New Content??

[Karkadann]

Any chance on some new content for the Gehn Shard? The one thing I feel really gets attention in the Myst community is when new content turns up in Uru Live someplace. This is the advantage the Old Uru CC, drizzle and the Non-MOUILa shards have over the MOULa shards. The endless number of ages you can download and explore. I hear their are a lot of things you can do with the code however not everybody is MOULa code savvy. You Guys in the GoW have seen the kinda stuff I can do with Max But when it comes to Python and other related codding stuff im at a bit of a loss. Granted Im no Pro with Max either But I would be willing to help with any New content If I knew what you guys need.

I would like to contribute to MOULa open source, I do not know enough about codding and servers to do any more then ask questions However I do know a thing or two about 3d graphic, if your interested.

I also have an old African board game im working on called Mancala with a bit of a D'ni twist that im working on if any one remembers how to play
It was a simple build (so far) and what I like about these board games is the puzzle changes every time you play and you don't hafta speak the same language

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[Wamduskasapa]

I also would be willing to assist. My coding capabilities are absolutely NIL. But if you have ever visited R'Oshanhnin Korvahkhn, you have seen my abilities in Music, SFX, Journals and Puzzle Design as it applies to the creation of an Age...

[Lyrositor]

I would be the absolute opposite. I know nothing about artistic design or implementation, but I've started poking around the Python more and more lately, and I would enjoy assisting with scripting Ages (it would be an interesting learning experience; I'm dying to learn more about Plasma).

So I'm in too. If you need a server for testing your Ages, you can freely use my Lyros Shard, and I'll set up all the Ages for you.

EDIT: There's a new page on the wiki... http://www.guildofwriters.org/wiki/Logi ... evelopment

[Branan]

The original plan was for us to develop a clear set of rules for determining content that goes on Gehn. We've all been way to slack to actually write those rules.

I agree that new content is important, so if you don't object to Hoikas, Deledrius and I just using our "best judgement", I'd be happy to take submissions of ages to go on Gehn. They must be written using Cyan's (or one of the updated, but I believe those are currently still too buggy to use for anything serious) Max plugin, and they'll need to be of high quality - one of our goals for Gehn has always been that it showcases only the best of the best from the community.

Please don't submit ages unless you really feel they have high quality - it is not fun to tell somebody "sorry, your art is just not up to par"

[Karkadann]

Please don't submit ages unless you really feel they have high quality - it is not fun to tell somebody "sorry, your art is just not up to par"

OK, I have six Relto Pages, Three Board games, a Walking Maze and the The Lost Stonehenge. All done with 3DS Max 7.1 so I still have the unconverted files.
If none of them are up to par can you tell me which one has the most potential and how I can update it so it would be up to par?

[Sirius]

...how I can update it so it would be up to par?

Your Ages are nice (especially the Walking Maze, to my mind), but I think they would be great with:

• better lighting: put lamps here and there, make lightmaps or use vertex painting to fake light... lightmaps are a bit tricky to do, but I really think it's worth it.
• detailed models: make models less repetitive (even chairs or tables are incredibly detailed in Cyan's Ages)
• fancy texturing: make stencils, use textures with better resolution, etc.
• more sounds: there are more than a thousand sound files made by Cyan on Uru, just putting some sounds like wind or anything would be great.
• cubemaps: not so important, but these are quite nice in Cyan's Ages

This lack of visual quality is a real pain in most fan-ages, I don't know how hard it would be to do it in Max, but even with PyPRP and Blender it isn't too complicated to make things such as lightmaps. I think some Ages with the best visual quality are AndyLegate's (and some, of course, as Vothol). That's really my main reason to dislike Fan-Ages because you can't spend more than 5 minutes in it without having an headache because of all the bright colors.

That was just my point of view, but I think it makes all the difference between a "good" and a "bad" Age.

[Karkadann]

Thats a tall order for an amateur, although I have in the past bit off more then I can chew (if you remember Relativity) and managed reasonably well with some help on the game engine and a few other things. All I really needed was a python file for the default camera But Tach was kind enough to install the Game engine stuff and a few other details to make it more interesting and user friendly unfortunately for me its was finished in Blender and I have yet to figure out how to convert it back to Max

So what you looking for is something done professionally, from what little I understand of such things many of Cyan's ages where done by several different people each one specializing in one specific field of age creation.
Basically a community project, an idea that seems to be a bit difficult to implement as of late, Im assuming its the result of time restriction and priorities. But just like we all said with Open Source "good things come to those who wait"

[Tsar Hoikas]

The Max plugin will bake vertex lighting for you automatically. SPECULATION: I *believe* (do NOT quote me on this until someone verifies it!) that all you need to do is add a standard Max lamp (not a Plasma RT lamp) and cast some color with it. That lamp will not light the avatar (it won't be exported), but it will apply vertex colors to vertices it lights.

[Christopher]

Adding a Max standart lamp is all you have to do, if you want a basic lightning (such as ambient light). But if you want to have shadows you have to do a bit more. The best ways are Light Maps.

Christopher

[Tsar Hoikas]

Thanks for the verification, Christopher