[GRIMDARK] Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons Discussion

Caiomhe wrote:I thought I was given the subject matter simply because I'm a girl and therefore would be writing about girly things, but nope!

>girly things
>Project Horizons
...
Wow. How wrong they were...

Sindri wrote:For updates to this story, the index page linking to all chapters is at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D6PJA5lrE0OzzS-ZC2kbf-4piyyuUdF-zniVqUs79uM/edit#bookmark=id.t799ssffrheu (stay off when you aren't immediately using it, because if 50 or more people are logged in the writing team can't add the new chapter link);

You realize you could just provide the link to the preview version, which has unlimited viewers... right?

Sindri wrote:My impression was that the moon didn't hurt tEoS because of the souls it had accumulated, but because it was the remains of a diametrically opposed star which sacrificed itself attempting to destroy the Eater. The moon first appeared while the Starkaterri (probably misspelled but I'm lazy) were destroyed, the Princesses were born, and Hoofington was knocked back from 'about to rise and conquer the multiverse' to 'slumbering beneath this cursed valley and feeding on the inhabitants.'

The Moon was formed by the EoS's landing, wiping out the dinosaurs long before ponies and zebras even evolved. It was indeed host to one of the sparks that emerged from the second star's landing, but I have a feeling that the fact that the moon collected those prehistoric souls was important.

SilentCarto wrote:

Caiomhe wrote:I thought I was given the subject matter simply because I'm a girl and therefore would be writing about girly things, but nope!

>girly things
>Project Horizons
...
Wow. How wrong they were...

One of Katarn's pictures could do this well...

The impression of MLP is pretty girly, FO:E's impression shouldn't be. The fact that it involves ponies at all is probably why people who aren't bronies scoff at the stories. Anyone with a desire for a good book of almost any type, FO:E and PH have at least a little of them all, and a lot of some.

Quotidian wrote:

Kippershy wrote:Yes that doesn't make for such an interesting tale like you guys are trying to work out; but why does it need to be complex when we can just say; 'it's magic'?

Even as a joke, I really don't appreciate the sentiment.
No, I am not new here. I simply don't feel the need to go into massive depth over every little detail and instead, prefer to just enjoy the story for what it is and let Somber do any explanation.
Stuff like this doesn't matter to me.

When the story was first brought to my attention, my thought process was "Something this long had to be either really good or really trashy and embarrassing." Thankfully the former was correct as I am a sucker for a gritty adventure with multidimensional female protagonists. FoE was very entertaining and I was happy to finish it... but after coming across Blackjack in some of the art I found in my research (I believe the picture was of Blackjack kissing Littlepip from that one scene and a comment that BJ could kick LP's ass all over town), I just had to start PH. I was hooked right at the deeper psychological angle and read all up to this point in about 3-4 days.

While my work is mostly going to be about MLP fandom in general I hope to at least devote some of it to my experiences with Fallout Equestria and Project Horizons specifically.

Kippershy wrote:Even as a joke, I really don't appreciate the sentiment.
No, I am not new here. I simply don't feel the need to go into massive depth over every little detail and instead, prefer to just enjoy the story for what it is and let Somber do any explanation.
Stuff like this doesn't matter to me.

It's not intended to cause offense, merely to point out the absurdity of trying to get the Project Horizons forums to stop overanalyzing things and making complex theories over minor and largely unexplained details of the story. We've been doing this since day one, and it's easy enough to skip past our madness but nothing short of Somber or one of the mods asking us to stop is likely to do anything about it.


Sure we could stop trying to figure things out and just accept things as they come. Or we could work out the rules of magic, determine the origins of seemingly innocuous things, and unravel the mysteries of the Hoof.

swicked wrote:

Kippershy wrote:Yes that doesn't make for such an interesting tale like you guys are trying to work out; but why does it need to be complex when we can just say; 'it's magic'?

I don't know about everyone else, but I have four reasons:
1. I don't always know what is important and if what Somber has presented could explain how other problems could be solved.
2. Somber introduced/elaborated on three critical substances in this fic. CoS starmetal, which can broadcast (what I think is) a necromantic field if connected to a spark battery; flux, which is used as part of a process to clean rads, which is another form of necromantic energy; and moonstone. These substances each have a lot of other properties associated with them and how they work alone or together seems to be central to the fic, so its important to understand them and how they can be used.
3. It actually isn't always important how Somber thinks something could work. In many ways I am discussing how I think it could work, or am just wondering how others might describe the process if they were were in charge of defining how to do what's being done given the elements of the process that Somber has laid out. This is fun for me, much like a lot of speculation is :)
4. I just like asking questions. I'm a curious sort.

This response however, I respect completely.
I wasn't trying to say you can't discuss it all of course, just saying I didn't see why.
Glad you at least had the sense to explain why rather then just throwing an insult out.

Sindri wrote:

Kippershy wrote:Even as a joke, I really don't appreciate the sentiment.
No, I am not new here. I simply don't feel the need to go into massive depth over every little detail and instead, prefer to just enjoy the story for what it is and let Somber do any explanation.
Stuff like this doesn't matter to me.

It's not intended to cause offense, merely to point out the absurdity of trying to get the Project Horizons forums to stop overanalyzing things and making complex theories over minor and largely unexplained details of the story. We've been doing this since day one, and it's easy enough to skip past our madness but nothing short of Somber or one of the mods asking us to stop is likely to do anything about it.


Sure we could stop trying to figure things out and just accept things as they come. Or we could work out the rules of magic, determine the origins of seemingly innocuous things, and unravel the mysteries of the Hoof.

Just lost what I wrote -.-

Anyway -

You misunderstand me completely. In no way am I saying that it can't be discussed or shouldn't be.
I'm not saying OH STOP IT I DONT LIEK IT STOP EET, WAAAAAH
What I'm saying is I don't see why every detail needs to be complex, I don't understand the need for this one to be.

people are putting forward their views on how complex it is, how it works.
why shouldn't I be allowed to put forward my view of how I don't understand why it should matter, that I personally see no need.

I'm not saying stop, I'm putting my view forwards.

see what I mean now?

Caiomhe wrote:

I look forward to reading this article. But I hope you will be sure not to sugarcoat anything.

This cursed little zebra's grown on me.

Spoiler:

swicked wrote:

Caiomhe wrote:

Well, now you just need to read Murky Number Seven, Heroes and the rest of the more amazing FoE sidefics :P

I'm pretty sure the poor girl has a paper to return to. Maybe friends, or a family. Don't encourage, these fics don't run on the time sacrifices of the innocent.

Mech wrote:CURSED

I heard the mods here were looking for some smilies. They should get permission for a tiny Xanthe shouting CURSED!

Also, @Caoimhe, does art like that feature in your work at all? Anything to say about the artists?

Meleagridis wrote: Don't encourage, these fics don't run on the time sacrifices of the innocent.

Of course not. They run on madness, despair, and rainbows.

Mech wrote:

Spoiler:

That's awesome. You're awesome.

swicked wrote:
Well, now you just need to read Murky Number Seven, Heroes and the rest of the more amazing FoE sidefics :P

On that note what would qualify as "the rest of the more amazing FoE sidefics" beyond Heroes and MN7? I've looked over the compilation post and can definitely say that quality is as variable as any population analysis I had to look at in my statistics class.

I was looking into Just Like Clockwork (since I've been wondering about Dr. Whooves in FoE ever since Homage drunkenly mentions meeting him with Jokeblue (yay for Wild Wasteland trait)), Broken Bonds (because Kippershy), and Starlight (after an interesting series of conversations with the author in the IRC (which I really should check on)).

Meleagridis wrote:Don't encourage, these fics don't run on the time sacrifices of the innocent.

They don't? I thought that was clearly stated in the waiver that I had to sign before being able to access the Project Horizons hub page.

Sindri wrote:Of course not. They run on madness, despair, and rainbows.

Wait when did Rainbow Factory have anything to do with the Fallout: Equestria setting beyond Shoutouts?

Mech wrote:PURE UNADULTERATED AWESOME

My body was not ready.

Mech wrote:This cursed little zebra's grown on me.

Spoiler:

You are so awesome, sir. All of you artists are... no, all of you are! Just so awesome...

So one last check of the forums and we get the gift that keeps on giving on Mech's awesome PH fanart which start looking more and more like character designs for PH the animated series. Seriously Mech I know I'm not the only one who thinks of characters in PH exactly as you draw them.

*crawls out of a cave dazed and nauseated* Huh? Well dam I made it out! Anyhow, I'm back!! If you don't remember me I don't blame you and if you need me I'll be by that rock trying to remember where I have been for the past four months

Rboy474 wrote:*crawls out of a cave dazed and nauseated* Huh? Well dam I made it out! Anyhow, I'm back!! If you don't remember me I don't blame you and if you need me I'll be by that rock trying to remember where I have been for the past four months

Well I'm new here so...

HIYA! Love the avatar by the way. Amumu pony, yes?


OAN: Has the Divide (or pony equivalent) been covered in any FoE fic yet? I've been thinking of having something similar to it in my fic (still organizing notes but something resembling a plotline is *gasp* forming).

Mikas wrote:

Rboy474 wrote:*crawls out of a cave dazed and nauseated* Huh? Well dam I made it out! Anyhow, I'm back!! If you don't remember me I don't blame you and if you need me I'll be by that rock trying to remember where I have been for the past four months

Well I'm new here so...

HIYA! Love the avatar by the way. Amumu pony, yes?


OAN: Has the Divide (or pony equivalent) been covered in any FoE fic yet? I've been thinking of having something similar to it in my fic (still organizing notes but something resembling a plotline is *gasp* forming).

Press R and you win!!

But no The Divide or any equivalent has not been covered in any FoE as far as I'm aware the only problem with using teh divide is it is a very....."personal" setting to use do to half of the journey was learning just what you exactly did to the place and the other learning who Ulysses was.

[quote="Rboy474"]

Mikas wrote:

Rboy474 wrote:*crawls out of a cave dazed and nauseated* Huh? Well dam I made it out! Anyhow, I'm back!! If you don't remember me I don't blame you and if you need me I'll be by that rock trying to remember where I have been for the past four months

Well I'm new here so...

HIYA! Love the avatar by the way. Amumu pony, yes?


OAN: Has the Divide (or pony equivalent) been covered in any FoE fic yet? I've been thinking of having something similar to it in my fic (still organizing notes but something resembling a plotline is *gasp* forming).

Press R and you win!!

But no The Divide or any equivalent has not been covered in any FoE as far as I'm aware the only problem with using the divide is it is a very....."personal" setting to use do to half of the journey was learning just what you exactly did to the place and the other learning who Ulysses was.

Caiomhe wrote:Hello, everyone! Oh, do I have a story to tell!

That really is quite the story, ma'am. Welcome to the PH community then! I do hope you'll enjoy your stay.

Mech wrote:This cursed little zebra's grown on me.

Spoiler:

Mech, your drawings are always so incredible. I'm really in awe of your skill, I always have been.

Somber wrote:You are so awesome, sir. All of you artists are... no, all of you are! Just so awesome...

You're awesome too, Somber. *hugs you gently*

Mech wrote:This cursed little zebra's grown on me.

Spoiler:

I now have an image of a very sad and adorable zebra instead of a substantially serious one. D'aww.

[quote="ketchup504"]

Mech wrote:This cursed little zebra's grown on me.

Spoiler:

Darn it I can't handle any more dawww. Especially after that Temo song.

Xanthe is dangerously approaching Lacunae for my favorite pony position.
I really wonder what her Luck stat is :D

RandomBlank wrote:Xanthe is dangerously approaching Lacunae for my favorite pony position.
I really wonder what her Luck stat is :D

0.00000000000000000000000000001

Rboy474 wrote:
Press R and you win!!

Hehe. Dat ult (too bad he folds hard to a good counterjungler).

Sidenote: You double posted this post.

Rboy474 wrote:But no The Divide or any equivalent has not been covered in any FoE as far as I'm aware the only problem with using the divide is it is a very....."personal" setting to use do to half of the journey was learning just what you exactly did to the place and the other learning who Ulysses was.

See that's why I ask. I haven't managed to get a character that I enjoy up to level 25 (never mind properly arming them. I'll need like 100 RadAway, 3000 rounds for each weapon, reduce my inventory to the essentials, and make sure that my armor is good enough to last (or I find something better)). When you put it that way I can see the Divide being avoided by most. I'll have to play through it (and not just read the wikia) before I put anything into stone regarding my fic.

On that note I'm either going to bed or playing more New Vegas.

I dunno, Old World Blues was fairly hard, but armed with Eliah's LAER, that special sniper rifle, and stealth suit, and pretty soon fully upgraded Red Glare, the Divide was fairly easy.

Of course considering my playing style (lots of sneaking, retreating, or using strategical position out of enemy's reach) nothing is really hard...

Seriously, that LAER was game-breaker. I got deathclaw'd only twice along the way, both times failing at stealth.

RandomBlank wrote:I dunno, Old World Blues was fairly hard, but armed with Eliah's LAER, that special sniper rifle, and stealth suit, and pretty soon fully upgraded Red Glare, the Divide was fairly easy.

Of course considering my playing style (lots of sneaking, retreating, or using strategical position out of enemy's reach) nothing is really hard...

Seriously, that LAER was game-breaker. I got deathclaw'd only twice along the way, both times failing at stealth.

I got killed several times in the Divide because they used that cheap trick where the monsters spawn behind you, or magically knowing exactly where you are for no reason. I played a light, quick, stealth character, and move through an area methodically. When an army suddenly appears from an area that I already cleared and had no other entrances, and unerringly tracks me down despite walls in the way, frequent repositioning, and sneak 100, and the only way out is through, I get somewhat annoyed. When a deathclaw appears four meters behind me in an area I damn well know was empty, I call bullshit.

Sindri: In one hand, yes, this is very annoying. On the other hand, I learned Bethesda tricks all too well. I just know when to turn and kill the opponents that spawn behind me. Besides, in sneak mode, I observe "HIDDEN/CAUTION/DANGER". If the game spawns enemies and the sign changes to Danger, I know to crawl into some nook and observe.

Anyway, next playthrough of NV will be evil idiot run.

ketchup504 wrote:

SilentCarto wrote:

Caiomhe wrote:I thought I was given the subject matter simply because I'm a girl and therefore would be writing about girly things, but nope!

>girly things
>Project Horizons
...
Wow. How wrong they were...

One of Katarn's pictures could do this well...

Here ya go:

@Mech
You're awesome, as always! I wish I could draw something more, then sticks and circles...

While I'm not particularly active in the comments, I finally got around to reading the chapter (and am still on page 14 in the thread, before the reviews) and I have to say something. This alone is easily my favorite piece of writing in the fandom, and very likely in general. The writing and imagery are amazing, and all the characters are perfect. I love how it's pulling from so many previous events, tying them together even if it doesn't resolve anything obviously flashy. What it does shed light on are those subplots that flesh out the world, those plotlines we've (you've) been speculating about and which make Project Horizons feel so real. Before this chapter, I would have said that the story covers many disparate narratives, and that Somber will find some way to tie them together by the end; now I would instead describe it as many facets of the same plot, not immediately obviously connected but intrinsically and irrevocably woven together more elegantly than would seem possible.

It also seems to almost be a miniature reflection of the story as a whole. The mood whiplash of previous chapters is condensed into a single segment (shorter than usual from my scrollbar, but perfectly timed) and amplified. I had to stop reading for a minute after Xanthe and the shotgun because I was literally too excited to focus—and then kept cheering for a page or two after I recovered. And then we ran into the smooze, which proceeded to show us just how deadly it was. Then the Highlander song, which was promptly interrupted by Psychoshy and Stig's hoof clapping. I love the relationship that's developing, and the Hoof doesn't like happiness. After that, my emotions seem to have gotten a bit out of alignment because I didn't particularly feel anything during the fight with the ghoul, but was crying the hardest I have since I was a kid (it was actually somewhat audible!) during the entire Marauder scene. And then we leave behind the action and turn to a brief attempt at everyday life snatched in the middle of a flaming prison, with more floors than can be easily counted, a bomb designed to penetrate one of the most heavily fortified cities piercing the wall, and completely packed with feral, decaying ponies, all located in a malevolent city in the heart of a post-nuclear-equivalent wasteland.

Somber, I know you've heard this many times, several from me, but I can't thank you enough for spending so much of your time writing this. I know you don't feel it's as good as it could be and I know that we will not be able to convince you otherwise, but this is truly a masterpiece. It might not turn out how you plan or grow beyond your outlines, but to the rest of us, it is still perfect. But no matter how much we love reading about Security and her crew, your life takes priority. Spend as much time as you need to get things sorted out. You have a life beyond the word processor, and it is much more impatient than we are; do not worry if you can't follow the release schedule. And with something like this, I am more than willing to wait for as long as it takes, even if that is a couple months. I much prefer to know you are safely sheltered than to have the next part of the story on my screen.

A few reactions I remember:

• Blackjack's "Forgive me, Luna" really stood out to me. I'm still not quite sure what the connection between the two is, but I like it.
  
• Blackjack is actually being a smart pony! And then Shears' disbelief was quite humorous, with every single point he tries to bring up being immediately shot down.
  
• The Rampage-Blackjack analogue is also really interesting, both in realizing the flaws of their heroes and stealing the crazy singer's position.
  
• I wonder what the Marauders said when Psalm told them of her part in Littlehorn, or if she ever did. (Also, yay for the dream being more than wishful thinking! I really liked that version of events.)
  
• I was waiting for Lacunae's reaction to the end of the Goddess, and wondering how she would take it. Now Blackjack has a connection as well, even if it's not as strong.... This should be fun.

And I hate to end on a less pleasant note, but near the beginning of the Snails discussion, you call Silver Spoon "Silverspoon"

Caiomhe wrote: I was hooked right at the deeper psychological angle and read all up to this point in about 3-4 days.

While my work is mostly going to be about MLP fandom in general I hope to at least devote some of it to my experiences with Fallout Equestria and Project Horizons specifically.

So you work for the Boston Phoenix, is it in anyway associated with the Providence Phoenix? because that's the alternate newspaper here in Providence, RI

and wow, you read it in 3-4 days, that's extremely fast, well I guess I could be fast if I had big chunks of open time