An experiment in an open source truly community project.

[Legacy_Lazarus Magni]

               

Most PWs have an "owner", and perhaps a team of developers, or more likely these days a few select individuals who have access to the module and it's files, and the secrets of development are closely guarded.

 

For a long time I have been interested in a completely open source, and truly community project. I became one of these "owners" a little over 3 years ago, after having been involved with the world as a player, and later content contributor, for over 9 years. And even though, I implemented many systems (for lack of a better word) to make it even more of a community project, I was not able to achieve that which first got me interested, and then later hooked (for over 12 years now) in this game, and more specifically the world I have been involved with. That being, it being a truly community project.

 

But now as we are transitioning into a new phase of our worlds existence, this is the one thing I really wanted to implement. And as such, I have made the module files available to our community, and to the greater NWN1 community.

 

My hope is that doing this will foster a new era for our world, based on community ownership and responsibility, and also set a precident that this is a viable concept for a PW in NWN (and internet gaming in general.)

 

If this concept interests you, or you simply want to check out some of the modifications we have made, perhaps to incorporate into your own world (please give us credit at least if you do though), I encourage you to do so. It is hosted in a cloud with instructions here:

http://aventia3.freeforums.net/

 

It's pretty risky considering what we are giving up by doing this, but at the same time what would an experiment be without some risk? And what is the point if a dream can not be achieved?

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Dark star 1]

               

I have to say I think this experiment was a failure Laz. Av3 used to have 2-5 players on all the time, 10-15 players during the peak hours. Since you opted to make it open source (aka Av4) the world is nearly dead. Go figure... A beautiful idea, but I think it fell flat on it's face.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Lazarus Magni]

               

Well it is what it is. I think a project of this size is probably taking folks a bit to wrap their heads around, and I am still holding out hope that it can live up to it's potential as an open source community mod.

 

And if not, well at least I have no regrets because I put everything on the table, and gave it my best shot.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_MrZork]

               

As an outsider to Aventia, I would say it's premature to call this experiment a failure. For one thing, when you let enthusiasts look under the hood at a module, they are likely to me more interested than less. Many will be enthused to discover things in the module that are new to them. E.g. "I never knew that was there" or "I didn't know it worked that way". A previous regular who had no interest in exploring the innards of the module or who didn't know how wouldn't be dissuaded by the availability of the option.

 

I suppose it's possible people are running their own versions of the module locally, and not visiting the server, but I doubt that is really what's going on. Part of the fun of PWs is interacting with a world where other people make changes independently and where, ultimately, how persistent it is will be out of any given player's hands.

 

Either way, lots of PW servers have released their modules to the community over the years and the only one I play on regularly is one of those. If there is some direct reason open-sourcing would drive off players, as Dark star 1 seems to be implying, I am curious what that reason is.

 

If there has been a drop-off in players, it could be related to myriad factors, and this isn't the only one by a long shot. Certainly, lots of PWs see varying numbers of players and it's not related to open-sourcing the module. The timing is as likely to be coincidence as this new approach.

 

I suspect that, as mentioned, no one would have really had much time to dig into the internals at this point and contribute to the module yet. Obviously, it will be hit or miss whether the people interested in Aventia are also people who build/script/etc NWN modules and they are at a place when they can dive in and test out their ideas. But, even if few ever do, that's more likely to impact how quickly new ideas make it into the module than whether the PW sees a reduction in player base.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_henesua]

               agree with Zork on this one.

if players have been turned off by this, it wasn't the "open-sourcing" of the module that did it. maybe players interpreted this as your walking away. maybe if you still have a presence on the project and a way to keep people interested the numbers will stay there.

in my mind there aren't many modules that are all that interesting on their own. the glue of a PW is the staff, not the module itself. i've done some cool stuff too, but its DMing adventures that pull in players. i recognize that now, and pretty much just keep a server for the times I feel like DMing a group.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Verilazic]

               

In my experience with community building, it can sometimes take more work (at least at first) to bring people in and get them engaged at a higher level than to do all the work yourself. And sometimes, even if you're successful at that, you may find out that a lot of them are there more because of you than because of the game/world/system.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Lazarus Magni]

               

I liked Zork's response for a reason. I didn't think it needed a reply, other than my liking it. I am still holding out faith it is a system that can work. Maybe I am the only one, but it is exactly what I have been looking in a world for years. A true community project, and endevor. That is the ultimate goal of Av4. A true community project. I am just hoping it can come true.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Grani]

               

You're a sort of an idealist, Lazarus. I like this. I can't say whether your idea will work eventually or not, but you have my respect for taking this risk. Hope you succeed with this.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_BelowTheBelt]

               

Good luck, Laz.  I've found that those who wish to be a part of the development of the world or contribute in some way are generally more invested in the world than those who casually play, and thus more 'loyal'.  So, doing this opens those floodgates wide for people to make a permanent mark on a world.  I hope you guys get the success you want.

 

What kind of controls are you putting in place to manage consistency?  Does everyone's content go in, regardless of any quality review?

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Lazarus Magni]

               

Well.. we have rules and guidelines regarding content submission. They are actually what was handed down to us by the original Av1 staff. They were put in place to ensure existing content doesn't get overwritten. We have of course modified, and updated them over they years, but it was one of the beautiful foundations Av1 laid down.

 

However things are a bit different now. Previously people would submit content with out any access to the current mod. Perhaps having had certain components of it "exported" for modification, but no complete version. It was done this way, I believe to protect the uniqueness of the world. Something I subscribed to the first 3 years I was the owner of it too. But I began to realize it was counter productive to the overall goal of a true community project. Hence as I am trying to move to a back seat role (although I am still intimately involved, purely because no one has the knowledge of it, in it's current state, like I do, plus the access), I am trying to transition away from that, and leave it truly in the players hands.

 

Obviously I (or the current lead I am grooming to hopefully take over) can't just accept some full version of the module, and upload it with out reviewing it in some capacity, because who knows what might be in it, or broken. So for contributors, if they are working with existing content, they need to specify what content they want overwritten explicitly, so I can verify it doesn't break anything (including our item guidelines, and what have you), and for new content to make sure it is not trying to override out existing content (and complies with the rules.)

 

But it's a world that has had over 100 direct contributors, and over 100 more indirect (via forum scripting advice, ect) contributors over the last, what (?) 12-13 years (?). So it's a bit messy (as anyone who has looked under the hood can attest), but it does work (as anyone who plays there can also attest.) And it's still a beautiful thing in my mind. There is nothing out there like it. And I hope opening it up to the community (internal, and external) will further that evolution.