Last Res0rt

UPDATE: Well, someone at MomoCon must’ve heard me, because I managed to find and secure an indoor space after all! ‘Course, it doesn’t solve the problem for everyone else who’d like to be at the convention, though…

Short Answer: Maybe.

The Problem: Everyone loves MomoCon. So much, in fact, that MomoCon is becoming entirely too big to accomodate everyone (Hint: if you want to go to MomoCon 2010, you need to preregister at Fandom U, because there IS an attendance cap) , including all of the artists who got wind that it’s a great place to set up shop, and so there’s not enough Artist Alley spaces to go around… including the one that was supposed to be mine, apparently.

There’s going to be an Outdoor Bazaar section to accomodate this, which is good in the respect that the tables are free (like they cost much to begin with!), but very, very bad in that they’re:

• Weather permitting (so you better hope it’s sunny and warm; I’m more than happy to remind everyone that two years ago MomoCon was interrupted by tornado warnings, so this is by no means a given. )
• First come first serve (i.e. I still might have trouble finding a spot)
• I won’t have a dedicated (let alone secure!) table during the duration of the convention, which means I’ll have to set up / take down my entire setup each day of the con.

Yes, those of you familiar with furry conventions may not find this to be all that unusual (save for the open-air part), but there’s a significant difference between “carrying your supplies back and forth each day to you hotel room that’s an elevator away” and MomoCon, which is not located inside a hotel and even if you live on campus, that’s no small trek to do with a dolly filled with merchandise and supplies.

In short: It’s doable, yes, but most of the implementations  that come to mind so far tend to suck, and the weather is a significant wildcard even with the best of ideas. (And remember all those books I’m getting ready to sell soon? All those paper-based, ruined-by-rain-and-possibly-wind books?)

I don’t blame MomoCon for doing this. I’ve watched them grow / been good friends with the con heads from previous years, so I know their hands are probably tied between “We can’t afford to rent all this space for a free convention, but we’ll never afford this space if attendance drops because we start charging for the con!” and “We want to make sure the convention is able to grow and become even better!”

That doesn’t mean I’m happy with this decision by any stretch.

Maybe there’s a bunch of you out there lured by the concept of a free table enough that you’re willing to come out here with a binder full of wishes and give it your best shot anyway, so the odds are good that MomoCon is being shrewd by doing this and allowing their convention to grow as big as it wants by having this additional spill space.

But as much as I’ve raised and invested in books, buttons, prints, and other oh-so-sensitive -to-wind-and-rain merchandise? I want a proper table.

There’s still a few months between now and then, though, so who knows? If enough of you write the Dealer’s Rep and ask very nicely for more space somewhere indoors, explaining to them that having a thriving Artist’s Alley is one of the better parts of their conventions (and it’s a sure bet that if I’M having trouble securing a table, tons of other worthy artists are too), and that there’s no shortage of nice places on campus to have it in that don’t involve leaving all those artists at the mercy of the weather, maybe they can find a way.

It’s that time of the year where t-shirt contests abound… and the Georgia Tech Alumni Association is no exception!

Voting is now open on the Pi Mile t-shirt contest — yes, that’s my entry right there, too — and voting couldn’t be easier!

• Voting is once per day per IP address (so trying to vote with multiple computers at home / in a school lab likely won’t work)
• Winner is announced March 12, so  vote once a day up until then!
• Winner gets a Flip Video Camera (which would come in handy for conventions, hint hint…)

Head on over and vote today! Then remember to vote tommorow, and the day after that…

Relax, it’s a chocolate chiffon cake. It contains neither pudding nor bugs.

Bug Pudding is another webcomic in the family, and and since a certain someone saw a similar cake done for Coby Cur and had a birthday coming up, I decided to whip up a cake for him as well (with some help from one of my cake-making friends).

Head on over to Bug Pudding and start reading… and wish him a happy birthday while you’re at it!

Just because it’s a webcomic doesn’t mean you get to buy the book online first.

Remember me going on about Volume One coming out soon? Well, it’s here. The first copies of Last Res0rt – First Against The Wall are in my hands, and… well, most webcomics would be willing to do a preorder and risk coming up short on funds, but this was what the cameo drive was meant to prevent. At the same time, there’s been a lot of energy into making sure the books came in time for the spring conventions… and it does nobody any good to not have books on hand because they already sold out online first.

So… we’re doing a rolling launch.

• We’ll be having the books available only to convention-goers for the first couple of weeks, first at MomoCon (March 20-21), and then Furry Weekend Atlanta (March 26-28) the next weekend.
• After Furry Weekend Atlanta, we’ll open up sales of the books online, to the public.
• If for whatever reason we run out of books to sell, we’ll take orders at the conventions as well (same as we do for commissions) and deal with it from there.

Despite all forces conspiring against us, we’ve made it into the MomoCon Artist’s Alley in the Piedmont Room (marked on this nifty and unnecessarily 3D map). Unfortunately we can’t provide much better in the way of directions, but you shouldn’t have a hard time finding us once you make it to the room.

See you there!

Last Res0rt is still going strong into Furry Weekend Atlanta 2010 (March 26-28)!

We’re at Table # 63 in the Dealer’s Den, as shown on this handy-dandy map:

Just so we’re clear on this, the entrance is at the bottom of the map, so you’ll be able to pretty much walk straight forward and find us.

We’re still bringing the goods, and we can’t wait to see you!

Strange things always seem to happen whenever Last Res0rt’s anniversary rolls around.

This year, it’s actually something good.

Long-time visitors (and a few folks who’ve seen these in action on my computer IRL) have known I’ve been sitting on these for a while in the hopes I could actually turn out something awesome with ‘em… and sitting… and sitting…

Well, I’m sick of sitting!

Available with any $5 or more Donation are two animated mascot skins of Jigsaw Forte (each with their own outfit), available for use with the MaCoPiX (Mascot Constructive Pilot for X) system. Each mascot has its own set of animations (to blink, emote, or pull out objects from behind their back), can sit on top of your windows or on your taskbar, and react when you click on them.

MaCoPiX uses the X window system, which means most modern Operating Systems (Windows, Mac, AND Linux!) are covered.

So, where’s the “Ha ha, April Fools!” joke?

… The software’s open source, hasn’t been updated in two years, and most of it’s still in its native Japanese.

It DOES work, though. It just won’t hold your hand while it does it.

If you’re skeptical, go ahead and install MaCoPiX for free, see if you can get it working, and then go ahead and donate to get the mascots.

Have fun!

Sweet! Another review under our belts!

This time it’s from ACTFUR, the Furry Radio Podcast; LR’s been reviewed as part of an “Extreme Edition” of the show! If you’re impatient, skip ahead to about the 58-minute mark, where the segment is.

Digital is the new green!

Eager to do your part for the planet? There’s a new shirt sitting in the Zazzle shop that’s just waiting for you!

We’re developing new ways to eke longer battery life out of our devices every day. Your standard computer / handheld device /smartphone uses rechargeable batteries (which means fewer of them end up in landfills leaking harmful acids vs. conventional batteries), and even when webcomics get big enough to start appearing in print editions and on t-shirts (like this one!), you know they’ve spent far more time in digital form first, saving resources all over the place!

They’re in the Zazzle shop, so click here to get one today!

Taking over the internet, one 80×80 pixel icon at a time!

If you’re one of the ones who’s been voting for the comic over at WebcomicZ (thanks!), you’ll know they have preset forum avatars over there. I’ve just gone ahead and done you the favor of setting up ten avatars to use on the site, consisting of some of your favorites, give or take a few extra faces!

These avatars, like all the other avatars on WebcomicZ, are free to use on the site! If you have an account there, click here to select one of these new avatars for your account!

Did I overlook your favorite? If you want to use it in WebcomicZ’s forums, leave a comment and let me know which character(s) you’d like to see included next!

Want to play a game?

Some of you may’ve seen the concept art (and other things) floating about, but now it’s official: Last Res0rt has its own tabletop RPG! Whether you’re looking to take a couple of friends out for a night around Wonder or get up to no good on one of the many planets in the galaxy, this game’ll give you what you need to set up a character and cut loose!

And in case you’re wondering what I’m charging for this… it’s free.

No. Really. FREE. Not a donation incentive. Not a convention exclusive. Just sign up here to receive your PDF copy of the game.

This 30-page “beta” version of the game is enough to get you going — but the funny thing about games (especially RPGs) is that the games people make are never quite the same ones people want to play…  so in order to make sure the 1st (printed) edition of the game is the best it can be, that means I need as many pairs of eyes as possible giving the game a chance and figuring out where I can make improvements in future iterations.

Even if you don’t think you’ll have a chance to play a campaign, the book provides an additional glimpse at the galaxy Last Res0rt exists in, including details on some of the more visible species (only a handful are available in the free version), various backstory details, and more!

All you have to do to get your hands on it is to sign up here. It’ll send you to sign up for Last Res0rt’s new mailing list, which’ll not only keep you abreast of new stuff happening on the site (as well as convention appearances, new items for sale, and possibly even list-exclusive giveaways and discounts), it’ll let you know when the print version is available, as well as any additional bonuses we include to go along with your shiny new RPG book.

It’s already picking up reviews (heck, we’ve even somehow managed to end up with a writeup on a Polish gaming blog!) so what’re you waiting for? Grab a copy today!

Update (June 21, 2011): Hello, Goons from Something Awful!

This is a reminder that this lovely game is still very much in beta (i.e. NOT the final version) and, in fact, that’s why this version is free to be dissected as opposed to a print version being posted for sale for actual money.

If you have any concerns about the game, its mechanics, its format, or anything else about it, and you sincerely wish to improve the game, please contact me or at least post your concerns where I can actually respond to them.