get closer I can always use Propulsion to jump to a higher place. If that doesn't keep them away I can just throw a Migraine Shroud and run."

However, as enemies grow tougher, I may allow characters to have a third ability to equip.

>>121228
I have been thinking of that for a while now, and honestly it could work! I don't know when I can fit them in, but I've had some good ideas bouncing around since it came up.

For example, I'm thinking of a move where Victor generates a giant cloud and Cybil releases a lot of electricity like a storm.

And by all means, please share any ideas you have on here!

>>121241
I could try think up ideas for partner combo abilities like that but I was originally thinking more along the lines of stiff like:

smogwerfer/smokescreen:
Smokescreen bombs can be fired from the smogwerfer and cause and emp effect on any machine directly hit.

tarboye/migraine shroud:
Goons covered in tar will pass out if they dont break free in a certain amount of rounds and the tar gives off a migraine inducing gas.
maybe also the tar bubble has the effects of the migraine bomb as additional effects if it bursts the third round instead of the second?

propulsion/cloaking:
The cloaking cloud can be fueled by the jetpack and can be turned on or off the create a constant thin cloud around Vic that causes confusion to any goon that is close enough.
also the jetpack smoke ring also induces confusion without even having to launch and and launching is even quieter when undetected.

These are just some ruff ideas of what could be done and I could put a lot more thought into them if you like and could even go further with:
smogwerfer/migraine shroud:
smogwerfer/cloaking:

smogwerfer/tarboye:
smogwerfer/propulsion:
tarboye/propulsion:
smogwerfer/tarboye/propulsion:

tarboye/cloaking:
tarboye/smokescreen:

propulsion/migraine shroud:
propulsion/smokescreen:

smokescreen/cloaking:
smokescreen/migraine shroud:

cloaking/migraine shroud:

everything/everything:oh God no

But that would take me awhile and I feel it would overly complicate everything.
I could keep going with this, come up with different ideas, team abilities or drop it completely. Your call?

silk armor/phoenix molt:
We "Resurrect" with armor. duh.

chitin gloves/bioluminescence:
Agility: The speed of her punches leaves a confusing after image blur that makes in difficult for enemies to react (dodge or counter)
Normal: Her aura slowly weakens enemies increasing the chance of a knockout.
Durability: She can unleash a bright flash that stuns an enemy for up to three rounds making it near impossible to dodge her bone-breaker.

sap bomb/polyp ward:
All polyps that attach to enemies highlight them with bioluminescence.
Agility:Small polyps in the sap attaches to the target and increases the rate at which the sap cocoon grows.
Normal: A single in the sap attaches to the target slowly draining its energy and transferring it to Eudora until it is removed.
Durability: When the sap bomb explodes it sends several small polyps out that attach to floors/walls/ceiling and any enemies not already caught in the sap.

or

sap bomb/bioluminescence:
Cocooned enemies become hives of fire-mites.
Agility: Can fire more sap more rapidly.
Normal: An cocooned enemy gives of the same aura as Eudora.
Durability:Sap glows highlighting targets that come into contact with it.

chitin gloves/polyp ward:?
If the Agility and Durability abilities for the polyp wards were switched around maybe I could work with it but right now I got nothing.




co-op combo ideas:
Victor and Cybil: Victor unleashes a metal particle heavy cloud and Cybil electrifies it shocking everyone within it.

Victor and Eudora: Victor covers Eudora in a quick hardening tar giving her armor that's heavier but denser than her silk armor which allows her to shrug off medium and sometimes heavy arms fire.
I now have a image in my head of Vic and Eudora as Doc and Heavy from TF2.
I AM BULLETPROOF!!

Cybil and Eudora: Cybil can supercharge Eudoras transformation cutting the time it takes in half.

>>121257
>>121281
Ah, so you meant weapon combinations!

Maybe I misread what you're saying, but sounds like a simple fusion of, say, Tarboye/Migraine in one move instead of tarring someone the first round attack, then dropping the Migraine Cloud on the second round attack.

Maybe I'm a bit unsure to see how to fit something like that in the game, because each ability is stand-alone unique. True, why not use the Smogwerfer to shoot the Smokescreens instead of having to toss them by hand? Perhaps it took a long while to give each character six abilities that vary differently in playstyle from each other and having to combine two would... ruin it? Be too powerful at level 3? Then again enemies will get stronger the further our heroes progress.

Little fun side fact, Victor was the most difficult to come up with in regards to abilities. There's not much you can do with gas and smoke. His 6th ability (Tarboye) wasn't even made until he had a chance to upgrade. Before it was either a flamethrower or some dust devil—which could still happen somewhere down the line.

I'm not bashing the idea. A part of me thinks it may be a case of 'no it's perfect don't change it! Mine! hissss!'

However the upgrades (and the game itself) are ever-changing with fixes and tweaks to see what works best and what is very creative! (Sap Bomb/Biolumin) Cocooned enemies becoming hives sounds terrifying and seems to fit the Lovecraftian-bug lore of Eudora. Perhaps in the future I'll add a 7th ability for each character.

>Team combinations
You have given a neat idea for Cyb/Eudora, too. Only I imagine Eudora being a literal lightning bug with faster moves and electrifying effects to her abilities for a time.

Funny you mention the Eudora/Victor combo—when Eudora was first conceptualized she had the power of Entropy, so she could melt stuff and add debris to her body just by fusing through a wall. So she was covered in some molten liquid as it hardened into temporary armor. But that was a time when powers were less down-to-Earth. (Cybil had the power of fucking gravity, yeah, wrap your head how that one came about)

But I thank you for the ideas so far. It could have potential for the future.

>>121283
>Be too powerful
Like I said these are ruff ideas. I could've made them even more OP or I could've toned em down but the idea was that you had to fully upgrade 2 abilities and then either take both of them to get a special combo ability or cutting the abilities from six to three combined abilities instead of making a third slot.
But this is just one way of approaching ability synergy. Think of these ideas as crude oil in need of refinement.

>Victor flamethrower
You could always make the tar flammable but isn't the whole team supposed to be a special unit of local law enforcement? Doesn't that mean non lethal?
>or some dust devil
What like a giant fan?

Also with the rage and fear additives you could make him like DCs' Scarecrow.

>Lovecraftian-bug lore
I'm also getting some John Carpenter vibes from her.
She reminds me a little of a plague marine but without the disease and rot.

>Eudora being a literal lightning bug
So stun glove fists? I thought of that but seeing as Cybil already has stun pellets and Eudora can already take out weaker goons with just punches it seemed redundant.
Maybe in normal for normal for she has electric punches, in agility form shes even quicker and in durability form her punches are supercharged?

>Entropy/Gravity
So back when they were actual superheroes?

>It could have potential for the future.
I'd just need some more defined guidelines for any future stuff.

Sarcopholacooda 2018/03/22(Thu)19:19 No. 121731 ID: 11f77a
File 152177157046.png - (507.62KB , 1452x840 , MOSS.png )

So I find joy in drawing various ranks of each villainous gang. So here's Moss and his gang!

In order from easiest to hardest (for all gangs) the ranks are: Scout > Goon > Grunt > Elite > Titan > Boss

I feel that I should give details or one of those “making of…” notes as well as some clarity on what has happened (or hasn’t happened) while still keeping more important plot points a secret.

• There are a total of three barnacles/batteries/prototypes to destroy. Cybil/Eudora destroyed two and the final one was in Dr. Oric’s hands. I thought it would be funny if someone like Eudora stomped in and destroyed it right in front of him purely for the achievement, causing him to sob or break down from all the hard work he’s done. I guess if you want to do a 180 and destroy it in the car ride home then I suppose I won't deny that.

• The awareness check at the very end was actually for something else entirely. Now that I re-read it I feel that I should have made it clear that it wasn’t for finding any more barnacles, but something else odd in the general area. Or something overlooked that is not too crucial to the story.

• Scanning vs. Awareness is a bit hazy at the beginning of this mission. They seem like they do the same thing, spotting details that may be hidden to the player. But I suppose I ought to make it official that Awareness is for spotting hidden items, scouting people, and noticing things out-of-place. Scanning is for looking up model numbers, finding weaknesses when studying a foreign piece of technology, identifying people in a database, and generating a map of targets to know where to fire in an area (for the sake of automated turrets).

• I didn’t expect everyone to go after the sniper first. However, it was always my intention to have the assassin kill him while everyone would fight on the beach (if their stealth rolls failed) and see if they noticed no one firing over their heads anymore. I had to figure out how long it would take and how far the assassin would be by the time Cybil reached the small hut.

• The assassin did cause the power outage in the tunnels below. If Victor kept moving East he’d find a powerbox slashed apart. It would be repairable.

• I gave the mission 15 rounds (beginning with the first gunshot) to reach Dr. Oric before the assassin [DOES SOMETHING], and you made it on the 15th round. Good job!

• I thought of a funny scenario of Cybil using her hologram to distract the guards on the beach. It would be a depiction of Dr. Oric walking around aimlessly. The guards would chase after him scared that if anyone found out the doctor escaped they would be hanged by Moss. In short, if anyone is able to use an ability or strategy that is quite humorous and effective, I will likely allow it.

There may be a lot more stuff I’ve forgotten. I generally talk about thoughts and ideas on TPE, and ask about ways to approach a situation on a discord server (https://discord.gg/XpRctkx) so you may learn a few new things about the making of each mission!

>>122954
Oh, the hologram is customizable? That's super useful.

>>122955
Yes. It can be as image of anything pretty much. Enemies may try to disbelieve the illusion.

So bad news first, I don't think I'll work on Team Port Echo's current quest for a while (or again). With suggestions appearing less and less I feel I put too much work in it with stats, upgrades, maps, puzzles, and the like. I felt ambitious, yet it does wear me down. It doesn't seem many are interested right now. But not all quests last long here, as expected. I ought to reboot it in the future—but for now I'll just keep to holiday threads. I'll make some quests based in the TPE universe, borrowing the same species and the like.

Good news is I've decided to make TPE a full graphic novel instead. Who knows, maybe someday you could find it in a bookstore. I managed to make myself some free time to write and draw more and I feel TPE has some potential.

In other news I made a new quest: https://tgchan.org/kusaba/quest/res/902109.html

You may recognize him from the holiday/Secret Santa posts. But I thought a simple dating sim would be nice, simple innocent fun with Ganymede trying to share his feelings for Eudora.

>>125491

I'm actually sorry to hear that! I liked Port Echo, I liked the art, the story seemed like it was going places. For some reason I just couldn't keep up with it properly. I only read through and posted very occasionally - and eventually I lost the thread on the plot and didn't really feel like making a post without, y'know, knowing what's going on and since the thread itself so seldom surfaced when I had free time and was skimming Quest... hrm. Bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy there, really. I couldn't pay attention, because I didn't see it when I could pay attention.

I do feel as if you perhaps just never got that critical mass of active posters needed to keep the thread running - or that you lost them somewhere along the way - which is a sometimes problem even for the more popular threads and why some good threads die of neglect. It may have been at least somewhat down to bad luck on your end. I certainly don't feel as if you did badly, other than perhaps in having a relatively complex set of mechanics for players to keep in mind.

Perhaps things would've worked better if you'd only had one main character (or introduced the others way later), or if choices required less mental effort to understand and respond to or if the mechanics had been simply simpler and looser. Perhaps the quality, if anything, ended up being a little intimidating and subconsciously constrained the posters' 'do X funny thing' proposals that you always see, making the post and bump count fall by the wayside. Perhaps by designing and 'prefabbing' the world and abilities you took away a creative fun factor you could've exploited to gain more player engagement. Or perhaps not! It's hard for me to say what caused the lack of interest, especially as I was interested, just not... posting.

Really, I am sorry to hear you've hit a demotivational wall. That's not fair, especially when you put a great deal of excellent effort and thought into your quest. You've got plenty to be proud of if you ask me, even if it didn't end up going where you hoped. Here's to your comic efforts working out!

Sad to hear about the TPE Quest, i like it a lot, even tho i have a hard time reading so much text (but that is just me having a hard time reading english). I hope to see you light novel tho! The pices were all there, it had great potential! Maybe it will be more beneficial for TPE if made in other format. Looking foward for that Novel.

Sorry to hear it. I've always liked seeing TPE pop up in the catalog but had trouble coming up with suggestions (it doesn't help I'm constantly far behind on all the quests I like). Wish I could offer a more helpful critique.

The date's cute already!

Sarcopholacooda 2019/10/25(Fri)10:01 No. 131277 ID: 11f77a
File 157202288129.png - (393.95KB , 860x911 , physikal.png )

So I'm just going to dump HURON pictures here since this disthread is now going to be anything related to the Team Port Echo universe. I'll see if I could get the mods to re-title it to something like "Port Echo Universe Discussion"

Veisar is having his physical with Driga. More bloopers on the way!

Sarcopholacooda 2019/10/25(Fri)10:02 No. 131278 ID: 11f77a
File 157202294182.png - (476.19KB , 860x911 , hardlight_1.png )

Driga and Njar undergoing some serious tests in hardlight technology

Sarcopholacooda 2019/10/25(Fri)10:02 No. 131279 ID: 11f77a
File 157202296504.png - (335.65KB , 860x911 , hardlight_2.png )

Oh no!

Sarcopholacooda 2019/10/25(Fri)10:03 No. 131280 ID: 11f77a
File 157202303203.png - (764.42KB , 997x911 , bugjuice_1.png )

Sertis has to take care of some Fleechworms the only way he knows how

Sarcopholacooda 2019/10/25(Fri)10:05 No. 131281 ID: 11f77a
File 157202313708.png - (724.89KB , 998x911 , bugjuice_2.png )

Poor Sertis. It's hard to maintain equipment fighting creatures with acidic blood.

Sarcopholacooda 2019/10/25(Fri)10:08 No. 131282 ID: 11f77a
File 157202332154.png - (349.32KB , 899x911 , bouncer.png )

Something something Husk something Ortess boobies

Sarcopholacooda 2019/10/25(Fri)10:10 No. 131283 ID: 11f77a
File 157202341491.png - (331.27KB , 763x825 , ventilate.png )

Key thought getting to her target through the ventilation system wouldn't have repercussions. Woops!

Alright I'm done for now.

>>131279
Forgot about the hardlight experiment pic. It's a good one!

Nice art dump. Your style is one of the best :D

So I'm trying this thing out. Quests will update normally whether you join or not. But I hope to do more than that if anyone is interested. This patreon includes anything related to Team Port Echo and Huron. So you'll see the progress I'm trying to make on the graphic novel as well! I'm new at this so I hope everything is fair at least.

https://www.patreon.com/teamportecho

Sarcopholacooda 2019/10/31(Thu)18:19 No. 131339 ID: 11f77a
File 157257115280.png - (582.03KB , 1076x898 , veisar_halloween.png )

Veisar celebrates Halloween! Hastily done sketch.

Okay, can somebody explain the "light behind the mural" talk that the most recent suggestions seem to be citing? I think understanding the context behind that might help me form a better response to... all this that's going on here.

Also, have we drifted to non-canon territory? Is this an elaborate dream sequence? A vivid hallucination? Because the only alternative besides these I can think of is that there's now straight-up magic in the Port Echo universe.

>>131413
I think it's really just as straight forward as the light seeping in through the cracks in the mural in the panel that Ganymede was thrown into. I'll admit I'm not sure where that is in relation to the worm, but it seems to be elsewhere since Eudora is the one standing in front of the worm in that other panel. But checking a previous update, maybe that's where the amber instrument is?

>>131414
Amber instrument? Okay, at this point, I know there's some sort of prophesy I'm forgetting here.

>>131415
If I could remember how to point to posts from other boards, I would, but in the thread, it's what the Mother Umbari mentioned before they start painting the mural.

Sarcopholacooda 2019/11/13(Wed)08:11 No. 131433 ID: 11f77a
File 157366151060.png - (286.23KB , 879x749 , sarc_1_alt.png )

Alt. picture of Driga from the ass day submission [>>131363]

>>131433
I need to see this in the quest now. No matter what.

Patreon Question Sarcopholacooda 2019/11/27(Wed)10:44 No. 131509 ID: 11f77a
File 157488029361.png - (615.19KB , 999x911 , ask_key_1.png )

Key (the assassin) has some interesting plot twists on her missions

Patreon Question (ALT) Sarcopholacooda 2019/11/27(Wed)10:46 No. 131510 ID: 11f77a
File 157488041009.png - (586.13KB , 999x911 , ask_key_1_variant_3.png )

Above variant without clothing or dialogue.