Could the upcoming comics be AI?

A Eulogy to Dozerfleet Main

As the until-recent Dozerfleet Main was reaching its end-of-life as a tower, a difficult decision was reached: it was to retire the old dinosaur of a unit. The current Dozerfleet Portable, a Dell Latitude 5490 purchased off of Amazon, is also operating as Dozerfleet Main at the moment. The tower that was until recently Dozerfleet Main was a modified Dell Inspiron 3650 from 2017, with the main hard drive changed over to a 1TB solid state drive, and the original hard drive turned into a backup data drive known as "Ivan's Vault."

The external backup hard drive formerly known as "Dozimax" has inherited the title of "Ivan's Vault." Its sister, "Dozerfleet Backup," has now been re-christened as "Ivan's Vault 2."

The former Dozerfleet Main tower had been modified further since its original purchase, to contain an extra 8 GB of DDR3 RAM, thus putting it at 16 GB total. This made it an absolute powerhouse of a machine. However, it was still unable to run a lot of higher-end software, due to its graphics card limitations. Its elaborate Dell design made it nearly impossible to update the graphics for this device, dooming its future of ever being the advanced gaming machine desired.

Enter Bezzyca

The former Dozerfleet Main has since been given a new life as Bezzyca, a children's art and office learning station running on Kubuntu.

It now has all the basics for three children it's being donated to in order to learn their way around open source software, Linux, Gimp, Krita, and LibreOffice. To learn the ins and outs of the software world in a somewhat-safe environment with minimal parental control oversight, but also allowing them to brainstorm ideas any time of the year - away from the prying eyes of school admins, who might otherwise want to scrutinize their every move.

It also encourages them to get their own USB drives and learn their way around private ownership - something difficult to instill as a value in children when they are dependent on clouds and ChromeBooks.

Adapting to software obsolescence

However, the next stage forward in Dozerfleet progress has come at other costs besides simply donating old hardware. In the time it has taken to come this far, key bits of software that Dozerfleet once relied on have now started to become obsolete. Most notably: Microsoft Access and Microsoft Publisher.

Old Microsoft Access content will be the tricky part, as all that table data must now be converted to LibreOffice Calc. This will require a joint effort between Dozerfleet Portable and Dozerfleet Mega Portable (the Surface Go 2 Tablet). The Microsoft account associated with both doesn't recall Office 2019 being installed on Mega Portable. Therefore, there's no option to go back and reinstall Office 2019 for Portable. Likewise, there's no recollection in the online account of the purchase of Office 2016, which was what was running on Old Main.

Worse, Office 2021 was renamed to Offline Microsoft 365 2021, to create even more confusion for those who just want to run a forever license. Turns out, Microsoft wants 2021 to be the last of these offline-runable office apps. Beyond that, they offer only their online subscription model - a perfect reason to want to switch to LibreOffice for most tasks!

But here's the real kicker: Microsoft 365 2021 does not include Access or Publisher!!!

These relics being gone mean that only Office 2019, running on Mega Portable, can still open these files. And that means that several Dozerfleet works now need to be reformatted.

As mentioned above, a slow-moving conversion can happen to transform the Access documents for use in LibreOffice Calc. However, Publisher documents will need to be re-assessed for long-term retention. Those not deemed worth it, will be discarded. Then, there are those which do have long-term retention value. Alas, they now have to be converted.

From Microsoft to Affinity

The following key documents will need reformatting to Affinity Publisher:

Public

• Every Ape and His Brother lyrics
• The Horrorday Gang: What's Your Straggele Codename?
• Volkonir 2008
• The Official Handbook to The Sims 4: Oughties Big Rapid Living Stuff
• The Official Handbook to The Sims 4: Into the Future Conversions Stuff
• Ciem: Inferno: The Inmates of Madison Juvenile Correctional Facility
• Ciem: Inferno: The Staff of Madison Juvenile Correctional Facility
• Blood Over Water: Dirty Laundry

Private

• A Very Anarteq Tour of the Soo Itinerary
• Arionna Davis' Ciem Info Packet Series (when she initially showed interest in 2019 in portraying Candi Flippo on the wiki, though that arrangement never materialized.)
• Blood Over Water Relational Chart
• Blood Over Water Charts
• Business Card
• Folder Tabs
• C.O.W.
• Old credits for Ciem 2 (2009)
• Old Stationery Voyagers data
• Resume files

Out of that list, the Ciem: Inferno tie-in books won't change much. Meagan Amez's timeline will be re-examined per her expanded role. Otherwise, those books should be the same. Purge-Flare: Stickin' It to Pencil will likely also be re-formatted using Affinity Publisher. It was originally made in Microsoft Word 2016, using a mix of text captions and screenshots edited from a playthrough of GTA V on the PS4.

More changes to Blood Over Water lore

The biggest changes will be to Blood Over Water: Dirty Laundry and Volkonir 2008. With the photos provided, it's plausible that Volkonir 2008 could now be mostly made as an AI-enhanced photocomic. Only the bare minimum content from The Sims 4, such as the Golden Lion Knight armor, Selshon, and the Gwirdons would necessarily have to be machinomic-generated. Everything else could either come from photos or from Krea AI.

In spite of all the readiness for Blood Over Water to be done up in The Sims 4, it could become an AI comic instead of a Sims machinomic. The need to completely re-make Dirty Laundry from the ground up justifies this change, as all the Sims photos can now be swapped out with AI to better match its mock-tabloid format. New photos from the 2024 Sorbet / Blood Over Water / Volkonir Big Rapids Farewell Tour also allow for coverage of regions that were impossible to cover when the first edition of Dirty Laundry was released.

AI: The Future of Dozerfleet Comics?

If Dirty Laundry is re-released as AI, and Blood Over Water's remake is also made AI, then Sorbet will likewise take a hybrid Sims / AI approach. Sims only for elements and scenes that can't be made with AI, and the use of AI and photos for everything else.

This will produce the following results:

Comics by pending format
Title	Visual style	Media format
Anarteq: Top of the World	Cartoon	AI comic
Anarteq: Top of the World Story Pack	Cartoon + Game	Abridged AI comic + Sims 3 mods + Sims 4 mods + InZoi recipes + a House Flipper 2 tour
Blood Over Water: Dirty Laundry, 2nd Edition	Live Action	AI mock tabloid
Blood Over Water	Cartoon	AI machinomic (with Sims and photograph references)
Sorbet	Cartoon	AI machinomic (with Sims and photograph references)
Volkonir 2008	Live Action	AI machinomic (with Sims and photograph references)
Corando's "Don't Lose Hope"	Machinomic	Sims 4 machinomic
Path of the Ming-Cho	Cartoon	AI comic
Ciem / Anarteq: Kahoopiliana	Cartoon	AI comic
Sniperbadger: Fall of the Critter Resistance	Cartoon	AI comic
Nemara: Ward of the Upper Peninsula	Cartoon	AI comic

Handbooks to finish

Work on these comics will resume after the handbooks are finished for Anarteq: Top of the World Story Pack. As well as for the following packs at Dozerfleet Labs still awaiting handbooks:

DzMD Handbooks to be Made
Title	Game	Inception Year
A Tour of The Gerosha Chronicles	House Flipper 2	2025
The Blood Over Water Character Recipe Book	InZoi	2024
The Ciem: Inferno Character Recipe Book	InZoi	2024
The Ciem: Ash Cloud Character Recipe Book	InZoi	2024
The Ciem: Caldera Character Recipe Book	InZoi	2024
The Anarteq: Guardian of the Soo Character Recipe Book	InZoi	2024
The Anarteq: Tropic Mercenary Character Recipe Book	InZoi	2024
The Anarteq: Envoy to Lough Melvin Character Recipe Book	InZoi	2024
The Corando Character Recipe Book	InZoi	2024
The Extirpon Trilogy Character Recipe Book	InZoi	2024
The Navyrope Duology Character Recipe Book	InZoi	2024
The Horrorday Gang Character Recipe Book	InZoi	2024
The Path of the Ming-Cho Character Recipe Book	InZoi	2024
The Phaemer Village Peacekeepers Character Recipe Book	InZoi	2024
The Pilltar Character Recipe Book	InZoi	2024
The Sodality Character Recipe Book	InZoi	2024
The Swappernetters Character Recipe Book	InZoi	2024
The Gray Champion: Modern Legends Character Recipe Book	InZoi	2024
The Horrorday Gang Character Recipe Book	InZoi	2024
The Volkonir Character Recipe Book	InZoi	2024
Anarteq: Guardian of the Soo Story Pack	The Sims 4	2024
Anarteq: Tropic Mercenary Story Pack	The Sims 4	2024
Anarteq: Envoy to Lough Melvin Story Pack	The Sims 4	2024
Ciem: Inferno Story Pack	The Sims 4	2024
Ciem: Ash Cloud Story Pack	The Sims 4	2024
Ciem: Caldera Story Pack	The Sims 4	2024
Swappernetters: Frontliner Story Pack	The Sims 4	2020
Swappernetters: Chrome Kite Story Pack	The Sims 4	2020
Swappernetters: Supporting Cast Story Pack	The Sims 4	2020
Swappernetters: Screwworms and Other Villains Story Pack	The Sims 4	2020
Sodality: Instigation Story Pack	The Sims 4	2020
Sodality: Adaptation and Determination Story Pack	The Sims 4	2024
The Horrorday Gang Story Pack	The Sims 4	2020

Completion of these handbooks, and of the comics aforementioned, will beget work opening up for the for-profit novels across the Megaverse.

Percolation Encyclopedia's uncertain future

Another work, this one with an uncertain future, is Percolation: The Complete Encyclopedia of Crossover Gerosha and Dozerfleet Crossovers. It was drafted at a time when Miraheze underwent a change of leadership, and was in danger of being shut down. That threat has passed. The artwork contained inside the encyclopedia has since become obsolete. To make matters worse, the work itself was all made in Microsoft Publisher, and then never finished. So it would need a massive overhaul to be added to Affinity Publisher, and be scaled down of unnecessary features.

Progress has started coming. But alas, some things needed to be sacrificed in the process.

Understanding the climax of Corando's Don't Lose Hope

The climax of Corando's "Don't Lose Hope" may be very strange to some. With this pose, hopefully there can be some clarity brought to the narrative.

The map below shows the general area of Porbandar relevant to the climax.

After Mahima is rescued from Daruka's camp, Filforth instructs her to find a working phone near the Hotel Viram, and then contact Darshan. Of course, amidst the panic, Mahima can't adequately explain who Filforth is to Darshan, but he must take her word for it that Tara Mandir is the safe spot.

From there, Filforth instructs Mahima to tell Darshan to meet her at the planetarium, and that she must then run there herself. Given it's practically Armageddon in Porbandar, she can be forgiven for hotwiring a car to get to the planetarium. But she must drive to the planetarium, or run to it, to live. As long as she is heading toward the planetarium, the meteors won't hit her. However, Filforth never guarantees that Darshan and Ketan will make the journey safely.

Finding a car to hijack for purposes of escaping to the planetarium takes longer for Darshan and Ketan, given they're in a region near Gokul Mathura Towers, that's closer to the largest number of impacts of meteor carnage.

Amidst 5.3 kilometers (3.29 miles) of insanity raining down, Darshan and Ketan's wild ride takes a little longer to safely traverse than the 9 minutes suggested by Google under normal conditions.

However, while Darshan and Ketan tried walking, and then later stole a truck to get to Taran Mandir, Mahima was able to steal a truck almost immediately. She at one point panicks while on Highway 27, and makes an illegal turn onto Service Rd., driving the wrong way. She doesn't fear the police, given that they're too busy trying to not be killed by meteors.

Driving dangerously, Mahima is able to return to the correct lane, just short of the intersection near Kishan's Farm. She finally makes a left turn onto Adityana Rd., then ditches the stolen truck by Vegetable Vendors on Bhanvad-Porbandar Rd., which Adityana becomes. She runs on foot toward the planetarium from there, relying on the carnage all around to ensure that police and civilians don't ask questions.

Mahima was taken northeast of town by Daruka, requiring her the greatest de facto distance to travel. Darshan and Ketan were lost and confused. They were near Gokul Mathura, hoping that the towers would provide shelter from meteors - which just destroyed the airport across the street, and forced them to abandon their plans of boarding a plane to America.

Another explanation for how Mahima made it to Tara Mandir first, is that she was already that determined to survive, having just escaped from being tortured by Daruka. Darshan and Ketan may have been traumatized by the mob burning their church down, but they were even more blindsided by the meteors than Mahima was. Darshan braved taking Highway 27, the most direct route, in spite the increased risk of death by meteors. He both lacked Mahima's opportunities, as well as her sense of imagination and improvisation.

To be fair, Darshan was also distracted by the fact that he was trying just as hard to concentrate on keeping Ketan alive, as he was on keeping himself alive, and trying to drive a hotwired stolen vehicle, and reunite with his fiancee. Therefore, he chose the shorter-yet-more-dangerous road, and arrived at the planetarium just seconds after Mahima got there. All Mahima had to worry about was her own skin, as she didn't have anyone the equivalent of Ketan tagging along in her stolen vehicle to distract her.

Yes, Mahima was a little more worried about the police than Darshan, but that was insignificant compared to trying to keep a mostly-useless tag-along friend alive in the middle of an apocalypse.

Mahima arriving at Tara Mandir first is hardly the greatest irony of their story. The greater irony, is where the couple finds freedom and safety after Porbandar's destruction: in the Bihar providence to the north, not far from the city of Bahadurpur. They find a home not far from India's border with Nepal, a nation which is even more hostile to St. Thomas Christians than the Hindi nationalists typically are!

In comparison, Jerry and his band escaping from Ameristan Toklisanan Texas, to flee from Halal Affadidah, proves relatively unremarkable. They're able to pass through the Wall in 2018, before Affadidah reneges on his agreements to allow for emigration out of his land.

Therefore, the Embertons and Monides didn't have to worry about Hebbleskin raid parties, nor about being hunted by "krockodil zombie" squads. Even then, they didn't have to worry about the politics in Indiana, as Affadidah cared more about making life miserable for residents of Indiana and Michigan than he did for anyone living in Maine. Orono, to say nothing of Lubec (with the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, a location in their video), had minimal regime presence.

What's next for the videos?

There aren't yet quite enough images to piece together a proper Eccentriaverse walkthrough; though most of the essentials are already in place. A Dromedeverse walkthrough is just about ready, though the Trapezoid Kids have yet to be remade with AI.

As the Database still waits for news that it can be rebuilt on Miraheze, priorities have shifted to completion of Corando's Don't Lose Hope. After this, production can begin on Blood Over Water. Ideally, the latter can reach completion by some time in February. An Eccentriaverse AI video can then be pursued in March, when Volkonir 2008 production is set to resume.

Completion of all such Volkonir-related comics and videos will then allow for proper for-profit Volkonir literature to be written at any time. However, research on the Bozeman area may have to wait until at least the following year. There are plans tentative in May of 2023 for a trip to Lewes, Delaware, to study the area for The Trapezoid Kids, Grillitan Diner, and Camelorum Adventures. Such a tour would ideally be followed up by one of Bozeman, and one of Captain Cook, Hawaii.

A tour of the Philippines is doubtful, as is a tour of North Bay and Yellek for Anarteq: Guardian of the Soo and Experiments and Offspring. It would depend on how crazy the regime is feeling as to whether or not it would even be worthwhile to enter.

Travel to Shanghai and Hong Kong for Extirpon 2, The Call Him...Black Rat, and Little Shanghai Hornet seems very unlikely, as does travel to Tokyo or to Baton Rouge for Mukade: Reinvention and The Bison Reborn.

Ideally, Blood Over Water and Volkonir 2008 can both be completed before journey to Lewes becomes an issue. Release dates for the Eccentriaverse and Dromedeverse AI showcases will also be contingent upon how well the video does for the Gerosha showcases.

Corando nearing completion

Corando's "Don't Lose Hope" is in the process of being remade. The remake book is nearing completion. Sheet music is the next step, for the new song, so that it can be performed in real life. Once that step is done, editing the main feature will only take about a week, and the piece will be ready for publication.

It seems almost unbelievable that it's already almost October, and therefore, it is almost time to resume making the remake of Blood Over Water. This will commense as soon as "Don't Lose Hope" is officially in the can. Per the slated schedule, this will be followed immediately with Sorbet, Volkonir 2008, and Kahoopiliana. Once those works are finished, work will begin in Sniperbadger, and then on Path of the Ming-Cho. Path may be a short story, overall, since it never had much thick plot to begin with.

Completion of these works will mark the end of the main Dozerfleet Comics official free releases. Some minor cartoons, like some Centipede in the Spider-Verse parodies, may get released as well. After that, emphasis will switch to Dozerfleet Literature. Ciem: Inferno is the top work slated for novel production once the remaining machinomics are finished. Followed immediately by Anarteq: Guardian of the Soo. With Kahoopiliana and Sniperbadger in the can, however, those works may then be followed up with their immediate sequels: Ash Cloud and Tropic Mercenary.

Progress update on Corando and Blood Over Water

After completion of a story pack related to the 2022 remake of Corando's "Don't Lose Hope," being remade as a book, almost all wiki side work is now complete. Work can now resume on completing the actual book.

Once this comic is finished, and a trailer for it is possibly made for YouTube, the remake of "Corando" will be considered in-the-can. Archiving will commence, and this will be one more classic project re-made and off the project queue. Intentions are to follow it up by immediately beginning production on Blood Over Water, utilizing the materials available via Dirty Laundry to reconstruct it.

There could be some delays, due to Hurrican Ian. However, Dozerfleet staff intend to move at the fastest possible speed to get the remake of Blood Over Water completed, to make room for the completion afterward of Sorbet and Volkonir 2008. These works, once finished, will conclude the Big Rapids Saga.