Best short fictions suggestions?

[Wisdom Thumbs]

Probably shouldn't have asked for their help if you can't pay, Jay.

If they had a story, you could offer to edit it for them. I'm assuming they don't.

The best we could do would be to credit them for the banners, which we'd be doing anyway.

Most of all, asking to be paid for this feels like a sleazy move.

[Jay the Arbiter]

Boss pointed me out to him, we may have misinterpreted.

(Not trying to shift the blame. )

[TheRealBigBoss]

I feel a bit guilty for posting what he said, but:



He did say we can talk, but I'm still a little worried because I genuinely can't pay, and I don't have much to offer.

Hmm... I understand commissions, and nobody likes working for free, but I think I'd put this down as a "thanks, but no thanks" kinda deal.

I'm still searching for suitable pics for Wis, without much luck. I'm thinking I'm gonna have to find someone with a capture card or Gears PC and get them to screen grab the images necessary.

If you can't find anyone else... has umm... has Arukun been active lately?

[Jay the Arbiter]

Well, Arukun said he'd contact me this month, as we were going to Collab some scenery. Haven't heard from him since then, which was about a week okay I think.

[Wisdom Thumbs]

The images should be in the strategy guide too, Boss.

[Jay the Arbiter]

Just heard back from Vx, he sounded okay with doing the piece.

[Wisdom Thumbs]

Bueno.

Also, I still don't know who Vyx is.

[TheRealBigBoss]

Good news and bad news, with the good news first. You're right, the guide has those pictures. Bad news is, they're a two page spread and the middle parts are cropped. I did manage to piece the first one together though...



More bad news. It's so detailed and high contrast that scaling it makes it tough to see what's going on. Plus you need to add in the title and author which obscures it even more. Check this and you'll see what I mean...



So I dunno, might be worth looking at other options. Do you remember the promo shots from Gears PC? The ones with Marcus and Dom taking cover from the Brumak? They might work, just replace the Brumak. The other picture you mentioned, with Marcus chainsawing has a chunk of the middle missing and is pretty much unusable. I'm just amazed that these aren't available as desktop wallpapers, but I had a look around and couldn't find them. Anyways, we'll figure something out, something kick ass obviously.

BTW Jonesy, the banner in this post was made with the banner template. See? It does work.

Just remember to set the angle of the bevel emboss to around 144 so you get the highlights on the top left.

[Wisdom Thumbs]

I'm surprised I couldn't think of that sooner. The picture with Marcus and Dom hiding from the Brumak would fit perfectly if it scaled properly. The problem would be replacing the Brumak with a horde of grubs.

[TheRealBigBoss]

I'm surprised I couldn't think of that sooner. The picture with Marcus and Dom hiding from the Brumak would fit perfectly if it scaled properly. The problem would be replacing the Brumak with a horde of grubs.

Yeah, matching two completely different images is tricky, but not impossible. It's just a case to trying to match the lighting, the perspective, angles, colors, all that stuff.

I like this picture of Dom for instance...



I like the expression on his face as he stares up into the heavens. Anyways, can't seem to find the picture I was thinking of from Gears PC right now, but I'll find it sooner or later. Meantime if you do find anything you like, post it here.

[Wisdom Thumbs]

There's always the image of Marcus walking toward the camera. Unfortunately, most versions of the image have him lit with orange flames and stuff. I've only seen a few where he was lit normally like Dom is in that picture.

Anyway, while I love the look of Dom in that picture (looking up at the heavens is so appropriate) it doesn't fit with the theme of 'Survive' (which was basically nothing more than "balls out combat").

EDIT:

Here's a few ideas:



The following one would be... tricky. But the title of the story could go above them and the image itself could be flipped horizontally to put Marcus on the right.



And here's the image of Marcus walking. Of course, the image is absurdly hi-res and he's being lit by orange flames. But whatever.

[TheRealBigBoss]

nyway, while I love the look of Dom in that picture (looking up at the heavens is so appropriate) it doesn't fit with the theme of 'Survive' (which was basically nothing more than "balls out combat").

Yeah, guess I'll just save that image for future reference, cause, I quite like it.

The following one would be... tricky. But the title of the story could go above them and the image itself could be flipped horizontally to put Marcus on the right.

That could work, I'll try that and see how it looks.

Still haven't found the Gears PC promo shot I'm thinking of. The ones I did find are ingame and kinda look... ingame. The one promo shot I did find that wasn't ingame had Marcus, and only Marcus taking cover behind a sandbag wall. So It's not really that useful.

[Wisdom Thumbs]

I'd suggest using this as well, but we'd need the artist's permission and I have no idea how to find them.



There's also this, which I think you've been looking for:

[Crotale]

Me likey this!

[Jonesybites]

Boss; If you still have that "police badge," from the earlier rendered banners, can I use that? I hate for you to have gone through all that work and then not use it.

[TheRealBigBoss]

Me likey this!

Thanks. I was inspired by the work you did on this logo, and I even used the PSD you created. It gave me the idea of doing it as a single metal piece, kinda reminiscent of a Gears armor. The red text being like blood, representing sacrifice and so on. I even tried doing some blue lights, like a Gears armor. But it was taking the metaphor a little too far and ended up looking kinda crappy.

Anyways, glad you like it, after all, it has Crotale DNA in it.

Boss; If you still have that "police badge," from the earlier rendered banners, can I use that? I hate for you to have gone through all that work and then not use it.

Yeah, sure, here it is...



At least people can read the text and see the texture work now.

I'd suggest adding a drop shadow to it when you use it, shorten the distance, increase the size, it helps blend it into a background and gives it a nice pseudo 3D effect.


Wiz, I'll try some of those later. I like the comic book style one but I'm kinda wary of using someones work without permission. Did you find it on DA, or is it from the sourcebook?

[Jonesybites]

Sigh, here's what I've got after working for three hours. Frankly, I'm more leaning to your design Boss, but I'll keep working, and maybe in the meantime I'll get some constructive input; along the lines of "you suck; pay somebody else to do it!" I don't suppose somebody could illustrate Lucius in Gear attire vs. Patrolman attire; no face caked in powdered sugar with a donut in hand please.

[TheRealBigBoss]

See Jonesy? This stuff just isn't as easy as people think.

I kinda like the first one you did, reminds me of some late night sleazy cop show.

The main problem is ideas I guess, sometimes they come, sometimes they don't. You could always try Googling for related search terms, sometimes you can find stuff that inspires... sometimes.


EDIT: Took my own advice Jonesy and found some inspiration... CRIME NOIR!!!



I think this works, the black and white makes it more striking, and evokes that feeling of memory. It's got neon signs, a lonely cop walking a misty night beat, the Coalition patrolman badge, it's got it all! Was also tough to fit into a tiny banner with text and all but I think it works.

And here's a cleaner, simpler version which I think kinda looks more striking and impactful...



One of the problems is trying to get too detailed, or trying to include too much, then things start to look cluttered and hard to make out.

But hey, whatever you wanna do is fine.

[Wisdom Thumbs]

I think the comic-book style image is on DA somewhere, but I've been having trouble finding it. That version is just off of Google Images. I even commented on the DA version once.

BTW, what's with the badges under your name, Boss? I didn't know you were featured?

[TheRealBigBoss]

I think the comic-book style image is on DA somewhere, but I've been having trouble finding it. That version is just off of Google Images. I even commented on the DA version once.

BTW, what's with the badges under your name, Boss? I didn't know you were featured?

If you commented on it on DA, is there a way to view all your posts and find it like that?

And I'm not exactly sure what the badges mean either.

EDIT: Wait! Actually, I have been featured on the community site twice, with Waldo and the fan fic spotlight, and also with Cros and Haunted Echoes.

[Wisdom Thumbs]

Well, there's the thing in the Epic Gamers sub-forum where they're recognizing outstanding contributions to the community. I thought I saw you post there but I might have been wrong.

And it was a long time ago that I commented on that DA image.

[TheRealBigBoss]

Well, there's the thing in the Epic Gamers sub-forum where they're recognizing outstanding contributions to the community. I thought I saw you post there but I might have been wrong.

And it was a long time ago that I commented on that DA image.

Yeah, I did post there, I was congratulating TAO and nominating Crotale. Doesn't seem like Crotale got awarded yet though.

There must be links to that image somewhere, what did you type into Goolgle to find it? Even if we had a name that could be credited, that would at least be something.

[Wisdom Thumbs]

Derp... I can't remember. I think I just looked up "Marcus and Dom" or something really simple like that.

[Crotale]

Yeah, I did post there, I was congratulating TAO and nominating Crotale. Doesn't seem like Crotale got awarded yet though.

There must be links to that image somewhere, what did you type into Goolgle to find it? Even if we had a name that could be credited, that would at least be something.

Oh, so you're the culprit. I was wondering why I was getting all these messages all of a sudden.

Thanks!

[Croswynd]

I enjoy the progress being made here. All of the banners so far have been fantastic. Anyone need my help with anything?

[TheRealBigBoss]

Oh, so you're the culprit. I was wondering why I was getting all these messages all of a sudden.

Thanks!

Lol, what messages?

But I'm glad that your contributions to the community have been recognized. It's kinda cool, isn't it?

I enjoy the progress being made here. All of the banners so far have been fantastic. Anyone need my help with anything?

Thanks, wish it was happening faster, but what can you do?

Dunno if you'd be interested or not but a proof reader/editor would be really useful. We could really use someone to check over the five entries and point out any corrections or errors before they're re-posted. Granted, it's not exactly the most interesting of things to do, so don't feel any pressure to say yes.

Still, you could also view it as an opportunity, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of your competition by viewing some of their best work.

[Jonesybites]

See Jonesy? This stuff just isn't as easy as people think.

I kinda like the first one you did, reminds me of some late night sleazy cop show.

The main problem is ideas I guess, sometimes they come, sometimes they don't. You could always try Googling for related search terms, sometimes you can find stuff that inspires... sometimes.


EDIT: Took my own advice Jonesy and found some inspiration... CRIME NOIR!!!



I think this works, the black and white makes it more striking, and evokes that feeling of memory. It's got neon signs, a lonely cop walking a misty night beat, the Coalition patrolman badge, it's got it all! Was also tough to fit into a tiny banner with text and all but I think it works.

And here's a cleaner, simpler version which I think kinda looks more striking and impactful...



One of the problems is trying to get too detailed, or trying to include too much, then things start to look cluttered and hard to make out.

But hey, whatever you wanna do is fine.

Lol...like a COPS episode with the "Bad Boys" theme in the background. But the "crime noir" style is an idea and would perhaps be the more fitting. I spent over an hour trying to find a free clipart silhouette of a patrolman because I'm too cheap to pay fotosearch a monthly fee to download their clipart, ...but the silhouettes of the girls in skanky poses were easy to find: actually, that was all I could find when I typed in "silhouettes of women." (chauvinistic bastards) Anyway, I like the rendering with the misty, dimly lit streetlight with the patrolman silhouette...I've kept the title with block letters, but the neon lettering works on the gray, picturesque background.

Lol, we went from the Amsterdam night life, or Bourbon Street (walked down it myself ), to Crime Noir!

Speaking of this thread, are we supposed to re-submit our stories to the "EPIC Gamers" forums?

EDIT: Now that I think about it, I would probably just shoot myself before I'll re-post Snowblind on any forum. Damnit, I need to come up with something new cause I hate re-posting anything, but I'm too busy with the other fics and working on this month's entry for Cros' writing assignment.

[Croswynd]

I dunno if we should resubmit our big, novel sized ones, Jonesy. I mean, you might get some comments, but I doubt they'd be anything interesting. I just posted a short.

[Jonesybites]

I was wondering if we should post our shorts for the EPIC stories thread. I'm not going to bother posting the novels; they're just too long, and as fast as the postings get shuffled off the first page, it'll probably get little, if any, veiwings.

[Wisdom Thumbs]

I posted 'The Crust' on the Epic Gamers forum. Kind of a toe to test the waters, I guess.

I might add that I posted the completely un-edited version and only caught my mistake after about half a day. But let's not let anybody over there know that. It'll be our little joke. <_<

And 'Survive' is ready for Cros' editing eye if he wants to look it over.

[TheRealBigBoss]

I was wondering if we should post our shorts for the EPIC stories thread. I'm not going to bother posting the novels; they're just too long, and as fast as the postings get shuffled off the first page, it'll probably get little, if any, veiwings.

Hmm, now that I think about it, maybe re-posting isn't such a great idea. Especially in the Epic Gamers section. We'd be posting six related threads at the same time, and at best some people would view that as "flooding", at worst, "spamming".

Hardly seems like the best way to endear fictions to a skeptical community. And the only reason I thought of re-posting was because Wis' story was a post buried in a thread and because TimIsWin is MIA and unavailable to edit his original post.

Maybe we should just re-edit the original threads?

[Croswynd]

I was under the impression we'd make one thread with all the stories inside of it. Make it less 'spammy' that way. Or make the thread like the FFC, with links to the stories. One of the two. I'm up for editing.

[Wisdom Thumbs]

We could just re-post them HERE if they need re-posting at all.

TimisWin doesn't need to edit anything. The nature of his story makes it un-edit-able...y.

Mine was never really posted at all (well, sort of, but nobody had any place to comment on it). And the rest of you guys can just edit the old posts you put your stories into and then link those. At worst we'd get some necroposts. Not a bad deal.

The only thread we need to post in the Epic Gamers section is a hub thread with links.

[Jonesybites]

Ok, we'll do that then. Anyway, I just "re-edited" mine so if anyone wants to give it a look for additional corrections, please feel free to do so. It's Spring Break and the kids are at home, so I've been swamped with keeping them entertained and tending to the lawn/garden because we're having a problem with fleas and (expletive) fireants.

[Wisdom Thumbs]

Mother(expletive) fire ants. Of the many things wrong with Texas, they are one of the worst.

[Jonesybites]

No kidding...because we had a warm, wet winter (not that I'm complaining about the rain; we needed it) the bastards are moving in early this year!

Anyhoosits, anybody else got any bannners ready? I'm still working on mine, but Boss' rendering may be the better pick.

[SKORGE]

Are we still discussing this?

... so this is where you've been hiding, Jonesy?

[Jonesybites]

It was Spring Break... : kids were home. I figured I'd see you here.

[SKORGE]

Heh.

Yeah, I really have no idea what happened, I just got lost under all the flying debris. Good to know those kids of yours are still providing you with a nice wholesome family vacation.

[Jonesybites]

Pfft...more like send them to Grandma's for a few days, but then I spent almost the entire time working on the lawn,