Wednesday 26 October 2016

Doctor Who: The Star Wars Chronicles - Look Back, Look Ahead Part 4 [Network]


This is the final part. The future. With Episode 13 having now been posted to WattPad, it's easy enough to recap here. Qiilura over, the mission to Forsaad can now take place. The idea was to put DarkRula on the spot, and force his hand in being cut off from the Jedi. It was also a way to introduce two sisters we'll be seeing more of later. Lei'sa and So'lei are Twi'lek bounty hunters who are able to use the Force. They aren't Jedi, so they've had to teach themselves to use those powers. These two have taken the Federation up on their bounty, and with their help storms the Jedi base on Forsaad. The intention is to get the location of the Jedi main base - Ilum. This is all part of the war between the Jedi and the Federation of which both sides have been avoiding discussing with DarkRula. While I can't say the details - they will come at the end of this series - I can say that it will cause DarkRula to do something he has been holding back on doing.

So, with DarkRula and The Doctor performing upgrades to all the equipment and droids on The Ark, they are out of the action for the time being. Which gives us time to catch up on what the Daleks have been doing. When we left them last, Dalek Rizon had forced Thalos into a lesser role with himself the new leader of Tatooine. Dalek Zane and Volk had stormed Cyrillia with the help of the Mandalorians to capture the human to droid technology. We will see the outcome of this, as the Daleks make plans to increase their strength by adding to their numbers. Once they can work out all the problems with it. All of the Daleks are therefore on Tatooine, along with the Mandalorians. Since the TARDIS malfunctions again, DarkRula never knows this. All he knows is that a third Dalek leader has been on the planet, and at the end of Hide and Seek has rejoined the others. Hide and Seek will also be going deeper into some of the events from the audio episode.

Before DarkRula and The Doctor part ways until Endor, The Doctor makes a request. He wants to know what happened before he arrived. Where the Daleks arrived and what they did during DarkRula's first encounter with them. A journey with the two in the Scimitar follows, with the exact same journey taken as Kronis and DarkRula had taken those many weeks ago. Coruscant, Fresia, Byss and Empress Teta are all visited, with DarkRula explaining the action that happened at each place. I'm not just going to stay in the past with this arc though, as current events will happen as well. I'm not going to say anything else on that.

The next major thing to happen would be the jump to audio episode four. As I explained, this would be split into it's original four and five episode names, essentially making up two episodes. In Dark Descents we have The Doctor returning to The Ark with the location of where the Daleks are hiding. Once they arrive at Endor, the start of the battle will be told from the other side. The Mandalorians boarding The Ark. It also gives a better chance to see Krayt Skirata's thoughts on the matter at hand. In the audio series, we don't really get to see much at all about why Skirata would change sides, other than the fact Kronis was friends with him. Within Dark Descents, we'll see the action from his side, his wondering at what the Daleks have caused him, and sudden realisation that he should help destroy them instead of helping them. That doesn't mean we won't have time for the battle between DarkRula and The Doctor.

With Final Throwdown, DarkRula and The Doctor head down to Endor in the Scimitar, hoping to find the TARDIS and stop the Daleks once and for all. Down on the surface, and again from Skirata's viewpoint, we see the Scimitar crash down on the surface near the entrance to the base. The talk between Skirata, DarkRula and The Doctor happens, with Skirata finally admitting to himself and to others that he wants nothing more to do with the Daleks. After giving the warning, he jets off. The viewpoint is now on The Doctor as a revelation is to come. Dalek Zane corners them in the generator room of the base, where preparations have now been finished. The Doctor and DarkRula find a turbolaser battery after Dalek Zane activates the start of the void creation sequence, and fires upon the cruiser of the Daleks. It gets pulled down to Endor, and is headed straight for the base. The void opens and claims the ship, defeat is in the air as a turbolaser gets fired, but that turbolaser fires into the void, restoring energy and closing up the void. The ending will be the same as what happens in the audio episode, though it will be from DarkRula's perspective. Some of the dialogue will be changed to reflect the new canonicity of events, and that is the end. DarkRula and The Doctor part ways.

Except for one more thing. Upon cleaning through the base, DarkRula finds that it was once a sub base of the Jedi. While it might have been abandoned, it still had a live link to the Jedi main base. All of the information about the Jedi and Federation war from the archives of Master Tee Vol's journal is found by DarkRula. He shouldn't have been able to see that, so some Jedi Master had been there and left the link open. It never said why the base was abandoned, but the Jedi-Federation war was more important to DarkRula. The story of all of it is told here. And the final scene is of DarkRula vowing to give both the Jedi and Federation a war they will never forget.

Once this has been finished, there will come a time where I revisit this universe to follow DarkRula on his new quest. However, I would want to take a break from the universe to try my hand at other things. The Chameleon Chronicles does have another side of the story, after all. That being from Sonic's perspective. I'll give more details on that when I get to it. And with that, the Look Back, Look Ahead series of posts for Doctor Who: The Star Wars Chronicles is finished. With how many episodes are left to write, this series should be finished during the first half of next year. Look forward to them.


Doctor Who: The Star Wars Chronicles Look Back, Look Ahead Series
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4

Thursday 20 October 2016

Nintendo Switch Announcement [Events]


We have it! It is here! No more need for speculation!
The codenamed NX got a trailer, and there is also a proper name attached. The Nintendo Switch. As concepts go, this is interesting. Within the first half minute of the trailer, we don't get much. Just someone playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. After that is much more interesting. The Switch logo appears, then back to action. The Joy-Con parts form a controller of their own, or can be snapped onto the console itself. When in TV mode, the console rests in a dock. When you want to bring it to handheld form, just remove the console from the dock and the image is switched from TV to the console's screen. There's many ways to play, as shown within the trailer. The Joy-Con parts can be used individually as controllers or put together as one for a more traditional controller. Those Joy-Con parts can attach to the console itself to create a true handheld. There's also a proper controller like any conventional console. This is an interesting take on a console, and though some people will say its hardly a new concept - think about what is being done here. It is a conventional console, no denying that. Nowhere throughout the trailer did we see anything hinting at touch controls - the main interaction is through the controller - meaning this isn't just a tablet with a controller wirelessly connected to give better control in certain games. There's also if the instant switching is that instant. If it is, that is something great that will surely be a key selling point. I'm already hearing some say this is how the Wii U should have been.
The console uses cartridges, that has already been known. Those cartridges are seen in the trailer - not in any detail, but enough to judge - and they look like a cross between the 3DS carts and the PS Vita sticks. There also has to be quite a lot of memory on them, considering we see Skyrim being played within the trailer.
As for other games, it looks as though rumours about ports really are true, as we see Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon being played on the Switch. From how Mario Kart 8 looks, there's the possibility - almost certainty - that these are going to be more than just ports. King Boo features in the Mario Kart 8 footage - who is a character not currently in the game - and also that there is now the ability to pick up two items. Splatoon of course would need some features removed such as motion control and second screen usage. We also see near the end a new 3D Mario title. EA Sports seem to have got a number of games coming as well, since a basketball game that could be a new NBA was shown.

Now, GameXplain have already got a number of videos up analysing every bit about this reveal, so I'm not going into that territory. What I will say is that this is seriously something I could see myself using, even more than my Wii U now. It looks sleek, with both console and controllers. The console fits into the dock when you play on a TV so that solves the issue of the Gamepad taking up space. Since it is just one screen, there's no need for developers to be wasting resources streaming things to two separate screens which could go into a more polished game. Despite already owning Mario Kart 8 I can see myself buying it again on the Switch - both to support the new console and for the convenience that owning it on the Switch brings. The new Mario game looks like fun, despite the very little we see of it. As for Splatoon, I can see myself buying it again as well, for the same reasons as Mario Kart 8. I'd certainly buy The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, as we've known since E3 that it looks stunning - and that was on the Wii U. I've never been one for sports titles, and I've never got far in Skyrim, so while it's great that the Switch is getting them, they aren't for me.
And that's just the games we've seen in this small trailer. Think how many more there are going to be once Nintendo start to go into detail about this thing. There could be more enhanced ports of Wii U games. The entire collection of this year's EA Sports games. More franchises that have hardly ever been on a Nintendo console. Revived Nintendo franchises such as F-Zero. And don't forget those we already know of such as Project Sonic 2017 and Dragon Quest.
There is though, through all the hype, reason to get more interested or more cynical. We've only just started to delve into what the Switch is about. There is still a lot more to be revealed about it. I expect everyone will be keeping their eyes open for more official news. I'd say a Direct is more than likely to deep dive into the facts. Point is, this is the start. I can hardly contain my excitement for this thing right now. The fact we've known about it for so long and had so little information about it has been agonising. There have been countless rumours, and there still will be. And that is the point. We know the basics - the concept - of what this is now. Nintendo Switch is an apt name for something that has switchable controllers and instant switching between big and small screens. There's still the deeper things. How well do the games run? How good is the switching? How user friendly will the interface be? These things and more are what people will want to be knowing now. Because they are unknowns though, there will always be two sides. Those who think it'll work well, and those who don't. When more information comes to light, I will be adjusting what I think of it. As I've already said - right now I think this will be a cool machine to have that is more than likely going to work. There's been two years since we first heard about it. Think how much time has actually gone into it.

That's my say on the announcement, and keep on the lookout throughout next week for more information. That Direct I mentioned will more than likely happen over the coming week. This announcement has opened the floodgates for more companies to announce projects they have in the works, and it will be interesting to see just how much of a launch line-up builds over the coming months. That's all for now, so bye for now.

Monday 3 October 2016

Ousting Chipped Teapots [Network]

Last month's update was big. This month there won't be much to say. Work continues on making WattPad the home of all my written fan-fiction, and the next part of Doctor Who: The Star Wars Chronicles will be uploaded as soon as possible. I also really want to get a proper cover on The Chameleon Chronicles, as there are now two published stories with proper covers. I will also be sorting out a proper banner for my WattPad profile which has the new name of DarkRula Media on it. The first story contained within Crossover Corruption was posted last month. Set on the morning Harry Potter is to return to Hogwarts, Professor Umbridge comes across something within the castle. A certain Zabrak Sith Lord. Will a fight erupt? Read Witch, Wizard, and Zabrak within the Crossover Corruption story on my WattPad profile - https://www.wattpad.com/user/DarkRula - as well as the aforementioned The Chameleon Chronicles and Doctor Who: The Star Wars Chronicles.
If I do any gaming videos this month, I will post alerts about them on social media. I haven't got any planned for this month, so that is why I'm saying that. As for blog posts, I am certain that Nintendo will have to reveal the NX either this week or next. Six months is literally going to be the quickest announce to release period ever. Unless it has been delayed of course. It still needs announcing though. Also the final part of Doctor Who: The Star Wars Chronicles Look Back, Look Ahead will be posted this month, bringing a whole post of snippets about the future of the story. If any other blog posts come along, alerts will be posted on social media.