Yes, we got trouble. With a capital T, and that rhymes with V, and that stands for… well, you know the rest. And that… THAT… is the season finale, folks!
It is also quite a landmark in the story: we are officially halfway done! WHEW! What a hell of a thing! If you’d asked me six years ago if I’d have made it this far, I’d never have believed it. But this is a real milestone for me! This is the point of no return folks – it’s all downhill from here!
So a few things. First, I’m taking a brief vacation. I won’t call it a “hiatus” since I plan to continue updating to some extent, but I have a side project I want to work on for a few weeks – I’ve promised myself I’ll try to finish this work by the end of October. It’s no big secret or anything, but I’m not publicizing it beyond that for the time being. So I’m going to put the comic on a brief break until November. I’ll be in touch, though, I promise. Maybe… some tanks will appear? I believe specs for Howlers, Super Hind helicopters, and a few others are still out there… 😉
Second, there are some more new SpiderForest comics I want you all to check out! Have a look at some science fiction!
Moon Gone Dark: The Wayfarer of the Nights follows an unknown path through the ages and the dreams of everything which anyone can dream.
Chronicles of Oro: A gang of teenagers wants to fight a zombie dragon with hand-me-down jewelry.
Storm and Desire (NSFW): Together, three women set out to learn the secret history of the multiverse.
XII: Of Magic and Muses: Hear the call. Accept the task. Unite.
White Noise: Characters engineered to be super soldiers band together to fight an alien invasion.
And finally, I say it all the time, but seriously, guys, all of you – THANK YOU for your continued patience and support. I live a very busy and often quite laborious life, and the interaction, feedback, good wishes, emails – all of it really helps me get this done every week. Even when I have delays or other troubles, you’ve stuck with me, and I owe you all a huge debt of gratitude. Thank you, all!
All the best, folks!
[…] when titans of the machinae intellgentia strife, man can only stand at the side, hoping to survive unnoticed, for there is nothing man can do, when these scions of gods conflict […]
– excerpt of Liber Postapocalypticus, year 1031 of the era of punishment [~ 3028 CE]
“And holding it up to heaven, he said ‘O Lord, bless this, thy Holy Hand Grenade, that I may lobbeth it at mine enemies, and thus blow them into tiny bits, in thy mercy.’ And the Lord did grin, and the people did feast upon the deer, and the cows, and the carp, and the fruit bats, and the breakfast cereals, and the large…”
Book of Armaments, 1:4
I suspect Victor’s vector is “any that he chooses”.
We have clearance, Clarence.
Roger, Roger. 🙂
EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!
Victor with a high-pitched Dalek voice? Too perfect.
I think that is how H. G. Wells imagined the war-machines in his novel ‘The Land Ironclads’
And are those rifled guns? I am no gun expert, but wouldn’t that kind of rifle wear out pretty fast, because of the friction, especially at that size? I recall reading that the Paris gun used during WW I had to slightly increase the shell-size after each shot, because the gun’s inside slightly melted with each shot, thus increasing its caliber. So either Victor here has only a limited number of shots, or he his guns are made from some super-strong alloys that do not wear down.
Also, all the best for your hiatus. Relax and rest as much as you need. ^.=.^
Rifling allows for a more accurate shot – it’s no more or less likely to wear than other components, but it precludes the use of projectiles not designed to fire from a rifled barrel. Since those are railgu said the rounds are already limited to jacketed or solid “crowbar” rounds, which will cause a thermostatic shock at impact so they’re good for a lot of applications. It’s why the U.S. And Royal Navies are putting them in the front turrets of next-generation destroyers.
And thank you both for the compliment and the H.G. Wells reference. You made my day. 🙂
Besides the tech specs, maybe a little more backstory on previous events in the 6-Commando universe, such as the Scarlet Revolution, the formation of the UNA, Conasur…your specs do hint at a whole bunch of things which had occurred which I would love to hear more about.
Yeah I know I might be wishing for a lot, but I always look forward to whatever good stuff you put out during the lull 🙂
Enjoy the break, thanks for the wild ride so far, looking forward to the next chapter when you have it ready!
Aha! What is called the “Noodle Incident” on the tv tropes page, unless I’m mistaken? I’ll have to take that under advisement!
The 6-Commando Technical Manual is getting pretty extensive… 😉
Thanks, by the way, for the continued support. It made this page and many other really difficult ones like it a lot easier to draw. All those TREADS man… I should’ve put Rumblers on wheels…
You can find some of that under “The Great Politics Mess-Up on 6-Commando’s TV Tropes page. Check it: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Webcomic/SixCommando 🙂
Thanks for the link, interesting reading….
Congrats on the milestone! Awesome job. That tank is amazing.
I’d like to volunteer for fan art, but I’ve been REALLY bad about follow through (I still owe Dan of Demon Archives one. X( ). And being on Hiatus myself… I’m not sure I should even make a promise. I’ll try. 🙂
Aw, hell, that’s no biggie. I was just putting it out there, I’m just happy to have reached the halfway point. You’ve been a reader for so long, if anything I owe you!
If that’s Victor, I’m resigning.
I don’t think Victor will be accepting your resignation.
Oh my god. It’s a bolo. Ya, they’re screwed.
They prefer the term “Autonomous Armored Vehicle.” 😉
Or “Rumbler”, if you’re human. Anyway, that’s the “Victor” class, which is supposed to replace the “Echo” class (SEE: “Mike”). I didn’t think they were ready yet, but I guess I was wrong. 🙂
Just because they’re in the field doesn’t mean they’re ready. 😉
On the other hand: “No inspection ready unit has ever passed combat.” – one of the many variants of Muphy’s Laws o Combat.
Well Mike, it was nice knowing ya’.
That things’ got turrets on top of turrets, on top of more turrets.
And of course, its sensors and HAL 9000 bits all glow red…
And this is only the half-way mark?!?
😀
I can hardly believe it myself!
Ah yes. “vic the dic” as his trainers called him…his easiest weakness to exploits is his arrogance.
A factory joke:
Q: What color do you paint a Victor Class rumbler when it rolls off the line?
A: Whatever color it wants to be painted.
Holy crap and here I thought rumblers could not get any more massive, all that bulk just to carry their digital ego. Though the most ominous part is the red coloration to their optics…it makes you wonder if perhaps victor has gone rouge.
Congratulations on six years and the halfway mark Mr Average. I can say that I think I’ve been reading for two of those years and it’s been one hell of a ride.
Yeah, Victor is a serious badass. I should know – I designed him! He’s many times more massive than Mike, who is a mere thousand tons. He carries genuine gauss rifles against Mike’s trifling “boosted” APFSDS cannon, and three Sikkei “Sunfire-II” Anti-Missile Lasers, plus an arsenal of variable-geometry Bluecap Missiles. He can match the firepower of a reinforced FSR tank regiment, easily.
Here is a caption for Victor, “I am your new god bring me your virgins!”
“So, there’s no need to wonder where your god is! Because he’s right here. And he’s fresh out of mercy.”
I am here to kick ass and chew bubble gum. And I’m all out of bubble gum.
Now, I understand that they’re worried about atomics and the thread of missiles. But perhaps Victor is actually a WMD by itself? Now this story is fantastic and I have been following it for years so not comparing it in quality to others. However, I remember reading James Axler Deathlands and a robot tank appears. I’d venture that Victor is actually a war-time tank. It’s more of a ‘nuclear war blew happened, now to secure and finish off those commie survivors.’ So it/he activates once the bombs have hit the ground.
Also, something even more terrifying would be this. Mike had to be repaired. Perhaps Victor has the firepower and self-repair capability? The robot tank in Deathlands had similar, using any local materials for rebuilding and ammunition using tiny robots.
Congrats on 6 years, so another 6 to go for the story! Loving it!
Aha! You’ve hit on one of the key advantages of the Rumbler in their way of warfare: it’s a retaliatory safeguard. Not only that, but one that’s more versatile and reliable than a nuclear submarine. It’s only limitations are ammunition. It can cruise around, hide in lakes and seabeds, and since it’s one singular computer intelligence running it instead of a multitude of humans under stress, it’s not going to quit on you.
Now, that’s the THEORY, anyway…
Nordyne did a good job with this Rumbler.
So…Mike was like the keys for a nuclear silo. On hand in case the humans all died and retaliation needed to be taken. So I’m going all the way back to page 4. Yes, I really have read through the comic several times. Colonel Conrad uses Mike as an ambush defense against the Reds?
So in the world of 6-Commando. How many people actually know that the rumbler is comparable to a nuclear submarine? This makes the Rumbler more like a Metal Gear (an autonomous nuclear weapons platform).
…….I really hope only one Victor is online. And where are the rest of the Rumblers anyway? (I’ll expect to learn about them in future comics.)
From the 6 Commando Glossary about Mike: ”His class is due to be superseded by the “Victor” class AAV in 1998. He will be deactivated and sold for scrap.”
Victor…oh dear. Now I really don’t know it’s potential.
Metal Gear?!
Safeguard for Victor and Mike – Doc-tor Gem-mill is (literally) the ghost in the machine. Ok, I’m going to let the story continue without looking into it any further. Looking forward to specs on Howlers! Great comic!
Just got here, read the entire run (so far!) in a sitting. Made this old OGRE/Bolo fan VERY happy. Thanks for all your effort, and looking forward to what comes next!
(I’m still not sure what was up with the hallucinatory(?) exits from the UNA base. Did I miss that being resolved/explained?)
Terminator 1&2 flashback?
Vergeltungswaffe 3 Victor
Well, I guess that THIS is your version of an Ogre Mark V! As impressive as the one in the game is, THIS beast is massively intimidating!
Vicky looks great.
Yeah, you do not want to taunt Victor-3-Victor.