Unofficial Timeline Discussion

RedwoodElf · Post by **RedwoodElf** » Mon Dec 30, 2013 12:15 pm

Why don't you make an edit of the map, showing the relative positions and movements of each group on each day? Except for Kore and Hawl, we have a fairly good track of where most of them have gone.

Post by **LAYF** » Mon Dec 30, 2013 12:23 pm

RedwoodElf wrote:Why don't you make an edit of the map, showing the relative positions and movements of each group on each day? Except for Kore and Hawl, we have a fairly good track of where most of them have gone.

If you do.. I've made this fan art maps, for things like that... with and without markers on them, to make those things more easy:

► Show Spoiler

feel free to use them...

SGTdude · Post by **SGTdude** » Mon Dec 30, 2013 2:01 pm

Wow Redwood, that is a good idea.

I mean...like...thats a crazy good idea.

I would love to somehow make a video that just shows the map and has icons for all the characters that basically move in accordance with what they did during the time. So the way it would work is when you press play it would start counting forward in time and then the characters would move around the map and it would indicate when they were where. You could even have battle and death sounds and other stuff.

This is something I would do if i had the tiniest bit of skill in drawing/animation, or anything. But I dont.

But I will gladly help somebody else do it!

SGTdude · Post by **SGTdude** » Fri Jan 10, 2014 10:25 am

Totally didn't notice this timeline topped 1K views.

Thanks!

I will have some more stuff on the first post this month and will try to work on finishing the timeline in feb

SGTdude · Post by **SGTdude** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:46 pm

Updated the front page (it was long overdue). It should be right now up to the end of day 5.

I will do day 6 around the time of: eh I dunno

SGTdude · Post by **SGTdude** » Sat Feb 01, 2014 1:28 am

I have kind of mentioned what follows at previous times but.....well I can be an ass. So this time its legit with 100% less bullcrap.

I would like criticism on this timeline.

I am not opening this for pointless debate, needless bickering, or....well....just stupidness. I would like others to sound off about what I have presented so far regarding the order of events in the comic. I feel like i have it right, but Im never going to know for sure because THunt has told me before that he wouldn't comment on this kind of inquiry.

So I need your help. Many brains can potentially be better than one. If you can look at this timeline and see something that is out of place or just wrong, please bring it up for discussion so that this can be as accurate as possible. Maybe Im just paranoid (I am writing this at 3:30am cuz i cant sleep) but I cant shake the feeling that I have somehow missed something and would REALLY love some additional perspectives on the timeline.

Thanks

Tofu · Post by **Tofu** » Mon Feb 03, 2014 9:35 pm

Dude - have put in an incredible and impressively insane amount of really hard thoughtful work on this. I do want to spend a bit of time trying to replicate the XKCD type timeline description that I posted for the Goblinsverse, which would be a good way to verify what work you have done. So, I am saying Yes, not yet, and in a different way I shall ... but I don't know when I can find the time ...

SGTdude · Post by **SGTdude** » Mon Feb 03, 2014 11:05 pm

Thanks.

I can imagine other ways to present this timeline, but sadly there is a great difference between what I can imagine and what I can produce. Can you provide a link to that timeline so I can see what you are talking about?

Sogono · Post by **Sogono** » Tue Feb 04, 2014 2:47 am

SGTdude wrote:(...)
Can you provide a link to that timeline so I can see what you are talking about?

That would be that comic.

SGTdude · Post by **SGTdude** » Tue Feb 04, 2014 4:36 am

ok i have seen that before I just forgot about it. That kind of format could work. Its not what I imagined for a timeline for this comic, but it could work.

SGTdude · Post by **SGTdude** » Fri Feb 07, 2014 5:16 pm

Cleaned up first post to remove confusing humor and place more accurate summaries.

I really need to make links there, but that would be a crapload of links.

SGTdude · Post by **SGTdude** » Sat Mar 15, 2014 7:29 pm

Wow.

Kind of forgot about this.

And its in my sig.

Well its back on my radar now. Thats all I can say for the moment though, so thanks for bearing with me.

SGTdude · Post by **SGTdude** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 9:07 am

I have been away for a while. Short version is i have been dealing with my military service connected disabilty which is a mental health issue. I have been following the comic and given a certain statement by one of the characters, i thought about this again. Its really cool that this has exceded 3k views in my absence but that (and my own thoughts on the comic, being away, purple cats with a lisp, etc) brings to mind one question:

Is there any interest in seeing this updated and continued in the future?

Post by **LAYF** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 9:30 am

I would like to see this updated... Not that much had happened timewise currently but still...

Also, welcome back

Glad to see you again my friend

SGTdude · Post by **SGTdude** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 10:36 am

Thanks LAYF, Im still holding out for a more definitive response though. Please dont misunderstand me and think Im just being an attention-seker.

It would be no underestimation to say that I have put at least 40hrs of work into the material in this thread. And thats nout counting the all the time I spent rereading the comic from beginning to end (dont remember the number but I do remember it was at least 11). And then THunt has to make one remark which potentially changes everything. So Im estimating no less than 12hrs to get this boat back afloat and pointed towards things to come. And I just dont want to put that much effort into it if the response from the comunity will be a collective "meh."

So I will say if either of the two conditions below occur, I will conduct a thorough re-analysis of the comic and adjust this thread to accurately present my findings. If the community doesn't particularly care one way or the other, then its too easy: just let this thread drift into obscurity and I will do likewise.

Regardless, thanks to everyone who made this thread happen. Except for THunt who won't just give me the actual timeline. Screw that guy.

Conditions
- 5 additional people with individual posts counts exceeding 25 request that this continue
- view count for this thread exceeds 3249
Deadline is friday 31 july 6:30am (GMT-5)

Edit: thought about this previously but forgot to mention it. If elected president of the "extremely ovecomplicated hyper-analysis of what could possibly be the best a hand drawn comic ever" club, I promise to make the presentation of findings more simplified (where possible) for greater readability. And everyone gets a puppy.

Lurks_In_Shadows · Post by **Lurks_In_Shadows** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 11:18 am

Welcome back! I'm willing to say that having a time line is helpful, given the multiple simultaneous story arcs. I will also say that don't feel like you've got to do this if you have other issues that need to be dealt with first (i.e. don't pick up any bad habits from THunt

).

Post by **Wolfie** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 11:39 am

I'd like to see it continued.

Post by **lingrem** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 4:46 pm

I think it's a coold thing to be doing. If you think it would be helpful or enjoyable for you, then go for it! If you think it might cause stress, frustration, etc for yourself then don't.

SGTdude · Post by **SGTdude** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 5:05 pm

I think it would be like...entertaining stress. I am have in mind some goals/waypoints towards getting it updated. So there would be definite work involved, and I think I could enjoy it. The question is if it would serve the community better to do it or not.

If i was going to do it, first i would have to deal with

► Show Spoiler

And then there is

► Show Spoiler

And then there is

► Show Spoiler

So far it looks like this is on course to going forward based on my conditions. Or I set the bar too low. And its probably the last one since I probably dont realize yet exactly how deep i am getting myself into it.

Or THunt could just give us a timeline. That would be so much better. But I think there is less chance of that happening than me meeting him in person. So....I guess we will see.

Krulle · Post by **Krulle** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 1:44 pm

I would love to read more of your analysis here.
While I did not reply in this thread yet, I followed it the first time around, and would gladly see an updated version.
But please, do not start if you feel uncomfortable about spending your time on this.
Oh, and welcome back, fellow banned one. ;)

SGTdude · Post by **SGTdude** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 2:45 pm

Jk?

Take-backsies!??

Well...

http://oi58.tinypic.com/nd4pok.jpg

I guess i will be making a post here soonish to bring everone up to speed on where we are so that we can all be on the same page and figure out what strip goes where and when. And if that sentence was too much for you, you might be in the wrong thread.

SGTdude · Post by **SGTdude** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 5:11 pm

A double post!?! GASP!

MAKEN MIT ZE BANHAMMER! (too late, see signature)

Seriously (because I have to enjoy the opportunity to joke while it lasts, I need to point The Unofficial Timeline in the right direction before I reconstruct it. The reason I am back here doing this at all is because I have a pathological addiction to self-abuse of this strip.

In the 4th panel (top right corner) THunt, by way of Complains, says something about time in the comic. That, if one were to care about the order of events in Goblins, necessitates some kind of response and answer. Not from THunt obviously. I have better chances of winning the lottery. Four times. At once. But lets get to the facts.

THunt says things There are comments about time throughout the comic and other statements and drawings that make direct implication on the order of events. When this happens, there is no real need for in-depth analysis regarding what happened.

THunt doesn't say things more Seriously, without even remembering clearly I am very sure there are significantly less than 10 direct statements regarding time in the comic. I think its more like 4, including the one above. Which is just barely better than 1 every 3 years of the comic. THunt does in fact draw things that indicate the passage of time. But those pictures get us up to that great big 10 (yes, thats it). That leaves a big gap (pun intended), and in those spaces we have to piece together what did in fact happen with other things that happened and make a logical conclusion (which is 2 steps above a s.w.a.g.) about the order in which they occurred. If you think this is a little confusing now, let me go ahead and warn you that I'm not even getting warmed up.

Does it even matter? In a strip, which I can't remember, there is a clear and direct reference to Forgath being a girl. As opposed to, you know, a middle aged male dwarf. There are also other references that indicate the Goblins universe (henceforth referred to as THuntonia) is at minimum connected with a group of "D&D" players in what we will call "the real world." So the THuntonia may not even exist in a real way (even as a webcomic fictional setting) which would mean that there is no clear and logical function of things we humans have come to depend on. Like time. Ultimately it is THunt's comic and he can rightly do whatever he wants to do with it regardless of what his readers/fans think or want. But I know from firsthand experience that Tarol is a very gracious person and not one to go "Its like this because I say so, Nyah Nyah!

" Plus he has said outright (I think) that he has a plan for the whole thing, so it would have to include, by necessity, some sort of order of events. Quite unlike, say....the tv show Lost. So if there is an order than it can be figured out, relatively speaking. It just requires a significant measure of attention to detail. Thats where I come in.

Who is this clown anyways? This is a fair question, so I will answer it.
- A reader from the B/W days. Because once upon a time there were no color strips and readers had to use their imaginations. I thought Minmax was some kind of middle-eastern guy until THunt started using color.
- An avid reader of this strip. I have gone from beginning to end at least 12 times so far. It may be more, but I'm just going to go ahead and call it a dozen from this point. The reason I mention this is to say that I have gone over the details of this comic alot. And keep in mind those are individual read-throughs and do not count the time I spent looking at various strips and panels to analyze them. Which brings us to the end.
- A professionally trained analyst. I am inquisitive, curious, and analytical person by nature. (I was tempted to say intelligent, but Liesmith flat out makes me look dumb so

) Beyond that I am a former Intelligence Analyst for the U.S. Army, which means I got to spend about 4 months sitting in a little room learning how to analyze, process, and report details. And then I put into practice in two deployments to Afghanistan. None of this makes me the final judge on the order of events in Goblins. But in the absence of first-hand information (in spite of two direct requests, and so many indirect ones that I used to worry I really would get banned), it makes me adequately qualified to look at the material and present facts and suggest conclusions.

Or you could just come up with your own idea and ignore this thread. Lots of people enjoy this comic for what it is and never dive deeper into the nuts and bolts of how things occur. But if want to know how much time has passed in the comic some the closest thing that passes for reasonable certainty, then by all means join me on this trip back down the rabbit hole.

I am going to be around to discuss issues and answer any questions about the timeline (without getting ahead of myself) but I wanted to put out the Goals I have for myself before I start the timeline again.
- read the comic through twice
- make an initial re-analysis of, to avoid spoilers, what I am going to refer to as "problem event A"
- make an initial re-analysis of "problem event B" (this has now been officially resolved by direct statement from THunt to me)
- begin the new thread and make initial post regarding the unofficial timeline

As last thing, I am planning on incorporating a simplified section to the timeline. Something like "What we know. What we don't know." In these sections I am planning on listing the facts that are, for lack of a better expression, incontrovertible. But I will explain the formatting and whatnot in the new thread.

And of course...

Thanks

Krulle · Post by **Krulle** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 12:52 am

SGTdude wrote:Does it even matter? In a strip, which I can't remember, there is a clear and direct reference to Forgath being a girl. As opposed to, you know, a middle aged male dwarf.

I added a link, but wish to point out that the clear and direct reference is not that Forgath is a girl, but his player is. The joke is that Forgath is male, but his player is female. That Forgath is male is strengthened by this page.

The problem with the rather recent reference to time flow here may be that Thaco and Complains of Names may refer to the time passage for players, and not the in-realm time flow.
Or they may refer to the in-game time flow, while they are still at the same sitting.
If the members of the GAP even have a player... (how does that work? Minmax is being played by someone, but the GAP is played by themselves? All decided on rolls? By majority vote of the other players at the table? By the GM?)

SGTdude · Post by **SGTdude** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 3:10 am

That is what i meant when i said he is a girl.

In regards to "weeks" I'm not prepared at this time to comment on the meaning of that statement. But yes, it would be nice if THunt also told us how the game world connects to the reL world. But im ok with not know as im sure its a significa t spoiler.

SGTdude · Post by **SGTdude** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 7:02 pm

This Just In!!!

THunt during livestream just leaked direct information about the timeline to me in response to a direct question (now where are my lottery winnings?)

It turns out one, seemingly rational, assumption I made about time in Goblins is....well.... caca.

Edit: now that the live-stream is over I will explain briefly. In all of my readings through the comic it has been a pretty base assumption of mine that the skies are what they are: yellow is day, purple is night. Well that may be true.

Or it might not.

Tarol answered one of my questions about the timeline (two actually but I will get to that later) for seriously the first time ever. Which is not a problem, but I'm just stating a fact. When I asked about a particular event, he indicated to me that he colored the skies in a couple places as a way to basically set the scene and give the strip more mood to better convey what was in it. This means that, even though there are places where day transitions to night and then to morning, sky color can not be regarded as a definitive indication of the passage of time alone.

This one fact allows for much more time to have passed then I originally concluded. And I am still on my first re-readthrough. I am still going to go forward with a detailed analysis of the order of events, but it will definitely change from what was listed here in this thread earlier.

I doubt anyone is as excited about this as me, but if any of you are even half as excited, this is going to be a fun journey back through the comic.

Thanks

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