Poll results: and other news · 11:15pm Aug 21st, 2014
So, before I begin, I'm happy to announce that I have finally accumulated 100 followers! Woo!
I want to thank all of you watchers and everyone voted in the poll. I also want to give a special thanks to those of you who took the time to comment in the last post to give me your best advice. I don't know what I'd do without the support you guys give me. It has certainly helped me face this monstrously difficult dilemma.
But before, I get to that, I want to share that I have recently become co-admin of the legendary group: "Looking for Editors." Double woo!
Now, onto the poll:
45 of you voted, which was enough voted for me to draw a decisive conclusion. Out of the three options, over half of you voted for the course of action that involves rewriting the story without including any Half-Life elements. I have to agree that is the best way to go.
Essentially, introducing the Combine and having them take over Equestria is basically a "Half Life 3 with Portal and Ponies." Now, as awesome as that is, the simple truth that I have come to accept is… well that this is not the story that should be doing that. This is a sequel to Better Living Through Science and Ponies. This should be carrying on the legacy of the original by embracing what it meant and building on its simple, yet effective premise. And looking back, there were so many opportunities that I have missed to flesh out this universe that I now have the opportunity to do so. But ultimately, this story is about GLaDOS, and it's about Chell. The Combine are not needed for that. As I said before, they were written as a means to an end. The story was never about them. So, it won't be any worse without them in it.
This was one of the hardest choices I have ever had to make, but you guys helped me do it. And now that I have the backing of my readers, I feel confident that this is the right thing to do.
As for "Half Life 3 with Portal and Ponies," maybe one day I'll make that story, and it will be everything that you Half-Life fans want: a Combine invasion, GLaDOS, Chell, Gordon Freeman, Adrian Shepard, the G-Man, Beakless, and of course, ponies. But as I said, this will not, nor should it be the story to fill that role.
I don't know how long this will take or how difficult it will be, but I have already begun flushing out a new story outline. I'm gonna get this right and stick to it rather than making new subplots up as I go along. The more I develop this, the more confident I feel about it, and the more exited I get about the possibilities there are to explore.
Thank you all so much for sticking with me during this difficult time. Writing this sequel was never an easy task, but I want to make damn sure that I do it right. Hopefully, someday sooner than later, I will realize this dream, and this story will be the sequel that the original deserves.
Until then, I'm gonna do my best to reach that dream.
So after you rewrite and finish Of Science And Ponies, you will make a actually good half life crossover?
Yes.
All of my yes.
Good Luck!
You might want to keep the old chapters somewhere, they aren't that bad.
2570201
I'll keep them here after the new chapters with a disclaimer explaining what happened with that, so anyone can read them if they want to, but they have no right to argue when Celestia messes up, because it's not canon. I only have three chapters of the rewrite so far, but so far, though they are expanding upon things that I left out or glossed over in the original version. Now I don't think what I had was "bad," though it is my first, I don't think it's anything great either. In the rewrite, GLaDOS's plan is much more thought out, and she doesn't blunder so carelessly. I'm also fleshing out the world more and giving the events of the previous story more weight. It's going to be more difficult for Chell to emotionally heal from what happened. I'm also restricting my POV to GLaDOS and Chell, alternating with each chapter. The time skip will be longer, but it will not be so sudden, which will give Chell more time to adjust to her new life, while GLaDOS will have more time to plan and build. So, each character will be able to develop before it all hits the fan.
Now, as far as anything (crossover spoiler) Half-Life related goes, while I do think that it is a cool idea, I think I'll salvage that for its own story similar to the current, but isn't a sequel to Better Living, because it's not fair to introduce another crossover franchise into the second installment of a series.
Anyway, I haven't been able to focus on the rewrite for a while, but I just found myself being inspired to get back into it. So I hope to have something ready to release soon. I'm treading carefully because I want to do this right this time.