<Karma> OK nationstaters! I
would like to welcome you all to the third installment of
MaxChat!
<Karma> With us today of course, is the ever
popular lord of our realm, Max Barry!
* SalusaSecondus holds up a
sign "Applause!"
* MaxBarry has
joined #nationstates
<Karma> (give him a minute, tis'
early in the morn there down under!
* Melkor hopds up another sign
"or try to, since you can't emote"
<Karma> Morning
max!'
<MaxBarry>
morning!
<MobileMyrth> G'day
*
MaxBarry unties gag around mouth.
<Katganistan> Hi
Max
<MaxBarry> Hi everyone, thanks for
coming. :)
* Scolopendra lets Max out of the basement where
we've been keeping him in the name of the U.N.-backed New World Order
conspiracy.
<Karma> So max, care to comment on
the "State of Nationstates?"
<MaxBarry>
Uh, well, that's a pretty broad question. :)
<MaxBarry>
We're still up after 2 years, which is pretty amazing. We're as
popular as we've ever been. And the server doesn't crash all the
time. So I think we're in pretty great shape.
<Karma>
Outstanding.
* Treznor applauds the Jolt people for hosting the
behemoth that is NationStates.
* Unfree pitites them
<Karma>
Well, if you dont mind, we will make with the questions from the
teeming masses
<Karma> Mods! First Question!
<MaxBarry>
Yeah, bring 'em on!
* Melkor dons his riot
gear
<MobileMyrth> Ok, we open with a question from
'The_Nintendo_Emerates'
<MobileMyrth> Any knews on the
sequel to the Jennifer Government novel(is it even in production/will
it ever be)?
<MaxBarry> I have no
intention of writing a Jen Gov't sequel. I think part of the reason
that book was interesting was the shock of the new; getting used to
how that world worked and what its rules were.
<MaxBarry>
A sequel wouldn't have that. Also, I tend to not like the idea of
sequels in general. To me, it's really important that you start with
an idea -- for a great story, or a great game, or
whatever...
<MaxBarry> When it
works the other way around, when you sit down and say, "Okay, I
need an idea for a sequel," you're not being driven by the idea,
but the market potential
<MaxBarry>
And you tend to end up with a crappier result.
<MaxBarry>
So the only reason I'd write a Jen Govt sequel is if I had a
stonkeringly good idea for a story in that world, and I think I'm
more likely to have ideas for other books instead.
<Karma>
Good question!
<Karma> but, stonkeringly? is that an
aussieism?
<MaxBarry> Ah, hmm, might have picked that one up
from the UK, actually.
<Karma> Heh. NEXT
QUESTION!
<Melkor> Alright, our next one's from 'Moonshine.'
Short, and to the point.
<Melkor> 'NS2! When, where, and
how much?'
<MaxBarry>
Heheh.
<Melkor> You knew it was comin ;P
<MaxBarry>
Well, the short answer to that question is "Don't know, on the
internet, and don't know but probably not much."
<MaxBarry>
The longer version...
<Moonshine> NS2: When, where,
and how much?
<MaxBarry> NS2 has been
stalled between idea and implementation for a while now. I have a
clear idea of what sort of game it should be, and how it will work,
but it's pretty ambitious in scope so it's a much bigger task than
creating NationStates was.
<Cogitation>
Heh.
<MaxBarry> At first I was looking
to pull together a team of skilled and interested people, and create
the game with everyone getting a slice of the eventual revenue as
reward.
<MaxBarry> But this is
difficult, because I would effectively need to hire people and deal
with all the legal and management issues that entailed.
<MaxBarry>
So then I got talking to Jolt, the UK gaming company that's now
hosting NationStates.
<Moonshine> ..which goes
straight onto one of my other questions. But I'll wiat in turn.
Thanks. ;)
<Karma> Instead of recruiting a team of slave
labo....moderators to run it for you?
<MaxBarry>
They loved the idea of NS2 and wanted to work with me to develop it
-- but Jolt have essentially been a game hosting company and not a
development company, so they've been going through the internal
resourcing process to try to ramp up to the state they need to be in
to pull this off.
<MaxBarry>
Right now I'm not 100% sure if we're going to get this game purely
developed by Jolt, or do something different.
<MaxBarry>
An idea I'm seriously contemplating is running the development in a
way that lets anyone who's interested join the project -- you just
contribute code if you want to, and if it ends up getting into the
final game, you own shares of the game and get paid a piece of
revenue.
<MaxBarry> It would be
a kind of open collaboration project.
<Treznor> Open
Source NationStates!
<SalusaSecondus> Of a sort
<MaxBarry>
I firmly believe that there's enormous potential when you give people
the freedom to develop in whatever way suits them.
<MaxBarry>
You only need to look at some of the RPing and off-site web sites for
NationStates.
<MaxBarry> What
we'll probably end up doing is a mixture of the two -- but
unfortunately there are lots of messy implementation details that
need to be sorted out first.
<MaxBarry>
My main goal is to get a really good game up.
:)
<RepProdtheNinjaMod> Next up:
<Pixiedance> As NS politics can get quite heated how do you
react when/if you get asked in real life about some political issue
by someone who's convinced you know all about it?
<Karma>
A developer concerned about the quality of a game! What a relief!
*
MobileMyrth spits on Microsoft
<MobileMyrth> Pardon me
:)
<MaxBarry> Well, I don't find
myself quizzed in RL about politics much... I do see people on the
net talking about what they think my politics are, though, and
sometimes they're pretty far off-base.
<MaxBarry>
In RL we have this very dumbed-down idea that politics is just
left-wing vs right; liberal vs conservative
<Pixiedance>
but about NS politics...in game stuff..i wondered?
<MaxBarry>
In NationStates there's a three-axis freedom grid that's a bit more
accurate at expressing a person's political beliefs, so at least
we're a little more in depth.
<MaxBarry>
NS politics -- you mean how people argue about RL issues on the
forums, or something else?
<Pixiedance> yes, and then
if they expect you to know all about it?
<Pixiedance> sorry
NS issues!
<MaxBarry> Oh man, I
wouldn't dream of going in and arguing on the NS forums about RL
politics.
<MaxBarry> At least,
not under my real name. :)
<Pixiedance> lol
<Karma>
It's a jungle in there!
<MaxBarry>
Everyone who disagreed with me would say that NS is clearly biased
and leave!
<Pixiedance> yeah!
<Karma>
thanks, pixiedance
* Melkor pats his trusty hazmat suit. "This
thing comes in handy out there."
<Cogitation> What
about the myriad of fake names you use? :p
<Tactical_Grace>
The next question is from SentientPeoples, asking what every
long-timer NS gamer has always wondered - "Did you really think
NS would survive two years when you started it to sell
JG?"
<MaxBarry> Absolutely
not!
<SentientPeoples> So how long did you
figure?
<MaxBarry> NationStates was
always intended to be a quirky little game that some people might
find interesting, if they had a warped interest in politics like me,
but that's it.
<MaxBarry> I
thought the site might keep going, but it would be populated by a
very small number of people, who would leave after a week or two
because they got bored.
<MaxBarry>
Parts of the game I explicitly designed to only hold people's
attention for a short period of time.
<MaxBarry>
Then the game developed all this depth on its own, when people
started role-playing nations and forming alliances and
communities.
<MaxBarry> I also
thought that once I opened the site, I wouldn't have to do any
maintenance work on it -- I could just leave it. Which turned out to
be totally wrong.
<MaxBarry> I
like creating things, books and games, and I should really be
spending more time doing that than maintaining NationStates, if I was
smart.
* SalusaSecondus groans
<Karma> Thanks
SP.
<Melkor> Hey that's what we're for, innit?
:P
<SalusaSecondus> Next question:
<SalusaSecondus>
<Komokom> Hey, in the acknowledgments for Jennifer Government
(sooo good), you thanked amoung others one Wil Anderson. Is this the
Aussie comedian Wil Anderson, who co-hosted The Glass House as well
as that morning radio slot ? :)
<MaxBarry>
Yes, it is!
<MaxBarry> Wil and
I went to high school together.
<Komokom> Cool
!
<Komokom> Okay, I'm done now ! :D
<MaxBarry>
We were good mates, and after high school we each got these
appropriately mainstream jobs while secretly working on our writing
and comedy, respectively.
<Karma> Thanks
komo!
<MaxBarry> Then I got published
and he broke into stand-up comedy, and he's now a famous Aussie
comedian.
<MaxBarry> In fact if
you look here:
http://www.maxbarry.com/syrup/extras/trivia.html
<MaxBarry>
and scroll down to "The Summer Coke Campaign" you see Wil
helped me with Syrup, too
<MaxBarry>
I still go see all Wil's shows; he rocks!
<MobileMyrth>
Up next we have a question from 'Shaum'
<MobileMyrth> «
Shaum » Any news on the possibility of a JG movie?
<MaxBarry>
Yes, actually, it's been a big movie week...
<Sirocco>
Shock horror, Shaum is not here.
<MaxBarry>
Section 8, which is the film company owned by Soderbergh and Clooney
that's developing the Jen Govt film, bought the rights about two and
a half years ago...
<MaxBarry>
But it's been slow going -- there are so many things that can slow a
film's development down, and lots of them happened here.
<MaxBarry>
Getting the right writers has been a big one. But Section 8 and
Warner Bros. seem like they're finally about to actually land a deal
with two excellent screenwriters, and I know they're serious because
they just asked to extend the option.
<MaxBarry>
The writers are the guys who wrote SEXY BEAST, which is an awesome
British film.
<MobileMyrth> Someone call for a sexy
beast?
<MaxBarry> So while the film is
still a long way from the screens, it's getting some momentum
up.
<MobileMyrth> :(
<Tactical_Grace>
Haha!
* RepProdtheNinjaMod smacks Myrth upside the head with the
Sword of DEAT
<Karma> Thanks Shaum-who-is-not-here!
*
MaxBarry pats invisible Shaum.
<RepProdtheNinjaMod>
Next up should have an interesting answer: <Zvarinograd> Have
you any hassle from the FBI, incidentally, because of rampant
roleplays about terrorism, war, military equipment, etc?
*
Melkor snorts, impales Myrth with a Claymore. "Do it right next
time, Rep."
<MaxBarry>
*gasp*
<SalusaSecondus> Good question
<Zvarinograd>
Hah.
<MaxBarry> Why, that would only
happen if we were living in some kind of POLICE STATE!
<Melkor>
>.>
<RepProdtheNinjaMod> What about that one time with
the Canadian guys-? ^_^
<Cogitation> MaxBarry: Where do you
think some of your Mods live? :p
<Zvarinograd> Ah, well.
Thanks for your time, Max.
<MaxBarry>
In seriousness, we haven't had much hassle from any authorities. We
have once or twice, but that was about seriously wrong things, which
we were happy to help out with.
<MaxBarry>
I'm not sure how much of that is due to us being lucky, or hosted and
based overseas, or what.
<MaxBarry>
Probably more of an issue, to me at least, is that quite a few people
feel they're not allowed to talk about this kind of stuff any
more.
<MaxBarry>
Self-censorship is more insidious than the overt kind.
<MaxBarry>
But have we ever been hassled about simple RPs involving national
wars? No.
<Zvarinograd> Mmmh.
<Karma> Thanks
Zvar
<SalusaSecondus> Thank you
Zvarinograd
<Tactical_Grace> CompoundInterest
wishes to know, What NS category would your ideal society be
in?
<MaxBarry> I don't think he
was satisfied with my answer! He said "Mmmh".
*
CompoundInterest bows down to MaxBarry
<SalusaSecondus> He
was self-censoring his response
<MaxBarry>
ahh, of course
<RepProdtheNinjaMod> And you didn't
tell him about the Mounties!
<Karma> Well, we will refund
his price of admission then!
<Tactical_Grace> There is no
conspiracy, people! @.@
<MaxBarry> Hi
CI
<CompoundInterest> Hello Mr. Barry
<MaxBarry>
I have trouble picking any one society, even an imaginary one, and
saying, "This would be a perfect society."
<MaxBarry>
They all have pros and cons.
<MaxBarry>
In NationStates, though, I usually end up with nations that are
either Inoffensive Centrist Democracies, or pretty close to
that.
<MaxBarry> Maybe that's
because I wrote the game, so of course what I consider to be normal
is the game's mid-point. :)
<MobileMyrth> Although of
course, NationStates is your own Father Knows Best
State
<CompoundInterest> ah... moderate stances to avoid any
extremes...
<MaxBarry> Yes, I did find
that after running a public web server for 100,000 people, I became
more authoritative than I had been!
<MaxBarry>
Idealism runs aground on the rocks of reality. :)
<Karma>
Thanks CompoundInterest
* Melkor yays being in the
Gestapo
<SalusaSecondus> And, for our next
question:
<SalusaSecondus> <Vilita> do you think
it's weird being attached to a game that is almost entirely created
by the user and has very little if anything to do with the actual
game?
<MaxBarry> Oh yeah,
absolutely. For example, there are these huge role plays that I know
almost nothing about.
<MaxBarry>
And plenty of regions have incredibly complex and interesting
histories, full of betrayals and invasions and
deviousness.
<RepProdtheNinjaMod> (Not to be confused
with invader invasions =p)
<MaxBarry>
What I created in NationStates was really just a framework for this
kind of thing to take place.
<Vilita> Do you ever
just sit back and gasp at looking at some of the external things that
have spurned off of this little nation description? :)
<Vilita>
It really is amazing
<MaxBarry> For
that reason, I can't really take credit for the way NationStates is
today -- many of the best parts of the game were created by the
community, not by me.
<MaxBarry>
Yeah, occasionally I stumble across what some person I've never met
has done on an off-site NationStates web site, or posted on the
forum, and I'm just gobsmacked.
<MaxBarry>
This is something I'd like to develop much further in NS2: let people
really run wild with their nations.
<Unfree>
Gobsmacked?
<SalusaSecondus> Thanks Vilita
* Karma adds
gobsmacked to the list under stonkeringly
<MobileMyrth>
Another Briticism
<MobileMyrth> Flabbergasted
<MaxBarry>
Hey, embrace the global language, dude. :)
<Karma>
:D
<MobileMyrth> Yay England
<Melkor> Next think we
know he'll be talking in Esperanto x.x
<RepProdtheNinjaMod>
Someone was bound to ask this one: <Goobergunchia> Have you
looked at the NSwiki? If so, what is your opinion of it?
<Cogitation>
MaxBarry: Narly. :)
<Katganistan> TOTALLY, Man.
*
Goobergunchia bows to his God
<MaxBarry>
It's excellent -- it's another of those incredible projects that seem
to just spring out of nowhere.
* Melkor demands sacrifice
*
SalusaSecondus sacrifices Melkor
* MobileMyrth smacks Melkor. "No
virgins for you"
<MaxBarry> Wikis
themselves, of course, are further testament to the power of just
unleashing users and letting them create whatever the hell they
want.
<MaxBarry> Goober's done
an excellent job. :)
<Goobergunchia> Thanks very
much.
<MaxBarry> thank you!
<Karma>
Thanks goober.
<MobileMyrth> Ok, a question from
nish81|Moo-Moo_Land, now
<MobileMyrth> If you play NS,
have you ever taken part in an invasion/defense of a region?
*
nish81|Moo-Moo_Land bows veeeeery low
<MaxBarry>
I don't play NS nearly as much as I used to, because I'm trying to
spend more time actually making things.
<nish81|Moo-Moo_Land>
do you have an active nation?
<MaxBarry>
But I have taken part in repelling an invasion, and it was great
fun!
<MaxBarry> Yes I
do.
<RepProdtheNinjaMod> OMG! MAX IS TEH DEFEND0R!
BIAS! BIAS!
<nish81|Moo-Moo_Land> are you going to risk
telling us the name?
<Karma> thanks
nish81|Moo-Moo_Land
<MaxBarry> I will
now avoid dipping into the ethics of invaders vs defenders. :)
*
MaxBarry neatly side-steps.
<Cogitation>
<nish81|Moo-Moo_Land> are you going to risk telling us the
name? <-- This is classified information. DO not ask again or we
will... feed you to a panda.
<SalusaSecondus> Next
up, back to books:
<Unfree> We could tell you, but then we'd
have to kill you
<SalusaSecondus> <PopeHope> Is
there another book tour lined up for JG, or will that be postponed
until after the release of Company?
<MaxBarry>
I can't say the name, no, because it will get drowned with TGs.
:)
<PopeHope> :) Hello again Max, and thanks for
taking our questions.
<MaxBarry> Hi
PopeHope. :)
<RepProdtheNinjaMod> Why do you think he
let Maxtopia die off? =p
<MaxBarry>
There won't be another JG book tour -- I got two of them, and that's
pretty great, given the publisher foots the bill.
<MaxBarry>
There will probably be a tour for Company, my next novel, but not
until mid to late next year.
<RepProdtheNinjaMod>
(Hint: BUY THE BOOK!)
* PopeHope issues the order for her
kidnappers to put "the mission" on hold until after Company
is released. :P
<MobileMyrth> Come to London... to
London...
* Melkor makes a note to pull some strings in Random
House for this
<MaxBarry> As to where
I go, that's up to the publisher -- I think they try to guess where
people will actually be likely to come out and see me, and then they
send me there.
<RepProdtheNinjaMod> (In other words,
if you want Max to come to your area, make lots of noise about how
cool he is!)
<MaxBarry> They usually
talk to bookstores in various cities that host authors and say,
"We've got these authors coming up on tour, do you want
them?"
<MaxBarry> So
whether I end up in a particular city or not largely depends on
whether the bookstores in that city have asked for me.
<PopeHope>
Wonderful. I'm sure the MidWest will ask for you again. Good luck!
:)
<Karma> Thanks Poper!
<MaxBarry>
I've never done a UK bookstore reading, and would love to --
apparently you need to be much more famous than I am, so hopefully
that's one for the future. :)
<RepProdtheNinjaMod>
Now for something a bit different: <poli-sci_> Do you think
your game has added new meaning to the phrase, "world
domination"?
<MaxBarry> Heh,
well, it certainly brought out the dictator in a lot of people.
:)
<MaxBarry> I grossly
underestimated how many people really like the idea of running a
country!
<Treznor> Well, speaking from personal
experience, dictators are easier to write. ;-)
<MaxBarry>
One of the things about NationStates that I think has worked really
well is that, unlike some other sim games, in NS you don't have to
keep your citizens happy.
<RepProdtheNinjaMod> Bah,
you Non-Democratic Alliance people! BAH!
<MaxBarry>
Instead of you trying to meet their wishes, your populace more or
less evolves to follow your views.
* Melkor would like to
mod real life sometime, incidentally. I'd kick the United States out
of the UN. We're sooo multi-ing.
<Tactical_Grace>
LOL
<MaxBarry> So if you're a
socialist, you end up with a nation full of socialists, and if you're
a capitalist, so is your country.
<RepProdtheNinjaMod>
And then DEAT the entire Middle East region for flaming?
=p
<MaxBarry> I think it works well,
because you get on quite well with your citizens, instead of having
to tolerate their constant whining and complaining.
<Sirocco>
My issue edits changes that of course...
<Tactical_Grace>
Nanakaland, Moonshine and I would like an answer to this
question...
<MaxBarry> Heh.
:(
<MaxBarry> oops
<MaxBarry>
:)
<Melkor> rofl
<Sirocco> I was worried for
a second there!
<Sirocco> :p
<MaxBarry>
haha
<Katganistan> LOL
<Tactical_Grace>
...I'm sure it has been asked before, but, "How does it feel,
having all these people you have never met, worshipping you as a
God?"
<MaxBarry> It *has*
been asked before! Last MaxChat, I think!
<MaxBarry>
Wait, I'll copy and paste my answer... :P
<Tactical_Grace>
I missed it, I think. :(
<Melkor> oooh! ooh let me answer!
:P
<Unfree> No one worships you, Melkor
<MaxBarry>
The weird thing about it is that on NS I am this kind of mysterious
creator figure...
<MaxBarry>
but none of my friends play NationStates, and most don't even know
what it is
<MaxBarry> So I get
NO RESPECT in real life!
<MaxBarry>
I keep trying to tell them, "On my web site, people think I'm
really cool," but they don't believe me.
<SalusaSecondus>
Next question!
<MaxBarry>
:)
<SalusaSecondus> <Jonothana> Will the
original NationStates ever be noticably updated?
<MaxBarry>
That's a good question.
<MaxBarry>
The code is being constantly tweaked and improved, but this is mostly
behind the scenes stuff -- improving performance, making better mod
tools, etc.
<Melkor> Booyah
<MobileMyrth> We
see all...
<Cogitation> We know all...
<Sirocco>
Myrth doesn't 'cos he's a forum mod of course.
<Melkor>
Well, you don't. Go get me a donut.
<Jonothana> So that
means that there will be no noticable improvemnts?
* MobileMyrth
throws things at
<MobileMyrth> Hm.
<Karma> have you
noticed that the game runs better now?
* MobileMyrth throws things
at Sirocco from his Forum Mod cave
<Jonothana> Yes
<Karma>
then it is noticeable!
<SalusaSecondus> And I have a few
performance tweaks that will be installed shortly, Should cut back on
some of the lag we experience
<MaxBarry>
The reason we don't have major new gameplay changes is (1) time and
(2) balance. It's important to bear in mind that NS works *because*
it doesn't have explicit war and trade, so I wouldn't add those
things even if I had the time to do it.
<Jonothana>
Yes, but game improvements
<Sirocco> We're not giving Max
room to breathe here, folks. :P
<MaxBarry>
If there was a terrific idea, though, it would just depend on whether
I or SalusaSecondus had the time and inclination.
<SalusaSecondus>
Thank you Vilita
<SalusaSecondus> Oops
<SalusaSecondus>
Thank you Jonothana
* SalusaSecondus shoots his fingers for
mucking up
<RepProdtheNinjaMod> Time a little "If
I could RETCON".... <Agent_Bers> If you could go back and
change one thing about NS. What would it be?
<MaxBarry>
Hmm!
<MaxBarry> Well, this is a
kind of crappy answer, but I would change the game architecture to
use a database... the fact that I had very little idea as to what I
was doing, or how popular NS would be, led me to make some
not-so-smart coding decisions, which have limited the game
since.
<MaxBarry> For example,
you can't change your nation's name, and it's impossible to search
the world for nations by population, or type, or anything like
that.
* Agent_Bers never even thought of features like
that
<MaxBarry> I probably also would
have signed on to a beefy web host from the beginning, because the
opening couple of months were a total nightmare of crashes and
downtime.
<Agent_Bers> Perhaps for NS2
then
<MaxBarry> I remember I was on
tour in the US, and it was the day after JEN GOVT had come out, and I
got this nasty e-mail from a NS player.
<MaxBarry>
NS had been up for about 2 months.
<MaxBarry>
But because so many people jumped on to it, the site was totally
inaccessible.
<MaxBarry> This
guy wrote to me to say how disgusted he was that I had "taken
down" NationStates as soon as my book came out, and he was
returning it to the bookstore and would tell everyone he knew to
never buy my books.
* Agent_Bers remembers some of those
days
<MaxBarry> I had to write to tell
him, "No no, it's just my crappy servers!"
<Karma>
Thanks bers!
<Sirocco> It didn't work and Max's sales
haven't picked up since.
<MobileMyrth> Ok, another
one from Moonshine!
<MaxBarry>
heh
<MobileMyrth> will you ever drop into #NS or
#NSG from time to time for a bit of a knees-up and a chinwag?
*
Moonshine cherps
<MaxBarry> I did that
once, and spent the first 10 minutes defending accusations of
impersonating myself.
<Moonshine> XD
<Melkor>
rofl
* Treznor laughs.
<lee> lol
<MobileMyrth>
Har
<Treznor> I think I remember that.
* Cogitation
laughs.
<MaxBarry> In truth, I'm a
real IRC noob -- I hardly ever use it.
<lee> o/~ I'm
Max Barry, yes I'm the real Barry ... o/~
<Cogitation>
MaxBarry: Impersonating an Admin, does that mean you'd have to delete
youself? :p
<Moonshine> <Crystalbot>maxbarry was last
seen in #nationstates_general at 01:38:29 on Saturday, 26 of June
2004 saying: Regged
<Katganistan> LOL
<MaxBarry>
I'm about 5 months behind on my e-mail, so I don't really need new
avenues of communication.
<Moonshine> so is that a
maybe? ;)
<MaxBarry> Yeah, that's a
maybe -- maybe I'll drop in under an assumed name. :)
<Moonshine>
oo, going to trip us up? :>
<Karma> thanks
moonshine
<Treznor> Just make sure you identify yourself as
an NS player, Max. We're kinda trigger-happy about spambots
here.
<RepProdtheNinjaMod> Next up from The
Nintendo Emerates: <The_Nintendo_Emerates> You've probably seen
those economy-telling websites that describe a nations economy,
military might, etc. Is there any probabilty that a "Max
Approved" version will ever be created?
* Treznor looks
to the sky and whistles innocently.
<MaxBarry>
You mean like the military calculator? Can you point to an
example?
<The_Nintendo_Emerates> well, NSEconomy for
example
<Treznor> Link him.
<The_Nintendo_Emerates>
http://nseconomy.thirdgeek.com/
<MaxBarry>
Ooh, I've never seen this.
<RepProdtheNinjaMod> Or
http://www.sunsetrpg.com/economystatistics.php
<MobileMyrth>
*pause while Max plays with the calculator*
<MaxBarry>
The reason we added an XML feed to NationStates was exactly so this
kind of stuff could happen.
<MaxBarry>
heh
<MaxBarry> Again, it's this
idea of giving people the platform or framework to do whatever they
want.
<MaxBarry> I don't think
there's a need for a "Max approved" version, because the
point is that people can develop this stuff in whichever direction
they want -- they don't need my approval.
<The_Nintendo_Emerates>
I see, thanks
<MaxBarry> I approve of
the entire concept. :)
<MaxBarry>
I love how most of these sites are much better looking than
NationStates.net :)
<Karma> thanks
The_Nintendo_Emerates
<SalusaSecondus> Now, i'm
going to try an experiment
<SalusaSecondus> Max, you get two
questions at once!
<MaxBarry>
*gasp*
<SalusaSecondus> <Konania> Will there
be a promotional game to accompany Company as well?
<SalusaSecondus>
<Nucleo> Are you planning on making any other games after NS2
is finished?
* MaxBarry braces.
*
MobileMyrth prepares the crowd control equipment
<SalusaSecondus>
(They seemed to go well together)
<Melkor> ha :P
<Nucleo>
*and the crowd goes silent
<MaxBarry>
A Company game is something I've considered, but not in much depth
yet -- I'm finishing the new draft of the book now, and will think
about promotion later.
* Konania nods
<MaxBarry>
I do like the idea of warring corporations, so it's possible... but
I'd need to think about it much harder.
<Nucleo> what
about non NS-related games?
<MaxBarry>
As for whether I'd make other games, that's a definite yes.
<Nucleo>
yay!
<MaxBarry> That's a kind of
addiction on my part.
<Nucleo> thnx
<Nucleo>
nice talking to you
<Konania> thanks max
<Karma>
thanks nucleo
<Nucleo> i'll look forward to it
<Karma>
and Konania
<SalusaSecondus> Thank you to both Nucleo and
Konania
<RepProdtheNinjaMod> (Max needs to "Think about
it for a moment!")
* Cogitation laughs.
* SalusaSecondus
laughs and points at the Karma
<MobileMyrth> Krazy
Karma
<MaxBarry> I have a couple of
projects here... one is an idea for a mobile phone/cellphone game,
because I think there is going to be a multiplayer phone game that
absolutely takes the world by storm, and I'd like to be the one who
invents it.
<Cogitation> I like to think, Max. Would
you like my help? :D
* Melkor wonders why +v makes a difference
when we're opped...
* Karma looks around....whoops
<MaxBarry>
But as I've said, I really need to manage my time better so I can
spend more time creating stuff, because my ideas are far outstripping
my capacity to realize them.
<MobileMyrth>
Righto, a question from Nucleo now
<MaxBarry>
Thanks Nucleo.
<MaxBarry> He's
back!
<MobileMyrth> What sort of video games do
you like to play?
<Melkor> wow we're really fishin' for
questions aren't we?
<MaxBarry> Right
now I'm trying out this World of Warcraft open beta.
<MaxBarry>
I haven't played many online multiplayer games, so this is one of my
first tastes of how they work.
<Nucleo>
WarcraftIII:The Frozen Throne DotA is a good one to try
<MaxBarry>
I was actually fairly surprised by how the guts of gameplay really
aren't very different to text-based MUDs and the like that were
around more than 10 years ago
* Melkor reccommends Dawn of
War, of course :P
<MaxBarry> I also
find it kind of weird how every massively multiplayer online game is
almost a clone of the others.
<MobileMyrth> Like
Shattered World
<SalusaSecondus> (Except for NS)
* Nucleo
reccommends good old original CS :P
<Nucleo> k
thnx
<MaxBarry> As for other games
I've played recently: Battlefield 1942, NetHack, Doom 3, and I'm
waiting for Half-Life 2. :)
<Karma> Here
is a question from all the geeks out here: What browser?
<Melkor>
Hey cool I'm playing Doom3 too
<MaxBarry>
Doom 3 scared me deeply. That game is WRONG.
<MobileMyrth>
Oooh... a NationStates Doom 3 tournament...
<Cogitation>
NationStates Doomed?
<MaxBarry> Which
browser: sif that question needs answering!
<Melkor>
Yeah. I hate those little baby things with wings
<MaxBarry>
Firefox!
<Unfree> Yay firefox!
* MobileMyrth
cheers
<Karma> wooo firefox!
* Melkor boos Firefox
*
Cogitation uses Mozilla Firefox.
* Unfree boos Melkor
*
MobileMyrth decapitates Melkor
* Melkor holds up an Opera flag
*
RepProdtheNinjaMod looms ominously over the unruly moderators,
flexing her forum admin [ ]s!
* IJ isn't entirely a big fan of
Opera.
<Katganistan> Eep!
* MobileMyrth
cowers
<RepProdtheNinjaMod> Anyway, to sail into
potentially shark-infested waters: <CompoundInterest> Are you
sometimes scared of the views uttered in the game and especialy the
forums?
<MaxBarry> Yes...
occasionally you see something that's really messed up, and it's
scary.
<MaxBarry> Or
sad.
<MaxBarry> But I think
it's a good thing that views get aired and debated on our
site.
<CompoundInterest> what scares you
especially?
<MaxBarry> I believe that
people who have particularly messed-up views have never had to
subject them to criticism before. When they try to argue on
NationStates, they find they have to defend them, and weak ideas can
get shot down pretty fast around here.
<MaxBarry>
Views that scare me the most: I guess it would be anything that's
based on a total lack of empathy. Empathy is one of the most, maybe
THE most, human quality there is. When people formulate a whole
worldview based on total lack of empathy for fellow human beings,
that's terrifying.
<CompoundInterest> you also can
find people with similar views more easily
<MaxBarry>
This is true, and one of the great things about the internet: you can
find people with similar interests anywhere, even if you live in an
isolated little town.
<MaxBarry>
The net is a meeting of personalities, rather than a meeting of
bodies as is RL.
<MaxBarry> Or
"meatspace." :)
<CompoundInterest> nice
expression ;)
<Melkor> >.>
<MaxBarry>
It's not mine... but I can't remember where it came from.
<Karma>
thanks CIU
<Karma> it's gibsonesque...
<MaxBarry>
Maybe Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash? Or I could be making that
up.
<SalusaSecondus> Not sure, I know that I've seen
it in the Jargon files
<MobileMyrth> And now, the
moment you've all been waiting for: a question from me
<MobileMyrth>
How's Company coming along?
<lee> Etymology: According
to Word Spy, first used in the \u201cAustin Cyberspace Journal
Newsletter\u201d. Although it is the spiritual descendant of the
ontological attitudes prevalent in works from early cyberpunk such as
William Gibson\u2019s Neuromancer.
* SalusaSecondus sets mode
+GEEK lee
<Siroc> Ah. Great.
<MaxBarry>
Company is going great -- I'm very, very happy with the way it's
evolving at the moment.
<MaxBarry>
I've done two major rewrites on it since I actually sold it to my
publisher in February, which is a really weird way of going about
selling books, but has turned out to be exactly the right thing to
<MobileMyrth> Any ETA on a final draft? I know from
your site that you've been doing a lot of editing
<MaxBarry>
In this latest draft in particular, the characters in particular have
come to life, and that's so exciting for an author. Or for me, at
least. :)
<MaxBarry> I think
I'll be finished this draft in about two months, and the book has
been tentatively scheduled for a release in mid-to-late
2005.
<Karma> Ok folks, two questions
left!
<SalusaSecondus> Quick one about an old policy
decision (sory Max)
<SalusaSecondus> <Goobergunchia>
Why were random server updates created and is there any chance of
them being removed?
<MaxBarry> oh
oh
<MaxBarry> Can I handball
this one to Sal?
<SalusaSecondus> Sure
*
MaxBarry handballs.
* SalusaSecondus
catches
<SalusaSecondus> First, I'm the one who devised
(mostly), decided on and implemented this
<SalusaSecondus>
My feeling that a good game is one that hides it's implementation
from the players and only exposes the results.
<SalusaSecondus>
And ordered update exposes the artificiality of the game to the
world, and thus should be hidden.
<SalusaSecondus> Nation's
don't update in order in the real world, they shouldn't in
NS.
<SalusaSecondus> As far as being removed, not currently
likely, but I won't rule it out. It depends on how Max and I see the
game evolving and moving
<Siroc> Woah
<Goobergunchia>
Thanks for the answer.
<Siroc> That was...
psychedelic.
<SalusaSecondus> No prob. I've been wanting
people to see my logic on that one for a while
<Karma>
Thanks goober.
<Karma> Ok, and finally, our last
question for maxchat 3.0!
<MaxBarry>
where DOES the time go?
<MobileMyrth>
*drumroll*
<RepProdtheNinjaMod> To end on an amusing
note: <Nanakaland> Do you have magical powers?
<Karma>
it goes that way. ::points::
<Cogitation> <MaxBarry>
where DOES the time go? <-- The Middle of Nowhere, Alaska,
USA.
<MaxBarry> hahaha
<IJ>
I would gues it depend on what apparatus he has on hand.
;)
<MaxBarry> Well, Nanakaland, we ALL
have magical powers. You just have to really, really
believe.
<MaxBarry> And obtain
the Sacred Wand of Blue Fire.
<MaxBarry>
But I'm not telling you where that is.
<Nanakaland>
Thank you for answering that important question.
<MaxBarry>
You're welcome.
<Cogitation> Wouldn't the Gleaming
Swords of Vengeance suffice, Max?
<MaxBarry>
Well, you can kid yourself that it will.
<MobileMyrth>
Or the Meatcleaver of Moderation
* Melkor sets mode: -m
<Unfree>
I have magical powers... mua ha ha
* Karma sets mode: +m
<Melkor>
hey!
<Treznor> Nanakaland Wow. I spoke to Max and I forgot
to ask for an autograph.
<MobileMyrth> No you
don't
<RepProdtheNinjaMod> Way to go, guys =p
*
Cogitation channels Gandalf the Gray.
* SalusaSecondus channels
Gandalf the White
<Karma> OK! I would like to thank everyone
for coming by, and would especially like to thank Max, the mods, and
our hosts here on espernet, IJ, Dartollen, and Lee
* MobileMyrth
channels Cable TV
<MaxBarry> Yes,
thanks everyone!
<Unfree> thank you, Max
:)
<MaxBarry> And to Karma, our
excellent MC!
* SalusaSecondus applauds Karma
<Karma>
A log of the chat will be posted in a bit, once myrth cleans it up,
so look for a link in the forums.
* Karma bows
* MobileMyrth
fires up notepad
<MaxBarry> Now I've
had a lot of coffee, and REALLY need the bathroom.
<Karma>
Hope you had a good time today!
<lee> I'd like to thank you
all for a trouble-free session =) but then I've been keeping my eye
on that MaxBarry character. he's such a troublemaker.