I want to get back in the game.

I used to play a good bit of Avara. However, I was completely inept at it, so I quit for a while. Anyhoo, to make a long story short, I am interested in coming back into Avara. I was wondering the following:

What levels do people play now?
What "classic" sets (IE, from when I was playing, 96-98) are still used?
Has there been another AA collection yet? I mean after Deux?

Anything else that's major and has happened would also be helpful.

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Lewis,
save yourself the pain,
you'll never get there.
-Radiohead, "Lewis (Mistreated.)"

Now people still play the old levels, some new levels, just get them all.

Almost all of the sets are still played, so I would aim to keep all of them.

There's AA TrŽ, so... Go check Avara.org.

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Basically, in today's Avara, you'll need the Geezer Sets (Geriatric Ward especially, but Balledness, R.I.P., and Grecian Formula are also worth having), the AA sets (AA, AA Deux, AA Tré, earlier ones were better), and silverfox's horrible stuff (Fosfori, Emotion, and probably some other awful ones too). Third party levels, such as The Anonymous Collection and Wrestling 4.0 by RedCap, The Codex (a low-quality but original set of mass-produced levels) by Tyrant, and the immortal PastaBravo by Hybrid are also good things to have.

By the way, currently, Silverfox and Tyrant's (and one other whose name escapes me - sorry dude) new Avara mod "Avara Aftershock" is being played quite often. It's a newbie-type hack with excessively strong grenades and unlockable but deadly missiles, and has one hull choice that, instead of carrying those, carries plasma shots that kill in a single shot but take forever (read as: seconds) to recharge. All this should have been done in a level file instead of an application, but wasn't.

Anyway, you can probably get all this stuff at Avara.org, except for Redcap's levels, since the Avara.org people are biased against him. You can probably get those at the normal ftp site.

Anyone who enters my server is expected to have the AA Collection, AA Deux, and Geriatric Ward, all of which you probably already have. Anything else is optional.

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biased against RC? Any interesting story to that? Or just your plain ol' rivralry crap?

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Sometimes it strikes me that the writers of free verse got their idea from incorrect proof pages. -Robert Frost

How can anone be biased against Red Cap? His levels (from what I saw) were so damn cool! Especially Oberion, that was a great set... I guess I'll have to get an adapter so I can use my Zip drive with my iMac, I had a load of levels on a Zip disk somewhere... Thanks for the help.

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Lewis,
save yourself the pain,
you'll never get there.
-Radiohead, "Lewis (Mistreated.)"

biased against RC? please enlighten me?

As far as I know, it's just rivalry crap. Silverfox, just as his levels were getting popular (but before they got good), started accusing RC of making boring old non-"play different" levels. Even had some tournaments saying "we will play no redcap levels". It's really quite unfair, since many of RC's levels are quite good (and Silver's ... well ...).

Redcap's been around for a very long time, built up a few enemies. He's outlasted all of them.

(RC, if I have the facts wrong or am exaggerating, you're welcome to come in and give your side of it. Ryan, if YOU read this board, I'll be shocked.)

Oh, D'k, you can bet I'll read this forum.

Especially seeing as I am now an admin..

Your comment about RC actually couldn't be further from the truth (you egotistical lamer). I liked the Anonymous Collection (the only part i disliked was the lightning, but, oh well). I didn't like his older stuff, but his levels under the Anonymous name were actually quite good. Its been awhile since i've seen Oberion 2, but i remember liking a few of those levels. Your comment about Avara.org being biased against RC is even more incorrect. Avara.org wasn't even around since RC's last set. I suggest you shut up, as you have no idea what you're talking about. Stop spitting out ignorant comments.

About your comment that AS should have been a level file. For the last time, with what we wanted to do (like new bsps), it would have been impossible. FOR THE LAST TIME, GOT IT? Also, AS 1.5 TOTALLY extends the need for it to be in an app.. of course, this time, it will probably come as a patch to AS 1.0.1.

Tyrant's levels are awesome, leave him alone. I personally dislike some of my levels now, D'K, but I don't think you had to go so far as call them "horrible". Lets see YOU release a set, D'K. One thing I hate is when people insult other people's work (AS, levels..) when they don't do ANYTHING for Avara at ALL. How about respecting the work people do for a change?

I'm sorry my first post (as an admin) had to be so venomous, I don't want to get off on the wrong foot. So I'd like to apologize right now. However, everything D'K says is, in my opinion, inexcusable, and a complete insult to me, the staff @ avara.org, and other designers. How does that saying go? "If can't say something nice, jump into a moving train"? Oh well, whatever.

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--
Ryan "silverfox" Herriman
Aftershock Project Co-Lead
ryan@avara.org

If you guys want to continue this fight, I'd suggest one of you create a new Avara brag page for it, k? ;0)

I have never played silverfox's levels.. I like RC's. I prefer Mr. Sausage's...
Have a good day, you all

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Sometimes it strikes me that the writers of free verse got their idea from incorrect proof pages. -Robert Frost

I had no intention on getting into a fight. But when someone talks behind someone else's back like that, well, there's bound to be trouble.

I remember Mr. Sausage's.. many a times have I played around in those with old friends of mine back in Avara's older days.. sigh

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Ryan "silverfox" Herriman
Aftershock Project Co-Lead
ryan@avara.org

First of all, there is no obvious proof that I am the author of this so called "Anonymous Collection" ... BTW Silverfox : Anonymous Collection doesn't have a "lightning" level... I think you're thinking about Oberion 2.0 (Rainy), or did you mean to say Lighting? As for the riviraly.. I do rembember the Play Different Movement, but don't remember very much of it... since it wasn't very sucessful. I think I had a riviraly between Supa(sonic) for stuff that happened about a year before the "Play Different" movement. I can't quite recall what supa did to me, personally or inpersonally, but i'm sure it was sort of bad..? Oh.. the play different movement was during the time when the "FMI" was prevalent (in their own passworded servers..), and one (nameless member) started or participated in some sort of dispute over a trivial argument inside of avaraline (in the news). At avaraline, during this time, I was 'hated' or caused annoyance to nearly everyone because of my different, but well thought out, views on various subjects which may of been discussed at that time.

As for Avara.org... they do seem to be slightly biased (lazy?) toward the "Anonymous" author (supposedly me...). Seeing that the interview with the Anonymous Author which appeared in "Abort" has yet to be placed under the "Interviews" section of the web site (something which I have pointed out to Robin Hood's Attention a few months ago). I suppose the webmaster has his hands full with all those Avara Fiction stories which seem to plauge the site like unwanted weeds (no offense to the authors of the stories, its just that when you've lived out battles it just gets boring to read about it some more. See: Doom II Novels). Now that i've noticed it, the Anonymous Collection 1 has been removed from the pop-up menu where I thought it was once before under the "Must Download Crap".. hmm.. What I would like to see more of is Level Reviews.. even the older ones, sometimes you have to step on people's toes and give a bad review, so that you might send a message to the author to strive to create a better one. Nearly all the reviewers who ever reviewed levels, not many, have always avoided the infalluable 'mass market' sets like the AA collections.

At any rate.. I'm still here, and as far as I'm concerned all of my "Enemies" aren't around, or have become "Neutural" or "Tolerable" of me. If you would like to download the anonymous collection, or individual releases of that have been incorporated into the anonymous collection, you can visit the long-standing anonymous collection web site @ (url="http://"http://members.tripod.com/~anonymousLD")http://members.tripod.com/~anonymousLD(/url). This site contains every level set ever released by the Anonymous Author, including his one 3-level solo set. Oh, and someone tells me that the Anonymous Level designer is "Thinking" of "Porting" the collection to be compatable with AfterShock, of course, he doesn't have to do it himself, almost anyone can since the CW files are included with the set... (hint AS Fans...)

As for my older levels, which don't seem to be downloadable anywhere anymore.. I may attempt to create a web site where these files can be downloaded (I have a few sets that haven't been distributed very widely) send me an email if you would like to see this site... ( redcap@mac.com ).

On another note - Wrestling 4.0 is probably the worst release of Wrestling, I'd play 3.0.. its better, and less buggier. I had been working on the new release of it, but had never gotten around to completing it.

And I apoligise for the length, and the off-topic post I have created here... Oh and geez, take it easy people, this isn't avaraline, you can be a little more less-harsh to your fellow avarians. This is avara, we're all in it together and we won't get very far spouting out brief morbid opinions on other peoples works, or oppressing those who do make these comments.

(foot in mouth)

Well ok, I may have been slightly mistaken. 'Scuse me silver. I guess I'm often designing avara levels but never releasing them ... I outta do something about that. I hope to have a set out eventually for your AS. And I really didn't know that you ever read the forums here, seein' as I'd never seen you write to them.

Redcap: You want proof? Open up one of the anonymous sets. Delete the template, if present. Open the secondary LEDI resource. Copy the text. Unbinhex it. Enter the text "Red Cap" or something like that into the password field. That's the best I can do.

You're right, by the way. I can be nicer. Guess I got up on the wrong side of bed that (those) morning(s). *** D'Keeper is a flaming idiot ***

Well.. ever think that the real anonymous author put that in there to throw off people like you? And why not pick red cap? Everyone was picking on him at the time.. it only makes sense. Why would someone release a set anonymously and then put an encrypted file in a LEDI 2 source? Why? Again - There is no blatent proof that I created those levels. This person is obviously trying to give be a (bad?) rap by puting my name there, therefore releasing him from any suspicion.

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RC - you could perhaps upload your old levels to avara.com again? That is, when the file system is back up and running, heh. Last time I checked it was inoperative. But anyway, that would open your sets back up for download.

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Ryan "silverfox" Herriman
Aftershock Project Co-Lead
ryan@avara.org

By the way, RC, I'm taking your hint and incorporating a version of Khold adapted to AS in my coming AS level set. I gave The Anonymous Level Designer full credit, of course.

By the way, if any of you guys know a level that you'd like to see adapted to AS, I'll be happy to do it. Within reason. Preferably levels that you have a clarisworks file for or levels that don't have too much text (as in goodies, ramps, domes, etc.) in them.

I looked at the avara.com file system.. seems very nice.. although I think designers with a significant amount of levels should have their own directory's, or perhaps pages, for easier access... After looking around a bit, seems like the place holds the complete catalog of Red Cap Levels, and the anonymous ones... (I think)

D Keeper - Why don't you convert all the levels to AS? Or maybe you can do it ryan and include a few choosen ones to include with AS 1.5 (The khastle level would be pretty killer for team warfare, however the conversion to team warefare may call for the help of several people) I've converted the first two levels of the collection, but stopped there.. (Pinky Clause & hexaoctal). Someone should probably start a new thread.. since we've pretty much taken this train off its tracks (man that sounds pretty gay, sorry).

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