Mod: Aksum: Glory of Kings (Complete Unit Graphics!)

[lch]

I hope you don't consider my talk as nonsense. You're one of the most prolific nation modders around here. The problem is just that very few of those nations ever see to make it to a release. I've counted and I see 15 mod nation threads created by you here, out of which a total of one downloadable mod emerged, back in 2007.

That's not an accusation, since you not only have stats and story pretty well laid out for those nations, you sometimes even have the graphics ready. That tiny little extra, actually typing all those stats into a .dm file and bundling it up with the graphics, is only what is missing. If you somehow can't playtest the mods yourself, then you could look for somebody who would do it for you - just to check if loading the mod ends in "Nagot gick fel" for some reason or if they load at all. I just hope that this step will eventually be taken instead of mouth-watering the community any more by abandoning a nation which is nearly complete and starting three other new projects instead.

I'm looking forward to the upcoming mods. There'll even be enough to start a whole MP game consisting exclusively of those mod nations then.

[HoneyBadger]

This is what I was referring to, Ich:

Originally Posted by lch

Wonderful mod nation, plays like a breeze. I can't wait for the updated version where the Mandus wield laser pistols.

Doesn't add a whole lot to the coversation, does it?


I'd like to point out that I'm not actually stopping anyone from creating their own unofficial .DM files, until official ones come out. That's partly the reason I've been showing my work, so that it's possible for someone to do exactly that, if they really want to.

As long as I retain full credit for my work, and as long as it's made very clear that it's an unofficial, and incomplete/unbalanced bootleg, then I'm ok with someone else doing the rest of the work, which I can then borrow and make use of, whenever I get around to finishing these.


As far as an MP game consisting of just my mods, that might be fun to see. Although I should point out that these mod Nations are, for the most part, intended to fill percieved gaps in the Nations we already have available to us, both the canon ones and others' mods.

Once these are finished, I plan to do a series of Nations based on points in history/geography/mythology that I'd like to see covered.

[Radio_Star]

Originally Posted by HoneyBadger

I'd like to point out that I'm not actually stopping anyone from creating their own unofficial .DM files, until official ones come out. That's partly the reason I've been showing my work, so that it's possible for someone to do exactly that, if they really want to.

As long as I retain full credit for my work, and as long as it's made very clear that it's an unofficial, and incomplete/unbalanced bootleg, then I'm ok with someone else doing the rest of the work, which I can then borrow and make use of, whenever I get around to finishing these.

Please take the following for what it is: frank, direct and unfettered communication.

Phrasing like "unofficial ... incomplete/unbalanced bootleg ... someone else doing the rest of the work, which I can then borrow" will actively alienate support for your mods. This is, of course, your choice as it is your intellectual property. That being said, your language is very strong.


Speaking for myself, I'm perfectly willing to bug hunt, balance test, provide feedback etc. towards a mod while expecting nothing in return. Every post I've ever made in regards to a mod was solely to add to the creative whole. Couching the issue in terms of "all mine and definitely not yours" as you've done is the specific language that could make me, and I'd imagine other players, want to -not- help you with your mods.

There is a decent chance that I'm speaking out of turn and I'm in the minority and I acknowledge this. I don't feel that this is the case, thus this post.

In summation: I've tremendous respect for the work you do put in towards mods. This is not intended to be an attack and I will never under any circumstance revisit this topic in a public forum, but it's precisely because I feel that there is both tremendous potential in your mods and tremendous potential for support in the community which you may be unwittingly alienating that I say the things that I have.

[Humakty]

True Honey was harsh in his statement, but some tend to push him around about his mods, so such a reaction from him is not surprising.

From time to time, you need to tell the buggers to just get lost in an australian swamp.

[lch]

I don't think that HoneyBadger was too harsh or that his thoughts are unreasonable if he truly believes in them, but he'll have to put up with mild criticism when always holding the carrot stick in front of the donkey but never putting out, so to speak.

Originally Posted by HoneyBadger

This is what I was referring to, Ich:

Doesn't add a whole lot to the coversation, does it?

Well, I admit, one can see this as my attempt at humor and satire. The joke would be that there wasn't a playable version of the mod nation around and I was letting my imagination run wild as to what would happen in case one would emerge. That joke shouldn't be too harsh, though. HB was encouraging others to hijack his threads with ideas before, too.

While we're on topic, I hope these quotes from the previous page and from 12 months ago aren't inept:

Originally Posted by HoneyBadger

I've started and made a little progress with the .DM file, but I can't promise that it's going to be done even as a rough draft, this weekend, since I seem to be coming down with a bug.

Originally Posted by HoneyBadger

Thanks to Sombre's advice, the main unit picture is now at full resolution. I'm still working on the .DM file, but I'm making progress, and now everyone can see what the units themselves look like, without fooling around with thumbnails.

If you have some kind of .dm file, even just a rough draft, I'd encourage you to release it and declare it as an early alpha version, saying that everything will change later on. So far I've only seen the alternative far too often, starting and announcing yet another new mod nation instead.

Really, I do like your artwork, I rated Ammon Kush with 5 stars when I saw the unit graphics. I'm just unhappy that I still can't play them.

[HoneyBadger]

I'll be perfectly honest here.

I'm not out to alienate anyone. I like to think that I'm a friendly person.

I'm also not running for office, though, either. I don't have to share space in the same workplace, family, house, bed, or grave (probably), as a single one of you.

With respect, politeness, and courtesy, I'm making these mods for one person only, and that person is myself.

If I can make these mods better for everyone, without making them worse for me, I'm all for that, but the goal here is to make them how I think they should be, to the best of my ability. I like to think that attitude makes for a better mod in the end, and I like to believe that what I'm doing is (insofar as this is a game) of a certain (however dubious) importance, atleast insofar as the furtherance of my own education is concerned. Whether that attitude is justifiable or not, however, I'm clearly serving myself here, all lofty purposes/affectations/delusions aside.

I would like very much--and I hope very much--that others will appreciate and take an active interest in what I'm doing.

If anyone does, I welcome you, your presence, your ideas, your input, whatever you have to offer, so long as it impacts my mods/myself, in a positive way.

If they don't though, or if I somehow offend anyone, it won't change my plans, my mods, or my personality. I like who I am and I like what I'm doing. That's enough for me.

I can do it and go it alone if I must.

I'd like it if we can all get along with one another in a positive way. I'd like these boards to be a friendly, welcoming environment. And as long as the end result is one that I'm fully satisfied with, I'd welcome all manner of outside influence into my mods.

If any of that is somehow impossible, though--and I understand that I share in the responsibility--once again I won't change my plans, my mods, or my personality.

[HoneyBadger]

Quick bump: I'm working on getting this up and running. It's taking time, but I've got my new computer and things are going well.

[thepodger]

Hrm hrm... Has Honey disappeared again? Last I heard he had reclaimed all of his abandoned projects and wouldn't let anyone finish them... Has anyone heard anything? There's this one and the giant one that look really promising.

[HoneyBadger]

I'm still here, and still working on them.