Sorry you were frustrated by the prices - we were too! Those were the prices we had to charge in order to break even - all beverages had to be ordered through the hotel - at around $4 for a single can of soda!
We did hear a lot of people mention the high prices - we'll try to do something about them if we can!
And by the way, the town turned out Amazing, full of hidden alleys, shops, etc.
As one of the four people that built it, Thank You! We worked very hard to create a place we thought gamers would enjoy. Design started last September, and construction on it started in January. Toward the end, we spent every day after work (we have normal full-time jobs on top of volunteering for TD) working on it.
I really didn't think you were dissing TD - anyway, I like reading "real" comments!
As I mentioned, I'm not intimately involved in the dungeon aspect, but I'll try to make sure that the other directors are aware of the need to have the story and puzzles very tightly related.
(Oh, for identification, I was the Pirate or Rogue running around with an earpiece/mic on)
We had "analog" clocks hanging throughout the Tavern/Town area - made by one of our volunteers.
Unfortunately, due to lighting and other issues they were not as noticeable as I would have liked. Next year I'll try to make sure we do something to make sure they are more noticeable, as well as make sure the announcements can be heard from everywhere.
Closed Captions are a really good idea for the video, thank you!
I'm one of the directors of True Dungeon - I was primarily involved in building the Tavern/Town space, but I do have some influence in the construction of the rest of the dungeon...
As far as story line, this year's dungeon had a fairly complete story, if you watched the intro video and/or listened to the speech in the room where they seperated the parties.
Quick Synopsis:
A giant rift has opened up above the city of Grayhawk, much like happened many years ago. There is only one way to close it - from the high tower. Unfortunately, some information on how to close it was locked away in the catacombs/caves beneath the city. Two parties are sent out, one to the catacombs, the other to the tower, in order to save the town. A magical voice transmission device is given to each party to allow the one in the caves to send a message to the one on the tower.
As far as the treasure tokens go - we're a little suprised at how much of a collectors item they are becoming. We're aware of both groups and want to try to give an experience that is acceptable to both. Thus we created trading areas, but we did not force the players to purchase/trade tokens in order to play the event. You're a good example of a group successfully making it through the event without needing any extra tokens. (By the way, good job on making it through!)
I am not directly involved in any of the financial aspects of the event (with the exception of a budget for the props we build/buy for the tavern), so I really can't give you detailed information on the money-making aspects of the event, but I can tell you that True Dungeon costs a _lot_ of money to build and run - It wouldn't be possible to do it without the hard work of many, many volunteers. I, myself, am a volunteer, and as far as I know there are no paid staff at all.
True Dungeon is really made by gamers for gamers.
We would be very interested in additional thoughts and comments about the "True" Events - feel free to go to True Dungeon's Web Site and join the discussion(s) in our forums.
I have one of the M2000 units - I use it for music all of the time. One of the recent features that I use a TON is the ability to play streaming radio without having a computer on at all. VERY nice.
Beyond that, it provides web access to control it, and will directly work with iTunes.
I highly recommend it.
Note: The M2000's display is _HUGE_, with nice large text. (Font sizes are selectable)
There are only two real minuses that I've noted in the 3 months I've owned it:
1. No physical buttons - you have to use the remote to control it. Not a big deal, but sometimes I'd like to just press power on the unit itself.
2. When listening to internet radio the track names are not displayed. I know that this is a feature that they are planning to add to future firmware (it's upgradeable - just select the option from the menu and it does it automatically)
Your statement is like suggesting to use a toaster to grill a steak. It's not the best tool for the job, but just because it's not the best tool for that particular job doesn't mean it's really helpful when you want to make a meal.
The issue I take is that they waited _10 years_ before deciding to sue about it.
I think that patents should take a "defend it or lose it" viewpoint. No more of these "submarine" patents!
Within 6 months of a product coming to mass market that may infringe on the patent the patent-holder should be required to notify the product maker that they _may_ be in violation of the patent. (There needs to be a reasonable belief)
If a product has been on the market for over the 6 months and the patent holder does not at least notify the producer of the product of the potential patent violation, the patent should be considered "transfered to the public domain". Add in something that allows the patent holder to "register" the other company as using the patent, then they could retain control.
Ok, this concept is a little confusing, but I think it could work...
Sounds somewhat like "Core Wars"... One of the very first games - can your program destroy enough memory in another program for it to crash before that progam destorys enough of yours?
How about a Space Elevator? It would still need an engine of some sort to get out of orbit, but that could be shipped up seperately.
If the space elevator fails, it would be unlikely to explode. Add a "recovery system" to the capsule that carries the radioactive material (think parachute), and potential problems would be very small.
Price could also be greatly decreased using a Space Elevator.
Linux Users' Groups should follow the bus passing out CDs for free (or even just the cost of the CD). Challenge Microsoft to give out their OS. The LUG members should also hand out contact info and meeting times for their meetings - that way they can find out where to get good support as well.
Signs such as "Windows is CHEAP, Linux is Inexpensive." should be used liberally as well.
Slashdot Mirror
I do the same thing... But my extension cord keeps getting unplugged!
As long as it doesn't fall out of the sky and kill someone!
(Ok, so it was MIR's for the show - but it's a great show, check it out)
Sorry you were frustrated by the prices - we were too! Those were the prices we had to charge in order to break even - all beverages had to be ordered through the hotel - at around $4 for a single can of soda!
We did hear a lot of people mention the high prices - we'll try to do something about them if we can!
Ah, understood...
True Dungeon is still a relatively new medium, so we are learning the best way to work with it...
I'm all for more role-play aspects to the event, although we want to be careful to keep it a team event, not a competition between players.
I saw your post on the TD forums, thanks for being involved and helping us improve TD for next year!
And by the way, the town turned out Amazing, full of hidden alleys, shops, etc.
As one of the four people that built it, Thank You! We worked very hard to create a place we thought gamers would enjoy. Design started last September, and construction on it started in January. Toward the end, we spent every day after work (we have normal full-time jobs on top of volunteering for TD) working on it.
I really didn't think you were dissing TD - anyway, I like reading "real" comments!
As I mentioned, I'm not intimately involved in the dungeon aspect, but I'll try to make sure that the other directors are aware of the need to have the story and puzzles very tightly related.
(Oh, for identification, I was the Pirate or Rogue running around with an earpiece/mic on)
We had "analog" clocks hanging throughout the Tavern/Town area - made by one of our volunteers.
Unfortunately, due to lighting and other issues they were not as noticeable as I would have liked. Next year I'll try to make sure we do something to make sure they are more noticeable, as well as make sure the announcements can be heard from everywhere.
Closed Captions are a really good idea for the video, thank you!
Hi Yekrats,
I'm one of the directors of True Dungeon - I was primarily involved in building the Tavern/Town space, but I do have some influence in the construction of the rest of the dungeon...
As far as story line, this year's dungeon had a fairly complete story, if you watched the intro video and/or listened to the speech in the room where they seperated the parties.
Quick Synopsis:
A giant rift has opened up above the city of Grayhawk, much like happened many years ago. There is only one way to close it - from the high tower. Unfortunately, some information on how to close it was locked away in the catacombs/caves beneath the city. Two parties are sent out, one to the catacombs, the other to the tower, in order to save the town. A magical voice transmission device is given to each party to allow the one in the caves to send a message to the one on the tower.
As far as the treasure tokens go - we're a little suprised at how much of a collectors item they are becoming. We're aware of both groups and want to try to give an experience that is acceptable to both. Thus we created trading areas, but we did not force the players to purchase/trade tokens in order to play the event. You're a good example of a group successfully making it through the event without needing any extra tokens. (By the way, good job on making it through!)
I am not directly involved in any of the financial aspects of the event (with the exception of a budget for the props we build/buy for the tavern), so I really can't give you detailed information on the money-making aspects of the event, but I can tell you that True Dungeon costs a _lot_ of money to build and run - It wouldn't be possible to do it without the hard work of many, many volunteers. I, myself, am a volunteer, and as far as I know there are no paid staff at all.
True Dungeon is really made by gamers for gamers.
We would be very interested in additional thoughts and comments about the "True" Events - feel free to go to True Dungeon's Web Site and join the discussion(s) in our forums.
-Lance
Director
True Dungeon
Wouldn't that be NRM: Nipple Rights Management?
I have one of the M2000 units - I use it for music all of the time. One of the recent features that I use a TON is the ability to play streaming radio without having a computer on at all. VERY nice.
Beyond that, it provides web access to control it, and will directly work with iTunes.
I highly recommend it.
Note: The M2000's display is _HUGE_, with nice large text. (Font sizes are selectable)
There are only two real minuses that I've noted in the 3 months I've owned it:
1. No physical buttons - you have to use the remote to control it. Not a big deal, but sometimes I'd like to just press power on the unit itself.
2. When listening to internet radio the track names are not displayed. I know that this is a feature that they are planning to add to future firmware (it's upgradeable - just select the option from the menu and it does it automatically)
Then they should have made the iDiet.
Every system has it's uses...
Your statement is like suggesting to use a toaster to grill a steak. It's not the best tool for the job, but just because it's not the best tool for that particular job doesn't mean it's really helpful when you want to make a meal.
The issue I take is that they waited _10 years_ before deciding to sue about it.
I think that patents should take a "defend it or lose it" viewpoint. No more of these "submarine" patents!
Within 6 months of a product coming to mass market that may infringe on the patent the patent-holder should be required to notify the product maker that they _may_ be in violation of the patent. (There needs to be a reasonable belief)
If a product has been on the market for over the 6 months and the patent holder does not at least notify the producer of the product of the potential patent violation, the patent should be considered "transfered to the public domain". Add in something that allows the patent holder to "register" the other company as using the patent, then they could retain control.
Ok, this concept is a little confusing, but I think it could work...
This sounds like a very interesting idea...
Do you have more information or a web site on it?
I could see "Paladin128 Boxes" (or P128 Boxes?) being a popular addition to some parties/locations.
I'm sure many people would gladly teach you if you showed up at a lan party... It's great when we can share our interests with others
Of course then there's the sexist guys who think lan parties should be guys only.
P.S. I'm part of the first group, not the second.
Sounds somewhat like "Core Wars"... One of the very first games - can your program destroy enough memory in another program for it to crash before that progam destorys enough of yours?
How are they going to verify they no longer have his address? Send him a letter?
(j/k)
Very Insightful, thank you.
Ah, and that's where we're all wrong... These are just real-time renders from the new game engine they are creating...
I'm particularly excited about the deformable/destroyable objects!
The physics model looks like it needs a little work though.
How about a Space Elevator? It would still need an engine of some sort to get out of orbit, but that could be shipped up seperately.
If the space elevator fails, it would be unlikely to explode. Add a "recovery system" to the capsule that carries the radioactive material (think parachute), and potential problems would be very small.
Price could also be greatly decreased using a Space Elevator.
Have you been to Tennessee?
(It's a joke!)
Slashdot Radio!
(Geeks in Space)
Get your facts straight:
http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/spacepen.
Thanks for the support though.
Linux Users' Groups should follow the bus passing out CDs for free (or even just the cost of the CD). Challenge Microsoft to give out their OS. The LUG members should also hand out contact info and meeting times for their meetings - that way they can find out where to get good support as well.
Signs such as "Windows is CHEAP, Linux is Inexpensive." should be used liberally as well.
I'm looking forward to when they drive to the US.