goatman461

Last freebuild for this episode is up. http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=104981 Big thank you to all the Imperial builders that helped me flesh out my current story arc.

Coruscant... Councilman 1 - “Let this meeting come to order… the Guard has a new candidate for consideration… former ISB Agent Goatm An 46-1 has come recommended by several guardsmen who have witnessed his abilities as an assassin and spy. The Council has reviewed the holodisc showing his take-down of the surveillance cell on Bothawui and has read the Rebel reports related to his theft of a B-Wing prototype. We also have traced 27 questionable deaths and disappearances of Imperial officials, officers, troopers, pilots, and even guardsmen to ships in which Agent An was stationed. I should note that none of these deaths can be traced directly to An, but it is safe to say, given An’s prowess for murder, that some of these deaths could be attributed to him.” Councilman 2 - “And the possible motivations behind these attacks?” Councilman 3 - “Ambition seems to be the only correlation between the victims. Otherwise, no distinct purpose has been found.” Councilman 1 - “Perhaps our guest can shed some light on An’s activities over his… 20 year career? How old is An? Do we have any information on him prior to his enlistment?” Councilman 3 - “Nothing concrete, Councilman. His enlistment papers list his birthplace as Corellia and his age at 14; that was year 2 of the Galactic Empire. However, we have accounts of a Goatm An operating on Naboo during the Invasion 19 years prior to his enlistment,” Councilman 4 – “More testing must be done, but the Emperor will not object here; he is near-human at the very least.” Councilman 1 – “Moving on, we will now hear from a former agent with some firsthand knowledge of An’s activities over the last few years. Welcome Agent LL.” Kayotin LL – “It’s a pleasure? Sorry, I’m a little hard of hearing and traumatized at the moment. Your goons just murdered my whole crew and have been blowing up starfighters left and right.” Councilman 2 – “Count yourself lucky we needed some answers from you first. You are the mechanic who absconded to the Rebellion after your mission in the B-Wing factory, are you not?” Kayotin LL – “More like left for dead at the B-Wing factory, sir." Councilman 3 – “Agent LL, answer our questions and we will put you back to work in our hangars. Otherwise, you will join your Rebel crewmen. “Your former partner, Agent Goatm An 46-1, has been accused of a number of murders throughout the Imperial ranks. What do you know about his actions during your time together and what was the purpose of these attacks?” Kayotin LL – “From what I could tell he just didn't like the guys. He would make a point to kill specific Rebels during our missions, but he never really said why. I think he just did it for fun.” Councilman 1 – “So he WAS responsible for these 27 deaths of Imperial personnel…” Kayotin LL – “It was a few more than that…” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Meanwhile... Goatm An, officially dead, is recovering from his wounds and using his time “off the books” to get back into space. From what he has been told, Goatm has pieced together most of his time since crash-landing on Barab II. The surviving crew of the ship had been quickly surrounded by some unknown Rebel contingent; forced down ancient roads and footpaths in an icy gorge; and cornered at the foot of a long-dead religion’s temple. When Goatm mounted a counterattack, he was betrayed by Officer VeR’s inability to shoot a Rebel gunner and blown out of the gorge. The shot from the gunner caused a massive avalanche, burying the Rebel forces and insuring VeR and Tyrus’s escape. Goatm was presumed dead. However, a guardsman of the Emperor’s Royal Guard had been monitoring Goatm’s mission and saw this as a perfect opportunity to bring Goatm into the inner circle of the Guard. A rescue team was secretly dispatched. Goatm was recovered, stabilized in surgery, and sent to an old acquaintance for cybernetic replacements. Most of Goatm’s torso was replaced along with both arms. The blast had boiled most of his intestines but cauterized much of the surrounding tissue. Goatm’s arms were lost to the cold. He now travels with his nurse-a fellow ISB agent and assassin- and a Wookiee slave in a custom light freighter commonly used by the Empire for courier details. Nurse – “Our pilot has landed and the locals are tending to the cargo, An. Do you need assistance with the merchants?” Goatm – “No, thank you. These kinds of transactions are nothing new. Please do a final sweep of the freighter; we will be selling it along with the Wookiee once these trees are off-loaded.” Nurse – “Sell the ship and Wookiee? One, who's going to buy a Wookiee? They’ll never be able to control it. Two, why are we selling a perfectly good ship? Everything else in this dock is junk.” Goatm – “The Wookiee will sell quickly; this planet loves everything exotic. And I don’t care if they can control it; better yet if they can’t. A man’s natural rights are his own; we’re just waiting for this one to realize it. “And, we’re selling the ship because we’re staying for a while, at least. I certainly didn’t shave just to wear a rebreather for an hour on the dock; the air is toxic to humans here, but only after an extended time. No, we're going to get rid of this glorified tracking device and set up in the countryside for a short while.” Nurse – “Terrible air or not, this place looks expensive. Do you really think we can buy up a place for whatever you get for a few trees?” Goatm – “Like I said, they love everything exotic and these trees won’t germinate anywhere but their home planet. The royals here will bend over backwards for every sapling they can get.” Nurse – “And why would we want stay in this expensive and toxic planet?” Goatm – “My mother grew up here, may be here now. It’s the best chance I have to find out where my father came from.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ “…that’s about all I can tell you; he doesn't divulge much, but when he does it’s not the typical Imperial mantra. He has his own reasons for serving the Empire; I’m just not sure what they are.” Councilman 1 – “Thank you Agent LL, your testimony has been invaluable. Troopers! Leave no trace! End transmission. “Councilmen, this leaves us much to consider.” Councilman 2 – “Time is on our side. Agent An still needs time to heal. Upon his return, he shall begin training with the Guard and when this Council next convenes, we will ultimately decide his fate.” Sorry for the long story. Please judge and leave criticisms. Thanks in advance.

It should look like this... https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7579/16336974572_88eab403fc_t.jpg Underneath your picture on the far right click the icon for "download this photo" then "view all sizes" pick the thumbnail 100x100 size, right click and select copy image url

I really like how much time and thought you put into all the design of the barracks. I think the tight space and fold out features are very appropriate. There are some details throughout that I think could have been more polished or photographed. The tile pattern in the floor bothers me in the first shot, but I can see what you were going for in the following shots. It looks like you created a pattern but didn't follow it through all the way to the front of the build. I don't get what the briefer is, but I'm sure with some different angled shots you could make it more clear. Your focus on some of these shots looks a bit off, and the last shot is especially, and regrettably, blurry. Final and last details complaint the foldout beds should sit flat when out. If you're not getting enough friction in your clips, I think it's okay to sneak in a small brace to keep the beds in the right position. Getting a lot of these minor details right in your shots is very difficult (at least I've found it to be so). Try to take your time shooting your scenes, take a lot of alternate shots, and get some editing software (like GIMP) to help make these shots look clean. I think you've chosen a great story arc for your character. This will be a great way to maintain a believable billet in the Empire while building in a large variety of scenarios and collaborations with other builders.

I agree about not limiting new players. Especially with ships, these are the easiest thing for new builders to create because they don't require large numbers of the same type of part. We should be thinking about ways to expand what we can do, not limit it. For example, right now a builder's sigfig must be in all of their builds; if we allowed them NPCs, this would give their stories MORE options because the builder's original sigfig would not have to be forced into a scene that would be inappropriate because of rank or specialty. I'm very much against any kind of structured template for what builders can create with the exception of the planet rule, which I think provides for incentive and competitiveness. Also, the only limit this rule would create is over the core planets that either side "wins" or "buys." As for pirates, right now the structure doesn't restrict builders from using pirates or smugglers or whatever. Han Solo was a rebel (remember?) and a smuggler. Build's aren't restricted to the interior of an ISB or the Death Star. Just build in a marketplace, saloon, or opium den.

This is one of my favorite paintings and favorite books. Awesome rendition. Very impressive

As I see it, the problem we're looking at is (1) allowing great builders to gain lots of XP points quickly, while (2) not over inflating the XP points to those in the higher ranks, and (bonus) allowing the XP to be useful and desirable for reasons other than ego. I like the idea of "buying" NPCs with points. This would solve the problem MP has with being too high of a rank for regular stormtrooper details. Having access to lower ranked characters would allow for more of the day-to-day/day-in-the-life-of-Star-Wars builds that I think this forum was created for. (I also like the spy idea; maybe they could just be super "expensive") I don't think that movement in the ranks (when a player uses their XP to purchase something) would be a problem after the first bit of jostling around. As I see it, there is enough room in the higher ranks to purchase something while staying in that particular "bracket." For example, I would likely "buy" up enough stuff to bust Goatm down to ISB, but as the episodes continued I could maintain my rank by "buying" up NCEs or planets with my excess XP. If somebody wanted to remain a general, they could keep 101 XP and use the rest to "buy" troopers and planets. I also like the idea of "buying" access to new planets. This would mean we'd have to go back to the build-only-on-these-planets rule. To do this we could auction off the canon planets for XP and each side would have to put a planet up as a prize for each competition (or either side could "host" a challenge on, and for, their planet in exchange for another planet or extra XP or something else). The Outer Rim would have to be a free-for-all in case the Rebels take everything, and so lower XP players could use their creativity without having to "buy" a whole planet. Also, in case it wasn't clear, if one Imperial player "buys" a planet, any Imperial player could build on it. I don't really get the idea for expireable points. It sounds like too much to keep up with and it would punish those that have stuck with SoNE for a long time.

That rule is pretty dated, I think, and would result in 40 possible points. Edit: Got it. Thanks Bob

Way to go Empire! Wow. I'm glad you judges seemed to like my entry. Thank you so much. How was the scoring figured? I thought it was 4 pts for the past scene and 6 for the present. I'm certainly not complaining about the extra XP though. I guess mine will be showcased, too? PM me about more pics if y'all want them. I would like the new tag, whenever y'all get around to it. Thanks in advance

Great movement between scenes. I especially like the outside stairs and the minifigure posing

That ceiling is a perfect way to frame out the upper portion of the build. The lighting looks appropriate for the room and it's a good way to avoid a lot of heavy, sagging bricks. The control panel also looks great. Great to see you guys building in SoNE

I really like light coming through the trans clear (I assume) plates. I'm having trouble seeing how you got that pattern, do you have any more pics that show that portion differently? The floor, the slopes in the wall, and the door look beautiful. And, again, great shot framing.

Great shot framing. This build must be massive. It looks like you put a lot of dedication into getting all of these different backgrounds. The minifig posing is also really cool, especially that superman pose in the foreground of the fourth shot

I really like the way y'all are framing these scenes. It makes it look more like a comic rather than a stand alone model. The ending is great. Looking forward to seeing that lab. I agree with Bob, the lighting through the trans blue really livens up the control panels and running lights along the wall.

Great rock work and use of vegetation. The shape and style of each build is very interesting, too. I do wish that there was a little more going on in the past scene, but it is beautifully done. Is the top of the present scene a mirror copy of its 16x16 section in the past scene? It looks like it is and that is really creative and awesome. It's as if your heirloom is not really the key but the whole cave itself (and maybe the purse, too). I also really like the storage inside that cave. Wish we could see it at the opposite angle.

Great walls and door on the present scene. My favorite part of the past scene is the back wall and roof; that is a very interesting way to crop the build. I wish the front had more of that ridged feel rather than the curvy/odd shape you have. I think it would make the base look cleaner in contrast to the chaotic junkyard. Speaking of, I do wish the "junk" had a more sorted look. In the way that you have all the bars and tubes together, a section of droid parts would make sense. As is, I cannot tell if those pieces were put there with purpose or if they were just thrown in at the last minute. That's all personal taste, though. These builds are great.

It's been great collaborating with you BEAVeR (even though you consciously betrayed Goatm). The present scene is a lot fancier than I expected with your time crunch. Those patterns on the building are inspired. The cannon looks amazing. The minifigures are posed just right. The dark orange compliments both the dark red and dark blue very well. You really out did my straight-lined snow/rock transition with your fancy, curvy transition. I kind of wish the building was dark red instead of blue and the doorway was open/clear to make the two builds match a little bit more, but otherwise I think you did a great job blending the two styles together. It is terribly frustrating to see what great things you do in LLD, in a bitter/sweet way. When looking at those patterns it looks so good (the sweet part), but knowing that the average builder is unlikely to have that color or quantity is a bit frustrating (the bitter part). I guess that's part of a larger debate on LLD. I know you do take pains to use real parts, which is appreciated. The past scene has some great details. I'm quite sorry that you had to spend so much time working on the collaborative aspects of the present scene because I'd love to see what else you would do to your past scene. What you do have is really great and unique. We've of course discussed your story before, but I just wanted to say that it is good to see an alternative perspective here even if its nonsense and I want to argue with your character the whole time I'm reading it. I don't see how we will be able to avoid further collaborations in the future so long as our characters are such extreme opposites. Keep it up, your renderings, posing, and abilities continue to improve. You are really showing what all is possible in LLD.

Glad to have you back. The colors on the bar give it a lot of character. Goatm sure is making the rounds this episode; thanks for including him.

Great builds. Your hologram effects came out really well and that line about the ears is funny.

Amazing shots. And I really like that last line and your transition from past to present.

Bob, is it okay if I edit the text of my entry to include links to other's builds?

3rd freebuild is up I don't think I posted my 2nd freebuild here either I'd like both to be judged please, thank you in advance I hope everybody got a lot of building done over the holidays. I'm really looking forward to seeing your entries.

ISB Agent Goatm An clings to life as he is rushed to the medical lab aboard a secret Imperial freighter. After crash-landing on an icy, Rebel-held planet; being pinned down by Rebel troops; shot by a laser ice cutter; and rescued by snowtroopers, Goatm has a chance to survive. Med Evac 2 by goatman461, on Flickr Goatm's fortuitous rescue and surgery are the result of the special attention he has received from the Emperor's Royal Guard. While searching for Boba Fett, Goatm stumbled upon and deactivated a secret Imperial surveillance team working on Bothawui. The surveillance team had been under surveillance themselves, by the Emperor's own Guard, because of their connection to leaked Death Star plans years ago. The Royal Guardsman overseeing this activity was thankful for Goatm's actions, impressed by his abilities, and interested future services Goatm might provide the Guard. Seeing Goatm left for dead provided this Guardsmen with an opportunity to bring Goatm into his own inner circle. If Goatm survives, he will see a new side of the Empire ... from within the Royal Guard. Please judge this build. C&C appreciated. Thanks.

I really want to finish/redo the mobile that I made for my son. I've gotten the remaining planets and at least 12 OT ships either built or planned. I'm just dragging my feet because I don't want to mess with all the string. Lego Star Wars Planet Series Mobile by goatman461, on Flickr

This looks great, but it is hard to see at this size. Can you change the images to 800x600? Is the tire swing rope a LEGO part? If not, you'll have to change it to avoid a DQ. Also, you might want to check with Bob about the fade effect you used on at least 2 of the shots. I think we can only do that kind of editing on 1 shot. Really glad to have you aboard. The color scheme and patterns you used on the Tatooine build are especially good.