(NT)

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Sadly, when you say another good version, Ika comes to mind. But...I chose Verge2 for VergeC, right? Because I wanted to! Something has to give...

A good version of Verge? I am happy.

I remember when i first came in here on Year 2000. I saw so many different links, and I read the FAQs and even the vergec.txt file(although I didn't know what the heck any of it meant). I read all of aen's tutorials, I visited the vergesource for the first time.

I remember opening vergesource and seeing a giant banner advertising "Intense Flight" and I just got a...good feeling. There were so many games, I heard about this cool one that pledged to be the end to all homemade RPGs, Revelation, I saw the neat Mosaic and techdemos, I played Legend of the Shiny Objects, using The Display Doctor. I went onto the message boards...

and they were BIG. I mean, I actually got lost in those (my first time in a forum) and I left pretty quick. Everything was neat.

Then the vergesource went down. I remember typing in the address several times a month and seeing nothing, wondering what was going on. There were no updates to verge-rpg.com, where was everyone? Then I heard about the development of V2jk, and the development of Ika. I tried it, but, understanding no Python, didn't use it. Then...

The vergesource came back up. I saw people again. There was even a new Verge, WinVerge. And, then, the glorious revelation...

So THAT's how VergeC works! When the functions return a value, they can pass it to others, and I can pipe and create my own functions using a web of commands, and I understood the syntax(mostly) and everything! It was a cool day.

And, well, there still hasn't been many updates, but it was enough, and I was back in the Verge community. But, as the opening to Chrono Cross...

Scars across time...

What happened to the way things used to be?

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This has already been brought up. But I agree with the people who said that we are losing the reason we all started in the first place. I'm sorry to se it happen, but people are becoming more and more like the video game companies we all came here to avoid. Everyone was looking for better grafics and sound. Whene we all originally came here with one purpose. To make a game. And that is what VERGE allowed you to do, make a game. NO one ver claimed it would allow you to make top notch computer grafics, no one told you it would have super high quality music. What they told you was that it allowed a person to make an RPG. Using a simple bu versatile system that isn't that hard to learn.

So I can see two ways around this. One is we all leave and let verge die... Something that I don't want to see happen... Or we can do what we came to do. Make a game. I implore you. Don't give a shit about the grafics, don't care if your combat system is more original then someone elses. DOn't form strong rivalries and don't try to make your game any beter then someone elses. Tell a story, make it fun. Make the best game you can make! I don't know about anything else. BUt regardless of grafics and sound. If you put your soul into something it shows. And that over all else will make me want to play the game more. Story over technicalities. Remember the games that started it all. Dragon Quest/Warriar and Final Fantasy. THey weren't the most beautiful of games nor the most technically minded. But we all played them and loved them.

Make a game cause you want to, don't get boggled down by something like grafics or sound. let the only limit you have be your imagination. After all, that is the reason VECNA made VERGE to begin with.

Thats just a thought...

-Let nothing stand in your way lest the heavens themsleves fall and crush all those in their wake.

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I agree. Make it fun. Does remind me of Lunar and the orignial Final Fantasies.

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I think the main difference between how things were back then and now (regardless of the cause) is the lack of games/demos being released. Part of the motivation for running my old VERGE site was to try to keep track of all the activity that used to go on (such as new demos and links).

I've been around long enough to have seen just how far VERGE has come over the last four years or so. When I first stumbled across it there was already a small community developing demos despite several features being missing (the first new version of VERGE that I witnessed introduced entities - before that NPC's had to be created as tiles) and bugs (e.g. the infamous Tarkuss bug). VERGE has never been "extensively debugged". Yes, there are new bugs in V2 but it doesn't have the bugs that were in V1 (and off the top of my head most of those were not explicitly caused by DJGPP).

I have a theory that part of what happened to VERGE is that a whole generation of people, who were around in 1997/98, that were heavily involved in contributing to VERGE grew older and went on to other things (e.g. college, graduation, work) with nobody really appearing to replace them. There's a whole bunch of people that I remember from back then that I don't see around anymore. The people who used to make VERGE stuff just aren't around to do it anymore. I say this because it's what happened to me (last of year of college last year, graduation and now working for a large well-known computer company (no, not that one - the *other* one ;)). I was about a year or two older than most of the productive VERGE peoples so I'm guessing they all hit the same point in their lives.

Unfortunately I've not really had as much time as I'd have liked to follow VERGE since V2 was released. I missed all the various in between versions since then and the recent WinV2's (which seem to be going in the right direction). Even so I would hardly call the community as "in shambles".

- ric

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maybe it's because too much people don't organize themself. They see a very versatile program and think they will make wonders. (So even before starting anything, they want to reach an impossible goal) Many even start doing a game without writing down a plot.

They starts with graphics... compare what they did to some professional games and come to the conclusion that their work suck. But people don't realise that do to a professional game today, big compagnies need hundreds of people and work on conception, graphics and scripting for many years. And some think they can do the same in a few months.

What I believe one should do to finish a game: write a simple story. (beginning to end), then work on the graphics (but make it simple...) and scripts. Once you have a basic game that work, you can always add better graphics or chapters to the story. We just should give ourselves to much to start with...

But we're all here rambling about our the community is dying... But I think anyone that really cares about this place can do something. I'd love to post something, but all I have is some concept drawings and a halfway written story.¸(and I want to finish writting this down before doing anything else :/ )

I think that for a start we'd need fresh new links (that works). And somewhere to post them.

I dunno what to say really. I love this place... (I comme everyday to see if there is something new, even though I really don't post often in the board)

-Maïna

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Please don't think I was busting on you or anything -- I realize this is a difficult thing to do, especially when real life gets in the way. We all do appreciate your hard work and effort, which is why none of us have killed you (yet)... heheheheheh... (:

See, when Microsoft releases buggy products, I get pissed off, because Microsoft is the richest company in the world, and there's NO EXCUSE for their products to not be properly debugged before release (if computer nerds who get paid nothing can develop Linux and X-Windows, Microsoft can develop an error-free OS!)... you, on the other hand, DON'T do VERGE for monetary gain, nor is it your job, nor is it the sole mistress of your time. Therefore, you have an excuse, and we are all in your debt for doing ANYTHING, really. (:

-Tom

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Nostalgia being the exaggerated memory of "the good old days".

Oh, and NMT means "Not Much Text". I made that up myself. Whee. ;)

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- Sungam
 Ancient Ex-VERGEr
 Possible Retro-VERGEr..?
Formerly known as:
 Sephiroth/^_^Sephiroth/Magnus