On the State of the Forum

Now that Coldstone has been released, it has come to my attention (obviously) that what was once a semi-quiet forum has become a bustling hive of activity. Now this is all to the well and good, but there are several points i would like to make about the new state of this board.

First and foremost, I'd like to extend a warm welcome to all of the newcomers to these boards, by which I mean the new members who have been frequenting the site since the release of Coldstone. I hope to see you all stay and become permanent parts of our community, and I also hope to see an excellent creation (or creations) from you using the Coldstone engine.

Now just a few reminders for those who are new to the boards. It is recommended here, as at all Ambrosia boards, that you read the various FAQs on both posting and Coldstone before you post yourself. This is both to ensure that the board operates with a minimum of friction between members, and also to ensure that the job that the moderators do does not exceed their capacity to perform. However, though the actual webboards FAQ is fairly current, the last time I checked the actual Coldstone FAQ was fairly out of date. While this may have changed in the past three days ( ) it is recommended at present that specific queries about Coldstone are directed here, at the webboards.

This brings us to a small problem: namely the huge increase in the amount of traffic to the board since the release of Coldstone. The amount of topics present has literally tripled, and as such there is three times as many questions, topics and comments that need to be read, answered etc. both by knowledgable members, the beta team, Beenox and the moderators. Added to that, the increase in the number of topics has made the board look less organised, which contributes to the necessary workload.

So I would just like to make a few suggestions to the visitors of these boards. Before asking questions about how to do this or that in Coldstone, please make sure that you have both read the manual that comes with the engine, and browsed through the topics already present on the boards. Chances are your question will already be answered in one of those two sources. If not, try visiting the Coldstone IRC channel, on irc.ambrosia.net:6667, #coldstone. (for detailed instrucitons on accessing the channel, look (url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/cgi-bin/ubb/postdisplay.cgi?forum=Forum48&topic;=000811")here.(/url) If you are still unable to find the answer to your question, then feel free to post it here, on the boards.

Now some of you might ask, why should I bother going through all of that when I can simply come here first and obtain my answer. Simple. No matter what you may wish to belive, Beenox, Ambrosia and the moderators/members can only do so much towards helping you with your problem. They are all humans too, and, of course, have other concerns besides merely frequenting the boards answering queries about the engine. Granted, it is likely your question could be answered within a reasonable time, but it is almost certain that reading through the manual will be both quicker and easier, as the information contained will be more understandable in context.

Of course, you could wait for the CD that comes with Coldstone for the official tutorials, or for Madman to finish his own personal tutorial, but then we're all pioneers, aren't we, forging bravely forward in search of knowledge and enlightenmnet, with a "do it yourself" attitude? Seriously though, it is probable that almost all of your questions will already be answered on these boards, and as such, it is requested that you make an effort to finding your answer before cluttering the boards up with endless repeats of questions.

If I've put anyone off, or offended anyone by my above comments, than I apologise. Please feel free to take up any problems you have with me here or by email at andiyar@epitheisterra.com. My post merely rises from a desire to be helpful and to try to keep our board here an efficient, constructive and friendly place.

And of course, once again, thanks to Beenox and Ambrosia for bringing us such an excellent product. Coldstone is for many of us a dream come true, and it would not have been possible without all of your persistance and your effort.

-Andiyar

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"Any good that I may do here, let me do now, for I may not pass this way again"

-29°

::materializes::

Thus the book closes, This will b my final post, to those of you i flamed i wish you farewell,

to those i amused with my swaggerinng antics, thanks for laughing

::waves good bye, dissapates::

+29°

o ,and to the mods who sent me(& my Karma) to hell and back on the wings of howling revenants...

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...thank you for trying to show me the error of my annoying ways.

(This message has been edited by theGlueBubble (edited 01-20-2002).)

Thanks for the useful post Andiyar -- to everyone out there...yeah, that pretty much sums it up.

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quitcherbellyachin.
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New Fortress of Die Nacht released! (12/20) (url="http://"http://aviary.damnsw.net")Download it from here!(/url) | | (url="http://"http://aviary.damnsw.net/downloads/dienachtd5.sit")direct download(/url) | | (url="http://"http://aviary.damnsw.net/fortress/progresslog.html")Progress Log (12/20)(/url)

(quote)Originally posted by theGlueBubble:
**Thanks for the useful post Andiyar -- to everyone out there...yeah, that pretty much sums it up.:)

Oh, incidentally..... I like the edit.

-Andiyar

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"Any good that I may do here, let me do now, for I may not pass this way again"
**

Andiyar, we think alike. It's just I would've waited longer to do this. And chill's leaving? Oh well. His superhero complex was good for a couple of laughs. Also, Andiyar, cool e-mail address. hint, hint.

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"Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past me I will turn to see fear's path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain." - Muad'Dib