On Leave (Offline thread)

No worries, it's just never happened before.

I will be leaving tomorrow for one of my longest absences in a while, and I won't be back for about two and a half weeks. During that time, I will have access to an ipad and occasional wifi, but I cannot be online as regularly as right now, and I will not have access to all my tools and applications on my desktop. 

However, what's more important is what takes place here. We, or at least some of us, have set the goal to have a playable Microbe Stage, that is a stage with cells going around, eating each other, a main menu, some music, and not necessarily any evolution but just something beyond the minimum to be a game. We are not bound to reach this goal, but striving to reach a goal can greatly help stimulate progress. So, I really want to encourage everyone here to put in the time they can to constructively working on the game. A trend I have noticed recently, as have some of the other mods, is that development has become more and more about ideas, and the ideas themselves are become less and less specific. Right now, ideas and concept are not what we need. We need models, textures, animations, code, project management, outreach, sounds, music, GUI, scientific experience, mathematical experience, and mostly skills that require some practice and yield concrete results. So please, to everyone on the forums, try and work as hard as you can to progress in these fields for the Microbe Stage. We are so close to having a finished stage.

Mods, you can use this thread (https://thrivegame.canadaboard.net/t1223-development-bulletin-microbe) to keep track of updates and changes with the Microbe Stage. There is also the Microbe Stage Progress Report, and some threads for tracking the development of the art department, music and sounds, the implementation of agents and organelles, and coding. There is also a podcast coming up. Please use this time to get as much of this done as possible. Remember, yielding progress and results, and finishing the first release of the Microbe Stage, will all hugely help in refilling us with the motivation we need to keep working on the project, no matter how disheartened we may get at the moment.

Amidst all this, it can get easy to be burnt out, to work and work and work on this project, and feel like it is to no avail. But that is not how a game gets done. The best games out there that will always be remembered were made by teams that kept going. They kept going when the going got tough, and they looked back in relief when the job was done. And if still motivated, they would continue to go, and develop the game to new heights with additional features. We need to remember that. Any time any of us quits, or feels discouraged, we need to remember that quitting won't make this game. Great projects are only completed by those who keep working until the job is done.

I look forward to my return, and I also look forward to the developments you guys will make as we approach the end of summer break, the beginning of school/university, and then the end of the year.

THANK YOU! You have officially spoke my mind about the state of the current project.

I'd quote that for truth ten times, but that would take up the entire page. Well said, and I hope everyone takes note.

Hey all, I'm back now, what have I missed?

Good to have you back. We did get a new release for the Microbe Stage out, on the progress report, and some discussions here and there on evolution. We also got the concept animation out by Oliveriver, which was very nice. Someone else could fill me in on anything I missed. However, things are at a slower pace now with summer holidays. Soon things should start moving again at the pace of March, April, and May.

Hey my internet went down for a few days (Storm) But its fixed and I'm here, but I'm starting work so you might hear me a little less, but I assure you I am around.

Okay, I'm back, and I plan to get a lot of headway into the FP Discussion thread, the Crash Course Evolution thread, and the development of the Microbe Stage in general. There is still a lot to do, but we are so much farther than we have ever been, especially with the release of 0.2.0.

With school starting the forums have gotten quite quiet and I myself have become more of an observer. Well I didn't want to let this happen, so now that I have settled into school I will be returning in full force tomorrow to continue participating, and hopefully incite some activity in the forums towards development.

I haven't been on here as much, as I'm starting school, just started my new full time job, been doing some DnD on roll20, got into the alpha of Isomer and have been doing a lot of work on that for the developer. Plus I try to spend time with my wife, but don't worry I'm still here and check in often.

It is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to all you great people on the thrive team as of now, I am gone and will no longer be active developing and have left the official skype group. I may come back, however I highly doubt it. Thanks for all the experience working with a team and for all the great things we have done together.

Good bye
For now.

Why are you leaving? Moving? What?

I just have no time anymore.

untrustedlife wrote:

It is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to all you great people on the thrive team as of now, I am gone and will no longer be active developing and have left the official skype group. I may come back, however I highly doubt it. Thanks for all the experience working with a team and for all the great things we have done together.

Good bye
For now.

Thank you for all of your contributions to the game- you will be missed.

It was an honour to have you on the team Mike, and your presence will be missed. The prototype you made in your first weeks here really set a good example of personal initiative for the project for others to strive towards. Good luck with what goals you pursue!

untrustedlife wrote:

It is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to all you great people on the thrive team as of now, I am gone and will no longer be active developing and have left the official skype group. I may come back, however I highly doubt it. Thanks for all the experience working with a team and for all the great things we have done together.

Good bye
For now.

Oh wow, good to you have you on the team and good luck with your endeavors.

untrustedlife wrote:

It is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to all you great people on the thrive team as of now, I am gone and will no longer be active developing and have left the official skype group. I may come back, however I highly doubt it. Thanks for all the experience working with a team and for all the great things we have done together.

Good bye
For now.

Good luck with whatever else you're doing. You'll be sorely missed here. :( 

I guess some of you may have noticed my absence, but I feel I aught to explain myself. I'm now back at uni and have loads of work to do as I'm in my second year and this year is worth half of my final grade so I've got a fair tonne of work to do. Also I now live with a bunch of friends so there's always something going on which drags me away from my laptop, and therefore Thrive.

I still come on the forum everyday before going to bed and read the new posts, but rarely have enough time to give input in each area. I will try to keep on top of the Space stage, which I where I think I will focus. So yeah, I'll try and come back here when I can, but just thought I'd let you guys know whats going down and whats happening when I'm not around.

Great to hear from you again Inca.

Good luck with university and the whatever you pursue! It's good to hear you'll check up when you can.

I will be away for the next few days. Make sure to keep the forum in order and keep the development rolling smoothly guys. Great work on everything that's been achieved recently.

I'll be gone for a trip for the next 5 days.

I'll be away for the following several days until next week. Keep up the good work on the Microbe Stage!  :) 

I'll be in Italy for the next few days, and after that I won't have much free time for a couple of weeks. Keep posting themes anyway - I'll make sure I listen to them when I get back.

I apologize for the absence, just had a new computer set up which took quite a while, and so I'll be returning to posting shortly.

(It appears I've been doing most of the leaving in the past months, as well as Oliver?)

I'll be leaving tomorrow on a two week trip. I will have very limited access to the forums from there.

In the meantime, we have another release to work on (mainly GUI), and after that release we should presumably begin some outreach to expand our development team (coincidentally around the same time I'll be back and fresh to work).