ixfd64

Blades of Exile has seen a huge number of improvements ever since it went open source. Any chance the source code for the original trilogy could be released as well, especially considering that it has been freeware for over three years now?

Another idea: it should be possible to specify icons for special items.

Funny understandable. On a somewhat related note: seeing that the original Exile series is now freeware, is there any chance that those three games will eventually go open source?

Just a simple suggestion: it might be a good idea for the new scenario format to have a different file extension, to avoid confusion. Something like ".ex2" will do.

Exporting items or monsters to external files: http://spiderwebforu...stom-npcsitems/

That looks amazing. Thanks for all your hard work!

This is really awesome. I'm looking forward to the next major release!

This is pretty awesome. Does it mean we can expect the item and NPC limits to be removed soon?

There are two versions of the program on your site. "Version 1" works fine; it was "version 2" that I was having problems with.

Sorry for casting Resurrect on this thread, but the latest version of the editor on Harehunter's website is having the same issue. The .zip file linked in the third post is no longer accessible; does anyone have it mirrored somewhere?

So the first three Avernum games are supposed to be a remake of the Exile trilogy. However, the characters and much of the content have changed. Which series is considered canon? Additional question: I once read that the default Blades of Exile and Blades of Avernum scenarios are not considered canon despite being created by Jeff. Is that true?

Congratulations. If there's any non-Spiderweb member who should be promoted to admin, it's Alorael.

Two things I really like about Blades of Exile are its combat system and the ability to create a game world with lots of meaningful content. However, the arbitrary limits on the number of items and NPCs kind of gets in the way of creating a truly epic scenario. The open source version promises to change this, but it looks like it'll be quite a while before it fully supports unlimited items and characters (or at least a very large number of them). So I'm wondering: are there any other good RPG editors out there? The things I'm looking for (with the more important factors in bold) are: * Open source if possible * The ability to make standalone games (executables) is a plus * Scripting * Support for unlimited items and NPCs (although an engine with a very large cap will do) * A graphics library * A low learning curve is also a plus Thanks in advance!

Are we no longer using Google Code now?

I'm afraid BoE hasn't been updated in a long time. There has only been seven code check-ins since June 2011.

Has anyone ever entertained the idea of making total conversions with BoE? I know these types of mods were popular with classic shooters like Doom and Quake. Has anyone ever thought of making similar things with Blades of Exile?

I do find it strange that Jeff has neither mentioned this on the Spiderweb Software website or the company's Facebook page. Maybe he's also planning to release the source code and will post the official announcement then. Yeah, wishful thinking, I know.

At first ! thought I was seeing things, but it seems all of the Exile games are now freeware! Does this mean we might see a source code release as well? Sorry if this is old news, but I couldn't find any mention of it.

I think Jeff said he wants to wait until BoA sales drop to negligible levels before he releases the source code. For the record, selling a game and releasing its source code are not mutually exclusive. It's possible to release only the game engine under a free license and keep the game content proprietary.

Several years ago, Jeff mentioned that Blades of Avernum didn't do as well as he had hoped. According to him, the main reason was that scenario design was too complicated for the average gamer, especially if they don't have any programming experience. The game only comes with four scenarios out of the box, which might not seem like much to some people. So here's an idea: Spiderweb could consider releasing a new edition of Blades of Avernum that includes the following: 1. Support for newer operating systems 2. A collection of well-received user-designed scenarios. The winners and runner-ups from the scenario design contest would be good candidates for inclusion. Think back to the days of Doom WAD CDs. :-) 3. Exclusive scenarios. Perhaps Spiderweb could offer contracts to well-known scenario designers (like what id Software did in the case of the Master Levels for Doom II) and give them store credit if their scenario gets selected. The scenarios would be copyrighted and owned by Spiderweb. 4. Other exclusive items. Things like comics books or figurines, etc. It probably wouldn't too much effort compared to writing a new game from scratch, but it could bring in a lot of new interest. Just a thought. Maybe the same could also be done for Blades of Exile. :-)

Perhaps a dumb question, but is the current node system Turing-complete?

The change I'm looking forward to the most is the removal of the current limits. But I guess it's not simply a matter of changing data types.

That is correct; the latest stable version of Code::Blocks was just released last November. A stable release happens every two years or so, but there is a new "nightly" build every few weeks.

Java would probably be a better choice as it could be run on just about any operating system. Blades of Exile has one of the best RPG systems out there, and I would hate to see its development come to a standstill. But as the above user mentioned, rewriting the game is no easy task. That having been said, I see three possible course of action: 1. Find a way to renew interest. Games like Doom have maintained a large fan base after so many years. The Exile series may not be as popular, but I don't see how it's impossible to get more people interested in it again. 2. Actively recruit people. There are many, many talented programmers out there. If we find someone who has experience in developing games, it wouldn't hurt to ask them if they would be willing to help. 3. Hire a freelance coder. The main issue here is money. A conservative estimate is that it'll take at least several man-years to write a game engine from scratch. Software engineers are in high demand right now, and having someone rewrite BoE for us would likely cost at $500,000. So I don't think this is going to work out. 4. Wait a couple of decades. Computers of the future are likely to be much more powerful than the human brain, and it may be possible to simulate hundreds of software developers working together. Such simulations may even be replaced by strong AI. "Computer, analyze this file [the current version of BoE] and rewrite it in Java, using the specs in [file name]." But that's probably going to be a very long wait. #1 is probably the best choice, although #2 may also help.

One major problem is that the old inter-forum links will all be broken. However, I don't imagine it being too difficult to run a script that goes through the database and replaces all instances of spiderwebforums.com with spiderwebforums.ipbhost.com.