What is the general opinion of Improved Anvil?

[lroumen]

The thing that I am definately not happy about is that I uploaded a small mod there and now it has become inaccessible. Is there a way to cure this method? Could I upload it onto G3 somehow or onto another BG2 resource?

[Lollorian]

Ah yeah, your switching kit. Cool stuff If you don't have a copy with you, you should try contacting Baronius to give you the copy first

 

You could try uploading at SHS' Misc Mods section

[lroumen]

Yes, the bard that can switch his class to a thief and back at will

 

Thanks for the tip. I will look into the best format for it on SHS. G3 doesn't allow me to upload files and I wouldn't even know where the best place for it would be on G3 since it's small and insignificant (as in I do not find it good enough as a G3 main mod and am too embarrased to ask). This place in SHS does seem to be the right one.

 

I still have many backups myself and BWL doesn't delete the attachments you have uploaded in the past. .... EDIT.... no wait.. let me take that back. The thread's in the protected forum so to redownload my own file I would have to pay up to access that forum. Anyway, I still have it on my own pcs, so no biggie . EDIT... Better solution, ask Baronius and he'll fix the matter for you.

 

Back on topic again...

[Setharnas]

There is no server maintenance, there is no software maintenance, there is no need for those two crooks Sikret and Baronius to recieve a cent from anyone. Anybody who thinks they actually need money to run their stuff, is utterly retarded. The timing is right with v6 around the corner, Baronius being a little greedy old fart from Hungary (exposed a few times thru out the years), and Sikret who refuses a full time job to work on the IA mod.

 

But you go ahead and put food one some 40 year old unemployed dudes table. Support

 

I generally agree to this paywall issue being a rather distasteful move and I also am no fan of Baronius nor Sikret; but, outrage aside, I'd like to comment on how you criticize Sikret for his job decision. You make it seem like that was a bad thing, but I can see nothing wrong with it in itself. All I see there is a guy who is so enthusiastic about his hobby that he tries to live off of it - which would be great, if not for the paywall issue.

 

A counter expample (one of many, it's just one I'm more familiar with than with others) of how, IMHO at least, this can work out quite well is Dwarf Fortress by Tarn (& Zach) Adams. Tarn is a maths teacher by trade who has quit his job to work full time on his game and lives on donations, which seem to average out around $30k/year (urban US, D.C. or Seattle, IIRC). Of course, there is nothing mandatory about DF donations, although the fanbase does a great job at spreading motivation among itself to keep the money flowing.

 

Now, this, of course, is a full game I am talking about, not "just" a mod to an (well) aged one. What I want to say is just that trying to live off your hobby / dream project is a perfectly valid choice to me; nobody forces you (or me) to pay that money or even install that mod. It's the fanbase who decides success or lack thereof.

 

If only there wasn't the paywall issue...

[Mike1072]

Oh, Dwarf Fortress....

 

If anyone here plans to try that game, I'd recommend you dedicate at least a few hours to it, use the in-game instructions only, and write down your thoughts on it. If I had to describe it, I'd probably go with ridiculous. When I was playing, it was like "???...!..?...?!..........!!....???" though.

[Dakk]

OT:

I tried it, and had a "OMG WTF BBQ"-moment before I promptly entered a catatonic state. It still lingers in my games directory as a constant reminder of my failure to grasp it...

 

 

 

 

Sometimes, I can swear it's watching me.

[temujin]

Gents,

 

 

EDIT.... no wait.. let me take that back. The thread's in the protected forum so to redownload my own file I would have to pay up to access that forum.

 

Much as I hate to say it, as a neutral observer, there was always a sick part of me that has admired that devilishly scrumptious Hungarian. The way he beautifully... delicately... lays his traps on his prey leaving no choice for them to eventually succumb and whip out the cash as per his will. I've come to realize this is not the type of skill that can simply be taught. It comes from pure instinct.

 

That Baronius. What a genius!

 

 

 

Well then the BWL really opened some kinda Pandora's box now, didn't they??

 

.. then good mods end up in torrent : (

And that would be bad because ...

 

It would be bad because the guy who ends up seeding some of those torrents would be another reincarnation of Baronius. The lesson I've learned from my dealings with Baronius is: "whenever this is a potential for exploiting the public, Baronius will be the there. Guaranteed."

 

This is the same guy who deliberately placed outdated copies of the BG2 Fixpack simply out of spite (despite being notified otherwise).

 

This is the same guy who once claimed he was going to make a WeiDU replacement some day (thereby planning to ending its existence)... He called it IEMT or IEMF or something at the time and even made a fancy forum for that; bugger managed to lure a couple of naive souls in too... I wonder what happened to that? Couldn't get enough "distinguished developers" or was it all just some form of misdirection, or worse -- another money-making scam?

 

 

Baronius is the Kaiser Söze of all swindlers.

 

You never know where Baronius will strike next. You don't know when he's coming. You don't even know whether you're in a conversation with Baro... (if you sense something's not right, keep one hand on your wallet AT ALL TIMES).

 

 

Heck, he is probably laying out the blueprints for his next masterful performance as we speak...

[lroumen]

EDIT.... no wait.. let me take that back. The thread's in the protected forum so to redownload my own file I would have to pay up to access that forum.

Snippet

Well, actually. Baronius was nice enough to send me the zip files of my mod before you posted your reply. I was too presumptious with my reply before doing the right thing, checking with the moderators. This is bad form from my part and as such an apology with regard to this matter.

 

It seems for those who still have some files or threads going, you can contact him for proper handling.

 

 

I do think at some point you can stop Baronius bashing actually.

[temujin]

Was he nice enough to give back what he stole from TheWizard?

 

Was he nice enough to admit his wrong in blatantly stealing mods and placing them in his download mirror without asking for permission?

 

Was he nice enough to apologise for the way he treated saros (and several others) that he unjustly banned?

 

 

Sorry, but "niceness" and Baronius do not go together. He's just playing a game with you, lulling you into a false sense of security.

 

 

And I'm afraid I can't stop Baronius bashing, sorry.

[cmorgan]

@Dwarf Fortress - way cool, but very, very difficult to learn - that game takes some serious imagination and makes the Master of Orion learning curve look gentle. I like Battle for Wesnoth, too, and it has a much lesss steep learning curve.

 

Iroumen, G3 doesn't really have a miscellaneous mods section, but it has smaller mods and kit mods - I do know that SHS has an active Misc Mods section that requires little (if any) in the way of review before placing as a download. Making stuff available for free is not a problem at most i.e. sites, and hosting is a matter of PMing the folks at PPG, SHS, G3, Chosen of Mystra, or other i.e. modding sites and saying "hey, are you interested? It does x". The sites in question can often refer you to a "best fit" if they don't accept it. But if it doesn't need a forum, regular updates, feedback, etc., the SHS misc Mods is the easiest option for you to keep that in circulation right away.

[lroumen]

Well, I can only speak for my case and I will remain neutral in the matter.

[Guest Fantozzi]

Anyways, hope the guys there will have the decency to upload the v6 on MU or RS when it's released for us former forum members.

[Guest Guest]

I don't think that will happen. It would kill the base idea that people who pay have "faster" access to mods . And something tells me that if a forum member did that, he'd probably be banned from BWL forever, it happened even for lesser reasons than distributing Anvil for free.

[lroumen]

Iroumen, G3 doesn't really have a miscellaneous mods section, but it has smaller mods and kit mods - I do know that SHS has an active Misc Mods section that requires little (if any) in the way of review before placing as a download. Making stuff available for free is not a problem at most i.e. sites, and hosting is a matter of PMing the folks at PPG, SHS, G3, Chosen of Mystra, or other i.e. modding sites and saying "hey, are you interested? It does x". The sites in question can often refer you to a "best fit" if they don't accept it. But if it doesn't need a forum, regular updates, feedback, etc., the SHS misc Mods is the easiest option for you to keep that in circulation right away.

Thanks for the tips. For me a bugforum is definately not needed and if people find any bugs they can email me and I can reupload a fix within a few days (unless it is extremely complex, which my small mod isn't atm ). I think that I will go for SHS misc for now, being ever so grateful for all the input given to me on numerous of the modding sites.

[Jarno Mikkola]

I don't think that will happen. It would kill the base idea that people who pay have "faster" access to mods . And something tells me that if a forum member did that, he'd probably be banned from BWL forever, it happened even for lesser reasons than distributing Anvil for free.

And how would anyone know who the uploader would be? Especially if you use an aliases that have no connection to each others but the temporary URL channel that cannot be easily identified without the full access to all the forum data base... or is Sikret/Baro... part of our mod team? Presuming that such things can even be found out...

 

For me a bugforum is definately not needed and if people find any bugs they can email me and I can reupload a fix within a few days (unless it is extremely complex, which my small mod isn't atm ).

Yeah, but it's always nice to have a 'home site' or a 'home thread' that allows feedback... that is public, and not a private, as that should pressure the mod makes 'move faster'.