#Tali and Cable

[whumpsonamo]

I forget how scary it is to try and put your own stuff into the world. I don't have a lot of time to work on my writing skills normally, or motivation, so I'm just working on this whenever I can and want to. I am fully aware it's probably not great. But hey ho we try and we learn.

This was more of my sort of introduction to Cable because I know so much about Tali - I have the second part already written it just needs edited so when I get around to that I'll (probably) remember to post it :)

The things we do for self indulgence.

====

#1 - A grand escape

Contents: Stranger turned caretaker, successful escape attempt, mentions and implications of previous abuse, brief mention of scars, whumpee convinced they're going back to captivity, slightly defiant whumpee, AFAB whumpee (if I've missed anything lmk :))

She can count the number of opportunities that she’s had to escape on one hand, and most of the time she is far too scared to attempt. She stares at the door to her ‘room’. Sitting open. The latch loose and the clanging echoed around her, encasing her. An opportunity. She can leave. She can leave, maybe forever? Holding her bed sheet closer to her, a barricade between herself and the world. 

Poking around new areas, at least seventeen years here and only a small section explored. A luminous green catches her eye, a door with a handlebar—a fire exit. 

She can’t waste time. Hearing a few panicked voices from around the corner, she propels herself forward, her feet catching on the blanket. Her knees meet the ground, and she forces herself to crawl until she’s able to pull herself up with the bar. A little scrape is nothing to her, not anymore.

Cringing at the loud squeak the door lets out, she lets it bang shut behind her. Watching as a new person walks inside towards Mr. Redwood’s office. Client? Or backup? Either way, bad news. She spots a few different vehicles she could hide out in, stuff herself in so tight that nobody looking for her could possibly find her.

Her heart beats out of rhythm in her chest, trying to escape its cage with her. Sitting in the bed of a busy pickup. Tucking herself between a few tyres, certain that this should be leaving, and she will be free. And yet.

A blurry figure approaches, she can barely see from out of the tyres, or without her long-forgotten glasses. A tyre is lifted and they make eye contact. He looks away, eyes settling on who she assumes is Mr. Redwood’s ‘friends’. 

She tries to discern his intentions, evil man or friend? Either way, her spine straightens and the pit in her stomach grows. The blurry brown eyes and slightly crooked nose are features that seem familiar on their own but together create a stranger. Her legs tingle, ready to bolt—not that she’d get far.

“They looking for you?” 

She wants to look away. To check if there’s someone behind her. Unable to tear her eyes away from him, he’s able to lift tyres without much form, so he’s got to have some muscle. She likely can’t outrun him, nevermind overpower him. Clutching her sheet closer to her chest, maybe he’ll feel bad for her, let her go.

Confusion and terror meet each other in their gazes. He’s got this contemplative look, but if he was a professional he’d know he has to keep his cool, and keep control. Amateur hour over here. 

“Right- yeah,” He taps his fingers against the tyre in his arms “I’m not going to tell anyone, but you might wanna get into the front though, cause I need to move these, so your little hiding spot won’t exist. Yeah?” His head points to the driving part of the truck.

Blinking a few times, so he’s going to trick her into safety? 

“Come on, before they get suspicious,” He pretends he’s grabbing something from the front, and she slips in. Ducking under the passenger seat. 

Time passes like waiting for the days to pass, for Perry to be the one dealing with her instead of Mr Redwood or Geoff, or even mr and mrs Bell. Painfully, and slowly. She can't risk being sent back, but she can't just blindly trust this person?

Maybe she should jump out the window and see how far she can get on foot.

The idea fades as exhaustion overwhelms her, resting her head against the passenger seat, the leather a better cushion than her old mattress. “Just two minutes,” Her eyes shut on her prayer for mercy. 

====

Fuzzy… Pretty sure one of the doors slammed. When she feels warmth that’s when her eyes shoot open. “Sorry sorry- Was just going to put you on the actual seat- you know, so that you’re not uncomfortable-” She furrows her brows at him.

Still disoriented she blinks away sleep. Mr. Stranger is touchy. Doesn’t mind invading personal space. She keeps those in the back of her mind, his eyes look softer up close, never good when it looks like they have a conscious so maybe he’s under threat and doesn’t want to hurt her but he has to because nobody willingly does things for Mr. Redwood unless he has something over their head, or they're his friend. He's too young to be a friend of Mr. Redwood though... is he?

Maybe if she tries to be assertive he’ll be terrified of her, and they can both escape from Mr. Redwood’s blackmailing… Yes. Genius. “I can get up by myself, thank you very much,” 

“Oh, right yeah of course, you just looked like you were sleeping pretty peacefully so I didn’t want to wake you up and make you move so I just thought- yeah okay,” 

She shakes her head before forcing herself to sit up, it almost feels like she’s climbing, reaching while her body screams at her to rest. She sits down, slumping against the chair a bit too hard - not very demure and mysterious, not very in control of the situation. Holding her blanket up again.

He clears his throat, smiling at her. “I’m Cable, by the way, I realised that we just kinda left in a rush and didn’t introduce ourselves which my ma would not have, so I guess for manners I’m getting one star, huh?” 

She stares in response for a few minutes no control over the small smile that lands on her face. Who in their right mind calls their child Cable? And she thought HER name was bad.

“Taliesin,”

“It’s lovely to meet you Taliesin, now how about we go home and you can wash up?”

[undead-potatoes]

My cat will walk up to a power outlet and straight up put the entire exposed back of the plug into her mouth like she's trying to swallow it whole, baby girl what in the world are you doing

[c-rowlesdraws]

/blows off a cassette hand-labeled "headcanon Tali" and slams it into the tape deck

if the boy quarians at least get to have those cool bundles of cables coming out of the backs of their helmets, surely the girl quarians have something similar under the hoods they wear. The way I draw Tali and her people might be stubbornly different from canon in some ways, but I can believe it's not too far off.

[unluckiestmember]

So instead of just focusing on Vi x Maddie fanfiction, fan art and my Arcane Season Two YouTube videos, of course I'm gonna add more to my plate, I'm stubborn! What do you mean, you may be asking? I mean this;

Requests are reopen!!!

Currently, I've cleaned out my inbox so we can have a clean slate. I am only doing headcanons and imagines for the following fandoms, so I apologize if you wanted headcanons for something else, but here you go;

Arcane!

I can write for the following characters; Jinx/Powder, "Vi" Violet, My ex wife Caitlyn Kiramman, My new wife Maddie Nolen, Loris, Steb, Ekko, Cassandra Kiramman, Tobias Kiramman, Jayce Talis, Mel Medarda, Ambessa Medarda, Sevika, Silco, Ran, Lest and Vander.

And...

X-Men 97!!

That's right! X-Men 97 requests are still up and running! I can write for the following characters; Logan/Wolverine, Jean Gray, Rogue, Remy/Gambit, Jubilee, Erik/Magneto, Madelyne/Goblin Queen, Kurt/Nightcrawler and Cable. No I didn't forget Scott, I don't like that guy.

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I will post a headcanon or imagine that you request! And I'll stick to my word, I know I have commitment issues, but damn it, I need to fix that! So we're all good? We understand each other?

Then send me requests, baby!

[aillan2410]

I couldn't shake the idea of a mlb au with jayvik off my head so here it goes

Jayce Talis (21 year-old) currently studies his first year of engineering at Piltover University. He's pretty much the popular guy, but still has some people talking ill of him (like Salo yk). Not really fond of being in the spotlight tho. He's the second best student in his career, and he also practices sports but outside the college. Also his family are all blacksmiths and make hammers.

Heimerdinger gave him the Ladybug Miraculous in order to take back not only the butterfly miraculous but also the black cat miraculous. Heimerdinger didn't explain to him why he had to take back the black cat one, like Jayce understood why he had to take the butterfly (because of the trauma and the pain it was causing to society) but he didn't have clear why he had to take the black cat, and the next time he meets Heimerdinger, he gave him the miraculous box and Jayce became the new guardian of the box (everything was done, the water, ice, space, fire, etc power ups and all that) but he had no idea how to handle his own miraculous! Imagine the entire box. So he doesn't take the black cat miraculous, instead, he leans and relies on his partner.

Gold Bug since he's the "Golden boy of Piltover" in Arcane and lots of golden motifs in his costume. And he also carries that big ass hammer with him. He has the rune carved into the forearm of his costume too!! Yeah the earrings resemble little hammers, or at least that was the intention.

Viktor Rift (22 year-old) currently studies his second year of engineering at Piltover University. He's not very popular, he's the best student in his career and does not know Jayce, he just heard about him, but doesn't really care about his existence. He plays the bass on a rock band named "Jinx", with Vi (drums), Powder (vocals), Ekko (keyboard), Claggor (keyboard) and Mylo (bass). Obviously they're of a similar age, let's say Powder and Ekko are the same age as Viktor and the rest are just a bit older, a year or two. He has a deformation on his leg and so he has to walk leaning on a cane. It's not a degenerative disease tho. His father is Singed, a well-known scientist, and thanks to that, he met Sky at a science conference and they kinda made friends. He had an older sister but due to the accident which left his leg like that, she died, or at least that's what his father told him.

One day he found a strange box hidden between grass and plants besides a waterfall and driven by curiosity, he decided to open it. It was a miraculous, specifically the black cat one. Heimerdinger lost it along with the butterfly, actually it was Singed, his former colleague, who robbed them, but Singed also lost the black cat in the fight. Heimerdinger feels the black cat miraculous is being used, and he looks for a ladybug who can take it back, since that miraculous is broken. Viktor doesn't know that, and so, he starts using it, slowly feeling weaker and weaker. He isn't stupid, he knows the miraculous is killing him day by day, but when he's using it, he doesn't have the leg issue, and he also doesn't feel ill, he feels powerful and capable for the first time since the accident, and seeing how Gold Bug puts so much trust in him, he feels like he's equal to someone for the very first time. That's how his self-destructive tendency develops until his partner finds out.

Dark hex sounds like a good name, don't ask. His costume is clearly asymmetrical, the void on his chest is due to the shot he received in the series but also because Plagg's real form has that thing right on the chest too. The touch of the arcane on his forehead yay! Whenever he uses the cataclysm he leaves the arcane pattern on whatever he touches instead of reducing it to ashes, and his hand turns that purplish hue reassembling the machine-herald's "skin" texture. Also the hexclaw is the end of his tail. I really like the details of the small cables all over the costume, and the hexstone being the bell is kinda cute actually. He has the cool hair too. His surname is because he comes from the undercity, concretely from the fissures, and the discharged ring is like the thing where they put hextech on before it starts spinning. Annnnd his moles are little stars.

The love square is basically like in mlb

Viktor/Dark Hex likes Gold Bug because he can be himself fully with him, and Jayce/Gold Bug, firstly just admires Viktor resilience and confidence, and then those feelings turn into love as he knows more of Viktor (he likes his intelligence and all that).

Also they met because Cait (Jayce's childhood friend, almost like his blood sis) assisted in a music festival (she plays the violin or something like that) and there she met Vi and "Jinx", and she begged Jayce to go with her to visit Vi and the band again. Jayce was like "i didn't know the best student played the bass" and Viktor just "and I didn't know the second best looks like a jock" but like in an offensive way 😭

The first concepts

And yeah, Singed being hawk moth just fits so well. If you want to give some suggestions I'm open to reading them, i don't have all the universe built so i can still change things. Of course Mel is like Jayce's acquaintance, they aren't especially close, but they practice sport together or something.

I was thinking of Powder having the rat, Ekko the snake, Vi the tiger, Mylo the monkey, Claggor the bull, Cait the peacock (?, Mel would have either the dragon or the fox, not sure about Sky, maybe the turtle (? And idk, I'll draw more ig 👹

[creepedverse]

What is everyone usually doing at night? (Night routine, or odd routing, staying up, things like that :0D)

BONNIE...usually tries to sleep early cuz she likes being up at 6-7am. does her skincare, brushes her teeth, and puts her hair in twin braids. BUT on nights when the ghosts wont leave her alone, she falls asleep on the couch without a routine. Her papa is usually up watching TV till 3am, and being with him makes her less scared

DIA tends to fluctuate between night owl and morning bird. On the nights she’s a night owl she can usually be found in her studio chipping away at a project, planning new wips, researching people to go after. If she’s just hanging out at home with a movie or show she likes to get snug in pjs and eat some popcorn, afterwards she’d brush her teeth and konk out for the day

TOBIN is usually out losing his fucking mind (Slender Sickness), getting fucked up (high, drunk, getting into fights) in traphouses, riding stolen bikes around town, or staying up late watching cable TV with Tali if she can't sleep. He's an arms and drugs dealer, so his world is more alive at night, and he has pretty bad insomnia in general so he gets bored and starts fucking around at night

TALI is almost always in bed by midnight. She gets home from work, makes herself a struggle meal, has a cigarette, and then passes out. Sometimes she'll stay up later to watch a movie with Tobin if either of them had a particularly stressful day, or she'll wait for him to get back so she can have a peaceful sleep

SCOUT stays up till likee 3-4am maybe later if her paranoia is bad! usually scouring the internet or watching 90s romance animes. if she's rlly out of it she might even go for a walk to the forest near her house! creepy!!

JOY would usually be seen around her RV when it’s late at night, she’s not one to really venture past a certain distance from the junkyard she calls home. She doesn’t have a set bedtime so there’s a chance Joy would just be sitting on a fold-out chair at four in the morning, maybe sipping some tea for her cough while watching the stars.

NICO puts away the parts of her life she cares about at night. Tucks her sister into bed, packs her lunch for school the next day, gets herself dolled up. Then she goes to work. She works in the night district of farnbury, either as a singer at the bar, or a dancer at the nightclub, sometimes both in one night depending on how much energy the coke she buys off Tobin gives her. She likes the heat, likes the attention, likes getting so drunk everyone's faces turn into amalgamated mush in front of her, and suddenly everyone's the operator. Sometimes she'll do his dirty work, if he makes her. Or she'll get Tommie to do it for her. Nico's nights are when she takes care of business. When she's done, she stumbles into the bed of whatever boy or girl she feels like seeing that night. Makes sure she's awake in time to get home, make her sister breakfast, and get her to school on time. Then she passes out. Wakes up at 3 pm. Rinse, lather, repeat.

[dragonflight203]

Mass Effect 3 replay, Priority: Geth Dreadnought:

-Adas – Why have the geth survivors not uploaded to a server yet?

There’s at least one server on Rannoch. Surely they should be able to reach it?

-I’ve been debating whether to take Liara or Javik on missions where I can only choose one companion. Javik won.

Sorry, Liara. So far Javik’s had better dialogue; that’s not a knock on you, your writers have just really dropped the bar this game.

-It’s odd that Edi can access the Dreadnought’s docking protocols with her Cyber Warfare suite. In ME2 she implied the geth mind is huge; even with their losses, they should still be able to block her.

Given the circumstances, I’ll chalk it up to the geth being distracted.

-Once again: Why is Shepard performing the highly dangerous task of walking through the damaged docking tube to ensure the others can get in? Why not, say, a highly qualified engineer like Tali?

-The docking tube walk is cinematic but doesn’t actually do much. You just trudge along. I wouldn’t say it really adds anything to the game.

-Oh, look. The docking tube broke off and Shepard’s asked Tali to review the schematics to open another.

Tali didn’t just go in the first place because…?

-Why are there keyboards and monitors all over this ship?

It’s a geth ship. Geth are software. A geth currently in a platform should be able to connect directly to the ship. Or speak to the geth in the ship. Why would they ever need a keyboard or monitor?

This isn’t even a repurposed organic station, like the one in ME2. The geth built this ship. There’s no excuse for these to be here unless the geth want them here and I can’t think of a good reason.

What, do they LARP about working side by side with organics in their downtime?

-Also, why are there cables everywhere?

That doesn’t feel like a geth thing to do. They’re machines and machines are all about precision. They wouldn’t leave cables lying around because there wouldn’t be a reason to.

Loose cables are closely associated with Reapers, so that might be their fault. (And what does that say about Reapers?)

But there’s no other Reaper tech until we get to Legion, so these feel more like they’re supposed to be geth and that is again baffling.

-I can never find the hull breach Shepard mentions and I check every playthrough.

-Javik: There’s no sense of self-preservation in these machines.

Tali: Networked intelligence! As we kill them, their attacks become more aggressive.

I suspect that explains quite a bit of the Morning War. As more geth are destroyed the remaining attack more ferociously, causing the quarians to attack more frantically in self-defense, amping the geth response…

A vicious cycle that didn’t end until the quarians retreated. And now we’re in the middle of quarian/geth war, take two. They’re just going to to keep egging each other on unless an outside force can break it up

-Tali says the ship design is almost quarian.

Logical. Geth were designed by quarians; it makes sense their technology would be based off of quarian technology.

-So. It turns out that Charge is bugged on this mission.

For me it failed most of the time in the battery. That made the mission a LOT harder than it needed to be. I finally resorted to not using it in the last stretch and made it through.

Apparently it’s also bugged on Rannoch, so that’s something to look forward to. Ugh.

-I thought it wasn’t possible to save between the battery and meeting Legion. I kept trying to on my playthroughs and it would be greyed out.

This time, I actually killed all the geth in the battery and the game autosaved. When I reloaded that autosave, I could properly save the game.

That would have saved me so much time last playthrough when I kept reloading to see Edi’s dialogue with Legion.

This mission is very buggy.

-Legion, if you go renegade: You know we would never agree to subjugation by the Old Machines.

Tali, take notes. Legion defied his people because he thought they were making a mistake. Hint, hint.

-Legion, about not being controlled by the Reapers: Our architecture prevents it. We are too complex.

I would love to hear more about this. Reapers are hyper advanced machines but they can’t control Legion because Legion is too complex? Really? Really?

I feel that’s a pretty awful excuse on the writer’s part, but taken at face value it’s pretty funny. The Reapers are apparently shitty programmers. They put all the points into organic mind control

There’s probably something that can be done with the Rachni queen and Legion both being hive minds and able to resist Reaper control.

Clearly, the solution is to get the salarians working on psychic tech. Once all organics are joined into a hive mind indoctrination will no longer be possible.

Look, it’s no worse a solution than the Crucible. At least mine has foreshadowing.

-Legion: The creators attacked. The geth wished to live. The Old Machines extended an offer.

This is said in a format reminiscent of If-Then statements. It also reminds me of geometry proofs. Fitting, as Legion is a machine.

It also places the blame entirely on the quarians. While I’m inclined to agree the quarians are primarily at fault, it’s interesting that Legion structured the sentence such. It’s designed to make the listener draw the same conclusion. Quite a social maneuver for a being nominally bad at them.

As for my feelings on it: As I said, if you back someone into a corner they’ll do anything to get out. It’s not surprising that the geth accepted the Reaper’s offer. That said, it’s still a choice they made and they should be held accountable for it.

-Legion: Had the creators not attacked, it would have been unnecessary.

Legion’s making it emphatically clear that he blames the quarians for this entire situation. He’s in a tough spot – his people are under attack, they’ve made a deal with the devil, and their best bet at survival and freedom is the devil’s sworn enemy. Who is allied with the force attacking his people.

Yeah, Legion’s having a very shitty day. I’ll give him a pass on blaming the quarians. I’m cursing them for their stupidity and I’m just incidentally involved.

-The science behind this situation is worth than Star Trek’s science babble. How does using Legion to broadcast the signal to all geth even work?

Yes, the geth are a hive mind that Legion is connected to. We also just established that the Reapers can’t control him. So how they can use him to control the rest of the geth?

If I really wanted to I could come up with an answer, but since the writers couldn’t be bothered I’m not going to either. Let’s just chalk this up to the writers wanted Shepard to rescue Legion and this is the excuse they came up with.

-Edi, about the shackles on Legion: Yes. Used by organics, it is understandable. For geth to install this in a formerly independent unit is… unnecessary.

Love the implication here that the geth did not take Legion refusing to agree to ally with the Reapers well.

I think Legion is slowly starting to come to terms with the fact that not all intra-geth squabbles can be resolved peacefully. He keeps getting shoved into situations where he has to confront that firsthand.

-Why don’t the other geth reenable the Dreadnought’s drive core?

I suppose we can assume Legion did something to take the drive core out permanently or at least delay reenabling it, but the game does not say such.

-Legion disabled the Geth Dreadnought as a gesture of goodwill and the quarians promptly destroy it.

Peace negotiations are off to a great start.

-The geth attack Shepard and co as soon as Legion is freed and before the quarians amp up their attack on the Dreadnought.

Theoretically, they should be free of the Reaper signal. Legion’s no longer broadcasting it and he implies later that the short range signal on Rannoch isn’t in full working order yet.

So these geth may be Reaper controlled or they may be willingly attacking Shepard because they’re fully onboard with allying with the Reapers.

I suspect it’s the latter.

Yep, no problems with the negotiations.

-Gerrel is an ass and should be removed from command. He’s not coordinating with the rest of the Fleet; he’s moving on his own and leaving them to support him or die.

-Why do geth fighters have any seats? Or storage space?

A platform is not required to control the fighter. Geth can just upload themselves to it.

I suspect this is another instance of the writers forgetting the established lore of the geth.

It would have been kind of funny if Legion had abandoned his platform and uploaded himself to the fighter and you spent the rest of the Rannoch arc speaking to him in the fighter.

-Legion saved Javik from drifting off.

I suspect Javik will have nightmares about that. Saved by a synthetic, ugh.

-Gerrel, you deserve more than a punch.

Shepard’s a spectre. They don’t need a reason to kill you. You’ve given them plenty by violating Council regulations repeatedly. Be glad all you got was a punch.

-And Xen continues to be a mad scientist. She really wants to study Legion.

-Hmm. Fighter squadrons are targeting liveships.

Considering the liveships have as much firepower as dreadnoughts, I can’t muster much sympathy. The quarians made them valid targets.

[1stupidrat]

Learned Mortality | Day 3 | Artwork Thread!

Hey everyone!!! Big episode out today, gonna share some of my thoughts behind the art that showed up this episode.

If you haven't seen the episode yet, click here!

Spoilers for Learned Mortality Day 3 ahead, obviously.

First off, Milli's stand [Hello, World]! This charming little bundle of cables can interface with computers using its USB cable arms. Its power has yet to be revealed but I love it ^-^

Hello World is the iconic phrase used to test a text output function within coding languages, and is usually the first thing coders learn when starting a new language.

Next up is a quickie, but my boy Murph got an update! (now with eyepatch)

The front cover of the children's book titled "The Legend of Atlantis", by Epiphany Eso (Bliss's mother, Milli's grandmom).

Next up, quoted "Adorable" penguins, [Defend Atlantis]!

These guys ended up being so much more of a threat than I could have ever imagined, resulting in the first combat encounter loss ever received in any of our JoJo TTRPG videos.

IT'S A PLANET!

And "Gheist", aka Act 2 of Larry's Soldier of 3 Armies. This guy speaks incoherent German and runs about at the speed of light (ning)!

I myself have German heritage and know enough German to understand the written language. My spoken German is very fragmented but thankfully that fits the character quite well ^-^

This ep was one hell of a trip, what with the reveal of some darker themes regarding the world as well as the mysterious morse code messages coming from Macaroni island. I look forward to sharing more with you in the future ^-^

Thanks for Watching!

-Tali

[loquaciousquark]

[Fic] Still Touched With Fire [4/6]

Rating: T Characters/Pairings: Shepard/Garrus, Tali, EDI Word Count: 5k this chapter, ~24k total Summary: The world ends. Life goes on. Shepard and Garrus pick up—and occasionally fight through—the pieces.

—

It takes almost half an infuriating hour, but at last Garrus finds Shepard on the roof. She’s sitting at the halfway point of the steel walkway between the two wings of the hospital, looking out over a sixteen-story drop, her legs dangling into open space. The braided cables that make up the side railings are spaced tightly enough he’s not afraid of her falling through, but even in the dark he can see her wheelchair shoved carelessly out of her reach, hard rubber wheels cocked at an angle as they’ve caught on the walkway’s metal grating. His visor reads out several helpful metrics as he approaches: an eight-kph night breeze from the southeast, enough to feel but not enough to affect targeting; the heat signature of overworked cybernetics in her left elbow, her left knee; a mildly elevated heart rate, which jumps another ten beats when she looks over to see him at the gate.

“I found her, Sergeant Loyiso,” he says into his comm as he lets himself through, not bothering to hide the annoyance. The walkway—intended for access to the helipad on the other roof—is unlit, most of the floodlights broken or burnt out. There’s still enough ambient light from the city below he can make out where to step; the dim glow reflects in unsteady flickers over Shepard’s face, green, blue, red. Any other time, he would have laughed at the guilt in her eyes. “I’ll bring her back in a minute.”

“Thank you, Vakarian, sir,” comes the serviceman’s voice in fervent gratitude, and Garrus cuts the connection.

—

Links: FF.net, AO3

[whumpsonamo]

me trying to finish writing literally the first instalment of Tali and Cable 😔

Soon... soon..

revising your writing is just like "is this weird. is this a weird sentence. is this the weirdest most poorly-worded sentence ever written by anyone" and the sentence in question is "he walked across the room"

[travel-vlogs]

Auli Tour Packages - 2024 Guide on Best Auli Travel Packages for Skiing, Sightseeing

Auli is a charming Himalayan ski resort that attracts travelers seeking snowy slopes and mountain views. Known as the skiing capital of India, Auli offers breathtaking vistas of Nanda Devi, Mana Parvat, and Kamat Kamet peaks. Its pristine environs and sloping meadows make it the perfect destination for a rejuvenating holiday. If you’re planning a trip to Auli, opting for a customized tour package takes the stress out of travel planning. This allows you to experience Auli’s many delights in a well-organized manner. 

About Auli

Auli is at 2,500-3,000 meters above sea level in Chamoli district. Its downhill ski slopes extend over 4km and are maintained by the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam. Auli hosts national and international ski competitions owing to its world-class skiing infrastructure. The region was firmly on the tourist map after the Government of India developed Auli into a tourism center in the 1970s and 80s. Today, it draws adventure enthusiasts and leisure travelers who wish to bask in the raw beauty of the Himalayas.

 Best Time to Visit Auli

Since Auli is primarily a ski destination, the best time to visit is during winter, from November to March. This period sees heavy snowfall, allowing for excellent skiing conditions. The average daytime temperature ranges from 5 to 15°C during winter. Summers are cool and pleasant, too, with temperatures between 15 to 20°C. There are fewer tourists during other seasons so that you can explore Auli’s tranquil environs in peace. However, skiing facilities are not operational beyond winter.

Skiing in Auli

Skiing is undoubtedly Auli's biggest lure, attracting skiers of all skill levels. There are beginner, intermediate, and advanced ski slopes catering to amateur and professional skiers. Skiing packages typically include accommodation, meals, equipment rental, and cable car tickets. Trained instructors are available for guidance. The skiing season commences in late November until early April, with peak season from January to mid-March.

Cable Car Ride 

The cable car or Gondola lift from Joshimath to Auli offers a thrilling ride covering a distance of 4km in just 30 minutes. It is India’s longest cable car and offers stunning views of the snow-draped Himalayan peaks. The cable car connects Auli directly to Joshimath, saving the trouble of driving up winding mountain roads. Riding the cable car is an experience, even without skiing.

Trekking

The region around Auli presents excellent trekking terrain for adventure seekers. The Kuari Pass Trek, Gorson Bugyal Trek, Tapovan Trek, and Panwali Kantha Trek reward high-altitude treks ranging from easy to complex grades. The Kuari Pass Trek can be easily clubbed with skiing. Trekking through rhododendron forests and meadows blooming with wildflowers is a highlight of spring and summer treks.

Camping 

Several campsites and alpine tents are available for rent in Auli for an offbeat camping experience amidst nature. Joshimath, Gorson meadows, Tali Lake, and Chattrakund are popular camping spots near Auli. Nightcamping under a blanket of stars while listening to mountain rivers is blissful. Carry your camping gear or rent from local vendors. Watch for signs of altitude sickness while camping at high elevations.

Luxury Resorts

Auli has premium resorts like Cliff Top Club, The Royal Village Resort, and The Tattva Resort, offering lavish accommodations and fine dining. They have state-of-the-art amenities like heated indoor pools, spas, conference halls, recreation centers, and more. The tariff ranges from INR 10,000 to INR 20,000 per night. Luxury properties are conveniently located near the ski slopes.

Budget Hotels

Joshimath, the base for Auli tourism, has many affordable lodges, hotels, and guest houses for budget travelers, with tariffs within INR 1000 – 3000 a night. Hotel Snow Crest Inn, Hotel Mount Annexy, and Hotel GMVN Joshimath offer clean rooms and basic amenities at reasonable rates. They provide complimentary shuttle service to Auli Gondola.

Homestays

Several local households in Auli village offer homestay facilities, letting you experience authentic Garhwali culture. Homestays are a good option with around INR 2000 per night tariffs, including meals. Interacting with the hosts and learning about the customs of mountain village life is an educational experience. Try home-cooked food like kale, duduk, and chains.  

By Air

Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun (148 km from Auli) is the nearest airport. It is well-connected via daily flights to Delhi and other major cities. Taxis and buses are available from Dehradun to Joshimath (499 km). The journey takes around 10-12 hours with stops. Chartered helicopters and small aircraft also offer transfers from Dehradun and Delhi to Auli.

By Rail

Haridwar railway junction (279 km from Auli) is the closest major railhead. Several trains connect Haridwar to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and other metro cities. Hire a taxi or take a bus from Haridwar to reach Joshimath in 10 hours. Rishikesh railway station (251 km away) is another transit point. Local trains run between Haridwar and Rishikesh as well.

By Road

Auli is connected to Rishikesh, Haridwar, Dehradun, and Delhi by well-maintained highways. Buses by Uttarakhand Transport Corporation and private operators ply on these routes daily. Shared taxis are also available from major hill stations. Driving down to Auli via Rudraprayag and Chamoli offers scenic views.

Group Tour Packages

Travel agents offer fixed departure skiing tours as group packages for 4-5 nights during winter. They include transfers, hotel stays, meals, ski passes, and equipment. Group sizes are usually 15-30 people, and rates range from INR 25,000 to INR 45,000 per person. Discounts may apply for larger groups. 

Customized Tour Packages

Customized Auli packages allow you to tailor the itinerary to your duration, budget, interests, group size, and travel style. Service providers like Indian Holiday offer private Auli packages with options for hotel upgrades, sightseeing, transfers, adventure activities, etc. Rates depend on the inclusions. Customizing is excellent for solo travelers or families seeking exclusivity. 

Planning a rewarding trip to Auli is easy by opting for a suitable travel package. Whether you prefer an organized group tour or a private custom tour, options suit every need and budget. With its unmatched vistas and snow-laden landscapes, Auli promises an unforgettable holiday in the lap of the Himalayas.

FAQs

What is the best time for skiing in Auli?

The ideal period for skiing in Auli is from January to March, with abundant snowfall. November-December and March-April are shoulder skiing seasons.

What are the beginner ski slopes like in Auli?

Several beginner-friendly slopes in Auli of low gradients up to 200m long are great for novice skiers. Instructors are available for guidance.

How far in advance should I book an Auli tour package?

It's advisable to book your Auli tourism package at least 2-3 months in advance for the peak winter season between December and February. For other months, one month ahead should be sufficient.

What are the languages spoken in Auli?

The main languages spoken in Auli are Hindi, English, and Garhwali. Most locals are conversant in Hindi and English, owing to tourism.

What is the ideal duration for an Auli trip?

A 3-night 4, 4-day Auli itinerary allows sufficient time for sightseeing, skiing, local activities, and acclimatization. Extend by 2-3 days if you wish to trek or camp.

[ghostcultmagazine]

Ghost Cult caught up with Israeli Stoner/Doom/post-Grunge artist @nicarus8468, a.k.a. singer and multi-instrumentalist Tali Green, to discuss her two new concept albums "Sipapu - Stone Buddha" and "Sipapu - Golden Buddha!" Both were released on New Year's Day 2023, symbolizing a new beginning for the artist. She discussed the making of the album, working with famous producer Sandford Parker, having some of the record created at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio Studio in Chicago, a track-by-track breakdown of each song of both albums, and plans for her next album, already in progress. You can order the albums here: https://ift.tt/BsbZu4S Follow Nicarus here: https://ift.tt/KtUET7q https://ift.tt/BsbZu4S https://ift.tt/tq5LaPI https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNxotMQpHdqHYwl6lSYDxpw https://ift.tt/4tJeUag https://ift.tt/jDCwrHI https://www.twitter.com/tg_nicarus Interview by Keefy https://ift.tt/17Bt5cW Produced & edited by Omar Cordy of OJCPICS https://www.instagram.com/ojcpics​​​​ Theme music by Salted Wounds https://ift.tt/JcOUBxZ ▵ PODCAST ▵ (Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Anchor) "Ghost Cult MagazinePODCAST" ▷https://ift.tt/EGdnZeR ▵ GEAR WE USE ▵ (These are affiliate links) Set up A: Sony A7 III - https://amzn.to/3tQm422 Tamron 17-28 - https://amzn.to/3ePrlTd Tamron 28-75 - https://amzn.to/3fqCjgY Desview Mavo-P5 Monitor- https://amzn.to/33LlTub Manfrotto Befree Travel Tripod - https://amzn.to/3hxbL0e Set up B: Feelworld T7 Monitor - https://amzn.to/2Re9hta Audio: Sound Devices MixPre-3 - https://amzn.to/3tKkJd2 Gearlux XLR Mic Cable - 3 Pack - https://amzn.to/3w3zN6Y Deity D3 Microphone - https://amzn.to/3tRa6W2 Fifine Usb Mic - https://amzn.to/3w8JHEG Lighting: YONGNUO YN600L - https://amzn.to/2QkNrn5 YONGNUO YN300 Air - https://amzn.to/2QjN5gu Dfuse Softbox - https://amzn.to/3uQq4AN Aputure MC - https://amzn.to/3oirFgx NanLite PavoTube II 6C - http://bit.ly/NanLitePavoTubeII Lightstands - https://amzn.to/3uSBl3x 5 in 1 Reflector - https://amzn.to/33KHdjo And our iconic Rope Light https://amzn.to/3ycdmyz For the full list of Ghost Cult gear: http://bit.ly/OJCPicsKit This video contains a shoutout to Psychic Bastard: https://ift.tt/0PJmEKu Get your DIY band, label, or record store a shoutout in our interview videos by visiting our pinned post on Twitter! https://twitter.com/GhostCultMag/status/1142861626590355456 ▵ LET'S BE FRIENDS ▵ INSTA ▷https://ift.tt/l7FHd2e TWITTER ▷ https://twitter.com/GhostCultMag TIKTOK ▷ https://ift.tt/29PRdeb OUR WEBSITE ▷ https://ift.tt/EvxM02Z

[lemonmangosorbet]

An Intimacy of Robotics - Chapter 1

Summary:

This Jayce had once been made of metal, a crude fabrication of scraps of gold, bronze and copper that Viktor had reclaimed, and hair made of fibre optic cables. But now, this Jayce was a near perfect replica of the real thing, right down to the tooth gap and scar on his eyebrow. The only differences were that this Jayce was an imitation of a younger version of Jayce, one that Viktor used to know when they were Hextech partners. That, and this Jayce had piercing blue eyes thanks to the Hexcore heart he was powered by.

A fic set during the Jayvik Divorce Era, where the Machine Herald crafts a robotic companion for himself that looks exactly like his ex-partner, Jayce Talis.

Inspired by the artwork of c4rc4ss

-

Read more on AO3 HERE (18+ only and please check the fic tags)

Reblogs = ❤️

[undead-potatoes]

Christmas light cables: *exists*

Tali: it’s free spaghetti

[felassan]

Mass Effect development insights and highlights from Bioware: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development

This is the Mass Effect version of this post.

[In case you can’t read it the subtitle in the bottom left logo above is “Guardians of the Citadel”]

Note: Drug use is mentioned.

Cut for length.

Mass Effect 1

ME began its life in a vision document in fall 2003

Codenamed “SFX”

Conceived of by Casey Hudson and a core team from KotOR. Its genesis was the intention to create an epic sci-fi RPG in an original setting that BioWare owned (so they could have full creative control), and in a setting that was conceived of first and foremost as a video game

Initially players could control any squadmate, but they wanted it to be about Shep and for players to be focused on Shep being a battlefield commander, rather than on switching bodies

By the start of 2004 its story was shaping up. Initially humans landed on Mars in 2250 and discovered evidence of an ancient alien race and a powerful substance, Black Sand, which rapidly advanced tech to the point that FTL travel was possible. (My note: obviously now the Prothean artifacts on Mars & associated mass effect force tech enabled this in the final canon, but I wonder if aspects of the ‘Black Sand’ naming-type & powerful substance stuff was rolled into red sand from final canon) Humans were suddenly capable of travel to multiple star systems and made contact with a multitude of other species. At the start of the first game, these species together with humans had a fragile peace, with focus placed on the political center of the galaxy, a hub known as Star City, later renamed the Citadel

Multiplayer was a vision for the series as far back as 2003. The plan was for ME1, an Xbox exclusive at launch, to take advantage of the platform’s online components. Early designs saw players meeting in one of the central hubs to interact and trade items in their otherwise SP adventures

By 2006 it had the name ME and the story was more specific, with the theme of conflict between organic and synthetic lifeforms. The story’s scope now stretched across 3 games and included scope for full co-op MP

They tried to do MP in every game, discussing it from the get-go, but it always just fell by the wayside. “When you’re trying to build something that is a new IP, on a new platform, with a new engine, you’ve got to really focus on the core elements of the game.” 

The conversation system prototype was made in Jade Empire, and some of ME’s earliest writing was done in an old JE build. At first there was no conversation wheel. Paragon was “Friendly” and Renegade “Hostile”. In the prototype Shep was a silent unnamed Spectre. Many conversations in the prototype about the player’s choice in smuggling a weapon through Noveria made it into the game

In said prototype a merchant referred to themselves as “this one”, though the word hanar never appeared. The PC in it also had the option to end a conversation with “I should go”. In the prototype also, Harkin was voiced by Mark Meer

An early version of the Mako got used as the krogan truck in ME2

Early concepts of the Citadel were drawn in pencil by CH. A piece of concept art of its final design was painted based on a photo of a sculpture near Aswan, Egypt

As with any new IP naming it was a struggle. They put out a call to all staff for ideas, did polls, made a name generator that combined words that they liked in random ways and made pretend logos of ones they liked in Photoshop to see if they could make themselves love the name or find visual potential in it. (Some of these names are in the pic at the top of this post.) CH liked “Unearthed” as it was a reference to Prothean ruins dug up on Mars and humanity’s ascendance going away from Earth. They knew the game would have a central space station featuring prominently so some of the ideas were based on that - “The Citadel”, “The Optigon”, “The Oculon”. “Element” was another one they had in mind due to the rare substance in the game 

CH: “I was a big fan of John Harris’ book Mass, which had epic-scaled sci-fi ideas, so that was a word that came up often. Many of the names came from the idea that the IP featured a fifth fundamental physical force (in addition to the known four of gravitational, electromagnetic, strong nuclear and weak nuclear) so the word ‘effect’ came up pretty often.” Ultimately none of the ideas really felt right. One Monday morning they were going over the names and Greg Zeschuk said he had an idea on the weekend: “Mass Effect!” CH: “I said, ‘I don’t hate it’, which in the naming process is a high compliment. And it stuck!”

CH on Shep’s Prothean vision from the beacon: “It was hard to imagine how we would do this. CG was - and is - really expensive. Instead I wanted to try doing it through photography and video editing. So I went to a local grocery store and bought a few packages of the weirdest looking meat that I could find. Then I set up a little photoshoot in my basement, complete with some electronics parts and some red wine for juicyness.” He used these props to create a video sequence where the photos were rapidly cycled and blurred, along with production paintings, to create the scary vision an organic/machine experiment on the Protheans. These mashups were also used as inspiration for concept artists and level designers who were working on these themes

Tali used to be called Talsi

On the licensing side they often joke that they’re licensing N7 not “Mass Effect” due to N7′s popularity

There was a confidential internal guide to the IP in 2007 to help devs along and summarize/synthesize the vision etc. Some excerpts from it are shown in the book and this is the first time the public have ever seen them

Early versions of Asari had hair

Asari were designed as a nod to classic TV sci-fi (with human actors wearing obvious makeup and prosthetics to play aliens)

The turian design guideline was “we want them to be birds of prey”. They also wanted a range of alien types, some close to human like Asari, while others were to be a lot further away, like turians

BioWare patented the conversation wheel, which was a first for them. CH had been frustrated with reviews of Jade Empire that said that the actioncentric game was too wordy [with its list dialogue]. “I’m like, story is words. [...] What is it about our games that is making people feel like they’re wordy?” Then he thought “In a game you kind of need to feel like you’re continuing to play it. Maybe you should continue feeling like you’re playing it actively into the dialogue.” “[The wheel] kind of gave a new experience with dialogue when you did start to react based on emotion, and that’s ultimately what we’re trying to bring out in our games”

The original krogan concept was based on a bat “with a really wide squidgy face. We just used its face on top of this weird body and it kinda worked”

Geth musculature was based on fiber-optic cables, with flexible plates of armor attached

The vision for the IP was 80s sci-fi inspired space opera

The concept art of Saren lifting Shep by the throat inspired a similar scene in-game. The staging wasn’t planned til designers saw that art

A squadmate with Shepard on the way to meet Ash in an old storyboard was called Carter. Early name of Kaidan or Jenkins?

Bono from U2 was kinda instrumental in bringing us ME lol

Finding the right cover art for ME1 was notably tricky

Matt Rhodes got his start drawing helmets for ME1, including one which would become Shep’s “second face”. He estimates he drew between 250-270 different ones

Some of the sounds in-game were people smashing watermelons with sledgehammers and sticking fists into various goos

The audio team had fun trying to slip the iconic main theme into unexpected places throughout the MET. “We were very aware of how powerful that track was for the fans and it was tempting to overuse it for any moment we wanted to make really emotional”.

The theme was creatively repurposed in ME3: slowed down and reworked as the ambient sound for the SR-2. “If you listen to it for a really long time, just stand in the Normandy and listen, you’ll actually hear the notes change slowly. It doesn’t sound like music, it sounds like a background ambiance, but it’s there.” (My note: Well no wonder the Normandy feels so much like home?? 😭 sneaky..)

Bug report: “Mako Tornado”. There wasn’t enough friction between the tires and the ground, causing testers to lose control of the vehicle and send it spinning into the air like a tornado. “As it turns, the front end comes up, and then it starts spinning and spinning and spinning and spinning faster and faster and faster until it just flies up in the sky” (My note: Sounds like a regular day in the Mako to me)

Cerberus originally had a bigger role in this game. It was cut but they had a whole explorable outpost. “I called it Misery,” says Mac Walters, “It was this planet with a little outpost that said ‘Welcome to Misery’”. Everything on the outpost was shit - dirty worn stuff, no windows, no kitchen, the vehicle bay was open to the elements etc

The Reaper sound is literal garbage. Some audio designers went on a recording trip to a national park. One of them got fixated on a garbage can, “a metal bear-proof receptacle with a heavy lid that creaked horribly when opened”. “It was like, ominous, spooky, tonal and almost musical. I decided to throw a mic into the garbage and record it moving. I didn’t know what it was going to be until later”

They were making lots of noises to record like throwing logs and rocks around. An old couple peered at them through the window of their camper van in the woods and must have called the cops because then the cops showed up, pulled them over and told them to stop. The cops towed their car (the driver’s plates were Cali plates and expired), drove them to Edmonton outskirts and then the audio producer Shauna got a call and had to go pick them up “like three little boys”. “We got a stern talking to”. Once back they were playing around with the garbage sound, editing it etc. Casey heard it and proclaimed “That’s the sound of the Reapers”

Preston Watamaniuk: “There are things I could have done to Mass 1 to make it an infinitely better game with better UIs” and some simple cuts and changes. “But when you’re living with it, it’s very hard to see those things”

BioWare Labs

As social media and smartphone games exploded, BioWare dedicated a small team dedicated to exploring opportunities here - BioWare Labs

Mass Effect: Galaxy used a unique graphic art style and static visual presentation common in visual novels. It has the distinction of being the only iOS game BW have made during their first 25 years

Scrapped ideas were a 3rd person space shooter called Mass Effect: Corsair and 2 DA titles - a strategy game and a top-down dungeon crawler starring young Wynne. (My note: Maybe the corsairs stuff was rolled into Jacob’s backstory in 2, the Alliance Corsairs)

Corsair was a very short-lived project that never got its feet under it. It was a spin-off on Nintendo DS featuring a behind-the-ship perspective and branching dialogue. At one point it had MP. The idea behind it was basically “ME: Freelancer” - fly your ship around, do missions, get credits. It had a limited branching story but was a gameplay-centered experience intended to fill the gap between ME1 and 2. That gap ended up being filled by Galaxy

Galaxy and Corsair’s smaller screen allowed concept artists to use bold colors and a simplistic character design style to help those games stand out from Shep’s story

Nick Thornborrow did some art for Corsair but was worried his art style didn’t fit ME. He moved to DA where he feels his art style fits better

Lots of BioWare VAs and even a lead writer and the VO director are drawn from Edmonton’s local community theater scene, which is vibrant. Think this is how Mark Meer got involved

Mass Effect 2

Player choices carrying over was a first for BW

Dirty Dozen-inspired plot

Its plot is a web of conditionals (see Suicide Mission)

Was more of a shooter than anything BW had made since Shattered Steel

There was 2 camps on the team, those who wanted to push combat and systems forward and redefine the ME experience and those who wanted to make a true sequel, with the same gameplay and systems but a new story. Karin Weekes: “I think it ended up being a good push-pull. It felt like a pretty healthy creative conflict”

“ME2 was a game you could hold up to someone who argues that games aren’t a serious medium and go ‘Oh yeah, then why is Martin Sheen in this?’” Sheen was their first pick for TIM

The idea for TIM came from a mash-up of concepts CH had collected over the years. The name “Illusive” originally came from his pitch for naming DAO’s Eclipse engine, a word inspired by Obi-Wan’s line “It’s not about the mission, Master. It’s something... elsewhere. Elusive”. “I thought, what if we called our next engine 'Elusive', but used an ‘I’, and then it’s like ‘Illusion’. [...] I still really like the word with an ‘I’ and what it conjures”

When ME1 DLC was in production, CH had been watching a lot of CNN, specifically Anderson Cooper. “How is one guy travelling to all these places and never looking tired and always being able to speak with clarity?” CH says it seemed almost superhuman. “What if there was someone who is the absolute maximum of the things you would aspire to be, but also the worst of humanity?” Cooper, though not evil, became an inspiration for TIM down to the gray hair and piercing blue eyes

Inspiration for TIM’s behind-the-scenes role pulling political strings came from Jack Bauer’s brother Graem in 24. Graem “can call up the president and tell him what to do and hang up, because he’s so connected and so influential”. Sheen had played a president and his performance brought gravitas and wisdom to the role. He had quit smoking, but the character smokes. He didn’t want to fake it, but he also didn’t want to smoke, “so he actually asked for a cigarette” to hold so he could stop his words to take drags with natural cadence

Writing was still pushing to write and revise lines hours before VO started. A series of problems like injury and some writers leaving for other opportunities left it so that Karin, Lukas Kristjanson and editor Cookie Everman hand to land the story safely, with PW helping where they could. Lukas: “We took over the writing bug and task list, and I can’t stress enough how much [Karin and Cookie] did to get ME2 out the door. There’s no part of that thing we didn’t touch”. Karin: “That was the most dramatic 2 weeks of my life”

Initial fan reaction when they started promo-ing ME2 was very negative because people didn’t want to know about new chars like Jack and Mordin. “[fans were like] ‘Get them out of here. We want our characters from the first game’. But then when they played them, those became some of the most popular chars [of the series]”

Concept art of Thane has an idea annotation saying “Face can shapeshift?”

At one point when designing Thane concept artists sent multiple variations of him to the team asking them to vote on which was the most attractive

Most of the Normandy crew was written by lead level designer Dusty Everman. Lukas gave him advice in the evenings between bugs

BioWare Montreal made ME2 and 3 cinematics

CC for Shep was based on tools used by char designers to create in-game chars. Under the hood similar tools existed to create aliens

Aliens were much easier to animate than humans. When something is human it’s very difficult to make it look realistic and you can see all the mistakes and everything

Over the holiday period in 2007 CH worked out a diagram on a single piece of paper that would define the entire scope and structure of the game. The diagram is included in the book

Bug report: “I shot a krogan so hard that his textures fell off”. At one point shotgun blast damage was applied to each of the pellets fired, and shot enemies ended up with just the default checkerboard Unreal texture on them after their textures got blown off

Blasto was meant to be 1 step above an Easter egg but his fan popularity prompted them to bring him back in ME3

They rewrote chunks of Jack 2 days before she went to VO. She was the only one they could change because all the other NPCs were recorded. They redesigned her mission by juggling locked NPC lines and changing Shep’s reactions by rewriting text paraphrases to change the context of the already-recorded VO

Lukas snuck obscure nods ito ME2′s distress calls. In the general distress call for the Hugo Gernsback, there’s BW’s initial’s and Edmonton’s phone number backwards. In a fault in a beacon protocol there’s the initials and backward phone number from Tommy Tutone’s “Jenny”. In 2 other general distress calls there’s initials and numbers from Glenn Miller Orchestra’s “Pennsylvania 6-5000″ and initials and numbers from Geddy Lee and Rush’s “2112″ respectively 

Mass Effect 3

“The end of an era marks the beginning of another”

ME3 “marked the end of Shep’s story”

Saying bye to Shep was as difficult for devs as it was for players

JHale’s final VO session included Anderson’s death and romanced Garrus’ goodbye. “We were in the session and we both just started crying”, Caroline says. “I couldn’t come on the line to give her notes because I was crying, and she was crying. And so there was just this minute-long pause of like, nothing, nothing, nothing - just silence through the airwaves. And then I came on and just told her that I was crying and she said ‘I’m crying!’” They talked about these anecdotes also here on the N7 Day reunion panel

The Microsoft Kinect voice support required devs to teach Kinect hundreds of commands in a variety of accents across multiple languages. The result was useful but made for some awkward moments. Numerous players accidentally said “geth” or “quarian” while making a particular decision and accidentally killed Tali

MP chars were voiced by cops and military people

The helmet on one of the MP chars was originally designed for cancelled project Revolver

The payload device at the end needed to attach to the Citadel while essentially serving as a giant trigger. “It ended up becoming quite the engineering feet just to visualize how this thing would move and connect to the Citadel”

Concept artists explored creating an anti-team, where Kai Leng was almost an anti-Shepard essentially, with an elite squad to counteract your team. This idea never went beyond concept phase

ME3 Special Edition was released on Nintendo Wii U exclusively. This exclusive version of the game includes Genesis 2 (a sequel to the original Genesis comic) and unique gameplay features that took advantage of the touchscreen GamePad. For years Sonic Chronicles: Dark Brotherhood had had the honor of being BW’s only game made for a Nintendo console

FemShep regrettably didn’t feature in major ME marketing til ME3. Later releases like DAI, MEA and Anthem have taken increasing care not to gender their protagonists in cover art

To capture combat sounds they took a trip to CFB Wainwright, a military base southeast of Edmonton. They got a big tour of it and were allowed to record anything they could find. The tour ended with them getting to drive and shoot tanks (real shells). The force of doing that sent waves through Joel Green, he felt his whole chest compress when it went off; the perfect sound for the Black Widow! After the trip the soldiers let him keep the shell he fired and it’s been passed on like a torch to various devs since

Kakliosaurs began life as a joke in the writers’ room after John Dombrow placed a Grunt figure on a t-rex toy he had on his desk. Lore was brainstormed to justify the mash-up before someone asked, “Why don’t we put this in the game?” They loved it so much Karin had custom coffee mugs made

Bug report: For a while Tali’s final romance scene would fire when she was supposed to be dead

“Balancing combat: how designers in ME3 entered an ‘arms race’” - the solution to players feeling OP vs players feeling frustrated by really strong enemies is to find a good middle ground, but for designers Corey Gaspur and Brenon Holmes, it was war. Brenon designed enemies, Corey designed guns. Corey “was obsessed with bigger, heavier guns. We had this sort of informal competition where he’d make this crazy overturned gun that would just murder all the enemies, and then I tuned some stuff up to compensate”

Brenon had to invent new ways to “stop Corey” and this led to the Phantoms. Corey had in turn designed consumable rockets that could wipe out entire waves of enemies. He must’ve figured this would make short work of Brenon’s space ninjas, but Brenon had other plans: “I had just added the ability for her to cut rockets [when Corey was playing MP and he was watching]. She cut the rocket in half... Corey just turns and looks at me and is like: ‘Really dude? I just shot a rocket at this Phantom and she’s fine? Not even damaged? Zero damage?’” 

This friendly rivalry helped elevate ME3′s gameplay. Corey had a knack for making a gun feel so good to fire it had his fellow designers scrambling to keep up. It was his version of balancing. Before Corey sadly passed away he mentored Boldwin Li in all things weapon design and the arms race continued

Corey designed the Arc Pistol. It was causing problems for enemies because it was too powerful. It seemed hell bent on staying that way, Boldwin would tune down all its stats and it was still doing 3x the damage it should have been doing. “I was like ‘What the hell?’, and then I looked closer. It secretly fired 3 bullets for every pull of the trigger! Corey, you sneaky jerk”

The day it launched there were midnight launch parties across North America including one near the BW building. Numerous devs sat at long tables greeting fans and signing autographs as the fans picked up preorders. When midnight struck the line was long enough that it took several hours for some fans to get their game. One particular fan is remembered: “It was 3am. Some guy drove up from Calgary with his friends. He was like one of the last people in line. I think he was sort of tired-drunk. He threw himself across the tables, pulled up his shirt and shouted ‘Guys, sign my abs!’ And like I did, because he waited so long. It felt impolite not to. So I hope he enjoyed his copy of ME3″

For designing Protheans concept artists had free reign to design something that read as ancient

Before the concept art team had the story of the game to work toward, they explored wild ideas of their own including an image of the crew stealing back the Normandy to go after the Reapers

Jen Cheverie was testing scenes and was initially excited to be testing Mordin scenes, til she saw she was testing the Renegade version of his death. “This is even before like all of the audio and everything was in, so you didn’t even have the sad music. I remember sitting at my desk and my hands just went to my face when I saw that the gun Shep pulls on Mordin is the gun he gives Shep in ME2. I burst into tears and was crying for the rest of the day. People are waving to me as they walk by and I’m like, ‘It’s ok, I’m just killing my best friend’” 

There’s a segment called “Shepard’s story ends”. Casey on the ending: “There’s a whole bunch of things that come together to make it incredibly tense and emotional for players. I think the biggest one was the sense of finality, that whatever it was that happened in that very last moment... was it.” 

Wrapping up the story was a massive feat. In a way all of ME3 is an ending. Its final moments were the players’ last with a char they’d been with all the way from Eden Prime

“And while the critical reception of the game was extremely positive, many fans were unsatisfied with the ending, which became one of the most controversial in the history of games.” CH: “We were, on one hand, at the end of a marathon trying to finish the game and the series. But as devs we also knew that there would be more. We knew that we would continue to tell the story. In retrospect, we didn’t fully appreciate the tremendous sense of finality that it would have for people”. He envisioned an ending that posed new questions, something in the tradition of high sci-fi that left players dreaming about what that particular galaxy’s future could hold. “Frankly, there’s a lot more that we could have and should have done to honor the work players put in, to give them a stronger sense of reward and closure”

AAA games are massive undertakings with a million moving parts. Somehow they come together but even the best-planned projects don’t turn out quite like devs hope. From start to end video game production is a series of compromises. It’s rare if not impossible for devs to ship a game they’re entirely happy with. “I think that people imagine that when you finish a game, it’s exactly the way you wanted it to be. But whether people end up loving or hating the final result, we work hard to finish it the best we can, knowing that there’s a lot we would have wanted to do better. I think that’s true of any creative work”

As the dust settled after the initial reaction to the ending and later its epilogue, meant to show the wide-reaching ripple effects of Shep’s final choice, “players emerged mostly asking for one thing”. CH: “Now, most of what we hear, after both ME3 and MEA, is ‘Hey, just go make more Mass Effect’. And that to me is the most important thing. Knowing that players want to return to the ME universe is what inspires us to press on and imagine what comes next”

Mass Effect: Andromeda

By creating a new ME in a new galaxy the team was challenged to put their own visual stamp on the game while keeping it true to the franchise

Being the first ME game on a new gen of consoles meant for more detail

“Massive transport ships called arks populated with salarians, turians, humans, asari and quarians” made the risky jump to the Cluster

MEA was the first time BW had truly codeveloped across 3 studios: Edmonton, Montreal and Austin. The bulk of the work especially early on was done in Montreal, which was composed of a handful of Edmonton expats and heaps of experienced devs who joined from elsewhere specifically to bring a new ME experience to life. Series vets in Edmonton then came on to contribute writing, cinematics, design and QA, along with leadership from creative director Mac Walters and the core Production team. Austin writers and level designers also joined the fray

“It took a new team to take ME beyond the Milky Way”

Mac: “A lot of people in Montreal joined BW as fans of the franchise, so they just had this passion, and it felt like it was more like the days of Jade Empire, where a smaller younger team gets to do something for the first time. Even though it wasn’t necessarily a new IP for me, it felt fresh and new because of that. The team was just super excited to be working on it”

Early plans had the player exploring hundreds of worlds, procedurally generated, allowing for a nearly infinite variety of experiences. But as development wore on, it became clear that the game narrative required more specific, hand-touched level design on each world to keep the story focused and the experience engaging. “The plan was to give players numerous uncharted worlds to explore. Designers worked hard to come up with procedural elements that would make such planets special. Eventually the team made the difficult decision to abandon procedural planets in favor of more memorable hand-touched alien worlds, each with a specific story to tell”

One challenge was defining what ME meant without Shep. Care was given to include many of the MET’s key species. “Ryder recruited turian, asari, krogan and salarian followers”. Like Shep Ryder represents humanity’s hope for a peaceful coexistence among aliens who had long operated without human contact

Beginning with MEA the team decided that with few exceptions vehicles in ME have 6 wheels. Early Nomad concepts were bulkier. Later ones focused on its ability to move over its ability to protect itself from hostile fire, underlining the themes of exploration

German concept designer and auto-motive futurist Daniel Simon was contracted to create the Nomad and Tempest. The Tempest’s final design took inspo from the Concorde 

Concepts for angaran fighter ships have the following notes: “Two doors swing open, wings rotate down to function as landing struts, the landing struts split open. It has a spinning turbine engine 

Despite being set a galaxy away and some 600 years after Mordin’s death, there was a time when he had a cameo. It wasn’t cut due to running out of time however, it was cut due to drug references. John Dombrow explains: “One day I had to write a small quest for Kadara. I thought it’d be amusing if these 2 guys living way out on the fringes in a shack were growing plants for uh, medicinal purposes, and needed Ryder’s help with it. It occurred to me, wouldn’t it be amusing if Ryder had the option of actually trying ‘the medicine’ to see what would happen? And I thought, what if it turned into some hallucination that somehow involved SAM - like maybe SAM would sing? But why? How could I motivate that? Then it hit me. Who else in the ME game sings unexpectedly? MORDIN. As a nod to him I wrote SAM singing Modern Major-General. It got even better when our cine designer John Ebenger wanted to take it even further. Bless him, he came in on a Saturday to do a special hallucination showing Mordin himself. It was great. Til the fateful day we were told MEA had already been submitted to the ratings board. That’s when you declare things like drug references in your game. Mordin fell under that category which meant it was a no-go. We were too late”

Ryder’s white AI armor contrasts Shep’s iconic dark armor (intentional design)

Concept art for Ryder involved experiments with cloth (cloaks, ponchos, capes - “Pull here to release cloak”) and asymmetrical design elements

For alien design, there’s a few exceptions but humanoid figures are the ME standard and this persisted into MEA

Kett and angara concepts explored striking lines and textures 

– From Bioware: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development

[swaps55]

Arx

Someone left me a comment on a chapter of Exordium (!!!!), and revisiting it was a lot of fun, so I’m sharing some of it. 

From here. 

~

Zero gravity firefights on the Citadel were not something Garrus had even really fantasized about when working for C-Sec. Yet it was now something he could officially check off his list.

Though, ‘on’ the Citadel was now a mere technicality.

The disorienting part was not so much the distorted sense of space, the abrupt rearrangement of his internal gyroscope, but the soundless recoil of his rifle. The silent sparks erupting from a geth carapace when a slug punched through its shields and scored a critical hit. The open-mouthed roar of a charging krogan that fell upon deaf ears. Visual stimuli painted the inverted battlefield with enough visceral noise to give him a headache, but the muted calm between his ears took some getting used to. Like every turian the military had been part of his life since he turned sixteen, but small arms combat had comprised a rather small part of their all their zero G drills.

The topography of the tower’s outer hide helped a little. Rather than traveling a smooth, unbroken radius all the way to the top, they found themselves confronted by a complicated maze of control junctions, hydraulics, reams of exposed cabling and even keeper access maintenance corridors.

Garrus flashed a somewhat guilty look back at one of the squat green insectoids still tumbling out into the celestial waters behind them.

Up ahead of them, a geth dreadnaught trapped inside the station’s arms prepared to offload troops. Just to make things more fun.

Shepard honed in on a few automated defense turrets that Tali had identified along the Tower’s spine, leading them away from the elevator shaft and deeper into the maze, where they at least had some usable cover. Garrus vaguely remembered some lecture from his C-Sec training about those turrets, but he couldn’t recall a single instance in which they’d ever even been fired. And according to Tali they weren’t firing now. Someone had deactivated them.

Well, not for long. That drop ship wasn’t going anywhere unless they did something about it.

Another round of bullets refracted off his shields, its silent arrival taking nothing away from the teeth-rattling force of impact. Garrus absorbed it with a grunt, praying it wasn’t too much for the emitters to bleed off, and fired off another round of his rifle. Avoiding enemy fire was a lot harder when one wrong step would send you spinning off into space. As the keeper could attest.

At least they were better at keeping their feet on the ground than krogan, who apparently hadn’t all been nuked on Virmire. The only one happy about that development was Wrex, who ignored every single geth trying to shoot a rocket at him in favor of the tank-bred bulldozers racing along the Tower’s exterior.

Turns out that when indoctrinated krogan try to charge a Battlemaster in zero G, the Battlemaster wins. Every time.

The latest one sailed past Garrus’ head, one giant hand flailing in an effort to grab onto the part of Garrus’ helmet that covered his crest. ‘Cresting’ was a traditional krogan method of brutality, an instinct apparently so ingrained by their creator that these half-witted clones didn’t even care there was a helmet in the way. Or that they were currently floating off structure with no hope of recovery.

“Liara!” Alenko called out. “Trooper on your left!”

“I see it,” she called back, and the game the lieutenant and doctor had started playing – levitate the geth high enough for Alenko to kick it out into space – continued. They were getting really good at it.

The terrain around the defense towers consisted of raised bulkheads and sunken trenches to allow safer passage to and from. Shepard laid down cover fire on the latest round of geth while Tali and Alenko ascended the closest one, searching for a control box. The geth drop ship continued to unload some artillery of its own, which only complicated things further.

But that wasn’t what had Garrus’ attention.

The moment they had reached the defense towers, a strange silhouette crested the horizon. Its thick, massive synthetic limbs occasionally rose and fell, their impact against the structure strong enough that Garrus could feel it under his feet even if he couldn’t hear it.

It wasn’t just here. It had anchored itself to the tower itself – its giant maw clamped down on the tower’s peak while the legs maneuvered for purchase.

Spirits. It was huge.

A rocket from one of the destroyers detonated on the other side of the bulkhead Garrus and Shepard now crouched behind. Wrex bellowed – that sound at least traveled over the comm – and charged after it, wrangling the rocket launcher off its back and then firing it point blank into the geth’s chest, which erupted in a hailstorm of silent shrapnel.

“Tali, how’re those turrets coming?” Shepard barked.

“It’s a little hard to concentrate when you’re being fired on by a dropship!”

“We could try launching the angry krogan at it,” Garrus suggested.

“Don’t tempt me.” Shepard rose out of cover to fire his assault rifle. The muzzle blazed with light, the accompanying blare of sound lost out in the vacuum.

Garrus fired his sniper rifle at a destroyer, a maddening lick off the mark. Apparently he relied on the sound of its familiar crack more than he thought to find his rhythm. Here he had to adapt and find it solely through the weapon’s kick. Same beat, different lyrics.

As he reloaded the rifle the destroyer locked its aim on Tali. Garrus’ heart dropped to his feet. He swung the barrel of the gun to keep up, damn those things were fast when they charged, targeting software straining to find a new lock. “Tali, on your three!”

Shepard launched out of cover, rifle firing, pausing only long enough to lob a grenade. It detonated in a shower of sparks. The destroyer turned just as Garrus fired, shot once again glancing off its shields emitters.

“Shepard!”

The destroyer charged, barreling right into Shepard with bone shattering force. The commander spun, his grunt of pain sharp even over the comm, boots losing their grip on the tower.

Garrus fired, this time hitting his mark, slug finding its home right in the orb of the AI’s glowing face. He didn’t take time to gloat, leaping off his perch and flinging a hand out to grab Shepard’s boot.

“Fuck,” Shepard said. The moment his left foot touched down he grimaced and hopped, hissing through his teeth. “That was close.”

“You all right?”

Shepard glanced down at his hardsuit, eyes flicking back and forth as data scrolled across his HUD.

“Fine,” he said after a moment, tone clipped. He tested his weight again, one hand braced against his left hip, and grimaced. Behind them Wrex bellowed and barreled into two troopers trying to flank.

“Shepard?”

“It’s fine.” He swiveled his gaze back toward the turrets. “Got to get those things online and get rid of this dreadnaught.”

As if the turrets listened, they began powering on. Out of the corner of his eyes a bright orange flash accompanied the sudden shudder that swept under his feet. The shields of the dreadnaught glowed bright under the unexpected salvo.

One by one the other turrets came online, four in all, each one painting the geth ship’s hull. Alenko shouted something victorious over the comm. Minutes later Tali dropped in beside Garrus, shotgun back in hand.

“Nice work,” Shepard told her.

The geth ship shuddered, thrusters flashing as it tried to back away from the unexpected threat, then a blaze of light seared Garrus’ retinas as the drive core exploded, raining molten shrapnel down on their heads. Liara threw out her hands, dark energy uncoiling with an electric shimmer, creating a shield around them that deflected the debris. Garrus winced as one flaming piece of metal headed straight for his crest bounced harmlessly off the churning barrier.

“You’re a goddess, Liara,” he called out.

Shepard pushed to his feet and moved out the moment it was clear. His gait stuttered at first, but quickly became fluid and sure. “We need to find a hatch that’ll get us back into the shaft.”

“Preferably in a location that doesn’t involve playing talon touch with the giant reaper,” Garrus replied.

Wrex’s armored head appeared from behind a bulkhead a little farther up, covered in the silken slime of geth conductive fluid. Garrus expected an insult but instead the krogan roared, thundering towards him. Too late Garrus felt a violent strike against his back, followed by the sickening sensation of his feet losing their grip on the ground.

Oh no.

A hand snagged his leg spar, yanking him back down. His boots clamped back down on the deck with a thud. He gasped, then found himself face to face with Wrex’s helmet.

“You missed one,” the krogan growled, gesturing to a downed destroyer now sparking at Wrex’s feet.

“Thanks,” Garrus managed.

“Shepard!” Alenko hollered. “I think I have a way in!”

The commander paused just long enough to catch Garrus’ eye through his faceplate, nodding in satisfaction. “Stick around, Garrus. Things are about to get interesting.”

Garrus risked one last glance up into the incandescent light of the Ward arms, resolutely blocking out the cold curtain of space that lurked outside. A breathtaking view he never wanted to see again.

Yeah. Things were about to get interesting.