20 Apr 2026

A WIP was posted in the sidebar for If at First You Don't Succeed... Part 4 to show a preview of Regina's appearance on stage. Since the previous update, the wiki articles for the characters that appeared in part 3 have been updated.

The article for Petunia has also been published:

Petunia Roche

Petunia had a mentor role through most of Ready Fleet's original era, though she had a mentor before her. Although she struggled with what Ready Fleet became much more well-known for, her philosophies helped to shape the team into becoming what it was, and its values that still carry over in its continuation. During their original era, she preferred to have a supporting role on stage handling the technical aspects of shows.

She still works the camera for a show that Katsumi hosts, but might be ready to have starring roles again.

15 Apr 2026

If at First You Don't Succeed... Part 3

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Transcript:

The update for part 2 mentioned why Antares was chosen as one of the characters to be interviewed here, but this part reveals which team she auditioned for before CC! She wasn't finished with her explanation when two bickering audience members derailed it, and Katsumi had to step in as the show host. Those two audience members are Juna and Valencia!

Their appearances here show that they became frenemies since their appearances together in I Was a Software Developer...; VMS competed against UNIX, but Valencia also represents the VAX, which could also run UNIX early on. Since that UNIX variant is BSD, I think she and Damien could still be friendly rivals. Valencia might be ambivalent towards The Awks' philosophy but think Damien's approach is more agreeable than Juna's.

Damien and Piroska also appear; they're friends with Juna and Valencia, but didn't want to get caught up in their arguments. Piroska was a last-minute addition to this part; I added her since there was enough space next to Damien's second appearance.

There's a big time gap between the timeframe of IWASD and this comic. To put it lightly, a lot happened between those times that tested old friendships and alliances. What is shown now may be after a rebuilding of ties between some of them.

In the next part, this scene will be wrapped up and Regina will be interviewed. Updates will be made to several articles on the wiki, but I still plan to publish Petunia's next from her re-introduction in Part 2 of this comic.

13 Apr 2026

I made a new template on the wiki: "Retcons Planned", which is to be used when information in an article became out of date usually due to continuity drift, and I have plans for the retcons to be made but hadn't rewritten the article yet.

Its first parameter is for whether it applies to a section or large swathes of an article, and the second is for listing the retcons that'd be made.

I first used it in the Techlandia and Teams articles. Continuity drift happening after I launched Version 3 doesn't bother me that much because as I wrote more story chapters, that helped me solidify some ideas, fill in gaps, and decide on things I hadn't fully decided on at the start. It's just that I noticed these changes piled up. The image is of Priscilla in front of a weather forecast since meteorology is her day job.

Part 3 of If At First You Don't Succeed... is almost finished.

10 Apr 2026

The article for Ready Fleet was published yesterday, and I'm preparing another few. In Ready Fleet's original form, they were one of Techlandia’s most popular in entertainment, but its success couldn't last forever. Its continuation has a mixed record; early on it was seen as being in-name only and lost a lot of what made the original an inspiration, but more recently it found its footing again.

📄 Ready Fleet

This was tricky since there are still details I need to iron out. I didn't include everything I drafted, but some of that could be saved for later after more teams and characters are established.

I had to think again about how much of Commodore's tactics towards their most serious rivals in the 1980's Home Computer Wars should be incorporated. This is the trickiest part since I can see the Ready Fleet members being highly competitive and perhaps got carried away, but I can't see them being that hostile to intentionally drive away competitors.

That just doesn't fit here, but could in a setting that's more serious. It fit during Version 1 through a cycle of revenge angle since I wanted to portray how Commodore's rivalries with Atari and Texas Instruments were much more hostile than Apple's and Microsoft's rivalry. I reconsidered this angle in Version 2 since it didn't fit the tone as well.

As I'm writing this, I’ve also been drafting an expansion of the project overview article to give a much more comprehensive overview. It'll go into how I'll represent some things, and about the intended scope and tone.

If at First You Don't Succeed... Part 2

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Transcript:

A bit of rebellion on the set since Petunia gets from behind the camera to show up on stage, and the next two interviewees also show up before they're supposed to! Katsumi doesn't seem to mind this time, but he also wanted to thank Stephanie and Diana for helping to make Ready Fleet's path possible.

Joining CC seems like it'd be highly prestigious among the OSes' supporters, particularly the supporters of the entertainment side, but even its own founder had her doubts about leading it. This scene shows at least 4 of its members were rejected from something else.

Antares and Regina are the next interviewees, and they're based on Mac OS versions that have, or had reputations for user-unfriendliness. Regina being here is a reference to Lion not being Single Unix Specification-certified when all of the other macOS releases since Leopard are, but Lion's main criticism was its user-unfriendliness. When I tried Lion when it was new, that led me to stay with Snow Leopard for years 🙃

Antares being here is inspired by what I read about how System 6 had a reputation for user-unfriendliness. I think some of that is avoidable; I mostly used it to play old games, or write stuff in Mac Write or draw in Mac Paint. My only misfortune was me not being able to figure out how Macro Maker works without the manual.

This part was published on the 2nd, and the article for this comic has been updated with information from it.

1 Apr 2026

This wraps up the characters that were re-introduced in If At First You Don't Succeed..." Part 1.

	Katsumi Painchaud
	Paulette Andrada

Katsumi (Commodore VIC-20) was Ready Fleet's OS that solidified the team's success in entertainment. He was a host of edutainment shows then. He was able to continue it after the original team went defunct, and might have returned to the team's continuation at a later time after the continuation overcame its slump.

Paulette (Commodore 65) dropped out of Ready Fleet before she was going to debut, but found new success in the team she co-founded. She is part of the live audience of this show to be supportive of a former teammate, but can also be a heckler who also tests Katsumi's patience.

I haven’t ironed out all of the worldbuilding details yet about what happened with Ready Fleet after the original era ended (corresponding to when Commodore went bankrupt in 1994) except a new era started, and Sidney (Commodore 64) remained as a member to keep the team from being an "in-name only" continuation (That still didn't stop detractors from saying it was). Lorraine might've also remained, but more likely she would've had her hands full with her work in The Defenestrators.

This continuation would've had a slump for years with a lot of their newer output not being as inspiring as before and failing to reach the mainstream. They had detractors accusing them of pandering to nostalgia, but still had supporters who hoped that Ready Fleet could become successful again, and new supporters who wanted to see an underdog succeed. That reputation eventually changed, owing to the Commodore revivals that are well-received and accurate to the original.

These notes can be incorporated into the article for the team, which is yet another article on my to-do list.

30 Mar 2026

A preview and WIP for If at First You Don't Succeed... part 2 was added to the sidebar, re-introducing Petunia.

28 Mar 2026

The first two members of Chariots of Colors, and re-introduced in If at First You Don't Succeed... These articles are mostly finalized but I might tweak some details such as their roles within CC through more story appearances.

	Diana Pomona
	Stephanie Jabłońska

Stephanie is the founder, and she was already part of the Early OS Hobbyist Movements before she had the opportunity to become an OS. She founded CC to be an art collective and offer the opportunity for others that she was given. Diana was a Developer for On-Target Mountaineer Court, but may have gotten bored only working behind the scenes, and got drawn to the ideals of CC.

I haven't finalized exactly how the two met; whether Stephanie is from The Orchard or the same sector that Diana is from also isn’t finalized and that could affect how they met. Those details may be finalized later, or could remain as something left to interpretation.

How the members of OTMC felt about Diana leaving and becoming a competitor, I haven't gotten to yet but plan to when I have their characterizations more established. I was also thinking over whether to add trivia notes about their characterizations from the previous version, and the differences with their current versions.

The articles for the other two characters introduced in this part are also in-progress, along with Glorinda's from chapter 15 of IWASD.

If at First You Don't Succeed... Part 1

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Transcript:

This first part re-introduces four characters from the previous version! Stephanie and Diana wanting to give up on CC for Ready Fleet so early on references when Apple offered their Apple II prototype to Commodore. The deal fell through, leading to Apple to still exist, and the Commodore line-up as we know it existing, starting with the PET.

While I wrote this part, I thought that Stephanie would usually be pretty down-to-earth but the idea that she, and not just Diana were rejected for making frivolous demands would be a funny contrast.

Katsumi's design is mostly unchanged from Version 2; he now has hardware headpieces and his outfit is simplified a bit from what it was. Stephanie and Diana had changes that were larger:

• Stephanie's design keeps the same color scheme, and keeps a "steampunk hippie" look to it. She has long robot antenna ears that look like they're made of wood and metal; the wood references the most famous Apple I case design. They along with the color scheme of her outfit give her a nature elf vibe.
• Her outfit is simplified from her Version 2 design and is more inspired by 1970's fashion; she is wearing a shirt with bell-bottom pants with strapped boots.
• Her other outfits could be based on 1970's prairie revival fashion with fantasy-inspired pieces.
• Diana's outfit is still Wizard of Oz-inspired. The color scheme of her outfit is still similar to Dorothy's, though it takes some cues from Glinda the Good Witch's. (i.e: sparkles and puffy sleeves).
• The blue of her dress was more because of the blue and orange contrast of the Apple II's graphics in Hi-Res mode, and because Diana's hair color and the color scheme of her usual outfit are mostly based on the Hi-Res mode.
• I tried other options based on the entire Apple II palette, but I liked the contrast of the blue with her orange hair the best.

I was hesitant to include Diana in this part because I couldn't decide whether or how to redesign her, but I came up with the idea while I made this part.

Paulette is re-introduced with a redesign that gives her rainbow parrot wings. I planned to give her headpieces based on the Commodore 65 hardware, but giving her parrot wings instead further goes with her pirate theme, and incorporates the rainbow stripes from the C65 BASIC screen. New look, same snarky demeanor.

I haven't sketched all of the panels yet, but the script for it is finished. Parts 2 and 3 are also past the sketch stages. A page for these comics will be the next addition to the site, and an article for the wiki is almost ready.

Last year I felt burnt out from making comics entirely, and I wasn't sure if I could even return to making simple ones. The burnout I had over it was comparable to what I felt about this project in 2022.

However, a silly idea came to me about OSes that were rejected from the first team they auditioned for before joining another. This is partly based on deals that fell through between companies, but also some OSes seeming like they would've also fit with another team.

Since the OSes within a team don't have to be related (and usually aren't) in this setting, this is a possibility that I explored. I thought over whether I'd write this as a short story, or as an illustration, but a short comic felt like the most effective way to convey this idea and as a way to re-introduce some characters.

Bytes of Superstardom is the title for this potential series of short comics and is a revival of when I made comics in a similar style during Version 2.

This first one is titled If at First You Don't Succeed...

Katsumi already appeared on the wiki in the "Ongoing Story" template, but this is his first story appearance in the Version 3 continuity. It also shows his redesign following the announcement I made earlier this year about redesigning several characters.

In Version 2, I introduced him as being the first host of an educational show that the original Ready Fleet ran. He keeps this role in Version 3, and I considered that it could be ongoing or that he revived it. Some of the characters that'll appear in this comic will also be re-introduced from Version 2.

There might be other comics taking place in this show that he hosts as a way to further show OSes across teams interacting with each other.

Chapter 16 of IWASD and chapter 10 of SPDU are still in-progress, but I was so excited to get to the idea behind If at First You Don't Succeed... that it became my main focus for now. The article for Glorinda and another character are also in-progress.

I also moved the oldest WIP in the sidebar and all of the front page update log entries from before the start of this year to the archive page.

I Was a Software Developer... Chapter 15

Title:That's the Official Narrative

After about 4 months, I finished my draft for this chapter when the last one ended on a cliffhanger! Damien is taken to a staff-only room by his former manager.

Juna and Piroska try to investigate without blowing their covers as being digital beings from another world! Piroska gets caught up in a conversation to try to get intel about Damien's former workplace knows about the incident that took him to Techlandia while Juna tries to infiltrate where Damien was taken.

This chapter introduces Glorinda; one of Damien's former coworkers that Piroska talks with, and is a system admin with an interest in the paranormal. She wants to investigate the cause of incident and the earlier one, but her goal also conflicts with the OSes trying to keep their cover. Since she's named in the narrative, she'll also have a role.

The illustration in color is of Piroska and Glorinda in costume; Glorinda's vampire costume is inspired by the undead in Plan 9 from Outer Space. I kept this one in color but simplified the background, shading and line art.

The drawing of Juna is one I chose not to vector and color this time. It's for time constraints; I'm back to juggling two story projects, so I have to more carefully consider how much time I spend on the illustrations for each chapter. However, I still wanted to draw this scene, and take up the challenge of drawing this since I haven't drawn people in sitting poses very much, and not at an angle.

I Was a Software Developer... Chapter 15 WIP 1

It was just before Halloween when I published the latest chapter, and I had this one in my drafts since then. While my focus is back on this project, I'm aiming to finish this chapter.

This passage is part of Piroska's conversation with one of Damien's former coworkers in the Human World. While she did her cover story of traveling the world for years and rarely watching TV during that time, she accidentally made a pop culture reference she was unaware of since it's for a show that aired after she arrived in Techlandia:

With this update I finished up my drafts of the remaining characters that debuted in the latest SPDU chapter.

	Auriga
	Lorraine Del Toro
	Wolfgang Galano

These were the trickiest articles of the characters to be introduced in that chapter. Some details feel shaky for Lorraine and Auriga that I'm not entirely confident about, but I think they fit well enough for now. I expect to refine them later. Each of these characters were slated to be introduced during OS★ Version 2, and their backstories are significantly different than what I previously planned.

The details about Wolfgang's backstory aren't entirely finalized either, but I considered that he could've been pressured to resign from Chariots of Colors because of legal issues that he got into of slander and libel when he was the face of the team. This references the codenames of the first PowerMacs and the lawsuit related to one of them, but can also reflect what can happen within a band if a bandmate gets into legal and publicity problems. He's also the first character to be introduced to have a skillset revoked; he was an Educator until his legal problems.

His situation with CC contrast with how his other team, The Defenestrators, are less concerned about bad publicity (and might even embrace it); they think the members CC and some of the other teams are too tied down by always being expected to maintain good publicity.

This project is still active, though I've recently been juggling another. When I do that, I try to leave off at a point that's easy to return to.

Is it a new year thing or me finally deciding to make this change I was thinking about despite the tedious process involved? In January I started sketching modifications to characters' designs so that the ones that don't have animal features have hardware headpieces instead; these might look like hair clips, robot antennae for ears, or like headbands depending on the character.

Which one I choose for them usually depends on: if I want them to be able to wear earrings and an option that'd be easily visible with their hairstyle.

I started with some of the PDP-based characters since their headpieces are easily based off of the hardware and I tried drawing two styles at different angles to show how they’d look.

Many times before this, I thought back and forth about implementing this redesign and decided against it since I'd have to update several illustrations when I was so focused on just moving forward. I'm probably going to have to do that anyways. Still, I'd rather be moving forward, but I feel strongly enough I was missing an opportunity to give characters a more cybernetic look to fit the theme of the setting that I'd be willing to go back and update the illustrations. I plan to do this while still moving forward with more stories and characters.

Since Version 2, I also went back and forth on whether the characters having white pupils is just part of a stylistic choice inspired by 1980's anime, or reflect the characters having glowing cybernetic eyes and went back to the latter because I think it's cool.

This gives each of the characters at least two immediately visible traits with their appearances that distinguish them from humans. Adding things because they're cool can be tricky and I learned that the hard way before. With adding features, I'll simplify some characters' outfits a bit to keep the overall complexity of their designs the same and to avoid repeating my past mistake of making designs that are difficult for me to draw consistently.

Multiplicia's redesign changes her bow into a hardware-based headpiece. Hers even has glowing lines on the bow and a power light in the middle. Some more sketches will be coming for more characters.

I also resumed drafting chapter 15 of I Was a Software Developer... since it's been so long since I published the latest chapter. The front page updates from before December have been moved to the Archive page. Since that page is getting long, I'll need to think about splitting it off before it gets out of hand.

I've been on a roll with writing for the past month or so despite some very busy times with other things, and it's culminated in the publishing of Same Place, Different Universe chapter 9, more articles for the wiki and drafts for more.

📄 The Defenestrators

📄 Early OS Hobbyist Movements

The Defenestrators is the team that was featured in SPDU chapter 9. I published articles for three of its members and have drafts for three more. Two of those drafts are close to being finished. Among my next updates will also be the first articles for organizations in the Fragments Reloaded continuity since I have enough information for them.

Since their team article has been published, I'll also need to update Chariots of Colors' with information about their relation to The Defenestrators, and have more to add to my drafts of some other team articles.

The article of the Early OS Hobbyist Movements is of movements and events based on the 1970's Microcomputer Revolution, but it also references early kit computers from before then.

I had a half-written draft of it for quite a while that I finished up to clear another item on my to-do list. Characters representing early microcomputers are mentioned in this article. Alastriona, Diana and Trish were mentioned by name since they had a webnovel appearance. Most of the information in the article is based on what has already been shown or mentioned in story chapters. It'll continue to be updated with more story appearances, and when more names characters that were involved appear.

Capucine is still the name I have planned for a CP/M character. General ideas I had for her may carry over from Version 2, but I expect that some specific details will change when she's written into a story.

Kenneth is the name I have planned for a Kenbak-1 character. His role might be similar to what I had planned during Version 2, but I also expect that specific details might change. I expect that Alastriona's characterization may change for Version 3, but what was shown from her appearance in I Was a Software Developer... chapters 5 and 6 still hold up.

During the development of Version 2, this and the 1980's were the time periods I was the most focused on. Although I want to introduce (or re-introduce) characters through stories now, I should finish IWASD and/or Same Place, Different Universe first but I say that while I still have notes for more story ideas that came to my mind 🙃

The first versions of articles for three of The Defenestrators members have been published:

	Arke Economou
	Marilyn Dawson-Economou
	Priscilla C. Dawson

Priscilla's design remains nearly unchanged from her Version 2 introduction, though Marilyn's has been updated with 2000's fashion. There was a change with Priscilla's characterization; during Version 2, I thought over whether she would've been a reluctant member of The Defenestrators who only tagged along because of Marilyn founding it but eventually made the best of it, or if she went all-in with being a member that also appeared on stage.

I decided on the latter in Version 3 since I thought that'd be more fun for me to portray, and I like the contrast with the image she usually has compared to her more expressive self that appears on stage.

The trivia section in Arke's article mentions she may have previously been a Developer that knew Marilyn. That's not finalized but I’m leaning towards it because I like the idea of Arke going from having a mentor role to Marilyn in the past to Marilyn becoming her mentor after becoming an OS. However I also like the idea of Arke being an ascended fangirl of the The Defenestrators that got to join them 😭

If not her, then at least one or a few other characters could have being an ascended fan joining that team as part of their backstories.

When I was drafting Marilyn's article, I considered including details about the incidents that led to her leaving DISKTEAM, or if I should write a short story (and try to keep it a short story!) that shows what happened first and then cite it in the article 🤔

Her article was fairly easy to write this time with the approach I've been taking. During Version 2 and the approach I used for writing character pages then, hers was one of the most difficult 😩

Chapter 9 of Same Place, Different Universe is published as the first major update of the year! The Defenestrators are featured in this chapter through a TV appearance, and with it some characters that previously only had cameo appearances now appear! Their appearance points to the next location that'll be featured in the story, which will lead to a carnival hosted by the Misfired Circuits Troupe. A few characters from that team were featured before in Version 2, with plans to be re-introduced. I still haven't forgotten about the plot point of SPDU; there's just a bit of a detour introducing characters from other teams.

📄 Title: Will You Be Going to the Carnival?

During the writing of this chapter, I needed to make a decision on whether to make separate characters for OS/2's successors (eComStation and ArcaOS) or whether Marilyn would also represent them. I thought this over through a lot of reading and note taking.

My process for thinking this over had a lot of reading and note taking. I looked again at OS/2's, eComStation's and ArcaOS's histories and features; my deciding factor on making a separate ArcaOS character was some quotes from the official ArcaOS website:

"This isn't your grandfather's OS/2." "ArcaOS is more compatible with modern hardware, makes more efficient use of memory and system resources, and installs more easily than any other OS/2 distribution... ever. Really."

I immediately had the idea that Arke is very resourceful, adaptable and eager to help and that she'd have a futuristic-style outfit. She may have previously been a Developer that worked with Marilyn and admires her, but is also snarky about things she thinks are outdated, which includes Marilyn's style. They have a rivalry with each other, but it's in jest and they'd be vitriolic best friends. When Arke debuted, she became the new lead singer. Marilyn stepped down since she initiated Arke as her successor for that role, but remains an active member on stage and behind the scenes.

Marilyn also represents eComStation since I wanted to reference eCS' role as OS/2's first successor but I didn't quite have enough ideas for a separate character that'd have a significant role and not seem redundant to Arke. Whenever possible, I try to avoid designing characters that don't have many ideas for. I also saw this as a chance to show Marilyn trying to keep up with the times more without giving up what her dedicated supporters liked about her. This is reflected in her updated design for Version 3, which is based off of 2000's fashion.

Had I started this project before ArcaOS was released, I would've had a separate eComStation character that would've had Arke's role. She might've also represented ArcaOS after it was released to continue that role.

I also had to make some final decisions for Auriga, Lorraine and Wolfgang.

Auriga:

Deciding which team she was still in as of SPDU's timeframe would've impacted how she'd appear in it. There are several possibilities that each would've worked, but could've affected a few other characters. Throughout the time she's been an OS, she's been a member of The Awks, Chariots of Colors, The Defenestrators and Highway to Shell. Her times with The Awks and Highway to Shell didn't work out for her that she's surprised that any later members of CC are interested in working with them!

• I toyed around with the angle that she joined the Misfired Circuits Troupe either relatively recently, or in the mid-90's after she left The Defenestrators. If she left that early, she could've been one of the Troupe's co-founders. The latter decision would've impacted Edna's role (the former CC member that co-founded the Troupe) and might've led her to be dropped out of the Version 3 continuity since Auriga would've replaced her for that role. If that happened, Edna's character and Misa's might've been merged to avoid redundancy.
• She could've stayed solely with CC afterwards, and I thought about what she would've tried to do. One possibility is that she went back to work in The Orchard's space program.
• I ultimately decided that she returned to The Defenestrators. My decision was influenced by me wanting to balance out their line-up more by having 2 former(?) CC members instead of just one. Story-wise, it's also to show that this team successfully made amends with at least one of its members that previously left it on not so good terms, but not all of them.

Lorraine and Wolfgang:

• Finalizing both of their designs. I decided on the themes of their outfits, but struggled with the specifics for so long. Lorraine's was one of the most difficult for me to decide on, and I made several preliminary sketches before an idea clicked.
• Since Version 1, I wanted for Wolfgang to have an outfit that blends 18th century menswear with punk fashion, but couldn't decide if that'd be his normal outfit. I decided on his normal outfit being influenced by 90's punk, and his performance outfit with The Defenestrators being more based on my Version 1 concept.

With these decisions and the time spent on these illustrations, something had to not make the cut. I had plans for an illustration at the start of the chapter, but skipped it due to time 😔 It would've shown Mi-ho and Clarkia teaming up, with spray bottles in hand as they wipe down a room in a theatrical fashion. I see Mi-ho as the type who'd try to make mundane things awesome and I would've liked to illustrate that.

The wiki will soon be updated with information from this chapter and articles for the characters that were introduced in this chapter are being drafted.

Same Place, Different Universe Chapter 9 WIP 3

The illustrations for this chapter are mostly finished, if I leave out the one or two others that I had planned at the start. I might leave them out and sketch them later since the illustrations I've been working on featuring The Defenestrators members are so ambitious.

This WIP is part of the illustration of Lorraine and Wolfgang in their performance outfits; Lorraine was edited to be a silhouette here to give only a teaser of what her outfit and hairstyle will look like since her normal design appeared in the previous WIP. Wolfgang’s normal design will be shown after the chapter is published.

His outfit is based on 18th century formal menswear fused with punk. I had this general idea for his design in Version 1, but never got to drawing him in this until now.

The updates before November were moved to the Archives page.