Hero6 Anniversary Chat 2005

[Swift]

(This is the first session of this two part Anniversary chat session)

<Erasmus> deamious and myself are here, and we can answer some questions you might have
<Khaveen> Tiamat, Iron Maiden, Ozzy, Alice Cooper (not really metal), Moonspell, Nightwish, etcetera
<Erasmus> Of course, we can't spill all the beans
<daemious> yes, let us know if you have questions and we'll answer what we can
<Heimdall> Dude, can we be best friends and hang out and be ninjas and stuff?  Funnily enough I've got Judas Christ playing at the moment
* Khaveen shakes hands with Heimdall
<Erasmus> You guys might want to just message eachother seperately for off topic discussion
* daemious waits for questions
<Heimdall> Gotcha Erasmus, I'll be good
<Heimdall> Ok, first question:  how is this game comparing in length to the original Quest for Glory games?
<Erasmus> As far as playtime I take it, correct?
<Erasmus> Daems, you want to answer that?
<daemious> hrmm...
<Heimdall> Yeah, just a rough guide.  Not including stat-building, is it more like So You Want To Be  A Hero, or more the length of Shadows?
<daemious> Originally I believe it was planned to be much longer than Shadows
<Erasmus> More like Shadows. Our initial outline for the game called for it to be very very long
<Corsair> Well, at least it won't be as short as SYWBH.
<daemious> In order to try and get it done, we've cut back a bit.
<Erasmus> It would have taken at least twice the time of Shadows, but that plot fell apart and was eventually condensed into a much firmer plot
<Corsair> Can't make a game too long, otherwise it gets stretched thin.
<daemious> It should be longer than qfg1 but not longer than qfg4
<Corsair> And then holes get poked in it.
<Erasmus> yes
<Erasmus> NPC wise, we might still have more NPC's than any of the other games
<daemious> we certainly do have a lot
<Erasmus> Hehe
<Heimdall> That's good, length-wise QFG4 was probably perfect...5 dragged it out and made it less enjoyable.  So what about plot/character development.  I always felt in a lot of respects the QFG series was sometimes weak in this department, with the exception of QFG4.  Is Hero6 going to be more character-interaction driven?
<Erasmus> I'd say so, most of what you do is a result of interactions with NPC's
<daemious> As we just mentioned, we have a lot of NPCs. Naturally we can't expect to offer deep fulfilling relationships with all of them.
<Heimdall> Good.  QFG3 seemed pretty shallow to me, specially the whole friendship with Yefusu.  'Hay yefusu, lets be friends!' 'k'
<Erasmus> Right now, as you probably know, we're going through a major revision of the dialogues for the NPC's. The originals were not up to the standards I wanted to see. The new dialogues should make the NPC's a lot deeper than original
<Erasmus> Lol. There should not be any dialogue as bad as that
<Corsair> There IS A tavern, right? Half the QFGs failed in that department.
<Erasmus> hehe
<Corsair> 2, 3, and 5 had no booze.
<Corsair> Rather, 4.
<Corsair> 5 had booze.
<Erasmus> Want to answer daems?
<daemious> Well... we had a specific bar scene, but it was shut down due to health code violations...
<Erasmus> btw, 2 had booze- at the dead parrot
<Corsair> Bah.
<Corsair> That KILLED you.
<Corsair> I think.
<Erasmus> lol
<Erasmus> so did dragon's breath....
<Corsair> I never ordered the Djinn stuff.
<Corsair> Yeah, but the Ale and the Troll's crap or whatever didn't.
<Corsair> You just lost all your money.
<Heimdall> You've got to be a real idiot to drink that stuff.  Who the ###### would willingly drink sweat?
<Erasmus> I'll say this- there should be some drinking in the game
<daemious> I think part of the plan was to move some of the bar stuff to the Inn
<Corsair> And have it have some positive side-effects.
<Erasmus> We can't discuss it too much without giving away plot
<Corsair> ..A plot-based binge?
<Bromios> What time will Swift be arriving?
<Khaveen> Nice!
<Erasmus> you mean, a binge-based plot?
<Erasmus> lol
<Corsair> I thought that was QFI.
<Heimdall> The hero's gonna get hammered and wind up sleeping with the brigand leader or something?
<Corsair> No, that's QFI, as well.
<Erasmus> darn, you called us on it
<Corsair> I think.
<Erasmus> lol
<Heimdall> *wakes up" 'Oh dear god I hope there's a dispel here somewhere'
<Erasmus> Swift's whereabouts are unknown, she is currently MIA
<Corsair> AMBER ALERT!
<Corsair> AMBER ALERT!
<Heimdall> From what I've seen of some boards, she's probably fearing 500 people saying 'Is it done yet!?!'
<Khaveen> Where's Swift, babe?
<Hero6_Babe> Oooooh! I've always dreamed of a handsome knight that I could fall in love with. Let me know when you see one!
<Bromios> I'm going to make some beans on toast brb
<Heimdall> Babe is insulting our collective masculinity.  For shame
<Hero6_Babe> A guy I used to know used to hit on me all the time. He lived with his mom and he was 36! I think his name was Larry. What a complete loser!
<Bromios> So, Babe, how about you and I go to a chatroom sometime...
<Hero6_Babe> The next statement is true. The previous statement is false.
<Khaveen> Is it done yet???!?!?!!!!1!!!!1111elevem
<Corsair> Heimdall, your middle name is Larry, right?
<Erasmus> Back to the questions
<daemious> Anymore questions?
<Heimdall> On a scale from 1-10, how pleased are you with how the development of the game is progressing?
<Erasmus> Thats a tough question
<daemious> Currently? Recently? or Overall?
<Erasmus> Do you mean how the game will turn out?
<Erasmus> yeah, be more specific.
<Corsair> I don't suppose you have a tentative release estimate.
<daemious> Nope
<Corsair> And I don't mean "It will be released before 2010.
<Erasmus> We always have one.... "when we're done and happy with it"
<Heimdall> Ok, I'm thinking more in terms of how well the game is being realised, with the art, sound, story all being converted into software
<Khaveen> Will you have any 3D elements in the game?
<Khaveen> like a 3D intro or something
<Erasmus> For that question I'd say 10
<Erasmus> I love what the game is going to be
<daemious> Yea, we've got some really great art
<Corsair> ALL the qfgs were vaguely 3D. You could go Above, below, left, right, back, and forth.
<Khaveen> No, I meant rendered 3D
<Corsair> Bah.
<Corsair> How large is the town going to be?
<Corsair> Larger than Spielburg?
<Erasmus> There have been some talk of 3D portions, but we can't say one way or another at the moment
<Khaveen> Okay.
<Khaveen> Will you have a speech pack? I saw the auditions vote @ the forums
<Heimdall> What about the overall tone of the game?  Ligh-hearted?  Darker?  Are there going to be some QFG4 style 'I can't believe they just did that to that character' moments?
<Erasmus> If we have a speech pack, it will not be with the initial release, it would come later
<daemious> I think our town is about twice the size of Spielberg
<Corsair> Nice..
<Erasmus> How dark will our game be?....hmmm
<Khaveen> Very nice.
<daemious> The tone is closer to qfg1 than 4
<Corsair> Aww..
<Corsair> I like dark games.
<Erasmus> I don't know if I'd agree Daems
<Corsair> 4 wasn't very dark.
<Erasmus> It's not 4 in darkness, but I don't think it is closer to 1
<Corsair> I mean, it was darker than 1, but it was still pretty lighthearted.
<daemious> Though I think we'll have some interesting parts where the tone changes
<Heimdall> Well, comparatively dark for QfG.
<Khaveen> Will your sunsets and sunrises reesemble QFG1/3 or QFG4 (reddish, love red)?
<Heimdall> Excellent
<Corsair> Does anyone important get killed?
<Erasmus> I guess all we can say is that it depends on what you think dark is
<Erasmus> lol, we can't say that
<Corsair> Aww..
<Erasmus> That would be ruining a potentially great surprise, lol
<Corsair> What's the currency system?
<daemious> The hero gets killed if you don't play good enuogh
<Erasmus> lol
<Erasmus> Good one deams
<daemious>
<Corsair> So how does the money work?
<Heimdall> You exchange it for goods and services
<Erasmus> regarding sunrise/sunset, you were working on this, right daems?
<Corsair> ..Har.
<Corsair> I meant what were the monies being used.
<daemious> We've got a way to handle sunrise/sunsets
<Erasmus> We're using a barter system.... j/k
<Erasmus> There is your answer on sunrise/sunsets
<Khaveen> Pleease. Tell me what style it is!
<Heimdall> Communists in disguise! [/flees]
<daemious> Right now they aren't really red
<Erasmus> I think we are using silver and gold pieces, but I could be wrong
<Hero6_Visitor> how does the element of game mechanics (stats, battles ect) compare to the other qfg titles?
<Khaveen> Nice!
<daemious> Eras is right, gold and silve
<Erasmus> stats compare pretty closely I'd say. We've changed a few things, but overall it's very similar
<Heimdall> Are you using the customary 500 point scoring system?
<daemious> I'm not sure if we're going to bother with points
<Erasmus> Battle mechanics are something we've gone from one system to another on, so I don't think we can really give an answer on that
<Heimdall> No points? But how will I feel like one small part of my life is successful?
<Erasmus> We're still working on tweaking the battle system so that it works best for this game
<Erasmus> There is no scoring system in place at this time
<daemious> heya BRE
<daemious> *BR
<Erasmus> hey br
<bigryan> hello
<bigryan> whats up?
<Erasmus> Everyone welcome another member, bigryan
<Heimdall> Alright.  I remember vaguely a few years ago a technical demo of a scene involving a waterfall, I think there was a woman there as well...is that still in the game, or was it just for promotional purposes?
<Heimdall> Hi bigryan
<Erasmus> The scene and the woman are still in the game
<bigryan> hey all do we have guests here too ?
<Erasmus> yea
<Erasmus> its a Q&A session right now
<bigryan> cool
<daemious> it just occured to me there might be more on the webpage chat
<bigryan> ah dandy]
<Erasmus> well, at least vague answers that don't give too much away
<bigryan> coolio
<bigryan> where are you anyhow erasmus, I never did ask
<Erasmus> where am I? I live in Florida
<bigryan> cool.  I'd love to go there someday
<bigryan> must make it hard to be inside working on hero6 sometimes
<Erasmus> It's nice. Except this time of year it's rainy
<bigryan> my dog is freakin crazy
<Erasmus> lol. You get used to the beaches and sun
<bigryan> sweet.  i could get used to that
<Erasmus> so, what question is next?
<Kh4v33n_r0xx0rz_b1g_t1|\> okay I'm tired of waiting for moderators to ban this guy. I'm out!
<bigryan> ban what guy?
<Khaveen> Good riddance!

<Erasmus> Khaveen. There is some disagreement about who the real Khaveen is
<Heimdall> Was that fatherghostface or someting?
<Heimdall> Anyway
<Erasmus> Hey Coco. An op is finally here
<Corsair> Ahoy, Coco.
<Erasmus> You rock Coco
<Coco> Hi
<bigryan> hey hey
<daemious> hurrah for coco
<bigryan> I think some dude was asking about that old waterfall demo.
<Corsair> I thought I killed that guy last night.
<Heimdall> Has there been any particular mythology or legends that have had an influence on the games storyline or setting?  I suspect a basis in Celtic history, but will Celtic legend play any part in the story?
<Erasmus> Yes
<bigryan> hmm, I'm going with yes on that one...
<Erasmus> lol. Yes best answers that question

[Swift]

<Heimdall> But no details, right?
<Corsair> Is this gonna be another one of those with an Evil Wizard with a crony who is a fighter?
<Erasmus> Yup
<Corsair> Or a thief.
<Erasmus> No, thats not the case
<Corsair> Good.
<Corsair> I got tired of the "Baba Yaga & Brigand leader or Ad Avis & Khaveen thing.
<bigryan> well there were some different creatures that were being thrown around
<Heimdall> Are we gonna see Culchucain running around with a spear anywhere?
<Corsair> Hero7 should be based on South American legends.
<daemious> whos that
<bigryan> but I think in general a lot of them didn't make the cut.
<Corsair> Quetzacoatl would  be an interesting thing in there.
<daemious> La Chupacabra?
<Erasmus> We already have some ideas for hero7
<Corsair> No. No Chupacabra.
<Corsair> No goatsuckers.
<bigryan> shoot my dog is going crazy.  brb
<Corsair> But Quetzacoatl would be cool.
<Heimdall> An old Celtic hero, he had a three pronged spear he would throw with his foot.  He was also known as the hound, because he foamed at the mouth and at one point was kept as a gate guard
<daemious> ok, cuz Chupacabra is the main villain for h6
<Corsair> Liar.
<Erasmus> lol
<Heimdall> What about the sense of peril, is it like QfG's 'this valley sucks', or 'the world is doomed', starting the adventurer on a steep learning curve?
<Erasmus> Hero6 is based on Celtic lore, but it isn't celtic history in a nutshell
<Erasmus> I'd say it is between the two
<daemious> yea
<daemious> more like "this valley is doomed"
<Erasmus> hehe
<Corsair> Okay, good. World saving is for later chapters.
<Erasmus> Back to the waterfall question, it wasn't really answered
<Heimdall> Are you really thinking about later chapters?  Is this a one-off?  If it's successful, do you think you'll start another game under a different name like AGD and Himalaya Studios?
<Heimdall> Sorry, back to the waterfall
<Erasmus> That particular event isn't from the game. However, the background, music, and character is from the game.
<Erasmus> Ok, the new question
<Erasmus> Yes, we do want to continue the game on after hero6. Not all members, of course, but many
<Erasmus> To some, like myself, this has become a permanent hobby. As for name change, I don't know if we would change it. I think we like hero6 too much
<Heimdall> Yeah, it's catchy, and it's well-known
<Erasmus> I think that the hero6 team, at least in part, will move onto the next game. However, there are relatively few of us who have actually been here from the beginning
<Erasmus> Many drifters. lol
<Corsair> Corsair, from Lunatics Inc. Will there be hot chick in the game?
<Corsair> And,no, I don't mean roast chicken.
<Erasmus> someone want to answer that?
<Heimdall> I bet.  When it's a hobby, it's hard to stay with it with other life aspects getting in the way...as I mentioned, at one point I was part of this way back in the concept days, artwork and some basic story ideas, but just didn't have the time to stick around...
<daemious> Hrmm lets see... we have a few hot chicks
<daemious> I think some of the hottest one(s) might get scrapped
<Erasmus> We don't want to share, you understand
* daemious brb in a few
<Heimdall> Is this game a little more thief-friendly than the QfG series became?  I'm not sure if it was down to the whole 'way of the paladin' view the Coles were emphasising, but it seemed the thief started to become a neglected character class...almost like a more agile fighter, with a knife instead of a sword
<Corsair> And an easy way of making cash.
<Corsair> Early on, anyway.
<Erasmus> We're doing what we can to balance all the classes. The thief is really the hardest to write for, since all of his solutions require wits
<Corsair> Crud.
<Erasmus> Which means that not only do we have to plan elaborate ways for a puzzle to be solved, but we also can't make them so outrageous that the player won't figure it out
<Heimdall> No Lucasart style logic jumps then?
<Erasmus> That being said, I think there is plenty in the game specifically tailored to the thief
<Corsair> So no ninja-esque crawling across the ceiling, dropping behind the guard, and slitting his throat?
<Erasmus> good god, no
<Erasmus> This isn't "Splinter Cell"
<Corsair> You gotta admit, that would be pretty awesome.
[colo=blue]<bigryan> back
[/color]<Heimdall> guyz its all bout da grafix n da blodd now!11
<Corsair> Is there ANY slitting of throats?
<Erasmus> There used to be quite a bit more for all the classes, but due to time constraints we had to pull a little out
<bigryan> yeah that'd be cool.
<bigryan> There are some pretty cool areas to break into.
<Erasmus> Yup, and we'll leave your imagination to wonder
<bigryan> and some pretty tricky theif puzzles too.
<Erasmus>
<Corsair> Or stabbing silently, tearing through the guards internals and slicing open his kidneys, killing him silently, yet slowly and painfully.
<Erasmus> I assume your dog is fine, br?
<bigryan> I liked the theif (I played him through the whole qfg series)
<Heimdall> are you keeping to staple wizard spells such as open, trigger, etc, or are they not going to be used?
<Erasmus> I was always the mage, of course
<Heimdall> Corsair - you scare me
<Corsair> Or perhaps you can STRANGLE the man using your wizard staff!
<Erasmus> shush Corsair. lol
<bigryan> yeah.  she just noticed some kids playing outside, and thought she should too, dumb dog
<Corsair> Wizards should be able to kill people by triggering their heart.
<Erasmus> lol
<Erasmus> Yes, the staple wizard spells will be there
<Erasmus> a few have been renamed, however
<Corsair> I don't know why you bothered.
<Heimdall> now that would be a good death screen click the trigger spell on yourself and receive a witty message about a pacemaker
<Corsair> No one cares.
<Corsair> WOOO! COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT ON A SERIES THAT'S DEAD!
<Erasmus> Sush
<Corsair> FROM A COMPANY THAT'S DEAD!
<Heimdall> slightly off-topic, but did you all see qfg5 as a major disappointment and expressly set out to ensure the game wasn't like it?
<Erasmus> That doesn't mean they don't own full rights to the game and get order us to cease and desist
<Corsair> QFG5 wasn't all bad.
<bigryan> hey can I show the visitors some of my artwork that didn't end up making it into the game?
<daemious> qfg5 wasn't too bad
<Corsair> I preferred 5 to 3, in fact.
<Heimdall> I dunno, despite what Corey said, it felt rushed to me, particularly character interaction
<Erasmus> QfG 5 was a big disappointment to most of the members, but it wasn't a terrible game
<Heimdall> The whole marriage thing was terrible...
<Heimdall> Hi.  Me man.  Me give you ring.  We married now.
<Corsair> No kidding. There should've been more to it.
<daemious> yea... that was goofy
<Corsair> In fact, the marriage should've been an ingame event.
<Heimdall> No marry?  Me give pretty flowers and chocolate.  Now marry? Yes?  Hooray!
<Erasmus> BR- Feel free to, so long as they are your own, you are sure it is cut, and you are pretty confident it won't make it into Hero7.
<Heimdall> yeah, lets see the artwork
<bigryan> yeah, I'm just looking.
<Corsair> You should've been able to marry Budar.
<Erasmus> We did set out to make sure it wasn't dragonfire
<Heimdall> and have ferrari come out of the shadows to say he's gonna cut you for messin' with his dame?
* Khaveen listens to Tiamat - Cain
<bigryan> http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v478/big...l/clothing3.jpg
<Corsair> What's he gonna do?
<Khaveen> Will there be any time-related events?
<Corsair> He's the fattest guy on the block.
<Heimdall> So's Budar
<Khaveen> Like in qfg2, day-dependant?
<Heimdall> thats cool stuff BR
<Corsair> IMPRESSIVE!
<Erasmus> Very nice one br. Don't show them too much
<Corsair> NOW RELEASE YOUR ANGER!
<Heimdall> the armour looks samurai-ish to me, was that what you were going for?
<bigryan> there was going to be a sort of clothing store in the game, the art was okay but it just didn't have any puzzles or plot with it really
<Corsair> New clothing would add in a TON of extra time to the developement.
<bigryan> well, actually those were supposed to be manaquins.
<bigryan> you couldn't actually buy their clothes
<Heimdall> sort of like Issur's weapon shop, with 'this is reserved for the warlord in the next fiefdom' kinda stuff?
<bigryan> you actually couldn't do much in there.... that's why it ended up being cut.
<Erasmus> We pulled the place before we could do much with it
<Erasmus> We made it, then decided we really didn't have use for a clothing store
<Corsair> So you had the owner go fishing?
<Heimdall> True, adventurer's are slobs anyway
<Erasmus> Again, the game used to be much larger, but was cut to it's betterment
<Corsair> And you locked the doo.
<Erasmus> I always thought the hero would look nice in that 2-piece bikini....
<Corsair> Eww.
<Corsair> You sick man.
<Corsair> We already got a nice big flash of that in 5.
<Erasmus> Eh, to each his own. lol
<Heimdall> Is the making of this game democratic?  Are cuts, plot changes etc decided by majority or consensus, or are there a few main decision makers who need to call the hard shots?
<Corsair> Seeing the hero in a belly dancer outfit was...freaky.
<Erasmus> Whew, thats a complicated question really
<Erasmus> It used to be much more democratic
<Heimdall> But you found, like running a band, it just doesn't work?
<Erasmus> But that led to too much beurocracy.
<Erasmus> Exactly
<bigryan> http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v478/big...nin_appear4.gif
<bigryan> here's a cool one.
<Heimdall> nice
<Erasmus> Essential decisions that needed to be decided were dragged out for months as members debated over the correct course of action
<Heimdall> Nightmare, and from my experiences, it led to factions developing and bitterness between people, right?
<bigryan> yeah, we're sort of quasi consensus...  It slows things down, but you learn to like the people... mostly.
<Erasmus> Now the power rests in a few peoples hands. The final say is theirs, but we all act with the input of the other members
<Erasmus> None of us admins are tyrants. We try to be democratic, be all of us know there is a point where we have to say, "debate over, this is what is going to happen"
<Corsair> Bah. They should just be a group of military dictators.
<Corsair> A triumvirate, if you will.
<Heimdall> Reminds me of one of my initial legal assignments in my first year of my degree...we had to work on this major presentation for a substantial part of our grade, and tried running things democratically...it was a disaster and we started to hate eachother...lol
<Heimdall> Had any major tantrums or walkouts?
<bigryan> yes.
<Erasmus> Plus, the admins are usually the ones who have shown to have the best insight into how things come together in the game. Many people neglect to see how a minor issue could cause major problems down the line
<bigryan> two that I can recall recently
<Erasmus> Thats when the admins have to put thier feet down and say it just won't work
<Erasmus> yea, we've had quite a few
<bigryan> its hard when everyone has their own ideas.
<Heimdall> yeah...but you'd hope that in a project like this, they'd be a little more mature and realise that if it's going, it's going for a reason
<Erasmus> Yeah, it is. As plot admin I find it hard to tell people that I just can't use their suggestion, or that despite their feelings on an issue it just isn't going to happen
<Erasmus> Yes, but people grow very attached to their work. It's understandable that people who spend hours doing something just to see it get thrown out would be upset
<bigryan> I think in the past our plot admins wanted to take all the suggestions and the game ended up getting a bit bloated
<Erasmus> It's unfortunate
<Erasmus> yea
<bigryan> then we had to cut
<Erasmus> In order to make the game better, a lot of people's hard work had to be thrown away. This led to a lot of hard feeling for a while
<bigryan> that made a lot of people bitter.  Even if you look at that clothing shop that had to be cut.
<bigryan> that was a month of time that had to be thrown out.  People like me only have so much time for this particular hobby
<bigryan> now a bit less :<
<Erasmus> To keep the project moving it takes a little bit of a dictatorship. As Creative Leader, its my job to ensure that the game comes together and gets made
<Heimdall> what's the average age of the people involved in the project?  are a lot still in school?  you'd think that those with careers and life in the real world would realise that things don't always run exactly as you want them to
<Erasmus> Sometimes that means telling people what I think needs to be done, even though I feel bad for doing so
<bigryan> hmm that's a good question.  what would you say the avg are is now?
<Erasmus> I think for the most part college or post college
<daemious> low 20s?
<Erasmus> Most of us joined when we were in highschool, and that was 6 years ago
<Erasmus> I'd guess
<bigryan> I'm 27 now, I started in college, 5 years ago
<Erasmus> I started in highschool, 6 years ago
<bigryan> now, I'm mostly too busy, but I like chillaxin with the group sometimes.
<bigryan> rl only gives me a little hero6 time.
<Erasmus> Spent 1 year as a general member, 3 years as a plot member, and the last 2 years as a plot admin and creative leader
<bigryan> ... college took a long time for me :> ....
<Heimdall> Got to admit, I'm a little envious, I would have liked to be part of this, but other committments would have made me unreliable, and I figured that no help was better than bad help
<Erasmus> Unfortunately, rl takes up most of time
<bigryan> well, most of our members are pretty unreliable.  but 1 contribution is better that none.
<Erasmus> We've had too many members who don't anticipate the amount of dediation this takes
<Erasmus> We've probably had a hundred members with membership lasting in the days
<Erasmus> Now, one of the things I look for in members is how much time they can really spend. Even if its 2 hours a week, its ok as long as they can do that all the time
<Erasmus> An hour of work per week is better than none, but unless we can count on a member checking in regularly, it's hard to estimate when something will be completed

[Swift]

<Heimdall> do you still need members, or are things at the point where its the core crew putting in the majority of the work?  This is a backdoor 'what percentage is complete' question
<Erasmus> Both. The core crew is putting together the game, but we are looking for some members
<Erasmus> Problem is, our applicants have to be skillful. We all started pretty unskilled and learned over time. Unfortunately, we can't afford that at this point. Applicants have to be up to the standards we currently hold
<Heimdall> what sort of positions? is it technical programming now?
<Heimdall> brb, need a drink
<Erasmus> I've reviewed dozens of plot applications from enthusiastic fans who I'd love to have as members. Unfortunately, they would have to be tought how to write to the current dialogue standards, which isn't going to happen practically
<bigryan> well, not necessarily.
<Heimdall> Hmm...well, my final exam is next week, I might have some time on my hands...
<bigryan> my personal opinion is that we could use more q&a testers....
<Heimdall> (brb)
<Erasmus> Positions currently open- Skillful programmers, experienced artists who can submit work for review, and dialogue writers experienced in creative writing
<Erasmus> BR- thats a good point, and it's been talked about before. I think we need to wait closer to release to get a good beta tester though
<bigryan> well, I think it would be nice to have some people just to play what we do have from start to finish.
<Corsair> I hope those are optional positions.
<Erasmus> Yes, they are not required to finish the game. Those positions just might help speed it along
<Corsair> Good.
<bigryan> there's about an hour of gameplay (just puzzle related) already done.  And I think I'm the only one whos played it start to finish.  Correct me if im wrong
<Erasmus> No, I've played
<Erasmus> And it's more than an hour if you don't know what you are doing
<bigryan> through the whole chapter 1?
<Corsair> So what part of game creation are you at?
<bigryan> yeah.
<Corsair> Bug testing?
<Corsair> Still programming it?
<Erasmus> We're constantly bug testing
<bigryan> no we're still programming it.
<bigryan> and writing it.
<Corsair> Okay.
<Erasmus> there is usually new beta released internally every couple months for the members to bug test
<bigryan> and still making some of the art too :>
<Corsair> So...any ETA until Beta Testing starts?
<Erasmus> we have a playable game currently. It's just 1/3 of the actual whole game
<bigryan> beta testing is already happening  (we just don't have a fully programmed beta)
<Corsair> Whoa, whoa, whoa.
<Corsair> All this time just to get to 1/3 of the way?
<bigryan> we're farther than 1/3
<Erasmus> lol, it's not as bad as you think
<Erasmus> the first 1/3 is completely programmed.
<bigryan> if members pushed, we could have it done fairly quickly
<Corsair> The number 2 and 3 thirds?
<Erasmus> We have probably 90% of the artwork completed for the rest of the game, we just need the 10% to be done before it can be implemented
<Erasmus> All of the music is done
<daemious> the first 1/3 of the game represents more than 70% of the total effort
<Erasmus> I believe all the backgrounds
<Corsair> What about sprites?
<bigryan> also a lot of the programming is done (only 33% of the puzzles and quests)
<Erasmus> About the same percentage of sprites
<daemious> We need a lot of quest related sprites still
<Erasmus> Dialogues are being rewritten, so their about 10% done
<bigryan> I'd say the last 2/3 of quest related sprites aren't done.
<Erasmus> All in all, we could have this game done in a couple months with a large push by the members. Unfortunately, do to RL, things go slower than that
<bigryan> yep much slower as ve get olter
<Corsair> Maybe you can start having them sent an honorary gift card to Walmart every time they finish a sprite.
<bigryan> haha.
<bigryan> spriting is hard work.
<Erasmus> You could play the game from beginning to end right now, but you'd be missing a lot of dialogue and noticable artwork
<Heimdall> Sorry, I'm back
<Erasmus> hey, scroll up to see the answer to your question
<Corsair> So all in all, how close would you, off the record, say the game is to completion?
<Corsair> 70%?
<Heimdall> unfortunately, it's cut most of it off from the chat window
<Erasmus> lol, nothing is off the record
<Corsair> We can say this is Erasmus' opinion.
<Heimdall> the man is always watching us [/tinfoil/
<Corsair> Not the rest of the h6 team.
<Erasmus> We have positions open in all fields except music, but you have to be pretty experienced in that area
<Corsair> I'm surprised music is already done.
<Erasmus> As Creative Leader of hero6, I think "Erasmus' Opinion" would count for something
<Corsair> Bah!
<Corsair> Alright.
<bigryan> music was one of the earliest to be done.  We had a really organised music mod.
<Corsair> Yeah, but she LEFT.
<Erasmus> Yes, and very talented music members
<Corsair>  /miss Brassfire.
<Heimdall> Well, I could always apply at least for some dialogue writing, if someone gives me a brief and where to send it
<Erasmus> Brassy was very dedicated, and spent a lot of her spare time working on music
<bigryan> but she also finished most of what she set out to do b4 leaving.
<Paladin0707077> Well that's good to hear.
<bigryan> she was good, but she seems to have big rl probs
<Bromios> I still am unsure what my purpose at Hero6 is, I'm like the video person or sprite animator.
<Corsair> Why don't you guys just slavedrive for the rest of the stuff?
<Erasmus> Heimdall you can PM me via the visitors forums, or send and Email to Erasmus@hero6.com (I think that still works) Also, my AIM name is ClericOfHelm
<bigryan> have you ever tried slavedriving a volunteer?
<Corsair> All you need is a rope.
<Corsair> And a whip.
<Paladin0707077> Ah, so you volunteer to be test subject, then? Good...
<Erasmus> problem is, when you put too much pressure on a volunteer, they leave
<Corsair> Relax.
<Corsair> I was joking.
<bigryan> I do.  make me do something.
<bigryan> I dare you to try.  muhahaha
<Corsair> You'd probably enjoy the whip part, big.
<Erasmus> I know, but its a real problem we have. The trick is figuring out how to convince a volunteer that you need something done while still respecting that they aren't obligated to
<Heimdall> Erasmus - what would you like me to send?
<Erasmus> Bromios, you tell me what your position is
<Corsair> Who else in here is part of the h6 team?
<Corsair> Besides Erasmus.
<Erasmus> If you want to do sprites, we have a list. If you want to work on 3D, hooray
<bigryan> hmm, daems, bromios, erasmus, myself and paladi??
<Erasmus> Just IM me
<Erasmus> or post
<Corsair> Paladin!
<bigryan> and splif
<bigryan> and coco
<Corsair> How close would you, off the books, say h6 was to being done?
<Paladin0707077> Wait...wha-?!
<Corsair> Yeah, but Spliff is mute.
<Erasmus> lol, you already asked!
<Erasmus> and Coco is a lurker
<Corsair> Yeah, but I figure it's easier to do with people who aren't as high up.
<Corsair> You don't bribe the general, you bribe the private.
<Paladin0707077> Uh, big, is there something you guys haven't told me about my status on h6?
<Heimdall> I mean, would you like some example of my writing style in the application, or an example dialogue for a character in the game?
<Erasmus> lol
<Erasmus> I think BR thought you were Paladin Valiant
<Paladin0707077> Ah.
<bigryan> off the books, hero6 is an eternal project.... I mean uhhhh close now close.
<Paladin0707077> Nope. Paladin0707077
<Corsair> Well.
<bigryan> yeah thats why I put a ?
<Paladin0707077> Ah, OK.
<Heimdall> Hero6 is like nirvana...or maybe the end of the rainbow
<Corsair> Big, how close would you say h6 was to being done?
<Corsair> Off the books?
<bigryan> it depends.
<Paladin0707077> On?
<bigryan> a push could see it done in 3 months.
<Corsair> You guys are as bad as Blizzard is on release dates.
<Erasmus> I'd agree
<bigryan> but that's not going to happen.
<Erasmus> And I've learned to respect why game companies push dates back
<bigryan> I'm going with 2 years.
<Erasmus> lol
<Corsair> I hate you.
<Erasmus> Not that long
<Paladin0707077> No they aren't. Blizzard actually gives one.
<bigryan> 3 years then?
<Paladin0707077> lol
<Erasmus>
<bigryan> :> lol
<Paladin0707077> Other direction.
<Paladin0707077> lol
* Corsair brandishes his knife.
<Corsair> I haven't used this babe in a while.
<Hero6_Babe> Sideffects may include drymouth, nausea, water retention, painful rectalage, halluncinations, psychosis, death, and halitosis. Magic is not for everyone. Consult your doctor before use.*
<Erasmus> I hope by the end of the year, but that all depends on our members
<Corsair> Ever since Swift told me I'd be banned if I used it again.
<Paladin0707077> Gee, wonder why...
<Heimdall> Anyone have insider info on how the QfGII remake is progressing? I'd like to light a fire under them
<Corsair> But she isn't here right now!
<Corsair> BUHAHAHA!
<Paladin0707077> That's OK. Her spies are everywhere.
<Corsair> Dang
<Corsair> Being a disrespected man has it's downsides.
<Erasmus> So, you're scared of the sargeant but not of the general? lol
<Paladin0707077> Yeah, no clue on QFGIIR...
<Erasmus> She's told me alllll about you....
<Erasmus> Even if we did have QfGII info, we wouldn't say anything
<Paladin0707077> Yeah, yeah, not your place and all that...
<Erasmus> The fan game community has some close ties, and we don't tread over each other's games lightly
<Erasmus> yup
<Corsair> I disagree.
<Corsair> I point your attention towards QFG4.5.
<Erasmus> Many of our members are members of other game groups, and they usually don't even share game progress info with us
<Corsair> AGDI hates those guys.
<bigryan> 4.5 was a funny game
<Paladin0707077> Yes. Very.
<Corsair> I wouldn't know.
<Corsair> I can't ever get it.
<Heimdall> I thought the whole Silver Sphinx Studios thing was a good idea, pooling resources and know-how...its depressing how many of these projects get shelved or buried.
<Paladin0707077> Somewhat buggy, but pretty good.
<Corsair> Yeah, except the problem with SSS was that they were gonna stuff h6 into the garbage.
<Erasmus> SSS rocks
<Paladin0707077> Well, there are downsides, too.
<bigryan> sss was cool because it was small short term and planned out.
<Heimdall> 4.5 was alright, a little juvenile humour wise (but hey, I loved the gay pirates), but I was never quite sure what all the outrage was about
<Erasmus> No, SSS was awesome. We never really planned on doing away with any of our projects. We just wanted to pull our resources
<Paladin0707077> Yes but, unfortunately, it would've ment cutting out some projects to work on those that mattered.
<bigryan> I think brassfire was one of the big driving forces on that one.
<Erasmus> thats an example of how we could get this game done in a couple months with a push
<Erasmus> Members got really fired up over that, and in a couple weeks time a tremendous amount of work was done
<Paladin0707077> I'd rather it be done well and next year, then in September with bugs.
<Corsair> Yeah, but even if we could get all the projects together, most of them would want to get theirs done first.
<Paladin0707077> Of course.
<Erasmus> If we could rally our members like they did for SSS, we'd be done very quickly
<bigryan> I'd rather it be done in sept with bugs and then we test and release next year.
<Erasmus> I'm not saying joining up for hero6
<Corsair> IA would want QFI or KQ3VGA, we'd want H6, AGDI would want qfg2vga,..
<Corsair> It would be chaos.
<Erasmus> I'm saying within our OWN group, if we got people that motivated
<Heimdall> true...
<Corsair> Even I can see that.
<Paladin0707077> Yeah.
<Paladin0707077> Or just with that much time...
<Erasmus> SSS was amazing in terms of how quickly we all wanted to be a part of it. Member who hadn't spoken up in hero6 forums for months came out of the woodwork for that
<Heimdall> Oh, again slightly off-topic, do any of you have any contacts with the QFG3d project?  Is that on hiatus, or is work still progressing?
<bigryan> I haven't heard from them at all.
<Erasmus> I can't recall
<Paladin0707077> Not a peep.
<Erasmus> I don't personally, but someone on the project might
<Pyro> it's going rather slow at the moment
<Paladin0707077> 3D work almost always does...
<Heimdall> Erasmus - Sounds that despite the work going on, there are motivational issues at the moment
<Paladin0707077> But at least they're still working on it, right?
<Erasmus> Thats how many of these projects are. They are formed in free time, and as the process becomes more time consuming, they get abandoned until more time comes up
<Pyro> the whole project is being restructured
<Erasmus> Yes, that's why I'd say that right now its really the core members doing most of the work
<bigryan> so erasmus do you think a lot of work happening outside what I see in the forums?
<Heimdall> How big is the core?  Were you expecting more members to come to the chat?
<Erasmus> Each section has a few members who do work regularly, and thus we are progressing, but slowly
<Erasmus> Yes I was, but many couldn't come do to time constraints
<Vildern> Hello.
<Heimdall> Hey Vildern!
<bigryan> hi
<Paladin0707077> Hey.
<Erasmus> BR- I'd say yes there is. I know a lot of dialogue has been submitted to be outside of forums
<Vildern> Hey, Heimdall, Broomios, everybody.
<bigryan> hmm, thats good to hear.
<Erasmus> And I know a lot of programming goes on without a peep in the forums
<bigryan> have you tried using that dialog tool i made ever?
<bigryan> yeah, I used to do a lot of programming.
<Erasmus> Yes, but I'm not sure if it is right now
<Erasmus> I think the link to it got buried
<bigryan> sometimes the most effective work is done out of the forums
<Paladin0707077> "Sometimes"?
<bigryan> once something gets up for discussion, its like opening a can of worms
<Erasmus> Yes, and sometimes discussions can really help
<Erasmus> Discussions in art usually go well, for example
<Paladin0707077> Of course. To foster ideas and get re-motivated.
<Heimdall> Maybe something big is needed to get the motivation back
<Erasmus> Yes. Hardly any art is finalized without some input from other artists, plot, and programming
<bigryan> most art is group work too.
<Erasmus> Well, something is planned to get the motivation back
<Heimdall> I know that I had stopped looking at the KQ9 project until their huge announcement last week
<Erasmus> I can't say more about it though, since even most of the members are in the dark on it
<bigryan> one person will do the original, and it will go through 4 other artists edits before its done.
<Heimdall> ooh, cool
<Erasmus> yup
<bigryan> what happened with kq9?
<Erasmus> Then plot says if it works for game design, and programming gives suggestions on practicallity
<Erasmus> Mask of Eternity?
<Heimdall> they released a mini trailer, some screenshots and more plot details, revitalised the whole thing
<Heimdall> mask of eternity?  the only eterntiy there was how the gameplay felt...slow...drawn out...nothing happening...
<Paladin0707077> That and the bugs.
<Paladin0707077> Those were pretty long, too.
<Erasmus> hehe, yup
<Paladin0707077> So...has SQ7 released anything new?
<Erasmus> Last I heard KQ9 was still together though
<Erasmus> No clue
<Paladin0707077> ...Nope. Not since January.
<Heimdall> ah well, it's been nice talking to you all, but i should get some sleep now...got a fun filled day of extreme exam cramming to do tomorrow...
<bigryan> I think sq7 died
<Heimdall> Thanks very much for all the answers, it's been an eye opener
<Erasmus> Have a good night Heimdall
<Vildern> good night, Heimdall
<Erasmus> Yup, anytime
<Paladin0707077> See you.
<Heimdall> Good night all  And good luck!
<bigryan> bye
<Khaveen> Hey Vil!
<Paladin0707077> They didn't die. They just release stuff veeeeeeery slooooooowly.
<Vildern> Hey, Khavee!
<Paladin0707077> Bromio!
<Erasmus> Rocky!
<Erasmus> Any more questions?
<Vildern> It said the max. occupancy was 18...? didn't it?
<Vildern> now 17?
<bigryan> we only have 12 so it's okay
<Paladin0707077> Well, I'd ask, except I got here late so I don't know what was asked.
<Erasmus> ask anyway and I'll see what I can do
<daemious> the limit is to prevent too many poeple from joining at once
<Erasmus> I think it goes up when more people join
<Paladin0707077> OK. So...after it's done, will the team be staying on for more projects?
<daemious> yea
<bigryan> maybe there's big threads on hero7
<Vildern> It's getting late... I hoped to see Swift here.
<Erasmus> Me too, I don't know what happened
<Paladin0707077> Yeah, I was surprise that she wasn't when I came here.
<Vildern> Hmpf. Another time then, hopefully.
<Paladin0707077> Yeah...
<Vildern> I gave to go now, take care.
<Erasmus> Nobody is more surprised than I am
<Vildern> *have
<Erasmus> you too
<daemious> hrmm theres supposed to be another chat at 7?
<Paladin0707077> See ya.
<Erasmus> yes
<Paladin0707077> No, I think that's when this one ends.
<Erasmus> no, there is a second chat at 7 for other time zones
<Paladin0707077> Ah.
<Paladin0707077> Maybe Swift will be at that one...
<Erasmus> you might want to wait for that one, if more people show up, it'd be a good opportunity to ask more questions
<Erasmus> I sincerely hope so
<Paladin0707077> Yeah...
<Erasmus> well, I think we will go on hiatus until 7pm EST rolls around
<Paladin0707077> Sounds good.
<Paladin0707077> See ya guys then.