Beware TCC Torrents!

The role-playing games (I-X) that started it all and the various spin-offs (including Dark Messiah).
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Big Daddy Jim
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Beware TCC Torrents!

Unread postby Big Daddy Jim » 01 Feb 2010, 14:17

After performing a basic SEARCH for The Chaos Conspiracy, I noticed that there are several torrent sites carrying the game. Unfortunately, these sites are using older files of the game, and will not provide much of a challenge towards the end of TCC Part 2.

Since these torrents do not contain an up-to-date and authorized version of TCC, I'd suggest they be avoided. Use the official download sites, instead.


http://www.mediafire.com/BDJs

http://mm.ablaton.com/


FYI ...

BDJ
"BDJ the Coding Wizard has moved out of the Coding Fortress, has retired from Might & Magic game modification, and now lives a peaceful life in Alto Lino, Republic de Panama.

http://www.mediafire.com/BDJs

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vladimir-maestro
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Unread postby vladimir-maestro » 01 Feb 2010, 14:38

i think that they are my torrents ;|
i can remade and fix them.
You can contact me here:
maestro_mod@yahoo.com
vladud @ yandex.ru - preferred one
---
Site about MODs: http://www.mmgames.ru
---
if you wish to upload some materials for this site - let me know.

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jeff
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Unread postby jeff » 01 Feb 2010, 15:05

Jim

Perhaps you could include a version number as a part of the zip file name that way players will know the latest one. I understand many of the folders and files are direct replacements and must use the same name, but the zip files, pdfs and any file whose name is not critical could include a version number like DATAv130.zip. Then the one other thing needed would be an update indicating the most current version number for each of these files as these change.
Mala Ipsa Nova :bugsquash:

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Big Daddy Jim
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Unread postby Big Daddy Jim » 01 Feb 2010, 16:03

vladimir-maestro wrote:i think that they are my torrents ;|
i can remade and fix them.
Vladamir,

There are at least ten torrents out there. I doubt if all of them are yours.

Now here's my 'feelings' about torrents.

1. They are indeed a viable download source.

2. Too often, however, the author or group is never notified that the fruits of their labor have been publicly posted without permission and/or notification.

3. Posting free-ware, such as The Chaos Conspiracy, on a torrent can be somewhat discouraging to the authors or group that produced the free-ware. Since the labor is done gratis, the only possible reward is to know that people are actually playing and enjoying one's creation. It's impossible for free-ware authors to keep statistics on how many downloads, et al, the game has produced.

Granted, downloads don't necessarily produce players. My guess is that 15% of those who download will never even begin the game; 60% of those who download may begin the game but will never complete it. For the remaining 25%, they may complete the game, but only about 10% of this 25% will provide inputs on the game.

Based upon past game and rev releases, the CH community will provide about 15 players who complete the TCC Pt1&2, while TELPS will provide about 30 players who complete TCC Pt1&2. Not much of an audience, huh?

Just my 2Cents worth.

BDJ
"BDJ the Coding Wizard has moved out of the Coding Fortress, has retired from Might & Magic game modification, and now lives a peaceful life in Alto Lino, Republic de Panama.

http://www.mediafire.com/BDJs

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Variol
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Unread postby Variol » 01 Feb 2010, 16:06

FYI,

I found the first link to be very good actually!

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Big Daddy Jim
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Unread postby Big Daddy Jim » 01 Feb 2010, 16:25

jeff wrote:Jim

Perhaps you could include a version number as a part of the zip file name that way players will know the latest one. I understand many of the folders and files are direct replacements and must use the same name, but the zip files, pdfs and any file whose name is not critical could include a version number like DATAv130.zip. Then the one other thing needed would be an update indicating the most current version number for each of these files as these change.
Jeff,

Great suggestion!
This should have been done months ago! So here's what I have done on the 'official' download site over at mediafire. I have added the term FINAL to all TCC Pt1&2 ZIP files. I'll ask Pol, the owner of the European mirror site, to do the same.

And yes, these are the final TCC files. Once we get the Canadian mirror site up and running, I'm walking away from TCC and MM modding in-general. I have nothing more to contribute to this fine community; I'm 'spent'. Hopefully, when Mike K. and his team complete the new modding tools, other modder wannabees will be able to fulfill their dreams of creating 'the game to end all games'.

I want to (again) thank the entire TCC Development Group, contributors, and play testers for their dedication and genius at producing The Chaos Conspiracy. It's been real, and it's been nice. In fact, it's been real nice!

Big Daddy Jim
"BDJ the Coding Wizard has moved out of the Coding Fortress, has retired from Might & Magic game modification, and now lives a peaceful life in Alto Lino, Republic de Panama.

http://www.mediafire.com/BDJs

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Unread postby jeff » 01 Feb 2010, 16:50

Unfortunately there are many factors to the low numbers, the age of MM6, increased age of those who played it when it was new are just two. The new gamer is all too often more interested in eye candy than actual gaming content. Many don’t wish a game that presents more than a minor challenge. If as you say only 15 from CH are playing it to completion, how many of those have asked for several/continual hints (not the one or two everyone sometimes needs) even though everything they needed to know was there in the game. They at least are determined to finish. My latest campaign for H-IV has only about 10% the number of downloads as my Dragon’s Fate. This drop off is worse than I hoped but I understand, and is why I do not plan on any more campaigns, and like you I am walking away from game creation. I think TCC and Lamentia’s Story are high water marks for me, so it is a fitting time to go. However I may be willing to join a creative group like you organized, if I find the project interesting.
Mala Ipsa Nova :bugsquash:

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I must say I feel sad...

Unread postby Mamma Jamma » 01 Feb 2010, 18:49

Sad, because i feel indeed that TCC team's work is rather underrated...

And sad also because I was really looking forward to some kick-ass MM8, which, IMHO, needs the most modding of all the series...

Well, I guess that after all the hard work, we can ask no more of BDJ and his team. But I will thank all of them again:

Many, many thanks! Live long and prosper!

P.S. Where was that (besides Star Trek)? New Sorpigal? My memory seems to have weakened...

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Re: I must say I feel sad...

Unread postby GreatEmerald » 01 Feb 2010, 20:58

Mamma Jamma wrote:P.S. Where was that (besides Star Trek)? New Sorpigal? My memory seems to have weakened...
In MM6 temples. One example is Castle Ironfist.

\\//_

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Unread postby motter28218 » 01 Feb 2010, 21:32

Hey Big Daddy, I think alot more people appreciate your work than you think, especially would be modders like me. Plus as other's have mentioned the games are all over 10yrs old so I'm sure alot of player's have "moved on" or just don't know about the site or your mod. Sorry I haven't given much feedback on TCC but I'm hopelessly addicted right now to modding a game called "Rise of Legends" and haven't been in much of a MM "mood" for awhile, but for sure I'll get the bug again and I'll be glad to have your mod to play. Since you're walking away from this series maybe I could tempt you to buy "Legends", would love to see the kind of scenarios/mods you could come up with for that game. It's pretty cheap to buy too on Amazon, I think less than $20, and modding it is far more simple, not hex, the gamemakers thoughtfully extracted .xml files that are easy for even a novice to read or mod and most of the scripts are in files that can be viewed in notepad - link to official site below. Anyhow, thanks again for all you've done.

http://www.riseoflegends.com/

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Unread postby Variol » 01 Feb 2010, 21:49

Yes, I echo what the mottermeister said!

These are still the best games. I bought Drakonsang, NWN 2 and Avencast a few months back, when I bought the new PC.

The first 2 looked nice, but sucked to play. The 3rd I have not even installed yet.

Are there no companies out there anymore that know how to make a good RPG!?

So, in short, "I Love all you guys"!

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Unread postby Talin_Trollbane » 03 Feb 2010, 11:13

maybe thats because RPG's nowadays is about riding around on a horse and kill things all day.
Ultima, Elder Scrolls and Might and Magic Veteran.

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Unread postby jeff » 03 Feb 2010, 15:53

Talin_Trollbane wrote:maybe thats because RPG's nowadays is about riding around on a horse and kill things all day.
My point exactly
Mala Ipsa Nova :bugsquash:

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Statistical Update

Unread postby Big Daddy Jim » 27 Mar 2010, 23:18

Big Daddy Jim wrote:
....................

Granted, downloads don't necessarily produce players. My guess is that 15% of those who download will never even begin the game; 60% of those who download may begin the game but will never complete it. For the remaining 25%, they may complete the game, but only about 10% of this 25% will provide inputs on the game.

Based upon past game and rev releases, the CH community will provide about 15 players who complete the TCC Pt1&2, while TELPS will provide about 30 players who complete TCC Pt1&2. Not much of an audience, huh?

Just my 2Cents worth.

BDJ
Well, it seems like I somewhat overestimated the audience for this game. The final two-part game was released and posted on or about 1/30/2010. Since then, Part 1 has about 60 downloads and Part 2 has about 50 downloads. Don't know how many downloads have been achieved on the two mirror sites and from the unauthorized torrents.

Here's what I do know. Three gamers have reported completing the entire game (Pts 1 & 2) from this site, about 10 gamers have completed the entire game from TELPS, and two have privately reported to me that they have completed the game. Three game-in-progress reports are on-going at TELPS and a possible 1 from CH.

For what it's worth.

BDJ
"BDJ the Coding Wizard has moved out of the Coding Fortress, has retired from Might & Magic game modification, and now lives a peaceful life in Alto Lino, Republic de Panama.

http://www.mediafire.com/BDJs

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Unread postby jeff » 27 Mar 2010, 23:33

It is disappointing Jim, but I really enjoyed working with you, and wish we had collaborated earlier and more often. :handshake:
Mala Ipsa Nova :bugsquash:

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Unread postby Corlagon » 27 Mar 2010, 23:49

Not everyone reports their playthroughs. Believe me. And you've got to publicise the mod; ask CH to add it to the front page where people will see it (like Dragon's Fate ;)). About less than 0.2% of Might and Magic's worldwide fans frequent the forums, and that's probably being generous.

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player estimation / TCC post-mortem.

Unread postby mkienenb » 28 Mar 2010, 01:49


BJD,

I think you're probably underestimating it.

For instance, my wife just finished part 1, but you're unlikely to see it included in the statistics since she only posts if she can't figure something out. I sent the mod by CD to at least one person who had no bandwidth for downloading it.

And since the game has been out for 10 years, there's a lot of cyclic players. People tend it go back to it every couple of years and replay it. So most of the audience has yet to "find" the new mods yet. Let's face it -- I only look at the forums every couple of years myself. It's probably been 3 or so since the last time I was "around."

If you really want to give TCC some exposure, I'd recommend posting something about it on the GOG forums for Might and Magic. That's where people are actively purchasing MM6 and starting to play it or replay it. I'm starting to see a lot of references to Grayface's patches there as people are discovering the patch. TCC is probably only a matter of time :) In fact, I'd see if you can't get Grayface to link to TCC since he has a lot of active MM traffic these days :)

You say there's nothing else you could contribute to the community, but I think there probably is one other thing you could contribute to the community. As you may have seen on another thread earlier today/yesterday, there's a lot of MM projects out there that seem to get started, but never get finished. In the professional gaming world, when a game is done, we like to see people post a post-mortem on the project -- what went well, what didn't go well, what you'd do again, what you'd definitely not do again. This gives other development teams some insight what it takes to successfully produce a game. I think a post-mortem report by you and your team would be very helpful to future modders.

Example post-mortem on Puzzle Quest:
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_i ... tory=17779

And for all of you players out there, I don't think you really realize how important player feedback is to influencing the completeness or quality of a non-commercial project. The only thing in it for the people making the game is the feedback they get from you.

I know I put the most productive time into the MM8LevelEditor when I had people actually using it. When there wasn't a lot of interest in people using it, there wasn't a lot of incentive for me to spend time working on it.


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Unread postby Big Daddy Jim » 28 Mar 2010, 15:41

jeff wrote:It is disappointing Jim, but I really enjoyed working with you, and wish we had collaborated earlier and more often. :handshake:
The results may be a-bit disappointing, but our journey in creating The Chaos Conspiracy made the effort worthwhile. You were a joy to work with and your outstanding authorship was a major contribution to the project. And your design of Chapter Seven, dealing with the Drow, shall in my mind stand as the pivotal chapter in TCC Part 1.

The privilege was all mine.

Jim
"BDJ the Coding Wizard has moved out of the Coding Fortress, has retired from Might & Magic game modification, and now lives a peaceful life in Alto Lino, Republic de Panama.

http://www.mediafire.com/BDJs

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Unread postby Lord13 » 28 Mar 2010, 17:04

I've played and finished MnM6-8 dozens of times.
I never reported or informed JVC or any other NWC
team member for that...I think you got my point ;)

I've played 40-50+ hours of TCC, finished the 1st part,
never finished the 2nd part(was too hack n slash for me),
never reported that also, just made 2-3 posts about my thoughts
during I was playing it.

I've said it again, and I say it now, thx so much for spending
all this time to create smth and share it with the community
for free. But don't be disappointed, I am sure many ppl played
it and you don't even know it, and many more will check it the
following years, don't forget that is a mod of an "underground"
title(nowdays).

I hope to see more projects like those from the MnM community
at future, thanks again :)
Every man dies...
Every beast dies...
Only heroes live forever!

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motter28218
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Re: player estimation / TCC post-mortem.

Unread postby motter28218 » 29 Mar 2010, 16:57

mkienenb wrote:
BJD,

I think you're probably underestimating it.

For instance, my wife just finished part 1, but you're unlikely to see it included in the statistics since she only posts if she can't figure something out. I sent the mod by CD to at least one person who had no bandwidth for downloading it.

And since the game has been out for 10 years, there's a lot of cyclic players. People tend it go back to it every couple of years and replay it. So most of the audience has yet to "find" the new mods yet. Let's face it -- I only look at the forums every couple of years myself. It's probably been 3 or so since the last time I was "around."

If you really want to give TCC some exposure, I'd recommend posting something about it on the GOG forums for Might and Magic. That's where people are actively purchasing MM6 and starting to play it or replay it. I'm starting to see a lot of references to Grayface's patches there as people are discovering the patch. TCC is probably only a matter of time :) In fact, I'd see if you can't get Grayface to link to TCC since he has a lot of active MM traffic these days :)

You say there's nothing else you could contribute to the community, but I think there probably is one other thing you could contribute to the community. As you may have seen on another thread earlier today/yesterday, there's a lot of MM projects out there that seem to get started, but never get finished. In the professional gaming world, when a game is done, we like to see people post a post-mortem on the project -- what went well, what didn't go well, what you'd do again, what you'd definitely not do again. This gives other development teams some insight what it takes to successfully produce a game. I think a post-mortem report by you and your team would be very helpful to future modders.

Example post-mortem on Puzzle Quest:
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_i ... tory=17779

And for all of you players out there, I don't think you really realize how important player feedback is to influencing the completeness or quality of a non-commercial project. The only thing in it for the people making the game is the feedback they get from you.

I know I put the most productive time into the MM8LevelEditor when I had people actually using it. When there wasn't a lot of interest in people using it, there wasn't a lot of incentive for me to spend time working on it.

You said it MIke, and don't think I have "quit" on the game either, I still use your editor ALL the time, it's probably one of the best mod tools around for this game, especially when used with Grayface's MMExtension, boy if you, Grayface, and BDJ joined forces, what a modding tool that would be. Thanks for all your work Mike, as well as BDJ, Grayface, and any other's who are keeping this game going.

Otter


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