Synodic Reboot

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ZARIYAH: kristan, please...
KRISTAN: I'm sorry, Zariyah. Aahh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lie, I just...
KRISTAN: I don't know what to do and now you know and now I feel weak for it, as always.
ZARIYAH: why do you think of that as weakness?
ZARIYAH: no, more importantly, why do you think you're useless?
KRISTAN: I. I'm just scared. Being kind of on my own, and I'm getting close to the First Gate. Soon I'll be entirely alone, and I'll need to... fend for myself.
KRISTAN: But like, I kind of actually want to? I want to be able to, I mean.
KRISTAN: But instead I'm scared and weak and I rely on everyone to help me. I don't like being like this...
KRISTAN: I don't want to be a burden.
ZARIYAH: hey kristan? call yourself a burden again and i'll climb through this phone and kick your ass.
ZARIYAH: nobody has to protect you. we do it because we want to. we care about you.
KRISTAN: But what if I want to be able to protect all of you, too?
ZARIYAH: well, i mean... you beat those imps just fine, and you figured everything out in time to escape that meteor.
KRISTAN: What about real threats, though? I want to be able to handle things above the weakest enemies and simple puzzles.
ZARIYAH: real threats...?
ZARIYAH: did--
ZARIYAH: kristan, what happened.
ZARIYAH: tell me how hard i'm going to have to beat this game into the ground.
KRISTAN: No, please. It was just... some stupid ogres, Mirgon was the one who fought them anyway.
KRISTAN: I just don't want my battles to be fought for me anymore?
ZARIYAH: we can work on that when i'm there with you.
ZARIYAH: i just don't... want anything bad to happen. just wait for me before jumping into things like that, alright?
KRISTAN: ...Alright. Thank you.
KRISTAN: I'm sorry for bringing this topic up, I should have kept it to myself.
ZARIYAH: no way. don't you dare be ashamed about being scared.
ZARIYAH: hell, i'm terrified too. would you judge me for it?
KRISTAN: Never!
KRISTAN: But the difference is you're not. Nothing scares you, but everything scares me.
KRISTAN: Guess I just took all your fear, huh?
ZARIYAH: dude, i'm not just saying this to cheer you up. this game actually has me terrified for a bunch of reasons. i just have a different way of showing it.
KRISTAN: Oh, um... What happened there, then?
ZARIYAH: i'll tell you about it in person. the last thing you need is another thing to worry about.
KRISTAN: ...Heh, you're right.
KRISTAN: Actually, about that. Where are you, anyway?
ZARIYAH: some weird ruins with symbols in the sky. no sign of snow or circuits anywhere.
ZARIYAH: it'd be awesome if not for the complete lack of knowing how to get to you!
KRISTAN: Oh, hm...
KRISTAN: Mirgon told me there are a lot of planets in this, uh, Medium. So maybe we're on different ones?
ZARIYAH: ...i don't like that.
KRISTAN: Well hey, it's a start.

> =====>

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1183 pages

MSPFA Mirror

Ten adlets play a reality-altering computer game, more or less. It's no secret that it borrows this premise and many of its design cues from a certain other comic, but it puts its own spin on things and delves into how the characters grapple with their situation.

It's since been rebooted (talk about nominative predeterminism!) into Synodic Link, where the characters and setting have been reworked into a fully original comic instead of a derivative work. I highly recommend reading that one first, if you haven't yet.

That said, SR still currently stands as my largest comic yet with many years, pages, and flash animations put into it and is still an enjoyable read, if a bit dated. Its legacy status means it's mostly discontinued, but still receives very infrequent updates intended to eventually give it a conclusion of some sort.

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Legacy Status?
By Zerio, 05/21/2024

After thinking about it for a while, I decided to switch Sweet Hella Quest over to the Legacy status, similar to what the old Synodic Reboot currently has. This is not intended as much of a tangible change, as I do still plan to complete it, but it does acknowledge the fact it won't be updating as frequently as a fully ongoing comic and that its main narrative priority is to reach a conclusion (which I still do aim to do with SR, to note).

My current goals are to pick Synodic Link up more (it is getting very close to the point it'll become more like the comic I want it to be overall), catch up on mainline art backlog, and finish the second Test Build for Runecrossed. Maybe I'll aim to expand this website a bit more too. Considering how bad "mainline" websites keep getting, it could be nice to have a more independent way to share game development process and potentially thoughts on other things.

Runecrossed Test Build 01 Release!
By Zerio, 08/08/2023

It's finally happened. You can now play the earliest possible version of Runecrossed, my 3D platformer. You can find the download and more information about it over on the game's ItchIO page. I've decided to hold off on making a page for the game specific to my own site since it was already a bit of work getting that one set up, but for now, the Runecrossed section links directly there.

Also, as you may have noticed, the homepage now includes a section for game updates! I expect these to be much less frequent than comic updates (obviously), but I figure it'll still be cool to see what's new at a glance.

I hope you all enjoy the game!

Patreon (And Patreon Button)
By Zerio, 05/16/2023

It's probably long overdue, but I finally sat down and set up a Patreon! This is mainly intended for those who already just want to support me and my various works, but if you pledge $5 or higher you get a neat little bonus: access to a behind-the-scenes channel in my Discord server where I post WIPs, concept art, and gamedev progress.

There is now also a link to said Patreon in the upper right of the page, replacing what was formerly a blank "placeholder" button. Part of me is going to miss having a clickable button that does nothing, but this was always the plan. Maybe one day I'll add a similar button somewhere on the site for the hell of it.

All Comic Mirrors Added
By Zerio, 04/26/2023

That's right, every single one of my comics now has a mirror on the site. They've been quietly added and I held off on making a newspost for it until now, since I figured the "hey there's another new mirror" posts would've gotten redundant.

So anyway, I can now say that Runecrossed Classic and Zephyr Beta both have ZerioIO mirrors now. Two "failed" adventures cancelled in favor of later approaching the stories I wanted to tell in a different medium - Runecrossed via the game I've been developing and Zephyr likely eventually in smaller-scale games and one-off comics (we'll have to see for sure when I get there, though). These two comics are mostly included for history's sake, since the main worth in reading them nowadays is probably just for curiosity on how my earlier works evolved to become what they are now, I suppose.

However, the big thing from this is that the original Synodic Reboot has begun the mirroring process. It's somewhat in a similar vein as "earlier dated Zerio work that eventually got cancelled to remake it but better," but the difference is that SR is still my largest work to date at the time of writing, and despite its flaws is still a decently fun read with actual events that occur. And that maybe one day I'll give it a conclusion. Possibly.

SR is not on the website in full yet, and will instead be gradually ported as I tend to do with the longer comics. I'll just edit this newspost when that process is done, and you all can read along with it if you'd like.

I'm very excited to develop other parts of the website once the comics are finally fully readable here!

Talikuu Mirror Added
By Zerio, 04/06/2023

The Talikuu comics have now also been mirrored. Like with Mr. Todama, the theme is very basic and will likely be personalized more in the future. That said, the comic navigation buttons actually correspond to the type of talikuu featured in the comic they take you to! Neat.

This also now means that all four main webcomics - the ones featured on the site's home page - are fully readable without having to leave the website. ...Well, aside from the most recent several updates of Sweet Hella Quest, but I'm still working on that.

Mr. Todama Mirror Added
By Zerio, 04/05/2023

Mr. Todama now has a mirror on ZerioIO, which means the elusive 12th strip that was made while MSPFA continues to be down is now more easily accessible. The adventure theme is still a bit barebones and "default MSPFA," but basic readability is more important for now. The fact it's now mirrored means I'll be able to iterate on the page theme and make it more personalized in the future.

The Talikuu comics will probably follow suit before long, but not immediately. Honestly the main thing holding those back is figuring out what to draw for the Next/Previous buttons, as silly as it sounds.

Sweet Hella Quest Mirror Added
By Zerio, 03/11/2023

Sweet Hella Quest is now on its way to ZerioIO, starting with Act 1. This is going to be an even more gradual effort than Synodic Link was because this adventure has almost 1,000 pages and a decent amount of trickery that may or may not end up difficult to bring over. We'll see how it goes, though.

As with Synodic Link, I plan to resume more active work on Sweet Hella Quest once the pages are fully ported, but its next page is still a pretty big WIP flash animation, so updates themselves unfortunately won't resume as quickly. Still, they will eventually.

Retroactive Edit 4/9/23: The pages have now all been fully ported!

Synodic Link Mirror Added
By Zerio, 03/04/2023

After getting the majority of the page reader functionality working, it's time to begin bringing my main work to the site -- That's right, Synodic Link now has a mirror!

...Not all at once, though. It has considerably more pages than Enclosed Rooms or Talikuu Quest, so it's going to be a bit more gradually ported (this will be the same with most of the remaining comics, too).

Still, pages will be accessible immediately as they're added, so feel free to check in and read along as they're brought over. Updates will resume at some point after the mirror is caught up!

Edit 3/6/23: The pages have now all been fully ported!

Enclosed Rooms Mirrored
By Zerio, 03/03/2023

Enclosed Rooms is now mirrored to the site and fully readable. This surreal adventure's simple format and relatively low pagecount made it an easy pick as I figure this all out a bit more.

Talikuu Quest Mirrored
By Zerio, 03/01/2023

Talikuu Quest has now been mirrored to the site and is readable in its miniscule entirety. Due to its low pagecount and its history as my first ever MSPFA (not counting that two-page Animal Farm adventure I did as a half-assed middle school project. Shhh), it has the honor of also being the first comic to be mirrored while I developed the page reader code, which was surprisingly complicated!

Now that Talikuu Quest's mirror is fully functional, the other comics shouldn't be too far behind. Still expect it to be a somewhat gradual effort, though; there are a lot of pages to port over, and it's likely that certain quirks of these adventures might require additional developments to the page reader code, but it's an exciting journey nonetheless.

Woah check it out, my own website!
By Zerio, 02/28/2023

After having this domain parked for well over a year now, it's very exciting to finally be developing something here. A more independent approach to my works is something that's been a long time coming, really. I have a lot of ambitions in mind for this site, but for now my first goal is to set up functional mirrors for my webcomics and port them over so they can be read in full on their own independent space. I hope you all enjoy as it comes together!

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