Thanks for the communication. My preference would be to have a regularly scheduled communication even if it's "Nothing New Yet"

> I will also pass on apparent consensus that you (at least those who've written on the topic) are ok with having things that cannot be released ripped out and handed off rather than waiting for them to be rewritten, even if it means it won't work at all when initially provided.

I'll add myself to this consensus.

RAWA wrote:

I see many questions in this thread that I don't know the answers to. As I said in an earlier thread, I've been out of this loop for almost two years - and when I moved onto other projects, the open source idea wasn't on the table, so I simply cannot answer the questions that are being raised. I will collect the questions and pass them by Rand and MarkD, and provide any answers I can when I can.

I will also pass on apparent consensus that you (at least those who've written on the topic) are ok with having things that cannot be released ripped out and handed off rather than waiting for them to be rewritten, even if it means it won't work at all when initially provided.

One question I can answer, sort of: When is "soon"? "Soon" is a highly-technical term here at Cyan. It means later than "Now" but before "Someday". In this case, it means that someone's spare cycles are being spent on it. Given the nature of "spare cycles", there is no set timetable. It'll get done when it gets done.

The complete scale goes something like this: Now, Very Soon, Soon, Later Than Soon, Sooner Than Later, Later, Much Later, Eventually, Someday, Forget It

Hope that helps.

I just wanted to throw in my two cents. The update is another step in proving (to me at least) that you (RAWA) are better prepared to deal with our rantings and questions than any other previous community manager.

Now the tangent of what is going to be open and what isn't is not a big issue for me. I would be more than happy to just have the plasma code and the game code. Sure having the prp structure layed out for us would be a bonus, but I see no need for the Uru content to be given out.

I do understand the argument that "Open Source Uru" would imply that the entire game would be open sourced, but is that what is most important here? Perhaps just calling it Open Uru (A bit more vague) would be better?

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BAD wrote:

Perhaps just calling it Open Uru (A bit more vague) would be better?

Awesome idea.

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JWPlatt wrote:

BAD wrote:

Perhaps just calling it Open Uru (A bit more vague) would be better?

Awesome idea.

I think that's a move in the wrong direction. It's not URU that's going to be open. It's the source for the programs that URU runs in that's going to be open. Open source URU is a more accurate depiction. Some people claim that open source URU is already too vague and misleading.

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Open source code URU?
or
Open source code but not open content URU?

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realXCV wrote:

Open source code URU?
or
Open source code but not open content URU?

To satisfy the sticklers, how about:
Open Source Plasma

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well it sure is good to get some news. the situation is pretty much how i was thinking it was. it also reinforces what i've said all along: as long as cyan still exists there will be uru. if they could get a server up uu style with uru in the state it was in moul i would be very very happy. i would be more than willing to pay a monthly fee to help pay for it as i'm sure many of us would. thanks, as always, to rand, RAWA, and the rest of cyan for not giving up (including former employees). thanks also to all the members of the fantastic uru community for keeping it alive. we are all uru. keep the faith.

The more I see this thread grow, the happier I feel that something may be happening and not so far in the future any longer. I do respect the work some fans have done who are more programming-adept than me, yet I feel there is much more the community as a whole has done and will do that requires no coding, modeling, or administrative experience. While important, those are just one part of what we gain when we get back into the Cavern. We get each other back, too, and we get back a place to be together. All the new places and new things to explore will be fun to, well, explore, and before, during, and after the exploration we will have parties, gatherings, concerts, plays, classes, meetings, squabbles...er, disagreements, and all sorts of drama we can participate in or not.

I know the whole wait isn't over, but then again, one part is.....

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Official updates on this forum are like drops of sugar water landing near an ant colony. It's fun to watch how quickly the initial post attracts the attention of all. Thank you RAWA for keeping us in the loop. I look forward to that magical day when Cyan announces MOUL's launch has officially gone from "soon" to "very soon."

sideshow118 wrote:

Official updates on this forum are like drops of sugar water landing near an ant colony. It's fun to watch how quickly the initial post attracts the attention of all. Thank you RAWA for keeping us in the loop. I look forward to that magical day when Cyan announces MOUL's launch has officially gone from "soon" to "very soon."

I squirm with excitement at the thought of that magical day coming. For now I'm amusing myself with exploring Devokan in SL...already I've met a few more Myst fans and it makes me very happy.

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RAWA wrote:

I will also pass on apparent consensus that you (at least those who've written on the topic) are ok with having things that cannot be released ripped out and handed off rather than waiting for them to be rewritten, even if it means it won't work at all when initially provided.

There are some of us who would very gladly make it work after everything is ripped out. Granted, there isn't a whole host of us, but it would likely be much faster waiting on all of these "spare cycles" you mention--which I do completely understand how they can be few and far in between. Our progress would be much more tangible at any rate.

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It seems that there are more 'resources' available than what are acknowledged. Cyan is and has been in a severe financial crunch lately but...........What is the value of all the time qualified programmers and developers who are members of this community can offer? Perhaps someone who is a little more programming savvy would like to create a poll and find out just how many current resources are available - mostly in terms of competent man-hours on a per-month basis. I did not mean to include writers of storyline and testers as I believe the necessary resources would be covered for these functions already. I mean the various programming/code-writing functions as there are probably different categories for different things like those who can write server code or rendering code or game movement code etc. I know too little about these things to do it otherwise I would.

Perhaps the available resources combined with whatever Cyan can contribute at this time can make all the difference needed to go online once again.

Of course anyone willing to assist in this project (open source/re-write code etc.) could be amenable to signing agreements and doing things only following the direction of Cyan. This is not only plausible but highly workable, right? So.......

Let's get going. Any programmers available for creating a poll?

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I agree with the consensus of "rip it out, we'll fix it later". For future reference, it might speed things up if Cyan were to come to the fans before potentially "wasting" cycles on work that doesn't need to be done.

I disagree with the sentiment that Uru's content must be open source in order for this to work. I think the game's files should be open so fans can do things like fix the KI, revamp networking code, etc. Allowing for that doesn't mean that all of Cyan's textures, sounds, etc. must be released. I think there are two things which need to happen.

1: The code is open. Full stop.

2: Fans can create their own shards/servers. Full stop.

Without 1, we're back at UU which, though it was good, won't likely work a second time. We need to be able to grow the world, not just look at it.
Without 2, you will see division in the community again. The shards are a useful way for people with incompatible points of view to see each other only when they want to. Too much exposure is like living with your partner after you have divorced.

Lastly, I agree with Quatermain. There are vast quantities of "spare cycles" in the fanbase. Even those who don't care for Uru and just want to figure out how the code works. Cyan needs to put this talent to good use.

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I will only agree with the consensus if it's "rip it but put a comment telling us what it was supposed to do". I'm not sure I want to dig through 1000000 lines of never seen before code just to guess what a blank line was supposed to do.

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