Web Command - Interactive Scarabian User Terminal

The web command came along after my group of friends became inactive, so our builds are largely devoid of examples of it.  I was building a TV shop in elkins beach today and decided to give it a shot with the Scarabian User Terminal.

Here's what I came up with:

Model:
pict1.rwx

Action:
create texture tv2,scale .75,picture pics.swcity.net/kiosk1.jpg;activate web url=npc.swcity.net/sut.php sw=1000 sh=750 keys=on nonav

I'm pretty happy with the outcome, but this certainly shows how the SUT has aged compared to modern web apps! There's a lot of content on the page and I had to get really close to the TV to make good use of it.

Touring Fort Masen with SW Chris and Syntax

While we're on the topic of not completing builds...

SW Chris visited ActiveWorlds last month to tour sites in SW City as part of a video series called "Before There Was Minecraft." This video series celebrates Chris hitting 1,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel by revisiting his roots in ActiveWorlds. Syntax and I joined him for a couple of hours to explore various sites in the city, including one that I spent a lot of time working on: Fort Masen and an incomplete dungeon underneath that was designed for SW City Interactive.

Some background:  Fort Masen was initially built by SW Comit and is built in the style of a historical fort, complete with an old wooden ship and cannons.  Some time after I became involved with SW City Interactive, I set my attention on Fort Masen as a potential site for a series of archaeology quests and digsites.  Over the years, I've added a number of quests there and began an undertaking to build a cave/dungeon adventure under the fort.  It is partially completed: there is a lengthy quest chain available to SWI players that actually gives you access to the dungeon, but after another sidequest it abruptly ends and doesn't let you progress further.

That would be the end of the story... except for SW Chris' video series.  Chris, Syn, and I explored on past the end of the current game, and we did a complete video commentary on incomplete areas (including a partially-complete interactive boss!) and some puzzles further in the dungeon.

The commentary is split over two videos, #6 and #7 in the series. Fair warning for SWI players, there are tons and tons of spoilers in these videos:

So there you have it, some insight into one of my many unfinished projects!  I might actually finish this one day, I'm a sucker for coming back to work on SWI stuff. :)

If you're interested in more video commentary, visit SW Chris's Youtube Channel! He's done a couple of series now on ActiveWorlds that you guys might find interesting.

Activeworlds goes "Free To Play"

Earlier this month, Activeworlds abandoned the subscription model in their main universe for a "Free to Play" model, where citizenships would be free and additional features would be sold in an online store.

I've been a longtime proponent of this sort of model for AW, so I've returned to the universe and may even resume regular posting on this blog.  I've been updating the Southern Highlands in SW City over the past few days... adding some new SWI Content to the 'Emerald Strand' region of the highlands.

The "Farm Kit" is a downloadable set of AWGs that allow SWI players to farm and cook in the world.

I'll probably be doing some more projects like these as I get time.  It's nice to be back, I've missed being able to build, but the 70 dollar price-point of citizenships just wasn't worth it anymore.

SW City Interactive November Updates

Hey everyone!  I've been hard at work on SW City Interactive this week, and I have some updates I'd like to share.

November Changelog
QUESTS: (4)
'Coaxing Spirits'

• Descritpion: A large Hotep idol is blocking your path to progress deeper into the Keep, and you have been tasked to find out what happened.
• Prereq: Completed 'Opening the Gate'
• Find the spirit within the Masen Keep Commons to begin!

'Unearthing Statuettes'
'Unearthing the Bronze Statue'
'Unearthing Cannons'

• Description: An unlikely friend within the Historical Society is working with the Hyokos to protect their culture, while simultaneously recovering Imperial artifacts to appease the society's patrons.
• Prereq: Completed 'Opening the Gate'
• These 3 quests are repeatable
• Speak with the Gray in the Fort Masen Historical Society to begin!

DIGSITES: (2)
Masen Keep Commons

    * Just beyond the foreboding doors of Masen Keep lies the Commons, an open space that was once used for trade and commerce.  After the siege, the space was converted into a hall of reverence and worship... focused on a massive idol that was placed in front of an old passageway.  Many artifacts and personal items of the inhabitants still remain.

• 20 digging nodes
• Two collectible sets, and a handful of other valuable items
• ~20 new items to collect and trade with other players!

Masen Keep Cannons

• The interior cannons were once Fort Masen's last line of defense, which ultimately proved futile during the Siege.  The damaged remains were left as a testament to the Imperial Army's might, and have been long forgotten on the ledges and rafters that loom over the Commons.
•  6 digging nodes -- each node takes a large amount of time credits and stamina
• One collectible set

BUGFIXES:

    * Players who completed 'Opening the Gate' before November will need to speak with the Gatekeeper at his location in the Commons.  Their version of the digging permit was bugged and he will swap them.
    * A profile icon is available in the digsite -- it was previously in the digging loot table, but that proved to be problematic so it is now a stand-alone, hidden item in the area.
    * Several new NPCs were missing an NPC image, and this has been corrected since they went live.
    * (Thanks to Comit for helping with many of the bugs, some of which weren't so much bugs as they were me being dum )

There's not really a ton left to do in order to get this done... so I may work on this again over Christmas.  Until then, this should be plenty to occupy anyone who happens to come across it.

More on Fort Masen: http://www.swcity.net/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=SWC.FortMasen

SW City Interactive - The Keep of Fort Masen

I've completed a long-term project at Fort Masen in SW City, and have taken a short video to promote it.  You can view it below:

Learn more about SW City: http://www.swcity.net/www/landing.php
Learn more about SW City Interactive: http://www.interactive.swcity.net

Information about Fort Masen: http://www.swcity.net/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=SWC.FortMasen

Back For More

Hey everyone, and welcome to a rather late start to April!  I apologize for my extended absence, but here's to hoping that my Calculus test grade will reflect the time away! (Don't count on it.)  At any rate, that's in the past, so let's see what's been going on lately...

• The forums seem to be going through a pretty dry spell.  Events too.  If I recall correctly things are typically pretty quiet this time of year until late May when the summer crowd comes in, so that's no surprise.
• I did manage to sneak some time in to attend the town hall meeting last Sunday, which was held in SW City.  I was only there for the first 40 minutes, but during that time I got to share and direct some users to SW City Interactive and there was some interest in getting some SWI tours set-up.  That sounds like a good idea to me. :)
• I would like to get a new tutorial up, probably one concerning the ActiveWiki.  I may do that as early as tonight depending on my motivation.  I'm pretty drained from the Calculus test, to be honest.

And that's where I'm at.  Hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things soon.  Later!

From my Teleports List: AirSpeed

Alphaworld - SW City - AirSpeed

Builder: SW Chris

Teleport: AW 2417.74S 3444.94E 22.70a 263

Jump Point: ^jump AirSpeed

How to Play: http://www.swcity.net/users/chris/airspeed/index.html

AirSpeed debuted during AWReunion 2010 last year to tremendous reception and has since... well, what exactly happened to it, anyway? Nobody talks about it anymore.  The same goes for the GameFest games... even the hit Weir City from the GameFest doesn't garner much traffic, and it won a Cy Award!

I'm not sure what it is about games in Activeworlds that causes them to meet relative obscurity, but I'd like to do my part here to at least tell you all about AirSpeed!  AirSpeed is a wonderful presentation that uses v4 objects to maximum effect, lifting the player off their feet and into a high-flying obstacle course!  Players sail through the sky dodging objects and collecting bonuses that can remove obstacles further ahead.  The game has been masterfully divided into three 'stages' that become increasingly more difficult. Because of the game's design, the backdrop can provide as much of a challenge to deal with as the obstacles directly in front of you -- I want to catch all of the action!! :)

Anyway, upon completing AirSpeed SW City Interactive players can receive a small reward for their troubles.  The game is a fun distraction and certainly worth sharing with others.  Give it a try!