Where should I start designing?

[Rosycat]

Hello everybody!

I'm Rosycat and I have just joined these boards, although I have been reading them for answers and entertainment for quite some time. I am registering Blades of Exile(I have the demo) in March and am preparing for this by designing a scenario on paper. I'm writing dialologue, designing towns, writing plot, and so on.

But I'm a bit bewildered. Where should I start? I was thinking of an archipelago saga, about twenty towns. And whose scenarios should I play? Tatterdemalion or whatever-it-is? An Apology? Remember, I'm just a beginner. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

I really admire you people, especially Alorael and Drakefyre, because of the mastery you seem to have for the games. I'm still trying to beat the golems in Exile 3!

 

Well, please reply. Thanks,

 

- Rosycat

[The Almighty Doer of Stuff]

First, think out the plot a little. Get an idea of what you want to do. Make sure you give all your characters good motivation for what they're doing (Insanity and "pure evil" are bad excuses for a villian. Give them a better motivation.) and make sure you know how it will end, and some big points that will get it there. From there, it's up to you what order to do things in. You'll find the way you like best eventually.

I know the editor pretty well, and I know most of the major bugs. If you need help, feel free to contact me. My AIM address is Zeeqon5. Other people you might you might want to ask for help from:

AnamaFreak (Drakefyre)

Barcoorah (The Creator)

SeekerBB (Brett)

TerrorsMartyr (TerrorsMartyr)

There's other helpful members here who are good with the BoE editor, but I'm too tired to think of any more.

Oh, and one more thing: Don't talk about your scenarios before you finish them. You can ask for help programmingthings, but no more. Otherwise, you probably won't finish. Take Drakey's scenario, Rhapsody in Blue, for example.

(HURRY UP AND FINISH, DRAKEY! It better be good, since we had to wait so long!)

Anyway, good luck!

[Drakefyre]

Definitely plan out your plot and the steps you want the characters to take. You may want to reduce the number of friendly towns from 20 to 12 or 10. Writing dialogue gets tedious quickly. Oh, and my scenario is still in progress, Zeeqs. It will be finished. Eventually.

[Rosycat]

Thank you! I'll do the things you suggested. This is great! Now I have some idea of what to do.

 

-Rosycat

[Aran]

Hehe. I noticed this thread when saving... First post ever?

 

I wonder how many oldbies are here whose first post is still in existence.

 

Edit: Simultaneously using the opportunity to try for the record of the oldest topic revival ever.

[Lilith]

My first post was on Misc somewhere, probably in one of the political topics.

[Tristrana]

Mine was in ET. Something about Sliths and Nephilim, I think.

[Djur Revolutions]

Quote:

Originally written by Aran:
Hehe. I noticed this thread when saving... First post ever?

I wonder how many oldbies are here whose first post is still in existence.

Edit: Simultaneously using the opportunity to try for the record of the oldest topic revival ever.

Aran, Rosy's user number isn't much less than you. She isn't an oldbie by any stretch.

[Aran]

Compared to you despers, most people are newbies.

 

Am I though? Seriously, how long do I have to be here before I escape noobhood - ten years? Look, I've been here a year and three months. I know who people are already, no matter how often they change accounts and names. I know all the major satellite boards of Spiderweb and have posted at most, at some time or other. I first visited these boards (without registering) when misc was open. When I registered, Scorp was still here! What do you want, people?

[Tristrana]

Your virginity.

[The Almighty Doer of Stuff]

I believe Imban pulled something out of the bowels of Misc a couple months ago. I'm pretty sure that's an older topic revival than this one.

[ben4808]

My first post is still in existance, but then again, I wouldn't be considered an oldbie.

 

BtW, what's the line between an oldbie and newbie? A certain number of posts?

[+rosycat]

Nope. It's a generational thing.

 

Aran and I will become oldbies if we're still around when TM is gone.

 

If anything, join date has more to do with it than post count.

 

Also, I wouldn't call Arancaytar and myself newbies, either. Middle of the road, maybe, a bit on the new side.

[Drakefyre]

Oldbies are generally those who were around before the spidweb boards or present on the ikonboard.

[Lilith]

Yes, let's not forget that there were other boards before the official SW ones. I may not look it, but I predate pretty much every active community member except Alec.

[Kelandon]

I make four categorical distinctions. There are the elders of the community, like Alec and Thuryl, who have been here utterly forever. There are the real oldbies, who showed up no later than 2001, which includes people like Djur, Drakey, and most people that just about everyone thinks of as oldbies. (For some reason, 2001 seems to be the dividing line. If I set it any earlier, TM would be a newbie. ) Then there are the people who are new-ish, kinda, but showed up earlier than me. That's people like Rosy and Aran. And then there are people who are newer than me, who are definite newbies. Well, except some of the the 4000-4200 member numbers seem like they're slipping into the third category at this point, no longer real newbies and just sort of new-ish members.

 

Why I felt the need to explain that, I don't know.

 

EDIT: Nitpickers. TGM has so many accounts it's impossible to keep track of him. He feels newer than, say, Djur, though.

[Djur Revolutions]

I don't consider myself an oldbie, either, and I predate both the SW boards and the ezBoard Lyceum. That still means that compared to Alcritas, Brett Bixler, Stareye, Caligula, Thuryl, Alec, Drakefyre, Big Words, and so forth, I'm a spring chicken. I wasn't around for Dencity Lyceum, for example. I wasn't around in Zaloopa's heyday, nor Aceron's.

It's all about perspective.

[Aran]

Quote:

Your virginity.

You can't tell me all you oldbies had to lose yours, did you?

I don't think we'll see the day that TM leaves, Rosy. That'd be almost like waiting for the day Jeff Vogel leaves Spiderweb Software.

Edit: Oh, and I think the time to outgrow newbiehood isn't constant by any means. For instance, I instinctively consider Kelandon less of a newbie than people like FBM.

[The Almighty Doer of Stuff]

TM actually did leave in a bout of anger once. He came back a month or two later (I don't actually remember how long) to support Logalot in the Misc. moderator elections.

As far as I know, TM didn't show up in 2001. He first joined much earlier, I think. It's just that Spidweb switched from Ikonboard to UBB in September of 2001, so that's the earliest you'll see in the Registered field.

And I would hardly consider myself an oldbie.

 

EDIT: I think this holds the record for the most times I've ever edited a post. I think I just edited it about 8 times.

[go baby go]

TM was a mod at IkonBoards, yes?

[+rosycat]

Quote:

Originally written by Kelandon:

Then there are the people who are new-ish, kinda, but showed up earlier than me. That's people like TGM and Aran.

Wait... just how old is TGM? Cause I was positive he was pretty well-established by the time I rolled around, and Aran didn't come till about six months after I did. I never would have put them in the same era.

Not to nitpick Kelandon, just... is TGM an ageless man? o_O

[qwd]

I only came here a thousand member numbers earlier than Aran, of course we've been here the same time. You silly girl. ^_________^

 

No, sorry, ~1900 member numbers. My bad.

[Milu]

I was a lurker for a long time back when there was the BoE mailing list. I've even saved some of those emails and now it's nostalgic to read them .

 

However, I didn't join the boards until...

 

... 2002, apparently.

[The Almighty Doer of Stuff]

NEVERMIND

[Djur Revolutions]

I remember when TM showed up at the Lyceum. Wasn't long after the whole Solberg controversy.

[Kelandon]

In fact, one of TM's first posts is archived in the Lyceum's archive of the Solberg controversy. I found another early TM post at one point (it was HILARIOUS) but I can't seem to track it down now.

 

TM was a mod repeatedly, most notably on Misc, I think.

 

When the hell did TGM show up? If I had to guess, I'd say 2002, but I honestly can't tell. He has had too many accounts.

 

And Djur, pretty much everyone you mentioned is someone that I would put in the first category, as people who have been around forever. That's why I don't just think of people as "old" and "new."

[Aran]

I guess, then, that TM is the newest of oldbies, eh?

[*i]

I was around since the beginning of Blades of Exile with people like Derin, JtP, Aceron, Akhronath, etc. Zaloopa actually joined after the community began, I remember his entry into the community with his failed mailing list.

 

The way I see it, we have the following ages:

 

Antiquity -- Anyone around at the beginning back in 1997.

The Aceron Age -- Anyone who participated on Aceron's message board would qualify for this.

The Lyceum Age -- Anyone who joined post-Aceron, but prior to the creation of Ikonboard.

The Ikonboard Age -- While Ikonboard was around.

The UBB Age -- Our current age.

 

Can someone put some dates on these?

[+rosycat]

Off-topic, but sorta RE Kel's post about TMs first post

 

I think all those crappy designers who release one scenario should be encouraged to stick around. SM Adventurer said once on the Lyc that he had improved a lot on every scenario he had ever made. Well... look at Terror's Martyr.

 

His first scenario got a 1.67 on the CSR. His latest (for BoE) got a 9.23, and will be considered a must-play for noobs everywhere. I mean, roxxors yo.

 

This could happen for other designers... well... Zxquez sorta demolishes my argument... but he hasn't made twenty scenarios yet! He could still create a timeless classic!

 

EDIT: Also, after all this time I never expected my first topic to be so popular.

[Kelandon]

Drakey had a post about this somewhere (probably deleted by now). I think he said that Malkeera went up in 1997 and died in 2000. Then the Ikonboard went up in March '01. Then the UBB in September '01. Lyceum was something like '98-present. But don't quote me on that, because I don't really know.

 

And Rosycat, I couldn't agree more. As further proof:

 

Streila Spies: 1.67 -- bad

Unbalanced Accounts: 2.1 -- bad

Inn of Blades: 5.5 -- starting to show some promise

Echoes: 6.17 -- still showing promise, but eh

Echoes: Assault: 8.02 -- finally, on his fifth scenario (if we omit grich and ToM Utility) he actually produces something fairly solid

 

TM is a message of hope to newbies everywhere. Someday you, too, can create grand wonderful adventures, even if you struggle at first.

 

EDITS: For, like, stuf.

[Dragyn Bob]

I arrived in late Aceron age, but I don't count since I've never really been a productive community member.

[Lilith]

How'd I forget Brett and *i? I've been around since early 1998, so I'm newer than them by at least a few months.

[The Creator]

I arrived during the Ikonboard days. I joined the Lyceum around the time of the 4th contest. I came a bit later than TM and at almost exactly the same time as Khoth. I got BoE when Brotherhood of the Hand was the newest Solid Adventure.

[ben4808]

Quote:

Someday you, too, can create grand wonderful adventures, even if you struggle at first.

I'm pretty sure this is accurate for me. I just don't really have the computer time now to work on a scenario and I have a hard time finishing them as each town keeps getting better and I easily lose in some rather-ununique plots I've come up with (goblin tribe threating a town, yikes). But if I get going, I'm sure I could put out something at least a 3 or 4 class.

[Djur Revolutions]

"Inn of Blades: 5.5 -- starting to show some promise"

 

IoB is massively overrated, even on CSR. :-p

[ben4808]

Well, if I've read correctly, it was a good scenario back in the time it was made, back in the time when scenario designers weren't near as skilled as they are now. So back then its rating was higher still. But I do agree, compared to the outstanding scenarios in existance now, IoB would not be ranked among them. TM needs to stay with BoE, in my opinion. (Of course, he will most probably me part of the great BoA migration, but at his improvement rate, he could put out a very fine product).

 

Not that you already haven't, TM, but a designer can always get better.

[The Creator]

IoB is hardly ancient. That would be a somewhat more accurate statement if the scenario were about three years older.

[Kelandon]

And TM is leading the BoA migration. He released the first and fourth scenarios for BoA.

[Drakefyre]

I joined in 2001, around when Djur did? There are some things wrong with that:

 

I'm borderline between antiquity and Inside the Web. Djur joined somewhere in 2000.

 

Aceron left either in late 1999 or early 2000, and Brett took over his BoE board. ITW went down in September 2000, spidweb came up in March 2001 and switched to UBB October 2001.

 

I'd put the oldbie dividing line at 2001 too - just so it includes Saunders, Khoth, and Arctic.

[+rosycat]

IoB? Funny, that was the scenario TM smited me for ranking really low, saying I was a newbie stomping all over his scenarios. Heh.

[Milla]

I joined the ikonboards mid-late 2001. However I remember that I used to lurk on the boards as guest around the time TM was doing the whole vengeful god thing with his horus avatar.

[Djur Revolutions]

Quote:

Originally written by Drakefyre:
I joined in 2001, around when Djur did? There are some things wrong with that:

I'm borderline between antiquity and Inside the Web. Djur joined somewhere in 2000.

Aceron left either in late 1999 or early 2000, and Brett took over his BoE board. ITW went down in September 2000, spidweb came up in March 2001 and switched to UBB October 2001.

I'd put the oldbie dividing line at 2001 too - just so it includes Saunders, Khoth, and Arctic.

Well, I remember Lamentations as coming out just days after I showed up at the ITW Lyceum.
6/22/00 - Added Lamentations page and scenario. Changed the poll.
Thus spake Alcritas. So I've been around for... dear God. Four years.
I joined the SW boards in order to post in TM's Inn of Blades signup topic. I don't remember when that was, but I didn't really heavily involve myself for a while.
Desperance started in August 2001; soon after SW switched to UBB and, uh, either Scorp or TM got demodded, the Desp Boards started upon pressure from those worthies to provide a less regimented alternative to the SW boards.
Anyway, I'm still a newbie. Thuryl is at least three or four years older in the community than I.

[Kelandon]

With regard to the both of you, Drakey and Djur, I said that you joined sometime before 2001, which I'm pretty sure is accurate, not around the same time as each other in 2001, which is not.

 

Come to think of it, Drakey, I don't know when you joined the community, because you've always been really vague about it. My impression was that it was more recently than '97 and significantly earlier than '01, but I've just been guessing.

 

EDIT: And I know you've been playing the games since '94, but that's not the same. I've been playing the games since '99, but I didn't join the community until '04.

[Dragyn Bob]

Based on what I know of him, I'm going to guess that Drakey joined about 1998.

[Talent in a Previous Life]

I think I saw his first post, about potentially making the Divine Comedy as a Blades scenario. Dated from early 1999, I think. I post-date Djur and TM by a few months.

[Drakefyre]

That wasn't my first post - I joined sometime in 1998, around the middle of the second season of the Arena. I sat out the third and entered in the fourth.

 

My first post was on the scenario board in ... March/April 1998 about ... Rubacus? I remember when Leon Lin was a board regular and would answer people's questions.

 

My favorite oldbie who's no longer around would have to be Caligula.

[ben4808]

Hmmmm...come to think of it now, would you say that I'm the newest member of the board that posts regularly (say ~5 posts per day when I'm here. No, I usual manage about 10, but I'll set 5 as the line between regular poster or not)? I might also be the only one over member number 4500 with at least 250 posts.

[Imban]

I joined in time for... the sixth or seventh Arena season. Aceron age here, I guess.

[Aran]

I'd set 2 a day to be the border between active members and rarely-posting members. Anyone significantly above 5-6 is a spammer or a noob (or both).

 

It's the quality, not the quantity. The latter only costs Jeff diskspace and us hours of valuable time backing up stuff when he has to clean out the trash again.

[Dragyn Bob]

And then there's me, who posts 2 times a week and it's all useless crap.