Need civ4 gamers/developers to answer few questions

[snoopy369]

Originally posted by Krill
Well, what if one of your markers decides to check your sources? They come here, check the thread, and one of the quotes you've written in your dissertation has been editted. Technically, as that is the source you are quoting, and you misquoted it, it counts as plagiarism. And you don't cite this thread as a source, and you quote it, you'll get called up on it and lose marks and possibly more.

An easy solution to that is to quote them in a post of your own IE, you now cannot change that post. I'm fairly sure it would be good enough for your dissertation, particularly given that I doubt any of us are malicious enough to do something dramatic like that anyhow. (And, obviously, you have the PM's, which are also unchangeable, except by me, and I promise I won't go into the DB and change any of them )

[Krill]

Nah, even if you quote them in your own post and then reference them, and then the original poster changes the original, the markers will think that you made the quotation up, and you have no proof to refute them with. When the thread is finished, I'd suggest you archive it or atleast lock it, and I'd suggest that Kia doesn't use any of this infomation until the thread is locked (which he should do anyway, he should be drunk half the summer anyway).

[Kia11]

Originally posted by Krill
Nah, even if you quote them in your own post and then reference them, and then the original poster changes the original, the markers will think that you made the quotation up, and you have no proof to refute them with. When the thread is finished, I'd suggest you archive it or atleast lock it, and I'd suggest that Kia doesn't use any of this infomation until the thread is locked (which he should do anyway, he should be drunk half the summer anyway).

LOL!

I'm copy pasting the replies into word documents and therefore have a copy of them which I can provide for my supervisor if she should request them all. My supervisor in particular has said she doesn't require a copy of them all but that I could attach 2 or 3 as appendices to my dissertation.

[Krill]

Bah, arts students, never do a proper job. Your supervisor basically admitted she doesn't care if you make them up, if you don't have to prove the origin of the statements. Go do a real degree.

[Kia11]

Originally posted by Krill
Bah, arts students, never do a proper job. Your supervisor basically admitted she doesn't care if you make them up, if you don't have to prove the origin of the statements. Go do a real degree.

Are you a Professor Krill? When you do face-to-face interviews all that is required is a transcript of that interview not an audio-recording and i'm supposing that this is why my supervisor doesn't require links to all the threads but simply that i have transcripts of the interview at hand if requested.

BTW i'd have to be very creative to come up with 10-15 extensive interviews and make sure that each of them has a different writing style.

[Krill]

And you're saying that you couldn't fake a transcription? C'mon, all arts students should learn the "art" embellishment.

[Kia11]

Originally posted by Krill
And you're saying that you couldn't fake a transcription? C'mon, all arts students should learn the "art" embellishment.

No i'm saying that my creative abilities to take on multiple personas with each having distinctive and unique characteristics is very limited

I think any experienced professor can see through when a student has "made something up".

Anyways thanks for your concerns

If you've got a few minutes have a go through the questions and see if any of them apply to you - thanks!

[Krill]

No i'm saying that my creative abilities to take on multiple personas with each having distinctive and unique characteristics is very limited.

Then you must of failed at GCSEs and A levels, they were all "Make up an answer and make the data fit" exercises.

[Krill]

I think any experienced professor can see through when a student has "made something up".

Prove it. See, arts students coming out with unfounded claims

And if I were to answer your questions you'd get a very negative data point, and someone with whom you can't have an audio interview with.

[snoopy369]

Actually, from my personal experience both as a teacher's assistant and as a student talking with teachers, it is generally easy to tell what is faked data and what is real...

[Krill]

Bah Snoop, you had to interrupt my trolling session

[ben04]

1. Why do you join the online gaming community?

To get answers about parts of the game that I didn't understand. I don't know what it was in Civ4 but in a game of such complexity there are always parts that you don't grasp without someone explaining them.

2. Why do you share your ideas/recommendations/experiences/criticism regarding the game with other users in the community?

Partly because I have too much time on my hands and partly because it is interesting to see how other players play the game. I've stumbled over ideas that I'd never though of my self.

3. Why do you share your ideas/recommendations/experiences/criticism with game publishers?

I don't. If I do then it's as a side effect because they read these forums.

4. Have you ever had any ideas/recommendations/experiences/criticism about the game which you have not shared? If so why not?

I've had such ideas in the past. I didn't share them because I didn't want to think them through. Also it only very rarely happens that an idea is picked and implemented, which actually is a good thing because most of the ideas that are indeed posted would not make the game more fun.

5. Have you ever created any user-generated content (innovations) for the game (i.e. creating new scenarios, maps, graphics, artwork, modding etc)? If so why?

It's interesting to see what is called innovation these days... but back to topic. I had started on a Final Frontier (FF) mod (meaning a mod of the official mod that comes with Civ4).

The main reason is that I loved and still love the setting of FF and the work that had been done so far. Unfortunately the AI was not designed to play FF but vanilla Civ4 and thus plays FF rather badly. I wanted to change that.

A side reason is my general interest in programming and to see what I was capable of doing.

6. What extra content have you created and how did you create it?

I edited the Python AI that came with FF and rewrote large parts of it. I had it so far that it actually could play the early game pretty well. I dropped the project though because of the lack of interest from the side of the community and because Python* is too slow and therefore the time between turns was too long for my taste.

* I suspect that the Civ4/FF Python AI binding is buggy which slowed down the game further. For example I got error messages about Civ4 not finding the horse graphics. However these had been completely removed from FF.

7. If you have created user-generated content (innovation) related to the game and shared it with other users in the community why have you done so?

I uploaded the code I had done after I had abandoned the project and posted it on another Civ4 board. There is more moding going on over there. The main reason was that I saw no point why it should rot on my hard driver. Perhaps someone would pick it up and finish it.

8. If you have created user-generated content (innovation) related to the game and shared it with game developers, why have you done so?

The original developer of the FF mod posted in the thread I posted the code in and therefore has probably looked at it. There was nearly no comment from his side. Probably because he isn't working anymore on FF. This was however more of a coincidence.

9. Have you ever created some user-generated content but not shared it? If so why?

I modified a few map scripts so that they would fit my personal tastes. I didn't publish them because I did not want to polish my changes and considered them as too minor to be worth publishing.

10. If you have never created any user-generated content (innovation), what is the reason for not doing so?

N/A

11. Have you ever used other peoples’ user-generated content? If so why?

I've played a few mods. The reason is the same as for the mods that come with the game: To keep the game interesting by changing the setting it plays in.

12. Do you have any other comments which you feel relevant as to why you share your ideas and user-generated content (innovations) related to the game with other users in the community or game developers?

no

[Nugog]

Male 37

1. Why do you join the online gaming community?

Initially to gain answers to things that were annoying me (ie why I kept getting killed), then to improve as a player.


2. Why do you share your ideas/recommendations/experiences/criticism regarding the game with other users in the community?

Why not? The community helped meimprove my game/gain greater enjoyment playing the game in many different formats (SP, MP, PBEM, SPDG, Team DG's). If someone has a questio that I can helpfully answer, or wants opinions about aspects of the game - then I will answer. This is a quite complicated game, sharing knowledge helps not only the poster - but everyone. I am still elarning new aspects/strategies.

3. Why do you share your ideas/recommendations/experiences/criticism with game publishers?

Firaxis in particular seems to listen to the community. If I want something changed/added then I will mention it, as it will improve the game from my point of view.

4. Have you ever had any ideas/recommendations/experiences/criticism about the game which you have not shared? If so why not?

No.

5. Have you ever created any user-generated content (innovations) for the game (i.e. creating new scenarios, maps, graphics, artwork, modding etc)? If so why?

Not really. I do create maps for the BtS Tri-League Tournament. Why? So that the players of the tournament can get enjoyment (most of the time) from playing different styles of games.

6. What extra content have you created and how did you create it?

See above - and just using the Worldbuilder.

7. If you have created user-generated content (innovation) related to the game and shared it with other users in the community why have you done so?

NA

8. If you have created user-generated content (innovation) related to the game and shared it with game developers, why have you done so?

NA

9. Have you ever created some user-generated content but not shared it? If so why?

NA

10. If you have never created any user-generated content (innovation), what is the reason for not doing so?

I am a techno dweeb. I have no programming knowledge/ability at all.

11. Have you ever used other peoples’ user-generated content? If so why?

Yes. There are many many mods out there which are just brilliant, and add many excellent features/ideas to the game. The beauty of this game is it's modability. Dale's RtW mods are an excellent example of this - as is Fall from Heaven.


12. Do you have any other comments which you feel relevant as to why you share your ideas and user-generated content (innovations) related to the game with other users in the community or game developers?

No

[Kia11]

Hey guys,

I sent a few follow-up questions to:

Blaupanzer
LDiCesare
Rah
Supr49er

Let me know if you've received them and hope you can find some time to respond to them.

[LDiCesare]

12. Do you prefer an online gaming community to that of a physical setting? If so why? What aspects of it are appealing and which a physical setting is less good at delivering?

They are different. There's no preferring one over the other. It's just easier to get online than irl but it depends on the subject. It's easier to talk and play video games at home in front of a computer, but easier to play rugby in a physical setting. An advantage of an online community is you can discuss whenever you like and stay with your family at the same time.

13. Do you feel like you are more motivated to contribute with ideas or user-generated content if you are more knowledgeable (have more expertise) about the game or the software which you use to create user-generated content? How is that? Can you give an example?

I'm not sure I understand. Would I be less motivated if I were less knowledgeable? Pure speculation is the only answer I could give. Am I more motivated now that I know more than I used to? I don't think so.

14. You stated that the online community is interesting for "socializing (off topic)" – so are you saying that online communities can act as a mean for developing new friendships amongst other things? If this applies to you, can you please explain how you’ve formed such friendships?

Yes, sort of. I came to work with people for years on a project, and you come to appreciate others while doing so.

15. You stated that by sharing your ideas/recommendations/experiences regarding the game with the game publishers you expect them to improve the gaming experience. Do you ever get in touch with them to receive their opinion on an idea/criticism you have? If so, can you give an example?

I've sent bug reports, explained some ideas. An example was in Galactiv Civilizations where Brad Wardell reads the forums and provides feedback. I remember he liked a suggestion of mine, it turned out many people didn't. I can't remember the specifics. We also know game developpers read the forums here. I remmeber someone PM'ed me when civ IV was published because he remembered I had suggested that the game map size should/could change as the game evolved, and civ IV map centers itself when a tech is found. There may or may not be a link, but there's no doubt Firaxis read the List when designing civ IV.

16. How do you create user-generated content? Is it by means of software provided by the game publisher? A non-affiliated party? What are your thoughts about these software? Are they user-friendly? How do you think they could be improved to encourage more users to engage in gaming innovation activities?

Civ IV can be modded in python and xml (text files) or C++ (requires a free compiler from Microsoft). I do both, but mainly python with my own tools. I use the in-game World Editor to check the results.
I used to create some 2d graphics back in civ2 days. I did some 3d too but it's too long and too boring.
I think the best innovation for modding would be to revert to 2d graphics, provide a graphical map editor and text files (xml, python, java, c++) for scripting.

17. Has there been any external factors as to why you create user-generated content > i.e. running of competitions by the game publisher, prize money, job promotion?

Keeping my skills as honed as possible on as wide a range of technologies as possible. I'd have run in a competition had I been allowed to, though.

18. Have you ever used other peoples’ user-generated content? If so why?

If by used you mean played, yes, because they may be fun and I wanted to try out, or because I found they are fun and keep playing them.