Profile for Silent Motion
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | Silent Motion |
| Member number | 15 |
| Title | BoE Posse |
| Postcount | 653 |
| Homepage | http://www.personal.psu.edu/~bxb11/boe/ |
| Registered | Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
Recent posts
Pages
| Author | Recent posts |
|---|---|
| Creating New Editors for BoA in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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BoE Posse
Member # 15
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written Monday, November 22 2004 05:31
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Wow - I never expected this to go on this long! I simply feel there are people out there with minimal programming skills that have great stories to tell. BoA's current scripting system will never allow them to express those stories. Tools that translate a visual metaphor into script would help them. What we have now only allows a small subset of the population to create a scenario. I'm not critizing anyone for not developing these tools - it would require a tremendous effort to do so. The Creator is right about me - I'm not the best coder in the world, but I am stubborn. It took me three attempts to get the Missionary and Cannibals code in Quintessence working correctly. Not many people are as stubborn as I am. Because of that, I'll add one very controversial statement: BoA will never achieve the level of success BoE enjoys, because it's too hard to script. Time will prove me right or wrong. -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
| Creating New Editors for BoA in Blades of Avernum | |
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BoE Posse
Member # 15
|
written Monday, November 22 2004 05:31
Profile
Homepage
Wow - I never expected this to go on this long! I simply feel there are people out there with minimal programming skills that have great stories to tell. BoA's current scripting system will never allow them to express those stories. Tools that translate a visual metaphor into script would help them. What we have now only allows a small subset of the population to create a scenario. I'm not critizing anyone for not developing these tools - it would require a tremendous effort to do so. The Creator is right about me - I'm not the best coder in the world, but I am stubborn. It took me three attempts to get the Missionary and Cannibals code in Quintessence working correctly. Not many people are as stubborn as I am. Because of that, I'll add one very controversial statement: BoA will never achieve the level of success BoE enjoys, because it's too hard to script. Time will prove me right or wrong. -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
| Creating New Editors for BoA in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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BoE Posse
Member # 15
|
written Thursday, November 18 2004 05:14
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First, let me applaud everyone who is working in this area. I think it's a great thing. I'd also like to share some thoughts with you of what these editors could be, if a great deal more effort is invested in their development. When Jeff first started releasing snippets of what BoA was to be, I suggested he needed some good dialog tools that would translate some of the more common tasks (door settings, etc.) into script. He agreed this was a good idea, but it didn't happen. If we want to include a larger developer base in BoA, we need tools that make it easy to develop scenarios. Tools that I'm seeing now are a small step in that direction, but they still require one to understand the underlying scripting paradigm they are based upon. What would be great is a tool that used a different paradigm for the interface, then translated the user's input into scripting. For example, imagine a dialog generator that used a graphical interface, where boxs of text could be inserted and then arrows could tie dialog chunks together. The boxes could be dragged about on the screen and rearranged to visually represent flow. With this tool, you are free to concentrate on the dialog interactions themselves. The code is then generated for you. Just as in Windows or a Mac, dragging an icon is translated into code behind the scenes. There are many benefits to this approach, but the main one here are a larger developer base. That translates to more scenarios, more growth, etc. Now I'm sure some will argure that not all aspects of BoA scripting could be covered by this approach, and you are right. If we make as many things as simple as possible, well, that's a good goal to shoot for. Just some thoughts. IMO, BoE succeeded because it was dialog based - even if those dialogs were primitive. -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
| Creating New Editors for BoA in Blades of Avernum | |
|
BoE Posse
Member # 15
|
written Thursday, November 18 2004 05:14
Profile
Homepage
First, let me applaud everyone who is working in this area. I think it's a great thing. I'd also like to share some thoughts with you of what these editors could be, if a great deal more effort is invested in their development. When Jeff first started releasing snippets of what BoA was to be, I suggested he needed some good dialog tools that would translate some of the more common tasks (door settings, etc.) into script. He agreed this was a good idea, but it didn't happen. If we want to include a larger developer base in BoA, we need tools that make it easy to develop scenarios. Tools that I'm seeing now are a small step in that direction, but they still require one to understand the underlying scripting paradigm they are based upon. What would be great is a tool that used a different paradigm for the interface, then translated the user's input into scripting. For example, imagine a dialog generator that used a graphical interface, where boxs of text could be inserted and then arrows could tie dialog chunks together. The boxes could be dragged about on the screen and rearranged to visually represent flow. With this tool, you are free to concentrate on the dialog interactions themselves. The code is then generated for you. Just as in Windows or a Mac, dragging an icon is translated into code behind the scenes. There are many benefits to this approach, but the main one here are a larger developer base. That translates to more scenarios, more growth, etc. Now I'm sure some will argure that not all aspects of BoA scripting could be covered by this approach, and you are right. If we make as many things as simple as possible, well, that's a good goal to shoot for. Just some thoughts. IMO, BoE succeeded because it was dialog based - even if those dialogs were primitive. -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
| Louvre Wall Template - Is it correct? in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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BoE Posse
Member # 15
|
written Wednesday, November 10 2004 07:25
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Please don't be offended here, CO, but given that I have (so I was told) a "correct" format already up there, I'd really like several people who have added graphics to a BoA scenario to confirm what the correct template is. I do want accurate information. I don't want to go through this a third time. The best way to accomplish both is to have at least two people tell me "This is the correct template." -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
| Louvre Wall Template - Is it correct? in Blades of Avernum | |
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BoE Posse
Member # 15
|
written Wednesday, November 10 2004 07:25
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Please don't be offended here, CO, but given that I have (so I was told) a "correct" format already up there, I'd really like several people who have added graphics to a BoA scenario to confirm what the correct template is. I do want accurate information. I don't want to go through this a third time. The best way to accomplish both is to have at least two people tell me "This is the correct template." -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
| What's up with the Louvre? in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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BoE Posse
Member # 15
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written Wednesday, November 10 2004 07:21
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Submissions to me are VERY slow. I last updated the Louvre on Nov 1 - adding Corn, by Vincent Camley. I have no other submissions sent to me since then, with the exception of Captain Obvious's stuff, which is being reworked right now. As far as I know I'm up to date. What's missing? -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
| What's up with the Louvre? in Blades of Avernum | |
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BoE Posse
Member # 15
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written Wednesday, November 10 2004 07:21
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Homepage
Submissions to me are VERY slow. I last updated the Louvre on Nov 1 - adding Corn, by Vincent Camley. I have no other submissions sent to me since then, with the exception of Captain Obvious's stuff, which is being reworked right now. As far as I know I'm up to date. What's missing? -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
| Louvre Wall Template - Is it correct? in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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BoE Posse
Member # 15
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written Tuesday, November 9 2004 05:38
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I received this email message: "I found out that your wall template is incorrect. Because of the way that they are entered into BOA, they must be in the same order, the terrain graphics of BOA has several examples." Could someone in the know look at http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/b/x/bxb11/boa/boagraphics/buildings/index.htm and tell me what, if anything, is wrong here? Thanks! -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
| Louvre Wall Template - Is it correct? in Blades of Avernum | |
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BoE Posse
Member # 15
|
written Tuesday, November 9 2004 05:38
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I received this email message: "I found out that your wall template is incorrect. Because of the way that they are entered into BOA, they must be in the same order, the terrain graphics of BOA has several examples." Could someone in the know look at http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/b/x/bxb11/boa/boagraphics/buildings/index.htm and tell me what, if anything, is wrong here? Thanks! -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
| 3D Graphics in Blades... in Blades of Exile | |
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BoE Posse
Member # 15
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written Thursday, November 4 2004 04:54
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You could do this, but it would have to be a direct overhead view, not the Avernum overhead& side view. The best thing I can think of to describe this is a square within a square, with diagonal lines connection the corners of the outer square to the corners of the inner square. The inner square is the floor, the outer square is the (transparent) ceiling, and the stuff in between are the walls. I really don't think it would look that great, but I've seen other games that do this. -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
| Can't get quintessence to start. in Blades of Exile | |
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BoE Posse
Member # 15
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written Thursday, November 4 2004 04:49
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The Pi question is a trick. Think about symbols you can make as an answer, not numbers or Roman numerals. You do get a reward. Do find the harmonics. Some are obvious. Some are hidden. Look for bones. -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
| So are we really dying now? in Blades of Exile | |
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BoE Posse
Member # 15
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written Wednesday, November 3 2004 12:23
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From Bioware: Is the NWN Aurora Toolset coming out for the Mac version of Neverwinter Nights? No. Our initial goal was to create a cross platform toolset for the gaming community. However, we have encountered difficulty in obtaining a viable cross-platform solution to assist us in porting the Aurora Neverwinter Toolset. As such, BioWare has no plans to create Mac or Linux versions of the Aurora Neverwinter Toolset at this time. -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
| custom graphics in Blades of Exile | |
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BoE Posse
Member # 15
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written Wednesday, November 3 2004 04:46
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Also see http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/b/x/bxb11/boe/howdoit.htm and look at the graphic tutorials there. -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
| Blades of Exile Statistical Survey in Blades of Avernum | |
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BoE Posse
Member # 15
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written Wednesday, November 3 2004 04:41
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If everyone here spent as much time contributing to the community as they do nit-picking each other...... -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
| Can't get quintessence to start. in Blades of Exile | |
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BoE Posse
Member # 15
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written Tuesday, November 2 2004 05:22
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Make sure you do use the sav file that came with the game - this scenario is built around it. The Readme file contains all the info you need to build this file from scratch if you need to. -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
| Can't get quintessence to start. in Blades of Exile | |
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BoE Posse
Member # 15
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written Monday, November 1 2004 07:30
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Try my site: http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/ I just tested the PC download and it works fine. -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
| So are we really dying now? in Blades of Exile | |
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BoE Posse
Member # 15
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written Monday, November 1 2004 07:25
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Not that I'm selling NWN, but they recently released a new edition that combines the engine and all commercial scenarios to date for ~$40 US. New scenarios they are working on for a mid-Nov release will cost between $10-15 US. Add to that the hundreds of free scenarios out there, and I don't see how NWN would cost you 2X as much as BoA, unless you are not in the US? Then it makes sense. Even at 2X the price, to get a game that isn't abandoned by its developer and has a future is worth it, IMO. You can also try e-Bay for good discounts. -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
| So are we really dying now? in Blades of Exile | |
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BoE Posse
Member # 15
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written Friday, October 29 2004 04:01
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I've asked this in the BoA Forums with no reply: Is Jeff adding the requested features to BoA? This is the crux of the biscuit to me. If Jeff treast BoA the way he treats BoE, I'm done. I can't see investing the time and energy into another dead product. Look at NeverWinter Nights - great support, they listen to scenario developers, new scenarios all the time, a huge player base, up-to-date 3D technologies, and it costs only a few $$$ more than BoA. IMO, this is a no brainer. -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
| Alt. Terrain in Blades of Exile | |
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BoE Posse
Member # 15
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written Monday, October 25 2004 03:46
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Try http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~eet23/Done/outdoor.html -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
| Call to Action. Alexandria needs your help. in Blades of Exile | |
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BoE Posse
Member # 15
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written Thursday, October 21 2004 06:44
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quote:So what's the status on this? Did you get the DB dump I sent? -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
| Call to Action. Alexandria needs your help. in Blades of Exile | |
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BoE Posse
Member # 15
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written Friday, October 15 2004 04:24
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quote:Send me your e-mail address Andrea, and I'll dump what I have to this point. That way you can test it. If things look good, we can decide on next steps. -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
| Mac and Windows Versions Just Patched in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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BoE Posse
Member # 15
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written Friday, October 15 2004 04:13
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So, were any new features added to this patch? Do we have ANY indication that Jeff will add features? -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
| Mac and Windows Versions Just Patched in Blades of Avernum | |
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BoE Posse
Member # 15
|
written Friday, October 15 2004 04:13
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So, were any new features added to this patch? Do we have ANY indication that Jeff will add features? -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |
| Call to Action. Alexandria needs your help. in Blades of Exile | |
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BoE Posse
Member # 15
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written Thursday, October 14 2004 03:50
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I am working on putting all these scenarios into Alex. Any help you can give on scenario info is much appreciated. No way I can play all these to count towns, etc. Also, I may just copy the entire all the scenarios from SW and place them on my own site. THey currently come to about 50 MB. I recently acquired 500 MB of storage. That way, no more broken links as people move things, SW renames ZIP files, etc. -------------------- All that we see, or seem, is but a dream within a dream. Visit the Louvre, the BoA Graphics Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boa/louvre/ Visit Alexandria, the BoE Scenario Database at http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/boe/alexandriajs/ Posts: 653 | Registered: Thursday, September 27 2001 07:00 |