ID:274080
 
It took a supreme effort of will to keep from doing a little evangelizing in response to this article. I sure hope the new server gets here soon! :)
On 8/2/00 12:26 pm Guy T. wrote:
It took a supreme effort of will to keep from doing a little evangelizing in response to this article. I sure hope the new server gets here soon! :)

I'm all for a little more exposure, especially in a cause as good as this one, so feel free to discuss it if you'd like. Although it may not seem like it with the constant updates, I think we actually are fairly stable. The occassional crashes appear to be isolated to a few sections of code, and we're getting on those as quickly as possible.

You are right about the server though. We can't afford to have too many users until we get our own system in place, unless the users themselves have some decent network access. Thankfully, we should have the server by the end of the month.
In response to Tom H.
I'm all for a little more exposure, especially in a cause as good as this one, so feel free to discuss it if you'd like. Although it may not seem like it with the constant updates, I think we actually are fairly stable. The occassional crashes appear to be isolated to a few sections of code, and we're getting on those as quickly as possible.

Yes, it definitely seems to be getting more and more stable. So far it's been smooth sailing with this latest release (aside from the bugs originating in my own head). Besides, some of the more recent features, like overlays and list associations, have proven very useful; I know they set your schedule back a little, but I think the extra effort will pay off in the long run.

I've told a few individual folks about BYOND, but sadly, the people I know who would be most interested either have Macs or nothing at all. And Slashdot, the site where the article appeared, should definitely wait for the new server... its users are notorious for crashing web sites with the sheer volume of their page views within minutes of a new article being posted!

Will there actually be one release on one date that's considered to be the "Big Release," or will it be more casual than that (or is it undecided at this point, or a surprise)? I think it'd be nice to have some kind of Official Announcement, but then, I'm a hopeless romantic underneath my curmudgeony exterior.
In response to Tom H.
I'm all for a little more exposure, especially in a cause as good as this one, so feel free to discuss it if you'd like. Although it may not seem like it with the constant updates, I think we actually are fairly stable. The occassional crashes appear to be isolated to a few sections of code, and we're getting on those as quickly as possible.

I agree. The only reason we find any bugs at all is because the beta testers are ruthlessly looking for them. (Or, at least, we should be... =)

You are right about the server though. We can't afford to have too many users until we get our own system in place, unless the users themselves have some decent network access.

Hmm. Can anyone out there provide a bunch of links to a kit-and-caboodle of shell accounts? Maybe, if I could find one, I would be able to set up my own server, because I do have a bit of free money floating around that I'm saving for some strange reason. (Obviously, in my case, I would need to find one localized around British Columbia, because I'd hate to go through the lag simply to connect to my own server. Other people would have to find some around their states or provinces as well...)

Thankfully, we should have the server by the end of the month.

Looking forward to seeing what happens.



P.S. Hey, wait a minute... young Guy? You're twice my age, man! =)

(Yep, just leave it to some snotty teenager to make you feel old. =)
In response to Spuzzum
Hmm. Can anyone out there provide a bunch of links to a kit-and-caboodle of shell accounts? Maybe, if I could find one, I would be able to set up my own server, because I do have a bit of free money floating around that I'm saving for some strange reason. (Obviously, in my case, I would need to find one localized around British Columbia, because I'd hate to go through the lag simply to connect to my own server. Other people would have to find some around their states or provinces as well...)

Looks like eskimo.com offers it for $9 a month. I didn't realize there were services like this! I think I'll start off with the official Dantom service, but this looks like it would be a good solution once Dantom's slots are full (of course, then they might just get a second server).

For more links, go to google.com and type "hosting shell british columbia".


P.S. Hey, wait a minute... young Guy? You're twice my age, man! =)

(Yep, just leave it to some snotty teenager to make you feel old. =)

Nice try, but I don't feel too old at the moment! :) Maybe tomorrow, though...

(I'm probably feeling youthful because in two days I leave for a week in northern Michigan. I'll be a lot closer to your latitude! Ah, that cool air really hits the spot in August...)
In response to Guy T.
Looks like eskimo.com offers it for $9 a month.

D'oh... on a closer reading, they have a special "network game hosting" account for $25 a month...
In response to Guy T.
On 8/2/00 7:29 pm Guy T. wrote:
And Slashdot, the site where the article appeared, should definitely wait for the new server... its users are notorious for crashing web sites with the sheer volume of their page views within minutes of a new article being posted!

There is a business concept that some large percentage of successful businesses fail because their business plans never actually took the possibility of success into account.

Early on I went to a talk by a Palm Pilot guy (long before the rest of the world had caught on, but at a point when they were clearly very successful), and he said that getting bought by 3COM before they released the product saved their asses. They were assuming low sales and a ramp up time before they would need parts and such for a lot of units. 3COM said no way, we are going to plan for huge sales and fill some warehouses ahead of time because:

1) it takes a long time to ramp up production and if you get a lot of orders you will be out of product for months, which will kill you

2) if you don't get that many orders, you are all fired anyway.

They got lots of orders and they were ready for it.

Along those lines...the worst thing that could possibly happen to BYOND would be sudden exposure at a time when the server can only handle, say, a few dozen players and ten games running simultaneously.

Especially if we all haven't had time to stress the new system, design our games better for load, and for Dantom to make sure the ship is running smoothly.

Here is one thing that might help in case something like that happens: If this website provided some guidelines for finding an ISP that can host BYOND.

I, for example, have no idea what ISPs are going to give me a situation where I can host BYOND. Usually ISPs are in control of what is actually running on their server, because that's how they make their money. They offer FrontPage or SQL Server or some storefront software or whatever, and that's their competitive advantage.

It would be Even Cooler if Dantom were to get some ISPs to agree up front that they will host BYOND games. They could perhaps kick a bit of money to Dantom for business that comes their way.

Am I rambling yet?
In response to Guy T.
(I'm probably feeling youthful because in two days I leave for a week in northern Michigan. I'll be a lot closer to your latitude! Ah, that cool air really hits the spot in August...)

Yep, except what most people don't understand is that I'm in the rainiest and warmest part of Canada besides Toronto. Canada is pretty warm across the entire bottom swath (15-35 degrees Celsius during the summer, which is, oh, about 60 to 80 F... you'll have to excuse me if I'm wrong, I was brought up completely on metric, and I forgot the formula to convert between the two (would you understand better in Kelvins? =). If you want to go to the territories up north, you'll freeze, though. Like Alaska. Oh, wait, Alaska's not Canadian; um, like Nunavut territory =)



Right now, it's floating at a soft and pleasant 20 degrees. That's, uh... well, find the formula and do the math =P.

Heh, reminds me of a brain teaser from a Canadian book. A man was frozen to death; it was 20 degrees outside. Well, in America, that makes sense, but in Canada, he'd be nice and warm and sitting on the couch watching the latest episode of, hmm, Canadian show... ah! Watching the Red Green Show =)
(Or watching another of our home-grown stars, Pamela Anderson. Not that I like her... but lots of young, desperate males do... from both countries =/)

At least everyone doesn't need a jacket (not until about 5 degrees). Ah, I know, it's 1/5 of boiling. Boiling in your system is 2 hundred something, and freezing is 30-ish, so I'd say it's about 65 F right now. Nice to know there's ways of doing everything...



Michigan? Isn't that two states from the border? Hmm, that must be pretty warm. ;-)

Actually, I've been across Minnesota and as far down as South Dakota (Mt. Rushmore!), and all the way across the line until Wyoming, then up along that area (no speed limit in Montana!) into Alberta again (where I promptly discovered my quarters were American and didn't buy me Skittles from the machines anymore =). Your summers aren't much hotter around there. Almost touched into Wisconsin after Minnesota; if I knew Dan, I'd pay him a visit =).



P.S. I love this babble forum! Tra la la! You're lucky I stopped; I could ramble on for days =)

P.P.S. Well, at least I might be able to give you a refresher on order of operations with the amount of parentheses I had =)
In response to Deadron
Am I rambling yet?

Nope, babbling, which is the topic of this forum =)


In response to Spuzzum
At least everyone doesn't need a jacket (not until about 5 degrees).

Well, around 10 degrees, anyway. I like to go jacketless, though, because I like running =)
In response to Spuzzum
Right now, it's floating at a soft and pleasant 20 degrees. That's, uh... well, find the formula and do the math =P.

Tarnation! I never cottoned to that dang-blanged metric system and reckon I never will. Bosh! Flimshaw!


Michigan? Isn't that two states from the border? Hmm, that must be pretty warm. ;-)

Actually, I've been across Minnesota and as far down as South Dakota (Mt. Rushmore!), and all the way across the line until Wyoming, then up along that area (no speed limit in Montana!) into Alberta again (where I promptly discovered my quarters were American and didn't buy me Skittles from the machines anymore =). Your summers aren't much hotter around there.

I live in Ohio, which is south of all the states you mentioned... our summers tend to be hot and humid, though this one has been a little better. The island I'll be visiting is actually right on the Canadian border, where Lake Superior empties into Lake Huron... I could rent a little outboard-powered dinghy and cross from the Land of Hiawatha to the Land of Spuzzum in about 15 minutes! (Or just drive over the bridge at Sault Ste. Marie.)