News: Project Codename: Z-Net 3.0 (The Alternative to zbattle)

Saturday, March 31, 2012

In the past couple days I've devoted some free time to my blog and more specifically, the zbattle/Z-Net situation. Rather then continually re-editing the last post, I decided to create a new one.

I created a brand new page for the unreleased clone project I'm offering up as a alternative to zbattle. I've given it the code name "Z-Net 3.0" for now, but if the project does ever get moving I may go with a different name, though still including Z-Net in some way. This new page serves as a central hub for all info relating to the project, including it's origins, present status, and potential future. As well as any polls regarding the project and how you can help. Additionally I enabled comments on that page for any discussion. You can find the link to the page on the left, directly beneath the Home link. I may refine this page some more if I can, but for the most part, I've done all I can to optimally leave this projects fate in the hands of users, allowing me to return to filling my free time as I normally would, and just check up on this blog to see how things are looking with this project.

With such a page, I won't have to worry about posting unrelated news and hindering any attention to that project or polls. If you chose to share a link to this blog regarding that project, you can simply link to that page rather then the main page.

I've also done what I could to optimize this blog for catching search engine terms related to the project. It's still early in the month deadline, but if traffic stays as it has the past couple days, I doubt I'm going to feel there's enough interest in the project after its over. It's not easy deciding on a number, but I guess I will go with 150 votes. If the poll hits that sooner, then I will get started on working on the project that much sooner, assuming I have the time. Of course, if I feel the voting has been cheated in some way, I may either readjust that goal, or perhaps completely remake the poll.

News: zbattle Dead Again. Time for Z-Net's Rebirth?

Thursday, March 29, 2012

An old friend/Z-Net regular/mod (Sferics) dropped by the comments and informed me that zbattle is dead again, in regard to the website and program servers being down. I've decided and stated before that if that were ever to happen, I'd consider releasing the 2010 stand-alone/spoof client I made, at the very least as a zbattle alternative/replacement so those zbattle users have a new home. I don't know what happened to zbattle. While I certainly expected at some point to see zbattle down here and there from maybe a couple days to a week, I didn't expect a month or possibly permanent downtime. Veeborg seemed on the ball in recent years when it came to getting zbattle back up and running. So I never expected to actually be considering releasing my thus far, private project. But here I am, now doing so.

My consideration on this matter is based mostly on users desire being sufficient to be worth my time and effort of polishing it up and maintaining it. So to see how those users desire stands, I've created a poll. I listed 6 options to select from. None of those options are a "no" as, if you don't want it or don't care, you can simply not vote. This poll isn't meant to see how much of a percentage of users want it, it's just to see if there is a sufficient amount of users interested in general. I just chose to add these choices so that if/when it meets the requirements for moving forward, I can be better prepared for a more optimal direction with the project. The most popular result wouldn't necessarily be used, but rather just help guide the project on whats best for the users. I'm going to give it about a 1 month cut-off date. After which, if there's a significant amount of attention on the poll, I'll go from there. Perhaps sooner with enough interest.

I personally won't be spreading word of this poll to try and catch the attention of former zbattle users. Advertizing my past projects when they were alive was involving enough, and doing so for a project in this state, even if its a poll requiring votes as a direct result from hits to this blog, is beyond the amount of involvement I'd want to invest in it at this point. If you want this project released, want a new home for zbattle users, and feel like spreading the word to others who might share that desire, go ahead and link to this blog, directing people to the poll.

For reference, I'll include a link at the end of this post to a new page I've created for my this potential 3rd installment of the Z-Net project/zbattle clone/spoof/alternative, in case you have never been to this blog before and/or don't know what this all is about. Also below I'll include a short quotable that sums all this up for anyone you may share this with.

In my boredom a couple years ago I created a 100% working clone of zbattle that I have never released. Now that zbattle seems to be dead, the criteria for me to actually release it has been half met. The other half requiring enough interest from players. Simply, if you want it, show your interest by voting on the poll on my blog and/or spreading the word to others who may be interested as well.

-- DarkAkuma

• Z-Net 3.0 (development codename)/zbattle alternative

News: What I've Been Up To

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Wow. It's been almost 4 months since I last posted!

Well. It's understandable to anyone I guess. I lost interest in the blog due in part to my playing WoW again, and in part because my latest project failing to take off at even a low popularity. Honestly, I'd be surprised if even 5 people have downloaded it.

I'm still always brainstorming new ideas for some project to take on. But nothings ever really getting out of my head, let alone on then off the drawing board. Right now, I'd really like to do something more artistically creative. Mostly some form of story of some sort, through a as of yet undecided medium. That's currently what I'm brainstorming the most I guess. Trying to figure out a rough plot setting and characters I like, to the point were I actually have something worth pursuing.

In the meantime, WoW has been my sole hobby. To list all of what I've done on wow since my last posts would be extremely long, so I'll trying to sum up the gist of it.

Completely retired from that emu server, finished my Rogues transmog set, had some drama with my guild while trying to progress my legendary, found a PERFECT fit raid for me outside of my guild with whom I  could regularly progress the legendary with, joined that raids guild on my Rogue, attained stage 2 daggers (last week), somewhere in all that I level up my Mage from 80-85 and attained a 384 PvE geared equipped ilvl, leveled up my druid from 20's-85 as a tank, attained a 384 PvE equipped ilvl with him as well, shockingly PvPed quite a bit on my Rogue and Mage in that time before not-so-shockingly getting bored of it, both having about half s11 honor and s11 conquest gear, done 8/8 DS10 on norm, and 1/8 DS10 on heroic (hopefully 2/8 next week), attained a 398 equipped ilvl on my Rogue (highest ilvl in my raid), and mostly lately have just been playing my druid as i only got him to 85 last week.

At this point, I'm seeming less interested in WoW again. I'm not burnt out yet, I'm just finding little that's interesting to do outside of my regular raid days. I'm still interested in my druid since hes so new and different, but like my Mage, I've hit a wall with him to were I can only do more with him in DS. LFR is terrible, and while its all I do on those 2 characters for raiding, I'm not that interested and pug raiding them in normals. Normal mode pugs are ridiculously fail. LFR is probably to blame since people get to use to not trying, they just don't think they have to. Thinking instead that since they got a few pieces from LFR, their gear will carry them in normal mode. I may get 1 of them into an alt run, but I'm not going to pursue that to hard. Doing so on my Rogue was exhausting enough.

My Rogue is currently on course to get his Legendarys on May 9th, so its nice to see that on the horizon. I just hope MoP doesn't come out till at the least 1 month after that. Preferably 2-3. I want to put those daggers to use before their made obsolete by 5 new levels with overly inflated gear stats.

As for this blog. It's still doing what I originally intended for it to do. Preserving my past projects. It doesn't get many hits a day, but it is at least consistent with about 2-6. I don't know how often I'll post to it, or even create new or resume work on past projects with it. I'm devoting less time to WoW lately, so I could very well resume interest in a project or spark interest in a new one. Who knows...