Active But Not Updated

This blog is still active, but, for the most part, isn't being updated any more. The reason for this is that most of the updates are now taking place on the RPG Maker Times Companion domain.

The problem was that many of the links to software and external websites were disappearing. And with the taking down of Megaupload, where a number of the downloads were, some programs vanished along with it. So, rather than update this site accordingly, I decided (ambitiously perhaps!) to start over, this time with much more up-to-date content.

The RPG Maker Times Companion domain (formerly RPG Maker Times Collection) was originally formed to house my collection of scripts and resources. Instead, it's grown to include all of the software, scripts, resources and FAQs - among other things - on this blog and RPG Maker Times. Some of the software on the site is hard to find nowadays, but you can find it there.

The site is still under heavy construction, but in time it'll be finished. In between various other projects, time is limited and progress on it is slow but steady. What this means is that this blog will no longer be updated, but the other site will be. Please update your bookmarks accordingly.

Some Demos No Longer Available

Several visitors have informed me that they've been unable to download certain utilities. I'm now aware of the problem, so thank you. Anything hosted on Megaupload is obviously gone and it's going to be a hellish task to go through each of the missing links and finding links that work.

I will most likely host some of the rarer software or utilities no longer available for mainstream downloading on my site, RPG Maker Times Collection, along with resources and scripts. This site is uber-up-to-date, so check regularly and subscribe to the newsfeed (when I implement a subscription function).

ALL of the downloads hosted there (and linking to other sites) have been thoroughly checked for viruses, although some virus checkers may well claim false-positives. I've checked them with at least five different checkers, including Comodo and F-Secure, and there are none.

I'll eventually transfer the bulk of RMT Companion to the "Collection" and then leave it as it is, but will probably not be actively updating the blog in favour of RPG Maker Times and RPG Maker Times Collection.

Important Notice About Downloads

It came to my attention recently that some of the download links on RMT Companion leading to certain websites have received complaints that the software contains viruses, so the links from those sites have subsequently been removed. This spoils it for everyone and prevents decent folk from utilising some very useful programs.

Contaminating programs with viruses is unacceptable and disgraceful in the first instance and the people who create and propagate them should be injected with a lethal virus themselves and left to suffer.

I've been on the receiving end of so many viruses within the decade or so I've been involved with computers that I've lost count of the sleepless nights trying to recover valuable data from virus-ridden and worm-choked computers. And I've had so many computers destroyed because of viruses, worms and trojans that no doubt they'd fill a small storage shed.

ALL OF THE TOOS & UTILITIES hosted on RPG Maker Times Collection, as well as the versions that I have downloaded to try, have been THOROUGHLY scanned with Comodo Internet Security Antivirus and contain NO viruses!

Back To Basics

In last week's post, I mentioned about wanting another layout for RPG Maker Times Companion, particularly the Dynamic Layouts.

I absolutely love some of the Dynamic Layouts and am just itching to use one, but after a bit of experimentation I don't know if it'll effectively work for this blog, which is a realy pity. Due to the lack of customization freedom, especially given that the amount of widgets are limited. For instance, I don't think you can implement a Twitter or Facebook feed. At least when I tried, it didn't show up in the nav tab.

There is no doubt that this blog in particular needs a facelift, something more dynamic, so I'll either continue experimenting or sit on it for a while. And until something's been figured out, I won't update with much content. Suggestions, of course, are welcome so if you're of a mind to comment it and I'll take it into consideration.

Layout & Design Blues

In keeping with the update and expansion I've undertaken, as mentioned in a previous entry on the main site, Time For Some Reorganisation, I'd hoped to use one of the Dynamic Templates for Companion, but there are more disadvantages with that route at the moment. You cannot directly edit the HTML or add widgets, although you can modify the CSS. That's no good for the kind of layout I'm ultimately looking for.

So it looks as though, for now at least, the layout here will remain the same, as it will on RPG Maker Times. It's too much hassle to particularize utilities and scripts with a dynamic format, unless and until Google allows these key areas.

Meantime, I've been working on a new navigation menu. Rather than using Flash, which is what the current one is, I'm experimenting with a jQuery/Javascript one; this will allow much easier editing as new sections and utilities are uploaded. Hopefully, I'll have something soon.