Words from the Magi
The Bastille Gazette Serving FW since Oct 1998 Archived Article

October 2001

Top Ten Things I Don't Miss About NWN
Posted Tuesday, October 16, 2001 by
PanzerMagi
Top Ten Things I Don't Miss About NWN

1) Cashing student loan checks to pay my AOL bill.
2) Never knowing if the guy that just feeb'd me was a hacker.
3) The gates being blocked after AOL went flat-rate.
4) Having to /SQUELCH because the ESPs were too much to handle.
5) People that complained about the graphics.
6) Synchronizing with host.
7) Carpal-tunnel syndrome.
8) Explaining to relatives what a "Bash" was, and why I was going.
9) Trying to figure out what the hell the Drow and the Dwarves were saying.
10) The administrative crud that goes along with being an active Guildmaster.

Sure, some of these things will come back once FW is up and running. But thinking about the negatives sure helps make it a little easier to wait. At least for me.
A Bunch of Old Coots
Posted Friday, October 12, 2001 by
PanzerMagi
Words from the Magi
A Bunch of Old Coots

Considering that I hadn't written a Words from the Magi column in almost six months, I figured I was probably a bit overdue. Thinking about the passage of time suggested a great topic, as well -- the aging of our community.

The old Neverwinter community always had its share of old timers. It also had its share of youngsters. However, since Neverwinter died, our community has kept on aging -- but we haven't had many new additions to the flock. Which means that those youngsters have turned into old timers. And I'm not sure if we have anyone left that would fit my definition of a young player -- anyone too young to vote.

So what does this all mean for us? Well, for one thing, we've all seen how our community tends to be fairly civil. We might snipe at one another in character, but aside from the occasional bit of Grud- bashing, most of us get along fairly well. With experience comes the ability to carry on an in- character rivalry and an out-of-character friendship simultaneously. Doing so is a lot more difficult when you're younger and, well, more feisty.

This trend is also one that's unlikely to reverse any time soon. To get new players, we'll need a game for them to play. And we don't have one yet. Once that changes, we can expect the steady stream of new players to reappear, and all that goes along with it. How we react to new players will prove critical. Will we remain a fairly tightly-knit community, or will we retreat into fractured cadres built around guild lines?

Obviously, some fracture is inevitable. Once we've got a game to play, the evils will have to struggle against the goodies and vice versa. I think most of us will be comfortable in that old dichotomy. If anything, my only concern is that once we've got a lot of "outsiders" running around in the Forgotten World, the realm may lose some of its appeal. Part of the comfort I've taken from FW is that it is such a small, sheltered community. I'm not quite sure how I'll respond to the expansion of that world.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm as wreaked with impatience, waiting for the game to arrive, as anyone. It's just that I've got some worries for that world which we'll find ourselves a part of. It's been years now while we've waited. What else can a senile old coot such as myself do but worry?

Until next time...