Welcome to Volatales!
If you're new to the site and wondering what this is all about, most of your questions can be answered by reading the introduction.
If you make it through that and are still interested, you'll probably want to subscribe to the list and lurk for a while to see what's really going on.
And if that doesn't scare you away, you might even want to learn how to play and try out for a role in the current story.
He Might Be Okay... Well, No, Probably Not Now
Alright guys, you've probably already inferred this from the lack of activity here, but I owe you an actual announcement: I've put this project on a functionally permanent hiatus. I might return to it eventually, but the ETA at this point will be measured in years rather than months, so it makes the most sense to just declare it finished for the forseeable future.
You might ask, "So what's the problem lazybones? What have you got going on that's so much more important than this?" Well... Lisa and I just welcomed our third son into the world on May 3, and life is now busier than ever before (if that's even possible). Doing the whole family thing (at least doing it well) has proven to be a huge time committment, to the extent that I have very little spare time for hobbies right now. It will get a little easier once Cambren reaches six months, but I don't think this project will be at the top of the queue.
So thanks for your interest in the project, and hopefully we'll get a chance to tell some stories together a few years down the road. Take care!
Posted May 17, 2007 by Clint
I'm Not Dead Yet
Though you might have thought so, considering the length of the delay here. Yes, it has been a while. And I'm afraid it's going to be a while longer. What with things like settling in to a new house, putting in a yard, parenting my kids, and working on any number of other side projects that all seem to squeeze themselves into the queue ahead of this one, life is busy right now. Perhaps busier than ever before. So, predictably, pursuits like this one, which are purely discretionary entertainment on my part, are collecting some dust as they wait in line.
But I'm keeping the torch lit, as it were, and still hoping to get back to Volatales as soon as time permits. Realistically, that window of time is still a few months away, but it will come eventually. In the meantime, don't underestimate the power of positive thinking...
"I feel 'appy... I feel 'appyyy..." :o)
Posted January 20, 2006 by Clint
That'll Do Pig, That'll Do
Well, the website is now officially complete. At least, complete enough at any rate. I did manage to blow by the mid-March completion estimate that I had mentioned, so we can all breathe a sigh of relief: my perfect track record of missed deadlines will live on. In a world filled with change and uncertainty you can still count on me...
What this means is that we can get started with the recruiting push and setup stages for the first story at any time now. Having said that though, I'd like to wait a bit longer so that I can clear a couple other projects off of my plate before we dive in. That will let me focus on Volatales stuff without distraction, and help us to make a good strong start instead of a weak, faltering one. Let's take a few months off and then see how things look.
Thanks everyone for your patience in riding this out.
Posted April 6, 2005 by Clint
I've Worked in the Private Sector -- They Expect Results
Well, the sun is shining, I had a picnic with my wife and kids during my lunch break, and I've made some significant progress since the last post. Not a bad day in the grand scheme.
Here's the low down: the subscribe section is now completely finished, and the how to play section is coming right along. Once both sections are done I think we can get started. The current story and archives sections really don't need to be complete to get things rolling -- I can work on them as we go. So it looks like mid-March could be a pretty realistic estimate.
Posted February 17, 2005 by Clint
Slow Going?
Inigo: I do not suppose you could speed things up?
Westley: Look, I don't mean to be rude but this is not as easy as it looks, so I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't distract me.
The site is still coming along, bit by bit. The bitrate has just been a little laggy lately. I'm notoriously bad at schedule estimates, but nonetheless, I'm going to throw a guess out there and say that I think I'll have the site content mostly complete this month. If so, we should be able to get started on a first story in March. If not, well, I can always come back and edit the dates in this post right? With none but you the wiser. At any rate, I think I'll hold off on the recruiting drive for another few weeks.
Posted February 1, 2005 by Clint
Great, Kid! Don't Get Cocky
I've finished the template-related php bits, broken up the template into chunks, and resolved some lingering information architecture questions that were still nagging at me, so things are rolling right along. I've even started to add some real content, like the introduction blurb and intro page, links and quotage in the home sidebar, and the sign up page.
This is the first site I've built which relies strictly on CSS for the visual formatting, and it has been a very profitable learning experience. Slangin' that lean, mean, accessible code is a thrill once you get some momentum going. Previously, I had only trusted CSS for fonts and colors, so this is a whole new playing field for me. Thank you's for inspiration and real-world code examples go primarily to Dan Cedarholm and Douglas Bowman. Also, Eric Meyer's CSS books (I've got 2 or 3 of them) have been very helpful.
I'm still heavily editing the master stylesheet as I get into building the content pages, which is a mild surprise to me. I thought that I would be 80% or 90% there once I finished the main template work, but I find that I'm still adding quite a bit of code as I go along. Still lots to learn, but I'm feeling more proficient.
Posted October 12, 2004 by Clint
Almost There...
Okay, the site is coming along. I've finished translating the design into XHTML/CSS as you can see, and now just need to do a bit of troubleshooting in various browsers, add relevant bits of PHP here and there, and break the mockup into structural pieces to be used as 'include' files. Once those things are done I can let loose and start populating the site with content.
Yeah baby.
Posted September 28, 2004 by Clint
Browse all 6 whopping entries in the Notebook archives
