In Reply to: TAMS VS. PLAYLINK posted by CLEVERMISS on March 28, 2002 at 16:29:48:
The key, remember this one statement:-
Tams is a housewife that has written a complete gaming site from scratch.
Disappointment??
I would like to see someone else do that, I would love clevermiss to implement just one of her 'simple enhancements' herself. I cannot imagine how anybody could be 'disappointed' by the devotion Tams has shown in CREATING a complete site. I for one commend her for fixing bugs on a daily basis, implementing new features as they are asked for, and more than all of that, for still managing to make time to help players. I know that right now she is rewriting the lobby to add the 'enhancements' people have asked for, and imagine that she is making rapid progress just like she always has. Thanks and kudos Tams.
Payment
Does anyone dispute that Tams works, and works hard on her site? Can you imagine the time that has gone into getting it to where it is now? And what does she ask for? The price of a months internet connection, an evening out, a days meals for your family. She has given everybody a month of free play, to see wether they like the games, surely that is fair. I have seen many many faces from the old days, so many happy exclaimations, that I think Tams should be thanked not only for the games, but for bringing the community back together. And really, if you don't like the game, stop playing, and don't buy a membership.
Hosting and lag
Tams has never lied about it, the person that starts a game room is the host. It is a very sensible strategy from her point of view, because it removes the risk. If she were to host the games, she would require a server capable of handling the load, and enough bandwidth too. As she took on more and more games she would need to expand in order to keep lag low. I would do exactly the same thing if I were her as I doubt I would dip into my pocket or take out a loan to cover the level of funding required. And I doubt the subscription fees would pay for it.
Points
If I make a good word I get lots of points, if I make a bad word I get less points, the same applies to my opponent. If i have made a better word than them in one round, that gives me a lead, which means they will have to make an word better than mine in the next round to even it up again. The fact that neither player can make words worth hundreds of points is irrelevant because it applies to both players regardless whether they are ahead or behind. I for one find Tams more fair, because you can't complete the game with two long words, it takes more consistancy to win. You could win the whole game with one word (razzmatazz) at playlink if you were lucky enough with the letters, what chance for comeback did that give you?
Changing
Tams is ready to implement change after change. She has done so and I am sure she will continue to develop her site, as long as there is interest, and especially if she starts getting something in return. I know that there are solutions to the problem of lag, ones that do not involve her having to invest lot's of money in hosting fees with no promise of returns, and I believe in time Tams will implement changes to remedy the lag.
Java
A history lesson I learned from talking to Tams. Wordline exists for one reason, because of Java. Tams wrote Wordline because Blocktionary was written in Java and she couldn't play it on her computer. Java is a wonderful programming language, it allows you to create a program that will run on any device that understands Java, but this flexibility comes at the price of performance. You simply require a faster processor to do the extra work of understanding it.
Cogito ERGO Sum - "I think, therefore I am" - Rene Descartes 1596-1650