h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

oh yeah...I been thunking on this for a couple of days and reached a decision. I think I'm, going to give Lucifer his own font (most likely the same one I've used for the "meanwhile in hell" page breaks - but smaller.) afterall God has his own. it will just make ol' nicm, easier to pick out in the flow of conversations (esp: switzerland and the desert of the damned) plus heavey leaden text is just so much more ooh - spooky - don't-cher-think?

Absolutely Go forth and codify!

Going offline now - back tomorrow for my next fix of Storytime

okay - but when you get back take a look at the bottom in the final conversation in the flat between God and Satan. I've coded it up with both fonts to give you an idea of what I have got in mind.

I think the smaller, curly font works better for Satan, in the sentence: " Yup." said the demon tossing on his jacket. " Heard it was a laugh-riot too."

The big pointy one is a bit distracting. What do you think?

hmmm. I'm undecided. the smaller curly one, I found quite difficult to read. I began experimenting with different font sizes but wa struggling to find the right one. I tried dwitching the font to the spikey one and didn't like that much either.

Basically it's gonna be a bit more complicated than I originally thought so I'll keep experimenting and come back with something when I'm happy it might work better.

I've done as far as Anabell's flight to the temple. however I've left out the Austrailian newspaper headlines.

Don't panic. I'm gonna put em back in...but they'll need a bit more coding to set them up right and I don't have time tonight. so don't fret if you don't see them there.

Clive.

Oh and I've added in a little something just after when Bob wakes up in the hospital.

3 reasons.

*I like writing St Peter.

*The "I'm going atheist" line was just a bit too swift. before going to Rasputin in the desert.

* It gives us an escape route *IF* later in the story Bob and Jill do ever get together.

Read it and tell me what you think.

Clive.

Right this is almost it!

I've gotten to severinus's vision in the cave...I'll begin coding that in the next few minutes.

THEN - I'll go back and make all the changes we've discussed including the "i want power" line changing the opera scene and coding the god and devil text so that it is in fonts. (Size 5 monotype corsiva - the twiddly one - I've discovered works quite well for old beelezebub. and size 4 lucida sans for God. )

then I'll standardise the code - f'rinstence removing any subheader tags I used in the early going instead of just bolding (Like when X shouts "a clown is in there with guy")
As well as sorting out some of the line breaks....a couple of times I wanted to jig those around a bit.

THEN I'll copy paste the text version into word or something to spell check it.

THEN I'll credit all researchers who worked on it in the forums

THEN I'll begining chopping up the code and e-mailing it to Shazz for post-ification. (the new storytime logo etc.)



Meanwhile...I'll begin penning Guy's debrief back at the agency and preparing the troupe for a well-deserved holiday on some island someplace.

If you'd do the same for the leicester-cat and we then both post them in the POST NEW THREADS HERE thread. () (for consistencies sake) I can add those in as well and we shall all be set for part 3 and PUBLICATION!!!

I'm currently doing the code-work: for some reason, and I have no idea why - half-way through I stopped using brackets and the parsar doesn't seem to notice. To clear up the confusion half-way through I am standarising the code but it's still weird if you ask me.

Ghosts in the code? Sorry, it's the best theory I could come up with. It all looks really good, but reading over I've noticed another niggling mistake of mine. When God is brooding over free will, he thinks : "Spare the lightning bolt, spare the child." Which is a little obvious, I think, and it should be *spoil* the child. Sorry to load another alteration on you.

I'll get to work on the Leicestercat scene - and soon it'll be finished, won't it? Sorry, I have something in my eye...

- ha-ha, yes.

Well most likely it will be next week depends how much I feel like doing when I get back from work each evening/ who else is using the comp at that time. but it's getting there certainly.

and however long it take to tweak all the changes but a week two weeks maximum I reckon until it is ready and then at the posts discretion to go public (remember of course we are going to run the cast list and the prologue together a week in advance.)

Think of it this way: finally we get to share the story we two and others have worked so hard on and had such fun with while preparing for the dashing adventures of part 3.

Yeah, it'll be great I just read over the Dramatis Personae page as well - nicely edited to hide the plot

Another thing that occurred to me - in the first version I wrote of the opera scene, Guy mentions that that was the last of the Cryo-Clownz. This was 'cause I felt they had been sort of ignored, and felt the need to finish up that plot strand. But in the new one, he says no such thing, meaning that there are still Clownz out there, which is probably better as now they can pop up in #3.

Which I can't wait for. Obviously. But do we want to wait until the whole story has been serialised to start Storytime Thread #3, so that people are up-to-date?

Mmmm. dunno. your possibly the best person qualified to answer that. who long after I ran the original through the post did you want to join in?

And yeah I was re-reading the Scene where Annabell is at the hospital right at the start. Now that we now she's a member of the pilchard cult we can assume that the 5 shadowy figure (who incidentaly call her mistress just like acolyte at the end.) are also cult members. AND when she talks about - "they are in the hospital" "we know who their next target is" (matrix parody) she is necessarily refering to arthur, X bob and the others she could very well have meant the cryo clownz - which would tie in rather neatly with her animosity with her father (if and when we resurrect him) and your point that the cryo clownz could very well be a continuing threat. I'm toying with the idea that the pilchard cult may not be evil more custodians of ..something. (like the world maybe - annabell did suka punch the monk who was trying to destroy it. after all)

Anyways I rambling but I'm toying these things over....

and I might very well start coding up a page that summerises all plot points hithertoo and we could always get in the first few posts of the next stroytiem to kickstart it off with Arhtur and X at the helm.

Hmmmm...I'm going through removing those pesky brackets and this is giving me an opportunity to re-read certain parts of the story. And there is one bit that just flat out doesn't fit with the rest of it.


After bob and jill and everyone leave to go to the car park there is a scene with annabell in the limo speaking to her dad on the phone ( who at this point is a guidence counsillor. )

This to me just doesn't sit right and I'm tempted to just remove it, but keep annabell in the limo making her getaway from the hospital - problem is, I checked the forums and that part was not written by you or I but by another researcher who I know *fairly* well as an aquaintence Ex-Rambling, however should I just exert editorial descision making powers or get in contact and ask?

Don't know when you're going to read this but anyway...

...I'd contact Rambling if I were you. Maybe the thing could be worked around in editing? The thing was, Smittington had a split personality, didn't he? Half-megalomaniac, half-goofy guidance counsellor. I quite liked that. Maybe you could ask Rambling if you could put in a few lines throughout Smittington's scenes to flesh out that premise...Smittington spasming and suddenly asking his minions how they *feel*, or something similar. A struggle between the two halves of his brain? Just thoughts.

Returns from the wilderness of not being online.

I'll get to work tryign to do the storytime now. *panics - looks at date - arrrg!*

Well what a stroke of luck. i worked out a *REALLY* quick way of sorting out all of the coding problems and they are all now done!

So now i can just make all the little tweaks and changes needed to finalise the document then split it into chapters and send it over to shazz.


and here's the bit you're waiting for:


The prolouge and cast list are going into print next week!!

and the story will be run ON THE BIRTHDAY EDITION a week later and we go from there.


*you may now feel justly smug.*

oh and if you get a spare moment - check out what i've done for AL - it's some more font work and I'm really quite pleased with it.

Clive 'there is no spoon' the flying ostrich.

Just tweaking some of the font tags.

oh and your Proluge is in this week's Post.



<./>ThePost</.>

You're back! And the Storytime has started! This is what happens when I go offline for three days. It looks great, too. Good to be back from the harsh wasteland of RL?