Re: [Official!] Project Horizons Comment Crew Chat thread.

[IncoherentOrange]

Chat just released a side-story to Friendship is Optimal. Haven't read either, but the original came up semi-recently, so... yeah, it's in the featured box now.

[Ironmonger]

The stories written by Wheller are usually pretty decent. He does rip a few things from Fallout which isn't exactly bad but comes off as uncreative, but he is a good writer.

[Kippershy]

That feel when I've written 8k words today.
Feels good.

[Harmony Ltd.]

Tell me more about that Chatoyance gal/dude.

[Ironmonger]

The most I can say is that Chat is a very selfish person with an overblown ego and does a lot of whining in its journals. I'll let the others get into the specifics but that's the gist of it.

[O. Hinds]

@ Hinds, RE rotodynes :

But then, if they have better performances than helicopters and are supposed to be easier to maintain, why didn't the militaries worldwide use them instead of helicopters ? What's the catch ?

Ironmonger answered this one.

Also, for flavor, if you want to use something else than helicopters and considering how the last heirs to the Caesar dub themselves ("The Remnants"), I'd go with using a re-engineered, attack version of this :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-22_Osprey

It goes even faster than rotodynes and has a longer range, and can be even more polyvalent in term of the kind of combat mission you could assign it (put anti-aircraft weaponries on it ?).

Though thinking about it I'm not sure a tilt-rotor design would be really adapted to the mission-profile an attack helicopter tend to cover (tank-hunter ; close-air support => need for very high maneuverability after moments of staying idle in stationary flight).

Well, firstly, there's what you said. Secondly, the Pax Roamana had already developed military rotodaens during the war (meaning that the Miliozi already had some and mechanics experienced with working on them and Profectum still had the designs and some of the designers), while tiltrotors would have to be designed from scratch. Thirdly, the V-22 and the Fairey were not built with equivalent technology; it's a bit difficult to say how the performance of a V-22 and an equivalent rotodyne would compare. Fourthly, the Alliance rotodaens can be fitted for a wide variety of missions, including arming the transport rotodaens with air-to-air or even strategic cruise missiles.

Also, what do the Remnant have to with this? (And you do actually consider them a true continuation of the Pax Roamana? Why?)

[Harmony Ltd.]

Fair enough on the technical side. I'm fairly ignorant about the Zebra side of the war, TBH. Haven't given much thought to it, really.


Concerning The Remnants, you can argue about how legit their claims of being the guardians of the Caesar's last wills are, but AFAIK it still remain that they have access to war material produced by the Zebras and their allies during the war.

Be them truly and directly descended from the Pax Roamana armed forces with legitimate order passed to them by their hierarchy, or just a band of thugs and warlords believing their own tales ; through their power they still act as a "unifying" force, how bad and reviled it may be, in the Zebra homeland.


To be honest, I just found it fun to imagine "The Remnants" using "Vertibirds". You know, in a wink-wink nudge-nudge way.

[O. Hinds]

Well, you can argue about how legit their claims of being the guardians of the Caesar's last wills are, but AFAIK it still remain that they have access to war material produced by the Zebras and their allies during the war.

"and their allies"? To what do you refer?

And, yes, they've got the materiel, but, like the Steel Rangers, it seems that they mostly just scavenge, salvage, and repair on all but small scales. On the one hoof, this is useful; not having any vital industrial facilities makes them less vulnerable. On the other, though, it means that they can't manufacture new heavy weapons, don't have much R&D, can't manufacture their own fuel and complex spare parts...

Be them truly and directly descended from the Pax Roamana armed forces with legitimate order passed to them by their hierarchy, or just a band of thugs and warlords believing their own tales ; through their power they still act as a "unifying" force, how bad and reviled it may be, in the Zebra homeland.

Canon is unclear as to just how much of a unifying force they are, but I say "really not much". With the resources they have, there'd just be too much for them to administer, too many people busy dealing with their own problems to care about some group of soldiers far away (and that's before the possibility of associating with the Remnant leading to them being attacked by the Alliance, which, depending on where they are, could be a very real concern). Sure, they've some support in a few places, mostly in the old lands of the Northern zebras and a few of the more northern Central groups, but their true power base is on the peninsula.

To be honest, I just found it fun to imagine "The Remnants" using "Vertibirds". You know, in a wink-wink nudge-nudge way.

They wouldn't have large supplies of fuel, though, and too much use of aircraft could bring them into conflict with the GPE.

[Harmony Ltd.]

Personnally, I'm seeing the Remnants as some sort of "bandits" surviving on a day-to-day basis by ransoming the local populace for what they want, and because, much like the Steel Ranger, they tend to have better weaponry than the common Zebra-Wastelander, they tend to get their way. See : Xanthe's story. By the way, there's an interesting parallel to draw between The Remants and the Steel Rangers...


I don't see the Remnants using motorized vehicles that much, if at all. The "Vertibird" thingy was more an idea of something they might have stashed away somewhere, planning to use it when time for "The Final Battle" come (as with the balefire bomb they supposedly managed to steal from Xanthe's tribe).

[Harmony Ltd.]

"Their allies" : well, from what I get the Zebras weren't alone in fighting the war against Equestria. So I guess these other people were allies ?


What are you referring to when talking about "The Alliance" ? Is that another Zebra faction at the time of Project Horizon, or something else ?

[Harmony Ltd.]

Another reaction image that may see some use around here :

http://derpiboo.ru/168212

[Ironmonger]

I imagine this is how Kipper is while on shrooms.

[Caoimhe]

I really hope TV pony continues to develop Rainbow Dash as most definitely excellent at everything she does and doesn't have a cliched episode where she meets someone better than her and has to accept it (like I thought this epsiode might end up as but thankfully it didn't).

Truth is: some people are just plain fucking awesome at everything and not everyone is always level, so good lessons would be about being friends with someone for who they are overall and not just because of their success/status or the importance of being modest.

Also holy shit am I ever getting sick of Pinkie Pie. Sorry Pinks, you need to be toned the fuck down.

[Ironmonger]

I really hope TV pony continues to develop Rainbow Dash as most definitely excellent at everything she does and doesn't have a cliched episode where she meets someone better than her and has to accept it (like I thought this epsiode might end up as but thankfully it didn't).

Truth is: some people are just plain fucking awesome at everything and not everyone is always level, so good lessons would be about being friends with someone for who they are overall and not just because of their success/status or the importance of being modest.

Also holy shit am I ever getting sick of Pinkie Pie. Sorry Pinks, you need to be toned the fuck down.

Frost and I tend to be like RD in that respect, but even those kind of people eventually find something they aren't good at for one reason or another. Using Frost and I as an example, we pick up on most things very quickly and we can adapt what we've learned very well, but we fall short in areas like sports and poetry.

I agree on that remark about Pinkie Pie. In the words of Tourettes Guy, "TURN THAT SHIT DOWN! *slams hand* PIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISS!"

EDIT: That aint a meme reference, I found Tourettes Guy as a video series before I found it as a meme.

[Ketchup]

Hooray for popularizing Tourette's as causing people to randomly swear. This only happens to 10% of Tourette's sufferers, but is commonly associated with the disease for its notability.

[Ironmonger]

I know it aint right but I always found it funny. Portrayals of ADHD sufferers also tends to be funny if done properly, otherwise it's just offensive.

[Ketchup]

It is not my cup of tea for sure.

[O. Hinds]

Personnally, I'm seeing the Remnants as some sort of "bandits" surviving on a day-to-day basis by ransoming the local populace for what they want, and because, much like the Steel Ranger, they tend to have better weaponry than the common Zebra-Wastelander, they tend to get their way. See : Xanthe's story. By the way, there's an interesting parallel to draw between The Remants and the Steel Rangers...


I don't see the Remnants using motorized vehicles that much, if at all. The "Vertibird" thingy was more an idea of something they might have stashed away somewhere, planning to use it when time for "The Final Battle" come (as with the balefire bomb they supposedly managed to steal from Xanthe's tribe).

Ah, we seem to more or less agree there. I've been incorporating some All That Remains stuff into my headcanon (as evidenced by the addition of New Oatleans to my map), which makes them slightly more organized that a fully mobile bandit organization, but pretty much, yeah.

"Their allies" : well, from what I get the Zebras weren't alone in fighting the war against Equestria. So I guess these other people were allies ?

Hm... I'm not remembering anything about that, really, but that might just be me. I suppose that there could have been peripheral allies, though.

What are you referring to when talking about "The Alliance" ? Is that another Zebra faction at the time of Project Horizon, or something else ?

Ah. The Elusive Alliance is one of the largest parts of my headcanon. Hm, where to start...
Okay, the two major powers in the EA are the Elusive Company and the Miliozi.
The Elusive Company is headquartered in Elusive City, a floating city built in the Marediterranean Sea around a Zebra drillship and the Elusive (an Equestrian cruise/Q ship built late in the war partly as a show of confidence and partly as a refuge if things were to go firey) and also the capital of the Alliance. It's run by Elusive, a network AI (think Mr. House, but actually a computer system) who started as the controlling system of the Elusive. He openly desires to be a benevolent world autocrat, believing his nature as a network AI ideal for this, but prefers to work through diplomatic and economic means. The Elusive Company's control of most of the planet's functional oil wells (at least until Canine Petroleum gets up and running some years after the Day of Sunshine and Rainbows) helps with this.
The Miliozi started out as an invasion force during the Final Assault. Targeting San Frantello by sea and under the command of Legatus Masozi, they were more or less the only such force to get through with more or less their full strength. By the time they arrived, however, the balefire apocalypse had already taken place. In addition to a missile airburst that devastated the city's civilian population, a planted bomb on Alcoltraz Island took out the garrison there and, by removing the foundations, caused the SPP tower built on the island to fall and destroy most of the city's military dockyards. The invasion force's conquest of the remains of the city was over quickly, but, that done, uncertainty descended. It was eventually decided to refound the city as Masozi, in honor of the force's commander, and name the new independent people the Miliozi, also in honor of said commander. Some members of the invasion force left, either to return to the ruined lands of the Pax Roamana or to join the forming Remnant, and some zebras filtered in to join from other groups. The coming decades would be hard and cause the Miliozi to develop something of a siege mentality, but they persevered and even before trade with the EC had built up some industry. Even at the time of the Day of Sunshine and Rainbows, Masozi was, despite its geographically peripheral location, the largest industrial center of the Alliance, and the Miliozi have long been the backbone of the Alliance military. The Miliozi and the Remnant have a hate/hate relationship, both accusing the the other groups of being traitors.

Sorry if that was a bit incoherent; I'm feeling a bit inexplicably tired at the moment. I might also have an easier time answering specific questions, if you have any.

[O. Hinds]

By the way, I rather imagine the Elusive as looking something like a cruise ship built out of a Yamato class. The angled funnel would be partly decorative and partly a cooling stack for the reactor.

[Ironmonger]

So I found this. This actually explains some things about my condition. If I understand this correctly, according to this it technically is an adaption but is considered a disorder because it's out of place in formal environments. Again if I understand this correctly, my so-called disorder might actually help me in the military. This is a pretty damn cool discovery if I do say so myself.

[Frost]

Truth is: some people are just plain fucking awesome at everything and not everyone is always level

Well granted that most children's extracurricular activities are discouraging the participants from even pointing out a winner and a loser (fucking participation medals!?) we can't expect children to be taught a lession like "life's not fair, you whiny little bitch. No, you can't have any ice cream, you fat fuck" [paraphrased]

However, I don't think Rainbow is one of those people who's awesome at everything. While she's extremely athletic and of about average intelligence, she's extremely impatient and very hotheaded which would limit her effectiveness at a great many fields and tasks

[Ironmonger]

Part of me wants to say that Rainbow Dash has O.D.D. or something.

[Caoimhe]

Truth is: some people are just plain fucking awesome at everything and not everyone is always level

Well granted that most children's extracurricular activities are discouraging the participants from even pointing out a winner and a loser (fucking participation medals!?) we can't expect children to be taught a lession like "life's not fair, you whiny little bitch. No, you can't have any ice cream, you fat fuck" [paraphrased]

However, I don't think Rainbow is one of those people who's awesome at everything. While she's extremely athletic and of about average intelligence, she's extremely impatient and very hotheaded which would limit her effectiveness at a great many fields and tasks

Well, when I mean 'everything' I mean she pretty much IS the best athlete and best flyer and basically godtier to the Wonderbolts and maybe even better than some of them. The way she brags you would think she'd bragging but it's not the case at all - she actually IS hot shit and from what we know it's mostly pure natural talent.

There's a lot to work with there with regards to a different approach towards ability and competition.

[Admiral Stoic Rum]

I know about the hyper focus, i could wait for hours on here for a reply and not move too much... ask me to wait at the doctors office... i am out like a light

[Icy Shake]

Pretty much with Caoimhe on RD in general and in Academy; and Pinkie Pie--she was just godawful in it, and I have had to ask myself how well the plot could have worked cutting her parts from the episode, and just having a single establishing line--"We'll visit in a couple days", or some such--at the beginning. More time with the recruits would have been welcome, or more time with Spitfire.

I could perhaps see something along the lines of a Rocky III, where being shown up motivates her to step up and prove she really is the best there is, but frankly having her be anything but top-tier at speed and stunt flying would make me feel like I was lied to for two and a half seasons--and not by Rainbow. Anyway, I thought that having her play the role of Iceman in the air and Maverick on the ground was pretty clever, and spoke to her experience with the importance of the group in "winning" a situation.

[Admiral Stoic Rum]

Pretty much with Caoimhe on RD in general and in Academy; and Pinkie Pie--she was just godawful in it, and I have had to ask myself how well the plot could have worked cutting her parts from the episode, and just having a single establishing line--"We'll visit in a couple days", or some such--at the beginning. More time with the recruits would have been welcome, or more time with Spitfire.

I could perhaps see something along the lines of a Rocky III, where being shown up motivates her to step up and prove she really is the best there is, but frankly having her be anything but top-tier at speed and stunt flying would make me feel like I was lied to for two and a half seasons--and not by Rainbow. Anyway, I thought that having her play the role of Iceman in the air and Maverick on the ground was pretty clever, and spoke to her experience with the importance of the group in "winning" a situation.

agreed quote

think of the important lesson she learned in "May the Best Pet Win". There was a strong reflection in the lesson RD learned that day. You know its not about the win its about those around you. Important lesson in stunt flying, the team has to work together, one small mistake and thats it, everything is lost, and a tragedy. timing, cohesion everything has to be perfect or else it will end up with those around getting hurt. not just the fliers, but those who are standing by. Consider the Blue Angels, doesn't matter how good you are if you can't work with the squadron. L. Dust could not work as a team member, even in events which were not timed and were especially oriented towards the whole group of cadets.

[Ironmonger]

I know about the hyper focus, i could wait for hours on here for a reply and not move too much... ask me to wait at the doctors office... i am out like a light

Kinda like when you get lost on in your own brain? Not being "completely there" as they say it? I know that too, I get into trouble for going off in la-la land when I shouldn't.

[Ironmonger]

[Admiral Stoic Rum]

I know about the hyper focus, i could wait for hours on here for a reply and not move too much... ask me to wait at the doctors office... i am out like a light

Kinda like when you get lost on in your own brain? Not being "completely there" as they say it? I know that too, I get into trouble for going off in la-la land when I shouldn't.

oh its worse it drives my boss crazy that i cannot focus when the work is monotonous but when things pick up to being closer to go time, i perk up and shape up... it kind of sucks becuase people see me mainly in the slower phases and wonder what the hell... also the whole planned projects thing... I just about failed my capstone, I understood all the material and the procedures and *could* do it all, but really doing it, sigh. That sucks.

Lucky for me the Instructors knew I could be competent, and all just focusing in on lectures was a terrible terrible thing, try as i might I would drift off in thought right in the middle of the plating lectures, but still perform. This is why I have strong kinesthetic Learning skills, get myt hands on doing something and i can focus up on it and do it and learn it pretty fast. I learn it I get bored with it. There is only so much i can do in dicing onions. Lists too... I get started and then i cruise, not problem. I take a break for lunch and come back its hard to get going again. its not Lazy, I try hard every day to do well, meet the needs and expectations, and I am on time. I am a terrible organizer.

[Admiral Stoic Rum]

L. Dust could not work as a team member, even in events which were not timed and were especially oriented towards the whole group of cadets.

...no, she could. She was a team with Rainbow Dash.
She just didn't care much about the other teams. They were the competition and it was not her objective to help them succeed.
She had been rewarded frequently for showing off and pushing every challenge to its limits and so tried to make things more and more spectacular as she went along. It was reckless and absolutely what I would have expected of Rainbow Dash if Lightning Dust hadn't been there to show her what it was like to try and deal with someone like that.
I don't expect Lightning was actually kicked out at the end, there. If she was, it'd be a waste. She just needs more direction than spitfire's entirely hands-off style afforded her.

true but then again their first team activity as a pair was a capture the flag, and rainbow was injured even after warning her leader she was unsure if she could make it. That one is on the Leader.

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