What is the GOW up to?

[Lynnutte]

I would like to include information about what the Guild of Writers is doing, now that the cavern is closed, in the "Where R U URU" Guild of Messengers Newsletter. Please post anything and everything that you would like included in this newsletter here. Thank you.

[Aloys]

Well right now we are essentially waiting for more infos from Cyan.
There are a couple of ideas floating here about how a new game could be created to succeed to MOUL, or at least to pick up where it left off.. It would be an online game sort of similar to Uru but open to explorer-created Ages, it probably wouldn't deal with the D'ni story itself though (as Cyan probably wouldn't allow that). It's still a bit vague at this point.
The 'problem' with that is we need Cyan's agreement, and recently they have hinted they want to help keeping Uru alive in some point (maybe run their own server) and help with custom Ages, but this all need to go through Gametap first.. So they are waiting after GT and we are waiting as well.

As soon Cyan gives us more info, then we will know what we can do. If they run their own Uru server and open it to custom Ages, then we'll probably keep cranking Ages. If they don't then the ball will be in our court.

[greendragoon]

Don't forget that there are a number of age development projects for the offline Uru:Complete Chronicles game. Some like Ahra Phats and Zepher Cove are available to the public. There are also ages in development. I know D'eux has been working on his first full age and has sent back some impressive screenshots. And there is the Dev Team which has been hard at work on the Pyprp plugin. We've seen a number of impressive improvements with it, which in turn allow us writers to produce better age.

If anything, the closing of the cavern has reinvigorated many of us.

[pappou]

Aloys, do you and the councilors have someone appointed to answer PR questions like Lynutte's? It would be better that a single designated driver be given authority by your administrative team to deal with PR matters, rather then throwing the floor open to whichever ego shouts the loudest.

Of course, there are very definite problems with such an authenticated summary, but Lynnutte's request might urge setting up a priorities list of projects which could meet various PR demands. For instance, the projects entered into the recent New Age Project Cookoff [sorry; my term] would be top of the list for the moment; but there are a variety of other projects which could encourage other categories. Their various stages of development, their type, their scope, their problems, even their personal interest stories.

My feeling is that Lynnutte's request should stir the councilors to prepare for the increasing demand of public information. And while the position of such an authorized spokesperson might not entirely stop unauthorized statements [in fact, it is better that maverick statements NOT be staunched], it would be made clear that the one view was kosher while the others were not.

What do you think?

[Aloys]

I think you are over complicating the mater. But maybe Paradox (who would be our appointed PR person) will disagree.

[Tsar Hoikas]

This is a question for Paradox. IMO No one else really ought to be speaking for the group other than him.

[Paradox]

"speaking for the group"? Not at all... no single person speaks for the group.

Currently it seems that a few projects are wrapping up, the Rapid Age Development competition ended with some stunning results, PyPRP is being expanded to support new features and better support for existing features, and in the background, ideas quietly find their way into Blender and into Uru.

It's really impossible to say what projects are being developed, some of them may appear to be on hold, or working full steam ahead, and some exist only on someone's hard drive with nothing posted on the forums.

The best source of information is to read the monthly newsletter, but even that doesn't really capture the spirit of GoW. The spirit isn't on a website, or forums: it's linking to a new Age and seeing something that you created, that you envisioned, in a different light.

[Lynnutte]

You have a newsletter? Why didn't anyone tell me?? That would make my job a lot easier. Maybe if I could get a list of the ages that are finished and ready to be explored as well as those almost finished, along with a link telling people how to access these ages, that would be a good start. Then, after the next age is ready to be explored, you can let me know and I will put it in the next newsletter. I'm not meaning next month, I mean whatever newsletter comes after then age that was finished, whenever that happens to be.I hope I'm not asking too much. In the mean time, point me to the newsletter please.


(I hope that all made sense. I'm tired.)

[theclam]

The newsletter can be found here.

[Nek'rahm]

Well, a couple of people got FCA "licenses" from Cyan. That may be of importance

Andy was just raving about it.