Ins@nity Complex

PLEASE STAND BY - Clidus.com

(yeah... I've been playing way to much fallout 3. More on that to come shortly, but I just wanted to note here that I found out today that my university database lecturer got, played and finished Fallout 3 over the Christmas break o_o; she got quite addicted apparently!)

In other news, Alex came over today and we ended up playing on my MacBook for an hour. He desperately wants to buy an iMac, but was disappointed that no hardware upgrades were announced at MacWorld. What we ended up producing was this humiliating video produced in Garage Band and iMove. Fun stuffs!

Josh: I swear the people next door need to have sex quiter before I go round and murder them o_O;
Alex: go murder them then, it would make for interesting national headlines
Josh: indeed, but it would require so much effort
Josh: and... whats with the university just throwing money at me by the way?
Alex: I'm not sure! they must think you're very poor
Josh: Indeed o_O
Alex: drinks are on you
Josh: My brothers MacBook Pro arrived yesterday, which has like tribbled my urge to get a Mac now... and they give me a grand for free. its so anoying >_>;
Josh: yes.... tribbled is a word
Alex: I know :P
Alex: yes, they are sex on.... um, what do laptops go on?
Alex: no no, that doesn't work
Josh: sex on a mains power lead?
Alex: YES!

As a gift from Fantasy World, myself and Mort put our money together to buy Alex a copy of Metroid Prime 3, as a thank you for all the hard work he's put into Fantasy World. Enjoy dude!



(Message Board Discussion)

It's been a while since I updated you guys on how the new Fantasy World site is going. The answer is slower than we would have hoped (the original target was the end of August!) but we still have just under three weeks until university starts so we have time to spare yet. Currently there is no set "launch date" per say, but we would like to see the site open to the public this month.

Today’s update is a preview of what just about all our work has been going into. The reply page (shown here as a reply to a private message). Although you don't actually think about it when using free software like Sudden Launch, the reply page is probably the most crucial one on the site. It’s where the bulk on user input comes from, which exposes it to millions of risks.

We have decided, as you can see below, to use BBSC code similar to Sudden Launch's for posts and messages. One of the new features (for Fantasy World users anyway) that I would like to point out is the Spoiler feature, which enables you to hide text against a block of black background, allowing it to only be read when highlighted by the reader. Handy for keeping those most shocking of plot twists from the casual views eye.



You can also see the smiles have certainly been scaled back from the insane amount we have on Sudden Launch. These basic ones will be expanded on a later date with a pop-up box with extra ones in it, however the site will launch with only the set shown above.

Quite a simple looking page I know, but you would not believe the amount of code behind it. I can’t thank Alex enough for the work hes put in for us.

I thought I'd share with you guys how the new website is coming along. As you know the target launch time is around the start of September, but if it takes longer, no worries. I'd also like to note we plan to launch with as many features as possible, but then continue to develop and improve the site afterwards.

Alex, my good friend from college, is great at PHP and is working very hard on this. We hope to converse with the community directly after we launch with suggestions, bugs and changes. Today he was over mine the whole day so we could work together on the user profile area. The way we are splitting the work is to use our different strengths to an advantage, with me designing the physical layout and presentation on screen while he codes the backend programming.

Below are some shots of my profile page, and the edit profile page. Both are stil beta, so expect changes. You wouldn’t believe how long it took to work out why the change password function wasn’t working, by the way. Hope you like what you see.

Profile page:

Edit profile page:

So as you all probably know by now, Sputin is moving to America to stay with Monica's family. While in the short term it’s certainly the easiest answer to his problems, I still believe its not a good idea. Of course I've argued with him over and over about this, but he certainly has his heart set on it.

I must say I can understand his reasons. He has abusive, drunken parents (the Step dad of which attacked him the other night) who don't care about his existence and have as much respect for him as a moulded cheese sandwich, he can't get a job in a city full of cheap labour and immigrants and he owes to much debt to the bank to get a place of his own.

Running away to America though, has so many risks. He needs to apply for a visa, he needs to not get caught by his parents, the bank, the police, immigration, Interpol... So much can go wrong. But he’s prepared to risk it. All I can do is try my best to assure he’s safe. Hes a good friend. He's incredibly important to me. Heck, dispite only meeting him in person twice, I feel I know him incredibly well.

I just hope nothing goes wrong.

In lighter news, myself and Alex have been slaving away at the new look FW. Officially named "Fantasy World - Video Game and Entertainment Network", the site will hopefully open in about two months, if things go to plan. The site will include a front page for news and updates, a submission based editorial section, a shoutbox and a forum, all integrated and controlled by one universal user account for each member.

There wont be any separation between site and forum any more. It will be one site. I hope you all enjoy it. Below is a preview of the site header. Please note where it says "Fantasy World" in black font there will eventually be a logo artwork, which is being drawn for us by LordofChocobos.



In gaming news, I'm coming close to the end of Final Fantasy XII. The Bahamut (the final location I believe) is now available on the world map. Still need to make more progress in Chocobo Tales and Final Fantasy III though...