Approaching frustration

[olandir]

I am posting this because at least on this forum I have gotten answers. I have been to 3 seperate forums and I am constantly hearing about this RPG mod. Even on this forum Daniel15 himself posted a while ago that he was going to integrate the RPG mod and his shop mod but I have not seen it ANYWHERE... everyone talks about this RPG mod like they already have it and I can't find it

Will someone PLEASE clue me in on the EXACT location (don't send me genericly to another forum, I need a specific link) of where to download this thing. I am desperate to try it... especially if it's integrated with the Shop.

[David]

I've arranged to be a beta tester for this mod when it's ready so I'll try to answer your question.

 The mod isn't yet ready for anyone to download...not even the beta testers.

 It's currently installed on it's author's forum only and there you can use it and help debug any remaining problems prior to his packaging it as a mod that beta testers can then further trial.

 The mod most certainly isn't at a stage where it should/could even be considered for installation on a live/production forum other than that of its author.

 Making such a mod is a huge and difficult undertaking requiring advanced coding skills and many, many hours of work...the author is being kind enough to do all this for free so however long it may take the rest of us should simply be patient and supportive of the effort being put in on our behalf.

[olandir]

OH... .thank you. I appologize for my multiple posts but I was extremely frustrated by getting no answer.

Do you think it would be ready for production around June... ?Just trying to figure out a time frame when I should come back to look for it.

You said the author has it installed on his site to work out bugs... can I join that site and help? It would help me learn how to use it before putting it on my site and help work out bugs.

[David]

I've done quite a bit of software development beta testing over the years so please don't take this the wrong way...it'll be ready when it's ready. Honestly, that's the only thing anyone can say as it would be wrong to release the product, or any product, while it wasn't fit to be released (tell that to Microsoft) yet you can't know what bugs may be found or how long fixing them will take.

 You can go to the site of the RPG mod author, join and make yourself known there with your offer to help with testing:

http://www.ayeka.net/smf/index.php

 Obviously it's not for me to say what the author will offer or when it will be offered...be patient and give him all the support you can as that is the best way to get it done.

  He's had some flack recently from silly people who think they can produce such a product in five minutes flat and that never helps.

[Lady Ambrosia]

I've a question, and this may sound a little off the wall....

But is this the same person who's working with TechnoDragon, and his AvatarMaker RPG?  Are those the same, or am I missing something?

I can always just wait, matter of fact I know that TechnoDragon is working on his AvatarMaker, and I'm waiting to see where it will go, I was just wondering if they were working together to create this RPG?

[David]

 Yes they work together and, indeed, the RPG mod will use the Avatar Maker mod from Technodragon (as I understand it it will require that that be installed.) The two aren't the same but there's little point in writing an avatar making part of the RPG mod when Technodragon's product already exists so, very sensibly, they decided not to re-invent the wheel.

 Again as far as I know (and I'm not party to what is shared between them) Technodragon isn't coding the RPG mod but is acting as a helper and beta tester.

 You know you've got a good community when you see this level of cross-pollination of ideas and help given from one person to another.

[Lady Ambrosia]

Yes they work together and, indeed, the RPG mod will use the Avatar Maker mod from Technodragon (as I understand it it will require that that be installed.) The two aren't the same but there's little point in writing an avatar making part of the RPG mod when Technodragon's product already exists so, very sensibly, they decided not to re-invent the wheel.

 Again as far as I know (and I'm not party to what is shared between them) Technodragon isn't coding the RPG mod but is acting as a helper and beta tester.

 You know you've got a good community when you see this level of cross-pollination of ideas and help given from one person to another.

Oh okay, yes I've been waiting for this RPG mod, but I can wait as long as it takes, as perfection takes time

That's so true, we do have a good community when there's many willing to help eachother and cross ideas!!

Thanks so much for the info

[olandir]

Is the avatar mod avaible then?

[David]

Yes...but it's not yet an official or approved SMF mod and appears to have problems running on php5.x as well as a problem in the modifications in avtrmkr_final.xml of which I've made the author aware. It's offered in the SMF Coding Discussion area so it's perfectly reasonable to present it there as a work in progress but you might want to think carefully before applying any mod that isn't yet SMF approved to a live/production forum...you do so at your own risk and can't complain if you have problems as a result...though I wouldn't expect this particular mod to be too risky on installations where it will run and the author is a well known (on this forum and in SMF generally) and respected coder.

http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?topic=138898.0

[olandir]

So I guess the only question I have left is, what do I keep an eye on to keep track of these mods development. Is there a thread to watch or board to subscribe to? I figure I'll just lurk around until it's finished.

[David]

I suppose you could trust me to give you a PM if I hear anything as regards a public beta. I gave you the ayeka.net link in an earlier reply...you would do well to join that site...it's the RPG mod developer's site and where he will test the mod out before making it into a package that could be beta tested. I would expect that to be where he'd release the test versions from. I've chatted to him, a very pleasant person, and agreed to be a beta tester when he's ready for that...you might consider doing the same.

 A word of advice and caution though...beta testing isn't for everyone...beta versions shouldn't even be considered for use on production/live forums but reserved for test forums where any fatal to the forum  problems merely mean scrapping a test forum and putting on a fresh one. Beta versions will be extremely likely to have bugs...often really awful ones in their early stages...expect them, deal with them but don't moan about them or get disheartened by them...after all nobody makes us be beta testers.

 Writing an RPG mod is a huge underrtaking so be patient and let the developer release it when he's ready and when it's ready too.

[olandir]

I have joined the other site, (even before asking the question on here). It's just tends to be confusing at that site.

In any case, I'm more than willing to wait, as I need my site to grow in activity before I introduce even the concept of RPG.

Depending on when they decide to BETA test or release a public beta I may do that. I've beta tested before so i know the risks, I'm a  network administrator and a PHP/MySQL coder so I'm always prepared to sift through code if something goes wrong. .

Thanks for your help

[David]

Having you as a beta tester would be ideal by the sound of it and of benefit to all of us if it gets product out in a shorter time and having been well tested...it's good to know that we have you here too!

 The developer's forum is, I'd say, geared to a small group of his friends having fun rather than a software development and coding site...they all seem to know one another very well and have built up the complexity of the site over a long period...and good luck to them. I expect he'll make a new area for testing when he's ready and when I chatted to him he suggested a few areas in which to get started using his site...ask in his shoutbox and if they are as friendly there to you as they were to me you'll get enough help to be in the swing of the RPGs fairly quickly.

[olandir]

Well, I'll definitely take a look then

[Xarcell]

Are you looking for a RPG mod, to develope your own RPG site, or are you looking to join one?