Aran

I posted this topic in Blades of Avernum because that's where the action is these days. But in reality, it is in all senses a BoX site.

Thralni and Lazarus have been granted access.

Not a scenario. A website: ( other pictures ) Quick introduction: It will become a combined Blades repository for scenarios, scripts, custom graphics and articles. It will also have a mechanism for reviewing scenarios and (hopefully) organizing beta tests. The new concept is that thanks to the marvels of Web 2.0 and content management, it will be the first Blades site whose content is entirely user-controlled and maintained. Progress: As of now, the unlocked features deemed ready for beta are: - account registration and profiles - uploading and navigating custom graphics - uploading and navigating scripts I already have six testers, and with their help I've improved the custom graphics section a lot. Now, however, I need to work on the scripts part. Ideally, the beta testers should submit real content, so if anyone has written scripts and would like to test a new repository, you are invited to come in. Objectives: The main target for testing and improvement is now the scripts section, but I would still like to have input on the custom graphics part. And if you have comments on any other aspect of the site, these would be very welcome! How to join: In beta, the site is not yet available for public access. This means I need your email to create an account for you, after which you can log into the non-public site and fiddle around on it. You can use the following template: Code: [b]Desired account name:[/b] <Name>[b]Email address:[/b] <Email>[b]Design expertise:[/b] (Scenarios|Graphics|Scripts|etc) Notes: Please note that this is still an unstable testing site. As it is already filled with actual data that it would be ugly to lose, I am taking good care to keep it safe from harm, but as long as it's still in development, anything can happen. Also, while I hope (of course) that many people want to participate, the test has to be limited in size for now to around 5 additional participants. I can only respond to so much feedback at any given moment. Of course you can still sign up if the slots are filled - more testers will be needed soon.

Coyote: I like your third picture far better than the other two. I'm not sure why, might be the detail and perspective. I'm surprised this is an earlier piece - just from looking I would have thought your technique is more refined in it. Facial expressions could be more real, but the robe of the Shaper in the foreground is great.

TGM helped me iron out some bugs yesterday (or I should say he found them and I fixed them). Don't let the screenshots fool you; scenarios are pretty broken and the reviewing / rating system is pretty much non-existent. As for the beta-tester exchange I would like to put in, I haven't even started on that. While scripting and articles are mostly ready, the only part of the site available for testing is the graphics and the user profile part. Right now, I have two testers and a third one who offered but doesn't have his account yet. I think around 5 is probably all required until another part of the site (scripts next, probably) is unlocked... perhaps more, though.

The Blades Forge (conceived August 2005) is beginning to rival Eye of the Storm in terms of development time. But I now have a site that users can submit graphics to, complete with thumbnails, taxonomy, keyword search. No manual administration required - all content is public on submission. However, there are a few kinks I'd like to work out before I make even the functional (graphics) part of the site available. Preview: Screenshot

Also, make sure in the future that when you bait one of the xenophobic dervishes, you do it out of the reach of innocent townfolk and dispatch him before he kills bystanders. I forgot how many there are, but I know of at least two.

Jeff Vogel released BoE with a very non-restrictive license, so a modification can probably be sold. I didn't read the license, only his summary of it on these forums, but the derivative might not even have to be open-source. Such things are codified in the license. But no, "open source" does not automatically mean you can't sell commercial derivatives. If you manage to make BoE multi-player, well, power to you. But if you release an actual game, the setting will have to be new - Jeff released the code of BoE, not the world and characters of Exile.

Yes. Even if there were more (and the list looks fairly complete), almost all of the gap would just be unused. You don't think that in a building with room numbers, each floor has a hundred rooms? Edit: Please insert linebreaks into your signature. It completely breaks the page.

Visible light is a Theory, not a Fact. Keep an open mind. I have an "Intelligent Illumination" theory you may be interested in.

I question that analogy, Vlish. The Shapers are a civilization. They have an ideology. National Socialism is an ideology. This ideology, by definition, would prevent peaceful, independent coexistence. The Awakened, however, do not seek to coexist with the Shapers' racist ideology, they seek to coexist with the Shapers by changing their ideology (and they do have Shaper sympathizers, so this could work). To fix the analogy, Jews and Germans can coexist when the Germans are not Nazis.

Quote: Originally written by Dintiradan: C'mon, people, it's a bloody cat. Were people this upset when, say, Patrick or Micah died? I was this upset when Erika died. But meh. My only complaint is that Cheeseball Two is so horrendously cheesy (pun fully intended). It practically reeks unoriginality. Solberg is one awesome wizard. He's like Rincewind, only actually magically competent. I would really expect him to give his familiars better names.

This is defamation. Infiltrators are efficient and highly loyal forces. Why will everyone insist on calling them traitors?

Quote: hex editing is legal, basically However, it is not legal to discuss it on this forum.

Quote: Vhanatais Quote: Vahnati ... it's spelled Vanihattitai.

Whoops. It's easy to miss things if you try to learn about an interface just by intuition. I far prefer turn-based combat anyway. Thanks for that hint.

Quote: Originally written by MrRoivas: oh come on one letter dif Its an atitud leik urs that wil be the deth of English langwhich.

Video games and cheat programs training to spell... The world is a little bit all right again.

Um, Thuryl, are you talking about the Arcanum where you start out in a crashed zeppelin? I only played the ridiculously short demo version, but I didn't notice anything optional or really turn-based about combat. It seemed more like a Diablo-esque real-time thing (where different weapons had different delays between attacks), except the automation spared you the clicking frenzy.

To me, the common names in Ermarian gave the world an air of realism that Tolkien could only match with years and years of creative linguistics. Amid these normal names were some with alternative spellings, outmoded ones and foreign ones. This gave me the feeling of being in a world that was extremely tangible, but still different from ours. -- But if Solberg was named Sulfinious, I can understand why he went by Solberg. Nymphadora Tonks, anyone?

And although I didn't know that when I made up the names, I did realize that "Solberg" was (if at all) a very uncommon first name, and more common as a last name. Which raises the question: Should we call the wizard Andrew Solberg now?

Quote: Originally written by bigbri2k5: what i've always wondered is why mac versions are always released before windows Jeff Vogel is a Macintosh user.

I think I've got it. A very likely origin for the first occurrence of "Kilser". And it's made up by me. Whoops. Code: <!--22.12.2003, 12:22. Title:"The Halls of Magery.doc - Microsoft Word"--> Yonther<!--22.12.2003, 12:23. Title:"The Halls of Magery.doc - Microsoft Word"--> [backspace][backspace]Ezekiel Solberg<!--22.12.2003, 12:23. Title:"The Halls of Magery.doc - Microsoft Word"--> Aimee Kilser Fartraveller<!--22.12.2003, 12:23. Title:"The Halls of Magery.doc - Microsoft Word"--> Patrick Padraig<!--22.12.2003, 12:24. Title:"The Halls of Magery.doc - Microsoft Word"--> Rone Liecis What does this mean? Close to four years ago, I made a Word document with a list of a few wizards. Being in a phase where, as far as Ermarian was concerned, improvisation was the same as research to my newbie eyes, I simply made up last names for the mages who didn't have them. Although I cannot currently find the place in the log where the document was started, I know that "Yonther" went with Linda. Unfortunately, I have absolutely no idea how I came up with these names. Not even "Ezekiel", or why Solberg was the only wizard whose common name became his last name. What I find interesting is that although I named Rone and Linda, who weren't named by the game, the only one that stuck was Aimee, who was already named Far-Traveler by the game. To the point where Slarty was convinced it was canon. Fooled. Time for some EE retcon.

Code: /home/weather/public/slartucker/dump$ ls -ltotal 7164-rw-r--r-- 1 weather pg918088 1109470 Sep 7 2006 Av1dump.txt-rw-r--r-- 1 weather pg918088 1721648 Sep 7 2006 Av2dump.txt-rw-r--r-- 1 weather pg918088 2151146 Sep 7 2006 Av3dump.txt-rw-r--r-- 1 weather pg918088 1131149 Sep 7 2006 Ex3dump.txt-r--r--r-- 1 weather pg918088 431743 Sep 7 2006 ex1dump.txt-rw-r--r-- 1 weather pg918088 750238 Sep 7 2006 ex2.dump.txt/home/weather/public/slartucker/dump$ grep Kilser */home/weather/public/slartucker/dump$ Nope. And for good measure: All occurrences of "Aimee" in all dumps

That is the most useful, on-topic and accurate answer that has graced these boards in a while. Thanks.