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Post by Tim on Jun 18, 2009 9:33:00 GMT -6
Backup code | 100% | Setup Testing SQL databases | 100% | Planning of changes | 100% | Code Changes | 100% | Testing | 99% |
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Post by Tim on Jun 18, 2009 9:58:57 GMT -6
Real Life has been crazy lately. Moving into a new house (the vast majority of what's kept me busy), getting a new cat (and keeping it in line), finding a new car for Ali (her's died on us), and being busy at work (good and bad thing) have pretty much dominated my time the last month or so. The fact that I'm trying hard to finish my latest WoT readthrough before November hasn't helped matters either (trying to read 2-3 chapters a day and not the fastest reader. Done a little work on V4 here and there, but not much. Not that I really expected to (hence I really HAD to get V3 out when I did, else you guys would likely still be waiting for it ). Anyways, hoping things will pick up starting next week. I have a much more relaxed pace in mind with V4 than I did with V3 (wasn't much fun working on it towards the end because of it), but I still want to keep something for you guys to be interested. Here's a general and extremely tentative timeframe for V4 happenings: - Countdown to V4 start: Early/Mid July
- Opening of Test Site: Likely Late July/Early August
- V4 Launch: When it's ready (September/Early October)
I know that's a pretty long time to wait for a full version release, but really it's only 4 months of work time for me (last month hasn't really counted). V1 took 4 months to do, V2 took 4.5, and V3 was a real rush in 3.5, so it's really not out of the norm for me. I'll probably end up opening the test site earlier in the development cycle this time to keep you guys interested. As much as I like the game (and hope you do to) I'll be the first to admit that I don't think V3 will stay exciting for 5 months (I can tell excitement is already beginning to fade.) I'm also considering doing a V3.5, where I merge up some of the more finished early changes to the main game and reset it. If I do this, it'd likely happen instead of opening the test site early, moving the test site opening back a bit (maybe a month). The risk here is that the changes likely won't be thoroughly tested first, so the likelyhood of bugs is pretty good, but at least it would give you guys something new to mess with while I work. Go Team!
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Post by Tintomara on Jun 20, 2009 9:15:51 GMT -6
Off topic, but how do you keep a cat in line? I have no success whatsoever in that area! lol
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Post by Hugh Longshanks on Jun 20, 2009 9:23:34 GMT -6
Our cats always kept me in line....I wouldn't dream of trying the other way. Just btw, Tim: I think V3 is the best so far - out of all the versions of GoS I've played (and that includes the original by Craig and everything down to now). It has more staying power due to the widespread clan warfare and more fluid win-score list, as well as modified skill tree. Ought to last another month+ at least I'd say before people get bored. Keep up the good work!
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Post by fizban9898 on Jun 20, 2009 20:48:35 GMT -6
well we got two big dogs and now cats walk the line although dogs chase cats so....
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Post by Tim on Jun 23, 2009 10:31:48 GMT -6
Keeping a cat in line is a lot like keeping a woman in line. You let it think it's in charge most of the time and only press the things that are important. ;D ;P Sorry. Just finished reading the Shadow Rising. Love the Perrin scenes where the Two Rivers folk are explaining to Perrin and Faile how the opposite sex works. Anyway.... Since house stuff has calmed down a bit, my brain's been working in over drive coming up with things for GoS. I think part of it is that I've now made all the BIG structural game changes that I had in mind when I first started working on the game last May (has it really been only a bit over a year since I started on this?) except one, which I have a good chunk of the code done for in V4. So now my mind is focusing on the problems I see with the current game and how to fix them. For right now, I'd say don't expect any major system changes from the couple versions (other than my last big change of course ;D). Lot more 'little' changes. A new mechanic here, a new kind of item there, a tweak to a class where. That kind of stuff. Don't take that as V4 will be very close to V3 though. There will definate differences. In V3, in my mind I added 2 big things (classes and exploration). For V4, I'm adding 1 big thing, 2-3 medium things, and about a dozen little things (I have lots of little plans, but no idea what will make the cut or what may get added between now and the release). I hope indeed the V3 keeps you guys interested for another month, though I don't blame you too much if it doesn't. My goal was to get the game where it can keep activity/interest levels up for 3-4 months (time for me to work on a new release). Honestly I don't think it's there yet, though I have high hopes for V4 (and V5 ). I'll probably start the V4 countdown in mid-July and hopefully will have something (test site or V3.5) ready a couple weeks after that for you guys to play with.
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Post by Edvar al'Given on Jun 27, 2009 14:48:48 GMT -6
I was off to a pretty good start with my V4 graphics, but for the last month I haven't been able to do anything. Probably won't be able to for at least another week. Computer problems. Sorry everyone.
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Post by Tim on Jun 29, 2009 12:39:12 GMT -6
No worries, Ed. Get to it when you can. Sorry again to hear about the comp issues.
Made some pretty good progress over the weekend. Got the big change closer to completion, as well as lots of little tweaks to fix existing issue. Can't say much more than that without giving away what the changes are, which would ruin the whole Countdown to V4 that should be kicking off in a few weeks. I hope you guys are as excited about it as I am.
Speaking of the Countdown, I'm pleased to announce that with some of the changes I plan to make, there will be lots of 'things' that need named. I'll get as many names from the books as possible, but some of the 'things' won't have names to be found in the books. Can't go into much more detail at this point, but I plan to leave some of the naming up to you guys. Once I announce what the 'things' are, I'll start threads for nominations. After a certain amount of time, I'll cull the list of nominations to ones I think best and open a poll for you guys to vote for the best. If there's a tie, I'll do a revote with only the options that tied. If there's still a tie, I'll pick the winner. While some may complain about my oversight (selecting the nominees, tie breaker), sorry but tough. I want to ensure the names are appropriate for the 'things' their naming, representative of the WoT world and Jordan's naming convention for these 'things', and appropriate for the game itself.
More to come on this topic as information becomes more available.
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Post by Crom Cruach on Jul 6, 2009 0:44:47 GMT -6
Being a non-english speaker probably disqualifies me as a names-giver, but I am great at creating fantasy names ;D
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Post by hossla on Jul 6, 2009 11:03:58 GMT -6
I don't think it disqualifies you, just let us in if there is an insider's joke
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Post by Crom Cruach on Jul 6, 2009 23:41:43 GMT -6
No joke there, I was just trying to trick Tim into revealing more about the "THINGS" ...
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Post by Tim on Jul 7, 2009 7:57:37 GMT -6
No joke there, I was just trying to trick Tim into revealing more about the "THINGS" ... Well, I can tell you they're not really 'things', but actually a different type of noun.
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Post by michael on Jul 10, 2009 17:46:36 GMT -6
love all the games so far , cant wait untill next one.
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Post by Tim on Jul 22, 2009 14:00:28 GMT -6
Now that the countdown is well underway, posting updates of what I've been doing is quite a bit easier. Made some good progress this last weekend. Quests are almost done, as well as a good chunk of the consumable item work. Really, I'd like to get those both done and one other thing (I'll talk about it next week), before opening the test site. There's also one more idea that would probably be really nice to do before opening the test site (it will break things, require resets, and will take a while), but right now it's on the bubble as to whether or not it will go into V4. I'd like to get it in, but it's one of those things that might get pushed out in favor getting things out to you guys sooner. It'll come down to timing and how ambitious I feel.
I have enough info to keep the Countdown info coming for at least 2 more weeks. Would ideally like to open the test site around when the countdown runs out, so I'd say look for it sometime in early August. It will depend on how I feel about where I'm at. The more work I can get done BEFORE opening the test site, the easier it will be on all of us, as there will (hopefully) be few resets of the site and more time to find bugs or items that need balancing. The sooner all the changes get in, the sooner the launch will be.
Go Team!
PS: Remember the little contest/poll thing I mentioned a few weeks back? (see a few posts above this one). Well I'd say look for more info concerning that one on Friday...
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Post by Tim on Sept 21, 2009 11:52:26 GMT -6
Ok. It's time to get serious here. I admit I've been slacking a bit lately. I'll own that. Between work, the new house, helping my wife with things for her work, and my WoT re-read for TGS, I just haven't put in the time needed to get V4 finished up. Well I've finally gotten fed up with myself. Time to finish things up and get it all out there. Here is my new timeline for V4: - September 30th (9 days from now): This is when I plan to have all the major code changes done. There still may be some bug fixes left, but all new features will be added by then. If I can't finish something by then, then its not going into V4, plain and simple. At this point I may reset the test site in order to start some thorough testing and tweaking of variables to balance things properly.
- October 9th (18 days from now): Final resets before launch. Mainly to make sure I have everything ready for launch.
- October 10th (19 days from now): Official V4 launch. No word on what time right now, but I'll iron that out as the date gets closer.
As far as new features left for V4, I'll discuss them as they get added in. I have a few things in mind that would be a great addition, but don't want to commit myself to anything now so if I run out of time, I won't feel AS bad cutting it. While this timeline isn't set in stone, I'm going to try to keep to it as much as possible. If nothing else, it'll hopefully light a fire under me to get my butt in gear. Plus, with TGS launching a few weeks later, I think early October is a great time to launch the new version. Long time WoT fans will be pumped for the new book and hopefully be re-engaged with the online WoT community and looking for something to keep them entertained, but its far enough away from the actual launch of the new book that the book won't steal too much activity from people before we can get them hooked. ;D So spread the word! Go Team
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