[BMA] New Server

[Avenger]

Why isn't there a server currently running Berendol's Mangband Variant? I have been waiting for Berendol to return for a long time and now that he is apparently back, I am rather disappointed that his server is no longer up.

[Hades]

Avenger, Berendol ran his server at RIT "a collage" but he is not going thare at this vary moment and dosnt have the internet connection he needs.

[Berendol]

I was never really "gone." I've been in and out of the forums almost daily since they were created.

Nobody's running anything based on my server, unfortunately. You'd see it as version 6.4.2 or somesuch number. I don't even think most of the servers in the list are routinely played or actively maintained, judging by the lack of players on them. I would wager that several of them are simply forgotten instances "running on a machine somewhere." My server sources do compile and run properly in the form I archived them in, at least in my Cygwin environment. By the way, I do still have all your savefiles and the world as you knew it, along with the last generated Dynamo reports.

Here's the deal. I used to program MAngband in my free time (and time that should have been spent otherwise) at school, and it was running on a dedicated computer. I have since left RIT for a "short" break and lost my Dual-OC3 connection, which provided full duplex 100base-T to each computer in my apartment. The computer that used to run MAngband is no longer in service, but it is still in my posession.

The server might someday be revived to run MAngband once again if I have access to a connection with low latency, stability, a static IP address, equal upstream/downstream bandwidth, and guaranteed as-advertised bandwidth availability. I am currently on cable, which provides none of the above. Therefore I do not wish to run a server on my current connection.

I simply don't have time to play MAngband in between my job and my other job and my pursuit of a social life and my FFXI addiction. I could make the time but it would have to cut into one of the above or I would have to sleep even less than I do already. No thanks. I'd also rather not take my 3GHz machine with its 22 inch Diamondtron, gamepad and ATI 9600 and leave the more beautiful (and more populated, by over 1,000,000 players) FFXI for ASCII characters. Especially not ASCII characters generated by the horrendous, fatally bug-filled monstrosity that we call MAngband, and especially not ASCII characters that complain about how horrible the bugs/game are. Were I to completely rewrite the code, which I have plans on the back burner to do, it would easily take half a year to get a marginally functional game going if I only had one job and no gaming addictions. With the decline in interest in Angband, why should I bother? I'll gladly pay $13 per month to play something that lets me interact with over 3,000 people I don't know at any given instant, prohibits bad behavior, uses some of the potential of my computer, has an enjoyable interface, earned devoted Evercrack/Diablo/NWN/FFI-X/KOTOR players' high praises, etc etc.

If you really question the decline in interest in the roguelike genre and specifically MAngband, and aren't convinced by the number of players in MAngband and the number of active posters here, you need to visit Thangorodrim, OOOK, or RGRA to see for yourself how dry it's been getting. Used to be there was enough material to update Thangorodrim's and OOOK's news once or more every week. There's only around fifteen or twenty regular posters on RGRA, an update or two every other month on OOOK, and no real display of interest by Thangorodrim's author. Where did everyone go? They moved on to more popular games with better graphics and sound. Either that or ToME-But-Not-Quite-ToME-NET-Online-Thing, which is about as blasphemous an action possible. Ha ha, only serious. If you want to see this game or genre live on, you'd better start advocating the heck out of it. Not via spam, but by useful referrals of people who like this kind of thing. It's a viral thing, really, and we stopped infecting other people.

In summary: I'm bored, and I won't be more of a part of the community if it continues to dwindle down to only these groups: (a) people I know or have met (b) people I absolutely despise (c) jerks, pk or not (d) whiners and complainers (e) combinations of the above  (f) lurkers who don't do anything (g) the never-present but oft-spoken-of Old Timers. I'm not the only one with these sentiments, and others have disappeared years ago with them.

One more thing. Later, learn to spell and use punctuation - especially learn to spell "college" before you apply to one, okay? You have quite awhile to learn this but it's never too early to get started.

[Narchan]

the decline in interest in Angband

<SOB> <CRY> <SNIFFLE>

[Fink]

Thanks for the uplifting post Berendol! Boy, I just feel great now!

[Berendol]

Reality sucks.

[Fink]

And you swallow HAHAHAHA I'M HERE ALL WEEK. But seriously, reality is maleable.

[Berendol]

[quote author=Polysatan link=board=general;num=1077489635;start=0#6 date=02/26/04 at 23:56:08]And you swallow HAHAHAHA I'M HERE ALL WEEK.[/quote]

This is exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about. This is not what I want to see when I log on to my computer. I'd rather enjoy some nice, easy social chatter like I can in other games. So, you'd best shape up or leave, because you sound more like the kind of person who gets other people to leave.

My speech was supposed to be motivational, and turned out to also be the common lament of MAngbanders from years past. You misunderstood it. I will quote the important line you apparently skipped:

" If you want to see this game or genre live on, you'd better start advocating the heck out of it. Not via spam, but by useful referrals of people who like this kind of thing. It's a viral thing, really, and we stopped infecting other people. "

[Fink]

If that's your idea of motivational, I sincerely hope you never go into grief counceling.