The Ur-Quan Masters Discussion Forum

Just ran into this on a search for a syreen picture on Google. I thought it must have been old news, some abandoned project, but it's far from abandoned (tho not updating very often).

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/index.html

nice!

I read just the first page (of the prologue) but it looks good. hopefully I'll have time to read some more.

That's a really cool find. I read through it and it seems promising. Let's hope he adds another chapter or two soon :)

They seem to be once a week with gaps. This will take some time.

I'll sign up for its updates on thewebcomiclist.com

This comic looks really good. Unfortunately, a look over his list of inspirations seems to imply that the only SC influence we're likely to see is the Syreen-analogues. Despite that, the art is really quite nice, and the story seems interesting. I'll definitely make a point to keep tuning in for updates.

Gah, the wait is going to kill me. Is there any service that will ping you oncve evey six months or so? That way I'd get a chapter every now and then. Or I suppose I could just set my own claendar to remind me...

Do you need any other inspiration? You should see my dual-monitor desktop right now.

And as for updates you can always subscribe to the RSS feed. What? You don't have RSS. Oh, dude, sorry. I didn't know. I thought... well at least you get the nice parking spots.

Seriously, my homepage is the google reader.

Yeah, but I don't think that format lends itself well to just reading one new page. I'd rather wait a bit (much) longer and then read a chapter at once.

Well, if you do want the one next page, a new one is up as of the 14th.

At this rate, the second chapter will be done in 2011. Or was that 2110?

See, I don't need an RSS feed.  Good old Death_999 comes through for me.

New page. (http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider056.html)

The artist who does this also frequents the Relicnews forums, a while ago he posted some concept art for a company (I think) that was influenced by Star Control in that he went for a Yehat look for one piece.

If you ask me that telepathic space babe looks more like an Elerian from MoO2 than a UQM Syreen. Also when you input the name of your race leader in MoO2 (and you have chosen Elerians) Fireblade is one of the names that computer generates as an automatic choice. Anyway, good find :)

I think I've seen this guy on some art forum.

I should take a look at this MoO 1/2 game some time. I keep hearing nice things about it.

http://www.angelfire.com/empire/ezixl/picture/elerian2.html

Holy shit, how many chapters is this guy planning? If it's 10, then he will likely DIE before finishing it!

Sorry, but I can tell that this will go on for a few more years and then be ditched by the creator. It's headed nowhere.

/me does his same old RSS emulation shtick.

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider057.html

That was what I was thinking of when I posted that.

On topic, I find this issue... underwhelming. She did say 'equitable exchange', after all, so the first three panels seem mostly redundant. Perhaps the author is writing so danged slowly that he forgets what the characters just said?

And then the rest of the panels are two long-winded hellos.

I suppose if one were to read this, collected, it would not seem a problem. But at one page per quarter, it kind of drags.

Updated again.

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider058.html

Thanks!

Welp, more stuff we mostly knew. The guy on the screen seems less than pleased with the diplomatic situation. Can't wait another five month to find out what the star system might hold!

Yeah, this comic is awesome.    Too bad it's written at such a slow pace.  Ah well, I'll check again next year to get the next chapter.

Whooptee dee and trolly bazzoo, guess who posted not one, not two, but THREE strips!

It seems to be weekly now!

for now.

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider059.html

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider060.html

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider061.html

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider062.html

Cool, a pity the newest comic is a "TBC" thing. Let's hope he starts the next chapter soon.

Oh and hi guesst, didn't know you still came around here. Recalling your fascination with the SC1 starmap, I'd recommend browsing through the last few posts here (http://www.star-control.com/forum/index.php/topic,1660.msg29507.html#msg29507). Of course you might already know about it.

I guess I'll place my little TVP here ;P

New comic, 063! Also I can't see a TBC strip any more, weird. Maybe I imagined it?

The "Next" link from the last posted page always points to the "To be continued..." page, to indicate that the following part of the comic is not there yet. It's a placeholder, not an actual page of the comic.

Heh, that explains a lot.

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider064.html :D

It updated again.

and AGAIN! Wiigii!

Thanks!

Yeah, for the first time we're actually getting a clue of what's going on here.

That's some nice dialogue in that last page :D

Ah man.  I really wish this story would go quicker.  Its so well done, and the art is amazing.  I hope he publishes, this would sell.

No question the art is stunning, but I find the writing to be a little meh. I realise that bolding every other word is practically a comics law, but that doesn't stop it from pissing me off. And all the time, I can't help but think back to
(http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/fiction_rule_of_thumb.png)
I know there aren't that many made-up words, but when you start thinking of inversely proportional rules of quality there must be something wrong with what you're reading, right? Seems a little stilted, inflexible, and I realise that a large amout of that is down to the diplomatic situation but...

I haven't been reading this, but... whenever I see a bolded word, I feel it should be emphasized. If there are a lot of bolded words, or they seem to be randomly bolded, it just seems strange.

Reading through it, as I do, with all the bolded words read as if they were in CAPITALS, it's very distracting.

"We are PLEASED that the HUMANITY envoy was ABLE to COME ABOARD our ship, but for now there are more PRESSING MATTERS to ATTEND TO."

But they're not CAPITALS.

It's very slight bolding. Just enough to notice. I can see why it's done, and I can see why you think it distracting.

As for the made-up words issue...  where are they? I can see only names. Character names, species names. 'Farsensing' is hardly taxing on the memory. If anything, the tech names seem flatly descriptive.

Yeah, like I said, not sure why it reminds me of that. Probably stuff like "the Little Brother" an' dah.

as of last week:
http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider067.html

Yay! The story is interesting, but the pace kind of sucks.

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider068.html

Updated again. The pace has picked up substantially, it seems.

And for once, a character asks certain important questions that don't usually get asked. We are, however, drifting slightly into 'krytoses' territory.

It's great that he's picked up the pace, I sent him an email thanking him for his progress :D

Page 70 (http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider070.html) released. :)

fourteen dot gif!
the guy has added a new closer picture too, I see :).

Huh. It didn't pop up on the RSS feed.

#72 is up

You know, for race uncomfortable with physical touch, the Loroi appear to be seated quite intimately with the Earthling.
By the genre, there will definately be a "lights off" scene, but I think it's still too early in the comic, don't you think?

That struck me as well. If you look carefully, it's just Beryl who maneuvered in closer while talking; Jardin may have skoonched back a bit into Fireblade's space. Given the look on her face, this seems to be a bad idea.

not being able to read the entire comic at once made me surprised when he asked 'WHat's a solon?" :D

Is it just me or do the expressions on the alien's faces not match the battle situation brewing in the last few pages?

Well, they are not battle stations crew, as far as I understand, and their leader is highly distinguished. I think they are just overconfident. In addition, it is just the beginning of the story and main character is aboard, meaning the ship will survive no matter what. :)

That didn't hold for the Bellarmine, so I would say more that nearly the entire main cast is aboard, thereby suggesting survival.

New page. A bit of pre-action planning. Metaphor alert.

74 is out.

Now we're getting to some action. Finally! :)

75. If this is indicative of things to come, the production pace ought to increase (I mean that in both senses of 'ought')

and 76

imma firing ma lazorz ;)

Subtitle: in which something begins to happen, but doesn't finish.

77. for subtitle look at previous statement.

Well, something finished this time. You can't expect the whole battle to be done.

Still waiting for missile impacts... It's a very slow paced battle, especially considering the update schedule. Still like it, though!

#78 is up.
Is anyone surprized to see the weapons discharges colours?

What? I checked yesterday for the first time in months, and nothing was up... I must have missed it by hours.

Anyway... so far, so good. Let's see how long they can keep that up.

By "long" you mean time before pages?

Actually, I meant surviving the missile massacre.

Meh, pretty safe to say that at least the Tempest will suvive.

There is a lot of room between flawless victory and 'OMG you just destroyed the plot'

I reckon the Tempest will be destroyed, then it turns out the Loroi were the bad guys and the rest of the comic is the other side's people.

It's what I'd do.

2 pages up.

Page 81 (http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider081.html) up.

Arioch has been busy. We're up to #87!!

Interesting how he handled the Umiak dialog in the last 2 strips. It really makes it seem like this is a barely understood alien race that even computers have difficulty making sense of, and yet presumably the Loroi have been at war with them so long that they know exactly what they are talking about.

That could be an artifact of the trade language itself. The Umiak deal with other races - the Orgos, at least. Not saying you're wrong, though.

Page 89 is officially up, but it 404s instead of showing. So, soon, I guess?

Oh, and upon further thinking I realized that the trade language can't be at fault because characters were speaking in it earlier with no similar effects.

page 90, 91 and the title page of chapter 2 are online..

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider092.html

New update!

uppppdaaaaaaate!!!

Heh, two month this time. Not that long...

If I only could refrain myself from visiting his site every one or two days eagerly waiting, passionately praying for a next update of the story...GODS this was a long wait -.-

I just hope that in the future he will finish whatever responsibilities he may have in RL and embrace this comic as his sole purpose in cosmos, awarding us, the fervent followers of his work, with an update every week   ;D

btw, nice update  ;D

There is an RSS feed. It's generally only a day or two late. I don't compulsively visit - this time I caught it before the RSS due to a misclick.

... and again! Whoa!

uppppdaaaate! Seems to be weekly now?

all that blah blah ain't time consuming to draw, I suppose :P

This is the first mention of Alexander Jardin being a super-genius, that I remember. I wasn't expecting it. Was it previously mentioned, on page 2 or something?

Wow, this guy has been going at this comic since at least 2008. Fantastic artwork aside, this is the longest, most mind numbingly boring comic I have ever read. The characters are one dimensional and the story is dull. ... But of course I'll keep following along.

Not the longest I read, http://www.goblinscomic.com/ goes back to 2005 (although the art back then was meh)

Crimson dark goes back to 2006, and he's been updating it ever since until november 2011, that's when he got a job-life that isn't compatible with the comic anymore.
http://www.davidcsimon.com/crimsondark/

noobs. Sluggy Freelance started in august of 1997.

RType - the characters are still one-dimensional, yes. On the other hand, a lot has happened, and not a lot of room has been allowed for character development by the nature of their interactions. He didn't even really start talking to them until page 33, and pages 71-86 are a battle sequence.

So we're looking at 40 pages of about 2 or 3 lines per page, on average, and they've been following prescribed protocols - which makes sense, but isn't  a good vehicle for rendering multidimensional characters. Once we've seen them in different situations, they could round out.

Jesus, is Sluggy still going? I used to love that comic, but eventually got bored with the grander and grander story arcs.

Which was your last? Was it Oceans Unmoving?

The last few years were alternations of really seriously intense, and utterly silly... that feeds into the really seriously intense bits again. Only recently, after a recovery period, have we had anything in between.

Slightly after that I thinjk, after the whole Good World adventure where alternate Zoe died.

So you mean you JUST left. If you're disappointed that Zoe died, well, that was handled very satisfactorily by now.

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider097.html

Oh duh. World of GOOD. Oh, that was a while back.

Very much so yes.

... update? Update??

UPDATE! (http://www.well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider101.html)

uuuupdaaate??? (http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider103.html)

Whooooa.

Whoha. Need to read myself through your archive first. :)

I'm confused by 'your' there. I'm not that guy. I just post the updates here.

Sorry. misinterpreted.
But that was a very well spent/wasted time reading the comic.
Dang, now I want more.

Thanks for pointing me there, Death.

Update! Again!
http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider104.html

Hmm. I wonder why... maybe 'MY DAUGHTER WOULD STILL BE ALIVE IF WE HADN'T STUCK AROUND FOR YOUR POINTLESS BUSINESS'

Could well be. But the way she formulated it, it's a common occurence.... This might be a more critical situation to get out of her sight...

But now I'm wondering how long it'll take for the next update. According to the WIP thread (http://www.well-of-souls.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7&start=50) in their forum, this page was already largely done and coloured in 2011, when Arioch posted the first images of this page. [edit] I misread the joining date as post creating date. I really should doublecheck such things before spreading rumours[/edit]
I wonder if the pencilling of the next pages has even been started...

Ah well, it's not like I spent money to be allowed to read. Patience is a good virtue for online comics readers.

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider105.html

We are going on a trip. Fasten your seatbelt!

after 40 days, another!

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider106.html

Yep, Arioch's new job may be draining and leaving him without time to progress the comic, but he's also getting more practice again in drawing the necessary hand-drawn elements...

Man, we're moving at a breakneck pace here. Wonder how long it can last...

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider107.html

Less than two weeks only.
(http://puu.sh/leYSk/91b0d89bd9.jpg)
And slowly the story picks up again.

I have no idea at all why he's shy about pointing out that the Umiak could also make contact.

Likely Alex is afraid that the simple thought of Humaniti trying to contact the Umiak too might cause the Loroi to reconsider seeing him as an ambassador.

I would mention it too, as it could be expected that the Loroi assume the Humaniti, if on a mission to seek information on whom to ally with preferably, would also try to collect information on both sides, likely by trying to contact the other side too. That would step up teh game for the Loroi to actually get there ASAP.


Note, the creator of Outsider now has a Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/AriochIV?ty=h) page too.

Twice in a month!

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider108.html

heh, you beat me to it...

0 in August, 1 in September, 1 in October, 2 in November,....
Hello Leonardo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonacci_number)!

Shocking. New day, new comic (again): http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider109.html
Fibonacci can be met this month.. :) (Unlikely though)

It'd have to fail in a couple months anyway... by May it would have been more than one update per day.

I know, but my current work related actions caused me to see this pattern when I saw the last three update dates of September, October and November...

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider110.html

Best wishes for the new yyear, everyone!

Shameless double-post:

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider111.html  (up since a week already)

Alexander just had a cameo appearance in Erfworld, book 3, page 135 (http://archives.erfworld.com/Book%203/135).

(referencing page 62 (http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider062.html))

I wonder what caster type he is.

I don't think we'll ever know,..

Page 112 is up: http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider112.html

This long wait for THAT? I guess it'll seem paced fine when you read it straight through.

Yeah, I was a bit disappointed too.
But this comic is created only on the sideline of a busy life...

A bit more than a year has passed, and Lo!

page 113: http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider113.html

Okay, so two characters who seem relatively normal instead of… well, everyone else he's met. Not that those he's met SHOULD be normal, but he's seeing beyond those who have specific roles in respect to him.

It's been a while. But...

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider114.html
http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider115.html
http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider116.html

... Look who doesn't let go...

is hat topical? It can't  be…

Weirdly emough, it was on topic. As this bit of info is:


http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider117.html Page 117 is up.
What ae Beryls motives?

I meant, it seemed oddly similar to the Macron/Trump handshake of last week (in inability-to-leave, not the reasons), but since the comic handshake started before that occurred, can't be a reference.

I had more issues with the way Talon's arm is suddenly across her chest, as if Alex is standing next to her, and not opposite....

Well, the setting is done, thus only rendering and drawing the characters...
So, here we are, another (!!!!!) page:
http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider118.html

Adn here I am again:
page 119 (http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider119.html)

This is neat but should probably trade some quality for speed.

Absolutely glacial.

indeed, but the comic is for free, and the author has a real life too, in which he needs to earn his money.
Thus the comic has become a side project....

That's kind of orthogonal to HOW he spends his time.

It's been a while.
page 120 (http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider120.html) is finally up.

Two new pages.... Start of the end-of-year rally?

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider121.html
http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider122.html

Happy new year everyone!

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider123.html

Pages 124 and 125 are since a few days online:
http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider124.html
http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider125.html

So, the Umiak are breaking through. We are seeing a large scale offensive going on.
A real coincidence, that a Lotai-blocking Human appears right at the time that the Umiak attack with ships which are invisible to the Loroi Lotai....

That may become a real issue for Alexander Jardin's safety.

I wonder if it's that the Umiak made contact with other humans and are using them.

The discussions are going in similar directions on the forums.

Problem is, the Bellarmine mission and the sister ships are all in a too close situation time-wise to have been the source of the Umiak technology on this grand scale......

update notification!

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider126.html

update notification, totally forgot to bring it here...

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider127.html (http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider127.html): Call to Arms...

And no, no April Fools'...
(it was published on 1 April 2018, see here (https://twitter.com/AriochIV/status/980506224637571077))

Next update "already":
http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider129.html

page 128 (http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider128.html) was last week, so that makes incredible three in April 2018.

Read you around November again.... ;)

update notification. Agin.
page 130 (http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider130.html) is already up!

Guess what?
page 131 (http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider131.html), where we learn how Loroi swear, is up.

I wonder if it's time to have an arc where we get to see the other side.

At least we have an update speed where we can finally expect to see some results in a foreseeable future.

Arioch also mentioned that the updates should be "more regular" (meaning more often) this year, as his work situation has stabilized a lot.

And another update notification!
page 132 (http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider132.html)

I just noticed the stark 2D / 3D contrast. I wonder whether it was always this blatant and it just never occurred to me.

It was always there, just less blatant.
Also, shading has been completed, so it may be less obvious now.
(the 2D part was not shaded when published first)

Ah. Yes, it's a bit less stark now.

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider133.html

omg they're about to hold hands!

the discussions on the forums go much in that direction.
And of course a link to a previous "fanservice" special publication....

http://www.well-of-souls.com/outsider/images/display.htm?thekiss04.jpg
http://well-of-souls.com/gallery/images/display.htm?telepanty.jpg

Not yet Monday, bt new page is already up:

For science! (http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider134.html) (page 134)

"pleasant science elf" and  "red-haired harpy".... Nice...

and another page: http://www.well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider135.html

Barsam Ex Machina

Eh, I wouldn't say that - they were known to be in the immediate area.

Barsam Ex Machina is simply the title given to the discussion thread in the Outsider forum.

BTW, this is the Barsam courier from Naam (http://www.well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider057.html), which as a courier ship is likely not well weaponized.
It may be able to take down a missile or two, but not much more.

They were known to have left Naam before Strikegroup 51, and therefore well within the capablities of having reached Azimol already, and being on their way back to the front already.

Also, the Barsam vessel is on the link to Azimol, not to Gora, where the shuttle Highland 7 is (map of Leido : http://www.well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider123.html).

Another new page (136): http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider136.html

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider137.html

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider138.html
http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider139.html

According to frontpage posted on 9 September (next Sunday).


Quite a bit of flying, but otherwise not much happening.

Why would they have been expected to try to dock under such circumstances?

They announced to come in "hot", and will not sway from their path... http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider135.html

Still, an interesting maneuver.
I wonder if the shuttle will cut power and pretend to be "debris", in a hope to avoid attracting attention from the Umiak.

Still, not a very fair maneuver to the station.... Shielding the missiles from defensive fire....

page 140 (http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider140.html) is out.

Shuttle is out. Station seems to be gone.
From here, the story can go multiple ways.

Headaches?
Page 141 (http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider141.html) is out.

Update notification!
Today, pages 144 and 145 went up.
Due to the UQM / stack.nl downtime,...

Yay, two new pages.
http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider146.html
http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider147.html

Finally something to eat.

This chapter runs since page 92, which has been published on 1st of August 2011 (http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/update_history.html). You'll be looking at something like 1 chapter per decade...
Currently, the whole story forecasts 7-8 chapters (and we're still in chapter 2).
(Chapter 1 started 30 May 2002)
There has been some fun on the outsider forum projecting when the comic might end.
I might need to free some budget to support the creators patreon, to help get the story moving.

Update notification:
http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider148.html

There are two more finished pages, for his patreons already.
For once, Francis decided to not update en bloc, but either weekly, or every two weeks. His forumites hope that'll allow him to finish another page before the stack is out,...

And the next page is up.
http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider149.html

Due to server issues, the forums of that comic are down. The creator is expecting a server rollback, and therefore the page might disappear again for a while, until he brings it up again.

Nice, page 150 (http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider150.html) is now up too,
And one panel of the next page was shown in the WIP thread already.
No background to be rendered, so it goes fast.

Apparently the comic always stalled when a new setting appeared, as Mr. Francis makes the setup and then renders it from different angles.... And that always takes a lot of time, reducing his motivation...

Enjoying the current speed for as long as it'll last.

Believe it or not, yesterday page 151 (http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider151.html) went up.
4th week in a row!

By content not much.
Yes, we Humans do have a nakedness taboo.

Yeah, there wasn't too much to that one.

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider152.html
http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider153.html

So, Alexander got dressed, and got mail.
The bucket that went "Whirrrrr Clik!" is very similar to the crude container used by the Historian Personality Construct (http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider065.html) during chapter 1.
Anyone's guess now from whom the message comes.


Edit: also, that's the sixth week in a row with an update!
The lack of background may be helping. Let's hope the scene stays a while, so we can enjoy the update speed.

8th page this year so far, last year (2018) had a total of 23 pages (including one on 1st of January, and two on 31st of December)

Update Notification!

http://www.well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider154.html

So, first lesson when dealing with computer security: never open attachments from unknown, unsollicited, or unexpected sources!

But in this specific case?
I wonder if I would not start that smart chess program, that's been able to understand my language despite first contact, been able to analyze my hardware so that it can send me something, and that could bypass the "fly mode", and yet was not able to autostart itself....

Skynet activated!

This pad came from the Bellarmine. Yet, he is addressed by the translation of his name that he gave to the Loroi. So SOMETHING funny is going on. Someone who heard that name and knows how to program on a human device. Historian, perhaps?

Or perhaps it was loaded with the data and then the program put the tablet into quiet mode. In that case whoever sent it already has control over the tablet, so nothing's lost by running the program.

Pretty sure it is Historian origin.

The Historian Emissary was present on the bridge when Alexander gave his name's translation, page 62 (http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider062.html).

And, the datapad did not have a "message received" blinking indicator before the trash bin (nickname from the Outisder-forums) made its noises. (Alex looks at the pad on page 152 (http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider152.html), and comments on the new indicator a page later (http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider153.html).)

BTW, we now have 22 July [edit]2160[/edit] in-comic, which is 8 days later then when the Bellarmine entered the Naam system (http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider002.html).

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider155.html

Wow, that is an impressive feat by the Pocket Historian^TM and its supportive systems.

Update notification!
http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider159.html

Well, the line of weekly had been broken, and this one lacks shading for now.

Anyway, looks like someone realizes he'll be sharing the accomodation...

update notification:
160 - Slumber Party! (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider160.html)

(Also: page 159 (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider159.html) is now fully shaded)

Update notification:
page 161 (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider161.html) is up.

Not much is happening, but Captain Obvious is on board, naming the blade a blade.

Also… the answer to your question would be, COMBAT TRAINING. ffs, dude (not you, the character)

I started to wonder...


Anyway, the servers eem to be down (no DNS entry).
Maybe he's moving providers....
edit: it's back online. Possibly just a moving of servers to new IP-addresses.

Nope, his account got hacked, and the DNS redirected elsewhere.
Should be repaired, if not the DNS is spreading correctly again.

Also: new page: page 162 (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider162.html).

Time for some friendly greetings in a relaxed atmosphere.

Update notifications!
07 October: Gifting season: https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider163.html
14 October: Smells like Buttocks! https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider164.html

Suspected to smell like butt, anyway. They haven't tried.

They could also flip them over, which might help.

Update notification:
page 165 - Dalid is dalid (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider165.html).

Dalid apparently translates as "Luck/Fortune" (see trade lexicon (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/loroi_trade_lexicon.html)).
This may be the Loroi version of "It is as it is".

Update notiication!

page 166  - Not So True (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider166.html)

'Not so lucky for the rabbit', as it were

That's with most charms of that kind...

Anyway, update notification, we now get an in-comic explanation of the Dirals...

page 167 - telepathy show-off (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider167.html)

I like how Talon seems to coordinate the show telepathically, Spiral did not interrupt her, and Talon points at the same time at the Diral's tattoo they both got.

Update notification!
page 168 (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider168.html).


So, now we learn in-comic that "Luck" is a zero-sum game for the Loroi, and that the Diral Leader takes on bad luck, to give the rest of the Diral members that are still alive a tad more luck.
Interesting approach.

Although Spiral has proven she can force luck to come her way, the stunt with the station was a pretty cold-blooded calculation....

That station was screwed anyway, so…

Yes, it was, but still, not having had a chance to use the full defensive aim range meant their demise went faster.
She sacrificed them to have a chance at hiding....

And it went well, so far.
Although we have no confirmation of a Loroi having checked the passive sensors if the Umiak are combing through the debris, or not.

Reminds me of luckamancy from Erfwworld, and in particular the Schlemiel Elves

To a degree, yes.
I stopped reading Erfworld a while ago. Maybe I should start picking up again'


Anyway,
update notifications:
6 January 2020: New page: 170 (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider170.html)
13 January 2020: New page: 171 (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider171.html)

On the forums of outsider, people are exchanging their impressions of military emergency rations....

It does not seem like I missed out on anything....

Update notification!
3 February 2020 page 172 (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider172.html). "See something you like?"

Talon's a real wing-girl....


Although Alex' staring may be due to the flashing of an implant....

In the middle of book 3 it got weird, and then it stopped due to unspecified personal devastation on the part of the author.

Hmm... Because I liked how book one got solved. Resurrecting a volcano to win an unwinnable fight....
He had great ideas...

update notification!
11 February 2020: page 173 (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider173.html)

Let's have Arioch tell it himself:

And the non-April-Fool's-pranks continue.
6 April 2020: https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider178.html  , interesting that Beryl seems to be a rather happy runaway, having gotten away from "that backward place". And I wonder if referring to Fireblade as "Red" is such a smart move?

And I wonder if FireBlade did "see" him somehow by now as well, and which colour he has to her mind?
ETA: And if red is a warning colour to the Loroi as it is to us...

This year turns out to be productive for this comic.
But wether this is caused by CoVid and a lack of other work for the author or other issues (increased Patreon support) remains to be seen....

13 April: page 179 (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider179.html)
03 May: page 180 (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider180.html)
11 May: page 181 (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider181.html)

[edit] saw that page 182 (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider182.html) of 8 June has also not been mentioned yet...[/edit]
29 June: https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider183.html

Yeah, cuddle time!

Very sfw, though..

I can imagine Alex is tired.
Also most military guys learn to sleep whenever it's quiet enough.
You never know if there'll be a 36 hours shift in battle... So sleep when you can.

6 July page 184 (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider184.html)

So, what'll be Alex' dream about?
A red harpy and her bad dreams? (PTSD)

Double update!
Page 185 (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider185.html)
Page 186 (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider186.html)

That seems like Fireblade's dream of a destryoed Seren.

Update notification!
page 187 (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider187.html).

Yikes, not a dream I wish to have.

update notification:
page 188 (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider188.html) - Duck!

Welp, forgot to mention page 189 (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider189.html) went up last October (5 October).

Since then no updates, except on Patreon (page 198 already).

Pages stay in Patreon until Jim Francis is confident he'll not have to change them anymore to fit in with what happens in later pages.

I wonder if this is going to be a Loroi dirty secret.

I fear more that it's a spilling nightmare from the redhead, especiall her time during the Seren occupation.

Barcoded inhabitants.

Bad memories of Germany in front of my eyes.

Ah, yeah, that makes sense.

That doesn't look better...

update notification, page 190 (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider190.html).

Also, I was wrong, the next pages are on Patreon, but without colour.
Jim Francis is creating pages, but currently doesn't have the drive to finish and polish them.

update notification!

08 March 2021: Page 191: https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider191.html
22 March 2021: Page 192: https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider192.html

Yes, it was a dream. Quite some time passed, and now he's playing gentleman and trying to let the warrior girls sleep.

The question of where the dream originated remains.

For anyone confused, jumping back 40 pages is about right to have a reminder about the pad's origin.

Yeah....

I still love the PocketHistorian^TM's humour, and am astonished by its grip on our culture and language.

edit:
also, the pocket PC referred to is on the new page https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider193.html

Oh well, End of Chapter 2, page 199 (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider199.html), is up.


Hmm, either the Umiak have good scanners, or have been hinted at where to look.
Or their Lotai devices allowed them to locate Sanzai as well.


Also, since it's end of the chapter, the author wrote down some thoughts, regarding the format of the comic to speed up the storytelling:
https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/diary07.html

I'm also interested in the Umiak stealth tech, for them to approach so undetected. Or do the Loroi so heavily rely on psychic detection that the Umiak's ability to interfere with it makes them basically invisible because the Loroi simply aren't using optics?

Page 195: (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider195.html) Optics got fried!

So I presume nobody was watching, as they simply had no sensors.
And the display seen beforehand was fed with data from a buoy, which was elsewhere in-sytem, and thus old data, if it's still squeaking.

Ah, right!

And first page of Chapter 3 is out:

https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider200.html

Edit button causes errors, so double posting, Sorry:

Cover page for chapter three will come later.
Arioch wasn't able to finish that one on time,

And now we're close to weekly updates...

https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider203.html Page 203 already.

Things are happening fast.

And the Loroi are preparing something, we are all rooting for Cloud (shoegirl, who in page 202 (https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider202.html) is shown as NOT wearing any pressure-protective gear. (And the reasons of why are not communicated to Alex)


Also:
upcoming preview of a future page:
https://well-of-souls.com/temp/wip/205_1.jpg (spoiler!)

Update notification!

Page 204: https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider204.html

Alex needs a serious reminder of the telekinetic abilities of the "Unsheathed".
And he will get it as an observer now.

Another update notification!


And the slaughter will begin!

https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider205.html

https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider206.html
Page 206 is out.

I wonder what Tempo is doing.
And how often a ship with her and Red Fury (Fireblade) has been boarded and how much experience she has manipulating the Umiak's exoskeleton and/or mind.

Maybe they boarded an Umiak ship, or dealt with them on a planetary surface?

https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider207.html

"Nothing to see here. Move along. These aren't the survivors we're looking for."

The flash in the last panel, and Fireblade's look at Alex...

"This is how real Warriors do it!"

And now we're on to the next stage:

https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider208.html

The shuttle has been towed in.
Will our band of misfits now commandeer an Umiak ship?

19 July 2021:  https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider209.html
02 Aug. 2021: https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider210.html

are out too...

Definitely, Alex receives information from some Loroi (likely Fireblade), including interpretative information about what he's seeing.

In the forum, the author uploaded an image with annotations:

Interesting. It seems like how he, and humans in general, interact with Loroi abilities might be the big game-changer in this whole mess. One way or the other.

On the forums, there's a discussion about how the Loroi don't trust Alex, as Alex could be a planted mole by the Umiak.
Same for any Loroi that has been on an Umiak-occupied planet.

Recently, the suggestion popped up, that Fireblade, who was on an occupied planet, may have experienced stuff by the Umiak which makes her Sanzai susceptible for Alex to be sensed.

Or it's indeed just her strong sending, and her opennes to be received by all, because the Loroi have never made the experience that any non-Loroi is listening in.

A few updates missed:

31 Aug. 2021: https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider211.html
28 Sep. 2021: https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider212.html
04 Oct. 2021: https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider213.html
29 Nov. 2021: https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider214.html

So, Alex now chooses actively a side - let's hope no bug survives to report this, as Neutrality is now definitely over, albeit an isolated instance.


Let's see how strong the weapon is, and how Alex is able to help the Blue Space Elves.

update notification!

while his Patreon had the (unfinished) page up for a while, the next official update has finally been posted.

30 March 2022: https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider215.html

Apparently the comic author has been fairly ill for a while:

https://well-of-souls.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2635

Amazing that this thing just keeps going.

And in the meantime, page 222 has also been published (and on patreon several pages are in different stages of completion):
https://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider222.html

And Fireblade shows her abilities.

By now we're on page 225.
Many more pages are patreon-only, as they are yet unfinished (uncoloured, unshaded, ....)

On the forum the comments is that the webcomic has turned "pay to view".

Ah, sometime Jim will catch up.

Last public one was at end of December...

Yeah, I couldn't log in for many  months, until I remembered my password again....

The "password forgotten" mail does not work for me.

Ah well.
Jim knows this is an issue and works on it, but he has self-set standards for "finished pages" before he publishes them....

[edit to add]
I just checked the patreon of his.
Thanks to UQM2 : CoI  I do have a google account for logins, and you can become a free member (without payments) to Arioch's patreon, and he does post some updates for non-paying members.

First of July update:[edit to add2]
On patreon, page 273 is available (for paying members, at least 1 dollar per post).  Nearly 50 pages ahead...
Before it was about 2 pages/month to patreon. And he stopped that in July, so his money will be tight (it was about 1100 dollar/page)