iphdrunk wrote:With all due respect Souls,
* Is this "ex-employee" Xavier Antoviaque? could you confirm this? -- it strikes me to learn that he was fired months ago --
* what are the "wrong facts"? I guess you are not free to elaborate, but more insight?
* What is Jolt official position on this? as a company running and operating the Ryzom service, one could guess that in all these negotiations Jolt has something to say. I fail to see if your post refelcts your personal opinion (which you are of course, perfectly entitled to) or as head of support of a commercial company. Would it be factually wrong to assume that it is in Jolt's best interest to give no credibility to this announcement in order to keep the support contract with the possible buyer? (I am not againt that, btw), just looking at this from a high perspective. While I share most of your concerns, and I honestly think that your post seems to reflect that you care for us and you try to make sure that our money does not go into some sort of "scam", I can't but also consider your opinion coming from the head of support from Jolt and, dare I also say a bit biased?
* could you elaborate more on the "ongoing and looking positive"?
It is hard to see the clear picture without all the details (what's the chances of success, what do you mean by positive, who are the possible buyers, etc.) but one thing it was not highlighted enough... if (big if) the idea goes on, this seems to imply that the code (not only NeL) but the client /server, artworks, etc. will go open source. That's a big PLUS -- assuming the game stops as a service.
Nevertheless, I agree that I would consider this as "a last resort" just if the game was really going into oblivion, and I see a lot of pitfalls with the approach (5000 players? on a shard? without proper testing? how many months in a stalled state, waiting for the corresponding spring clean and no promises?)
The only nice point I see in this approach is that it is an opportunity to open the source and artworks for a significant less amount that its value, but only if there are no viable plans for continuity, but, it is also important to note, that ex-Nevrax employees will be using player raised money to buy Intellectula Property in order to supposedly put the code in a Free Sotware licence, but they did not state that they will not keep the copyright, etc. and ownership. In other words, players will not be co-owners of the code, neither it will be put in the public domain
I cannot confirm or deny anyone's identity. As for the facts, his idea of player numbers for one, and exactly what is needed to run this is a long way off the actual situation. But unfortunately I can't go into details as this is all tied up with the administration process which has to see its course before this kind of stuff will be talked about publicly (anyone who jumps the gun like this site is merely not adhering to the right process, which again shows the levels we are talking about here).
As for Jolt's position, we are continuing to support in anyway we can a long standing and valued partner. The Jolt staff and Nevrax staff have become very close over the years, forming a relationship that has been, and will continue to be beneficial to players as well as ourselves. As for your statement about it being to our benefits to give no credibility? If I was being nasty and vindictive then you could say that. However, as lame as it sounds, I'm more interested in protecting players from anything that may not be in their best interests and keeping them in the loop as much as legally possible with what is going on. Am I biased? I want Ryzom to survive, as we all do, I also have ideas on what will work best and not work best for the future of the game based on what I know.
"* could you elaborate more on the "ongoing and looking positive"? " You have no idea how much I wish we could elaborate for you. Ongoing and positive pretty much sums it up without the detail that would get me thrown in the Bastille on a diet of that horrible smelly French cheese and cheap wine. Although now I think of it, that's not so bad. It's hard to address all your points with the level of detail that's permitted right now but positive is a word that sums up the general feeling and situation.
Souls
