User:Murgh

This page is about the humanoid personage, Murgh the Munificent. For the ordinary admin Murgh, see User_talk:Murgh

Though not responsible for the organism's appalling rate of reproduction, the young Murgh did craft the obscenely cute gaze of this inauspicious and undesired mascot.

Murgh, an oldtimer of the first wave of the Oolite era who briefly showed traits of intense and profligate industry, before he suddenly vanished into the soupy fog of a distant nebula.

Initially scouted from the factory floor of GenFun by the august benefactor Aegidian, who saw beyond the excessive exuberance of the young sycophant and took notice of his sickly cute shaping of the latest genetic modifications of the Trumble menace. He was taken from obscurity and given the means to try his hand on material construction in a few diverse fields. A brief but chaotic reign running the Murgh Shipyards saw the construction of several ships and stations, as well as running a space-taxi service and an advertising firm on the side, with varying success.

Perhaps fundamentally unsuited to the pressures of such widespread consumer demands, his career came to a sudden halt in the middle of the production of a new announced racing league, as shoddy work was found strewn about, dumbfounded investors left empty-handed, and the supposed creator nowhere to be found.

Diso B2 Station, once "a first" with optimism, now a derelict outpost in a mass-lock maze with a permanently crashed market, though surrounded by a kaleidoscopic nebulae tapestry.

Decades since, accounts of a creature going by the name of Old Murgh indicate this may be the same individual having made a diametric occupational shift. Presently be located somewhere in the Teveri system, trading wine and other evil juices and describing himself as a humble wine-wallah, he consults patrons on complementing grubs and exotic foods with Ribilebian burgundies, Ditizaian sherries, and Leestiian tokays, for a fee.

Station constructions

The ill-conceived Globe station.

Irresponsibly toying with implementing alternate shapes to the classic cuboctahedral Coriolis, the Dodecahedron and the Icosahedron, Murgh found funding to go ahead with the construction of a beveled octahedron B2 prototype at Diso. As the money and enthusiasm dissipated, no further such stations were ever built.

The seminal Torus station at Onrira, before refurbishment. Initial designs proved hazardous as the construction was prone to spontaneously burst into a swarm of its constituent cells.

Consumed by egocentricity, Murgh's only response to this failure was to steam forward in a yet grander scale. The Globe station was promptly constructed, but also this project failed to capture the imagination of the public. Possibly due to the station bearing little distinguishable difference to a common planetary body, no further stations were ordered. A huge financial blow to Murgh Industries, spiteful tongues have for unknown reasons referred to the Globe station as a "death star".

Deep in a funk following repeated failure, Murgh happened upon a rare stroke of genius with the construction of the Torus station. Drawing inspiration from ancient cinema of unknown origin, this station was impressive to behold, but its true brilliance was found in the inexpensive nature of construction. Small modular pods were fabricated separately and programmed to auto-join, making the assembly phase the cheapest and safest station construction in the business. The triumph was short-lived however, as the tori proved equally easy to disassemble, causing mass casualties, obviously negating the previously set safety records. Upon foreclosure of Murgh Industries, other companies amended these issues, and the design may occasionally be seen in planetary systems.

Ad droidships was the preferred medium of Murgh's advertising firm.

Advertising

Already proven inclined to opt for profit while untroubled by conscience, the lure of the advertising racked proved irresistible to the young Murgh. Before the construction of a sizeable a fleet of advertising droidships was even finished, the newly formed promotion agency Murgh PR had landed contracts from a wide array of fields, ranging from the arms industry to the most questionable of all health sectors, the fungal cure alternative medicine.

Public announcement campaigns on behalf of the GalCop police authority were initially cause for optimism, and after wooing Hatchling CEO Ludo Van Der Budenmayer, Murgh PR secured the campaign to launch the highly anticipated luxury speed ship BoyRacer, which in resulted in euphoria, though prematurely. The joy quickly transformed to dread with the subsequent scandal in the wake of numerous tragic accidents as BoyRacers were revealed to come equipped with subpar automated steering. The unusually gruesome nature of these accidents made the affair a PR nightmare, leaving even PR firms such as Murgh's with no favourable solutions. The lineup of wealthy plaintiff ensured the demise of Hatchling, and Murgh PR was nearly caught in the wave of bankruptcies that ensued.

The so-called advert hall of fame, showcasing campaigns that all went unrecognised at awards ceremonies.

Though pulling in some revenue for a limited time, the Murgh ad firm was tainted. At advertisement awards ceremonies, the firm garnered precisely zero awards, and in an industry so dependent on laurels and the steady flow of fumes up one's rear by one's peers and rivals, the days of this venture, too, was numbered.

Murgh's submitted blueprint model for the announced Witchspace Point beacon contract which was ultimately rejected.

Ship construction

Nascent career

Despite all side gigs, Murgh yearned most to be a respected shipbuilder, to become a personage first and foremost associated with the vessels that make possible the noble act of interstellar navigation, the finest starcraft, synonymous with safety, innovation and style. As with many such dreams, these were not remotely anchored in reality.

The initial ridiculous Murgh proposal for a Witchspace beacon.

Murgh first dared to dream when the magnificent Aegidian suggested he turn his hand on building something of use, rather than designing hypercopulating vermin. Granted access to the inner circles of true industry, Murgh became elated when the venerable one appeared favourable to a suggestion of the new concept of placing a series of beacons at the witchspace convergence point.

Mirthful, Murgh presented the elder with his blueprint for such a beacon, daring to dream that this time too, perhaps, his design would be chosen. It would not, a different path was chosen, but instead being gutted , Murgh found in himself an optimism, a path to honing his building skills, and one day, to make something of himself.

The moai submission for the TOGY contract. It didn't turn out like this.

The moai located in the Tionisla Orbital Graveyard as it came to be in the end, crudely defaced and intentionally poorly lit.

First commission

Early on in the efforts of honing his abilities, the young Murgh received a commission for a spiritual memorial stone to contribute to the long-neglected Tionisla Orbital Graveyard, whose foundation trust had recently come into some much-needed funds. With aplomb, Murgh sculpted an homage to the most ancient of navigators, the deadest of the dead, and submitted the work to the esteemed body of selectors. It was received with little comment, though it was remarked that the sculpture appeared to lack ears. It was nevertheless admitted to the body of monuments. Murgh outstayed his welcome, however, with unreasonable demands that the monument be given eternal spotlights, and the relationship with the TOGY board soon grew cold. The board had the last laugh, as the monument to date appears to orbit in perpetual obscurity.

Some years later it became evident that this ill will was not forgotten, when Murgh approached the TOGY foundation with a proposal to populate the stellar necropolis with advertising droids, and was met with contemptuous scorn. An olive branch from Murgh PR in the form of a promotional campaign with an aim to appease did little to mend the relations, possibly due to the work suffering from spelling errors.

An aggressive ad campaign made Murgh's frugal, rust-covered ships difficult to ignore.

Shipyard years

At long last, the young Murgh had some funds and as well as some investor confidence to establish his own construction facility. Murgh Shipyards was born. Casting his net again perhaps too widely, he began construction of ships of his own somewhat radical designs, while simultaneously recreating a series of designs once thought lost to posterity, and being of a mind never to waste perfectly useable material, he also set up a subdivision dedicated to restore derelict wrecks to adequate requirements within a margin of safety levels. His vision was to create ships for all manner of creatures, all manner of credit rating.

The rollout of the Heirloom series, the range of ships past their prime renovated to quite near spaceworthy standards, was a decisive success, in no small part aided by an aggressive advertisement campaign by Murgh PR. There was a niche in the market for implausibly cheap spacecraft, and plenty of spacefarers so desperate for interstellar mobility that they would disregard a moderate element of death hazard. Furthermore, to trade in one's newer spacecraft in order to claim the credit balance and then invest in other expensive equipment soon came into vogue, and having predicted this, Murgh was prematurely declared a genius. An auspicious run of good fortune followed, but predictably, it ended.

Decline and return

In the aftermath of the Racing League Scandal, Murgh's immediate withdrawal from public life seemed at first not unexpected, but as time passed, it became evident that Murgh had indeed utterly vanished and left no trace of whence to. Rumours of his final destiny circulated for a time, but as interest abated and new gossip caught the people's imagination, Murgh eventually became completely forgotten.

Having neither self-immolated in his old shipyard's foundry, been spaced in a cargo container by a cartel of enraged investors, nor absconded with kinetic movement artist Hoola Bandoola to the lagune region of Anxebiza –as were the three most likely conclusions according to the bookmakers– but rather sought to redefine himself anew on the gastro-planet Atriso, immersing himself the artisanal trades of exotic cookery and winecraft. Having left behind a world inherently steeped in conflict and struggle, he took to this new existence of harmony and comfort like a lobster to a kettle.

The Zora Badú-comissioned Python "Blackdog" that reawakened the hunger within Old Murgh.

Having attained mastery of this second path of life and a reputation akin to an influential sage under his false identity, Old Murgh, he had completed the reshaping of his destiny. Despite this life of pleasure and satisfaction, Old Murgh did not feel appropriately satisfied, and came to realise that he craved the turmoil and agony of his former existence.

Destiny presented an opening, when Old Murgh's true identity was exposed by the high-profile, redoubtable bandit queen Zora Badú, who while evading the law near the suspended vineyards of Muzel, once again proved that she never forgets a face, and put to the old shipbuilder the choice between having his true identity slipped to the galactic press, or assemble for her a ship so she may continue her space-pirating way of life.

Discovering that old trades are never completely forgotten, Old Murgh promptly restructured from parts a spacecraft in the antiquated Python "Blackdog" motif, and his inner yearnings became clear to him. While not particularly drawn to the sophisticated and impressively luscious PROHIPy trends that had so dominated shipbuilding fashion in the years since his departure, the passé abstract RELOPy style beckoned for him to return.

List of OXPs

Griff's advert interpretation of the once gloriously ambitious Murgh's Shipyards reduced to a dubious used space vehicle dealership.

New OXPs of Old Murgh

• Iron Ass OXPs, (2022), black&white, retro low-poly metallic grit series:

• Vol.1, The Aegidian Shipset, retextures of Aegidian's core ships.
• Vol.2, Inception Cameos, a set of old Elite fringe classics.
• Vol.3, The Aegidian Xtras, retextures of Aegidian's OXP ships.
• Vol.4, Young Murgh Relics, retextures of some Murgh OXP ships.
• Vol.5, Massives, retextures of some Aegidian, ADCK and Murgh OXP outsize ships

• Iron Ass Lave, The old Lave.OXP in Iron Ass clothes.
• Iron Ass Missionaries, Dr.Nil's classic Missionaries.OXP, expanded in Iron Ass clothes.
• Iron Ass WPB, low TL systems anachronous Iron Ass Witch Point Beacons

• PROHIP Xpat Adder (2022), junkyard-job refugee ships, but in progressive high-poly style.

Old OXPs of young Murgh

Murgh Shipyards were based at Teorge

Ships

A Woma fuel transport which ought not to be fired upon.

• M-Pack or "rusties" (2004) populating the spaceways with the sadly deteriorated ships of destitute pilots, also for sale!
• NuVipers (2005), increased GalCop might with the GalCop Viper Mark II and the GalCop Viper Cruiser.
• Transports (2005), Liners Coral and CoachWhip, and fuel transport Woma.
• Murgh's xShips (2005), introduced the odd models Bandy-Bandy, Taipan, Chuckwalla, Eel Rapier, and the gruesome Rattle Cutter.
• Wolf Mk.2 (2005) –with detachable fangs, and Old Ships (2006), some painstaking model transcribing from unearthed ancient blueprints.
• Racers (2006), prototypes for a racing league that never happened, speed beasts Chicaneer Mk.IV and Mk.IV, and Dragster Mk.I and Mk.II.
• Cobra Clipper SAR (2006), a search-and-rescue pimp job.

a Hatchling BoyRacer and its likely unpleasant owner.

Ships with idiosyncratic AI

• Hatchling BoyRacers (2004) and their obnoxious owners.
• Refugee Adder (2005), shoddily modded refugee ships full of desperate people. Maybe not so funny.
• Hognose Tugships (2005) towing various ships, with experimental touchy rudeness
• Frog Space Rickshaw (2006), a chatty taxi service.

Tight pursuit of a Paddy Restaurant junk at Lave.

Planetary systems

• Diso OXP (2006) - the first second planet in Oolite. Also the first second orbital station. With extra added nebulae!
• Lave OXP (2006) - inspired addition of the lore from The Dark Wheel - advertising Droidships, restaurants, the moon Basta, incompetent student pilots.

Dockables

• Globe station (2006)
• Torus station (2006)

Activities

• hOopy Casino (2006) - Primitive space gambling (scored by the moody stylings of Jonny Cuba) in the spirit of the classic street con "shell game" or "cups and balls".

Carrier class starship, The Leviathan.

Missions

• Military Fiasco (2006) - a call to duty by Col. Docherty adds a sticky mission and some nasty navy vessels including carrier class starship, The Leviathan...

Ambience

• Murgh's Custom/Replacement Sounds (2004) - Some other SoundFX to consider, a bit more subtle alternatives.
• WPB OXP (2005) - An oldskool WitchSpace beacon, improved by Svengali, eventually a 2022 Iron Ass touchup by Old Murgh

Sandbox

• Murgh's sandbox

Lore

• Murgh Shipyards
• Obnoxicorp

Permission to update his .oxp's

...of course you may feel totally free to update any of the old OXPs or otherwise make use of the old scraps if they can still hold appeal. It would be very cool for me if something from so long ago could even in a small part manage to survive through the ages, along with the simple and brilliant concept of Oolite... Old Murgh 2021

BB post 2021

Ancient BB posts...

• On lobbying for the banishment of the Oolite "smart bomb" (thus birthing the cascade mine) (2004)
• On pitching the OoTrumble look (2005)
• On first finding Elite (2006)
• On some work on a Norwegian translation of Oolite (2006)

And a recent one

(Because I chuckle for a long time every time I see it, I need easy access to the link).

• Re:NSFW (2022) cbr's obscene streaking bat-robot ship, Oolite's first and only X-rated image.