Gentlefolk,
My ignorance of all things programming as a given, i'm still inclined
to agree with Mr. Ander (hope that's correct Jim). The only thing CyB has
ever really been "missing" is the live-play element. And when one considers
its
comparative accessibility from the design standpoint (if any of U are also
Vassal group members U will understand what i mean, i hope. For a coding
laymen
-- read, totally non-code literate -- half the discussions in that group are
completely Latin), the sacrifice of immediacy is fair in exchange for being
able to craft the game U're wanting to. Would i like to be able to get instant
feedback/interaction to and with a gbx/gsn? Undoubtedly. i just don't want to
have to learn another language to do it, necessarily. At least to have true
access to the tool's maximum potential. With CyB as it is currently, i only
really have to master my graphics tool of choice. The learning curve for the
designer and player are fairly soft in relation to similar utilities, and the
results garnered (within the program's limitations, of course) make the time
investment more truly an issue of desire than necessity.
i'm not a total Luddite. Dale, i support your vision for CyberBoard in any
direction U want it to go. The product to date has more than warranted the
Community's support for any incarnation the old girl wants to take. Just
please
don't forget those of us that consider ATM passwords to be the extent of
practical coding insight. While U are faced with the daunting task of
re-coding,
the thought of having to invest Vassal-like time and energy to relearning an
already beloved program for possibly nominal rewards (to me personally) is at
least a molehill of some note.
But since U are, obviously, thinking about a retool let me ask those members
of the group who know, again in my ignorance, if would it be possible to use
something like the Microsoft XNA design tools, or to incorporate the
drag-n-drop functionality of programs like GameMaker? While i haven't tried
the XNA
tools myself, from what i've read the design/coding community is somewhat in
place already; and U wouldn't necessarily have to give-up intellectual control
while making it available to a fairly good sized community of potential coders.
i know naught from cross-platform issues, however. As for the GameMaker type
properties, let's just consider that the first feature request. :-D
Either way good luck and God speed to all who endeavor.
-S-
**************************************
See what's free at
http://www.aol.com.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
