Confusion - Units are Manned or Unmanned?

[JDW]

When I directly asked WZ Creator's Lead Designer / Programmer / Engineer in the summer of 1999 for permission to add to their canon I was specifically given that permission in writing and by public declaration (as well the tools to do so on a disk that was mailed to me from their Bath, England studio), an official sanction if ever there was one, to do whatever we saw fit in our vision artistically that expanded on their original story and all derived from that game play wise. That's a fact and thus where I am coming from and have since that day (& why I also jointly, directly, one on one, worked with 'em for 5 years to get the source code liberated from Eidos - & later, the GPL exception clause).

Hey RV,

That's a mighty great accomplishment. I thank you for helping make Warzone2100 an open source project that is still young at heart and kicking even after over 10 years of it's conception.

And I would also like to thank everyone one else who helped you in making it all possible. And also a big thank you to Pumpkin Studios/Eidos Interactive. I salute you all.

Regards,
j0shdrunk0nwar

[Rman Virgil]

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Mighty kind of you to say that.

Actually it was a few of my team collaborators who kept "encouraging" me over the years to get it done because they wanted to do stuff that couldn't be done without the source: Troman, Strata, 4nE & Cowboy, mostly. Plus our little loyal community that supported what we could do without the source from '99 to 2004.

We never really thought about the FOSS Gaming interest in the source. We just existed in a pretty isolated tiny world those years doing what we could & thinking there was absolutely no interest outside our small numbers. The interest after the source liberation was quite shocking, to say the least. Radical adaption to that was called for. Few made the transition.

Then again, from out of that small group quite a few have gone on to make mighty impressive careers for themselves from starting their own successful software companies to working for the government in cryptography to professors of higher mathematics & physics to holding upper positions at companies like Google and Microsoft. A few I first met as 12 year olds and are now shinning stars as adults in their chosen endeavors somewhat inspired by their involvement with the game and community. THAT is as much rewarding as where the game was come to these days. At least for me.

- Regards, RV
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[JDW]

Hey RV,

I came across one of your older posts and found some more information related to the history of Warzone2100.

Anyway, this kind of got me thinking on an idea. How about writing a small book about your journey in open sourcing Warzone2100. I for one would be very interested in reading this book. Plus, it would be like a historical document. And I know, for a fact, that you have a very good command over the English language, which makes you the right guy for the job

Of course, this is asking for too much of your time. But if you ever got around to doing this, you would educate loyal WZ2100 fans, and we all know how history is very important. Documenting Warzone2100's history would be awesome. And you can take your time, start whenever you are ready, take any number of years if necessary, absolutely no hurry, maybe a couple of pages a week.

You could even make it a free PDF download on the website, that is if you wish to publish it for free.

Regards,
j0shdrunk0nwar

[Roux Le Corps]

i second josh's plan here, and if your up to it id be more then happy to read it as well, just be sure to do it at your own pace, no-ones going to rush you ^_^

[Berg]

Is it decided if they are manned or unmanned?


Your going to need intelligent tanks this is the way of the future.
Please ignore the blurr its a bad screenshot.=(lazy)
Regards Berg

[Roux Le Corps]

AHHH CYLONS!

[JDW]

Holy....! Berg, you trying to give us all nightmares?

[Berg]

cant think of a deep comment so just a smiley

[Rman Virgil]

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Well j0shdrunk0nwar & Roux Le Corps I'll give it some thought but with "Aqua Elite" & "Aqua CAM" work ahead of me I'll likely not get to it till next year.

I actually did a 2 hour IRC interview with a writer last year who wanted to tell this story in a series of articles for some gaming e-zine. To my knowledge, nothing came of it. Besides the cool positive anecdotes, there were also a couple of VERY dark episodes that I spoke to candidly for the first time which were very much a part of the story but were perhaps way too "sordid" for public consumption in the context of a game - for as much as it was relevant and true. Some 'ol timers still around will know what I'm talking about.

I do not think there is a whole book in this.... but perhaps a longish essay-article that would address the many gaps and out-right errors in the Wikipedia article on WZ 2100 which the first time I read I found shockingly miss-leading.

I do love writing (as much I do painting and music making) and do it for money as well (modest freelance assignments). I also have a passion for working in many literary forms, have written several books too, but history or documentary forms have not been a part of my literary oeuvre to date. We'll see. Never say never.

.................

As for the OT of whether Units are Manned or Not... has it been settled ?

Well I think in terms of making the Trope of "Man vs Machine" viable and there many variants that are dramatically interesting. Briefly, I hold NEXUS to be mostly artificial life and, with the exception of NEXUS Cyborgs, their war machine is purely robotic, save when they enlist the Factions. As for the Project and Factions, I find that seeing them in terms of varying degrees of "Transhumanism" with robotic drones in the mix makes for a richer story, deeply engaging new campaign possibilities with captivating archetypal resonance.

- RV

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[TVR]

Tanks? Intelligent? Heh.

Their path-finding AI is very weak, they can get stuck in a three tile divide, they sometimes retreat by going through an enemy armoured column, and if they retreat in the right direction, they end up driving into each other...

[MetalWarrior95]

Your body is like a StarTroopers bug that spits very hot flames of fire.
Thats a bit stupid, berg -.-

[KukY]

Your body is like a StarTroopers bug that spits very hot flames of fire.
Thats a bit stupid, berg -.-

This time I agree with you. Completly. And even more.

[JDW]

Your body is like a StarTroopers bug that spits very hot flames of fire.
Thats a bit stupid, berg -.-

That body was meant as a joke MW95. It's nice to see you on the forums again MW95..

[KukY]

That body was meant as a joke MW95.

That doesn't change the fact it looks stupid.

[JDW]

Well j0shdrunk0nwar & Roux Le Corps I'll give it some thought but with "Aqua Elite" & "Aqua CAM" work ahead of me I'll likely not get to it till next year.

There's no hurry, but thanks again for considering it

...there were also a couple of VERY dark episodes that I spoke to candidly for the first time...

Is this supposed to be a teaser? Because it's working.
Please do consider including all the dirty secrets if you ever do get to writing the whole story.

... but perhaps a longish essay-article that would address the many gaps and out-right errors in the Wikipedia article on WZ 2100 which the first time I read I found shockingly miss-leading.

Yes, that's what I am interested in, the whole truth, the real truth, and nothing but the truth. (That sounded so cheesy)

I also have a passion for working in many literary forms, have written several books too

Why am I not surprised

As for the OT of whether Units are Manned or Not... has it been settled ?

Well, Zarel's position is that that aspect was left intentionally ambiguous. There are mixed opinions from everyone else. But I think Zarel's statement allows a player to imagine the game the way they like it, and that makes the game more enjoyable for everyone who loves playing it.

The current state is intentionally ambiguous. Players are left to imagine the droids as either manned or unmanned.