Housepets! Tails of Babylon! * Developer's Thread *

[GreatKitsune]

I was thinking of looking into Egyptian legends and myths to fill that void, just haven't taken the time to do so.

Did some searching and found the perfect boss for this, for so many reasons: Wepwawet (The Opener Of Ways)

[D-Rock]

I'm liking that idea. From that list of interpretations, I'd say let's do the gray/white jackal, as it seems more unique, even though that design was much, MUCH later after Satau's and Ptah's time. I guess we could go with "artistic license?"

The whole "opener of ways" shouldn't be too much of a focus, though. We could work in a bit of a light joke, Ptah would ask to see their opener, which only irritates Zach, but along the way, they find the Mower Blades for Ptah to use. We can build from there.

Also, made major additions to the character page on the wiki. I'd do more, but I can't figure out how to attach images to the page. I have them uploaded, but don't know how to embed them.

[Unusuallynamedperson]

Wait but wasn't that ghost guarding something?

Because a shabti warrior would make more sense then...

[D-Rock]

Yes, Teox was guarding something. The idea was that Nue roped him into working for him using that as leverage. He doesn't want to fight the party, but protecting the treasure takes priority.

Anyway, about the jackal/wolf Egyptian boss, I'll see what I can whip up. Obviously, it'll be a Satau recolor.

[Unusuallynamedperson]

You know, I do have a slight background in Egyptian lore right? I can literally tell you who Anubis was related to and vice versa starting from Seth downwards....

Also did you notice my banner?

[D-Rock]

I did not know of your background of Egyptian lore. I don't recall that ever coming up. Banner's alright.

[Unusuallynamedperson]

You never asked.

A shabti warrior is a Jackal like creature, they were typically depicted in legends as guarding important land marks like tombs, preferably to keep thieves out, that is why I suggested one.

[D-Rock]

Well, we never had reason to ask. Teox is a Mezzo-American warrior, though.

Regardless, are you suggesting that this jackal character also be blackmailed into helping Nue?

[Unusuallynamedperson]

Yes, moreso ten the last suggestion, as they were regular warriors of the gods, not gods themselves. In ancient Egypt god's were not normally depicted as being deceptive, nor easily deceived.

[D-Rock]

Never suggested that this jackal character was a god, but a reference to said god. Satau and Ptah are from a time before the Egyptian dynasty, so Wepwawet likely wasn't conceived yet. We could have an altered name, like how Reinhardt was originally going to be called "Reinier."

...though if you have a better understanding of Egyptian culture, you'd be the one to ask about this.

[Unusuallynamedperson]

The original concept of the Shabti warrior predates it's records, so we don't know when it was originally conceived, but I personally think it was based off of Anubis when he was still the most important god, above Ra, therefore before any pyramid was actually ever built. In essence it's totally plausible to use this guy, and a very likely encounter. I am positive it came after Anubis though which is not the first known god, but the first Jackal god, before Anubis was Ra, before him Seth and we also use this as the birth chart

so

-SETH--GOD OF ******, CREATES RA
----|------|
----RA---BAD MEMORY DONT REMEMBER SPOUSES NAME
--------|
--------|
------ANUBIS-----KEBETCHAT
------------------|
----------------ANPUT
--------------------|
--------------------|
-------------------\_/
-SHABTI---OTHER JACKAL CREATURES

Other historians consider Anput to be his wife whereas Kebetchat is the daughter, but come on man, it's common sense, you don't meet someone and marry them when they've the same name to you but feminine. Even to the Egyptians that would've been weird.

Not to be confused with Ushabti, yepper the English Language sucks...
Ushabti figurines\/
http://www.aldokkan.com/art/ushabti.htm


Mod Edit: Do not use that word.

[D-Rock]

Wow. That's a lot to take in. I used to do a lot of reading on various myths and legends, and sometimes into religions and beliefs, but never that far, and even then, it's been years since I've done proper studies. These were mainly in my free time in high school.

Anyway, I whipped this guy up. May I present, Ophois.

Ophoisconcept.png (4.38 KiB) Viewed 5695 times

Yeah, I ended up going with an alternate interpretation of his name. Like the rest of him at the moment, subject to change.

How about he's working with Nue in order to overthrow both Ptah and Satau, with the banishment of Ptah to the present being a part of the plan. He's still new to magic involving time, so he accidentally left a small rip, which the rest of the team make use of to travel to the Merimde to help out.

[Unusuallynamedperson]

Y'know I'm just a little worried this will effect canon, because Rick is probably going to put Satua and Ptah back in the comic again someday, and then after that it won't make sense, but that's just a hunch.

[D-Rock]

...this game has been making breaks from canon since we've decided to go with an original story. We've already had a falling out over that.

[Unusuallynamedperson]

Okay, but I really don't remember that discussion.

[CHAOKOCartoons]

Okay well we're not COMPLETELY breaking canon, the idea was that it was an original story that could at least plausibly happen between arcs. Though since Rick himself is not writing this and it is in fact not canon, we can bend small pieces of canon to a degree. Obviously interfering with things like adding ships, making a character drastically different, or putting them where they shouldn't be is a bit too far. However, involving a character or giving them a little bit of character development is an understandable and at times necessary bend of the canon. Involving Satu and Ptah probably wouldn't matter all too much considering it'd just be another step in their timeline. It could happen, and then they move on. However, it'd be kinda hard to believe if past dragon didn't get involved, and if she sees them again THAT would break the logic of canon a bit too much as she's never supposed to see them again. Satu and Ptah and what goes on in their time, however, is completely open to possibilities.
So, as one of the most canon-crazy people on the team, I think involving those two is okay, so long as we can make sure past Dragon doesn't get involved.

Also, it's probably better that you DON'T remember that discussion, it was the most heated argument among the group and caused one person to back out of the project. Just take our word for it. Breaking the canon is okay to a degree

[Unusuallynamedperson]

Oi

[D-Rock]

Yeah...about that, Chaoko, well...I've already informed Person about what happened, so...

Anyway, have a fix for Past Dragon; Olde decided it would be more fun if they were doing this right under Dragon's nose, so he set the game up to not tip her off at all, basically a much more powerful version of the stealth lamp. To add to this, they gave Ophois the ability to strip both Satau and Ptah of most of their powers, making his rise to power even faster. And for added measure, Nue and Olde chose a point in time when Dragon would be away for a bit anyway.

Even had a scenario for Future Pete and Dragon in this event, which would also double as a subtle shout-out;

So how do we keep from being discovered by you, then?
Olde took a lot of precautions with this, it seems. Like with the lamp, there's no way I would detect you in that era.
Surprised he would go for that. He seems like the kind of guy who would do that for kicks.
My best guess is that even they don't want to mess with the flow of time too much.
Wait, so why did they let you two back here?
Because shut up.


...I still haven't given up on that.

[Unusuallynamedperson]

By the way, Rock...

I don't know if it works yet as I haven't tested it but

http://citrio.com/landing/win/thankyou

This Citrio thing is supposed to get rid of some of the ads you find at 4shared and other sites if you want to check it out.

But, if it's just malware or something, I've no idea.

[D-Rock]

Not sure I'm comfortable with a new browser, really. Thanks, though.

By the way, I realized we didn't set the info on the cobra in stone yet.

[Unusuallynamedperson]

Do you mean Esperanza Or Lacert? Because I thought Esperanza was in stone.

And I'm not so sure about Lacert, though Chaoko said she may not need an actual background.

[D-Rock]

I meant Lacert. I believe Chaoko thought that Lacert didn't need a background because he thought she was a random encounter and not a boss.

[Unusuallynamedperson]

Well okay, how about, what tsMKG said before but modified.

Here goes my version of the backstory: Some dogs hunted her when she was young. When she was captured, the dogs put her in a cage and bullied her. But fortunately she escaped and when she returned home, she started to train to be stronger. She would knock out everything that was on her ways.

She had a very bad past experience, now she dislikes pets.

Or this could definitely be changed, so
What if she was designed initially to destroy everything in her past, or that she lost her soul in a bet to Nue and Old'e now she must serve them, but merely unconciously

[GreatKitsune]

What if she was designed initially to destroy everything in her past, or that she lost her soul in a bet to Nue and Old'e now she must serve them, but merely unconciously

Seems too standard and dark for a Housepets! character.

[Unusuallynamedperson]

Perhaps, well after this I am all idead out.

Her motives are unknown and a complete mystery even to Nue and Old'e. Although she fights the pet's it is later reveled that she was merely trying to help them ................training I guess? And that she really never was on Nue/Old'e's side in the first place.

[D-Rock]

That sounds okay, but it still needs something. I already mentioned that I like the possibility of a boss not being involved with Nue and Olde. Issue is, with the proposed set-up, there'd be no reason to instigate them, I mean, it's just plain weird to not tell someone that you're only getting them ready, as that's really dangerous for both parties. Can't use her for the proposed problem that Esperanza has, in that case, either.

[Unusuallynamedperson]

Yeah I did think about that when I posted, I was thinking about I dunno a regeneration machine, but I don't want to get to far out of the normal game's context. And like they'd find the machine, and figure out what it was and one of them would say "She was never trying to hurt us in the first place?!" Or something like that. Although any other ideas I would gladly welcome.

[D-Rock]

First off, the idea of the regeneration machine sounds like it's too far out there.

Secondly, what do you mean by "regeneration machine?" As in, a post that fully heals the party, or an area where wounds aren't permanent, per say?

[Unusuallynamedperson]

First off, the idea of the regeneration machine sounds like it's too far out there.

That's why I didn't want to put it in there, and I was initially thinking, that it would regenerate a particular individual as soon as they were well 'done for'. Yea...rrr... Well it's not the worst idea I've ever had before.

[D-Rock]

Better than Abridged Mr. Popo being in the game.

Side note, how did everyone think I was being serious about that? Geez, this is why I typically don't joke around.

Anyway, work talk now, turns out I don't have the separate layers to Shade Bolt. I can work with the outline, though, so not a total loss. I'll try adding in proper perspective in a bit.

[Unusuallynamedperson]

Are you using Gimp, adobe, or something else?
Also, I was being serious when I said that. Unfortunately

[D-Rock]

Paint.NET, with MANY plug-ins installed, most of which haven't had more than one use. It's basically a poor man's Photoshop. Didn't quite get a handle of GIMP, and I couldn't find my most basic of tools at all, and even then, I found it really clunky. Inkscape seemed too far beyond my level. Don't know about Adobe.

[Unusuallynamedperson]

Wait, you're seriously using paint? No wonder your renditions have such big borders!

I have a very simple (GIF ONLY) tool you could use for artistry. May be faster too...

Below is a direct download to something called GIF ANIMATOR PRO 6. It follows all the properties of normal paint, but allows for more.

http://www.easygifanimator.net/download.php

[D-Rock]

Not Paint, I said Paint.NET. I upgraded to that a few years ago, and pleased with the results. The size of everything is attributed to the size of my sketches. I don't shrink anything down myself, as doing so tends to lead to loss in quality. Whatever Star and Chaoko use to shrink things down does so much more smoothly than I can. I also don't really want to spend so much on Photoshop, which I've seen is significantly more powerful. Besides, it would take time to get used to any program. I was already getting decent with this program by the time I joined the project.

Not sure I need anything for GIFs, but I'll give it a shot. Only one piece I've made ever needed to be animated, and it wasn't for something on this project. Thanks.

EDIT: And nevermind. Call me cheap, but I don't want to ultimately pay for an art program.

[Unusuallynamedperson]

I had to go do something, and IM BACK! how long was I even gone for?

Oh, sorry I really thought you were using paint, but the XP kind.

and, eh, whats the point in that?

ON AN UNRELATED NOTE
TAILS_OF_BABYLON_HOUSEPETS_DATABANK.BATTHIS GETS CONSISTENT UPDATES IF YOU GUYS WANT NEWER INFORMATION I CHANGE IT PERIODICALLY.

[D-Rock]

Well, got the outline for the fixed Shade Bolt. At least, hope it's fixed.

shadeboltoutlineproposal.png (64.14 KiB) Viewed 5499 times

If this is satisfactory, I'll get to coloring it.

[Unusuallynamedperson]

seems alright, looks more centered to, but wouldn't it have been easier to edit the old one?

[D-Rock]

I did, at least I edited the original outline. Copied the crossbow portion to a separate layer, made the necessary erasing on both layers, then made a whole new placement for the bar underneath the bow. Can't edit the completed picture reliably due to the shading, as it would look really weird if I tried.

[Unusuallynamedperson]

I see a, gradient issue, yeah I hate those...of course most of my stuff is grey scale anyways.

[RedFoxWizard]

I think the Shade Bolt looks good so far.

Hmm, why would Ophois want to overthrow Satau and Ptah? Could it be from some kind of rivalry and/or maybe he was almost considered a good candidate for Dragon's avatar, but Satau and Ptah overshadowed him?