Updates and Questions

[Velociryx]

Hi guys....nope...I'm not dead yet...not yet ::as he attempts to sound like Obi Wan Kenobi::

I've been recuperating from a stay in the hospital after acute pancreatitus (prolly spelled wrong)....anyway, that's why I've not been lurking much...but I wanted everybody to know that I've not forgotten about the smax guide, and ask a general question to the powers that be about the fiction contest (which I will do in e-mail as soon as I finish this post).

And now that I'm out, more-or-less recovered, and back at work for my big first day back (great party on my first day back....beer truck and all...LOL!) it's back to work on the smax guide....apologies for the delay.

-=Vel=-

[dfilpus]

Welcome back. Accompanied by a flourish of trumpets.

[Chowlett]

Absolutely nothing kills you does it? The world may try its absolute hardest, but nothing can remove Vel from him SMACing. Welcome back man.

[Closey]

Well, look at that.. the legend lives.. Welcome back man

[knowhow2]

Hail to the chief (?).

[Velociryx]

Thanks guys.... And Chowlett, I'm beginning to think you're right, though I get the feeling that I'm burning through my nine lives at a much faster rate than I should be. After all, I'm only 32...sheesh.

Ahhhh, but on balance I'd not change a thing. Okay, maybe I'd have made it not HURT so much this past time, but aside from that....



Good to be back among the living! (again)

-=Vel=-

[Aredhran]

So my elite probe team failed on its mission to assassinate you ? They will be severly punished !

Seriously, it's good to hear that you're doing better, but don't you forget to send me an autographed copy of your guide, or I'll have to send the assassins in for real

Welcome back
Aredhran

[This message has been edited by Aredhran (edited April 24, 2001).]

[Googlie]

Hey, check out EA's new game:

Velociryx the Undead

wb, bro

G.

[Velociryx]

::grins::

Sorry Red H....I ate your Probe team for breakfast....mayhaps that is what mucked up my pancreas in the first place.

And thanks to both you and brother Googlie for adding words of welcome.

A random, stream-of-consciousness aside:
Googlie, a Loooooong time ago, you created a thread here asking if anybody had gotten and played HOMM3....after hearing some mixed reviews about it, I broke down and bought the game on the cheap (twenty bucks for the "Complete" edition, which came with two expansion packs.

While it lacks the complexity of SMAC, I have to admit, the game rocks and the graphics are utterly gorgeous!

The game also has a very user friendly scenario editor (which the folks who designed the SMAC editor would do well to study), and I've *just* started exploring the ins and outs of it....so far, I can report that it's quite flexible, and I'm creating my very first "adventure" with it....so if you ever wound up purchasing the game and are looking for a new "quest" to complete, I should have this one polished in a couple days. It's good therapy....

And, if anybody reading this plays the game and wants to take a peek, just e-mail me at:

WebMaster@velociryx.every1.net

And I'll shoot you the file when it's complete. (I've created a hints file, cos it's frustratingly tough in the early going, and will send it optionally....just ask if you want it...)

Sheesh...how's that for wandering off topic....::

-=Vel=-

[Googlie]

::looks over shoulder:: Is there another Googlie here?

Vel:

Mistaken identity - I've never played HOMM 1,2 or 3. I did play some MOO2, and I remember waxing eloquent and excitedly about Homeworld, but never HOMM.

Maybe Rynn .....

WAZZUP?

How ya doin'?

Drinking a Bud and surfing the forums

Nope, wasn't Rynn either



G.

[bondetamp]

Vel:

HOMM3 is, indeed, a very good game. I've had it since it came out and I still play it regularly.

You might want to get the first expansion pack, 'Armageddon's Blade'. Apart from a new town-type, the conflux (my favourite ) there are also more and better neutral creatures.

Most importantly though is that the editor is improved a good deal. The changes aren't many, but they are absolutely vital. The things that were changed was basically that things that you could not manipulate (such as which skill you got in a 'skill hut') earlier has been made available for more customizing. They have also added a rather nifty campaign editor where you can tie levels together like the campaigns that came with the game. If you enjoy making maps then you should definitely buy Armageddon's Blade.

Some good HOMM sites:

Portals of Might and Magic's HOMM3-section Has tons of useful stuff.
Astralwizard's Heroes-section also has a lot of good stuff. Especially the maps section contains many good hints about what makes a good map.
h3trio has java (optional) and anoying sounds (not optional:mad but their advice on mapping is pure gold.

Oh, and welcome back.


------------------
-bondetamp
--
When you have shot and killed a man you have in some measure clarified your attitude toward him. You have given a definite answer to a definite problem. For better or worse you have acted decisively. In a way, the next move is up to him.
-- R. A. Lafferty

[Velociryx]

::as he blushes::

Sorry Googlie....the surgery musta turned my brain into so much mush....LOL...but I coulda sworn I saw a post from you way back, not that you had bought the game, but just asking about it in general....if anybody had gotten it, what they thought, etc.. ::shrug:: I'm gettin' senile I guess....

Bond, I must confess that I've never played "regular" HOMM3. I started off with Heroes Complete, which came with both Armageddon's Blade and The Shadow of Death....both really good expansions! And from your report of it, I'm kinda glad I did! I'm not sure I'd have been happy with the editor, sans the customization options available now....reallly versitile editor! (and to keep this thread at least vaguely on the topic of SMAC, let me say again that if there ever is a SMAC sequel, then the coders on the game would likely be well served by studying how the map editor for HOMM3 is put together).

In comparing the two games, I somewhat misspoke myself earlier. I should have said that HOMM3 lacks the economic complexity of SMAC, but in all, it is a superior war game, as it takes a high degree of tactical finesse to excel at the game (especially on some of those expert level maps you can get at Astral Wizard's site! Sheesh!)

Anyway, enough of my rambling....but I'm glad to see there are at least a few HOMM3 fans here at 'polyton, and again (insert plug here), my first scenario, "The Seventh Kingdom" will be done in a matter of days now....just doing some text checking and final balancing is all....

-=Vel=-

[This message has been edited by Velociryx (edited April 25, 2001).]

[Chowlett]

Still OT, are HOMM and HOMM2 any good? I can't find HOMM3 'round here, but the previous two are now abandonware. Should I have a look?

[Googlie]

Vel:

Doubt if it was me. The spells/sorcery types of games have never appealed to me. My library is strategy (civ types), sports (like EA's FIFA, NHL, etc) and simulations (Janes, Falcon, etc) with some forays into the likes of Homeworld (great), Braveheart (being scottish, couldn't resist - mistake) and AoE and C&C, which I didn't play much.

Mostly now, though I am just smac/x and CivII

G.

[bondetamp]

Chowlett:

Well, HOMM and HOMM2 were both great games, but: Heroes 3 has done something I've never seen before. They managed to make a sequel that was so good that I haven't heard anyone complain that there a) wasn't enough changes to make the overhaul worth it, or b) were changes that were bad. They managed to make thousands of little changes that overall improved gameplay without alienating (to my knowledge) any of the fan base. I think that is pretty impressive.

Download HOMM2 and try it out. Just remember that it is a rather old game. Then get your local store to order HOMM3 alone (it is cheap now) or the whole pack like Vel (it's not that much more expensive). With some hours of HOMM2 under your belt you'll learn HOMM3 very quickly and you'll really appreciate the changes.

And, just for the record, I don't work for them. I'm just a fan.

More general:

The one thing I probably like best with the series is that it is turn based but with much shorter rounds than SMAC (or civ). This makes hot seat gaming a much more viable option for me. It is just so damn nice to play it with one or two friends at the same computer until the wee hours.

------------------
-bondetamp
--
When you have shot and killed a man you have in some measure clarified your attitude toward him. You have given a definite answer to a definite problem. For better or worse you have acted decisively. In a way, the next move is up to him.
-- R. A. Lafferty

[Chowlett]

Unfortunately, the links are broken. Oh well

[theohall]

Having just gotten in to SMAC/X and PBEM very recently (like February 2001), I just wanted to say thanks for all the hard work on the two previous guides.

Just for an example of how effective your guide was for myself - before reading it I rarely reached the 1200 point mark in a game. After a couple of readings with careful attention paid to the economic aspects, I achieved the following score on Thinker level: 7550 with a 471% AC rating. This is from a guy who had trouble playing on Librarian before and staying alive.

They have been more than instrumental in developing not just my skills, but my opponents, in becoming skilled (not great) SMAC/X players.

Very glad to have you back and look forward to seeing the final edition in print. You've got at least 2 buyers for sure.

[Velociryx]

In another thread, Bond asked me how the map I'm designing was coming, but rather than draw that thread off topic, I figured I'd just update this one, which is already off topic...

The scenario is pretty much finished and is now in the hands of my beta testers....two of them have reported back in that I should rate the scenario "impossible," but once they read the "tip sheet" I'm writing up to accompany the file, they had a change of heart. Still, early indications are that it's a very challenging (brutal?!) scenario in the early goings, which is exactly what I had in mind. I'm just hoping that I've built in enough replay value that it won't be seen as a "one-shot" map. I think so....in testing, I've played it through to completion about half a dozen times thus far, and I'm not tired of it yet!

-=Vel=-

[Velociryx]

Thanks Theo, and howdies! ::as he whistles to himself:: Man...that's quite a jump in score....that rocks! And thank you for crediting the strategy guide for that success and big jump in performance!

Here....the Apolyton Forums....this is really where the guide was born. Sure sure, I spent a ton of time playing and testing different stuff, and a ton more time writing down all the results, but I remember when I first bought the game, fell head over heels in love with it, and hit the 'net in search of other people who felt the same way. I stumbled across this site almost by accident, and was in awe of the wisdom here. So in awe, in fact, I was too nervous to even voice my own ideas at first, contenting myself with short little discriptions (and sometimes, not-so-short descriptions) of my most recent games. Eventually though, curiosity got the better of me, and I started asking a few questions of the folk that had obviously been here a while, and I got some really good answers from a group of extremely patient, thoughtful people, and ever since then, anytime I'm here, I try to continue that tradition.

And the discussions taking place here! That's what I was (and still am!) so captivated by, and it was those discussions....coming here on a daily basis and talking over the latest and greatest game ideas....that was really the genesis of what became the strategy guide.

Oh, I probably could have sat down and penned some kind of strategy guide on my own, in a vaccuum....but I think it would not have had the depth and completeness that it does now, and that is thanks in no small part to everybody who comes here regularly to post!

Whew...talk about long-winded! But, all that to again say "thank you" for the compliment on the guide, and to say another big "thank you" to everybody here who helped shape it.



-=Vel=-
(who's now headed to read the latest additions of the "Ideology" thread! Interesting discussion!)

[Velociryx]

I didn't see a way to update my profile, so I figured this was as good a place as any to put it....I've closed down the e-mail addy listed in my profile....just got to the point where I couldn't keep track of them all, so I've solidified down to just one. WebMaster@velociryx.every1.net



-=Vel=-

[Chowlett]

quote: I didn't see a way to update my profile

On a forum main page, top right: click "profile"
On a thread, top left: click "profile"

[bondetamp]

quote: Originally posted by Chowlett on 05-08-2001 06:01 PM On a forum main page, top right: click "profile" On a thread, top left: click "profile"

Or if that doesn't work, try this link

------------------
-bondetamp
The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.
-H. L. Mencken
[This message has been edited by bondetamp (edited May 08, 2001).]