Chapter 11 – Gone to Ground
Vengeance has arrived home. While the crew is dealing with the fallout of Fido's defection, Corval is tasked with discovering the fate of a lost flight-training squadron on the surface of the planet he had hoped to never visit again: Earth. Producer's Comments: It has been a long and sometimes difficult journey, but Chapter 11 is finally complete! Substantial work went into the soundscapes for this extended episode, so grab some headphones and kick back. STARRING [stextbox id="custom" caption="CREDITS"][cacredits chapter=11][/stextbox]
Chapter 10-11 Interim 02 (Minisode 2) Released 10.03.10
Scott's gift has some unforseen consequences. Corval tries to get back on-track with his intelligence reports while trying to keep Fido from breaking everything within reach. [stextbox id="custom" caption="Log Addendum"] I'll have that lexicon attached, soon as I can get short-stuff to agree with me on some spelling standards for our new dictionary. Cpt. Corval, Kevin J. Nova Squadron commanding UDF Vengeance [/stextbox]
Chapter 10-11 Interim (Minisode 1) Released 07.04.10
Presenting the first installment of our new mini episodes! These "mini-sodes" cover minor events between chapters, and also serve as CMack's "podium" updates. Featured: The Leviathan Chronicles chapter 25 finale trailer! :)
Chapter 10-2 – Furious Consquences, Part 2
Vengeance meets up with its sister ship, the Furious, in an effort to get one another back in shape for the final leg of the journey home. The joining of the two massive ships is not without danger, however, as the crew of the Vengeance is about to discover... [LOG ENTRY] : "That's it. Soon as we get back home I'm putting in for a transfer. Better yet, maybe I'll just walk altogether. The other night the captain called the squadron together to meet with him during chow. He told us it would be a good chance to get to know ...
Chapter 10-1 – Furious Consquences, Part 1
Vengeance meets up with its sister ship, the Furious, in an effort to get one another back in shape for the final leg of the journey home. The joining of the two massive ships is not without danger, however, as the crew of the Vengeance is about to discover... [LOG ENTRY] : "That's it. Soon as we get back home I'm putting in for a transfer. Better yet, maybe I'll just walk altogether. The other night the captain called the squadron together to meet with him during chow. He told us it would be a good chance to get to know ...
Chapter 9 – Mindgame
New background music makes this show one of the most engaging, exciting episodes yet! Grab your headphones and crank up the bass boost. Some popcorn might be a good idea too, because this chapter ended up being much longer than usual! [LOG ENTRY] : "Just call me 'Freak Show Corval'. It still boggles my mind how it's even possible, but thanks to Fido's limited understanding of the nuances of our language, I've somehow ended up being taken under his wing while he guides me through some kind of rehabilitation procedure that his people use with those among them who have been ...
Chapter 8 – A New Clan
The new cast additions are proving to be worth their weight in gold, but what about the regulars? Well don't get all uptight and worried, because the whole gang will be back again in Chapter 9! Fun Facts: Fido's new computerized voice was much easier to deal with this time around, largely thanks to the particular voice I chose to use. It seemed to be well suited for the halting, simple speech needed for the part. Remember that everything you hear is from a particular character's perspective. If Corval is in the scene, it'll be from his perspective alone that you'll ...
Chapter 7 – Enemy, Part 2
Captain Corval struggles with exhaustion and his own prejudice to find a common ground with the Tarthet prisoner. New castmember Steve Riekeberg takes the reigns and the bull by the horns as he assumes the character of Captain Michael Hutsford. Salty veteran Jeff Schultz slides over and gives life to Chief Engineer Warren Gregory! Fun Facts: Fido's computerized voice presented a challenge, as the software used to create the voice was unable to produce the halting simple-talk of the alien. Creating the voice required manual editing of the sound to provide the proper gaps. More on how the voice was created will ...
Chapter 6 – Enemy, Part 1
The crew of the Vengeance realize they may have gotten more than they bargained for, as they attempt to establish communication with the captured Tarthet pilot. [LOG ENTRY] : "What a day! The Boss sent a commendation for me up to the Old Man for the cockpit shielding system! Not that I'm not appreciative or anything, but I hope he realizes that I was motivated to keep my butt in one piece a heck of a lot more than protecting everybody else. Ha! All kidding aside, I hope he doesn't start dishing out commendations every time I'm involved with some new system ...
Chapter 5 – The Killing Fields
Corval escapes certain death to lead Nova Squadron against a Tarthet strike force. [LOG ENTRY]: "Maybe I'm not seeing the bigger picture here, but what the hell was Kevin thinking? Did he honestly expect that I'd just leave Redline to drift off after she got hit? Screw that! We've already sent one of ours on his last flight, and I'll be damned if I let another one go down! Okay, so I'm attracted to her. So what? I'd bet next week's chow ration he feels the same way. That still doesn't have any influence over my refusal to let another member ...
Chapter 4 – Instigation
Vengeance gets underway for home. [LOG ENTRY] : "I wish the old man had warned me about the new wing commander. Corval seems to be about as cocky as they come, but it's a just a tad embarrassing for me to completely forget that on this boat he answers to me, not the other way around. Maybe it had something to do with the way he carries himself. He's definitely got the scruff for squadron leader, but there's something more in him that just seems right for his primarily role. He's got that balance that we watch for in a good officer; the ...
Chapter 3 – Conflict
Nova Squadron struggles with the Tarthet and the loss of one of its own. [ LOG ENTRY ] :"Finally got to meet my new wing commander in person, earlier today. I think I made the right choice bringing his squadron aboard, even though their arrival ruffled some feathers, particularly with Ender squad. Corval's record suggests he and his people will make excellent examples for Ender and their commander to follow, and if the imposing man I met today is even half of what his jacket makes him out to be, I'm sure to be seeing some drastic changes for the ...
Chapter 2 – Arrival
Corval is sent out on patrol with his squadron while Vengeance makes repairs to get back underway, but the arrival of unwelcome visitors throws a wrench into the works. [LOG ENTRY] : "The day we got our deployment orders was the very day we cleared Haven aboard our new post, the UDF Vengeance. In all the confusion there wasn't any time to meet our new CO. I took a few minutes to go over the published portions of his record, and I thought I had a good bead on the man after that. Boy was I wrong. He's certainly a lot ...
Chapter 1 – Exodus
Join the fight for survival! Captain Kevin Corval, master pilot of the Unified Defense Forces and Nova Squadron commander, takes you through Earth's history to his present time, nearly 500 years in our future. [LOG ENTRY]: "Our first major action deployment, and here I am stuck with a bunch of scared skinnies in the officer's mess. A fine start to my shiny new command post, I must say. I have to be honest though, we got suckered so thoroughly we might as well have been sitting around with our [censored] in our hands! The Tarthet aren't anywhere near the stupid creatures ...
Five hundred years after having been forced from the planet to escape annihilation, Terrans are thriving as they adapt to their new way of life, but an old threat looms once again.
Nearly forgotten with the long march of time, the Tarthet have returned to make their final desperate bid for our homeworld, Inexorably committed to taking a world they never expected to find inhabited in the first place, the xenophobic Tarthet are about to face the shock of their lives, for the Terrans are ready for the second encounter, and they will not be defeated so easily.
For both sides, it is a war they cannot lose, facing an enemy they cannot defeat, and for the Terrans, it is an encounter that will change their destiny forever.
Site Update
CastAgent interface updated
The automated audition system is proving to be more difficult to develop than I had thought, so while I’m busy bouncing off the proverbial brick walls of code, I made a small change to the CastAgent LiveView widget in the site’s sidebar.
Instead of being presented with a (non-functional) audition button in unassigned character parts, you will now see a link in an open or auditioning character’s bar, which will take you to the first occurrence of that character on the script page, with that character’s parts pre-highlighted for ease of reading.
If nothing else, it should make navigating the system a bit easier for new volunteers. In the meantime, I’m still working on refining the rest of the system for the veterans as well.
Stay tuned! :)
NOTE: The code that targets a given character name in the script does not take into account vocal (non-speaking) sounds that the character might be making before their actual speaking part. If you click-through to the script from the LiveView widget, be sure to scroll up a few lines to make sure actions for the character aren’t presented above the first speaking line.
EDIT: Clicking through the LiveView widget will take you to the script with that character’s parts highlighted, and focused on the first instance of that character’s part, even if it occurs as an action instead of a speaking part.
BSP Out-take 01 released
BackStage Pass Out-take 01 is up
BSP Out-takes are (non-video) articles that offer more details on the production process. They will post in order with BSP episodes, providing additional information and resources that relate to either the BSP episode just released, or the next one coming up. They can be found in-line with the regular BackStage Pass Show releases on BSP’s show page.
Out-take 01 covers a general overview of the CotG production process, and the software involved.
BSP Show re-released
The BackStage Pass show has returned!
BSP previously had a couple of episodes released, but they were inadvertently-lost during a drive crash and subsequent site migration.
Finally, I’ve been able to get that rolling again as well.
In this first episode, I will cover the basics of what I’m using in the studio for audio production, and why.
Future episodes will be more in-depth regarding the production process itself, so if you were looking for some kind of walk-through on the process, don’t despair: that’s coming up very soon! :)
Site Update
Okay, I lied. More stuff had to be done.
Previously I said that site updates were completed, which turned out to be a dirty, filthy, dastardly lie. I’m sorry.
Okay, it’s not as bad as all that. The latest updates should actually be a good thing, for I have finally gotten caching operational (I think) for the site.
Your first visit to different pages of the CotG site since this update will likely find your browser acting a bit slower than normal. However, you should find that subsequent hits are now much quicker to display, thanks to a bunch of technical shenanigans (that’s right, I used that word seriously) going on behind the scenes.
This is called caching, and previously didn’t work too well with the CotG site, as it broke a few features in the process.
Your first return visit to the site will be marked by a long delay, followed by what appears to be the standard (SLOW!) loading of the site. Essentially, your browser is dumping the warm beer in the toilet and getting a refill from the tap. This should happen only when:
- You have cleared your browser’s temp files and cookies, or
- You haven’t been back to the site for quite some time (in terms of weeks), or
- You haven’t been back to the site until after the caching update
Here at the studio, the difference is most definitely noticeable.
If your surfing experience with us hasn’t improved, or alarmingly, has actually gotten worse, please leave a comment below to let me know about it. I’m doing my level-best to ensure this ship sails true. Not just for the show itself, but for everything that supports it (like this site) as well.
Now, I said updates, remember? I also made a slight change to the way episodes are released and announced, to accommodate better user access, as well as the return of the comments system. New releases will now show up on the main page of the site, as well as on the Episode Details page. If you’re subscribed to CotG’s news feed (not just the show), you will still get the release announcement; you’ll just also happen to get the episode itself in the process, so, hopefully, win-win. :)
That’s all for now! Back to scripting!
Chapter 11 – Gone to Ground
Vengeance has arrived home. While the crew is dealing with the fallout of Fido’s defection, Corval is tasked with discovering the fate of a lost flight-training squadron on the surface of the planet he had hoped to never visit again: Earth.
Producer’s Comments:
It has been a long and sometimes difficult journey, but Chapter 11 is finally complete! Substantial work went into the soundscapes for this extended episode, so grab some headphones and kick back.
STARRING
Podcast: Download (Duration: 58:43 — 80.7MB)
- Database: OK
- CA Link: OK
- Interface: DISABLED (audition not enabled)
