Chrismas, New Year and 2003 !
 

All the Linux Cyberjoueurs Team have worked very hard to bring you a lot of new features for Christmas, New Year and 2003 !

1) A new web site, made by our Genius webmaster chong (aka Agent Crypto and yes he is back! Hope for long time)

2) Stefan has cooked up a lot of new stuff for you, he will release a new Graal version this week end, and also he will release the new Graal kingdoms starting island before leaving for holidays.

3) We will announce before the end of this year the graal revolution that’s coming early next year, a new 3D engine for Graal! This new engine will be very powerfull (new C++ scripting langage, integrated mission editor, particle engine, 3d terrain engine, Interior building engine like in quake 3, water engine, Vehicles and more… We will release screenshots for Christmas and vip members will be able to play with it in a few weeks (be sure to not miss this event).

4) New VIP subscription that will bring you a lot of features (check the web site for information)

5) Tyhm and his team have worked hard to bring you the old Classic server, we will officially open it for Christmas.

6) In 2003 we will introduce Player World renting, for a small fee you will be able to rent a Graal server.

7) Complete documentation for Graal Kindoms made by Konidias

8) New and improved events scheduled for Christmas and the New Year, stay tuned for further details

:eek:

I'm curious about this Player World renting thing. I hope it doesn't mean what I think it means, though.

Everything else looks top notch! ::applauds:: Aside from things in my life, this looks to be a good Christmas this year :)

Re: Chrismas, New Year and 2003 !
 

Originally posted by unixmad
All the Linux Cyberjoueurs Team have worked very hard to bring you a lot of new features for Christmas, New Year and 2003!

1) A new web site, made by our Genius webmaster chong (aka Agent Crypto and yes he is back! Hope for long time)
Good to hear, the new website looks great, Chong is doing a good job

2) Stefan has cooked up a lot of new stuff for you, he will release a new Graal version this week end, and also he will release the new Graal kingdoms starting island before leaving for holidays.
Stefan is getting holidays, too? Wow ^^
I am looking forward to new scripting features in the new Graal version, or increased speed, but I haven't heard of anything yet.

3) We will announce before the end of this year the graal revolution that’s coming early next year, a new 3D engine for Graal! This new engine will be very powerfull (new C++ scripting langage, integrated mission editor, particle engine, 3d terrain engine, Interior building engine like in quake 3, water engine, Vehicles and more… We will release screenshots for Christmas and vip members will be able to play with it in a few weeks (be sure to not miss this event).
... cool ...
just a question, is there going to be a modelling forum?

4) New VIP subscription that will bring you a lot of features (check the web site for information)
That sure is interesting, but should a "gold" upgrade not include that? Perhaps change it so the special VIP features apply to users who have upgraded for longer than 6 months, and not charge extra money?

5) Tyhm and his team have worked hard to bring you the old Classic server, we will officially open it for Christmas.
So that is the Graalxxx (secret) server on the list that won't let anybody connect?

6) In 2003 we will introduce Player World renting, for a small fee you will be able to rent a Graal server.
Will that mean that current playerworld owners will need to pay money too?

7) Complete documentation for Graal Kindoms made by Konidias
Definately useful for newbies like me
8) Lot of events coming for Christmas and New Year, stay tunned
okay :)

Re: Re: Chrismas, New Year and 2003 !
 

That would be my concern. More like a fear :( But I suppose it eventually has to be done. Might cut down on the "bad" or "poor" playerworlds that are online. Just hope this fee isn't something extreme.

Re: Re: Chrismas, New Year and 2003 !
 

What's your problem? I'm quite happy about a 3D engine :) This just means more migration for me, but that depends upon how well and quick I can adapt to everything. Hopefully, it shouldn't be any more difficult than using UnrealED which isn't too hard but would be easier if I had an external program to create complex meshes.

Player World renting
 

About Player World renting it will be free for 'famous' player worlds.

When someone will subscribe for Graal he will be able to give the name of a player world (or player name) then a percentage of this subscription will go to the account of the Player World owner. He/She will then be able to pay for the renting of the server without giving real money.

It mean most good playerworld will never pay for the renting, even new playerworld projects can ask friends to refer to them when subscribing or renewing account then they have more credit to rent the server.

For guilds , rich players they will be able to rent the server even if that's not finished or good.

Re: Re: Chrismas, New Year and 2003 !
 

You don't have to pay for that. They are doing this to limit the amount of guilds that are pointless and make them rare. I'm sure a person can put in 20 dollars to make a guild that will be home for 100 or so guild members...

As for the playerworlds, unixmad has been nice enough to host these servers for free when it costs him money

Hmm, the VIP thing sounds quite interesting :) Unfortunately, I don't have money for it yet and won't until a little while after the first of the year. I'll have to find some way of acquiring $20 for that little upgrade ;) I don't play on the gold servers much anyway so being restricted to weekend access sounds like a fair pay-off.

Re: Re: Re: Chrismas, New Year and 2003 !
 

Which I'm quite appreciative for. As I mentioned earlier, this is more like a fear, but is probably necessary to control content and prevent what is all too consistent with many playerworlds. Maybe this is that thing I've been waiting for that will push people to work harder and give me a run for my money ;)

Heh with this little advent of adding in, what I'm assuming it will be, a full 3D engine, I'll have to pretty much redo what I have for that kind of environment. But that means things can be a lot better!. ::squirms with excitement::...I'm afraid I just soiled myself :x

What if the owner of Venture Vampires or somthing didn't have enough money? Bye VV.

As for the playerworlds, they're making HIM money. So people are still going to pay for them. He's killing two birds with one stone now.

Anyway, Unix, I wouldn't be talking about my intelligence, you're losing players rapidly, yet you now make people pay $20 a year for stuff that used to be free! <sarcasm>That's REALLY going to help you.</sarcasm>

This all sounds very great... can't wait!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Chrismas, New Year and 2003 !
 

Sucks for you then :p

Its easier (and somtimes faster) to put together something in a 3D space than on a 2D space granted you know what you are doing to some extent. I've only worked a little bit with UnrealED for UT. Its fairly easy up until you reach the point where you want complex brushes for trees, buildings, or other objects. If you don't have some kind of external modeler, you're pretty much screwed unless you can work around it. This would be my situation. Aside from that, finding/creating good textures might be troublesome.

*edit*
Also, Graal having a 3D engine doesn't mean all the Playerworlds will use it. Only those that probably want to use it (like me!).

VV is a huge guild. I'm sure one of the people in the guild who is trusted will have a VIP account.

From Graal Website
If you are interested in becoming our privileged member, we are now introducing VIP Membership for US$19/year. This is an upgrade-only, so you must first have a Graal Classic Membership or currently subscribing to Graal Gold.

As a priviledged member, you get to enjoy the following benefits:

Access a special Forum to get Graal development news direct from our Dev Team. Suggest ideas and features that you'd like to see in future releases of Graal.
Participate in testing pre-release Graal technology. We will open Graal 3D for VIP Preview early next year! What is a Preview?
Create your own Guild and lead your members to fame and glory through Guild Wars and Guild-related Events. Non-VIP Members may Join Guilds, but not Create.
Apply for a PlayerWorld to develop your own virtual world and community. This is subject to terms and conditions, as well as separate pricing. We will announce details soon.

If you don't currently have a Gold Subscription (or your subscription has expired), VIP Membership comes together with 12-months Communication Center access, and access to play on Graal Gold worlds on Saturdays - just in time to attend our weekend Events!

In the near future, VIP Members will also enjoy special prices on Graal Merchandise and Graal Gold subscription, as well as be able to participate in reserved in-game events and use special items.



I don't know about everyone else, but I'll definately get a VIP Membership. How about everyone else? Are you?

Personally, I'm all for a smaller community. It will make people more friendly towards each other which in-turn may make Graal more attractive to new players.

You should also be thankful that he isn't charging higher prices. So what if it used to be free? It would be impossible for Graal to survive as a free product for ever even with the numerous and massive improvements its recieved within the past 2 years. So if I were you, I'd shut my piehole and enjoy what new things are coming this way. Even I want to see Graal grab some mainstream attention. It has the chance to draw in talented people that can help not just me with my PW, but everyone else as well. I want to be able to have a good playerworld to compete against in many different areas.

I'm tired of this banter about "...used to be free." If you don't like it, tough! But good luck finding something similar that is free and can still offer the same opportunities as Graal does. Unixmad's statement might've been a bit brash, but he's probably a lot more savvy in his field than you or I are ;)

I doubt they'd force you to BETA test the 3D stuff. Its probably more of an option that I will do my best to accept. I think what unixmad meant was that you'll need the VIP account to be granted permission to develop a playerworld with the 3D engine. If that's the case, he gets my $20. But I'm not going to jump the gun that early. I still want to see what exactly is coming out or up before I start working on a true 3D world for Doragon Koden.

In fact, I just ordered it.

In the future I'll be looking to buy a PW. I think it would be great to be able to develop a server online, instead of making it online. I never had the time to really make a PW, but this should give me the opportunity. Although I think this should happen:

You pay for a Development Server, and when your done, you must pass PW Review. And if you do, your payment is waived. Of course I think the qualifications for what PW's need should be upped. I think this is a fair way to do it.

I could agree with that. It would cut down on the crap that we have. Like I had already said, this PW renting thing may cause the quality to go up.

Yep, check the site. And getting it now? I'd probably agree. Might be a bit too soon, but I hope we'll be informed as to when the 3D testing stuff begins. That will be when I sign up or try to at least.

Btw, does anyone remember how many raw polys the N64 could generate? I was thinking its less than 200,000 but I'm not sure.

Same as it has always been:

http://www.graalonline.com

www.graalonline.com

:megaeek:


Also, I guess I'll have to re-upgrade a few days earlier, doesn't really matter to me. This way I'll have it and not have to worry bout getting it when they announce things will happen.

I have to pay 19$ to get another year of subscription, and another 19$ for this VIP thing? Why not like the olbies have a VIP, like people that upgraded over 3 times or something.

Why does everyone think they have to pay for two different things? The VIP thing states you either need to be a Gold subscriber or have the Classic membership which is permanent after paying for the Gold membership. All you need to do is pay the $19 for the VIP and you get the forum access if that is what you want. If you don't care about the forums and want the Gold server access then pay the money for that. You aren't being forced to pay an extra $19 if you don't want to. Only if you want those extras will you be required to pay.

Okay a few questions.
Say you have 6 months left on your gold account.
You buy this VIP membership thing.
Will the account be able to tell that you have 1.5 years left on fourms and that you have 6 months of full gold servers, then 6 months of gold servers on Saturdays?

Also the renting of a server is good as long as it isn't too expensive.
It will give more people the opertunity to learn to script better and it will also encourage server staff to make their player world high quality so that they are paying for space that is used and not only so one or two people sit on it.

Don't know about this

I might get VIP, mostly because my PW job demands it, and also about the payment thing, I hope the servers that pay to get up will still have to pass some primary test before it gets online. We don't want Mr. Rich Guy paying x dollars to put online his 3 level crappy playerworlds.

Edit: It seems as if, us, all gold players, are going to be ripped off. We will now only get access to all gold servers on saturdays, so if you want to play kingdoms, get VIP

Noo, you only get saturdays only access if you do not have gold, but only VIP account.

I might as well quit graal x.x This is really dumb, you have to pay 40$ only to play 1 day out of 7. Little Advice, this is going to make all the people who dont get a lot of money to quit graal, and thats like 75% of it

Um, no. The VIP account gives you gold access on weekends. Please re-read. :/

Gold accounts - can play gold servers everyday
VIP accounts - can play gold servers only on Saturdays

And if you don't understand that you really shouldn't be here.

People, people, people! Let's stop misconstruing things here. The VIP account is the only one that gives you weekend access to 2k1, 2k2, and any other Gold server.

For myself, that is an ideal purchase. I don't play on the only 2 gold servers very often anymore so I don't mind because I still get 365 days of forum access for half the price. :p

Liek, no.
You get full gold server access with a gold account, hence the name.
But if you do not have an gold account, you can get a VIP account to play on saturdays.

Oh well if you only get Saturday to play on with the VIP account. I'm all for it! Why should it be fair to only pay $19 and still get all the priveledges for a full year, hmm? And as far as playerworlds leaving, good! This will cut down on the junk playerworlds (those that are not currently in development but are online) and will be more encouraging to non-subscribers to join if they see something with potential that is actually worth thier money.

Graal is a product. Unixmad et al are doing thier best to market it and sell it to consumers. But when players that have control over many things refuse to comply, then they have to obviously step in to raise that bar that the majority has such a hard time lifting. There are probably a good amount of players that probably carry a lot more weight and at least try to improve things, but it gets nulled by the over abundance of players that settle for medicore or less.

Ah. Sorry, I somehow misread that :x

also the players who play on them..... more then half the people on graal have classic accounts that play classic servers. It's most likely they will not upgrade, especially if the servers they play on are gone.

::sigh::

Some of you people need to take 3 steps back, take a deep breath, and re-read what Unixmad has posted.

And as Spark said, stop focusing on the worst-case scenarios. There's nothing that proves they will be the ultimate end all, but of course there's nothing that can prevent it either. However, that does not mean that is always going to be the end result.

Your scare tactics are useless.

Guess what? I don't care!

To me, the smaller the community, the better the relationship between players will be. This will cultivate a more friendly and welcoming environment as opposed to what we have now. It also has a greater potential to draw in new players that may actually have talent(s) as well as other players seeking a friendly online community. Many people are, in fact, scared away by many of those who post on these forums as well the game doesn't overall look appealing enough to some to encourage them to want to spend money for a Gold account.

I'd rather Graal become a smaller community where we can be less hostile to each other. But, if wishes were horses, beggers would ride.

Hmm. Since I'm still a gold subscriber I have to take the point for that. Otherwise, I'd be VIP if I could, but to the point: None of this severly affects me. Getting a VIP account instead of a Gold account is music to my ears and wallet! I like 2k1 and 2k2, but I've other things to be doing such as my playerworld. So I will suffer nothing important in the end.

I'm thinking Unixmad is going more for a credit kind of approach. Such as, you get the <instert account type> account, you get so many odd credit points that you can "spend" on things like starting a guild or supporting a playerworld. If he's talking in terms of actual monetary value, then that might be a different situation but he didn't seem to indicate that.

part of upgrading to gold allowed me to create guilds. Now you can only create guilds with this new VIP account. so, i have to pay more for something i could do before? I'm getting ripped off.

i re upgraded to gold in october for another year just to post on these forums, i do not play gold servers that much. Now this new VIP account lets me do the exact same thing plus test new features for less money. I'm getting ripped off again.