Letters @~Any letters or e-mails received on an adventuring-related topic @~may be reprinted in here unless marked 'not for publication'. ------------------------------------------------------------------ From Graham Raven, 17 Melton Fields, Brickyard Lane, North Ferriby, East Yorkshire HU14 3HE. Tel 01482 631496 Any chance of some advice? I am looking for a program which will help me, a non-programmer, to write my own RPG. I am an avid Mordor player who thinks the game is maybe half-perfect, but could be better. If I had programming skills, I'd love to write my own RPG from scratch, but as it is I've got _lots_ of ideas and that's all. I already have the DC Games Builder program but I'm not exactly happy with it. The characters look like cartoons! Ideally I'd like to use PCX images which I could scan into the PC myself, but I'll try a text-only program is that's all that's available. I'd also love to hear from anyone who can program and who might be interested in making an RPG - who knows, there might be someone out there? It would be good to have someone to mull over ideas with if nothing else. Should you be at all familiar with Mordor, I would really like to make a game which is similar, but has a landscape as well as dungeons. This might be beyond me for all I know, but I'd like to try anyway. Any recommendations as to which programs to try? @~The only ones I could suggest to Graham are oldies and both @~commercial - The Bard's Tale Construction Kit and Unlimited @~Adventures. Does anyone know of any other / better ones? What @~about shareware ones? ... Sue ----------------------------------------------------------------- From Kjell Robertsen, Norway by e-mail On the subject of producing a paper-based SynTax mag, here is my vote: Yes! I could have said something about the article in the latest issue of SynTax about Windows 98 about how much sense it makes to upgrade, but I won't. It does NOT make sense. The system is very slow and with active desktop and Explorer installed it has been proven to slow down ANY machine by as much as 40%. Many non-Microsoft programs will not work on it, it's very easy for hackers to gain access to your machine if it's online on the Net because security in that ridiculous browser they call Explorer, and MS Outlook (should have called it mess-up instead) is now worse than ever (does anyone REALLY use MS Explorer and Outlook? Well, I guess it takes all kinds to make a World:-). A lot of your hardware won't work because there are no drivers for it and there never will be, compatibility with pre-Win 95 programs and DOS programs is worse than ever. 50% of My windows 3 and DOS programs won't work under 98. Perhaps it will make some small kind of sense to use Windows 98, but only if you have a Pentium 2 machine and bought it with '98 preinstalled. But to upgrade from a machine where you've used Windows 95 and perhaps bought things like scanners, CD-Rs etc. is simply to buy yourself a new bunch of MS bugs-and-crash-galore. It's buying trouble. Well, I said I wouldn't say anything about it, but it seems like I did :-) But feel free to disagree with me and try for yourself.... ------------------------------------------------------------------ From John Ferris, Coventry, by e-mail Thanks for your SynTax piece on Tads indirect objects. I have a problem with those as well. My problem is that the player needs to draw something onto a surface, so Draw xxx on yyy is needed, although xxx doesn't actually exist (yet). I've thought my way around the problem, and your help will be very useful. Satisfied customer here! @~John also had some news: After 20 years, the Independant Computer Products User Group (ICPUG) is to close at the end of 1998. The cited reason is lack of funds caused by a declining membership. Despite efforts to increase membership, the failure of Commodore and the declining number of computer exhibitions resulted in "membership numbers just fading away." As a member, I am rather sorry to see the apparent end (the fat lady has yet to sing, mind you!) of ICPUG which has held a respected position amongst user groups. It is also an object lesson to the readers of other publications such as SynTax and Adventure Probe. ------------------------------------------------------------------ From David Stocks, Edinburgh It is amazing how much more demanding the new games are becoming of the machines now. My poor old 120 Pentium clanks along with some of the games. I hope to spend all my pennies and buy a Tiny machine with a 450 Pentium II, hoping it will last more than the 3 years of my last one. @~My current P166 has lasted two years - I'm hoping to get another @~year out of it, especially the way prices are dropping. I am just about to start playing Might and Magic VI and Descent to Undermountain - I seem to spend most of the time playing RPG types now with occasional moves into Tomb Raider and Sierra territory. I got most of the way through Lands of Lore II, right to the end, but seem not to have enough oomph to zap the final Big Guy, unless I missed a quality spell that will zap him, have to try again from the start sometimes. @~You'll love MM6 - I'm still hooked. The CD-ROM of the first 50 is really good - saves a lot of space on the desktop, I will have to remember to get it updated at the next update time. I think that I will continue with the disk version and not move onto the paper one. The paper ones tend to be stuck up in the loft after a while, because of the space problems with them at the old desk. @~The space that paper mags take up is their main drawback ... Sue ------------------------------------------------------------------ From Brian Burke via email I prefer my SynTax disk-based. My shelves are still creaking from Spellbreaker and Adventure Probe, let alone Strategy Plus and Computer Gaming World! ------------------------------------------------------------------ From Carolyn Brown, Cumbria Regarding your request for comments on a possible paper issue of the magazine, personally I enjoy using the disk version and I think I would probably stick to that, although I imagine that a printed version would appeal to quite a lot of people. ------------------------------------------------------------------ From Jean Childs, Bagshot Through SynTax, I'd like to send my thanks to Bev, Tom and Julian for their kindness in offering to playtest my new(!) text adventure. I hope they have a lot of patience as this is my first TADS game and it's taking time to come to grips with it. It takes a while to learn new things when you get to my age. ( I nearly put 'our' age, Sue ). @~I thought you were older than me ... yes, a few months @~DO count, Jean I'd also like to thank Jim for 'helping' me write it. Although it's a re-write of a previous game, I find that I am changing quite a lot that I no longer like as I am more critical of my work. Obviously I test each part of the game as I program it, but now it also has to pass the 'our Jim's logic' test. I'm certainly enjoying getting back to adventure writing and I'm finding TADS a very versatile program to use. (Did I hear a 'I told you so' Sue?) @~I wouldn't _dream_ of it ... Sue ----------------------------------------------------------------- From Mandy Rodrigues, via email It seems such a pity that there has been only one letter in the letters section recently. Come on folks this section is by far my most favourite section so get your fingers tapping for the net issue please. I think the idea of a "SynTax on paper" type magazine is excellent. Mind you, those people who know me will probably groan and say "Of course SHE would like the idea". Call me old fashioned if you like, but I find curling up in a comfy chair to do my reading just a little more comfortable than reading from the monitor. I definitely give the idea my vote. While I am writing I would like to take the opportunity of thanking everyone who has gone out of their way to help me sort out my problems with downloading and running adventures from the Internet. Bob Adams and John Ferris both went out of their way to help me - thanks boys I really appreciated your help and advice. I have taken the plunge and signed up with Freeserve. just couldn't resist the offer of absolutely free internet access for as long as I want. There doesn't seem to be any catch apart from making sure that you log on at least once every thirty days (if you don't you could lose access). There doesn't seem to be any difference at all from Globalnet - I get unlimited email addresses, home web page etc. If I come up with a snag I will let you know. I didn't have a PC World store anywhere near my area so I was delighted to discover that Dixons are now one and the same. Oh, one last thing. Thank you Keeks for including Black Knight at number 7 on your top ten list. I got so excited I nearly fell off my chair. It is nice to know someone still remembers. - o -