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Thoroughly disgusted


Shyguy

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Here is a copy of an email I sent to Linda Strout and Mr. Vogel. I thought I'd share it with you here...

 

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I have twice sent you the updated version of Adventurer's Club 3, which fixes a serious bug, and you have not replaced the old file with this new one. If you are not going to replace the old game, then please remove my scenario from your site. The serious bug that it contains will cause the game to be unfinishable, and for a player to go through such a huge game as this, and not to be able to finish, is simply unfair to those who wish to play this game. By ignoring my requests, you show your lack of interest and support, not only to those who have bought and designed scenarios with your software, but also a lack of caring for the players as well. I am throughly disgusted with your company and will not buy another product, nor encourage others to, as well.

 

Thank You

 

Jeff Weisler

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Ow.

 

SW have mentioned that they don't like having to post updated versions of scenarios to fix bugs, and apparently it's a pretty low priority for them. I guess it's understandable that you're angry, though; it's been quite a while now (although at least AC3 hasn't disappeared off the face of the earth like Bandits II).

 

EDIT: According to the scenario detail fields, the version of AC3 on SW is 2.0.2, and the version on Alexandria is 2.0.1. Is the current version 2.0.3?

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At least Revenge got replaced. B2 is still gone.

 

Honestly, I don't give a rat's ass about Spidweb anymore. Their tables suck, and the only appeal for releasing a scenario to them is the masses- avoiding which, of course, is the only reason that I stay with Blades anyway. Their massive incompetence angers me, it angers everyone. I'm not sure how much longer I'll continue designing at this rate.

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Don't stop designing Mr.TM.(if that title is annoying, let me know) You display extrordinary creativity in your scenarios, and the fact you can put out good scenarios in a short time is amazing. I think it is great people still are making scenarios for BoE. I am currently working on one, just to try to keep it alive. I am still considering buying BoA but I am not so sure... what would you all reccomend? And Mr.Shyguy, that is a rather daring letter. I think it is awesome you would write something like that to Jeff.

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The Mr. in front of TM is almost contradictory. He isn't exactly the paragon of respect- heh heh

 

Edit- Pardon my proliferation of posts- I'm afraid that I've been enjoying myself too much. I can dissapear if it is desired! Not to go into a blue funk or anything like that- I am totally aware that this sounds melodramatic but I really did not mean to offend anybody. Including Rosy

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Here is the the reply I received, the very next day...

 

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I have only received ONE request to update your scenario. This request is from August 30, a little over a week ago. I have just now had the time to update your scenario and upload it to the website.

 

We do support our customers who make and play Blades of Exile scenarios, but only AFTER we have processed customers orders and worked on our upcoming games, which provides us with income, keeps us in business, and allows us to host all these scenarios for free on our website.

 

If you do not wish to support our company, that is your perogative. However, please bear in mind that the Blades of Exile scenarios are only one item on our large list of things to do.

 

Linda Strout

Keeper of Blades

 

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I was all ready to send a thank-you note and apologize for the harshness of my letter, but I checked the site and found that the file there to download is "3advclub.sit"! I can't open a .sit file! Don't think any Windows users can. Give me a break!

 

I give up.

 

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In response to your comment Rosie, I do think that Jeff Vogel deserves SOME respect. I mean without him, we wouldn't be here on this webboard. Certianly he doesn't deserve the respect of The Creator and TM and company, but some at least. And, a good friend of mine's last name is Vogel as well.

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Quote:
Originally written by Wham Bam Shizam:
In response to your comment Rosie, I do think that Jeff Vogel deserves SOME respect. I mean without him, we wouldn't be here on this webboard. Certianly he doesn't deserve the respect of The Creator and TM and company, but some at least. And, a good friend of mine's last name is Vogel as well.
Of course he does. From us, he deserves as much respect as I do from you or you do from me. That's just common civility. But when he's buggered people around like that, he loses a certain amount of that right.
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Quote:
Originally written by Shyguy:
I can't open a .sit file! Don't think any Windows users can. Give me a break!

I give up.

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I think PC users can download an unstuffit utility. See http://www.stuffit.com for more info. But Spiderweb should be using ZIP. It works on both platforms.
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Quote:
But when he's buggered people around like that, he loses a certain amount of that right.
Whatever went wrong in the past, now, in the presence, all this might simply be too much. I don't think that Mariann Vogel works full time, how could she. Jeff is programming, so the bulk of the office work is on Linda Strout's shoulders. And though she is universally disliked, it's only fair to say that it is a lot of work for just one person.

Those who suggest withdrawing the BoE scenarios from Spiderweb probably point in the right direction. Let them be hosted some place else, and let Spidweb just give a link to that site.
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Quote:
Let them be hosted some place else, and let Spidweb just give a link to that site.
Actually they do have a link to Alexandria, which I just consider as the only place to get scenarios from. I haven't been here all that long and even I know Jeff's record. Why expect anything more? If you love blades then just pay the man for the game and never deal with him again. He'd probably rather not have too many people showing him up by making better scenarios anyways. I don't really think there are that many more people visiting Spiderweb than are the Lyceum so I think the 'masses' point is moot. If you don't like Jeff then just stick with the rest of the community. We care!
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You'll notice that all the BoA scenarios have been uploaded quickly. Within three or four days, A Perfect Forest will be sitting on the Quality scenarios table, complete with a list of user reviews. If Stareye updates it, they'll get the new version up in a jiffy. If it recieves more ratings, they'll update the score and the reviews.

 

It's not a case of "We don't have time to look after BoE." It's a case of "We don't really give two hoots."

 

Note that they list "working on upcoming games" which are five or six months from being released, as being more urgent than providing prompt customer service.

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It would be feasible to develop a community-serviced scenario database. You'd simply have a password system -- scenario designers sign up for an account; you add a few administrators; other than that, the scenario designers themselves add and modify their scenario entries and upload the appropriate files.

 

This system would make it so that the only administrative red tape would be that required to manage accounts and keep an eye out for abuse.

 

Combine this with an Alexandria-style system and you have a searchable scenario database, complete with scores, kept current by those with the most interest in keeping it so.

 

Scenarios by people who are no longer around in the community could be grandfathered in by the administrators, since there's little chance of the original author needing to modify the record.

 

All it requires is some scripting, some HTML, and a nice SQL database. And effort. And interest.

 

I've been planning on implementing such a system for Pyg. It'll be fun.

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When I wrote to Spiderweb to complain about the .sit file, here's the response I got...

 

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Mariann,

 

What do I do with this whiney guy?

 

Do you want me to figure out how to do the files as .zip instead of .sit?

 

Linda

 

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Nice, huh.

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Really? I'll be damned. Linda is even worse than I thought. She really CC'd that to you?

 

This is an insult. I have bought Spiderweb games in the past, and if this is how they choose to treat the people who produce content for a game that they no longer work on but still profit on... well, they don't deserve any more profit from me.

 

I was going to buy BoA, but not now. Not ever. Not unless some major changes happen, starting first with some apologies.

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I thought Shyguy was overreacting a little at first too, but just look at that reply. The second paragraph worries me more than the first; the fact that Linda failed to notice or appreciate the difference between a .sit file and a .zip file, and apparently did not in fact know how to make a .zip file at all despite maintaining a database that stores scenarios exclusively in that format, simply astounds me.

 

EDIT: Areni and Lost Tunnels 2, both on the Untried and Untested list, are also in .sit format. Seems an odd sort of business practice to alienate half your customers, but it's not as if there isn't precedent for it -- witness the frankly bizarre decision to store Mac custom graphics in resource forks in BoA.

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Quote:
Originally written by Andrea:
It would be feasible to develop a community-serviced scenario database. You'd simply have a password system -- scenario designers sign up for an account; you add a few administrators; other than that, the scenario designers themselves add and modify their scenario entries and upload the appropriate files.

This system would make it so that the only administrative red tape would be that required to manage accounts and keep an eye out for abuse.

Combine this with an Alexandria-style system and you have a searchable scenario database, complete with scores, kept current by those with the most interest in keeping it so.

Scenarios by people who are no longer around in the community could be grandfathered in by the administrators, since there's little chance of the original author needing to modify the record.

All it requires is some scripting, some HTML, and a nice SQL database. And effort. And interest.

I've been planning on implementing such a system for Pyg. It'll be fun.
So why not do it for BoA? BoE scenario development is so slow now I don't think it's worth it - but if you want to do it, I'd be happy to send you all the Alex data and turn it over to you.

Talk is cheap, but action here would be rewarded by a very grateful community.
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Doing it for one would do it for others very easily.

 

If I were hypothetically to make this hypothetical database for Blades, speaking in a purely hypothetical manner, what data do you think would be useful to store? Basically what you have at Alexandria?

 

I've also been thinking that it'd be useful to have a separate table for designers. That way, one would simply have to modify their contact info once and it would change all of their scenario records.

 

What do you think?

 

Er, hypothetically.

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The "whiney guy" part didn't bother me half as much as the second line. What IS the matter with these people? Don't they know that Windows users can't open .sit files? I've already got an email from a player asking me how to open the file. I told him to check out this forum and then to complain to Spiderweb.

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Quote:
Originally written by Shyguy:
The "whiney guy" part didn't bother me half as much as the second line. What IS the matter with these people? Don't they know that Windows users can't open .sit files? I've already got an email from a player asking me how to open the file. I told him to check out this forum and then to complain to Spiderweb.
Yeah, I know, it SOOOOOOO simple. If she can't be bothered to install WinZip, right hand click the folder, and select "Add to shyguysscenario.zip" she must be either;

a) inept
B) annoying
c) plain damned annoying
d) all of the above!

- Archmagi Micael

But also, ShyGuy, don't forget, Jeff doesn't get all of the Emails you send him. Some go to Mariann, and some to... Linda (I can see why Jeff named the evil lady in Exile\Avernum 3 {Tower of Magi disaster} after her laugh !)
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Quote:
Originally written by Drakefyre:
Heh heh heh.

Major overreactions from the entire community.
You, child, are no designer. I identify with Shyguy's rejection, insomuch as we BoE designers make the game worth buying. By slapping the designers in the face, you harm the game itself. Put Linda on the phones, but goddamn, keep that bitch off of the website.

And of course, this nonsense doesn't help me want to design more scenarios for a product supported so abysmally.
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I'm sure she'd like that! *wickedchuckle* laugh

 

Talk about customer services... "Whiney Guy". And they complain about OUR intellectual losses. But we'll probably have Linda Strout around for ages to come. I mean, after all, she's been with them for a fair while already!

 

- Archmagi Micael

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This is perplexing. Areni was put up as a .zip file first (and I think can still be downloaded in that format from the forum header), but has indeed now been replaced with a .sit. That's amazing. Why would anyone go to so much trouble to make things worse?

 

Do ya wanna be a part of the solution?

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Getting rid of her would be good, but then we'd only be forced to foister all of our problems on another person. But anyway, I'm not even sure Jeff likes Linda {Tower of Magi Disaster. The twit that lets the demons in is called LINDA!} . laugh

 

But i mean, maybe the next person won't be as bad as Linda Strout, or maybe she'll just grow up, and pulo herself together, so we can treat her as a being, not like a demented Al'Quaeda terrorist!

 

- Archmagi Micael

 

Oh also, If Al'Quaeda is censored, I didn't know, so TOUGH!

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Quote:
Originally written by Andrea:
Doing it for one would do it for others very easily.

If I were hypothetically to make this hypothetical database for Blades, speaking in a purely hypothetical manner, what data do you think would be useful to store? Basically what you have at Alexandria?

I've also been thinking that it'd be useful to have a separate table for designers. That way, one would simply have to modify their contact info once and it would change all of their scenario records.

What do you think?

Er, hypothetically.
I think everything at Alex would be good. Do keep seperate tables for designers, download locations, user review e-mail addresses. That would be far superior to what I have, and far easier to maintain. If Alcritas moves one more time..... smile
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