Lynx

Yeah, I used to own the place. Contact me on MSN - krslynx [ at ] gmail [dot] com

u guys r cool. edit: (i'm being serious)

I just looked at that video... I'm embarrassingly bad at making games in Flash... I'm actually very shocked that is even flash.. or Macromedia... Kudos to them. -L

I think the biggest concerns would be dropped connections due to the iPhone admittedly having quite bad reception, and due to phone calls etc. An ASSS only chat is very do-able, but a chat client that doesn't connect to ASSS would be very hard due to security checks and even if it were possible, it would get slated on the ratings due to nobodies downloading it wondering what it was, and not being able to connect because of VIP etc, and I'm pretty sure the Oracle Expander won't work. -L

I've had a go at creating a Flash version on Subspace/Continuum, and the maps, the ship, the guns, even the AI are easy to handle - so a single player version with a load of other ships chasing you are is relatively easy to create, I managed to even get the multiple layers of stars and arbitrary planet images working quite well with the ship movement, but that's all single player stuff... Multiplayer, is *much more complicated, and it's the lag that will kill the game, but then again I'm no pro. -L

Sounds like a pretty good summary. The ability to own/kick players from a chat seems pretty lame to me, though. Maybe if it's only one chat per name, and that chat will be purged after the owner does not log in for # days. Therefore, zone chats can be handled by bots, and squad/secret chats can stay as secret as they've always been. -L

Jesus was on Salvia? -L

I think it may still need VIP, even with Snrrrubs oracle expander, I'm not too sure how that will work with the iPhone. -L

You wouldn't run a damn 2D spaceship *zone for $1,000,000? But you'd work at an airport... Eh.. -L

Not. Even. Funny.

If SS was written in Javascript, we'd have a better understanding of the word 'lag' and I'm sure we'd all get a lot better at hating each other. -L

rootbear75 for owner of MG anyone? -L

Corey, I've made it... Apple is just taking forever to accept it... Write a story on Slashdot showing how much apples app store sucks, and accuse them of holding it back so they can release it in iPhone 3.0. -L (I'm being serious)

If that's the case, then I would support a new biller -- fully, and if you do get the chance to make anything more openly developed - do it, no questions asked! I'll fully support in whatever way that I can. Good job on making some progress, or more so, actually getting some blood from the stone. -L

The read-only secondary biller was what I mentioned earlier, however there are some things that can make that difficult. We don't know the layout of database that Priits biller is using, or even what kind of database, so we can't design something until Priit gives us some information about that, and he will most definitely need assurance that it won't be a threat to the security of the SSC biller - and even if that were going to happen, we'd need to be let even near the current database, and considering Mackieman isn't even allowed, and he's on the SSC... and only going to be connecting for a scores website... Well, I think that concludes the problem. As for developers, a biller that can do the job... that's not the problem, it's just the elitist fashion that this game has always has that's diminishing the creativity and expansion of something that could still be very good. But, as for the SSC - they do get new people here and there, and those new people are active... Well, not active developers, but can be contacted. Freakmonger BlueGoku Hoch and their fanboy Aceflyer and who ever else, if there is anybody else... It's just a shame that they're the kind of people who, don't get me wrong, are interested in change, but the kind of change that comes only too late. You can't really blame the SSC as a whole though - as much as they love to claim that the SSC is actually democratic in the sense that they vote for things, ultimately if Priit don't like it - it's not happening. -L

Agreed. -L

I agree with NB, I think it's important that people are well rounded and knowledgeable in more than just the most basic of subjects, at their most basic levels. -L

As to the bridged biller, in all likeliness, that will also never work however I believe that in cases such as this, smaller steps are often the best way of getting a solution ready. I know nothing of the SSC, or it's politics. I don't talk to anybody who makes a difference anymore, so all I can tell you that the number of zones has dropped significantly, and the new zones - IMO, aren't worth a second blink. But then, I'm a pretty pessimistic. -L

Realistically, Priit isn't going to give away the information keeping his antiquated, obsolete yet precious biller away, however the council have said on the SSCForums (ref for those who have access: http://www.sscouncil.com/forum/index.php?topic=40.0) that they will be happy to accept some kind of bridge, where both billers can coincide *provided it doesn't harm their security* - and probably, I'm predicting, their sovereignty. The way I understand it is, that if Priit gives up the billing information he's got a huge risk on his hands - if that information gets into the wrong hands, a huge part of this game will be effectively destroyed, so therefore maybe we should try and take some smaller steps towards a solution? If we have a bridged biller, at least we will have something that is in constant development *working with* the SSC, instead of completely against it. Although, as much as I'd like to see the SSC abolished and something a little less elitist to be put in place, I do believe that leaving the SSC as a whole will just damage the game. Way back when, it was easier to get population from non SSC zones, however, way back then, there was a larger and much broader player base, now however, most players are all talking over chats and are only known in one name, and like being known. The prestige of being good doesn't really apply anymore, like the prestige of being staff, being an administrator of something, being the creator of something... However, ultimately a bridged biller would be very hard to implement, although I'm pretty sure Snrrrub would have the know how and skill - would he really want to do something which would ultimately be obsolete very quickly? Maybe when bigger stakes were at hand, this would have been an excellent idea, however now I'm slightly uncertain. Typically, we have one opinion with the current amount of development we actually *finish, and that's to have Isometry biller cleaned up, and finalised, and have the information that SSC biller has retrieved over the years moved over to it, and cleaned up. But 'lol' to the chances of that happening, then we have to consider all the politics and ego stroking that goes into place before anything like this happens, but heck - we can all hope, right? -L

I'm starting to like you... However, as poetic as that sounds, it doesn't work so well in practice. We've changed from something that everybody would willingly play for hours and hours, to something that is less advanced than most flash games and a complete niche. As for the Bots, the AS3 stuff, all of that... It's not a complete requirement to a good zone, too many new people jump in and think... In order to make this place great, I'm going to *need all of these features, however they forget that the core, the backbone of the zone if you wish is most important. If you've got crappy settings, that are unbalanced and a crappy map, your zone won't be the best, however if you do have both those criteria then your zone will operate, and all you need from then on in is a good staffing team, and a steady flow of development. Generally, the coding in SS is simple, be it ASSS, Py or bots in C++ (I've not touched TWCore yet, because I don't like Java), and after a few hours of reading you can get the general gist. From what I've seen, people just try to jump straight into the deep end... For some reason. Then, the most recent mistake that I've seen a lot (and I even just made) is allowing yourself to go over your scope of work. Initially, I just wanted to do the map, and coding in the zone. No problem, however then our website guy backed out... Another job. Then, our settings guy backed out... *Another job. Then our graphics guy disappeared... Get the drift? One could argue that I never done enough as the owner to keep them motivated, however, I would answer back that I done all I could, and I've seen it happen before, and it's nothing new in general for this kind of thing to happen to a zone that is fresh out of the oven. The best ideas I'd seen were SSDev, and other help communities with active developers who were ... there to help... they just failed. Hugely. Epicly... There were loads of developers, who in general were there to help, however there weren't enough rewards, and nobody who was a clear motivator and leader stepped up and started to delegate. But, that was just my personal view of why SSDev failed. Hrmm, this bit may not be too ... fair.. or whatever, but let's just look at the most up and coming zone... ResoLs one, whatever it's called... Digital Core?? I enter the zone, and know immediately it's going to fail, for a bunch of reasons... I won't be as blunt to list them, because I've already subtly gone through why it.. isn't great with ResoL, but maybe if SSDev had a good bit of organisation, they could help fuel things that the zone would benefit from. However, even if this were the case, I am sure that there would be owners saying ... 'No, that's not how I want it' then there'd be egotistical experienced developers saying that the owners ideas were noobish, which takes me onto my next point... People should be making their own zones, not demanding people do the work for them. If they have good ideas, they can express them. If they really are good, I'm sure they'll be made. Otherwise... well, I'm not gonna spell it out. -L

This may seem like a stupid thing to say, but even a little bit of client modification, and this would be the best thing yet. -L

'If you crashed into NBV he would still be effected. If your drunk brain told you that you should drink until your near dead due to alcohol poisoning and NBV's taxes paid for you to live. Your still effecting him.' If I go to a skate park, and I break my leg and need a paramedic, I am, by your logic, effecting you. If I run for a bus, and fall in front of a car, and then that car manages to stop, but NBV's car has crappy breaks, hit's the car in front and NBV gets whiplash, then by your logic I effected NBV by running across a road like an idiot. 'I think NBV would pay more taxes currently for the "war on drugs" and keeping all these drug-users in prison.' I completely agree. However, I believe that if we were to go cold turkey on drug classifications, we'd have a *huge upraise of people taking them, just to experiment. I think there would need to be a lot of teachings as to what each drug does, and I'm also not sure if shops would be prepared to sell them (from a moral stand point). Also, while we're on the whole non-profit agenda, look at cigarettes. Tobacco is harder to produce than cannabis, yet it's sold cheaper. We're actually over taxed to try and prevent people buying it. Either way, it'd still be cheaper than your dealer, as he'd still not have a license to sell it, and wouldn't make as much profit from selling it. -L

Mac

I bought a Mac, spent hours and hours trying to get Continuum to work on it, managed to get a connection but then managed to reverse all my work again. When the next version of Darwine comes out though, I know that I can get it working. Also, if I used Crossover (from Codeweavers) we could 100% get a mac version, but that means that people would need to pay for Crossover to play Cont, which is something I'm 100% against. Then, tried getting asss to compile on Mac, others have managed it (I think Goldeye, and another dude), but I had no avail there to give a walk through. Can't really be involved in much if I can't be a part of the game. I've offered my help on SSDL, but received no reply so... Meh. But, I don't really blame that on losing interest in any kind of development. Even when I was on Win, and actually putting some time into development I found I'd be working on the map, settings, management and coding of the zone on my own, then I might get an offer for help, but the help would be on the terms of the person helping only, so it would end up being a very imbalanced zone, or something that I just didn't personally like much at all. However, I have to admit, when you work hours and hours, are diplomatic and have a few helpful friends, creating a zone and getting it some population isn't really that hard, but when i look at the 'up and coming' zones now, I just think they're not really worth a wank. Also, I find that any kind of communities that build up, inevitably self destruct with hate, envy or hearsay. The only reason I still post on this forum, is because it's in my favorites and I'm used to clicking it. If it weren't for that favourites bar, I would have nothing to do with Subspace. In my dealings, I've found a few honest people who I can trust and enjoy working with, but I've also found a lot of arseholes who ... Bleh, I won't go into this. I'll just say thank you CRe>, Rick James, Snrrrub and anybody else who were helpful. -L

I saw this a few months ago and I'm still wow'd by it. I'm doing some stop animation work myself to help my girlfriend with her media studies project, and this was one of the inspirations we needed to do stop animation. -L