figgles@unseenstudios.com ~ $ find / -name "BTR" -

[figgles]

find: BTR: No such file or directory.

[Joe M.]

so it goes. and how about that "kujo" thing? haven't heard much of that lately either

I think we both know how these things happen.

[Karl G.]

eh?

[figgles]

Karl, are you saying "eh" as in, "I don't understand", or "eh", as in "How about that Kujo thing?"

In the case of "I don't understand", it is a Solaris shell command to find a file. UNIX joke. Yeah, there are a hundred of them. Some are pretty good
But I didn't think you were a UNIX fan.

In the case of that Kujo thing, it isn't dead and is being actively developed as of 2007. We have a new bag of toys from our experiences, and are going to give it another shot. Joe, of all people, should know what is going on -- he was there when we decided that we should resume work. You heard nothing else because we said nothing else.
Yeah, we're a bit insane. You almost have to be to want to make an online game. Karl of all people should know just how much work programming an entire game (much more, an online one!) all by yourself is -- he probably got as far or further along in BTR than Kujo did (hate to admit it though!). Artists know how hard it is to build a game world from the ground up -- I have heard their frustrations.

"These things" do happen. I agree. Microsoft killed MDX2. Duke Nukem Forever is taking that long. I wanted to play BTR. I want to play Kujo. I still want to play games that I haven't even (finished/started) programmed yet, and I certainly intend on it -- it is on my list of things to do before I die in the distant future.
I think given enough time and dedication, you can produce.

I am somewhat of a minimalist myself. I want Linux on a floppy. I want single textures and no shaders. If a software renderer couldn't do it in real time, then the game geometry is too complex. And so on.
There are times that I want to get engaged in a project that I think I can actually *complete* rather than endlessly work for what seems to be an unobtainable goal. I haven't played Xenimus, but the screenshots make the game itself look simple, like a feasible project. This isn't a bad thing at all. I want to clone a game made in 1990 because I absolutely love it. I have a feeling that this project is about imitating the feelings produced from a game before some designer screwed with the system so much that it became much less fun, not about impressing the world with novelty or graphics.

MMORPGS are an especially prime target because they are "pure" when they first come out, like an uncorrupted idea of what gameplay should be. Then the game developers listen to the community too much, and little by little, you aren't playing the same game. Trust me, I know the feeling. Asheron's Call was the same way for me. I still seek to clone it and work on it when I need a break from anything else I am doing. It is also a great testing ground for new ideas that I wouldn't want to implement in a project that requires mature, stable code.

Karl, when/if you finish this game, you should resume BTR. BTR was your dream and your baby. It will still be waiting for you when/if you finish this, or since PV is an online game, you feel that you can resume work (i.e. PV is in monthly-maintenance mode). Or help me with a project. Or vice versa. Or something started by both of us. Or some thing stupid, like Game-In-A-Day competitions. We're both more mature and experienced than when we last met.

Whatever you do, don't give up. Not again.

Patrick Baggett