The Traveller Web Comic

Cultural aspects that motivate travel to Kerala

dhatziz — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:47:54 GMT

The main cultural aspects that motivate people to travel to Kerala are those that are connected with the individual�s desire to travel in to other countries in order to learn more about the way of life of the people living there, and their cultural heritage as expressed in the local art, music, literature, folklore etc. Kerala state has a rich ancient cultural heritage that is known all over the world. For spending holidays Kerala is the ideal destination for the cultural enthusiast because ...

Reboot time

Beech — Sun, 10 May 2009 21:49:28 GMT

OK, who is in if I get this thing going again? I must apologise for going AWOL from this. As you know I've been having fun with the other webcomic, but would like to get this one underway again. I'll finish off the pages we have done so far and upload them as they work as a good prologue, all I need next is the next couple of pages of script roughed out so I can start working on them while the big picture gets worked on. Hope you guys are willing to come on board again.

Hello, anybody out there?

far-trader — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:03:40 GMT

Hope this finds everyone well. Just been wondering how you are David and what the status here is. No problem if it's on indefinite hiatus, I know I've not been pitching in nearly enough. Anyway, I'm still checking in now and then and hoping to find some time to do something here if you need some help.

page 4 Layout

Beech — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:03:47 GMT

Traveller Calender 2009

Beech — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 18:06:53 GMT

I had promised Andrew Boulton a page or two for this years calender so I thought they should be Akhilleus based (for a bit of a promo.)
I've done one (below) but I could do with an idea for the other maybe a bit of Akhilleus vs. Zho action?

This is 'Leaving in a Hurry'

Arighty then...

Magnus von Thornwood — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:48:53 GMT

Good Lord! I am MIA for two months and I come back and tsk, tsk, nothing new, *shakes head* now don't make me get my whip out now. :p Anyway, ya'll are the first to hear the good news, I am back on line for real now! Got my own DSL connect and am ready to rock, and well CotI about blew up my new mail app, got Thunderbird to go along with the Fox. Am now learning the feel of the new keyboard, got an old G3 blue and white (actually a G4) and that's the new online machine, still ...

I'm Back, what is first?

Baron Saarthuran — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:25:30 GMT

Yeow! I am back! Holy crap! The new baby is awesome. I am having a lot of fun! I hope that Magnus got to fill you in that I was out of contact due to that whole business. I am back and ready to jam. Beech, please assign me work. I recently got hold of a bunch of new source material, in the form of the CT CD-Rom, and all the JTAS issues on CD-Rom. I have been busy reading the alien books on a huge digital projector screen and drooling along with the baby. Marc Miller is a frickin genius, ...

Page 2 Layout

Beech — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 23:52:14 GMT

Page 3 Layout

Beech — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 23:57:14 GMT

Zhodani Starships....

Magnus von Thornwood — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:22:14 GMT

It's not much just the whopping two pages on Zhodani Starships from the AM4... Because I am still broke and am on a crappy geocities site, you need to type the url into the bleeding browser... For the PDF of page 40 of the AM4 Zhodani (yeah, we've been, or at least I have been messing up on the spelling...sigh...been away too long....grin..but I am back now) anyway type the URL below and do the same for the one under it for page 41. http://www.geocities.com/ionicproductionsus/downloads/Zho.starships.AM4.p40.pdf http://www.geocities.com/ionicproductionsus/downloads/Zho.starships.AM4.p41.pdf Just ...

Page 1 Layout

Beech — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 23:44:19 GMT

Free Trader Jump Expansion Module - The Launch

Beech — Sun, 18 May 2008 00:42:20 GMT

Dan's recent description for the Jump Expansion Module (JEM) is pretty spot on, though I think we should keep the 20T Launch as this gives more storyline possibilities. I have roughly visualized the launch up anyway, given it a recognizably linked paint job (& found a better copper color which I'll use on the Akhilleus also). Now onto the JEM itself...

Free Trader Achilles: The Search for the Cortex Crown

Baron Saarthuran — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:51:57 GMT

In the late summer of 1102, the six-person crew of the Free Trader Achilles are pulled from thier routine and mundane regional trade jobs, and contracted to a special mission by the Duke of District 268. Imperial Intelligence agents within the Zhodani Consulate have reported contact with an artifact of tremendous power and unknown origin. A device rumored to be able to probe the minds of great masses of people for some unkown purpose. In the wrong hands such a device could be used to muster forces ...

The Cortex Crown: The Duke's Intelligence

Baron Saarthuran — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:23:01 GMT

IMPERIAL MINISTRY OF INTELLIGENCE Begin Report #25063-G : Artifact 68 : The Cortex Crown On 134-1086, extended distance IISS scout Vespuchi was recovered on the edge of the Trojan Reaches Sector, adrift with minimal power and all but three of her crew survivng and in low sleep. One of the three crew died on revival, the second and third both revived in an intractable catatonic state. Both Executive Officer Lydia Farewell and Second ...

Salutations

far-trader — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:56:15 GMT

Hey all, just thought I'd say hi. We all pretty much know one another to varying degrees from CotI and around but feel free to jump in here and introduce yourself if you like. Mostly I created this thread because I feel a need to explain myself a bit. When David (aka Beech) posted his idea on CotI I was interested and inspired. But I wanted to know if what I had to offer vision wise was anywhere in the same ballpark. And I was a bit shy. So before going anywhere else on it I dropped ...

RS-31 and Rescue Tug.

Magnus von Thornwood — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:59:01 GMT

http://i42.servimg.com/u/f42/12/72/82/19/elepha11.jpg this is a sketch of the Elephant Island RS-31 and one of the Rescue Tugs. It ain't much but I figured it's something to work with. (not sure how to get it to show here. mods?) I am not Beech nor Saarthuran, so as for stats...*shrugs* I just work here. EDIT: well I tried it and it didn't come out right, so I am leaving it for now.

Where we stand with the Mongoose Fair Use Policy

Beech — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:08:07 GMT

Sorry Guys I have been AFK on this for a while (have been working on the art for Flynn's guide to Robots - which is cool) but am ready with a fresh burst of enthusiasm to get this thing rolling again. Where we stand with the Mongoose Fair Use Policy? Absolutely no idea. It's been sounding pretty bad but I'm sure it will get sorted out with nothing more needed than an agreed disclaimer. No need to start redesigning spaceships or renaming species & locations yet. .

The Face-being.

Magnus von Thornwood — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:08:20 GMT

Because the Law requires that you have one Stew on board if one is transporting passengers. The Steward/SuperCargo is perhaps not what they seem, like anyone on this crew is... The Stew might in fact be a Grifter on the lam and posing as the Stew with fake papers, listing them as of course a Free Imperial Trader and we all know what that really means. It bought them on the run, from less than reputable sources as they say. Might explain why they always seem to be up for the runs ...

The Vargr Mercs

Beech — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 22:33:27 GMT

Vargr Henchman no. 1

An Ending...

Magnus von Thornwood — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:07:32 GMT

I have been thinking on this for a minute and I have this vague script in my head so I thought I'd post it and see if it's Lead or not? *proceeds to float ballon* ***Begins*** Title: The Final Showdown! NARRATION: When we last left our heroes they had found the Crown and sudden the Differences between Imperials and Zhodane came out....so did a Body Pistol.... SCENE: Our heros and their antagonists are facing of in the place with the Crown...The Zho Noble Thought Cops (apologies, ...

Plan of action as of July 27th

Beech — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:08:59 GMT

I think priority is to get the initial few pages up as soon as possible. We already have Chuck's rough breakdown somewhere else here (is everybody finding this forum as confusing as me?). 1. The cover (pretty much sorted really - just the LBB effect with the Akhilleus) 2. The intro to the Cortex Crown, some simple intro text of the myth/legend with some 'history' images down one side. How do we do the text and what do we have for the images, the old Conan comics did this stuff well with ...

Location, location, location!

Magnus von Thornwood — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 23:23:35 GMT

Wow, just remember our location shots don't cost us serious CrImps, can you imagine the cost of shooting at Regina, much less Capitol/Core? Seriously we need the following standard locations (and we can use the strike thru to mark the complete sets): Starport Class A and B (High and Down) Imp/NA/Zho Starport Class C (may have High, but almost always a Down) Imp/NA/Zho Starport Class D and E (never has High, but does have Landing Strip and may have Structures) Imp/NA/Zho Starport ...

Interior locations - Crew Commons

Beech — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:40:48 GMT

The first location I've been working on is the Crew Common Area, this is from a Beowulf (which I am running with at the moment unless anybody has any strong objections), I am trying to make sure all the locations are to scale, actually fit the deckplans and are hopefully consistent. This is looking forward, & the door is into the bridge. (Still not sure about iris doors & this one needs redoing). The small galley area is to the left, a larger galley will be located on the upper deck. ...

Ways to improve this forum?

Beech — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:01:13 GMT

If you can think of any more categories required, or any better ways of organising this, let me know.
(This is the first time I've set one of these up so expect teething troubles.)

Storyline Diagram 1

Baron Saarthuran — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 01:22:32 GMT

This diagram shows a basic progression breakdown, with the climax being the recovery of the Crown. There is no real scale on this chart, So we would need to determine how we are going to represent time. The Zhodani Arc on this chart happens side by side, and tho the lines do not touch in many places, in such places agents of the enemy could be acting on the characters at that time.

Zhodani Team Summary

Gadrin — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:09:32 GMT

note: these are roughly done in GURPS Traveller format but can be adapted... ODL STEZD Telepathy, Clairvoyance Officer Combat Armor + IR cloak Auto-snub pistol KCR 500 budget per year or CR 125,000 per quarter 6'5" tall, 192 lbs, Usually wears a turban when in formal dress, or a fez-like-cap that matches his exploration suit. He's 62 years old. Odl is an attach� to Zhodani Consular Legation in the Jungleblut subsector. His post is minor at the moment, and he ...

Free Trader Jump Expansion Module - Initial Sketches

Beech — Tue, 20 May 2008 23:58:36 GMT

Some initial ideas about how the Jump Expansion Module might look, the L-Hyd tank frame is modular, extendable, and adaptable to accommodate a variety of tank sizes and types, the central area has three very small floors , the lower is the module bridge and engine room,etc., the mid floor is a small crew area ( a couple of bunks, a fresher/head and a small galley) with access to he launch,and the upper level is access to the turret. This is all just preliminary thoughts regarding the look ...

The Map? (Setting)

Baron Saarthuran — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 18:09:38 GMT

Where should it start? Should we make up our own subsector and go from there, or use a pre-mapped one?

The Worker

Baron Saarthuran — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 01:27:09 GMT

Your basic engineer type/wrench monkey.

Beowulf class type A Free-Trader (TL9)

far-trader — Wed, 07 May 2008 07:31:12 GMT

(OK, let's try this again. Fumble fingers or cranky keyboard vaped the last attempt after a paragraph... ) Right, I think I'm about done fiddling with the deckplans and views. Still have the profile to do and I might take another stab at modeling it 3D in SketchUp. I might not too, not being able to do complex curved shapes due to my lack of knowledge or the limitations of the program made it slow and ugly going so I quit for a bit, a while ago. Anyway, on to this. To make sure we're ...

Rebooting the Comic

Beech — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:58:48 GMT

OK. Here is what I now propose. Since the Baron is not around at the moment and the Cortex Crown storyline was mostly his creation, I don�t want to continue it yet without his input (as I don�t want to take it in directions that are not part of his story plan). So I am going to work on the original proposal intro of Dan�s using the Akhilleus and just a couple of the Characters (captain & engineer, probably) from the Cortex storyline and pitch it as the start to a prequel series with the ...

My sincerest and humblest apologies, friends!

Baron Saarthuran — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:48:43 GMT

I am so sorry that I dropped out of the forum here for a bit. It was only until now that I was able to get my new computer reined in better and be able to get back to working on this. I have also been tangled up in life stuff, but it looks like we finally found a house, so things will be getting much better and more productive work wise once I have suffcient space. I have lost track for the moment on where we are. Beech, could you summarize our stauts? Haws anyone had contact with ...

OK, more realistic might be June 1st.

Baron Saarthuran — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:51:03 GMT

Considering the workload that we might be under, and what remains to develop, we might want to take our time and make it a true summer release.

I am able to track this project easy, but both Beech and I are House hunting at the moment, so it can bite into focus some.

Whaddya think?

Font Picks: First Go as of 03-26-08

Baron Saarthuran — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:24:19 GMT

I will start sizing layout this week

Baron Saarthuran — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 22:58:22 GMT

So a 2000 AD prog type setup, maybe on an A-size (11" wide by 8.5" high) page? Should the page gutters be white or black, or should we try texturing (tricky)?

Titles : Doodle Page 1

Baron Saarthuran — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 23:09:18 GMT

The Computer

Baron Saarthuran — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 22:41:28 GMT

Suggestion for another "trademark" (or distinctive) background element: What do you think about the computer being a 2d "holographic" image of a human face (with proper photoshop digitizing and such). This "screen" could be projected anywhere in the ship as a crewperson needs. The thing that would make it interesting maybe is that its inclusion in backgrounds only deals with its flat perspective. That means it could be transparent and used anywhere in a given ...

A Rough Idea of the journey ahead of the characters.

Baron Saarthuran — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:07:55 GMT

Safe to say that this voyage is an epic!

Interior locations - General Look

Beech — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:17:27 GMT

I am trying to establish a look for the ship interior, i think a slightly higher tech version of the worn look of Firefly/Serenity (I hated the flimsy ship doors in that - no way they could hold out against decompression/gunfire etc.) I don't want to get too grungy but everything should be in need of a fresh coat of paint. A bit spartan, not too many luxuries and a cramped feeling in true Traveller style (but at the same time avoiding the complete military look). I certainly do not think Star ...

The Bridge

Beech — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 23:51:42 GMT

I am working on the bridge at the moment & here are the work in progress images- (ignore the door, I went a bit traditional here but am going to change it back to an iris style door)

The Ship -Type and Paint Job

Beech — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:28:19 GMT

I initially saw the main ship to be a Beowulf as it is iconic Traveller, & I think the Traveller-ness needs to be reinforced on to the strip at least initially (lots of instantly recognizable elements, etc.) Open to suggestions though. I have done an initial paint job which I am not happy with so this will change, probably more of a solid colour & a stripe of some type, any preferences or ideas here?

The Leader

Baron Saarthuran — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 01:17:23 GMT

Or is it two co-leaders?

The Brain

Baron Saarthuran — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 01:24:43 GMT

It might be cool to have this person be old, like Louis Wu in Ringworld. Maybe a ten or twelve term character in game terms. Extreme cases would be a brain in a tank or a guy in a low berth tube.

How to Handle Stories ?

Gadrin — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:00:59 GMT

Should we just post stories/ideas here ? And then see who likes what ?

Or is this only for "approved" storylines ?

Representing Trade

Baron Saarthuran — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 23:16:55 GMT

How does trade factor into the comic?

Is it a central issue? I realize the ship is a free trader, and cargo runs can hold many adventure seeds, but I was wondering how you guys want to handle it. I have a hunch seeing the mechanics of speculative trade in comic form would be pretty snoozy. Maybe more of a "black market" kind of setup? One not so legit? Shady Cargoes from Shady Brokers?

Website for the comic

Beech — Wed, 28 May 2008 21:23:29 GMT

I've just set up a website for the comic at
http://web.mac.com/dredington/Akhilleus/Home.html

Its a not yet complete and a bit slow to load at the moment but I should be able to sort that out.

I will also try to get a decent URL for it too, ideas so far are:
freetraderakhilleus.com
akhilleus.com
cortexcrown.com
travellerwebcomic.com

Prologue/Chapter 1

Beech — Wed, 28 May 2008 20:57:55 GMT

Here are the rough initial layouts for the first few pages for any comments, suggestions or downright criticism, etc. Cover Page 1 Page 2 Page 3

Page Layout Test

Beech — Wed, 21 May 2008 23:41:45 GMT

Here's a test page of nonsense to see how we feel about fonts/sizes, size of panels, etc. (notice the way the not-yet-designed landing gear is obscured on the last panel )

Cover Page

Beech — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:40:20 GMT

Playing with a front page/cover
Still undecided about the typeface but it feels generally quite CT
(Forward turret and new spelling now included)

Don't Panic!

Baron Saarthuran — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:30:13 GMT

Here is where it gets fun. We must remeber that we don't need to write the whole epic in one go and in less than half a month.

We only need to come up with two (maybe an intro special three) pages by deadline. We can do it, I am sure.