Ch3 25
With Alli’s tablet still in the shop, we’re only going to be able to provide an update on Monday.
Apparently, there was some kind of mix-up two years ago and Alli was given a Surface 3 Pro and not a Surface 3, which is what we initially purchased. Bully for us, I guess? But due to this, the screen that was ordered was not the right fit and now we have to wait for the new one to come in.
So, if everything goes well, we’ll hopefully see you in a week and get back to two updates a week in the near future!
So happy you’re back!
Also as an IT student I’m face-palming over the fact that you never noticed you had the pro version.
Hilariously – the serial number identifies it as a Surface 3, not a Pro. Everything that we CAN use to identify it (short of actually looking at the screen size with a measuring tape) says it’s a regular old Surface. But, the regular Surface screen is too small (by about an inch) to fit. It’s a mystery…
Even if you check the system’s information? You can type msinfo32 into Windows Search and see what the system identifies as.
Honestly – I had no reasons to suspect it was something other than a basic Surface 3. Once I can actually type anything into the bloody thing, I’ll be checking out the repair technician’s claim, don’t worry 😀
Thank you for your efforts to work around the problem. Are there any other devices (perhaps a tablet) that are suited for production of the comic? What about long-term, when they stop making your existing tool, and spare parts for it? The time to seek a replacement tool is “better now than later”.
The Surface is a tablet. It is one year old. When they stop making pieces for it, we plan on buying a newer model. As the current market is still selling MS Surfaces for 800$ (For the low end models) and they are still being manufactured, we plan on simply repairing this one and continue to move forward. As far as it goes for a less expensive replacement – it all depends on how much we would want to spend on a licence for a new version of Photoshop (which can be very costly or run a monthly fee and requires a constant internet connection). So, for now, it’s simply easier and more cost-effective to repair the current damages and then purchase a newer model in 2-3 years.
GIMP. The Gnu Image Manipulation Program.
Free, open source (which means all sorts of neat, useful plugins are floating around), and since you guys aren’t doing Hollywood level photo-manipulation with it, more than powerful/flexible enough for you.
Another option is the free Paint.NET from https://www.getpaint.net/download.html
Be sure to click one of the DotPDN links and not the huge Start Download button, which is for a random, unrelated product being advertised by the ad network they use on their website (there are no ads in Paint.NET itself).
There are also a variety of plugins available from https://www.getpaint.net/redirect/plugins.html
I used to use GIMP, but found it to be almost as difficult to use as Photoshop, so when I discovered that Paint.NET has most of the same feature set and is so much easier to use, I stopped using GIMP (I only ever used Photoshop on other people’s computers, because I can’t afford it and my need for photo editing is to quickly change background images for programs I write for paying clients in the television game show industry, the tightest of tight wads I’ve ever encountered).
Honestly, I have never heard of this program. I’ll have a look! Thanks for the info!
I’ve used the GIMP also, and while it does have a notice-able learning curve, the results were worth it, at least to me. On the other hand, I’m a nerd and am not afraid of learning curves, and anyway I wanted to do semi-technical drawings (didn’t need the power of a CAD package), not artworks. GIMP might not be so friendly to a truly artistic mindset.
You should also take a look at Krita. It’s geting quite popular in the digital art scene, because it was made by a bunch of artists specifically for drawing, rather than photo manipulation.
Regarding panel 5 of this comic, the background AND the text has dollar-signs in it. Before, all mention of “rounds” was free of any such thing, so I think it is inconsistent to now specify “$500 rounds”. Also, since this is a very different realm than Earth/USA, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to be portraying dollar signs in the background. Isn’t there any other symbol that can be used? Rounds might be the standard unit of exchange in this fictional realm, but other types of wealth-concentration must also exist, such as jewels and strong-boxes (equivalent to treasure chests).
While I agree that the $ should be removed from the text, the background money symbol gets the point across.
The point could possibly be gotten across just as well with a stack of gold coins in each of Hasera’s eyes, the way fire was in her eyes in the last comic. The background could then be ordinary. I’m really just complaining about something like what the word “anachronism” means, except that past and future are not getting mixed up here; different Universes are getting mixed up here!
“Here’s your five hundred rounds. Now let’s discuss the five thousand rounds worth of damage to my house.”
I see someone has an idea as to where this conversation is going.
If only it was just the house…
Yeah, let’s not forget the dress Hass has stained in Panel 1 ^^
Or the yard.
Or the guard dog. I bet those run a pretty penny or two.
I’ll have you know that he purebred guard dog owned by The Seraph costs more than most people make in a year. Such is the cost of having such a majestic and terrifying creature as your companion.
Yeah, I suspected something like this was coming…
Kinda surprises me, in fact, that the Council doesn’t have a liability limitation clause in their contracts, similar to what you tend to see in software EULAs. It seems like a job where property damage is to be somewhat expected (albeit, at least in theory, less than if a Champion hadn’t intervened), so to remain in any way profitable, one would expect the liability to be limited to the commission fee at most. You hire a Champion, you accept that the job is dangerous and property damage may occur.
Particularly given that, if we assume that Lark’s curse isn’t known, from an outside observer there are two possibilities here:
The first is that the contractor knew there was an abyssal worm in the area, and the ‘delivery’ contract was essentially a way to get Lark present to fight the worm without paying the (presumably much higher, and probably enough to cover property damage) contract fee for taking out an abyssal worm. Or, worse, the worm was actually part of the contractor’s security system, and by getting Lark to visit to deliver a letter without informing him of the worm, the seraph is essentially committing a form of insurance fraud.
The second is that there was going to be an uncontrolled worm in the area anyway, and Lark being present made the damage a lot less than it otherwise could have been.
Of course, it does seem as if Lark believes the worm was there only because he was there – but to anyone else, it looks like coincidence at best, fraud on the part of the contractor at worst.
Oh, of course The Order has a liability clause – but that has to be within reason. Contracts that deal specifically with monsters, armies, entities released via some form of Godspell or otherwise all come with their own liability clauses. However, for a simply letter delivery? The only thing truly covered would be your mailbox. Why you would pay someone 500 rounds for something as simple as delivering a letter? Well, that’s beyond me. Most postal delivery people make about 1 rounds a week, or maybe fifty shills (Silver rounds).
It’s almost as if The Order is overcharging for The Lark’s services on purpose.
As for the two different cases, there is, of course, a third option – One which will be revealed in the next few pages. I like where your head is at, though!
Well, if he’s constantly in demand, it makes sense to put the price up – supply and demand, after all. Doubly so if he tends to generate expensive liabilities.
It does seem that contracting a Champion for a relatively mundane task is a good way for a less-than-honest employer to get him to the site of a crisis cheaply, though.
(Now, the third possibility is that the worm was somehow attracted to the Lark, and was only there because the Lark was. But to believe that, you’d have to think he was under some sort of curse or something…)
Which, obviously, is crazy.
Well, of course the Order is “overcharging” for the Lark’s services. In fact, they appear to not be overcharging enough. Celebrities get appearance fees, and when there are people standing in line to pay, the price should go up.
The seraph may have some sort of insurance fraud in mind, but under most laws, that should not bother the Lark [who is also effectively broke as far as such suits are concerned and would never have to pay for the house/etc because he spends it as fast as he gets it and other dodges would keep any rounds safe] As already noted, the seraph has pretty much stipulated there are no special danger and her “pets” will not be a bother. So she should have no grounds to bother Link about. Now the Order may have screwed up, but that is not his concern. Maybe there is some special law that gives her special rights… [In 1800 English Nobles could not be sued for debts.]
A more mundane option is that maybe this was an eviction notice, which is now unreadable and thus void. It would not matter where beastie came from. The void notice legally has not been delivered, which means Lark must now carry out the eviction. [For whatever technical reason, another notice is not an option.] This is why the Seraph is so quick to pay. Having been paid, he has to carry out the duty, and returning the rounds is not an option. The eviction is a-of a much larger critter than the “dog”, b-a different task of great difficulty, or c-something like widows and orphans that Lark will have to go to great trouble not to evict.
Oh yes, while it could go either way, the crowd reaction to Lark “saving” them argues this is a known threat rather than a wandering monster that was new to the locals.
I don’t know who yo uare lady but you have majestic wings.