Swimmin' Salmon

In other words, Drakey is Allah.

Dahak - not sure about the bridge, because I don't know what your intention is there. I still think that a floating flagstone or cobblestone (thin) would be a scarier crossing, but if that isn't the mood then a regular bridge does look better. I also liked the hills, but they do block out much of the void. Whatever you end up with, you are starting with something superb, and have made me rethink things on my weak start.

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The goblins are a scarlet smelt. Just kill 'em and cease the futile questioning. After all, they are just goblins.

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You must have done something to your computer which made A3 not work. Otherwise you could just download a fresh copy from spiderweb.com and email Jeff with a request for a new activation code. If you get no response, email again. Sometimes their email is crabby.

*this message sponsored by the Gale society of golem lovers*

Get rid of XP and get a real operating system.

I've had no problem with BoE demo version on my Win2k machine, so it must be one of the graphics "features" put in by the mighty gates. You could make your computer into a dual boot monster, and then run all the cool older games.

*this message really really tried to help, but failed*

Wolves on our planet have a rudimentary societal structure as well. Most herd/pack animals do. It doesn't make them intelligent or civilized, just organized.

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I can certainly appreciate that at the species level, there is change over time and space. But the genera, family, and order levels are pretty consistent across all continents. But that is why is said "general form." Birds, ants, mammals, and even marsupials have evolved separately across each continent. That is what this planet is capable of developing.

As far as the randomness issue, another planet with the same atmosphere as earth would not evolve large land mammals without hemoglobin (or a substitute) or birds that could fly. Other planets with our gravity system would not develop 100 foot tall mammals.

Of course a great role in the development of creatures is available food supply. After all, that is the factor that gave charles darwin his keynote speech for the royal society. You are absolutely correct about the isolation factor of NZ and Australia. The more I read about those countries, and the types of species that developed under those conditions, I am more amazed. Especially when faced with introduced species.

*this message sponsored by the national invasive species counsel*

The pillar-rock combo seems odd to me. Not sure why, but my eye is drawn that way. As far as the bridge, it is a great improvement, but I think that was in mind earlier was more on the lines of stepping stones in a pond. But with stalagmites. Not sure how that would work in the RP, maybe a dexterity check to make sure you can get across the floating bridge?

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I have it on the highest authority that the Shaper College is segregated.

Males are allowed to be either shapers or guardians (because they are smart and strong.)

Females may become agents (because they are tricky and nimble.)

*this message is not intended to condone the policies of the shaper college*

I suspect that Av4 will have its own forum area for at least a little while.

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Seeing as how this planet alone is gifted with millions of species, it isn't unreasonable to expect that given the constraints of this planet (ie. gravity, temp, humidity, radiation, atmosphere) and the time that "life" has existed here that pretty much every general form of life has been realized.

I agree that in a gaseous world (like the sun?) there would be little need for the corporeal, and in a aqueous world the limbs as propulsion could be replaced. The central theme in species is this: being able to stay alive long enough to mature to the age where reproduction is likely.

The key for RPG's is (don't shoot me TM) is familiarity, aka being able to identify with the character. That still leaves room for suspension of disbelief, but there is a rational limit there too. It may be difficult to play a slime (sorry ADoS) using the current BoX engine. Maybe someone can work on that, but I wouldn't.

As far as the civilization/tool use/limbs debate, it is extremely difficult to produce food without tool beyond immediate needs. Even then, most cultures in the hunter-gatherer phase were extremely protein deficient. That is why (a hypothesis) that intense use of tools began in the same historical period as the beginnings of civilization. I'm not talking about the fertile cresent, but earlier hominid societies where hunting tools were used. Despite lack of written language, there is evidence of oral history going back thousands of years, which points firmly at tribal culture having achieved some degree of civilization.

That long bit was to bring forth the theory that the increased use of tools led to better diet, which led to more powerful brains (culminating in Thuryl, so the rest of us can quit trying now,) and now bigger/better tools. The logical extension to that is that humans may be evolving further, and in the same direction, which would further augment brain capacity.

It is difficult to back this up, especially with the universal 18th century diagnosis of " she's a witch! Burn her! ," but the increase in abnormal brain function (specifically autism) may be an evolutionary advance in the human species. I have not read it, but an autistic chap in India managed to write a book on autism (the kid deserves a Nobel) called Beyond the Silence . I am in awe.

Anyhow, yeah, I want to see humanoids, cuz I can't imagine being anything but.

*this message sponsored by futurama - where heads order robots to do their bidding*

As written by TM

Keep working on it Eagle, ya gotta finish a scenario in order to be an author.

*this message is 100% sarcasm free*

t Spring - it is far more engaging to begin a unsolvable topic with the humor of an odd title that still gives an idea of the subject matter. I could have blamed a glitch, but there seemed to be nor harm, thus no foul. It was an odd thing, but it needed to be seen by Drakey in case it was symptomatic of a more serious problem.

As to the newbie thing, well we each get to form our own opinions and read the words we choose.

*this message sponsored by ubb - enriching lives one glitch at a time*

Sweet!

I'm glad to see I had already appropriated the correct reaction to this issue. I shall continue to be amazed at the retro software and delighted that things generally work as they should.

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I find the order in which UBB sorts the topics to be amusing. Psuedo-chronological. Thought you might be interested Drakey. Not bothering to include it here, as it is a screen print which was not resized to preserve the material. This began happening after I discovered and began using the "next" button for navigating between topics.

Press here for 174 kb jpeg

*this message sponsored by thuryl - hoster of all my important graphics*

From schrodinger's faq,

*this message sponsored by ford - fix or repair daily*

Although the download page at Spiderweb doesn't mention it, and it isn't necessary for downloading the game, you do need 3rd party software to open and install BoAEditor.zip

I would recommend checking download.com for their picks on unzipping software. I have two on my PC, PKzip and WinZip. Both are unregistered shareware, so I put up with an ad reminder, but they work perfectly well.

Have fun designing, read through scripts in other designers scenarios, and register the game! It makes life much easier.

*this message sponsored by gates - grinning at their extra software*

Haven't seen this info anywhere, so I'll write it down.

In the Monastery of Tears, cave section.

SW corner - crystalline fiber, reviving crystal, purified essence

Creator drops omincharm and deep focus orb

West edge - shaper true chitin

Cabinet near East edge - golden crystal

And I hate that level.

*this message brought to you courtesy of haste, bless, and luck*

I think Drake was refering to the area on the hard drive where the game exists. Check the permissions on that directory to verify that your normal logon name (not admin) is able to enjoy full control of that space. I run Win 2000, and that info is located by right clicking the directory, then selecting properties, then selecting the security tab. Highlight the username, or everyone, and make sure that full control has a checkmark in the "allow" column.

I hate XP, so I can't guide you as effectively, but it should be similar, or at least the words used wil be familiar.

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That error message results when the script isn't completely downloaded. Make sure it finishes, and doesn't get cut off for some reason.

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Two options. The first is to delete the program and go back to designing BoA scenarios, the second is to read the walkthrough (link is posted in the Geneforge 1 forum) and get some idea on character development. It does take some getting used to, which is why I offer option 1.

*this message is complete - there is nothing special about the signature*

It seems that people other than Thralni have had problems with the name of this game. Not sure how it happened, but the walkthrough's URL is http://db.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/geneforce_3.txt

So there!

*this message was created by the inner child*

I had a freeze once with GF3. It was entirely my fault however, as I was switching between the game and the four other active applications at the time. If you are doing the same, I would suggest that having fewer open applications might be the answer. At least, it was for me.

*this message sponsored by gates - separating us from true multitasking once again*

I would also suggest he was joking. I would also suggest that anyone finding a MITS Altair 8800 in decent condition place it in a bank vault and start contacting brokers. They are rare and valuable, and shouldn't be hacked.

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The body in the SE corner of Southern Marsh is well guarded for what it has. Icy crystal and healing spores. Also a regular iron shield.

*this message is a contribution to a great body of knowledge*

This is actually technical stuff!!

I have no cable, no DSL, no neighbors, no highways, and no hope of any changes. I could spend $100 a month for satellite connection, or just trust Ma Bell to keep me annoying the world for one more day.

*this message has been spell checked by eye and hand correctional faculties*