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Feb 9, 2002, 12:18am

http://www.microsocks.co.uk/

Feb 9, 2002, 12:37am

I was looking around download.com today and I say some shells and shell
extension programs. I was sort of amazed at the screenshots and though "I
gotta have this...". There was one that was a shell replacement that looked
incredible and said that its used little memory and so on but of course it
costs a fortune :( another one had some great features too like objects you
can add onto it that you can customize and ways to make it looks like a Mac
or XP desktop. Most of them cost money except for a few that were on free
website hosts with versions of 1.0 lol.

I was wondering if anyone had personally tried anything like this try to
include:

-How did you like it
-How did it perform system-wise (was it slow or crashed a lot)
-Features
-Cost and name/url etc..and other info

Thanks. I just need some recommendations so if I actually do choose to try
one that I don't pick the wrong one and screw up my system.


--
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
A message from Cozmo
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Feb 9, 2002, 4:02am

cant...unless you want to re-program all of the games and apps i
use......and no dual boot cuz i host stuff too.

[View Quote]

Sep 5, 2001, 1:43pm

jesus you don't have to get all made at him becuase of what YOU did

[View Quote]

Sep 1, 2001, 1:32am

well id recomend trying an already made bot instead of using code examlpes
from the website (not that it doesnt work). Try Xelagot
http://www.imatowns.com/xelagot

as for toher people getting invlad password ether you told them the wrong
ppw then you typed in or you were telling them your account password....make
sure you know the diferance

[View Quote]

Sep 1, 2001, 3:29am

i've acquired my own privleges before

[View Quote]

Sep 10, 2001, 4:40pm

Would you whisper your ppw to a bot ,so that a game or sort of RPG thing
that required a bot for every person, so that you could play, becuase of the
issue of bot limits?

Im doing research for a project im doing. The bot would store your ppw but
in encrypted format anf it would be safe in your player profile file. I
wouldn't look in it. Even if i did it would be a bunch of jibberish.

Please don't flame or get offended i just want to hear what you have to say.
I have a bot limit for just enough for everyone in my world if it was full.
Plus one.

--
- Cozmo
Of Cozmo-X
World: A'Dude
Co-owned world: Safira

Sep 10, 2001, 5:40pm

well i actualy wouldn't be looking at it and it would probly be encrypted
like the Xelagot does in its av99bot or near that. But yes i understand that
even if i do say that i could be lieng. I don't blame you but this is the
big question for me of weather or not i am able to do the project. Until AW
gives us more bot limits then most of us will hve this problem. I ether use
8 of my bot slots for these bots and lose any extra bots, or special ones
that enhance the feel of the "project" or i use the owners ppw and have 8
extra slots. Although i would love to be able to do the second option i know
all the talk about stealing ppw's has been goign around and peopel don't
like it. Sooo...i wanted to hear what you would say before i did anything
else. Sod on't take it like i'm planning some major ppw stealing project and
seeing if people would do it.

-Cozmo

[View Quote] > but
I
to
>
>

Sep 10, 2001, 5:47pm

and btw i know i said RPG in my sentence. It's not nesecarily the kind of
RPG thats boring and repetitive like AD&D. It's has a diferent feel to the
game sort of like your living in a story. Your not spending all your time
trying to level up and killing. I won't realease mush info yet cuz every
time i do it seems every time i say my plans and the next day someone
realeased someone just like it. As for the bot for every person, well that
makes the game much much more fun. That's also why i asked about avatars in
the other post was for the bots. So anyways, i need more answers pleeeease.

[View Quote]

Sep 11, 2001, 4:36pm

3 cits= 9 bots

[View Quote]

Sep 10, 2001, 5:49pm

well you were a great help while you were here. See you and i hope you have
a nice time wherever your going next.

-Cozmo

Sep 14, 2001, 4:53pm

anoying people by repeating messages will get you ejected every time

Sep 14, 2001, 4:55pm

ok so going back in and doing the same exact thing is acomplishing what? and
yes its not our problem so flooding the NGs with multiple messages over
something no one can really help you with is bad

[View Quote]

Sep 14, 2001, 4:55pm

now your just getting on my nerves

[View Quote]

Sep 16, 2001, 8:03pm

im sick of these people posting 3 posts in one day about the same thing.
Names that come to my mind are bodhi and jfk2.

--
- Cozmo Of Cozmo-X
(website coming soon)
World: A'Dude

Sep 19, 2001, 1:29am

Ok i got a question for you all. Answer truthfully please. And dont steal my
ideas! Most of these ideas would include bots and a full game sort of thing.
Also if you do have your own world or game sort of thing answer as if you
didnt have those.

Whitch world would you visit or participate in the most?

1- A virtual city or world where you have a house, money, items, jobs, pets,
etc.

2- A fantasy RPG type game with a full background story-line and is built
better then ad&drpg (no offense)

3- A sci-fi or space RPG type game that takes place on a space ship
encountering other ships, planets, and other places with thigns to do there
(not just for looks, they may go with the story line or have items or
oponents, etc there)

4- Other. Please describe what kind of world you would go to the most (if it
existed), and i mean with a game or rpg in it.

5- None of the above, you just like building or looking at builds and the
ocasionaly bingo game :)

Thank you to everyone that answers and f*** off to all those dont have
anything nice to say.

--
- Cozmo of Cozmo-X
(website coming soon)
World: A'Dude

Sep 21, 2001, 11:02pm

I hear ya about combat oriented games. It gets incredibly boring incredibly
fast. I wasn't planning on that at all. I find a good storyline is good,
after all, what would you be fighting for? most games dont tell you. Along
with that quests, games, other stuff. If i do have any sort of fighting
there won't be levels at all. You's have skills with certian weapons and
stuff that you train for etc.

But anyways, i don't know what i'm doing yet. As for #1, if i did that i
plan to include amny things other people haven't. Like street fighting,
jobs - ex: Police you may get missions "Report to the bank it has been
robbed you must find the robber he has ran" or Criminal and other things i
cant think of, carry items, pets, etc.

-Cozmo

[View Quote]

Sep 25, 2001, 4:28pm

LOL asking your opinion is hardley *personal* information so what the hell
does that have to do with this?

[View Quote]

Sep 25, 2001, 11:09pm

well the "Microsoft Media Player" now plays sounds for 3.2. Read up on it
before you blabl your mouth.


[View Quote]

Sep 26, 2001, 5:10pm

for all of you people that just delete 3.2 after seeing it for about, what,
2 minutes? this is for you, and also im going to clear up some
mis-information i've heard recently and give you exactly what it says in the
Help website whitch no-one reads.

First of all i've heard many people say its not even much diferent from 3.1
except for the video thing and skyboxes so heres the list of new stuff and
some problems i have to clear up with some of them:

-OpenGL support

-Software rendering support

-Simplified mode for new users

-Skyboxes - For those of you who don't know what this is its an object that
always stays above you and acts as a sky to replace the normal backdrop. It
IS 3d and goes over your head.

-Cell grid

-Increased visible range - Up to 200 meters - Very importnat mis-information
from loading of objects 200 meters away:

"Proper 200 meter visibility requires that the current world has been
upgraded to version 3.2 of the world server, which supports the new protocol
required for querying property up to 200 meters away. 200 meter visibility
will work in pre-3.2 worlds, but you will only be able to see objects 200
meters away if they have already been downloaded and saved to the cache."

So if the world server of the world you are in still has the 3.1 server that
means you can only query objects up to 120 meters away unless they are
already on your cache. I have said something wrong, it does not query all
objects in the world, it does only query objects you can see (depending
onthe server cersion that is)

-Firewall support

-Download progress bar - Look on your status bar when you first enter a
world

-Universe welcome message - The first "ImmagrationOfficer" message you see
when entering AW no matter what world

-Improved MIDI playback - Some information people would like to know since
they conplain of the sound

"Beginning with version 3.1, Active Worlds began using Microsoft's
DirectMusic for the playback of MIDI files. However, this turned out to
create a significant number of new problems for MIDI playback. In version
3.2 we have abandoned DirectMusic for MIDI files and are trying a new
approach: we now simply pass MIDI files to Windows Media Player, which is
the same mechanism used for MP3 files. This seems to produce far superior
MIDI playback quality than the old DirectMusic approach, and with far fewer
compatibility issues."

So what this meens is WIndows Media Player now plays sounds for activeworlds
whitch allows gor better playback. As for those of you who don't have WMP i
have NO idea how it works, im guessing it plays like the old way IF it even
plays at all.

-New web settings - Make sites load int he built in browser or pop-up in a
new window in the broowser of choice.

-New world options - Skybox, maximum visibility, make ground NOT repeat

-Hardware "T&L" support - This makes object "Texture & Lighting" go much
faster, this is what the help says:

"The term "T&L" refers to "transform and lighting." Transform and lighting
are two computationally intense (in other words, slow) stages of the 3D
rendering process that have traditionally been performed in software.
However, the latest generation of 3D accelerated video cards (including the
Geforce from Nvidia and the Radeon from ATI) can now perform these
calculations directly in hardware, relieving the burden from the main system
CPU. The Direct3D support in version 3.2 has been updated to take advantage
of hardware T&L if it is available in the local 3D hardware. OpenGL mode can
also use hardware T&L if your video card and drivers support it."

-New transparency algorithm - For objects that is - This is mostley for
making objects so you have to read the help pages yourself to find out more
about this. http://www.activeworlds.com/help/index.html

Some other things you may want to know from the help before i get into some
other things:

"Q. Why does everything re-download when I change video modes?

A. Actually, only the textures have to be re-downloaded if you change video
modes. Objects, sounds, and animations do not. The reason for this is that
textures are cached in a device-specific format for fastest possible
loading. This format is different for the different video modes. Thus, when
you change video modes, the browser has to re-download the original texture
again so it can be cached in the new format."

"Q. Why do some of my lights look different now?

The basic lighting model used by RenderWare has changed in 3.2. The old
(Active Worlds 3.1) lighting model was a simple software model where the
intensity of the light declined, or "attenuated" linearly with the distance
from the light, up to the light's maximum radius. The new version of
RenderWare in Active Worlds 3.2 uses the new hardware lighting model
available in DirectX7 and OpenGL, which is compatible with the hardware T&L
(Transform and Lighting) acceleration available in newer video cards. In
this new model, the old linear attenuation formula is gone, and it has been
replaced with a more complex formula that includes constant, linear, as well
as quadratic coefficients for controlling the attenuation of the light
source. The end result of this new model is that it is not possible to
exactly replicate the old lighting model of AW 3.1 in AW 3.2. Thus, although
we've made every possible attempt to maintain consistant lighting behavior
from 3.1 to 3.2, some lighting will look slightly different now.

There are other differences as well. One significant difference is that
OpenGL does not support the concept of a maximum light radius. Thus, setting
a radius on a light while under OpenGL has no effect, meaning that a
radius-restriced light under Direct3D may wind up shining much further under
OpenGL. It's a good idea to test your lighting under all three video modes
(Direct3D, OpenGL, and software) to make sure it looks right in all cases.

Another issue is that the hardware lighting in DirectX7/OpenGL only supports
a maximum of 8 lights at once. In AW, one of these is always taken up by the
world's directional light source (the ambient light source is not really a
light so it doesn't count) which leaves 7 for in-world lights. If a scene
has more than 7 lights in effect, the extras will revert to a slower
software light implementation, which often looks different than the hardware
lights, and is also much slower. Thus, more than ever, for best performance
it is a good idea to use light sources sparingly at all times.

One other issue is how the hardware lighting in DirectX7/OpenGL affects
flat-shaded (i.e. non-textured) objects. Under the old (3.1) model, a light
source, no matter how bright, could only affect the color of a flat-shaded
polygon so much. Under 3.2, it seems that hardware lights can have a much
more severe effect on flat-shaded polygons, to the point where they can be
lit to a full-intensity white. This effect is occurring in hardware and
there is not much that can be done about it from within AW. Fortunately,
this effect does not seem to occur on textured polygons."



Now, for those of you who complain about the video begin screwed up or the
sound i have one thing to say

UPDATE YOUR DRIVERS

Seriusley, simpley using older version of vedio display drivers and sound
drivers can cuase some things not to work or work improperly. Also if you
have an older version of WIndows Media Player update while your add it,
although i dont know if that might be the problem for the sound.

Some sites:

http://www.update.com

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

Usualy your video driver updates will be on your Manufacterers website or
like me, i have a gateway computer so i use Gatways update uttility
availiable on their website. If you have Dell try goign to their site and so
on. Or if you have a Voodoo card for example go to their site.

Now i hope this has helped some of you understand WHY it isn't working for
some of you and sorry it it so long hehe :)


--
- Cozmo Of Cozmo-X
(website coming soon)
World: A'Dude

Sep 26, 2001, 5:16pm

Some other sites i forgot to mention:

http://www.activeworlds.com/tech/videocards.asp
-A list of video card both supported and not supported by 3.2

http://www.activeworlds.com/help/video_problems.html
-Helps you if you have video problems. here is some major points on this
page:

Update your video driver - this simple procedure fixes the vast majority of
problems that people experience.

Change your display depth to 16 bits - many video cards work better when
your screen is set to 16 bit color (also known as "high color".) To change
your display depth, right click on the Windows desktop, select
Properties..., and click on the Settings tab.


Upgrade to the latest version of DirectX

seee...3.2 isnt as bad as you think! It's not THEIR fualt that you havn't
updated anything in years ;)

Sep 26, 2001, 6:55pm

well first of all i dont know what the "problem" is for you. THe video
should work and if its crap try OpenGL and umm i dunno....sucks for you

[View Quote]

Sep 26, 2001, 7:45pm

if you cant use opengl or software mode use directx

[View Quote]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

Sep 26, 2001, 7:52pm

im sure you've herd of the new "3d hompages" from AW whitch have spawned
about 300-400 trial worlds. Now tell me, they say these are 3d version of
homepages. Do normal hompepages expire in 30 days and disspear forever? no.
That's what we call incorrect advertising or whatver they call it, at least
thats what it is to me, just to get people to go into AW. Also if you type
in information for a cit that doesnt exist it will create a trial cit for
you too. I don't mind this but calling it 3D homepages is untrue.

--
- Cozmo Of Cozmo-X
(website coming soon)
World: A'Dude

Sep 27, 2001, 4:28pm

so....

[View Quote]

Sep 27, 2001, 6:25pm

yes i've gotten two already but when you type in new info for a cit that
doesnt exist it creates a trial cit for you

[View Quote]

Sep 28, 2001, 4:28pm

400 worlds? where do you get that there has always been over 1,000 this year
and about 900 at the begining of the year

[View Quote]

Sep 27, 2001, 4:30pm

you should update your drivers anyways...i've updated them and had them not
work once then found out later it was becuase of the way ii got installed
and fixed it easily

[View Quote]

Sep 27, 2001, 4:31pm

i tottaly agre...from what i see on the baords there are about 15 testers
maybe and i doubt he even askes there specs before so it ends up that most
of them have the same type of machine. BAD testing

[View Quote]

Sep 27, 2001, 6:27pm

ya but if they ask for it it doesnt mean they base it on that....from what
i've seen they pick long time aw users (i can see why) but thats all i see
from the diference of them

[View Quote]

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