Yup, you guessed it - my bi-annual visitation of RE, I don't mean it to wind up that way but that's how it tends to happen for some weird reason...
...anyway reason I vanished was a long story - here goes:
Firstly Aaron Crosswaithe (the dumb-ass webby who last time I looked ran Pokémon crater) also hosted a friend's website - "Pokémod", my site (although not Pokémon related) was sub-hosted by the Pokémod site, they had PHP support so I could make a totally cool online game similar to the stuff seen here, unfortunatly Aaron forgot his medication one day and "accidently" deleted the Pokémod website hosting space... hence leaving me without a PHP suitable host
Tired and depressed I wandered into the realm of online gaming... firstly Mechwarrior 3, but after 3 frustrating months with a clan that refused to recognise that I could shoot straighter than virtually any other player in my star (Thats a battlemech squad), I then went off to the comfort of Diablo 2, and got recognised by the world's leading hardcore clan... got bored of that after a few months...
This week I got carried away to Birmingham (250km from home) to go my Gran's house for a few days... a few days without computers, or for that matter ANY gadgets found in the 21st century - there I repented my wrong-doings, came back, and found F2S actually works well as a host now... so here I am, back, full of fresh ideas, and ready to show the world who 0wn's the net =p
So um, what's been happening here then folks in that time?
[Editted by Ryuujin on Dec 26, 2001 19:21]
MintMan
Posts: 4061
Member #1
Dec 26, 2001 15:01
First of all, welcome back! Stuff around this forum has been less cool without you. Now you can help me insult people! Yay!
Heh-heh, yeah, F2S is a good host now. They were using their servers as an experiment, and now they're done with it! I can't think of the last time a server-deleted account has struck.
... thing is, their free services are only lasting up until 2/28/02. After that, you gotta pay. I'm going to be moving. I got more money for Christmas than expected, so I may be able to afford somethin' real nice. Well, not MUD-nice, but possibly up to $20 a month (although I really don't want to exceed $10). Right now, the only place I can find it Netfirms. I just hope band-width doesn't become an issue.
Anywho, around here, around here... actually, not much. I made that mIRC bot which is doin' pretty well. People seem to like it a lot. I am currently working on the BD RPG (it is in its very early stages) and I am also trying to learn how to program in 3-D graphics. Feh, I thought the book was supposed to be only about OpenGL, but it's everything -- still good, but I still gotta learn the OpenGL functions on my own.
So, yeah, it seems like when you left, all activity here did as well. Huh... odd....
Ryuujin
Posts: 176
Member #11
Dec 26, 2001 16:35
I am half your activity =p
I havn't had any E-mails off F2S about it - and I cna't find anything on their site. When I joined F2S they were proud they could deliever a free service, while still keeping it high quality, if they ask me to pay I'll remind them of that sales pitch, and if they still insist - I'll find somone else.
On the 3-D front, I suggest looking about in JS a bit first, I havn't done any tests myself, but I recently found Java applets can support OpenGL and Voxel (the later of the 2 is a terrain renderer) - Havn't tried it out myself tho.
Oh, I'm moving my site (F2S permitting) to www.anotherworld.f2s.com - early stages, and I doubt I'll ever pick back up Project Another World - although I'll prolly make the battle mode thingy as a mini attraction. I was also tempted to release the design notes for Whitecrest gym in a "previous works" portfoilio on the new site - just thought you might want to know =p
Anywayz - I'm off... (Dunno why I said that, doesn't matter in a static forum whether they're going offline or not)
Camo
Posts: 1609
Member #5
Dec 26, 2001 23:43
Good to hear from you again, hey, isn't another world a SNES game?I am lord of the lair my lair
Out Of This World was a game. Do you mean that, Camo?
Anywho, Ryuu, I think I'll stick to C. I have been not programming in it so much that I'm, forgetting things I may have already learned. I had to run an example from my book about pointers, Ryuu. Pointers! I know I learned how those worked, and I think I learned enumeration from disecting MUD code, but sure enough, I had to do it again.
Anywho, even if I do decide to start usin' Java or another language instead, it doesn't matter. What I'm learning is the formulae and methods to make the graphics; not OpenGL. I'm going to have to learn OpenGL itself another time. I don't know when seeing as how I'm swamped. Normally, I wouldn't be so, but freakin' ChaosS, who was supposed to help out on some of the QQBot things, went fruit-cup and declared he was going to make his own rip-off of it. I don't know if he can (he can program, but I don't know if he can make games), but I have to get mine out there enough so that they will sneer at his knock-offiness.
Another World, dead? I wanted to play that so badly ;.; And about F2S cuttin' their services, here is an small piece of what they sent me:
At Freedom2Surf we're constantly updating our web hosting
service and one of our big concerns is to make sure we have
the highest standards of customer service. To be able to
provide this we have decided to discontinue the experimental
free hosting service that we have been running.
The service will continue until February 28th 2002 after
which time any websites which have not transferred to our
Global Hosting package will be closed.
From there, they went on to say about their prices.... yeah... they suck.
Ryuujin
Posts: 176
Member #11
Dec 27, 2001 5:37
Hmm - well I ain't recieved one, but then I have a .co.uk E-mail addy, since they're a UK hosting company maybe they're being nice to their British customers ^_^
I know the basics of C++ but I could never seem to get Direct3D to initiate right so I kind of gave up on that idea - but I have the paperwork theories and formulae for a complete terrain renderer - range based polygon reduction, deformable terrain etc - the works =) (Sort of like Black and White's engine (if you ain't seen Black and white go check it out, even if you don't like the game it's a wonder of 3D rendering and AI coding)
Camo
Posts: 1609
Member #5
Dec 27, 2001 5:45
No, I'm sure there was a game called another world on SNES, I remember these one fang snake thingys and it was kinda like pitfall.I am lord of the lair my lair
Actually, (i just searched Yahoo) "Another World" is a game!
Anyhoo, great to hear from ya, Ryuu. Sounds like you really cleaned the on-line world's clock. Maybe you should drop by the GS-Bots and teach those dorks a thing or two. Man, could they use it.
Ryuujin
Posts: 176
Member #11
Dec 27, 2001 10:16
Another World WAS a SNES game (Made by the same group that made Flashback as I recall - similar style game)
I never actually played it, but I remember seeing it. I'd long forgotten about it though when I started production on the website, and when somone reminded I just thought "Ah screw them, not like I'm cashing in on their game/hype"
Who's GS-Bots or whatever you called 'em? - I'll go whip their asses =p
*Quickly points out that in case anyone wants to know he's got his PHP based news posting working now on the new website*
Ash10
Posts: 435
Member #3
Dec 27, 2001 10:53
GS-Bot: Is a mIRC game, you use commands, such as /msg [bot] makepokemon...I don't know if that is right but stuff like that. You then declare a battle with another person in the room and the bot calculates all this stuff and tells you damage and stuff...I use stuff to much...Experence the Game!
Game Station
MintMan
Posts: 4061
Member #1
Dec 27, 2001 12:46
The GSBots are Fanha's creation of a Gold/Silver PBS, except unlike Blizzard's, this one is chat-room based (no pictures) and it actually works (every known detail is like that of the game).
Of course, "sharked" Pokémon are rampant on this PBS, what with DVs being customizable and all. Hidden Power Clause has become necessary to keep things in check.
I personally like that there is a GS PBS, but there is just too much wrong. For one thing, I liked it when you could actually see your Pokémon. Being a mIRC Bot, it is just about as slow as a CGI/Perl HTML-based program. Also, there is a thing there called "LadderBot," which you can sign-up for to keep a ranking system of all enlisted players. Problem with it is, everyone wants to use it when they fight and it cheapens the game. Fun battles aren't as common since when judged, people want to win, and there are so many cheaters on that LadderBot its not even funny (like this one guy who asked for someone to go into a Sucky Battle, then starts with a Dragonite and sweeps the team).
Your site looks freakin' sweet! I'll hafta go there at least every month to check up on new gamage. Who did all those purdy dragon pics, anywho?
Ryuujin
Posts: 176
Member #11
Dec 27, 2001 14:23
Thanks, I thought it looked maybe a little bare, and I wasn't totally sure if the little dragon piccies were of a "publish on internet and not be beaten to death for poor artwork" quality (Yup, I did them).
Now to find myself a new host in case F2S does get assy
MintMan
Posts: 4061
Member #1
Dec 27, 2001 14:36
Like I always say, a web site's layout needs only to be as complicated as the site demands. Giving your site a busy layout would most likely come to no avail.
As for your artwork, publish anything on-line so long as it is not rendered in crayon or produces entirely on MSPaint. For some reason, web-goers can't get enough shiny pictures. Just look at, er, recall the former TPM (ding, dong! the witch is dead ^_^). That one Onix11 guy made tons of pictures for it, and they were all of very sub-par quality, yet it was good enough for the (somehow) largest Pokemon site at the time.
Ryuujin
Posts: 176
Member #11
Dec 27, 2001 15:08
TPM is dead? - Whoopy!
I visted Crater yesterday out of interest, still exactly the same layout as it has had for years, still no sign of Aaron "Alleged-Webmaster" Crosswaithe.
Anyway... I never checked the pictures section, I clicked one (think it was Onix11's) and thought "bugger this I'll just use pictures from other sections"
Ash10
Posts: 435
Member #3
Dec 28, 2001 13:18
TPM is Pokemasters.com right? Well if it is, Pokemasters and back up and running. Just no post from Kevin (I think that is what the webmaster was called). Wait! I was surfing and yes, it is pretty much dead. See, they have a sidebar but you can't access any of the stuff there. Yes! Finally the big almighty Pokemon sites are going down.
Edit:And I really like the new Another World site. It looks so cool, and sleek. It doesn't have big crammed into one sidebar look. I wish I had the time to do the little top menu to access the most important parts of the site. But right now I am fooling around with my In The Past battling system. I don't know if it will ever fly...
Ironic really... when I first started doing anything website related, the first thing I was taught is "never use frames" - they don't seem to look too bad on the new website... plus if you link to somone else's website the 2 un-obtrusive frames means that there's a good chance they'll click back to the site via the frame edges =p
I was originally gonna have a very dark metalic looking dragon in the top right behind the page title... but actually the sketchy appearance of that one on cheap lined paper sketeched in about 2 seconds ahs a certain appeal... I might remake a better quality version that keeps a sketchy feel to it instead of the metalic one I had planned...
MintMan
Posts: 4061
Member #1
Dec 28, 2001 14:37
Yeah, it's wacky how lower-quality art can sometimes have a good appeal to it... and it is especially handy when you can't draw in the first place... not that I'm taking this from a personal experience. *shifty eye mode*
TPM is quite technically gone. The main page is still there (for some odd reason) and the forum, which was on a different server, is still there.
I guess you never heard what happened with it, Ryuu, so I'll compress it right here. Kevin was declaring that the site was using too much bandwidth and was costing more and more to keep up *cough cough* hewashostedforfreebythatVGF.netthing *cough* so he needed donations and banner-clicking to stay in business. Pretty much, the last month of TPM's existence, he got a bunch of stupid children to give him money, and he took off with it.
Inactive Aaron is seeming a whole lot better now :/
