The New Message Board

[DrPaul]

Because it looks incredibly dated.

Ugh, it's like Microsoft Bob all over again.
If you're going to go that route (and I don't think you should) you might as well use Flash.

You just hate everything, don't you?

In this case, all Flash would do is take something simple and make it heavier, slower and more complicated.
BIG mistake.

[Not_Afgncaap5]

Because it looks incredibly dated.

Ugh, it's like Microsoft Bob all over again.
If you're going to go that route (and I don't think you should) you might as well use Flash.

You just hate everything, don't you?

In this case, all Flash would do is take something simple and make it heavier, slower and more complicated.
BIG mistake.

Well I was very cynical/sarcastic back in the day. I was just getting back into that, though I guess I could tone it down as I'm not normally that bad.

I agree that Flash would be a big mistake. That's sort of what I was saying, DAT was talking about doing the site via the forums to be simpler. The suggestion of the image maps, or the 3D big (which does look nice), seems to be far more complicated than what he wanted.

[DrPaul]

I guess I completely misunderstood what you were saying. Sorry about that.

I agree that the real-time 3D would be much too complicated. (Actually, it's very easy to implement, but too complicated for the user.)

However, image-mapping isn't complicated at all. The whole thing is just one 2D graphic and standard HTML. No javascript, no applets, no Flash. Just standard stuff. The beauty of it is that DAT could continually add, subtract or reorganize content with out having to do any redesigning. Just paint another book on the shelf and map it to a URL.

There could be a problem with image size, though. The books would have to be large enough so that the titles on the spine could be read. The 3D Zork Library I made contains 106 books (or links), but you can move right up close to each book to read the titles. I'm not sure how large the 2D graphic would have to be in order to be able to read all those titles from one stationary image. But we could have up to four walls, in which case we'd only need about 25 books on each wall. That'd be easy and there would probably be plenty of space to spare for expansion.

Anyway, this is just a suggestion. Since the site is called, The Zork Library, it would be cool if it really was a library.

[DataAngel]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions so far, eventually ill get the idea right and things will be great! Keep em coming! I could always just make books and a library bookcase on a simple HTML page and just make the images links. Won't have to be too large, could also have the link open the book which has the links inside like text on a page, again all simple html with some images. The only hard part would be getting the book spines to look nice and find a way to place the linkable text on it so it looks classy.

[DrPaul]

The only hard part would be getting the book spines to look nice and find a way to place the linkable text on it so it looks classy.

This is not technologically difficult, but could be a bit time consuming if you want to make really cool-looking books.

Since the book's spine is all that's really visible on the bookshelf, the entire spine's area will be mapped to the URL. The text of the book title doesn't need to be linkable text, since clicking anywhere on the book's spine will complete the link.

That means that you can draw, paint, photoshop, or whatever technique you like to put the titles on the books. You can even paint full-sized original images of each book, scan the art work and then photoshop it in place on the book shelf. Then all you need to do is image map a rectangle around the book's spine and it's ready to use.

If you want to make the titles glow or something when the cursor is rolled over them or clicked, that is possible, but I wouldn't recommend it because it will make everything much more complicated. This is because you'll then need normal-text and glowing-text images of each book. Also, instead of working with just one 2D image, each book will have to be a separate image and they'll all have to be tiled together. That's so the image corresponding to one book can be instantly replaced with a glowing text image of the same book. Although do-able, it would be a nightmare and it would also make any additions or subtractions much more complicated. I suggest you forget about glowing text, and I'm sorry I brought it up.

The idea of opening the book to reveal additional links is nice and not too difficult. To do that, you would just replace the original bookshelf image with the exact same image except with the selected book shown opened in the foreground. Then it would be your choice whether to use standard html text, or exotic, hand-painted text for the link list. You can use tables to position the html text over an image background, or you can use your calligraphy skills to hand-write the links and image map them to the appropriate URL.

Neither of those options are technologically difficult and they are both pretty flexible.

[Not_Afgncaap5]

What's with all the linking books, this is Zork not Myst.

Seriously though, before any of that, are there any changes to the content?
A lot of the content seemed, well, pointless: 1033GUE and 1034GUE as examples.

I think you should think about what content you're going to keep/add/remove and then how to organize it before you even start doing some sort of redesign, whether it be in phpBB, what Dr. Paul is suggesting, or something else.

[DrPaul]

What's with all the linking books, this is Zork not Myst.

Well, yeah. But it's not Zork, it's the Zork LIBRARY.

[Not_Afgncaap5]

What's with all the linking books, this is Zork not Myst.

Well, yeah. But it's not Zork, it's the Zork LIBRARY.

It was a joke...

[DataAngel]

Come on now, stop the infighting.

[zorket]

Oooh - it's all so exciting. I'm so thrilled to be able to be back here with all these familiar faces

I had something I wanted to say to Dr. Paul...months and months ago...but now I've forgotten what it was ... perhaps it will come back to me by October!

zorket

[DataAngel]

WB! stay awhile! want some rye?

[DrPaul]

Hey Zorket!
Good to see you here again.
What have you been doing since you last posted?

[zorket]

Ah - since I have been here last...I have discovered a new hobby. Quite an addicting one - and one that in some sort of strange way has allowed me to incorporated all things Zork. Well, to backtrack - two hobbies. Both include Zork strangely enough.

1st - A murder mystery game - set around the G.U.E. Poor C. Anderson has been murdered - and you have to solve it. I have an elaborate story and sets of clues, and so far have only played the game with one person (my brother) - I mail him sporadic clues, and he has to work to solve the crime. I have used cryptograms, various crime scene 'evidence' - including a CD off of one of the characters "answering machine". Receipts, an autopsy report (I used JFK's !!), etc.
This has been an ongoing effort for about 8 months or so - and he still hasn't solved it. Those Flatheads...I tell you...

2nd - I have discovered geocaching/letterboxing. I have been doing this for two years now - and am so hooked.
If you don't know - look up geocaching.com, letterboxing.org, atlasquest.com
I am getting ready to plant a series of six boxes - all on a zork based theme. My planted boxes are increasing in their level of puzzling difficulty....Zork just fits so well with this hobby, somehow.

So - I don't know why I have such an affinity for this game...but there you have it. Oh, and I'm not sure I ever updated on the Zork themed adventure birthday party I had for my son - it was a HUGE hit. My kids are as big of dorks as I am...(and I think I worded that badly).

Okay - that was a lot... so how about the rest of the gang here??

zorket

[DataAngel]

Sounds like youve been busy, glad to hear you have found some interests outside of Zork! erm I mean.... nm. Glad to see you still come by and are playing LoZ. Its rather bland to play for hours on end, but on the brightside the lvl grinding isnt so annoying as in other mmos.

First the murder mystery sounds fun, it reminds me of an ARG... perplexcity.com which they never started season2 so I havent been able to play. However they still produced and released the 2nd season puzzle cards which i must tell you... if you have never done them, omg you should. They are extremely fun and the harder ones can be SOOOOO challenging and seem almost impossible to solve. For example I had solved one that dealt with cryptography and it took me 3 weeks at every waking moment I was home working on it to solve all 4 parts of it to solve the final piece. It was a silver which is the hardest card color you can do. Some are simple but still entertaining, so go check it out!

I know about the letterboxing, etc. I havent done geocaching that seems more fun than letterboxing to me, but making a Zork one definitely sounds cool!! If you like that sort of thing, then might I recommend to you the Isis puzzle. It revolved around finding these egyptian themed spheres out in the world, using clues to locate it and then a pain to solve, but once you do, you get a key and then you go on a second hunt to find a pyramid that the key opened that contained 2000 british pounds sterling! They just released the Ramisis puzzle which is the 2nd out of the series of 5 that they are doing. Anyways heres the link: http://www.isisadventure.com/start/platinum-pyramid.php

[zorket]

Those puzzles are facinating. But expensive!! I will have to start saving my pennies...though I am still longing for my very own zorkmid.

Here's why I prefer letterboxing over geocaching....geocaching is generally putting some numbers into your GPS, and then go find it. There are a few puzzly boxes - but not enough.
Letterboxing - no GPS - pick a hard puzzly box, you have to use some brain power to figure things out and go find the box.
Both can be pretty cool. it's harder to plant a geocache - you must have permission. That's all I'll say about that.

zorket