som.net and holydiver

[dmpdesign]

Has anyone been in touch with him lately, is he making any earth shattering progress with the Ex engine he was building? ‎  I unbanned him a while back from a few of the boards on here but he has not responded or posted that I am aware.

I'm so out of sorts with SOM these days, I don't know where all you guys are at with your projects and your groundbreaking news with SOM related stuff. ‎  I will try to catch up on the latest and greatest and be around to lend support more often than I have been.

[Hguols]

I think you know my vote on HolyDiver. ‎  "If you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got" rings true for him I think.

I myself have reached complete creativity burnout. ‎  I think between all the games and albums I've made, the longest took 6 months or so (Trismegistus), the shortest took about a month (First Ankou Awaits album) and to show for it, well, there's 6 albums and 3 games since 2009.

I think the "highest" I got from my projects was when I initially completed it and got to share it for the first time. ‎  I was still quite pumped about it. ‎  By all means, I don't make what I make just for other people - I have my own sense of accomplishment. ‎  ....but on the other hand, I don't just make what I make just for myself either. ‎  Its actually probably 60me/40others on the split.

Still, and its not really anyone's fault as I'm the same way, but no one seems to give a shit. ‎  Even the best input I've gotten from music or best games, people will say "Oh that's cool", and then they'll move on to something bigger and better. ‎  Once again, I don't blame them because I do the exact same thing. ‎  Its human nature.

Still, today, it doesn't really feel worth it to put in months of work with just a week or so of that "completion/recognition high".

....so, lately, I've just been playing my PSP and PS3 instead of creating something. ‎  I don't know how long this will last, but the last project I finished (The Field of Kings) was early June, so...

[AsusX2]

I'm still working on mine.

[dmpdesign]

Still, today, it doesn't really feel worth it to put in months of work with just a week or so of that "completion/recognition high".

I think it really depends on what your goal is Tom. ‎  For me at first it was simply to make a game in a series I enjoyed and share it with people, and I'm still happy with the outcome of that. ‎  The benefit for me was realizing I should do this sort of thing for a living, so as of December 31st this year, that is exactly what I am doing. ‎  I am leaving my day time job and working for myself from now on making game and digital media. ‎  So to me, this process of SOMing was one of the most inspiring and helpful stepping stones I could have ever dreamed of.

Everyone on this site has been really great I think, and I dont know anyone that really views your work as a passing fancy.

Tom...this whole forum and website was created because of the work you and Weissvulf did, if thats not an indication that you had a lasting impression I don't know what is? ‎  You still have people downloading your game that is 4-5 years old and giving you kudos, saying it was a true successor in the series, it had the right feel and gameplay. ‎  Thats a monumental accomplishment when diehard fans of a series can pick up your tribute game and say 'ya, this is fucking awesome'. ‎  99% of the time people are REALLY picky about tribute stuff.

As for your music, well I think you just have to find the right pool of fans to appreciate your work. ‎  As you know, I love the maunstraut cd, i listen to it all the time and wanted to offer it as a reward for our game contest last year because i wanted to share your talent. ‎  The other work you do, well it just isnt my style music, i can appreciate the effort and quality behind it, but i dont listen to that genre...but i would wager the folks that do really enjoy your cds. ‎  Not everyone is gonna like everything you do, its about the exposure and the circle of folks being able to actually find your work thats tough. ‎  I have worked on several games since KFDD but I don't bother mentioning it here much because I dont expect king's field fans to get excited about a puzzle quest clone ‎  and so on :)

Don't get down about what youve done Tom, you have a great deal more creativity inside you to share, and plenty of folks out there that will be ready and waiting eagerly when you do.

[Verdite]

I agree with Todd here, anything as challenging as the work you produced isnt something to be scoffed at. You've made a game, thats amazing to start with, but to get it right for so many people is something else.

[Hguols]

Hey. Thanks guys! I really didn't expect the pep talk... wasn't actually what I was really aiming for. (It actually helped though, so that's a pleasant surprise.)

I can openly admit that my diagnosis is off... but I have nothing else to base this burnout on. Maybe I'd feel the same if I had double the recognition?

Maybe I've just done too much and need to moderate? I mean, 6 albums and 3 games in 3 years is a lot.

The only thing though... its hard to moderate passion.
:/

Thanks again guys! I do appreciate the appreciation!!!
( ^ - ^)â™ ‎ª

[dmpdesign]

FYI I think I messed up when I tried to unban Holy Diver a while back, I apparently did not modify his user account properly and today I tried to fix that. ‎  I hope with any luck that he will be able to log in and use the boards. ‎  Holy if you are out there and can read this, please log in and try your account and let me know.

For the rest of you, I have asked Holy via his forums to please visit this site and update the folks here on his SomEx project, as other forum members here have been reporting a great benefit to using the tool. ‎  I had misjudged him and thought his project wouldn't be beneficial, but I was wrong. ‎  I have also time and again said things to hurt his character to others, and I apologize for that as well. ‎  Each person that uses this forum is a valuable community member, and every contribution is important. ‎  I made things personal and should not have.

Holy I am extending the olive branch to you to discuss your work with the folks that use this forum and may not know about your own forum. ‎ 

For other visitors here, if you want to get the most up to date information on SomEx or other tools Holy Diver has been working on please visit his site at \<span> site blocked, contact your administrator

[Holy_Diver]

FYI I think I messed up when I tried to unban Holy Diver a while back, I apparently did not modify his user account properly and today I tried to fix that. ‎  I hope with any luck that he will be able to log in and use the boards. ‎  Holy if you are out there and can read this, please log in and try your account and let me know.

For the rest of you, I have asked Holy via his forums to please visit this site and update the folks here on his SomEx project, as other forum members here have been reporting a great benefit to using the tool. ‎  I had misjudged him and thought his project wouldn't be beneficial, but I was wrong. ‎  I have also time and again said things to hurt his character to others, and I apologize for that as well. ‎  Each person that uses this forum is a valuable community member, and every contribution is important. ‎  I made things personal and should not have.

Holy I am extending the olive branch to you to discuss your work with the folks that use this forum and may not know about your own forum. ‎ 

For other visitors here, if you want to get the most up to date information on SomEx or other tools Holy Diver has been working on please visit his site at \<span> site blocked, contact your administrator

While I will take this statement at face value just for the hell of it and for want of caring. I appreciate a proper public apology. Give yourself a pat on the back while you are at it.

And I can totally see how you could've broken my account WRT the forum, and in the future will chime in when anything totally f'd up is uttered on my behalf.

On the other hand I'm afraid I don't have a whole lot to add in terms of Ex. It's up to whatever community there is here or anywhere to keep their own up to date and in the know, and most of all aware of the futility of going and trying to use SOM without the likes of Ex.

If anyone here actually believes there is a future in the world for Sword of Moonlight then you will make Ex your business. Otherwise if you keep involving yourself with SOM you will just be doing a disservice to others by leading them astray and generally wasting peoples valuable time.

I have a track record of continually working to improve SOM. It's long become a full time job. And I hope that someone takes notice of how far SOM has come with the forthcoming release of Verdite's Dec. (fingers crossed) Rathmor demonstration...

That said Ex is by no means (yet) a thing upon itself. To make a game with SOM you will still require JDO's many contributions. Both to compile a standalone game with his modified version of SOM_RUN, and if you intend to use SOM's artwork, you are far better off with his doctored files than those that come with SOM. Plus though there are translation files for the tool and game pieces cobbled together from JDO's translations at som.net, there is no other way to work with SOM's tools in English without his translations.

And so therefore realistically SOM is still in a state of limbo for all but those who are dedicated enough to collect together all of the necessary remedies. And that's all I have to say on the matter at this time.

Outside of systematically removing enumerable bugs from your SOM game and adding a fair share of desirable features, the main reason anyone should be using Ex is to have a working version of SOM_MAP and to be able to test games in a window. If you are trying to use SOM in any other way you may as well just stop and self flagellate yourself until you have a better idea. As for anyone who would publish a game without Ex. You are lucky that you won't be tried in The Hague... not anytime soon anyway

Code:

"I had misjudged him and thought his project wouldn't be beneficial, but I was wrong."

Yeah because everyone knows that SOM doesn't have any problems.

[dmpdesign]

:)