How much money do I need to donate in order to get the "Bevin" nonsense dealt with?

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-vid (KI: 00201880)
The Age Linker's Guide
It is up to you to create your own adventures today!

matthornb wrote:

2) I want usable documentation of that age conversion method and of the 3ds max plugins which normal fans (not only experienced programmers) can follow.

Being a graphic artist and not a programmer I have always liked the idea of creating an age but have no idea how/where to start.

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KI # 316996...so good to say that again

Spacehead wrote:

matthornb wrote:

2) I want usable documentation of that age conversion method and of the 3ds max plugins which normal fans (not only experienced programmers) can follow.

Being a graphic artist and not a programmer I have always liked the idea of creating an age but have no idea how/where to start.

http://forum.guildofwriters.com/

Guild of Writer forums is the best place to start.

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Fix the Bevin thing so Vidkid is happy and give us open source Uru so people can make stuff.

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Retired forum mod, mszv, amarez in Uru (KI 89257), other online games
Blog - http://www.amarez.com, Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/amareze

mszv wrote:

Fix the Bevin thing so Vidkid is happy and give us open source Uru so people can make stuff.

You have it backwards: give us open source then we can fix the Bevin thing. Creating ages doesn't inherently require open-source (although it might make it easier, as would allow us to provide documentation).

If the delays regarding open source are due to programmers' time, using that time on anything other than moving towards open source is illogical.

However, I suspect that the delays may lie elsewhere. IIRC, Cyan have said that they intend to release MOUL as open-source, but there may be factors beyond their control. E.g.:

1. Contractual issues with UbiSoft. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the open-source licence prohibits making MOUL playable off-line, as that could compete with Uru:CC. Although it's unlikely that Uru:CC could produce significant revenue at this stage, it's conceivable that Ubi have rights which would effectively grant them a veto over an open-source release.

2. There may also be issues regarding security. Cyan may feel the need to disable certain features on their servers before releasing the source (KI-mailing images springs to mind) and/or institute effective moderation and/or support.

Keikoku wrote:

1. Contractual issues with UbiSoft. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the open-source licence prohibits making MOUL playable off-line, as that could compete with Uru:CC. Although it's unlikely that Uru:CC could produce significant revenue at this stage, it's conceivable that Ubi have rights which would effectively grant them a veto over an open-source release.

I don't think Ubisoft has the rights to Uru / Uru Live anymore. Uru is 7 years old now and I'd think the rights either weren't there in the first place, or have gone away and Uru Live's rights have been given back to Cyan.

I think Cyan is making some progress behind the scenes. We all know they don't tell us everything that's happening there. My guess is that by the end of the year, we will see some part of the source in a repository OR a fan age in Uru.

In the meantime, we need bugfixes. Minkata, the Wall (that's a biggie, might need OS), Bevin, and my pet peeve: making the pellets do something useful.

Well I really am wondering if that 'Black Cloud' (of unforseen catastrfy ) that has followed Cyan through the
URU years has raised its head again with this post from Chogon; http://mystonline.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=18190

My question is sense Cyan has used the URU engine to create a new game with lots of cool added features!
I watched the videos of this new game and if I had not known this to be a totaly different project I would have
instantly thought OH WOW Cyan is going to surprise us with all these new features in URU/MOULa!!!!
What a dissapointment I would have had and even though I do know it is a totaly different project.

I really wonder...

[Just how is URU ever going to be Open Source now!??!!!??!!?!?!]

Simple answer; URU is NEVER going to be OS in the definition of what a OS program is.
Plus Cyan stated in another post that they were trying to find a few indiviuals (spelling) who have
programmed some of the URU code that have sense long been gone, or bluntly said, passed on.
SO how many years does it take for the rights to be nullified on those little bits of code? If Cyan can not find
these persons?

But that is all water over the dam now with Mysti/MagiQuest I'm afraid. SO now what Cyan? Please
explaine to us on this IMO most important issue. and at least release server code so we can get shards going
and open up the game so we can work on RESTORING the cavern and fix the bugs in it and get everything working again etc.

IMO I view MOULa net work like a Borg collictive Cyan server in the center (canon, login vault ) with all the shards (user run servers)
surrounding Cyan's server. each shard becomes its own enity with its own way of thinking and doing things beliefs etc.
So users will have a vast choice of different shards they could log on to. When in the event a shard has come up
with a tested bug fix, it is then sent to Cyan server to be implimented in the next update. (left out all the red tape inbetween)

'Resistance is futile!'

_________________
--=VoiZod=-- MO:UL is:
MOUL - KI - 07289007, MOULa - KI - 00815646,
UURU - KI - D'mala 00943458, TMP - KI 131549,
URU - KI - Atrus 03668735, Katran 00982487,
URUb - KI - 00356281

As for the questions about how MagiQuest affects an open-sourced Uru, first the MagiQuest stuff was announced awhile back. Cyan has continued aggressively talking about open source since then.

Second, JWPlatt, from Creative Kingdoms (publisher of MagiQuest), has said that MagiQuest is like "a forked total conversion of the MOUL engine… The only real engine improvement that comes to mind besides our server integration is line of sight action for casting a wand". So, the cool things you're seeing are artistic elements, not engine improvements. That means clever people can achieve those kinds of effects in Uru (and I sure hope they do!)

You can read his post here: http://mystonline.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=332743#332743

VoiZod wrote:

Well I really am wondering if that 'Black Cloud' (of unforseen catastrfy ) that has followed Cyan through the
URU years has raised its head again with this post from Chogon; http://mystonline.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=18190

Phew. You scared me for a moment there. Cyan is in good shape right now: iMyst, iRiven, GoG.com, MagiQuest, MOULa donations. Compared to their previous years, they seem to be doing well.

VoiZod wrote:

Simple answer; URU is NEVER going to be OS in the definition of what a OS program is.
Plus Cyan stated in another post that they were trying to find a few indiviuals (spelling) who have
programmed some of the URU code that have sense long been gone, or bluntly said, passed on.
SO how many years does it take for the rights to be nullified on those little bits of code? If Cyan can not find
these persons?

There are a few things to clear up here:
1. The open source part of Uru will be comprised of client and server code, with textures having possibly another (more restrictive) license.
2. The individuals that wrote the original code are not needed to "clear" the source release. However, seeking their help greatly reduces the time and effort to get the source ready. Otherwise, the programmers need some time to read and understand the code written by ex-Cyan people. The big problem, right now, with releasing the source, is that Uru uses a bunch of proprietary stuff like PhysX and Bink and these parts need to be removed.

MagiQuest is akin to sold Linux distributions: there is Plasma, which is (will be) open source, then there is the content and Cyan's experience with the engine. Building a commercial game for someone else doesn't mean Plasma itself cannot be open sourced, or that they can't use a newer fork for one, thus keeping Plasma as the big asset.

[quote="dragossh"]

Keikoku wrote:

...and my pet peeve: making the pellets do something useful.

What, tasting good doesn't count as "useful"?

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Frisky Badger
Guild of Maintainers
My opinions are my own and not necessarily those of the Guild of Maintainers.
KI# 00140468

For a n-hour wait? No.

My requests so far are simple;

1) Fix the bugs for the Gahreesen Wall. I don't even care if User-created ages are coming in another half-year (I do actually), I just want to be able to train as a Maintainer on the Wall. It'd be fun organizing training days for the GoMA in Gahreesen should it get fixed.

2) I'd like to see just a few new Cyan-created places made available before Uru goes Open Source. Even something small like the proposed Game Room in the Bevin would be nice. I'm not really asking for new complete ages, just a "snack", if you will.

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-My Explorer Journal/Blog: http://urulive.guildaxis.net/?cat=18
-KI # 254793

Ah'lex wrote:

I'm not really asking for new complete ages, just a "snack", if you will.

Good idea. A snack machine in Ae'gura would be nice.

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I once followed blindly in Yeesha's footsteps. In retrospect, perhaps I should have taken my own journey instead.

I forgot about the pellets thing, because I block them out of my mind. I never do anything with them. I haven't even completed the MMO Uru age that uses them -- once I did what you had to do in solo player Uru I never did anything with them again. And since they don't do anything else in Uru -- I never touch them.

But -- if you could make them do something, ongoing, hey, I'd drop a pellet or two.

Shudder, those pellets.

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Retired forum mod, mszv, amarez in Uru (KI 89257), other online games
Blog - http://www.amarez.com, Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/amareze

mszv wrote:

But -- if you could make them do something, ongoing, hey, I'd drop a pellet or two.

You can make some really hot ones that explode. Not ongoing but fun for a couple of times.

There was a group that did a ton of research on pellet cookin’.

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semplers' shards