The big blog post where Arad lays out a plan for Mente Materia, streaming, and the future! · 5:35am Oct 1st, 2018
Evening folks!
I know I owe all of you an explanation for why I've not written anything since the last chapter, but I don't want to drag this blog down so I'll summarize in twenty words or less: Work, health, depression, Warhammer 40k, family, freaking hurricanes, doctor visits.
Now, with that out of the way, there are three major things I wanted to bring up with this blog: Mente Materia plans and beyond, the unfortunate fate of the XCOM livestream, and Awesome Announcements regarding some Awesome People. So, let's get down to business.
----Mente Materia Plans (No spoilers)
Here I intend to give a little single-sentence blurb for each of the chapters I have planned until the end of Mente Materia, barring revisions as needed. (I'm also hoping that sharing this will keep me motivated with the end in sight)
Much Ado About Alicorns, Part 2 -- In the aftermath of their recent successes and Princess Celestia's wakening, what should have been a relaxing day for Twilight Sparkle takes a turn for the worse when she runs an unfortunate acquaintance from her time on Earth.
Much Ado About Alicorns, Part 3 -- After weeks of filling in during her sister's absence, Princess Luna takes advantage of Celestia's return to catch up on a long-delayed nap and to spend some dedicated time tending to the dreams of her subjects.
Apocalypse -- The complete lack of any alien activity since Princess Cadance's rescue comes to an abrupt end. An attack unlike anything seen before forces the defenders to enact a desperate plan to thwart the Ethereals last resort for Equestria.
What Lies Ahead -- The Council receives news of the surprising events on Equestria and the fates of its inhabitants, as well as the disturbing realization that there's something worse yet to come. (THE END OF MENTE MATERIA)
Now, my editors are aware of what I have planned but I intend to post at least one short story/Interquel (or two hopefully if I get back into my groove) after the events of Mente Materia. The little blurbs for these ideas are going to be blocked out by spoiler tags for (in my opinion) minor spoilers but if you're curious you can take a gander. :D
Be Careful What You Wish For -- Lilly Harris's long overdue and desperately needed spring break is derailed when her brother unexpectedly returns home in an unfamiliar military uniform, an impressive amount of medals from Earth and Equestria... and missing an arm. While Lilly and her parents attempt to adjust to the knowledge of what Matt went through in his time on Equestria, a pair of unexpected visitors (claiming to be from XCOM) come to pay him a visit. While it isn't exactly unexpected for his fellow soldiers to pay him a visit, Lilly can't help but notice that he's acting -wierd- around the young woman with hair dyed like to look a -lot- like one of those Equestrian princesses that are all over the news... (Pure crack idea I couldn't get out of my head. I regret nothing.)
Now, on to the next subject!
XCOM 2 livestream suffers critical hit due to mod problems
To the folks who were watching towards the end I imagine this comes as no surprise. My modded XCOM -used- to work, but now doesn't and I have no idea why. Apart from tearing the whole mod list apart (which is too much work given I'm trying to have FUN), I'm afraid that XCOM 2 livestreams are dead for now. However, not all is lost. While not related to XCOM or FiM, another turnbased game that is close to my heart had a sequel come out within the last week: Valkyria Chronicles. Would anyone be interested if I livestreamed that once I get it working on my PC? I'll admit that I've played through it on my PS4 but it's damned fun and I'd like to share the experience with you guys if you're interested.
And lastly, the big announcements:
Soobel's translations into Estonian: A good while back a user named Soobel messaged me to inquire about translating Stardust into Estonian, and he's been working on translating some of my other works too! Hat's off to him for all the hard work he's putting in to bring bronystuff to his part of the world! I'm afraid I don't have the links available and handy right now but I imagine Soobel will show up and produce them on demand if there's anyone interested!
There's currently an indiegogo campaign to create printed versions of Stardust! I've been talking with some dedicated folks who are working to make this a reality, and I admit that I'm allowing a teensy bit of excitement for having a physical copy of the biggest thing I've ever written. If you folks share my excitement at the idea, check out the link to see if this is your jam!
...and I just realised that it's past midnight for me and I have work in the morning so I'm going to wrap things up here! Leave me a comment on your thoughts! I'd love to hear feedback! For now though, goodnight!
Aw, darn. Usually when the mods stop working it's because one of them updated to overlap a file or an object reference with some other mod... the log files can be searched for the error but it is a whole lot of muck to wade through. I doubt XCOM 2 itself has pushed an update recently that would break mods...
TLE WHEN JAKEI'll watch you play that. (it'll be the only way I think I can stand to see its story honestly, Hopefully, you make archives for it.)
You said you where playing war hammer. Are you playing the table top or space marine?
Okay, it’s scary I was just thinking about not hearing a peep from ya the other day only to see this blog crop up lol. I can relate to a majority (but not all) of what’s kept you busy, though glad you came out of the hurricanes alright.
I played the original Valkyria Chronicles a while back (after a buddy of mine told me a majority of the crew who made one of my all time favorite RPGs, Skies of Arcadia, worked on it and even snuck in some of the characters as Easter eggs), so yeah, I’d be interested in seeing you play it!
if it's tabletop I'm contractually obligated to mention that me and another fimficcer are dice mongers and have a store
The print is gonna be sick. Be sure to check it out.
Yeah I figured that was what happened with the xcom2 streams. The number of times I had to tear down Oblivion or FO3 looking for the mod that suddenly died...
Great to hear from you here though. Already following on twitch so yeah, I'll tune in for VC4 if I'm not at work or what have ya. And it probably goes without saying, but really looking forward to more MM. All the best to you!
A print of Stardust? SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY.
Glad to see you are once again back on it, Arad. The story must continue!
Intriguing, lets see where you go after MM is finished then
Im not sure if anyone here can read my language, but first one publicated in Estonian SF fanzine "Reaktor" and it was "Celestia:"
Part1: https://www.ulmeajakiri.ee/?jarjejutt-celestia-1
Part2: https://www.ulmeajakiri.ee/?jarjejutt-celestia-2
Part3: https://www.ulmeajakiri.ee/?jarjejutt-celestia-3
I drew there pictures too:
pre00.deviantart.net/de87/th/pre/f/2017/032/0/b/solaria_vs_traveller_by_soobel-daxi27c.png
pre00.deviantart.net/7a27/th/pre/i/2017/027/c/a/solaria_and_lunar_lullaby_by_soobel-dawxdej.png
pre00.deviantart.net/e4b4/th/pre/i/2017/152/1/1/dawn_of_equestrian_kingdom_by_soobel-dbb5knk.png
(I know im not such good artist like other famous brony artists)
Next big thing was "Stardust" and "Broken" of course in oldest Estonian SF fanzine "Algernon:" http://algernon.ee/node/1077
And last one are "Fortitude Amicitia" in "Reaktor" again: https://www.ulmeajakiri.ee/?tolkejutt-operatsioon-meelekindlus
I drew there picture too:
img00.deviantart.net/618f/i/2018/272/4/c/fortitude_amicitia_by_soobel-dco35yd.png
(I hope this was better than earlier)
Your post makes me fidget - cant wait how ends Mente Materia and i hope you not kill more beloved characters. Ethereals mass attack was anticipated and now they run into very angry Solaria. This may be a big rumble, where smaller ones must flee..
Man, I just started watching your profile. I find it hilarious that I already got a blog alert from you.
Per my comment on your latest chapter, I plowed through all of your XCOM stories last week where did my self-control go!?! and I'm eager to see what else you have cooking.
I've even started playing XCOM 1. I'm ashamed not really to say that I'm savescumming as I'm figuring it out as I haven 't played a turn-based strategy game since Advanced Wars.
I'm not interested in buying a book atm, but I'd be happy to support you on Patreon.
Because that's the way XCOM works.
Yea! We defeated this awful threat.
Oh, no! An even more deadly threat just showed up that makes this one look insignificant.
Repeat.
4946423
Either that or their creators release a sequel that claims all the events of the first game were a dream / war simulation / rigged fight against impossible odds and mankind was conquered before we could scrounge up laser weapons. But then the end-game mission reveals the events of the first game might have happened but in an alternate timeline (among other frustratingly vague plot threads XCOM 2's ending leaves open for the sequel.)
As for the story updates, I'm rooting for you and Mente Materia all the way. That said, the side story angle (Fortitude Amicitia and Celestia both worked wonders at expanding the narrative's lore) might be a bit ambitious. I still look at the lone chapter for Nightmare and wonder what happened to that potential gold mine.
Still, best of luck to you and whatever paths you take.
Thank you for this blog update. The waits between each chapters may be long, but my interest in the series has not waned in the slightest.
It gives me a huge boost in confidence that you will see Mente Materia to its completion knowing that you already have everything (even an interquel!) planned out. I've seen too many stories eventually run out of steam because the author started writing without a fleshed out plot or even an ending in mind.
MLP/40K CROSSOVER WHEN
I'm very happy at those news.
Hope you'll be successful in finishing your story.
Yeah, okay, cool, where's the Lana resurrection Mk.II at, tho? It's starting to stop being funny...
And I totally forgot to actually respond to my replies, a mistake I shall correct post haste!
4946275
Wouldn't you know it but the day after I kill my livestream, they decide to announce the XCOM 2 expansion thing for next week. Tomorrow I intend to make an announcement for my streaming schedule for this weekend as well as plans for XCOM 2 given this development.
4946276
I was actually thinking of trying to marathon as much of the game as I could on Friday night as well as Saturday, given that I might return to XCOM 2 since that expansion is coming out next week. >_< Who knows? Maybe I'll split things fifty fifty
4946277
Both, technically? Been occasionally getting into the Space Marine resurgence that Chapter Master Valrak is coordinating, but a lot of my time has been sunk into building and painting for the tabletop minis. Haven't done much playing though. I just like painting and building.
4946279
My problems with the hurricanes is less about surviving them as dealing with the aftermath. I work in the insurance industry so we have a LOT of calls on the subject.
4946281
I'm afraid I have -tons- of dice at the moment, but I might get a set of D6 dice at some point if I find some that I like. I am actually intending to create custom objective markers and having a die integrated into the marker itself would be nifty.
4946285
4946319
I'm really looking forward to it also. :)
4946392
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! If you're just starting XCOM for the first time the best tips I have are this: If there are active enemies anywhere, never end your turn out of cover. Never yellow move someone into a part of the map that you've not scouted yet. Dead aliens and no loot are better than the possibility of dead soldiers, so ignore Vahlen and MAKE EVERYTHING EXPLODE (at least in the early game).
4946423
4946522
What lies ahead will be less power creep/godzilla syndrome and more... lateral shift in terms of threat.
And thank you for reminding me about Nightmare. It's fallen through the cracks... I still have my plan for it in my head. We'll see how well the motivation bug bites me.
4946850
Oh my yes. That's one of the biggest problems i see for newer authors attempting their first story entry. They have a really good idea... but that's it. No plot planning, no progression. What they have in mind is a scene, not a story. A scene might be entertaining (one shots sometimes are!) but you have to know where the direction of the story is going if you intend to make it any longer than that. A lot of the time authors don't realise this until the beast has already been started and they get lost under the weight of what's already written. My editors know that I've had a skeleton plan for how things would end for at least two years if not longer.
4946998
I don't know if I could ever write a WH40k crossover that isn't soulgrindingly dark or unfaithful to the either setting. Though... once upon a time I had a little plot bunny in my head of CAIPHAS CAIN: SAVIOR OF EQUESTRIA, but given what's currently going on with me as an author I really can't justify starting ANOTHER project.
4947672
Make your own pace, don't worry too much.
It was through finding the printing project for Stardust that I decided to give the story a try. Initially the intent was to read the first three chapters to determine if the book would be worth obtaining. I've since found myself two weeks later having spent most to all of my free time reading both Stardust and mente materia.
Stardust had a unique take on what I had expected from an Xcom crossover. Approaching it from a point of view of observations and reports intersperced with real time descriptions and interactions proved most immersive. The way you've chosen to describe the functionality of magic and have integrated it as an alternative to Xcom psi ops is clever. That combined with characters I've grown fond of over time as well as with it following game events, which were better integrated into the overall story of Stardust, made it a fanfic that I couldn't put down.
Mente Materia has been a more difficult read. Earth we're all too familiar seeing in settings of war or invasion. Unleashing the aliens on a world of primarily harmony and friendship seems overly cruel. Describing the effects and emotional copings of it have been tragic, but relateable. The additional races and characters feel diverse and unique. The story alternates nicely between action, character interactions, emotional moments and humor. On top of that no matter how dire things seem there's always a thead of hope to cling to.
Few fanfics have managed to get me this absorbed in a tale. I thank you for sharing your world and talents.
I'll be eagerly awaiting the last few chapters when you find the opportunity to continue writing it.