Messages

There's no issues bugging me really, although I would like to see the website get a fresh lick of paint. The 'new' version was very nice last time I stumbled across it. I forget where it is now. The maps thing is a nice feature but I haven't used it in so long that I didn't realise it was broken. I'm sure someone could fix it so can we get access to the script and start calling on volunteers to look into it?

The situation with the ratings panel sounds quite dire and should be addressed too I think. The only query I would raise regarding all this is how do things work behind the scenes? Maybe i've completely missed the obvious - wouldn't be the first time - but I have no clue how the boards are run.

I know there are mods and you mentioned the Ratings Panel, but how does that work? How is it structured and is there a renewal system or a mandate like Baron mentioned or is it the same group of people? I have no gripes with the panel, i'm not qualified to - heh, still holding out for my first game aren't you?! - but I agree with Baron's suggestion that there should be a revolving flow of fresh members.

I guess i'm saying I would like to see more transparency about the way things are run, if only so that us mere mortals can see how we can get involved and who to address any issues to. There should be community run projects like the website and a (reasonable) number of groups for other housekeeping duties.

As I said though, I may be missing the obvious and i've never really had any problem that has warranted me finding these things out before now, so feel free to set me straight and ignore this post!

While at uni, I did all my own shopping and avoided name brands. I don't have any vices and i've never been interested in fashion so my non-essential spending mostly went on games which I could pick up cheap second hand. Also I can't drive which helped because I could only buy what I could carry. I wasn't very adventurous with food though: I just bought cheap pasta mostly. I don't like cooking at all.

Luckily I shared a flat with the nicest Chinese people i've ever met who helped spread the cost of food and kept me very well fed. It was natural to them to cook as a group and share food equally. As someone who doesn't like owing people anything this made me uncomfortable at first, but it all evened out.

Now i've left uni, i'm working and i'm living with my partner's family which is a lot cheaper than it would be if we were renting elsewhere. This is the time when I should be saving the most but actually i'm doing everything wrong:

1) I regularly buy sandwiches from the sandwich shop across from my work rather than buying a loaf bread and doing my own
2) Although i'm happy with instant coffee, whenever we go out Liz and I usually end up in Starbucks
3) I either take more money out the cash machine than I need to or if I don't have enough cash I use my card rather than doing without.
4) I shop online for almost everything. It's cheaper than high street stores but I buy lots of cheap purchases so it all adds up. I adore software and tend to impulse buy new indie titles and gorgeous Mac apps all the time.
5) I don't actually buy a lot for myself. Certainly nothing expensive. Instead it makes me very happy to buy things for other people. I'm not very sensible about this though and always tend to overspend.

We're now thinking about holidays so we need to start saving for that. There's also the little matter of saving up a deposit for a flat. We have no savings at all right now, having both burnt through them at uni. I have no commercial debts though and Liz only has a few storecards that we're paying off. Our student loans are still hanging over us but we're paying those back with the minimum payments for the time being.

Your situation sounds frightening, but it can only get better. Sounds like you're a lot more sensible than I am. For all my talk about saving money, I manage to easily fritter it away!

EDIT: Ha! Another impulse buy: your mate's song. Good stuff=)

I haven't been very moved by the whole campaign - actually just remembered voting was today about an hour ago! - but i'm not going to to let it pass me by. I have a vote, I should use it.

The discussion here has really helped and special thanks to Calin for the helpful video. I've found my poll card and i'm heading out now to vote Yes to AV. I'm sure it's not perfect, but it sounds fair to me. Primarily I like that it lessens the need for tactical voting.

Vote for Turtle! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y3jE3B8HsE

I'll definitely mosey on down for a look, yes, though I recall the original Darthville was a similar idea so not sure how popular it will be this time around. Worth a shot tho!

Due to health problems I will not submit any games. Maybe another time though .

Crap, hope it's nothing serious=S

I also won't be entering this one - just in case my earlier post was misleading - but I did get started on an idea at the start of the month before I got ill too so at least this month's MAGS was in some way successful. I intend to go ahead and make a game of it but there's no chance of meeting this month's deadline.

Goodluck to everyone who's taking part. I'm really looking forward to playing these games=D

Congrats! I'll look forward to the Special Edition, especially for the commentary=)

Looking forward to your next project..

Wow, I missed this first time around too but it looks awesome! I'm not a huge music enthusiast - I mean, I do like music, how could I not? - but this really appeals to me=D

I like simulation games. Not to the extent that I like crunching numbers, but the story you make up as you play. Like you said in your video: 'you have to use your imagination'. The thing I liked about the old Sim City games was the little newspaper reports and advisors that talked to you. I get a real kick out of coming up with my own goals and stories involving the characters.

I recently played quite a bit of GameDevStory on my iTouch. It's quite good for what it is - I liked naming my games and trying to bring back point and click adventures;-) - but the mechanics are quite shallow. Without the characters' personalities that you're suggesting, it didn't really hold my attention for long. If you manage to implement lots of that kind of thing, and lots of customisation options (let me name the bands), i'll be happy=D

When beta-testing rolls around, i'd be happy to lend a hand if you'll have me.

It's been ages, but I wouldn't mind some MC action again. Haven't seen this thread come up in a while though=S

You have my sincere sympathies mate, that's pretty shit=(

I hope you manage to get back to Japan and that everything works out okay at the Doctors.

[Perfect Blue]

Here's a little update (hope it's okay to unintentionally bump this):

We watched Perfect Blue finally. Now there's a weird film. It's like Paprika without the feel-good factor. It was brilliantly executed though and deserves its space on my shelf. It's a keeper.

Memories also arrived. Like Dual, I also found the first feature to be the best, and by a mile. It had all the sci-fi elements I like mixed with some psychological tom-foolery. The second, Stink Bomb, was quite fun and different, but the third, Cannon Fodder, was really disappointing. We weren't keen on the graphical style, but the story really let it down. It basically borrows the perpetual war idea from Orwell's 1984 but does nothing with it. It felt pretty pointless..but maybe that was the point!

I also got Are You Enjoying The Time of Eve? on DVD after watching it on my iPod through Crunchyroll. I absolutely love it and only wish there was more of it=(

Finally, I got Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 based solely on Stupot's recommendation and it was fantastic. It's such a beautiful, wonderful and heart-breaking tale. I actually cried at the end - I mean, really cried. I would definitely recommend it.

I've also been watching a bit Occult Academy via Crunchyroll which is a bit silly but kinda fun. I also ordered the first volume of Last Exile, and the Samurai Champloo Departure soundtrack i've been wanting for ages, but neither has arrived yet.

Still lots of other recommendations here that appeal to me so will keep you posted!

[Adult:]

I recently took my 6 year old nephew to see this, so I thought it might be useful to post a review of sorts incase anyone else is considering going.

Tickets

The following includes a £1.50 booking fee:

Adult: £17
Child (5-16 yrs): £13.50
Child (under 5 yrs): FREE
Family Ticket (buy in 4s): £12.50*

*at least one adult, and no more than 2, must attend to qualify for the Family Ticket

The following basically get you souvenir tickets, brochures and gifts.

Adult Silver Ticket: £30
Child Silver Ticket (5 - 16 yrs): £26.50
Adult Gold Ticket: £40
Child Gold Ticket (5-16 yrs): £36.50
Enhanced Family Ticket (buy in 4s): £21.75

Link to the info page and ticket bookings here.

Getting there

The exhibition is based at Olympia 2 and the nearest tube station is Kensington (Olympia) on the London Overground line. We found it very difficult to actually get to as only a limited service runs between Earls Court on the Piccadilly Line and Olympia 2.

In the end, the station staff were a bit doubtful about whether the service was running at all (?!) so we took the bus. A very helpful bus driver didn't call out our stop despite several requests so we ended up at Shepherd's Bush where I had to run back to Olympia station and find the, rather small, signs to the exhibition. I naively expected it to be better sign-posted and would recommend anyone else going check out the streets on Google street-view to familiarise yourself with the area before going. Running about like a headless chicken was not fun. Entry is timed so the organisers stipulate you must be on time. We were 15 minutes late but actually found they didn't mind (this could vary if it's very busy).

The Experience

The event is divided into two parts: The Experience and an Exhibition (ie. museum-style space). First the Experience, and i'll try not to give too much away.

The whole Experience revolves around the Doctor being trapped in the Pandorica a second time (You did watch the last two episodes of last season right?). After a brief wait in a room with some props - a WW2 style Dalek for one - it starts with a video intro with a voiceover by the current Doctor, Matt Smith, and an obvious but child-pleasing crack-in-the-wall effect. Passing through the wall, you enter a museum where one of those creepy talking head things shows you some exhibits before the Doctor - on a big screen - interrupts and asks for your help.

The TARDIS then materialises - I think it was a glass screen effect, quite impressive though - and you head inside where the young 'uns get to have a go at flying the TARDIS. They don't actually get to touch the central console, rather there are key positions set back from the centre with controls labelled Navigation, Engineering etc. Safety railings kind of spoil the setting and if there's a lot of kids, your little one might not get near a control. Matt Smith gives more directions from some tv screens and the TARDIS shakes at key points as the kids press the controls.

After that the Daleks are coming and you have to evacuate the TARDIS. (The whole Experience is meant to take about 30 minutes so the staff have to make a quick turn-around with the groups). You then find yourself on a Dalek ship where three Daleks surround you and it's all flashy lights and "Exterminate!". I'm sure there were strobe effects here so check before booking if you have epilepsy etc. As an adult, I found it disappointing that the Daleks were cordoned off behind the necessary safety rails but the kids loved it.

I won't spoil it but you escape from there to move through a forest where there's a handful of those scary Weeping Angels. I thought more could have been done with this part - it really is a swift transition - but it's frightening for the little kids. I swear I blinked and an Angel disappeared..

I think then it was back in the TARDIS briefly before finding yourselves in front of the Pandorica. I didn't actually realise that's what it was as the room was dominated by a large screen and by putting on 3D glasses you see the classic wormhole with all different enemies flying out at you. I only got half the effect as one of my eyes is practically useless (no, I don't wear a patch;-) ) but it was pretty good. My little nephew had his Sonic Screwdriver with him so he had fun waving it at the Cybermen. I would have liked to have seen 'real' Cybermen stomping about in the experience though.

I can't remember the transition to the Exhibition so it probably wasn't anything special. I think the Doctor basically thanks you for helping out. It's worth mentioning that none of the videos are subtitled which meant that my partner missed out. I did see a sign on the way in that suggested you could access subtitles using the free wifi hotspot, but that seems a bit of a hassle and obviously only available to people with smart-phones. I would expect the welcome desk should have some foreign-language briefs or something if English isn't your first language though.

The Exhbition

This part is basically a museum space where you can see lots of static props. There's the costumes of all the doctors, past and present with a description of the different Doctors, a TARDIS police box, K-9, an older-style interior of the TARDIS, the Doctor's gadgets, and lots of Daleks and monsters. It's a fairly decent size that will take you a good half an hour to get round if you read all the info signs and do the fun things like recording your voice to sound like a Dalek and learning to walk like a Cyberman. There's also a photoshoot area where you can pose against a bluescreen and get some impressive composited images. We got one of my parents and my nephew clinging onto the TARDIS for dear life as it hurtles through a wormhole, and another of my nephew strapped into the Pandorica.

There's also a making-of video showing how the exhibit was constructed. It was interesting, and my nephew, bless him, watched the whole thing, but I felt it took away the illusion of what we had just been through. After you leave the area - and you can't go back - it's straight into the obligatory gift shop where the prices are astronomical. You can buy boxsets of the different series and films, but they're ridiculously expensive compared to what you'd find in a high-street store or even online.

Summary

Overall, I felt that the whole thing was better than some things i've been to. It's definitely best enjoyed with kids, and seems geared towards them. I know Doctor who is for all ages - i'm quite a fan myself, both of the old films and the new series - but there's little in the Experience part to wow adults. The Exhibition part is good, and real Doctor Who enthusiasts will enjoy seeing all the different Sonic Screwdrivers and other props, but I don't think it's enough to deserve repeat visits as some other reviewers have said.

It's a fun family day out and it's whetted my appetite for the new series that starts here in the UK on BBC One tomorrow night at 6pm!=D

See, I knew this topic could have a proper discussion, well done mate;-)

I have to say i'm with Snarky on this. I know the forums aren't a democracy and i'm all for having moderators to police the boards, but I don't like the idea of posts silently disappearing in the middle of the night. Think of their families :'(

Part of the problem here is we all seem to have a different idea of what constitutes a troll. Let's not go into that again, but in my mind, as i've said, it's someone spamming the boards with offensive remarks or deliberately trying to be a nuisance. I don't think we have that problem here though.

I do agree that banning users is too extreme and ultimately futile. It also sends the wrong message if the person is a genuine victim of such reprisals, given that the timeout system is invisible to normal users. I would much prefer something a long the lines of the Vote Up/Down system the tech forums like UnityAnswers have. That way the forums can be governed by everyone (well, that particular part at least, you still need mods for housekeeping), with no-one really being able to censor something just because they don't like it. But given that this is a discussion forum rather than a Q&A it probably wouldn't really work, but really we already have that function: just don't reply to the topic as Matti said and it will sink to the bottom of the pile.

Another alternative would be to have the troll flag (call it something else, please), but rather than hiding their posts, just limit the number of posts they can make in, for example, a week. That way, they're not being censored and have the opportunity to show that they are willing to behave better in future. If you want to go a step further, make the troll flag visible to all users as a form of further punishment.

But, like I said, I don't think we really have a problem here. Threads that get really out of hand can always be locked anyway.

In fact, using the RunAGSGame() feature, it wouldn't be difficult at all to organise an Eternally Us-esque linear game.

If 10-20 (which is perhaps a more reasonable number,) people each were given a fully animated character and were tasked with creating a 1-room game with a specific setting/theme, and one weekend to do it. If you then strung all of them together, you could have a reasonable length game completed in 48 hours.

...

Furthermore, each contributor could submit any music additional animations necessary for their room for use by the others, and thus creating a swifter work flow for all and better cohesion from room to room.

That sounds like a lot of fun and a MAGS could easily be adapted to give it a trial run. You could go the linear route and stipulate that each room must have 1-2 exits to fit with the rest (or more if you want a branching world), or everyone could make escape the room games and join them together box within a box within a box a la Futurama=)

I am quite alarmed by some of the responses i've seen here=(

I'm not fully aware of all this trolling that's been going on and I wouldn't have assumed Darth was talking about Icey. In his own words, he wasn't, he was just talking about trolling in general. The definition of a troll to me is basically the wikipedia one (as it currently stands):

"someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community .. with the primary intent of provoking other users into a desired emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion"

That might have been an interesting discussion, and could include debate about where censorship/reprimands etc are necessary. However it seems to have been largely ignored.

On the subject of Icey, from what i've seen (and I don't claim to have read every single one of his threads), I don't think he has done anything to fall under the above definition.

Yes, he needs to improve his spelling and grammar, and I applaud those people who have taken the time to point this out to him in a constructive manner. I would expect nothing less for my own posts. I do not, however, feel that his poor use of the written word deserves some of the derogatory comments he has received. He is trying to improve as far as I can see and I have seen far worse out there in the wild, believe me.

Yes, he posts a lot of topics. Again, I cannot claim to have read every one of these, but most of them as far as I am concerned are technical questions and announcements. I don't have a problem with either and genuinely find some of them interesting and helpful. I have also seen him make serious contributions of his own to other people's technical threads.

Yes, he has a fascination with Final Fantasy and his games step on the toes of copyrighted works. But in my opinion these are harmless fan games and i'm sure he is/will soon become aware of the legal issues should he ever wish to publish his games commercially. I know he has been made aware of this in numerous topics. I would like to see him work on something else, something original, so I think entering the next MAGS would be a good idea.

His games do seem to be unfinished, rough around the edges, and buggy, from the few i've tried, so yes, certainly this is one area where he could improve. But I don't feel it's right to shout down his attempts and ask him to leave the boards completely. We're not that kind of community, are we?

I agree that he could hold back a bit more before releasing, to make sure his games are polished, but that's not to say he can't start Games in Progress threads and Critics Lounge threads. He does, and still seems to attract unwarranted criticism. Who are we to say these are not worthwhile? He's doing what he enjoys and that's the most I would ask for. I would like to see a nice clean database with links that work and proper demo/full games, but I wouldn't single out Icey's games in particular. Besides, isn't that the whole point of the AGSArchives/Nimbus project anyway? At the end of the day, if a game doesn't interest me - anyone's games - I won't play it. No harm, no foul.

I don't think any of the above qualifies him as a troll and I personally have no problem with him. I'm saddened that there are so many people keen to spout vitriol on this subject however. Call it what you will, but there does seem to be a recurring theme of people undermining Icey's threads with derogatory remarks which I feel is uncalled for. It's not completely one-sided, no, but the tit for tat is horrible. Can't we all just get a long?

I can feel a disturbance in the Force. It is as if the sacred AGS forums were being divided into two...

I dislike this.

Perhaps it is time to end this discussion here, before any true damage is done.

Seconded. I would respectfully request that this topic be locked soon.

That's the double-edged sword of the internet: your triumphs and your failures persist long after you post them. It creeps me out to think my imprint will still be on the web long after i'm wormfood. I might schedule a post-mortem Wordpress post just to mess with their heads;-)

p.s. straydog, why did you copyright the story?  

Uhh force of habit?? I know copyright is automatic, but nothing says 'violators will be shot' better than a big neon err.. footnote. Nah, feel free to run with it if it gives you an idea. In the unlikely event that you make your millions from my stories, a little mention wouldn't go amiss;-)

But my vote goes to straydogstrut, because I think the writing style was the best overall. I could really picture everything, and it read like a published story.

Wow, thank you for the kind words! That's really made my day=D

If the 7/4 deadline isn't coming into play then i'd vote for Calin's. Otherwise, my vote goes to Domithan. Both brilliant pieces regardless and I can see Calin's working well as an illustrated children's book. He should seriously consider self publishing this;-)

Aww that's really nice Tabata=)

Not 100% yet but feeling well enough today to finish my story. This can't be counted though as it's past even the extended deadline. I have no problem with that - please, no sympathy votes! - I just really enjoyed taking part anyway. Thanks for arranging this competition Tabata, it was a really good one to get the creative juices flowing=)

This is complete fiction by the way - probably best to think of it as set on an imaginary world entirely - so any similarities with our world are purely coincidental. <-- that's my get out clause for anything that's inaccurate;-)

It's a bit wordy since I have a real problem being brief, so here it is as a pdf for anyone who wants to read it.

Thanks.

[Voices of a Distant Star]

Also, if you do check out The Place Promiced in Our Early Days, and you enjoy it, definily check out the movie Voices of a Distant Star since it's created by the same person.

Millennial  Actress is also a good movie to look up.

Thanks, i've seen all of those, I think Voice of A Distant Star is the only one we don't have on dvd yet. They're all really good. I'll check out your other recommendations.

Sounds intriguing Jay, and Wikipedia agrees with you, Crying Freeman it is. I'll try it out, thanks!

Thanks for the recommendations EKM, i'll be checking those out when i'm well again. I've got both Whisper of the Heart and Tokyo Godfathers and would also recommend them!=)