Mickel Reed

It occurred to me that I have been absent a lot and haven't exactly been forthcoming with information, which is quite plainly not very nice of me and a contribtuting factor to why I am still e3. The good news is that after over ten years of unemployment and resultant problems, I now have a job. It's an internship, it's for a limited time, but it's a job. The bad news is that when you have been unemployed for ten years your mental stamina is that of a newborn kitten, meaning that when I get home from work I have just about enough energy to go on Second Life, read my IMs and go "glaaaa... glaaaa..." while drooling. Since any right-thinking soldier of the Imperium would assume me to be afflicted by chaotic mutations, I choose not to go near Titan when in that condition. Well that, and I would only be in the way in an fight anyway. (And how is that different from how you are normally, Mickel?) I totally haven't forgotten you though, and I try to be on more and more as my stamina builds up.

How about this on a wall? Or maybe I should have Milites Bob say that instead?

There's a graphics section now? Whoa. I need to check in more often.

So yea, the design is pretty lame. But I think the idea is still pretty funny. I can get around to making it look better if you like it and all. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here's something to give thanks for:

[2010/10/20 16:54] Deathcore Torok: "Ordo - Black and a bit of gold since the birth of time" [2010/10/20 16:56] Mickel Reed: Hee. [2010/10/20 16:56] Mickel Reed: And I make this skintight flight suit look good. ;) [2010/10/20 16:57] Deathcore Torok: ... [2010/10/20 16:57] Deathcore Torok: :| [2010/10/20 16:58] Deathcore Torok: mickel. you made me shivver and die. [2010/10/20 17:00] Deathcore Torok is Offline Sometimes, by the grace of the Imperator, words alone are enough to send the heretics running.

You can always build a weapon that's capable of, say, using both your standard magazine and the enemy standard magazine. You don't want to use a weapon an enemy has dropped, but their magazines should be okay. The Sten is one of the more famous examples, I think. I remember reading somewhere that the USSR used 82 mm mortar rounds so that they could use the 81 mm mortar rounds they captured from the enemy, but not the other way round. Sneaky!

Switching calibers at will would be more practical if it didn't require exchanging parts. Not that you normally scavenge ammo in the field IRL, but don't you just hate it when you play STALKER and you have to carry two submachineguns around because if you only carry the one that uses 9mm Parabellum, you are guaranteed to only come across 9mm Makarov ammo and vice versa. RAGE!

Now imagine thirty or so OpFor Fred advancing toward the base, Aryte standing on the balcony (after we build the balcony) pointing dramatically (seriously, he needs a balcony) and lots of Milites Bobs running out, forming a gunline, with drop pods streaking down from the sky...

Ooh, now he has a name too! When I get an OpFor Fred outfit together I'll have to put it all in a box in case we need extras for making movies. Picture a big battle scene between Milites Bobs on one side and OpFor Freds on the other, laser bolts cleaving the air... Milites Bob is easy for you all to recreate. I just put on the BDU and the Male Rocker skin, shape and eyebrows, but without the hair. He looks tough, tanned, and militaristic, just like Milites Bob should. Though I think some of the other Library shapes and skins should work fine, if you want to make your own interpretation of Bob.

I was going over some poster ideas in my head when I realised I'd need someone (or myself) to pose as a "generic attacker" and I realised that apart for my Ordo gear and my previous army gear (which I obviously can't use for that role) I don't seem to have any military looking gear above the level of absolute crap that looks like I made it myself. Are any of you guys sitting on some tacticool looking freebies that'd look good on mister generic-guy-that-gets-owned? A tacticool vest/harness thing would really help, and I'm gonna see what I have in terms of camo and/or tacticool black clothes. Oh, and a colourful beret would really help too. Or a helmet. Hmm. I'm gonna go dig through my freebies. I should be okay for guns, I picked up some in NJ.

Well done, Nrom, and well earned!

I'm with the Steyr AUG. Mostly because you can easily transform it from an assault rifle to a light machinegun. I love weapons you can switch around parts on and rebuild them like that. And I love light machineguns too... Dakkadakkadakka!

Hello! Being in the Ordo means being around some really skilled people. If you're like me, that can be a bit intimidating sometimes. I make light of my shooting a lot, but deep down I guess I sometimes feel afraid that it's actually not good enough and the only reason I'm still in the Ordo is because nobody found out yet. Go ahead and stand between two Praetorians in the next firefight and see what I mean. Recently I recieved the Architect of Unity merit, which has caused a certain amount of headswell and prancing around in my dress uniform, but my first reaction was actually "why did I get this? I did nothing" and I envisioned Aryte realising his mistake and taking it back. If I hadn't snapped out of it in time I would probably have progressed to imagining him taking it back and subsequently kicking me out of the Ordo in a public ceremony. But I did snap out of it, because I realised that while while I might not have done much I certainly didn't do nothing. All I did was to take bits of three half finished projects, slap them together, and then add an interface to make it useable. I didn't script a new gun, build a new plane or model a new suit of armor like some of the guys out there. It wasn't even sculpted and I used freebie textures, and I'm certain the code could be written much, much better. But it was something. Just because I can't be the best in the Ordo it doesn't mean I can't be in the Ordo. I can still contribute. We can all contribute. We all have value. Think about that the next time you feel bad about yourself. You're still a useful addition to the Ordo. Hell, even my shooting can be a useful addition to the Ordo! I may not be able to hit a running avatar from halfway across the sim but it happens that my shooting is what flushes an opponent out from cover. It's sometimes my shooting that causes an opponent to be pinned down for a better marksman to pick off. And a lot of the time I just annoy the enemy enough that they start firing back at me - forgetting about the Praetorian who's lining up a shot at them. Only one pilot can be the best pilot in the Ordo, but Astra would be pretty useless with just one pilot. Only one soldier can be the best shot in the Ordo, but we'd be pretty useless on the offense with just one soldier on the ground. And statistically, about half of us are going to be below the median. So yea, maybe you're not the best pilot in the Ordo, or the best shot, or even the best at imitating William Shatner over Ventrilo, but you're still a useful part of the Ordo. Feel good about yourself. And if you're ever worried about getting kicked out for being a bad shot, look up at the roof of the base the next firefight... See the guy with the big orange tail and the glasses? Look at him shoot. They let him stay. I wouldn't worry if I were you.

Well... I guess some people are just that awesome.

I had such high hopes pinned on PlanetSide and then it turned out pretty meh.