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Author Topic:   OK, Admit It Right Now!!!

Old_Guy posted 12-15-98 01:45 PM ET
How many people woke up this morning, went to this www site, and checked to see if Episode 31 had somehow been posted already, knowing that it would be posted "soon"?
Or maybe you keep hitting the Refresh button on your browser when you're in the forums, waiting to see the demo announcement from Mike Ely or Brian Reynolds. Come on people, this is sick!!!
Lee Johnson posted 12-15-98 02:29 PM ET
<holding up hand> Busted. :-)
DAT posted 12-15-98 02:33 PM ET
Ditto. I think the "coming soon" announcement definitely indicates "prior to next Monday". BTW, has anyone heard confirmation that Firaxis went Gold master on Friday, as planned?
DJ RRebel posted 12-15-98 02:40 PM ET
What the hell does gold master mean anyways ???
AS for the coming soon, I think it means it will take place as the demo is released !!!
(This saturday in theory !!!)
Jason Beaudoin posted 12-15-98 02:48 PM ET
I'm glad someone asked because I don't know either. What does this mean "Gold Master"?
Zan Thrax posted 12-15-98 02:48 PM ET
The last episode's going to be: The 7 factions get into their pods and get scattered around Chiron, while Garland (dead or alive, I'm not sure) will go zipping along on the new comet-like orbit of the Unity, which will be back in a few decades (or centuries, whatever) so that the screenshot where the council is deciding to recover the fusion core can happen, but not right away.
Zan Thrax posted 12-15-98 02:49 PM ET
Isn't a gold master a gold disc that they use to make the CD's for the game?
Frank Moore posted 12-15-98 02:51 PM ET
as far as I know "gold" means that the first version of the game to be released has been shipped to the publisher and the game is ready to go into production. I have not seen any indication that the game has gone gold. It was supposed to go gold somewhere between the 10th and the 15th according top the latest e-mail that Brian Reynolds sent over usenet. So it should be done today at the latest if that schedule is being adhered to. hopefully we will be notified when the game goes gold. Hopefully it already has, but i don't think it has yet. We shall see.
DAT posted 12-15-98 03:01 PM ET
Sorry for the confusion...
"Gold master" is the industry term for the CD that is cut by the publisher and sent off for production duplication. In essence, going Gold master is the start of a very specific "time clock" to in-store availability. CD duplication will typically take 2-3 weeks, with an additional week of product build (i.e., all of the components that physically go into the box, that is then shrinkwrapped), then one more week to in-store.
In the case of SMAC they have already indicated that there is an additional time element for further manual translation.
Still, since they (Firaxis) had indicated that the demo would NOT be posted until Gold master, I thought that that would be a useful piece of information to ascertain.
Once again, I think the "posted soon" hint at the end of the most recent story installment is indicative of an eminent demo release.
Again, sorry for using jargon without defining it...
Frank Moore posted 12-15-98 03:04 PM ET
Oh by the way I'm busted too. I wish I could just go to sleep right now & wake up when the demo is ready!
The Thomas A Stobie posted 12-15-98 03:09 PM ET
I am busted as well.
Old_Guy posted 12-15-98 03:10 PM ET
BTW, if I'm not mistaken the gold master CD is actually made partly of gold. I'm serious. We know that gold is an excellent conductor and since thousands of duplicates have to be made from one CD, that one CD better be a clean one.
Perhaps now, they're using a different material for the master CD, but I imagine the term "gone gold" comes from the fact the master CD would consist of gold.
DAT posted 12-15-98 03:19 PM ET
The CD that is sent off for duplication is gold in color, but I doubt that it has any gold content. As for the master CD that the duplicator creates, that may be a different story altogether...
I know that the cost of duplication used to be so high they MUST have been using gold in their CD's. Now, however, competition has brought duplication costs down to unbelievably low levels, making costly materials doubtful. Still, I don't know how much gold it would actually take to boost the conductivity level, and how much (or little) that would actually cost.
BigER posted 12-15-98 03:31 PM ET
Actually they use aluminium as the base media now!
SnowFire posted 12-15-98 06:23 PM ET
I'm not busted. I would be, but I've been too busy and I'm too sick. Another cure for SMACA, it seems.
Yo_Yo_Yo_Hey posted 12-15-98 06:29 PM ET
(Doesn't raise his hand)
Nope, I link directly to the forums, thanks to all those e-mail notifications I got!! I'll just wait until someone tells me it's on. Hey, did Mike Ely even tell us this episode's up??
Your faithful & hell-bent NIMadier general,
YYYH
Brother Greg posted 12-15-98 07:47 PM ET
Here's a description direct from Black Isle, the makers of Baldur's Gate (yes, and Fallout2):
"Once a product goes 'gold' it is a one or two day process to produce a silver production master (and get it tested & approved).
Then, depending upon scheduling, you produce the CD's (takes possibly a couple of days, depending on initial quantities).
Then you need to get the produce assembled (put the Cd's in the holders, assemble the boxes, put everything inside of the boxes, shrinkwrap, case, palletize) and move the produce into a distribution facility. This can also take a couple of days.
Then you ship the product out to retailers - and depending upon retailer systems, the product can take an additional day to ten days to show up at stores."
Jojo posted 12-15-98 07:54 PM ET
Checking every day. So how does Garland die? Does Garland die at all?
1) Santiago takes him out, since he's an obvious impediment to her faction's survival.
2) Someone else (we don't know who-- Morgan, Zakharov, possibly Yang) causes him to die in an "accident"
3) Yeah, the elliptical orbit thing-- Garland misses the boat (or pod), and gets back into cryo sleep again.
By Brother Greg's reckoning, the retail version could be out by New Year's, maybe Christmas. But that assumes the word "gold master" have been uttered by Brian and Sid, that it means the same thing as Greg's sources say it does, the manuals are ready, and the folks at the factories are working and not out shopping for the holidays.....
I still think it will come out by MLK day if we are in fact, lucky, probably by Ground Hog's Day, Valentine's Day if something bad happens, and April Fool's if something really bad happens.
Plasmoid posted 12-15-98 08:15 PM ET
I highly doubt anyone would make a CD out of gold. The stuff is just too weak. A cd-rom would tear it too bits.
Zan Thrax posted 12-15-98 08:18 PM ET
MLK day?
You don't put the master in a cd drive, you just use it as a refrence when you're burning the other discs. (Unless of course I'm completely wrong)
Zorloc posted 12-15-98 08:27 PM ET
The whole CD isn't gold just a the reflective layer is impregnated with gold for higher accuracy in writing and reading.
Haven't you seen those "collector's" cd's that are gold? There are a couple Pink Floyd cd's and others...
DHE_X2 posted 12-15-98 08:32 PM ET
DHE raises his hand, lowers it, raises it, lowers it, and finally raises it after many minutes of uncomfortable silence.
Spoe posted 12-15-98 08:43 PM ET
It's doesn't matter how strong the gold(if gold is in the CD) in a cd is. The structural integrity comes from the plastic sheath. The actual metal(usually aluminum(or aluminium for the Brits)) is only 50-100 nm thick (http://www.ee.washington.edu/conselec/CE/kuhn/cdaudio/95x6.htm). This is not nearly enough to hold up its own weight, much less to spinning in a CD drive.
SnowFire posted 12-15-98 11:39 PM ET
I concur with Spoe. A CD made entirely of gold would be far too soft and pliable and wouldn't survive anything. A CD coated with gold for better conductivity I can see.
Brother Greg posted 12-16-98 01:15 AM ET
Jojo, if we were just after the English version, chances are it'd be out just after New Year. However, Brian Reynolds stated on newsgroups that it won't be out until Feb cos they want a simultaneous world-wide release, and EA are having problems with translating the manual to different languages.
So, it's feb for us unfortunately.
Imran Siddiqui posted 12-16-98 03:43 AM ET
Imran looks around comfortably, not raising his hand. He knows that the story will come on demo day, or a day before. He snickers at those who foolishly believed that another story would have been posted so soon.
Imran Siddiqui
Peke posted 12-16-98 04:56 AM ET
Ok, I'll admit it.. I keep wishing for a miracle, although I know it won't happen.
It seems that I'm very anxious to get my hands on the demo, since I found myself searching the EA ftp-site.. I didn't find the demo, but I found some intresting pictures.. Go check them out ftp.ea.com/pub/germany/Alpha Centauri
Abdiel posted 12-16-98 06:09 AM ET
I'll admit that much and more. I'm logging onto the EA FTP server every so often just to see if maybe they've put it up there before they update the webpage. What can I say? I was hoping I could download it before I have to leave campus and be confined to a modem. . .
Tapiolan poika posted 12-16-98 09:35 AM ET
SnowFire: I hope it's nothing serious. Get well soon, in any case.
MikeH II posted 12-16-98 09:41 AM ET
Didn't check yesterday, did today.
SnowFire posted 12-16-98 09:12 PM ET
Taipolan: Thank you very much. But it had to get worse before it got better, and after some dry heaves earlier today (the advantages of not eating much), I think I'm feeling a little better. Though I still have a high temperature.
Hothram Upravda posted 12-18-98 04:00 AM ET
Yup i did
hehe
Hothram Upravda
TB
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Author	Topic: OK, Admit It Right Now!!!
Old_Guy	posted 12-15-98 01:45 PM ET How many people woke up this morning, went to this www site, and checked to see if Episode 31 had somehow been posted already, knowing that it would be posted "soon"? Or maybe you keep hitting the Refresh button on your browser when you're in the forums, waiting to see the demo announcement from Mike Ely or Brian Reynolds. Come on people, this is sick!!!
Lee Johnson	posted 12-15-98 02:29 PM ET <holding up hand> Busted. :-)
DAT	posted 12-15-98 02:33 PM ET Ditto. I think the "coming soon" announcement definitely indicates "prior to next Monday". BTW, has anyone heard confirmation that Firaxis went Gold master on Friday, as planned?
DJ RRebel	posted 12-15-98 02:40 PM ET What the hell does gold master mean anyways ??? AS for the coming soon, I think it means it will take place as the demo is released !!! (This saturday in theory !!!)
Jason Beaudoin	posted 12-15-98 02:48 PM ET I'm glad someone asked because I don't know either. What does this mean "Gold Master"?
Zan Thrax	posted 12-15-98 02:48 PM ET The last episode's going to be: The 7 factions get into their pods and get scattered around Chiron, while Garland (dead or alive, I'm not sure) will go zipping along on the new comet-like orbit of the Unity, which will be back in a few decades (or centuries, whatever) so that the screenshot where the council is deciding to recover the fusion core can happen, but not right away.
Zan Thrax	posted 12-15-98 02:49 PM ET Isn't a gold master a gold disc that they use to make the CD's for the game?
Frank Moore	posted 12-15-98 02:51 PM ET as far as I know "gold" means that the first version of the game to be released has been shipped to the publisher and the game is ready to go into production. I have not seen any indication that the game has gone gold. It was supposed to go gold somewhere between the 10th and the 15th according top the latest e-mail that Brian Reynolds sent over usenet. So it should be done today at the latest if that schedule is being adhered to. hopefully we will be notified when the game goes gold. Hopefully it already has, but i don't think it has yet. We shall see.
DAT	posted 12-15-98 03:01 PM ET Sorry for the confusion... "Gold master" is the industry term for the CD that is cut by the publisher and sent off for production duplication. In essence, going Gold master is the start of a very specific "time clock" to in-store availability. CD duplication will typically take 2-3 weeks, with an additional week of product build (i.e., all of the components that physically go into the box, that is then shrinkwrapped), then one more week to in-store. In the case of SMAC they have already indicated that there is an additional time element for further manual translation. Still, since they (Firaxis) had indicated that the demo would NOT be posted until Gold master, I thought that that would be a useful piece of information to ascertain. Once again, I think the "posted soon" hint at the end of the most recent story installment is indicative of an eminent demo release. Again, sorry for using jargon without defining it...
Frank Moore	posted 12-15-98 03:04 PM ET Oh by the way I'm busted too. I wish I could just go to sleep right now & wake up when the demo is ready!
The Thomas A Stobie	posted 12-15-98 03:09 PM ET I am busted as well.
Old_Guy	posted 12-15-98 03:10 PM ET BTW, if I'm not mistaken the gold master CD is actually made partly of gold. I'm serious. We know that gold is an excellent conductor and since thousands of duplicates have to be made from one CD, that one CD better be a clean one. Perhaps now, they're using a different material for the master CD, but I imagine the term "gone gold" comes from the fact the master CD would consist of gold.
DAT	posted 12-15-98 03:19 PM ET The CD that is sent off for duplication is gold in color, but I doubt that it has any gold content. As for the master CD that the duplicator creates, that may be a different story altogether... I know that the cost of duplication used to be so high they MUST have been using gold in their CD's. Now, however, competition has brought duplication costs down to unbelievably low levels, making costly materials doubtful. Still, I don't know how much gold it would actually take to boost the conductivity level, and how much (or little) that would actually cost.
BigER	posted 12-15-98 03:31 PM ET Actually they use aluminium as the base media now!
SnowFire	posted 12-15-98 06:23 PM ET I'm not busted. I would be, but I've been too busy and I'm too sick. Another cure for SMACA, it seems.
Yo_Yo_Yo_Hey	posted 12-15-98 06:29 PM ET (Doesn't raise his hand) Nope, I link directly to the forums, thanks to all those e-mail notifications I got!! I'll just wait until someone tells me it's on. Hey, did Mike Ely even tell us this episode's up?? Your faithful & hell-bent NIMadier general, YYYH
Brother Greg	posted 12-15-98 07:47 PM ET Here's a description direct from Black Isle, the makers of Baldur's Gate (yes, and Fallout2): "Once a product goes 'gold' it is a one or two day process to produce a silver production master (and get it tested & approved). Then, depending upon scheduling, you produce the CD's (takes possibly a couple of days, depending on initial quantities). Then you need to get the produce assembled (put the Cd's in the holders, assemble the boxes, put everything inside of the boxes, shrinkwrap, case, palletize) and move the produce into a distribution facility. This can also take a couple of days. Then you ship the product out to retailers - and depending upon retailer systems, the product can take an additional day to ten days to show up at stores."
Jojo	posted 12-15-98 07:54 PM ET Checking every day. So how does Garland die? Does Garland die at all? 1) Santiago takes him out, since he's an obvious impediment to her faction's survival. 2) Someone else (we don't know who-- Morgan, Zakharov, possibly Yang) causes him to die in an "accident" 3) Yeah, the elliptical orbit thing-- Garland misses the boat (or pod), and gets back into cryo sleep again. By Brother Greg's reckoning, the retail version could be out by New Year's, maybe Christmas. But that assumes the word "gold master" have been uttered by Brian and Sid, that it means the same thing as Greg's sources say it does, the manuals are ready, and the folks at the factories are working and not out shopping for the holidays..... I still think it will come out by MLK day if we are in fact, lucky, probably by Ground Hog's Day, Valentine's Day if something bad happens, and April Fool's if something really bad happens.
Plasmoid	posted 12-15-98 08:15 PM ET I highly doubt anyone would make a CD out of gold. The stuff is just too weak. A cd-rom would tear it too bits.
Zan Thrax	posted 12-15-98 08:18 PM ET MLK day? You don't put the master in a cd drive, you just use it as a refrence when you're burning the other discs. (Unless of course I'm completely wrong)
Zorloc	posted 12-15-98 08:27 PM ET The whole CD isn't gold just a the reflective layer is impregnated with gold for higher accuracy in writing and reading. Haven't you seen those "collector's" cd's that are gold? There are a couple Pink Floyd cd's and others...
DHE_X2	posted 12-15-98 08:32 PM ET DHE raises his hand, lowers it, raises it, lowers it, and finally raises it after many minutes of uncomfortable silence.
Spoe	posted 12-15-98 08:43 PM ET It's doesn't matter how strong the gold(if gold is in the CD) in a cd is. The structural integrity comes from the plastic sheath. The actual metal(usually aluminum(or aluminium for the Brits)) is only 50-100 nm thick (http://www.ee.washington.edu/conselec/CE/kuhn/cdaudio/95x6.htm). This is not nearly enough to hold up its own weight, much less to spinning in a CD drive.
SnowFire	posted 12-15-98 11:39 PM ET I concur with Spoe. A CD made entirely of gold would be far too soft and pliable and wouldn't survive anything. A CD coated with gold for better conductivity I can see.
Brother Greg	posted 12-16-98 01:15 AM ET Jojo, if we were just after the English version, chances are it'd be out just after New Year. However, Brian Reynolds stated on newsgroups that it won't be out until Feb cos they want a simultaneous world-wide release, and EA are having problems with translating the manual to different languages. So, it's feb for us unfortunately.
Imran Siddiqui	posted 12-16-98 03:43 AM ET Imran looks around comfortably, not raising his hand. He knows that the story will come on demo day, or a day before. He snickers at those who foolishly believed that another story would have been posted so soon. Imran Siddiqui
Peke	posted 12-16-98 04:56 AM ET Ok, I'll admit it.. I keep wishing for a miracle, although I know it won't happen. It seems that I'm very anxious to get my hands on the demo, since I found myself searching the EA ftp-site.. I didn't find the demo, but I found some intresting pictures.. Go check them out ftp.ea.com/pub/germany/Alpha Centauri
Abdiel	posted 12-16-98 06:09 AM ET I'll admit that much and more. I'm logging onto the EA FTP server every so often just to see if maybe they've put it up there before they update the webpage. What can I say? I was hoping I could download it before I have to leave campus and be confined to a modem. . .
Tapiolan poika	posted 12-16-98 09:35 AM ET SnowFire: I hope it's nothing serious. Get well soon, in any case.
MikeH II	posted 12-16-98 09:41 AM ET Didn't check yesterday, did today.
SnowFire	posted 12-16-98 09:12 PM ET Taipolan: Thank you very much. But it had to get worse before it got better, and after some dry heaves earlier today (the advantages of not eating much), I think I'm feeling a little better. Though I still have a high temperature.
Hothram Upravda	posted 12-18-98 04:00 AM ET Yup i did hehe Hothram Upravda TB