Just FYI, I just updated my description for my Pending StarFox Fan-Comic "Lylat R&D" in case anyone is curious.

Just a Fore-Warning ... it's a little LONG.

I would like to know what everyone thinks about it so far.

Good Idea? Bad Idea?

... wanna help me make it happen?


Please leave a comment if you have any thoughts ... even "This sounds awesome ... please make it" means a lot to me if you like my ideas, but have nothing else to say.

... on the other hand, if you don't like StarFox Fan-Fiction ... why even bother clicking the link?


The description can be found HERE --> [link] <--

Well ... I have been experimenting with the little used Personal Forum feature on DA, and my conclusion is ... why should anyone ever use it??


You can NOT Delete a thread once you create it. (EVER!!!)

You can NOT Edit a Forum Topic once you post it.

You can NOT Hide or delete any responses, no matter how foul or "Spam"-ish.


... and Messages are posted in exactly the same way as responses to a Journal entry, with no additional options or abilities.

In retrospect, if I just post a Journal and use it as a personal Topic Thread ...


I CAN Delete the Journal at any time I wish.

I CAN Edit the text of the Journal in any way, and as often as I wish (to fix Typos, add updates, insert images or links, etc)

I CAN Hide unwanted replies if they are pointless, hateful or foul.


Why does the Forum Function not allow you to do what you can do with Journal Entries? ... obviously the code of the website allows it.

Perhaps though, the better question is ... if it is so useless a feature that DA has no intention to ever update it or make it work better ... why is it even THERE?!?


So Anyway ... I am going to move my most significant "Forum" Topics into Journal Entries and Hide the Forum feature again (I can never actually DELETE the topics ... they will be here FOREVER, whether I like it or not).

[*Sigh* ... *Shakes Head*]

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:: Pending Projects :: --

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* "Artamist in a Cockpit" - For

[Status: 0% / ETA: ...who knows ...maybe never]

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Where do I begin? The story is told from the perspective of various characters whom chronicle their adventures in writing in some form or another, all of whom reside within or pass through the "Middle of Nowhere" Midwestern town of Oscar County USA. The Plot revolves around the impact of an Epic Spacecraft constructed Hundreds of Thousands of Years ago which is the most powerful Artificial creation in the Universe ... Tears in the Fabric of Space and Time which bridge the gap between the worlds of the living, of the dead, and of living thought itself ... The Powerful Individuals across the Universe who would dare to tap into such power (or stop others from doing so), including two seemingly Immortal Humans known only as "The Frenchman" and "The Spaniard/General" ... and everyone and everything else that get's tied up in the mess, including -- Giant Robots, Ninjas, Pirates, Ghosts, Zombies, Vampires, Werewolves (Two Varieties), Space Aliens, Dinosaurs, Dragons, Demons, Kitsunes, Native American Animal Spirits, Secret Agents, Global Conspiracy Organizations, Fast Cars, Crossdressing Superpowered Male Housemaids, Interplanetary Stunt Racing Circuts ... and much, much More.

The "Tomes" in question are (to name a few): A Girls Diary (Main Character 1) / A Guy's Adventure Journal ("Robert/ aka BOB" Main Character 2) / A Comic Book based on the Rediculous adventures of another characters unwillingly Cross-Dressing SuperHero friend "The Knight Maid" / A long-running and Popular Sci-Fi series of Novels from the 50's turned 80's Cartoon Series turned Pending Feature film about a (FICTIONAL??) Giant Robot hero from outer space / The Diary of a very musically talented orphaned nomadic young man who is cursed with Lycanthropy / ... and so on ...

It is Doubtful I will ever make this ... but it sure has been FUN dreaming it up.

This is something that I only just recently started thinking about, inspired by ideas I came up with for a (SCRAPPED) Metroid/StarFox crossover plot for my StarFox Fan-Fiction. It is the story of the last Interplanetary War the Chozo Race actively fought in during the beginning of the end of their race, and why they faded away. The story revolves around the greatest living Chozo Warrior, a very tall and strong Female Chozo (name undecided), two Luminoth Warriors, and Two Rogue Bryyonian Reptilicans whom make up a TEAM of sorts known as "The Five". The story also includes my own interpretation of the legendary Chozo Scientist and Inventor, the Great VARIA, and his contributions to the Chozo race. As I'm imagining the story so far, the Great Chozo Warrior is more or less Samus Aran's Predecessor, and the Original Owner of the "Varia Suit" she wears ... having helped Varia to refine it to be the greatest suit of Bio-Tech Armor the universe had ever known ... under the impression that her "Hatchling" offspring would one day need it to save the Universe, per Chozo Prophecy, after she herself passes away. Needless to say, the "PROPHECY" does not play itself out quite the way any of them expected it to, and there is a great deal of confusion and tragedy along the way.

If I ever get around to making this, you could look forward to seeing the Massive Bryyonian Golums (As seen in Prime 3) in Action, an Army of Armored Kraids in Battle, Hundreds of Chozo, Reptilican (Bryyonian), Luminoth and other species in epic battle, a Pure Blooded Chozo showing off what the "Varia Suit" can REALLY do in the hands of a master (and what Samus may one day learn to do with it as well) ... in addition to going deeper into the backstory of the Lone Chozo who one day rescues and adopts the Infant/Orphan Samus Aran and raises her to become the Legendary Hunter we all know and love, his family, life and Motivations for Training Samus to become a Warrior.

:: (UPDATED: 10/25/09) ::

This is a Preliminary Overview of the Setting Concept for my Pending StarFox themed Fan-Comic tentatively Titled "Lylat R&D":

Unlike my Original plans for this project, "Lylat R&D" is not an extension or elaboration upon current Series Canon, but rather a complete Re-Telling of the entire StarFox universe from a new perspective that I feel may add a little more character and interest to the overall story.

Though much of my story is original, 90% of it is based off of obscure references from the games, instruction manuals, comics and other official media.

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LYLAT: One of the most life abundant Star Systems in the Galaxy.

Lylat is a planetary system of 12 planets, all Solid and No Gas Giants, orbiting around a rare dual star of twin larger and smaller bright blue suns, Lyla and Timat.

Within the planetary system are multiple common and uncommon bodies and anomalies of note, including an Asteroid belt ring (left over from the creation of the system), a smaller "Meteo" belt (generally presumed to be the remains of the systems pre-historic long-lost 13th planet) and an almost Moon sized rock within it referred to simply as "THE" Meteor, plus the scientifically inexplicable, consistently shaped gas clouds known as Sectors X, Y and Z.

More Recently in the systems history, another significant anomaly of note was created within the Asteroid belt, resulting in a "Black Hole" -like singularity which continues to orbit the suns like a planetary body. [More on that Later]

The story takes place around the middle of the 10th century A.C. ("After Cornerius") about 50 years after the end of the last and largest Cornerian World War. To put it in perspective, in terms of the state of the Cornerian civilization, they are roughly around the equivalent of our 1980's in terms of Technology and Culture.

[[This is distinctly different from the setting of the StarFox games, in which it is the distant future where people drive Hover Cars and visit other planets for their vacations and SpaceCraft are avallable to EVERYONE. Also, in the games, all of the Planet Corneria was ONE NATION, without war or troubles, with one planetary Capital City ... not so in my version.]]

There is one distinct difference between Cornerian Culture and Earth Culture however (aside from the fact that they are all Anthropomorphic Animals, of course). Unlike Earth, where space travel was little more than an impossible fantasy until the 1950's, on Corneria they KNEW that Space Travel was possible because roughly 1,100 years earlier they were visited by the Ancient Krazoan race and the greatest Leader and Explorer on Corneria the great Cornerius (who was named after the planet rather than the other way around ... like being named "Terra") lead hundreds of Cornerians into Space with the Krazoa to colonize the other planets of the Lylat System (This was in the Castle and Villagers age of the planet, mind you) ... only to be lost to history and never heard from again. ... Or so the Legend goes.

There are relics of the Krazoa's visit to Corneria on the Planet, including structures and even craft beyond the comprehension of the people in general, but in the 1,000 years since the Supposed departure of Cornerius and the Colonists, a great deal of Skepticism has developed around the believability of the story. Most do not doubt that Krazoa did in fact come from another World outside of the Lylat system (as they base their Calendar around the date of their departure) but differ greatly in opinions about what happened to the colonists after that. Some Believed that their descendants were still alive on the Planets Fortuna, Papetoon, Titania, Katina, and *Venom (*known as something else back then). Others believed that the Krazoa were actually enlightened angels and they carried Cornerius and the colonists away to a higher plane. ... and still others thought that the Krazoa were just a bunch of eccentric, mask wearing nuts who built egotistical temples in their own honor, brainwashed Cornerius and his people into joining them and then all died somehow, and never were from outer space at all.

Just what the TRUTH was remained unclear and a subject of heated debate until around the year 1,000 (near the end of the great war), when Cornerian scientists achieved what the technology of the day should not have made possible and sent Probes and Satelites out into space to take photographs of the other planets of the Lylat System ... and those probes photos answered some questions ... but created new ones. The relics and remains of Cornerian Colonies were found on Titania, Fortuna and Papetoon, as well as the dying planet which legend said should have rivaled Corneria in it's beauty, but now was shriveled and poisonous (earning it's new name "VENOM") ... plus, a NEW planet was discovered ... the planet "Sauria", whose Orbit was in perfect parallel orbit with Corneria (always behind the Suns, so their telescopes could never see it).

This was both exiting and very confusing.

On the one hand, signs of life was unmistakably found on most of the planets in the system, proving that they were not Alone on Corneria ... and an active, LIVING intelligent culture was found on Sauria, which made thoughts of making "First Contact" a very exiting prospect. Also, photos showing structures built in Cornerian style, with Cornerian text and images of Cornerian peoples proved that Cornerius and his colonists REALLY DID leave Corneria and set up colonies in space as the legends told.

On the other hand, all of the photos showed abandoned ruins, and not inhabited settlements, particularly on Titania which had MASSIVE temples and cities, all dried up and dead and buried in sand. Also, the legends had all told that the planet now known as Venom was supposed to be the second most beautiful planet in the system next to Corneria, but was now a toxic wasteland by natural disasters. Meanwhile, Fortuna was an explosion of wildness and growth like one giant Rainforest ... and then there was Sauria. Not even in the questionable texts and legends that supposedly came from the Krazoa themselves was the planet ever mentioned or suggested to exist. Even the maps which showed all of the known planets and their accurate orbits in the Krazoan temples did not show a 12th planet in a matching orbit with Corneria. Either the Krazoa had been HIDING it from them for some reason ... or when those maps were made, the planet did not yet EXIST.

Why did Venom Die? Where did the Colonists go? (are they still alive?) ... and what the Hell is the Deal with SAURIA?

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That is the History of the Lylat system as the general public knows it. ... but there is much that has been kept secret.

The planet Corneria (much like earth) is of two primary landmasses, each comprised of multiple nations and cultures, plus numerous allied and independent smaller land-masses. The Larger of the two primary lands is the "Gold Common Wealth" (G.C.W.) of nations, ruled by a Hindu-like national super-power government which worships multi armed gods. The second largest land is the home of the "Cornerian Union" (essentially the Lylat parallel to the USA, only more like Japan, France, Scottland, England and Australia all sharing borders as one union). Both are not one nation, but many nations united under higher government powers. All cultures found on Earth have similar parallels on Corneria, only rearranged. [It's just easier on me that way, rather than inventing totally NEW cultures]

There are plenty of Krazoan artifacts and relic sites (including grounded, seemingly useless old ships) that the public knows about and have seen and studied exhaustively ... but naturally, the BEST stuff has been kept under tight lock and key for hundreds of years, unknown to even exist by most. Things like text that explains how Krazoan technology works, more well preserved Krazoan sites and Machines ... that STILL WORK (though with only minimal reserves of fuel that they can not replicate). Both the Cornerian Union and the GCW have super-valuable relics which they keep to themselves and have been studying for countless decades, but only just recently has their scientific knowledge become advanced enough to even BEGIN to fathom how any of it works. It was such relics that lead industrial age scientists (YES ... STEAM-PUNK Space Probes) to be able to send rockets into space when Biplanes were still "cutting edge", and revelation of such hidden relics were secretly part of the motivation behind the last world war ... fighting over possession of technology that could allow either power to RULE THE WORLD if they could fully unlock their secrets.

One of the first Cornerians in the planets history Frighteningly Brilliant enough to understand and reverse-engineer the Krazoan tech was a GCW scientist by the name of Nicoli Phoenix (the Great Uncle of Fara Phoenix), and his brain-trust of elite, bleeding edge experimental scientists ... including later on his young student, Dr. Saru Andross.

When Nicoli Phoenix defected and made a daring escape to the Cornerian Union near the end of the great war, it was a great loss to the GCW war-machine and one of the last nails in the coffin that sealed their eventual defeat. For the next few decades, the two great powers were under a very uneasy peace treaty and there was a great deal of mistrust. However, nothing brings people together like a DISASTER.

Just over two decades after the end of the war, an Alien invader appears in the skies above Corneria, destroying all of their primitive satellites and destroying any and all civilian aircraft with mindless hostility. It was a thing unlike anyone had ever seen ... like a living machine. An APAROID. Long story short, it becomes clear that it would destroy all that it encountered if it was allowed to reach the planets surface, so an all out air-strike was sent against it, but it seemed hopeless. All of their slow, clumsy missles were just shot down before they could do any damage, and all aircraft that was sent up after it, though proving capable of harming it, would just be left helpless when the Aparoid flew too high for them to follow and took them out from above.

All seemed lost until Corneria tossed their most advanced weapons at the thing ... an Aircraft Carrier of the Cornerian Unions Navy loaded with the most advanced Jet Fighters the planet had ever seen (designed by none other than Nicoli Phoenix himself), piloted by none other than James McCloud, Peppy Hare and a squadron of the best pilots of their day. There were many casualties, but the extreme power of these new jets (this is roughly 1960's technology, mind you) allowed James, Peppy and Possibly another pilot to follow the Aparoid all the way into the planets orbit, and James McCloud becomes a living legend as the FIRST "STARFIGHTER" in all of history ... taking the Aparoid down, and proving Nicoli's technology to be more effective in space than anyone had imagined, though still extremely primitive.

James and Peppy become HEROES ... the already Wealthy and Famous Phoenix Family solidifies itself as the world leader in mechanical and aerospace technology ... and the world forgets about it's post-war differences for a time as they unite in an initiative to ramp up their global space program to protect themselves from future invaders, and the "United Space Front" (USF) is formed, combining the best resources of both the Cornerian Union and GCW.

An explosion of technological advancement and exploration follows in the next decade or so, with Cornerian Astronauts and Cosmonauts setting foot on many planets in the Lylat system, setting up colonies and space stations. (Though behind the scenes, both Powers still keep their BEST secrets from each other, to maintain an edge should they ever go to war with one another again)

A grand Battleship is built, meant to be the first of an entire FLEET of such ships, which is built to carry four next-generation StarFighters and their crew into space to combat space-born enemies like the Aparoid. This ship is the GF-0001 "Great Fox". Naturally, when the question of who should be it's crew came up, one name was on the tip of everyone's tongues. James McCloud.

Only the greatest pilots on the planet were considered as candidates for it's limited crew positions (The Ship was little more than a glorified MISSILE, with Submarine-Like crew accommodations for 4/5-passengers plus the Mechanical assistant "ROB XVI"), and eventually the names "Shaun Hunter" (think "Niel Armstrong" or "Buzz Aldrin"), "Peppy Hare", "??? Pepper", and yes ... "Wolf ODonnell" appeared on that list as well.

Meanwhile, as this ship is being built and people are all exited about the greatest flight team in history being assembled to protect them, ANOTHER project was underway to defend Corneria from space-born invaders as well, and promises to bring the whole planet to the next level of technology at the same time. ... though this project is significantly more controversial ... because it used reverse engineered APAROID technology, combined with Krazoan Quantom theory to make a massive ... THING. The project was spearheaded by none other than Dr. Saru Andross, who was the brilliant protege of the famed Nicoli Phoenix. The plan was to use a massive bio-tech tower, built in the heart of Cornerius City (the capital city of the Union) to sync with a controlled singularity they would form in the Asteroid Belt, creating a sustained energy beam which would not only generate enough energy to power the Entire Planet, but also be used as a massive defense grid which could vaporize ANYTHING that dared to threaten the planet Corneria or the rest of the Lylat system again with a single blast.

In spite of the frightening Monster-Like appearance of the tower (which they tried to hide with shiny white paint) and concerns about setting off experimental doomsday devices in space, Andross someohow manages to convince the USF to fund his project and they go forward with it. James McCloud himself is chosen to deliver the bomb to the asteroid belt.

However, secretly, Saru Andross has developed a crush on James Sweetheart (and WIFE) Vixy Renard/McCloud, and devises an "Accident" to take him out of the picture. After James Delivers the bomb, Andross causes mis-communication on purpose so that the Bomb is set off while James's ship is in the path between the tower and the bomb. It is required for the tower to be activated at the same time in order to stabilize the singularity ... however, doing so will atomize everything in the beams path. Someone notices the mis-communication and delays the activation of the tower just long enough to warn James to get out of the way. However, this proves disastrous as the mis-timing causes the Singularity to go critical and the resulting feedback surge causes the whole tower to go Chernobyl, not only killing everyone inside, but also destroying half of the city with it, including the historical "Lombardi Tower" ... and Vixy. (Fox McCloud's Mother, and James's beloved wife) Andross, meanwhile had been overseeing the whole operation remotely from another location.

Review of Andross's research reveals that even if they had performed the experiment correctly, the disaster that happened still had a 45% chance of happening later as soon as there was ANY fluctuation in the system ... statistics Andross had managed to HIDE.

Andross is declared a public MONSTER, and all interest and funding in the "StarFox" project dries up, as NO ONE wants their tax dollars going to build weapons of mass destruction any more after the great Corneria City Distaster. (To them, it's like 9/11 and Hiroshima rolled into one)

In spite of unfavorable opinions about him, Dr. Andross's undeniable genius and willingness to work on more questionable and dangerous military experiments makes him far too valuable for the planets governments to just throw him away, or do as many ask and put him to death. Instead, he is "BANISHED" to the Planet Venom, ordered never to return, and put on a Rocket to continue his experiments there until the day he dies ... Far, Far away from anyone he can harm with them.

Years pass and Fox Grows up and Joins the Cornerian Navy (Air Division of course) in his Fathers Footsteps, and the world forgets about the monster Dr. Andross for a time ... until, after months of lost contact with the planet, probes show suspicious activity on Venom, showing clear signs that Andross was building Weapons capable of attacking Corneria ... LOT'S of them.

In a panic, the "StarFox" team is hastily re-assembled, the GreatFox re-fitted for active duty (having served as a freight-shuttle in the mid-years, under the command of Captain Sean Hunter), and the whole team is set for launch for a preemptive attack to eliminate the threat before it can ever leave the planet Venom's surface. In the time that had passed, Pepper had been promoted to a command position and was getting too old for combat duty and is assigned the mission commander instead. Also, in spite of unwavering support from James, Peppy and Pepper, and the fact that he was the ONLY man with any experience flying the GreatFox, Sean Hunters comparative lack of COMBAT experience, combined with rumors that he had become "Gun Shy", and political pressure to have two GCW pilots on the crew instead of just one, another pilot is suggested to take his place. A relative unknown, the pilot Pigma Dengar arrives as the GCW's candidate for his replacement. He had no significant or admirable pilot record and seemed a bizarre choice, but when tested he scored impossibly high in precision and reflexes ... almost mechanical ... and said and did whatever he was asked by his government, to look good for the press. He acted such the perfect soldier for the cameras in fact that the public at large trusted him without question far more than his more well known (for both his extraordinary talent, and his temper and questionable loyalty) counterpart, Wolf O'Donnell, whom many suspected was a Rogue GCW spy whom intented to kill the crew and steal the Ship as soon as they launched. (Many fanatical Union patriots still distrusted the GCW with a passion, even though the war ended before many of them were born)

When launch day arrived, a Hurricane/Typhoon was looming and they had to launch right away, or the storm would destroy the launch site and they would not have another window for months. The crew arrives to great media spectacle and walks down the Red Carpet on their way to their final de-briefing before launch. James, Peppy, Wolf and Pigma. However, before they get inside, a political extremist breaks past security, disguised as a reporter, and attempts to assassinate Wolf with a concealed blade. Wolf just barely manages to stop the would-be-assasin in time (killing him in badass brutal fashion, naturally), but not before suffering a serious wound to his eye. The injury to his eye renders him unfit for the mission, and Sean Hunter is called in as backup to take his place. However, in spite of how hard he tries to get there in time, the storm changes course, blocking his path and the StarFox team is forced to launch one pilot short.

...

StarFox fans should well know what happens next.

Upon arriving at Venom, Pigma (not Wolf) proves to be the REAL traitor, betraying James and Peppy, shooting down James McCloud over Venom. Peppy and ROB XVI(16) manage to fight him off however, forcing Pigma to retreat and the damaged GreatFox limps back to Corneria in once piece.

In reaction to this, the now GENERAL Pepper leads an all out offensive against Venom which takes Andross by surprise in its scale and ferocity and he is forced to retreat into the collapsed singularity, which was now a miniature Black-Hole, and he is presumed dead, or at least lost forever.

A search is conducted, but the difficulty of searching an ENTIRE PLANET (especially from billions of miles away, using 50's style rocket tech) for a single crashed fighter proves too difficult and too expensive, and eventually James is simply presumed Dead.

... and that was the last anyone had ever heard or seen of the infamous Dr. Saru Andross.

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That is more or less the history of Corneria and Lylat prior to the start of my Comic.


The story obviously follows the career of Fox McCloud ... how he comes to know and meet Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad and Falco Lombardi ... and how this group ends up becoming the Lylat systems best hope and Saviors from malevolent forces.

The "R & D" part of the title refers to how the story will focus heavy on, not only how each of the Characters came to be who they are (going as far as to dig into their family heritages in some cases), and how the Lylat System itself came to be the way it is, but also cover in detail the development of the famed ARWING fighters, the GREAT-FOX, ROB-XVI, and more specifically the people who built them.

People like Nicoli Phoenix (and his former protege's, including Dr. Andross) Fara Phoenix (and Faras personal Mechanic, Cornelius Boo) and Beltino Toad.

I have a tentative Leading, Supporting, and background cast of 75 characters in my pending storylines so far, including almost every single character to ever appear in any StarFox game or comic.

Old Favorites "Katt Monroe" and "Bill Grey" (and the rest of Husky Squadron)

Peppy's family, "Lucy" and "Vivian".

Lost characters like "Miyu Lynx", "Fay Weldon", and "Algy" (the OTHER StarWolf member).

... "Dash Bowman" ... "Amanda" ... even Slippys old Girlfriend "Croakella" will Cameo.

"Leon Powalski", "Panther Caluroso", "Andrew Oikonny"

... you name them, they are in this thing.

*Sigh* ... and yes, KRYSTAL is in it too, of course.
(In more ways than one??? *End Mysterious Foreshadowing*)

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Wanna See a Retro-"Buck Rogers" interpretation of James McCloud?

Think it would be cool to see some of Fox McClouds pre-StarFox days as a combat pilot on an Aircraft carrier, and how he first met Falco as an 80's Biker Punk?

Like the idea of seeing a "Saturn V" style interpretation of the GreatFox (That launches from the WATER, and not a traditional Launch Pad), and a goofy oversized 50's retro incarnation of ROB that can bench a figher Jet?

Wonder what would happen if Fara Phoenix and Krystal both existed in Fox's life at the same time?

What about an All-Girl team of test pilots flying bleeding-edge StarFighers, comprised of Fara, Fay and Miyu?

... or maybe you just always wanted to know more about William (Bill) Grey and the famous "Husky Squadron"?


If you have any thoughts or ideas on how the premise for my fan comic is going so far, want to give me some encouragement and support to make this happen, want to help me nail down the fine details of my story and design some of the new original characters, or just want to talk to me about StarFox in general, related to my comic or not ... this is the place to do it.


So ... what do you think?

Questions? Comments? Ideas?