Enough is enough

[snabbott]

Welcome!

[waltzdancing]

Another reason for the forums being dead is the possibility that we are all growing up and are moving on with our lives too. I know I was in my teens when I started coming here and it was on a regular basis. Now I'm hardly on but I am in my mid 20s, we change as life moves on. I know I'm not waiting forever now.

[GrahamRocks!]

Or, y'know, nothing interesting is going on lately. Mark me, when a new game comes out, things will perk up again.

Sorry, but that just sounds like a precursor post to shutting down the forums because of the lack of activity...

[calmlunatic]

When the previous episodes were released, this was usually my first source of information. I check back every so often waiting for a new post to be made regarding an announcement about a possible release date. I know the team is working on it and have confidence it's making progress, but I'm not excitedly on the edge of my seat waiting for them to finish it; they'll finish it when they finish it.

I do still look forward to its release and appreciating all the work the developers put into the game as a conclusion to the Daventry storyline (it's going to be a conclusion, right?). Until then I have this forum bookmarked and will check in occasionally.

[llothe]

Hey, just wanted to chime in here. As one of the artists on this project (and probably the primary one currently working on background art for TSL Ep:5), all through the period of time covered by this thread there has indeed been somewhat slow but definitely steady progress on getting this game finished. Speaking for myself, I've got like 30+ digitally-hand-painted scenes/camera angles sitting around on my hard drive that have been produced during aforementioned time period, but it's not like we can even drip feed most of this content to the fanbase... because spoilers! It's important that these scenes have the intended impact when you see them the first time. For that matter, most or all of these will go through further rounds of improvement before the final game. Given the lengthy development process, the artistic skills I can bring to bear when we get towards the end of the project should be significantly better (not to mention faster) than they were at the beginning, or even as they are now. I'm sure I'm not the only cog in this machine who could say that!

One of the things I've learned about the process of making games through volunteering on this project is that progress is not nearly as linear as one would like. Bottlenecks form depending on which skill sets the volunteer group happens to have less of at any given time; we soldier on. Bugs develop that would cause major headaches for even paid game dev groups with paid testers; we soldier on. We draw talent for the volunteer group from our devoted fanbase, but the skills needed for making a game like this to a decent standard of excellence or even at all aren't necessarily available, particularly when it's mentioned that the project is unpaid; we soldier on. Strategic shifts occur in the pipeline that require changes in method and thinking; we soldier on. We soldier on because we're all huge fans of the IP, just like you all are.

We're not going to let this thing fade away.

[JDHJANUS]

snabbott mentioned this already, but I just wanted to add:

If you're looking for more community activity, there are several fairly active Sierra groups on Facebook (including one for King's Quest fans, and the Sierra Planet group, which is focused on Roberta Williams games in general), as well as very active community on Twitter as well. I know several people outside of these forums from FB and Twitter (like Say, stika, GrahamRocks!, etc.) and maybe even more of you who are posting under screennames here that I don't recognize.

I've been a part of several Sierra forums, and generally keep an eye on several of them at a time, and considering the huge number of available posts here, the Phoenix Online forums are one of the largest forums in total number of posts that I've seen (to the point that I actually intimidated from posting here for years). Even though the community may not be so active on these forums, I feel like this is becoming a more frequent occurrence across many different forums. Even the Sierra Help forums, which is the most expansive Sierra forums currently in operation, has experienced a lull in activity, as has SpaceQuest.Net, Quest for More Glory, etc. (and just like here, all have upcoming games at least related their fandom, i.e. SpaceVenture, Hero-U...)

You can always find me around Twitter - @JDHJANUS. There are also several Sierra FB groups that I mentioned earlier that are fairly active; the two busiest ones are Sierra Chest and Sierra Gamers.

If you don't have FB or Twitter, and you're looking for more Sierra community outside of these forums, then you could always try the Sierra Help forums at http://www.sierrahelp.com/forums . Collector is always looking for more people to be active there as well.

Talk to you later!

JDHJANUS
Josh

[SilverBall10]

2015 will be the year of The Silver Lining and King's Quest (I'm curious about the new version by Sierra as well).

[AndreaStevenesen]

 

[MangoMercury]

If the last episode got cancelled...  Then César might have to show us the fabled SCRIPT!

But it ain't getting cancelled so he still gots all the Suffer Rights*







*except that one up there - that one's all Roberta Mango Roberta.

[Shalkar]

It would be nice if the game was finished by the end of this year 

[GrahamRocks!]

Wow...

Even I would never insult you like that! You and I may have a rough not-friends-not-enemies relationship, but even I wouldn't take it that far!

This is gonna be raVen image all over again...

[Oldbushie]

Yeah, that's... a bit extreme for a PM. I'm not sure this is the right thread to vent about it though.

I did get your report earlier but I've been busy all weekend so I haven't had a chance to discuss with the other mods.

[snabbott]

*except that one up there - that one's all Roberta Mango Roberta.

[boopish]

Another reason for the forums being dead is the possibility that we are all growing up and are moving on with our lives too. I know I was in my teens when I started coming here and it was on a regular basis. Now I'm hardly on but I am in my mid 20s, we change as life moves on. I know I'm not waiting forever now.

When I first read this post, I didn't read much into the words. After Numbers' most recent post, I couldn't help but think back to it. So, here is my reply to waltzdancing, and to the other volunteers as well.

I have the utmost respect for all the volunteers working on this project. You are absolutely right we change and priorities shift. I appreciate every moment of your time given to this project, and to us the fans. I don't expect you to put your life on hold for this project, or wait forever.  If ever your life or priorities were unable to support this project, I would completely respect you for your decision. If this project never came to light because finishing it would negatively alter the health and happiness of the volunteers, I would fully support the decision. As much as the fans would like to see the result of the hard work, I don't think any of the true fans would ask for that.

I didn't know about the project at the start, but now I check the forums at least twice a week, sometimes daily. I may not post much, but as I have grown up, this project has become very much a part of my life. I may never meet any of you working your beautiful magic to bring this project alive, but I feel very protective and supportive of all of you. Thank you for being the wonderful, talented, individuals you are.

[Jimprobable33]

I wish there was something else we could do besides just saying how much we morally support the volunteer team . Is there anything any of us can ACTUALLY do? I am a social worker by trade...so I am all about a) helping people, and b) putting that help into ACTION. please do let us know if there is anything we can physically do to make that support real!

[Numbers]

I know the team is always accepting volunteers to help. Maybe one of them could point you in the right direction.

[boopish]

I know I have checked the volunteer section, but I'm not an artist at the level the team works at, and I don't have the fancy programs to animate. Is there anything besides artistic needs? I have lots of free time and a willingness to help!

[Jack Stryker]

Volunteer section?

[boopish]

Volunteer section?

On the top bar: Company --> Jobs --> Volunteer Work

[Jack Stryker]

Oh.  Well... I wasn't actually looking to volunteer.  I've been looking for volunteers myself.  Ever since the tragic passing of our artist, I've become the new project leader for Unicorn Tales' KQIV 3D remake project.  And so far, we haven't had much success in finding a new artist to continue her work.