A serious proposal to Cyan. Can WE get MORE up and running?

[J'Kla]

Given that, and I don't fully understand. Would an Alcugs shard be able to run our fan created ages but the age file would be uploaded to someone acting as shard admin maintaining the shard? The result would be publicly available?

What would we require beyond Cyan permission?

How much shard space would be required?

[Chacal]

Would an Alcugs shard be able to run our fan created ages

Yes.

but the age file would be uploaded to someone acting as shard admin maintaining the shard?

Yes. The admin would have to get the age files to the shard server.

The result would be publicly available?

Yes. The clients would download the required files from the server.

[J'Kla]

So what about the last two questions?

What would we require beyond Cyan permission?

How much shard space would be required?

[Chacal]

I'm sure some ex UU shard owners will be able to answer that.

[Lontahv]

J'kla, using Alcugs would require you to be pretty tech-savvy because Alcugs in pretty darn buggy--maybe not "buggy" but finicky.

I was pretty sure that with the Alcugs server needed full dat and sdl folders to make it work. Though, maybe this was just a blunder of mine a while ago (now that I know more it seems like you shouldn't need the FNI or prp files for the base server--that doesn't mean you don't need all the files for a data-server).

To buy a server that would run Alcugs (on the backbone) you'd probably need about $40 a month or so. If you were to run it on residential broadband or cable it'd be much cheaper and easier to control. But, however, if you run it from your home you'd need to have shards to distribute the weight of all the players. I personally would rather have a system with lots of little privately run servers than a large laggy server with too many people on it.

The thing is that all these Alcugs servers could use a common data-server which would mean they'd have the same content and wouldn't have to worry about vault-corruption.

I've only ever successfully ran Plasma UU servers (even though I tried Alcugs back then with little luck).

EDIT: Stupid question deleted. The Q&A on the Alcugs site says it all.

[Jamey]

Who here knows how to set up UU and ALCUGS shards? (I need someone to be on the team I'm forming for this proposal)

[Lontahv]

I know how to set up and basic administration of UU shards. I don't know all that much about Alcugs shards.

For more info concerning Alcugs shards two names pop into my head: Hoikas, Almlys. I'd recommend only bothering them after you've spent a few days with these instructions: http://alcugs.almlys.org/AlcugsInstall and have some strange problem that needs to be dealt with.

I _would not_ recommend talking to them about the servers in a planning sense.

I currently think that small servers is the best approach for now.

Verizon broadband blocks certain things needed for Uru servers. Basically, if you have some ISP other than Verizon and some old computer you should be able to start a Alcugs or Plasma server shard.

I'm feeling though that my discussion about shards and servers in off-topic here since this is about a MORE proposal to Cyan and I'm talking about unofficial shards with fan-content on them that we could set up right now.

[DataPhreak]

Forgive me if I am off track here, but I think I have an idea that might provide some resolution to all sides of the problem.

Okay, we have a couple of items that could potentially work as clients/servers. If we make all ages user run/hosted, the users who host the ages aquire all legal implications of what they host. Therefore, someone makes an age with Cyan textures, they take the blame, not the developer/central server host. Of course, we can have the "Classics," central server hosted ages with all orginal content.

Now, let's look at a new direction that I don't think anyone has considered. Instead of placing the setting in the present, where our avatars represent ourselves, lets set it in the past, before any backstory has been written, just after the council was formed, right at the beginning of D'ni, as a roleplaying environment. Of course, the city itself will have to be rewritten/rebuilt, and won't look like anything that Cyan/Ubi have put out (Wink wink nudge). So long as we don't use any textures, or any of their code, all content, including IP such as storyline, becomes fanfic, and copywrite, well, everyone.

Then! Oh, then! Then we rent out houses, for a small monetary fee IRL, of course, and give it all to Cyan to keep them in business. Of course, this last bit would have to be worked out with Cyan, and a small, minimal fee would be necessary to host the server, but it would all be non-profit. This way, paying members would have a permenant location where they can post their ages, and allow others to access them while they are online, and non paying members can post theirs in the public library. The same public library that the poor families who did not have ages of their own went to enjoy that aspect of D'ni life.

The only thing necessary beyond the basis of whatever engine you guys are working on, is the ability to add simple objects to a map permenantly in real time, I.E. Ages, and the ability to give other players admin rights over certain objects, I.E. Doors, in order to lock homes that they purchase.

And, what's more, is we, or more respectfully, you guys, could start your own Council, run by the founding members. Just think about it. We get full rights to an open source, free server, paid for by the players, and does not violate the IP rights of Cyan. (As long as it remains non-profit, we, err... you, can claim that it is solely for learning purposes, which means you can even use, theoretically, IP property under the "Fair Use Act". Now I would not recommend using copywrite materials from Cyans game, but it should cover any unnoticed copywrite glitches should Cyan decide to un-shutup.)

Just a thought.

-Data

[Lontahv]

That's a really interesting idea, Data. I have in the past thought about having it be role-playing like the D'ni MOO was.

The problems that spring to my mind are: we could rewrite Cyan's history they have not yet released and, I WANNA BE ME (my problem but a problem nonetheless ).

I just had an idea: we could leave D'ni altogether and have some archeological dig somewhere else (maybe artifacts connecting to D'ni that are found). It could even have to do with caves! This way we could kinda have DIRT without D in D'ni. I feel I could grow used to not linking. Uru's over-use of linking has kind of made it less special than it was in Riven and Myst. The sound: WOWAWOWOA is heard and Lontahv *fades out*.

[DataPhreak]

The way I see it, this is fan fiction. What's more, there is no real permenant literature being written, only the experiences we enjoy. Besides, it might prompt them to come out of hiding and give us some direction. Either way, the chances of them releasing literature that far back are slim to none, unless they salvage the entire myst franchise. The book of Ti'Ana is the earliest piece of history except for a few pieces of legislature that Master Kedri looked up which were, at the earliest piece, 1900 years old. As for being yourself, well, Aitrus himself said that there was no telling where or... WHEN the ages they linked to were located. Using simple quantum mechanics, you could theoretically be yourself without breaking continuity. And given the nature of the way Uru played, (I theorize, as I have not myself played it yet. http://www.uruobsession.com/forum/index.php?act=ST&f=111&t=34340&s=4df9e003783a00befea430a75643b9d7 for more info on that.) it wouldn't be looked down upon by other players. {Though I don't think you would be in the council. XD}

At any rate, I am sure my opinions of this are incredibly one sided and biased. (Much like Veovis, if I might plagerize the boob again.) I would love to hear other opinions and set any worries to rest.



Probably,
Data