Storm Raven

durham1984, has sent me a PM at The Storm Raven Library, confirming the above post. If someone is interested in continuing with this mod, please contact me. As he has posted information at the library, that may be useful to you. I am sorry to lose another friend. Storm Raven

Freols, I have lined up some talent for you, at The Storm Raven Library. Your rank, there has changed as well. We are looking forward to the end of your exams and the beginning of serious work on the mod. What voice acting, you don't already have, we are already lining up. I do need a list of team members so that I can give them the access to get started on Last Light Studios. We have had a serious influx of talented Modders at The Storm Raven Library. Many of them, you know, some of them you don't, and more of them are coming. As I mentioned before, I am still looking for a grocery list from you. LOL. So tell me what you need, so I can get started locating it. Your friend, Storm Raven 8)

For someone who readily admits they don't get along too well with the Geck, Kenny has managed to help a lot of people out here, particularly in requests. I think it's time we all remember that, and do our best to help Kenny, with his own request. Not trying to be hard, just honest. Storm Raven 8)

Kenny, What an intriguing idea. I will be watching this topic and keeping up-to-date. If there's anything I can do you know how to reach me. LOL. *the old man smiles* Storm Raven 8)

You go girl! 8)

I think this is absolutely brilliant! Thank you Cipscis. I am sure this will help lead many scripters out of the darkness into the light. Storm Raven

You may have to go back to a saved game, prior to the walk down the mountain from Cloud Ruler Temple with Martin. Like many other NPCs in quests, if you get too far ahead of Martin on your way down to Burma, he will patiently stop and wait for your return. You can try looking for him now, but I suspect the effort will be fruitless, as you have already completed another stage of the quest. Storm Raven 8)

I really have to laugh at myself when I tell this story. Last week, I could not understand why a disk I had used the week before wasn't working. Turned out, I had inserted the CD upside down. How funny is that? To be fair, the top of the CD looks very much like the bottom of it, but still... The big problems are easy to spot is the little ones that seem to trip me up the most. Storm Raven 8)

The following is a link to Bben46's solutions to many of the problems encountered above. It is entitled, "Reinstalling Oblivion" and it covers the territory rather thoroughly. It may not answer all of your questions, but it will certainly answer a lot of them. http://s1.zetaboards.com/TheStormRavenLibr.../1446421/1/#new Storm Raven. 8)

LadyMidnight, It is good to see, that you have made many friends here, they will make your visits, more enjoyable. Storm Raven

And for the sake of those you love Dezdimona. We are also grateful.

*the old man tips his hat*

Master Hammonds, I've heard a rumor, that is quite extraordinary in nature, and may explain a certain phenomenon occurring on this site and others. Now bear with me because this will be difficult to believe. I've heard that many people are actually using cell phones and iPods to read and to reply to posts on this and other forums! Being an older man, I do not see how I could possibly read, one of those things. However, my wife tells me that she is getting almost as many text messages on her cell phone as she is actual phone calls! I lost my cell phone in the house fire, and so far have found no reason to replace it. Of course, it is well-known I'm an old man who has difficulty with some of this newfangled technology. So it should come as no surprise to me at all, what with all this, text messaging that the posts and the replies to the posts should be getting shorter. It all makes a great deal of sense now, and so I will endeavor to create shorter posts, so as to make it easier for those many individuals accessing the Internet with such small displays. I sincerely apologize for hurting your eyes. Unfortunately, I find a 256 character limit quite impossible to keep. Laughing out loud, Your friend, Storm Raven

dezdimona, Sometimes a single line from you, paints a picture worth thousand words. Isn't it interesting, that men often judge other men, by the company they don't keep. Laughing out loud. *the old man smiles* Thank you, Storm Raven

Okay, Okay, Did I scare you off? Was it perhaps because you saw little of yourself in this story? Well, don't let it surprise you, as I saw great deal of myself in the citizens of the Imperial city. Do I tend to respect people with higher post counts online? Yes, of course I do. Do I take the time to ask myself were those posts important ones, that added value to the topic? No, of course, I don't. Do I take the time to ask myself were those posts were a lot of one-liners? No, of course, I don't. Do I myself occasionally post one-liners of little relevance or value to the topic. Yes, of course, I do. Probably more often than I'd rather think I did, but I know I do. However, I try to avoid as much as possible the foibles discussed above. A great deal of my posts, as many of you know, are quite long and involved. Just look through this topic. LOL I'm sure there are some people that wish some of my posts were not nearly so long and involved. I seriously doubt that the story above will change anything about how other people post, it may surprise you, but most stories are written by the author for the author. That is certainly the case here, as the story applies to me, if by chance, it applies to you as well, it was unintentional, and I meant no offense to anyone personally. When I first joined the Nexus, and did not know my head from a hole in the ground around here, very few people had more than 500 posts, this was because other members of the community, would warn me about the dangers of spamming, and all sorts of other things, in such a way as I understood that I had failed to live up to the expectations of the community. They did not call me names, they did not use foul language, they did not did not question my intelligence; they simply let me know, kindly but firmly, that what I was doing was not acceptable, and that they would hold me accountable, if I continued this unacceptable behavior. Forums, also have two types of unacceptable behavior, infractions, which are usually handled by strikes, or sometimes just a warning by PM, and crimes against the community, which were handled with multiple strikes, and banning. All of these things are laid out quite clearly in the forum rules. If I had taken the time back then, to read them, I never would have crossed any of those community boundaries. But like most people, I jumped right in, with my know it all attitude. Laughing out loud. I learned very quickly that without the verbal and facial signals that we give one another, in normal conversations with other people, many of the things I said could be misinterpreted as offensive. I had to learn a lot, and read a lot more topics, from top to bottom, than I posted in. The people, who were old-timers in my time, call it "reading the board." They were telling me to get to know the community; I had joined, before I ran around sticking my foot in my mouth, everywhere I went. I'm not talking about you the reader here. I'm talking about me, the writer here. Laughing out loud. I have been away from this site for the most part, for nearly 18 months. I would stop in occasionally read a few topics post if I have something to say, and then I was off again. Sometimes by choice, and sometimes as a result of natural disasters, as in August 2008, when my house, nearly burned to the ground, or undergoing surgery to my tailbone, which left me unable to sit in a chair for several months without experiencing it excruciating pain. I have been a member of, an administrator of, and a site owner of many forums. I have learned to see all sides, but it took a lot of trial and error, and a few terrible mistakes, for me to learn the lessons I have learned. If you think the post count situation has changed since I opened my account here, well, I hardly recognize the kudos system. When it was first introduced they were very rarely handed out and then usually only to the most highly valued members of the community. Well, in those days, I hardly belonged among that group, which is not to say that today I do. Laughing out loud. That would really not be for me to decide anyway. The dozen or so kudos I have, were given to me, by people I helped in technical support. I helped a lot of people, but in those days, kudos were just rarely given out. But again, things have changed. It's become another race like the one for post counts to see who can ring up the most kudos. I've heard stories, of people actually pressuring other people to give them kudos. I was under the impression that kudos were handed out for service to the community, and there are many kinds. But to actually ask someone to give you a Kudos? It was unheard of, in those days it would've been considered the height of arrogance. I give kudos today quite frequently, whenever I see someone has done something to add value or of service to the community. Like the citizens of the Imperial city, that's just the way I was brought up, those, were just the traditions and culture, I came into when I first joined. And whether anyone likes it or not, for the most part, I am comfortable with those traditions, and that culture. If, and I do mean if you think I have added something of value or service to the community. Let me know by thanking me, in your replies to my posts or topics, and if you insist, as there really isn't any way for me to turn them down, know that I too will appreciate your kudos. But do not give them to me because you think I am popular, or I have a high post count or for any other reason please. To my way of thinking, that defeats the purpose of recognizing those who have truly added something to this community. But that is just my way of thinking, and perhaps it is now old and outdated. On a final note, my way with words is a gift, a gift I do not take lightly. Being courteous to others is an ability I cherish highly. Because courtesy is the language of appreciation, and everyone wants to be appreciated. But do not mistake my words for flattery, because if there is one thing you can count on with me, it is this. Time is precious to me, so if I take the time to tell you something nice, it is the direct result of an honest feeling, and not an attempt to woo you with my words. There are enough people around here, who know me well enough to tell you this is true. At the same time, if I don't say anything, please do not assume that I am being disrespectful. In a few rare cases, if I don't like what you're doing enough, I will simply report your activities, and let the moderators sort, it out. I have learned to be tolerant on these forums of those who have views different from my own, Buddah perhaps more than anyone has taught me this. Not directly, mind you, but by his actions, and his interactions with other people. He speaks softly, most of the time, if he says anything at all. LHammonds, I have always admired, he is talented, fair, and honest, a rare combination. But do not assume that because I dare to use these people as characters in my stories that I know them well. With Ben, things are little different, as he and I have been on many adventures together good and bad. Laughing out loud. And the Dark0ne remains a complete mystery to me, (he's very good at that you know) but I do have an idea as to how much work he has put into the site as my background is technical as well. As a result, perhaps better than most, I know the enormous effort he has put into this community of ours. This is not flattery, just a statement of the facts, based on my knowledge, and experience, I do not doubt that some of you will disbelieve that statement, but there's nothing I can do about that. As I said in the story above, most people believe what they want to believe, regardless of the evidence. In closing, if you have read this far, I would like to thank you. I'm noticing these days that very few people seem to have the patience, or perhaps it is attention span, for many of the posts I write. Sincerely, and with all respect, to the entire community, I salute you! Storm Raven

The Imperial Army also realized, that it was in his own best interest not to advertise the minor mistakes handled by the informal system in order to avoid the embarrassment of the Imperial Army, among the civilians it was charged to protect. There was no great conspiracy here, to hide the truth from the civilians. The civilians understood that the military had its own system of laws. The result of which was a better Imperial Army to protect and defend the interests of the citizens of the Empire of Nexiom. The Imperial Army simply avoided the advertisement of the assignments, and therefore the great embarrassments, that might fall upon anyone of its members, to the civilians. As for the Imperial Engineers they were quite happy with the job that the Imperial Army had taken over and did not concern itself with how the job got done. As for the Imperial Army's officers and soldiers, not wanting any further assignments of this kind, and not wanting to discuss the embarrassing incidents that had landed them in their position, they appeared to take the job quite seriously, which in turn led the civilians of the Imperial city to believe that this was indeed an important activity. As so often it happens with the best laid plans there were unintended consequences. As the centuries past, and the civilians of the Imperial city, having seen some of the best and brightest of the Imperial Army, hard at work and taking their job very seriously, took it upon themselves to begin the counting of posts as well. As they had no real idea of the why's and wherefore's of the Imperial Engineers determination of which were the important posts or quality posts, as they were often called, they begin to develop their own system of counting posts. In the beginning, the civilians’ counting of posts was a rather casual affair. But as the decades passed, and each generation passed down to the next, this tradition of counting posts, the civilians began to take their own counting of posts, quite seriously. Individual citizens began to track their individual post counts, and it became a mild competition to see who had counted the most posts. As the decades passed, the citizens of the Imperial city began to take their own post counts very seriously. And over time, they began to look at those with higher post counts and assume that those citizens with higher post counts than their own had somehow done more for the community and were therefore do more respect. Of course this was ludicrous line of thinking, but the Imperial Engineers, saw this is a harmless game, and the Imperial Army, was not about to embarrass itself or its officers and soldiers in clarifying the situation. As the decades passed and the citizens of the Imperial city took the counting of posts, even more seriously as a measure of respect for those with higher post counts, it came to be, that even if they had been told the truth and situation, they would've simply passed it off as the government's intrusion into their most serious game. It is been said many times before, that regardless of the evidence, people believe what they want to believe, and in the end, that is all that really matters. The Imperial citizens, having misinterpreted the actions of the Imperial Army and having determined that an individual's post count was an important number in determining the status between them would not want to know the truth of the matter anyway. And so the race for a higher post count quantity became far more important than the quality of the posts, they counted. And this is how community traditions and cultures are formed. They do not have to make any sense to someone from another culture or even the Imperial citizens themselves. The activity of counting the posts as a way of measuring the respect due among them justified in their minds, continuing activity. This peculiar behavior took on the pattern of what many of us would call a vicious cycle. The more counting, the more respect, the more respect, the more the counting, and so on and so on, in a never ending, but ever deepening cycle of events. It has also been said before, that the human capacity for self-deception is practically infinite. It was no less true of the other races that inhabited the Imperial city. They discussed it with their friends, their husbands and wives, their children, over the table at dinner, and most especially with new acquaintances. In another time, this might have been referred to as a compulsive disorder, but in this case, the reality was that it was more of a intellectual miss-order but that is a subject for scholars of the mind, and best left to them, as we consider the effects of this activity upon the community. As this was considered a mark of respect among the citizens of the Imperial city, in order to gain more respect among their fellows, individual citizens began the race for higher post counts. They did not concern themselves with the importance or the quality of the posts they counted, as that vital piece of information had never been given to them in the first place. There were a few among the city knew the truth, but did not dare speak it for fear of being ostracized by the vast majority, who would have considered such statements to their very important activities as demeaning to them. Over time, this activity became almost institutional, and clubs were formed for various reasons, and various causes, but still at the heart of matter was the serious business of counting posts. Indeed, as the decades passed, and this activity continued the citizens misinterpreted what they had not known in the first place. The quality or importance of the posts to the structure of the Imperial city was completely forgotten as the quantity or number of posts counted became the determining factor of respect among the citizens. This led many of the citizens of the Imperial city to look for ways to improve their post count, regardless of the importance or quality of the post. Any posts all that could be counted, appeared to them as worthy, as in the long run the only thing that mattered to them was the number of posts they had counted. The more posts, the more respect they thought. And so in time the race, for the highest post count became the only thing that mattered. After a while it got to the point where it was not uncommon to see a citizen of the city pulling along behind them a cart full of posts to be planted wherever they thought they could justify the planting. Post sprang up all over the city, with absolutely no usefulness to the areas in which they were planted. Should the Imperial Army for the purposes of clearing areas now covered with posts but disruptive to the flow of traffic through the city by night, remove them, they would soon reappear, as the citizens of the city by day, would simply replant the posts in the areas cleared, thereby adding to their own all-important post count. As the decades passed, and the situation worsened, to the point where it was difficult travel from any point in the city to any other point in the city without having to navigate around a seeming enumerable number of quite useless posts, the Imperial Army was forced to consult with the Emperor on how best to resolve this unbearably untenable situation. Many of these discussions were long and heated as both sides debated the issues before the Emperor. And so after a great deal of thought the Emperor decided to declare certain areas of the city off-limits to the counting of posts. It did not mean that people could not post in those areas; it just meant that they could not count the posts, nor could they add it to their all-important post count. This was an equitable solution as it allowed the citizens to continue posting in the areas where the post would count, but it also allowed the Imperial Army to remove those posts from the counts of the individuals counting in order to maintain clear and open thoroughfares throughout the city. And the lesson to be learned from this story is well..., what do you think it is? Storm Raven

sumoftwosins Kudo's To You For a Good Job!

"The Great Counting Conundrum..." Centuries ago, what is now known as the Imperial City of Empire of Nexiom lay the capital of a far more ancient, but lost civilization. Little is known of them, but what can be gleaned from the ruins of their temples scattered across the vast territories now known as Empire of Nexiom. It is not unusual as a civilization grows to adopt and make its capital upon the ruins of another. As in every other civilization as time went by traditions formed. We call a body of traditions within a civilization, its culture. Over time, that culture begins to affect the daily thinking of its inhabitants. They do not realize it, because it is passed down from generation to generation. An individual from a different culture would recognize the differences immediately because they would be so different from the culture of their own. Many of these traditions, having developed over a very long period of time, would make no logical sense to someone not born and raised into them. Such was the case in the counting of posts within the Imperial city. In the age’s distant past, it had been determined that some posts of stone and wood and other unknown materials were crucial to the foundation and defenses of the Imperial city. These were the important posts, for they were the bulwark upon which the city was built, and upon which its defenses relied. It was not only important to maintain these posts, but to ensure the quality and durability of the materials that formed the structural skeleton upon which the foundations of the city rose. The job of maintaining and ensuring quality and stability of these posts fell upon the Imperial Engineers. As it took many years of education and training to become an Imperial Engineer these were highly valued members of the city. And so a system was determined by which not only the location, but the quality and durability of each individual post was maintained. As time passed and the city grew not only did the number of these posts grow, but the job of keeping track of them. Add to that, that as the decades and centuries past, so did the knowledge and experience of the Imperial Engineer s and the amount of training required to become a valued member of their ranks. Quite simply, they were far too talented and needed for many other projects to keep up with the counting of the posts. It is of an interesting note, that the body charged with this crucial task, simply became too valuable in so many other areas that they could no longer carry out their primary mission. Although the oversight of this important job would always remain the responsibility of the Imperial Engineer s, they could no longer carry out the periodic inspection of every post deemed important to the structural foundation of the city. A much larger group of individuals had in time become necessary. The largest group of individuals under the direct control of the Emperor of Nexiom was the Imperial Army. And so the Emperor for the safety and stability of the city and its defenses charged them with the job. It only made sense that the Imperial Army would be the ones to make the inspections of the posts so crucial to the city and its defenses, as they would be relying upon these very posts to hold up against whatever attacks might come against the city. Not just because the job is important, does not mean it is interesting, and we all know that many jobs are dull and boring. It was no different in this case and so the Imperial Army quickly found a way to ensure the quality of those inspections being carried out. Like every military organization before it, the Imperial Army had determined that there were many unpleasant jobs that had to be done for the operation and the survival of its soldiers. No one liked doing these jobs, many of them were menial some of them were dirty and some of them quite smelly. But nonetheless, if not done and done correctly, they could bring the Imperial army to its knees. You simply could not feed the soldiers, if someone did not clean the pots. And it was important that these pots were kept clean, because any military man can tell you, an army travels on its stomach. Cleaning the pots and counting the posts were among the many jobs that had to be done and had to be done correctly, but no one wanted to do. As in every civilization before it, the Empire of Nexiom had created laws not only for the safety and protection of its citizens, but as a way to reduce the bloodshed often caused by minor arguments. And anytime a large group of individuals is gathered together in a relatively small space, there were bound to be minor arguments. They were practically impossible to avoid. Knowing that there were consequences to be paid if the laws were broken and that some of these consequences would be harsh, those citizens wishing to thrive and survive managed to find a way to do so in harmony. Indeed, this did not prevent the squabbles, but it did provide a way for the squabbles to be settled without bloodshed. Those wishing to venture outside this system and break the laws were very likely to find that it was their own blood, which would be shed. As in every system of law, the laws provided for various degrees of punishment in accordance with the significance of the law broken. Centuries ago, a system of courts and judges had been established in the Imperial city, in order to maintain civil order. Perhaps even more crucial to the Imperial Army, was the maintaining of discipline among the Imperial soldiers. Any military man will tell you an army may travel on its stomach, but the chain of command, the following of orders, and the discipline of the soldiers will determine the outcome of any battle. A separate set of military courts, military laws, and a military code of justice provided for various degrees of punishment in accordance with the significance of the military codes broken. Just as civilians were tried and judged by civilian courts, the military tried and judged Imperial soldiers. If you were a member of the military and broke the military code of justice, no matter what your rank, you would be court-martialed tried and judged by the military. However, in order to maintain the much stricter need for discipline in the Imperial Army, the verdicts rendered are much harsher, than their civilian cousins. The Imperial Army, long ago had instituted two courts within its system. One of those courts was for the trying of cases involving major violations of military law, and the other court for trying cases involving minor infractions of military law. The Imperial Army accepted long ago that soldiers and even officers would make mistakes, not worthy of the lesser courts, sloppy paperwork here, a sleeping watchman there, a failure to show up for duty on time, these were mistakes that had to be addressed in order to maintain the discipline of the men. These minor offenses were handled by an informal system of military law. Disciplinary actions were handed out by the officers directly in charge of the men who had made these mistakes. Everyone in the Imperial Army, answered to someone from the lowest ranks to the highest officers, who answered directly to the Emperor. Now if you will recall within the Imperial Army, there were many jobs that had to be done, but that no one wanted to do. And so it was that these minor mistakes were dealt with. No one was above being assigned duty to these jobs no one wanted to do. But this was the price that had to be paid in order to clear the record of a mistake significant enough that it required assignment to one of these duties. To be assigned to one of these duties was a grave embarrassment to the soldier or officer involved. The Imperial Army had understood that this kind of embarrassment, among your own peer group, was the best way to ensure that an individual rarely made the same mistake twice. If an individual made the same mistake twice, that individual was generally assigned a duty so embarrassing, and so demeaning, that until the end of that individual's military career, they would never forget that experience. Rarely did an individual make the same mistakes, over and over again, as a result of this informal system of military law. The Imperial Army had learned to kill two birds with one stone, the jobs that no one wanted to do got done and got done very well, by individuals with no desire to create further troubles for themselves, and the soldiers and officers learned to look out for one another in the correction of mistakes that might otherwise have led to great embarrassment. To be continued... Storm Raven

Buddah, How can we as a community assist you? Or are you telling us you think you have it under control? Are there other areas that we might want to be downloading in addition to the ones you've already done? Storm Raven.

I've heard rumors, that Buddah is attempting to download as much as he can before many of these files are lost forever, perhaps as a community we can help him. If he has the time to inform us of the sections he is already archived, and could give us some direction as to the sections of the site, he will not have time to download, perhaps we can all work together, to download those sections of the site. Let us not duplicate one another's efforts, individuals could take responsibility for downloading individual areas of the site. Surely we can find a way to combine our efforts in unison with his to create a library of these files. I will leave it up to him to help us organize our efforts and combine our work for the sake of future generations. Considering the number of files to be archived, and considering his precious time, I would suggest to him that he appoint someone to organize this massive project, or perhaps someone might step forward to accept this position of leadership. May the sun be upon your shoulders, and the wind at your back, as time is running out. This must be accomplished quickly. I only suggest this as a way to help him. I hope no one will take offense, most especially Buddah, my intentions are honorable. It is possible that there is not enough time to organize such an effort. If such is the case, I leave this in the community's capable hands. Storm Raven

Worm, I appreciate your offers, and respect as well, your efforts, in this community. I too have made my share of painful errors in the past, I try to learn from them and take those lessons into the future. And so I try to keep my eyes forward and leave the past in the past, which is where it belongs. As to affiliations, I will consider your offers, and discuss them with my staff, I cannot alone make those decisions. As to financial contributions, my team, and I, consider our work, the gift of service. Service to the community, brings with it rewards that no gold can buy. Happy I am, to cover the costs of our operations. So if I have been of service to you, pay it forward, to others, as I once did for you. Please do not infer disrespect from this. Buddah has taught me, that the gift that continues to give, is the greatest gift of all! Who can tell, what the future will bring, but I am excited by the prospects. You may expect to hear from me soon. With all the respect due, one of your formidable contributions, I also wish you well. Storm Raven

The_Terminator, Your enthusiasm is enormously appreciated. Long time no see, to you as well. Storm Raven, 8)

Buddah, When you laugh, the whole world laughs with you. So you see, it is easy to tell. Laughing out loud, Storm Raven

The site bot? Ha, that one has plenty of kudos. LOL. I think the kudos should go to the Dark0ne. He is the one making all the improvements after all. :thanks: Storm Raven 8)