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Post by sunshine on Jul 8, 2008 4:24:55 GMT -8
I agree with Allort. The delay is justified and I don't mind waiting for the new goodies.
The single thing I like best about all this is being kept informed. As long as I have an idea of what is going on, I don't mind waiting. You do an excellent job of keeping us up to date, Charles. Thank you.
Beepe, practicing patience
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Post by Charles on Jul 11, 2008 22:48:42 GMT -8
I now have the thing working where a player can lead units of NPCs into battle or on exploration trips.
I can also give people pets that will follow them around. There's still a problem that needs to be worked out, but the script is working.
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allort
Junior Member
Posts: 95
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Post by allort on Jul 12, 2008 9:25:52 GMT -8
Hmm... a pet chicken for beepe? i like the sound of this!
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Post by sunshine on Jul 12, 2008 13:10:52 GMT -8
LOL, Allort. A pet chicken is just about my speed. Maybe a pet dragon, small model, for you?
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Post by Charles on Jul 16, 2008 10:19:43 GMT -8
Here's an update on what's going on:
I'm hoping to finish the last major thing that we need to do to get the MySQL stuff working tomorrow or the next day (July 17 or 18, 2008). If that goes well, we could schedule some sessions and post them right after that. We probably would schedule the sessions for several days later to give people a chance to get the word. If I encounter problems doing this, it could be delayed further.
The pet function is working, but you may lose your pet any time the server restarts. That would linclude server crashes in the middle of the game. I have an idea on how to fix this, but I don't know if it will work. As it stands right now, that's how the thing with pets works.
The function that would allow players to command units of NPC warriors is not working. I might be able to fix it, but I'm not sure. There is a workaround that those of us on the development team can use, so you might see admin-controlled characters commanding units of NPCs.
We are working on a new "death script" that would cause players who die to drop all their equipment and money where they fell. Just a bit of realism that I think is essential. For those of you who may not like that idea, you might be glad to know that the script is not working and we have had more difficulty getting this script to work than any other script.
There is some new content, but we've added very little new content because we've been working on the issues mentioned above. The new content that has been added is all in places that one player glimpsed and the rest have never seen. It's related to the upcoming military expedition event. When we're ready to do that, it will seem like a huge amount of new content because the little bit we're adding will allow you to more easily see the rest that has been there since the first session, but was hard to get to. So far as I know, you guys didn't ever go there (except one player who was only there very briefly.)
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allort
Junior Member
Posts: 95
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Post by allort on Jul 17, 2008 0:16:56 GMT -8
just keep going
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Post by sunshine on Jul 17, 2008 2:52:17 GMT -8
Nice going, Charles. I was just thinking this morning that I'd ask how you are doing, and you beat me to it. Well done. I don't know about others, but I check on the status here every day. When you are ready we will post a notice on The Soul forum. I am eager to see what's new... Beepe
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Post by Charles on Jul 17, 2008 21:06:21 GMT -8
MySQL is up and running (on two computers, one to go). The MySQL database has been established for the game. It's been tested and it's working. Other than installing MySQL on the game server computer, we've done it.
That was surprisingly difficult. It was the big obstacle to scheduling another session. Now that we've created a new database to keep track of player accounts, character information and all that, it's empty and has no data in it. As previously announced, this means that everyone will need to create a new account and recreate their characters.
I am now ready to announce that the next session will be on Tuesday, probably around 3:30 PM Los Angeles time. I'm not going to post it as an officially scheduled session until I check a schedule and pick a definite time and work out what time that is in various time zones. Also, I'm going to install MySQL on the game server first.
Assuming all that goes welll, sometime tomorrow I expect to post the official announcement, but I'm telling you here ahead of time it will probably be around 3:30 or 4:00 PM Los Angeles Time on Tuesday which is July 22nd I think.
There may not be any visible new content in the next session. Almost all the work we've been doing is on the MySQL stuff that doesn't show, scripts that aren't finished, content in places you can't yet easily get to and new graphics that need some more work before we put them in the game. As time goes by we'll get all that stuff ready to put in the game, but we don't have to wait for that before having another session. Also, by Tuesday some of that might be ready.
So spread the word. We're back online on Tuesday (Wednesday in some time zones).
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allort
Junior Member
Posts: 95
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Post by allort on Jul 21, 2008 0:58:13 GMT -8
time depending i should be there - guild has been notified already
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Post by Charles on Jul 22, 2008 0:49:28 GMT -8
Glad to hear it.
I was planning to promote this session heavily to bring in a lot of new players, but now I'm thinking I will do little or none of that because we keep discovering situations where the software doesn't do what we expect it to. This is apparently related to the new MySQL database.
Some of these are problems that we are solving as we go. Some of them are just things where we are unfamiliar with how to do things with MySQL, but they can be done once we figure it out. Anyway, I think maybe this session will be mostly the same old people and we'll just make sure everything is working before making a big effort to recruit more players.
After the session today (Tuesday, July 22, 2008) the next session will probably be on Friday and if all goes well that one may be one where we try to attract some new players.
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Post by Charles on Jul 22, 2008 5:10:55 GMT -8
Actually some of the problems have been solved now and some effort has been made to attract new players, but not nearly as much as we're planning to do next time if all goes well.
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Post by sunshine on Jul 22, 2008 11:15:32 GMT -8
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allort
Junior Member
Posts: 95
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Post by allort on Jul 23, 2008 8:09:26 GMT -8
sounds good to me, hopefully ill make the friday session, i dont think i finish work too late friday
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Post by Charles on Jul 25, 2008 1:53:28 GMT -8
Some new things that are ready and should be working in the fourteenth session are these:
(1) When you die, all your items drop. You show up in the underworld with nothing. Even if you get resurrected, you don't have your items including coins. But any store credit you might have with Thoreg you keep.
(2) There is now a dwarf in Worfin Village who will teach players how to spearfish so it is easier to get started playing.
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Post by sunshine on Jul 25, 2008 2:40:02 GMT -8
2. Excellent, Charles. That is going to make it so much easier.
1. We are going to have to have a long talk about how easy it is to die.
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