Spurious Contraptions & Other Steampunk Oddities

[Jord Kells]

Since I've already mentioned the 1800 collection, I'll also talk about the latest series I've read from it : Grands Anciens (Great Old Ones) by Jean-Marc Lainé (scenario) and Bojan Vukic (drawing). First tome is titled 'La Baleine Blanche' (The While Whale) and second 'Le Dieu-Poulpe' (The Octopus-God).

As you've probably guessed it with the titles, it's a crossover between Hermann Melville's Moby-Dick and H. P. Lovecraft's Call of Cthulhu: In New Bedford, Hermann Melville meets a young Ishmaël and tell him an adventure of Captain Achab, before he lost his leg.



The tale was nice, nothing overwhelming, with a few surprises and a few timing discrepancies (Queequeeg already hired on the Pequod, for instance). The art was good, although uneven.

It does have a few ideas I'll spoil here, for modding sake. If you're planning to read the comics, you're better off without knowing them.

Spoiler :

• The Pequod is at some point upgraded with special harpoon cannons designed with the Barbicane Assembly Hall. The same assembly is also building the Nautilus (Nemo's Nautilus ? In 1849-1850 ?).
• There is a whole species of white sperm-whale, fighting Cthulhu and/or his Spawns and beating them back to R'Lyeh whenever one escapes.
  
  One modding mind can easily spot a two units line (the Pequod), a hammer-boosting Great Wonder (the Barbicane Ateliers) and an undersea special unit (white sperm-whales - does Tom still have his model ready ?).

Wow Just Wow . So, the Moby Dick is the hero? Gonna have to have a look at this series thanks

 

[Blue Monkey]

Been wondering for quite a while what to do with the Funereal Industry tech. Read The Fuller Memorandum (MI5 vs. Mythos horrors, to oversymplify). The Necropolis Railway is a major plot element. Also caught a half-hour documentary streamcast from BBC radio - on its last day, sorry guys. Looks like there's a novel (Necropolis, OP, originally published by Arkham House) in that setting, in the Victorian era.

From useless tech to steampunk Great Wonder - via reading a modern SF/Horror/Espionage cross-over novel.

 

[Supa]

Been wondering for quite a while what to do with the Funereal Industry tech. Read The Fuller Memorandum (MI5 vs. Mythos horrors, to oversymplify). The Necropolis Railway is a major plot element. Also caught a half-hour documentary streamcast from BBC radio - on its last day, sorry guys. Looks like there's a novel (Necropolis, OP, originally published by Arkham House) in that setting, in the Victorian era.

From useless tech to steampunk Great Wonder - via reading a modern SF/Horror/Espionage cross-over novel.

I'm interested Charles Stross' Laundry series and I plan to read it one day. Unfortunately, I've already read Singularity Sky and I didn't like it, so they're not on the top of my reading list.

Nobody but me is interested in a Pequod and Moby Dick units ?

 

[Balthasar]

Nobody but me is interested in a Pequod and Moby Dick units ?

Interested? Very interested, of course! must be joking....

 

[Blue Monkey]

I'm interested Charles Stross' Laundry series and I plan to read it one day. Unfortunately, I've already read Singularity Sky and I didn't like it, so they're not on the top of my reading list.

Storyline, background & style are enough different that you should give it a try. Atrocity Archives is actually two novellas. Since it's the first book anyway you could test the waters without committing too much reading time.

Nobody but me is interested in a Pequod and Moby Dick units ?

Of course I am. A heavily tattooed Queequeg would make a great "hero" unit, imho.

Spoiler :

 

[Jord Kells]

Nobody but me is interested in a Pequod and Moby Dick units ?

a giant white whale that attacks ships. Nah. sounds boring

 

[Balthasar]

I'm thinking about the Pequod, myself. I don't think we have a Whaler with a harpoon attack, nor do we have a peg-legged, harpoon-weilding Sea Captain!

 

[Supa]

I think it's time to update the request list.

where is Orthanc ?

 

[Takhisis]

In Isengard, to the North-west of Rohan, at the foot of the Hithaeglir.

I heard from him a few months ago, he'll still answer PMs but he was with uni and stuff. Hope he's freed himself by now.

 

[Balthasar]

I think it's time to update the request list.

You're correct. The process of doing that has been started. When that gets posted, I'm gonna ask everyone to declare what they have actually in-progress, since we've sort of lost track of everyone but you.

Reminded me to also update the Credits list on my Lost Worlds thread..

 

[Blue Monkey]

What to call this? Steam-Hop? Professor Elemental

try the vid of "Cup of Brown Joy"

 

[Jord Kells]

have you ever had one what you thought was an original idea, but then you google it and someone else already made it into an awesome image

http://awsomesauce.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/steampunk_octopus_by_raybender1.jpg

if this inspires someone, then i have done my job (Super Kells away)

 

[Takhisis]

*jawdrop*

 

[jlvfr]

Check this out. Now this is a train!
Awesome super steam train (and more)

 

[Jord Kells]

Check this out. Now this is a train!
Awesome super steam train (and more)

nice! puts the Hogwarts Express to shame

been playing Fable III, and its definitly steampunk, Arcanum also. HP has some steampunk illusions and alot of the Wizard of Oz mythos has steam influences (especially when relating to the Tinman).

like the way stuff is coming, keep up the good work

 

[jlvfr]

Recently, the MMO "World of Tanks" had a "Design you own vehicle" competition. The results are very steampunk-ish:

WoT comp

 

[Blue Monkey]

Merry Christmas



Hikaro may remember why this particular picture was chosen.

 

[Ozymandias]

I thought you guys might find this little pic amusing

-Oz

 

[Blue Monkey]

Is that by Rodney Matthews?

 

[Ozymandias]

Is that by Rodney Matthews?

I don't know - it's bizarrely unattributed - http://novelnovice.com/2010/09/06/c...-writing-contest-winner-no-3/steampunk-train/