FP 2.4 :: Lies
Draft Complete
The past will one day affect the future, but not at present.
I’ll be on 1-2 week hiatus to plan out chapter 2.5, which is gonna be a doozy.
Stefan Gagne's Fiction Factory
25+ years of novels, games, and other creative fiascos.
FP 2.4 :: Lies
Draft Complete
The past will one day affect the future, but not at present.
I’ll be on 1-2 week hiatus to plan out chapter 2.5, which is gonna be a doozy.
FP 2.4 :: Lies
Draft Continues
Identity is a fluid concept, for those who turn the valves.
More to come on January 1st, then a quick hiatus to plan 2.5. QUICK, not multi-month.
Hi, folks. We’re back.
I took a few months off to grieve, to sort out my personal life, to rest, and honestly to blow away Super Mutants in the Commonwealth wasteland. But now I’m ready to get back to work, and start serving up content to y’all. I can’t promise it’ll be week to week consistent but come back every Friday and I’ll do my best to keep you entertained.
So, here’s what you’ll need to get back into gear with me:
We’re entering the holiday stretch, so things are still a bit wobbly here. But I’m ready to tackle this if you are. Your support means everything to me; thank you so much.
The hiatus is over. Tune in one week from now for new content! As always, Patreon backers get it earlier.
And don’t forget, the Welcome to Floating Point book is also on sale, with bonus content you won’t find on the website!
I’m pleased to announce that Welcome to Floating Point, the first novel in the Floating Point science fiction series, is now available on sale in print and eBook formats.
You can find it on sale at the Stefan Gagne’s Fiction Factory Store, which also offers deluxe versions of City of Angles, Anachronauts, and Unreal Estate.
Included in this volume are all the chapters from the online version, plus a previously Patreon-only bonus chapter detailing the origins of Netwerk and of Floating Point itself, PLUS extensive author’s notes on how I developed the story concept including early rejected ideas and different variations on the plot.
Thank you so much for supporting me along the way, through the early rush of writing and my current hiatus. Speaking of which, I’ll be ending it next week and resuming writing, with an eye to releasing new chapters in December. If you’d like an early look at them be sure to join my Patreon, which always gets early draft copies.
Also if you do buy the book, please leave a review on Amazon.com, which will help me TREMENDOUSLY. It’s very hard for indie authors to get exposure, and having a few star ratings and written reviews up will improve my search results and hopefully lead to more exposure.
Enjoy the book, and I’ll see you back here soon for more.
I don’t know why the idea of “having second thoughts” is generally seen as negative. It’s good to think about things twice, to study the thinking about your thinking. People who blaze forward with all speed without giving a second thought, without being willing to consider other viewpoints or ingest new facts which may change their conclusions… those are the ones you need to be afraid of.
So, I’m having second thoughts about Floating Point, in light of the blog post I just made. Let’s study them together, shall we.
Bolstered by the encouragement of my readers, I rolled up my sleeves and took another crack at the print book. Mew’s emoji speech was difficult to sort out, but in the end I sorted it out. I’m not sure how well it’ll read in black and white, but it’ll be as good as it can be, I suppose. In the end I had a 377 page book, ready to go. I’ll be sorting out some final issues with the eBook version and submitting it to Amazon’s publishing services soon, with the intent of having it on sale in November. It may take some time to squeeze it past all the steps of the publishing process given this is a weird book, sure to trip some automatic warnings about images and formatting, but hey.
As for book two… again, your words have helped guide me. It does seem appropriate that if book one is about culture wars and book three is about the apocalypse, having book two be “a breather” where we see our characters in transition is appropriate. Two full chapters about who they are, what they want, where they’re going… these comparatively quiet moments of introspection are needed before and after the Michael Bay action setpieces. So yes, I do seem to be on the right track. Especially as I’ve decided to add a character to book three to give it some much needed balance, something I can establish here. I may have some additional revamps and edits to 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3 coming in the future to set things up.
However, we’re headed right into a strange corridor of time… Fallout 4 will be releasing soon, and I’m actually taking time off work to play it, that’s how much I love that game series. Then Desert Bus For Hope rolls out and that’ll have a lot of my focus. And then it’s Thanksgiving…
So, don’t expect new FP material until December. Instead I’ll focus on getting the Welcome to Floating Point book out the door in November, and get a hype train rolling for that. You guys can be of TREMENDOUS help there by getting the word out once the book is released… tell your friends, tell your family, tell your frenemies, tie people up and make them read it at gunpoint, maybe not that last one. I lack the zealous fandom following of my youth when the passion of anime otaku carried me to lofty heights; if you’re reading these words right now, you’re in deep enough to make a serious difference.
Good times ahead, I feel. We’re still not at full speed but we’re getting there. I’m ready to move on from personal tragedy and illness and wobbly technology, ready to establish a new level of stability in my life. Ready to write. Will you join me?
It’s been over a month. Let’s talk.
I’m still not feeling entirely into anything right now. I don’t know how much of that is grief and how much of that is laziness; I’m VERY content to be lazy even at the best of times. But I am facing two pretty huge tasks in terms of Floating Point, and the life situation sure ain’t helping me want to tackle them.
First: The Welcome to Floating Point print book. The eBook is actually finished thanks to the god-tier editing prowess of Lawrence Chu. But the print version is a formatting nightmare, thanks to all the sidebar boxes, file info tabs, and that freakin’ emoji kitty. I’m only a chapter into formatting it and I’m fuzzy on how I’ll tackle some of its deeper visual trickery.
I’m tempted to just say ‘screw it’ and release this as eBook only. I make barely any sales off these books, honestly. My ongoing Patreon is ten times more profitable for me and has allowed this book to pay for itself for art contracts and editing work and so on. Buuut, I know I like seeing a real book on my shelf to prove I’m not a failure and I have created something that actually exists, and I know that some of my fans like collecting the books.
What I’m saying is: if you want a print book of FP, post in the comments or email me or whatever, just make yourself heard. I want to gauge the interest in this. It takes a lot of effort to put together and generally yields little to no return given how few copies sell… but if there is support for it, if there is a call for it, I WILL do it. I don’t know how soon I can promise it arriving on shelves but I’ll know for sure it’s worth doing.
Second: The Revelation of Floating Point book is a bit wobbly, maybe? I have a complete story arc, end to end, and I know everything that’s gonna happen in this book. It’s not like I have writer’s block. I just don’t know if it’s a story worth telling anymore. The first book was, and let’s be frank and lay it on the table, my reaction to various online culture clashes like GamerGate and I felt I had a lot to say through my narrative about the binary nature of pointless conflict. The second book has… I don’t know, something to say about religion? but is generally more of a story of the characters involved and what they want out of life. Is that enough? It has no grand statement to make. It’s got no parable to modern day conflicts. It’s just what it is. is that enough? I don’t even know anymore.
I think the third book, Exodus From Floating Point, that’ll be back in the territory of examining online culture and disastrous conflict… but this middle book has a different flavor. Is it tasty? Is it plain? Is it gross? Is it even worth reading? I dunno. I could use some feedback here; I’ve gotten very little since the book started out beyond typo fixes, which are great, but at this point I’m doubting my path. And if it IS boring, well… I dunno. It is what it has to be, this middle chapter. I’d need to do some serious revamping to make it into something else entirely if it’s not working.
So, yeah. That’s where I’m at. It’s not a fun place. Still not sure when I’m going off “hiatus,” it’ll depend on if I can sort this out and either get back on track or realize my existing track is correct. And I’d welcome your input. Thank you.
Long time no blog. Let’s blog.
At this point, my previously mentioned personal life problems are still around, but they’re wrapped up in the issue of the latest book in the Floating Point saga just not working the way I want it to. So yesterday, in an effort to dip my toe back in those waters, I took on one of the problems I’m facing… Uniq.
As a character, Uniq is a pretty obvious antagonist. A little TOO obvious, too cackling with mad glee of all the evil things she wants to do. To put it in 80s kid terms, she’s Starscream when she really needs to be Soundwave. Starscream’s a difficult character because while he causes strife within our Bad Guys, he also ultimately has to either betray and dethrone the primary antagonist or has to be effortlessly put down by the primary antagonist, neither of which are what I wanted for Uniq.
So, I went back into chapters 2.1 through 2.3 and revised her dialogue considerably. This closed up a few plot holes, refined her character as a willing participant rather than a manipulator biding her time for a takeover, and sets things up for her ultimate fate without supplanting Nyx as our primary antagonist.
In the interest of transparency and to keep you guys involved in the writing process, I’ll now detail all the changes I made with excerpts from the story.
If you haven’t read 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3, stop here because spoilers are coming.
Time for another rambly and uncomfortably personal “Where’s the story, yo?” blog post.
So, as you know by now, my father passed away recently. Honestly right after it happened I got something of a rush of relief, given how prolonged and unpleasant the whole situation was. At least now he was at peace and personally I could get on with my life, y’know? So, I dove headfirst into a huge project that energized me — the arcade cabinet I posted about last week. With work on it 95% complete (all that’s left is decorative artwork that my sister’s handling), I…
Well, I…
…I’m kinda crashing out. Tired. Exhausted from extremely busy workdays, to the point where when the quittin’ bell rings I just want to hit the couch. The whole depression-and-mourning thing appears to have been delayed by my sudden whirlwind arcade mania, but with that out of the way, it’s come knocking again.
Needless to say this is messing with my ability to get any writing done. Little by little I’ve outlined 2.4, working through the plot roadblocks, defining the characters. It’s almost finished, really. But WRITING it? I just… I can’t. I can’t really face anything right now. I’m exhausted.
So yeah, the hiatus is continuing. I wasn’t expecting this emotional roller coaster, and I certainly didn’t ask for it, but it is what it is. It’s delaying the print book and the continuation of the digital chapters. I’m really hoping I can get revved back up soon, but I don’t want to make promises and then be unable to keep them.
Watch this space, I suppose. You know what’s up with me, now, and I appreciate both your sympathy and your patience as I get through this.
First up, some Floating Point news:
I’m working on the plot outline for FP2.4. This book in general has been pretty rough, due to the disruptions in my life and the overall structure of it; it’s more character-focused and less investigation-focused compared to the first book. I wish I could promise a steady week-to-week flow but at this point I can only say “check back on Fridays” and hope my creative juices keep it coming. I appreciate your patience and hope you stick around to see where we’re going. Fun times are ahead, even if the pace isn’t as lively as before.
Right. With that out of the way, let’s get to this blog post, which is more of a personal / hobby post outside the domain of writing. Namely, the MAME arcade cabinet I’ve been putting together. Folks who follow me on social media have seen bits and pieces about this, figured I’d do a rundown on it here, get it all in one place.
I had this wooden shell of an arcade cabinet built for me by my father over a decade ago. Being a person of short stature I always had serious problems enjoying the arcade games I loved as a kid, because even with a footstool I couldn’t comfortably reach the controls. Dad solved this problem for me in my adult years by working with me to build a cabinet that was sized just for me.
When my father passed away earlier this year I decided one way I could honor his memory was to pull this thing out of mothballs and make it sing again. No small task; the cabinet was running a 1ghz Pentium on a 17 inch CRT monitor. Not what I wanted for a modern cabinet that could emulate modern hardware. I’d need to replace nearly everything except for the shell itself.
Here’s a picture of it right now. Notice the old school Furniture Warriors marquee graphic… adorable, but I’m going to be replacing it with a Q*Bert marquee to better match the sideart. Also missing is the bezel around the monitor and a proper holster for the light gun. Otherwise, it’s basically complete.
This time around I’m using a PC that frankly makes my desktop gaming PC look like a piece of crap. Way more power than you need to play Pac-Man, right? Wrong. I bought a lesser video card and smaller power supply at first, and found out that to add the post-processing effects I wanted to simulate an old arcade cabinet’s monitor, I’d need something stronger. Paid a lot to replace the hardware with better stuff. Live and learn.
The monitor’s an LCD, which is anathema to most arcade collectors who prefer CRTs… but with post processing effects it LOOKS like an arcade monitor, and it’s a much higher quality screen for other emulators and modern games. Of course, nobody makes 1600×1200 4:3 non-widescreen monitors anymore, so I had to find one used. Pricey but worth it, and a much larger screen than before.
For controls I had to buy a new X-Arcade control panel; my old one, the wiring went bad and the PS/2 port it connected through is something Windows 10 doesn’t work well with. The light gun is actually a glorified WiiMote-style pointing device, which works reasonably well for shooting games. Finally if you look in the lower left you’ll see an Xbox 360 controller wireless dongle, so I can play PS2 and Dreamcast games with proper analog controls on a pad. There’s a hidden shelf behind the control panel where I can tuck away the (matching black!) controllers.
For the front-end I’m using HyperSpin, heavily customized to display my hand-picked list of titles across the entire history of video games. Arcade, pinball, 8-bit consoles, modern consoles, indie PC games on Steam… all of it available at the push of a button. For more complex games a control list displays before the game starts, so you know what buttons do what.
I’m planning on a video walk-through of the entire project once I get the last two pieces in place (marquee and bezel).
This project has been my obsession for a few weeks now. Tons and tons of work getting the front-end to work, so EVERYTHING can be done with the joysticks alone. (Except, oddly, for Phantasy Star Online. Which won’t let you start a session with tapping the ‘enter’ key and won’t allow rebinding with AutoHotkey. Darn.) Once fully complete… it’ll outclass my first cabinet from 2002. And definitely be a fitting testament to my Dad’s hard work with the wooden shell.
So, that’s what I’ve been up to lately. Got any questions, feel free to post ’em — anything about the emulators or the hardware or my favorite games or whatever. Thanks!