Untitled

April 25th, 2009 · No Comments

Hey guys, TAC here again. Let me just start off with this: beta isn't going to take another year. As time goes on, our body of work seems to be ridiculously growing. In fact, it grew so unmanageable that I had to split of all of the quests, stores, sidequests, and other odds and ends into their own section of Dev. Of course, you will constantly hear devs say that "We haven't done anything :\" but that's not really true. If we rolled out all we have written write now, it would keep you guys busy for awhile. Not to consider that we don't consider it done yet! The plan for beta, if you guys haven't heard, is the first chunk of story, and all of Sweden to go along with it. I won't pin down the structure or length just yet of anything. I'd rather it be a nice surprise, and something interesting to read, when it comes out. However (and I know this seems obvious), that won't be the complete package. Beta for us is going to be BETA. There will be massive testing. It's not going to be like "Google Mail! Now in Beta!" for several years. We'll be actively putting in content, fixing content and replacing content at player suggestion and at the dev team's own whim.  It'll be hectic, but it should be a fun time as well. As for estimates? Although they're comforting, I (and the dev team) try to avoid handing them out. Satan's last estimate for finishing the code (after he jumps a strange coding hurdle) would be a month. Along the way we're cranking out writing, and EMD's drawing her wrists off.  It could take a month, it could take two. But seeing as our year anniversary has passed, we're cracking down on work. And seeing as it's been so long already, there is not much longer before we declare beta content ready to put into public testing. It's hectic (and sometimes stressful), but again. It'll be worth it! We can't wait to see how our various ideas go over. Now, as you may or may not know, we actively discussed an audio commentary of the game, in the 'Swedish Museum'. I mention this only because we talked of it in open chat, so it's not really a crazy secret idea. Think of VALVe software's style of commentary, for this feature in game. That's all I'll say about that, but it's one in a series of interesting ideas we can't wait for you guys to test. See you in the 20s, TAC

Just so you all know...

April 14th, 2009 · 5 Comments

We are still working on this game.

Nothing else to report.

-Enemy Lasagna

New Stuff

February 2nd, 2009 · 3 Comments

As some of you might know, we've been planning on several very sweeping changes lately, and I'd like to outline all of them and how they will or will not affect any of you. Database changes: We're in the process of changing up the general style and relationalism of the db with the help of our new database administrator dev, TheFlyingSpaghettiMonster. What this means to you: The game will execute actions faster and we'll be able to do more with less code which means more productivity. The con to this is that it'll take a bit to rewrite the code to use it, but more on that later. Rollover changes: We're going to be changing rollover fundamentally so that not only do you not get kicked off chat, you won't be kicked off the game period. I'm of the opinion that it's useless breaking your session just to update some data in the db and make backups. So, we're simply going to prevent you from doing anything (you'll get a message saying rollover is in progress). So, there will be rollover 'warnings', but you will be able to stay on and chat during. Design changes: As we were already going to be rewriting the site's entire code to allow for the new database setup, we were hoping to really change up the way the game is coded to be more efficient, to be easier to code for, to make everything more or less awesome. I had been pressing to use Ruby on Rails to do this, which is an application language made for rapid application development and convenience of coding (see ForumWarz for a working example of the neatness), but as it turns out RoR is a bit picky and overall too much work to adapt to and use. So, instead, we're going to be (possibly, still waiting for coding team approval) rewriting the game code to be entirely based on one page (this excludes chat, which we will also finally finish soon >.>). Anyways, the upside of this is that all the code is contained to one page, which means system changes are easier to make, and none of the hassle needed to make new pages is needed. Adding a new function to the game will be as simple as using a tool I'm designing to add a new section to that page. It makes compression of functions, it means we can use a single style sheet that'll be easy to adjust (no more silly bugs caused by Fyr's setup >.>). But that's not all. We'll also be able to keep all our functions on one page, and we'll be able to see where we need functions the most. In addition, we're going to start implementing AJAX calls into all of the interfaces- no more page loads for every little thing, saves bandwidth and what not. This is going to make javascript being enable pretty much a necessity, but it basically already is. We may or may not code in support for JS being disabled, we'll see. But, I think the best aspect of this, is that we can refactor all of the existing code to be much better and have more features than it used to. To be honest, alot of our early code by me and Fyr is very sloppy and inefficient. It'll be nice to have a consistent code base from now on. And so, I'll end this blog. I think very soon we're going to make a new Soul Raver Show, so I'll recap some of this on there. If we can, we're going to get Sukie and FSM on, since they haven't been on a show yet >.>

Update for the sake of update

November 21st, 2008 · 2 Comments

Poor little blog, neglected and alone, no one ever looks at you anymore. I don't think it's very fair to keep the blog so sad and alone, so I'm going to give it a small update, just to keep it happy. So, what's been going on? Our coders have been perfecting the code (in between bouts of laziness) and have been working on such features as rollover. The rest of the team have been focusing more on the content side of things. It's already been decided how many quests there will be and we've written up over half of them (there are some gaping holes in a lot of them so I can't really say any of them are strictly complete, but it's a start). EMD has been busy with NaNoWriMo all month so she hasn't been able to lend her powers to us useless men, but seeing as she's Finally written around 50,000 words, she should be joining us again quite soon. --Edit-- apparently not, see comments. And... That's about it. If you want me to address something specific, just ask in the comments or something. -Enemy Lasagna

I can has hax

October 14th, 2008 · 3 Comments

Hey all, it's Bizkut here, and I finally decided to hax the db and make myself a dev on this here wordpress thing.  But I'm sure you all don't care about that, but rather want to know what's up with the game. So, the current state of things:
  • :UNIONS! GROUPS! WHATEVER!  So yeah, they're in the game.  Whilst there is not currently a union chat channel, you can currently apply to a union, leave a union, or create a union. WOOH!  If you are a LEADER of a union, you have oh so much more you can do.  You can Accept/deny users, add players to a union whitelist, remove players from a union whitelist, remove members from your union, or decide to allow/block all applications.  I'm slacking off on doing a few other things, because with avid union switching in the games future, I know I have to come up with a good system to allow for unique ranks/titles/abilities in multiple unions. So fear not, if I'm not coding, I'm thinking.
  • Beta CONTENT is coming along, however slowly. There is a good amount of art thanks to our dear emd, and a good amount of content thanks to the collaboration of The Almighty Creator, Enemy Lasagna, and emd, with a weee bit of input from Satan and I.
  • Possibly a little sumthin' sumthin' for Halloween. >.>
So yeah, that's about all I can think of right now.  Have fun, you guys!

Blog Changes.

September 3rd, 2008 · No Comments

Amongst other development happenings, I have taken it upon myself to pretty up the blog. Eventually I'll be commissioning someone on the forums to do a blog design/forum design to match the site. -TAC

Spiders!

August 26th, 2008 · 3 Comments

Did I tell you EMD hates those?

It's Been a While

August 25th, 2008 · 1 Comment

Yeah, it's been a while since we've posted anything in here. Just thought I'd give you a brief update on what's going on. Good news is that we now have three coders on the team, Satan, who has assumed the role of head coder; Fyriole who rose from the dead and is now an active devster (we hope); and newly joined Bizkut who has been a devster for little over a week, maybe two weeks. As you can tell, chat is getting a lot of nice features added to it, satan is making sure all the bells and whistles are in working order. With the speed of three coders, or at least two and a half, things may come sooner than previously predicted. No promises though. But what are the rest of us doing you ask. Well, I can't give too much detail away, me, tac and emd are working on a lot of beta content. Working out how the quests will work, thinking up interesting mechanics, trying to make sure things still make marginal sense... All that wonderful stuff. I am planning to get most of the work finished before the end of the year but as the past has taught us, anything could happen. -Enemy Lasagna

A Prologue (Before 1990)

July 15th, 2008 · 3 Comments

The Meeting, 1989 The clatter of chairs was resounding as the officials sat down at the immense wooden table. After a moment of stifled coughs and shifting chairs, the room was again silent. Then came a pounding of a gavel upon the wood. "Today we call to order PTA meeting number three hundred and ninety-eight," said a stern looking official at the head of the table. A wizend man to the right of the stern official continued, "We will be discussing the construction of a new college in Sweden. It has been a point of hot debate, but due to the... rather 'illustrious' state of the nearby colleges, we decided last meeting to provide slightly cheaper education to our high school alumni. Now, the only problem is the lack of tangible funds to construct the campus. We already have a million dollar deficit, so..." A silence, as the attendees pondered the implied question presented by the wizened man. "Any ideas?" he finished. More silence. Suddenly, a hand rose from the crowd. "Since bake sales and fund raisers are a bit too... lowbrow for this district, why not capitalize on those annoying coupons?" said a meek old woman. The 'coupons' this old woman discussed were actually the remnants of a simpler time in Sweden. During the last world war, the town of Sweden used coupons to trade and buy items from each other, saving their money away in safes for harder times. This created a mini-economy amongst the citizens as they bartered off their remaining goods. The coupons eventually lost value in the community and were simply discarded. A local ecologist noted the strange behavior of Sweden's local qwerzogs; quite frankly, they collected them in droves. Other wildlife picked up the habit and kept the multitude of coupons. These relics are highly sought after by museums and WWII enthusiasts, and if portrayed as incredibly rare, could be sold for millions of dollars. The meek woman continued after the initial silence. "What I mean is, to make money off of those, collect them from the citizens at a coupon stand on the grounds of the campus. Since our town is big into hunting, they'd take them off the corpses of the wildlife and give them to us. We'd remove the animal problem AND build ourselves a college!". The idea was met with a resounding applause and a general air of approval. One man's stifled cries of "But won't we risk the extinction of the Qwerzogs..." were ignored as the claps continued. "We have it then! we'll start next year after the college plans are finished. This concludes the meeting." The Fields, 1989 "BUT WHAT ABOUT OUR KIDS!?" The sound of several angry beekeepers rose from a crowd. The local bee farm had decided to shut down. Sweden was already suffering financially and it didn't need any more honey then it already had. The bee farm was one of the biggest in California, but its honey was of a lower grade then other bee farms in the country. Therefore it exported very little. Sweden's local government also had restricted the capability of the farm's production, and the citizens of Sweden had voted 93-7 to lower the price of the honey. Hundreds of bee keepers worked at the farm, because there was nowhere else to work in the area. In the state of economic hard times, being fired could mean losing everything. "Please clean out your lockers and leave. I will officially declare Buzzy Bee Farms shut down. We will release the bees, and tear down the factory. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to the company. Every employee will receive their last payment in the mail tomorrow. Goodnight." "My god, I'm gonna have to go live in the freaking woods. We can't afford to move!" said a sobbing woman in the crowd. Others tried to comfort her, but they knew they were in the same boat. The Beach, 1989 The cold, unforgiving waves beat down on the coast of Sweden as a boat came to rest in the docks. Several sailors leaped off onto the wooden dock and started to slowly walk back home. They seemed rather jolly, if tired. "Gee whiz, I can feed my family for a year!!" exclaimed an eager, young fishermen to his older friends. The waves continued to beat down on the barnacle encrusted boat. On the side you could barely read the faint red lettering: "U.S.S SWEETY". The captain then stepped off the boat, brushing off his coat and putting his hat on the nearby rack. He sat down on the edge of the dock next to a nearby man. With a sigh he pulled out a large stogy and lit it up with his lighter. The captain leaned over to the man, tapping him on the shoulder. He quickly pulled out a large writing pad and a pen. The captain began to recant the last trip to the man, as if expecting him to document it. "Write this down for me, will you? Our last trip was bountiful, but too bountiful. Us crab fishermen bring in about one hundred a day, but we easily brought in thousands! The ship nearly tipped over. Even after we had them aboard, they thrashed and even killed each other in some sort of crazed frenzy. I sense that the migration of the sea crabs has been extrapolated due to increased breeding. What could be causin' it, you never know. I saw some suspicious corporate barges heading out to sea. Maybe they be dumping chemicals?" The man ripped off the sheet and handed it to the captain. The captain threw his stogy into the nearby trash bin. He bought some fishing line and a candy bar from a man behind the counter of a dock general store, jumped into the boat and slowly coasted away back into the open sea. The Mountains, 1989 An unforgiving wind sped through the rough, weathered mountains. The trees on the mountains swayed loudly, but otherwise the mountains were silent except for the occasional qwerzog call. A small river rushed on at the base of the mountains. At the top of the largest spire, a man sat alone at the edge of a dark cave. The young ecologist pulled out a small tape recorder. "For the record," he whispered,"Qwerzog activity is unusually quiet. I have come to investigate the activity of these strange quadrupeds. How they came to these moutains is seriously beyond my understanding. It is strange that they appear slightly before the destruction of these same mountains. Maybe they don't realize the danger within these big yellow vehicles?". Suddenly a clatter came from below. The ecologist stopped the tape and produced his binoculars. Two qwerzogs were fighting below, near the stream. Strangely, due to the topography of the land, some of the ocean feeds into the stream, creating a peculiar infinite loop between the stream and the ocean. The qwerzogs fell into the water, continuing to fight. One of the qwerzogs slightly changed form, and with a burst of energy struck down the other qwerzog. He took a few sips from the stream, again changed form, and crawled back into a nearby cave. The ecologist produced his tapes again. "Again: how the creatures came to these mountains is a mystery. Maybe by inspecting the body of a freshly slayed qwerzog I can learn the origin of these 'freaks' of nature." After quietly and surely making his way down to the base of the mountain, the man examined the body of Qwerzog. Again, he produced his tapes. He whispered to avoid detection. "This qwerzog appears to be of mountain lion origin. It also shares the skin of a snake and the horns of a goat, as well as other mixes of genes that were possessed of the previous wildlife. I wouldn't know for sure, but I'm pretty sure that the water in the str-AAAAAAAGH!". A qwerzog jumped from the nearby cave and struck down the ecologist. The qwerzog sunk its fangs into his back and then slowly dragged him into the cave. -TAC

Soul Raver at Comic-Con!

July 6th, 2008 · 3 Comments

No, we don't have a booth. But I, TAC, will be present! My schedule for the con: see all my fave booths on Wednesday, Thursday and if I haven't seen it all, Friday. Saturday and Sunday I'll be around the KOL booth more. You'll be able to recognize me by my looks (if you saw that video), my nametag, and my one of a kind Soul Raver shirt. :D Feel free to ask questions and talk to stuff Soul Raver related with me, that's why I'll be there. I'll keep some coverage of the Con here as well, just to entertain you guys and exercise my writing skills. On Friday of the Con I'll be recording the show along with whoever's able to attend (The date is the 25th, I believe). Soul Raver at Comic-Con: It's More Awesome Then You'd Think. -TAC