Occasionally I get creative enough to draw something. Usefully it ends up with a series of crumpled pieces of paper, a full recycling bin, and a feeling of self loathing. But sometimes I do something that makes me take a step back and go "Wow. This isn't as bad as I usually do. Someone might look at this and not laugh at it." And so it goes that I had a few pieces that I held on to for my own viewing pleasure. Unfortunately most of those pieces where lost with a hard drive crash last year.

For awhile I had avoided artistic representation in the form of drawings, and digital art. Recently though I had tried to get back on the saddle again. I was able to make it up and do a little trot before realizing I don't know how to ride, or draw. What you are about to see ladies, gentlemen, and fancy kran, is the direct result of that brief moment of not sucking as hard. This here is a drawing of everybody's favorite fenki, Zalya. Played by yours truly (if you could not tell by the forum name).

This is a piece of artwork that can only be described as acceptable. It is far from grand, and there are millions of other people who can do better. But it is something I spent more time than I usually would, and it is worth uploading somewhere to show that maybe, with practice, luck, and an attention span that I will never, ever have, I could do something worth while in digital artwork. That of course is offset by the fact that it is simple, pathetic, and doesn't fully capture what was in my head. At all. So without any further ado, I present to you one of my few pieces worth any sort of criticism for you to laugh at, make mockery of, or if you happen to me less of a critic than I am, applaud.

Instead of showing outdated tips on the loading screens, I propose that we show commonly known settings info. Right now the loading tips are virtually useless. It makes no sense to tell people to "Go to the library to learn about commonly held facts about the setting" When the loading screens them selves could be that library. Every character in Planeshift should know the basics of the setting, and some of the history. Not every bit of information needs to be reviled, just some useful tidbits that help ensure that new players, and more forgetful ones (myself included) have access to the knowledge they need to play a character living in Yilikum.

Some tips could include;

-Yilikum is divided into eight levels. The Dome, The Barn, The Far Ground, The Forge, Lands end, Shore, Lower fields, And the Deep.

-According to legend the kran where created by Talad in 10 AY. In the process Talad scarred the god Laanx, permanently disfiguring the her.

-The Black Flame is considered by many to be just a story created to scare children, but rumors of a small following still persist, despite naysayers.

-In the year 536AY many Diaboli escaped to the Death Realm in an effort to find immortality.

-Pterosaurs are winged, reptilian creatures used for flight among those wealthy enough to ride them.

-The Azure sun is the massive crystal on the roof of the dome, its light is what illuminates all of Yilikum.

If we want to get really fancy, we could even have certain tips appear in certain places. Like the loading screens in Hydlaa talking about the history of hydlaa, or loading screens in Ojaveda displaying facts about Enki.

Some examples for Hydlaa would be;

-Pantel Firgal became the first ruler of Hydlaa in 320AY.

-Hydlaa is home to the temple of Laanx. Laanx worshipers from all over gather here.

And then some of Ojaveda;

-The Burning is a plague that affects only Enkidukai. Sections of Ojaveda have been closed off, preventing the spread of the disease.

-Ojaveda started as a desert village in 310AY. Since then it has grown into a thriving city.
 

Almost all of this information is freely available in game, and on the Planeshift website. There are many great uses for the tip system, but right now it isn't being utilized properly. It is my understanding that these changes shouldn't be hard to make at all, and would benefit the entire Planeshift community. It would be a great thing to see happen, and would make the setting information more relevant. So lets not tell people that Kada El's is at the top of the stairs in Hydlaa, lets let people know where Kada El's comes from!

Humble regards,
Zalya

About: The Gifts of the Dome guild is made up of those people who make all or part of their living from collecting and gathering the natural resources of Ylikum. Hunters and fishermen who collect and sell animal parts and meat, miners who collect the mineral resources, Harvesters and herbalists who collect the plant resources of the land and farmers who grow plants we use for food. Since each member depends on the natural resources to make their living each member has a deep interest in making sure those resources are not abused or misused. When discovering abuse and misuse members will work to stop the abuse to the best of their ability. Members are also interested in establishing profitable and reliable markets for the goods and resources they collect. This can involve setting up contracts with crafters to supply the resources the crafter needs, setting up a store to sell the good supped by all guild members, or providing the good people might need on a as needed basis. The guild provides education to member to help them become better at their chosen craft with the idea that a better educated hunter or gather will make better use of the resources of the land and be more efficient and profitable in their endeavors.

History: Life in Yliakum depends on the ability of the people to make good use of the natural resources of the land. Weapon and armor makers need metals in order to create their wares. Cooks need various plants and animal parts to make the food that sustains the population. Alchemists need plants and herbs to create their potions that help cure the sick or heal the injured. A skilled sword crafter can either use up their valuable time by mining their own ores or they can concentrate on their craft and use their time to make better and more weapons. The gathers of the natural resources allow the specialized crafters to devote more time to perfecting their craft and producing valuable items for the population.

Those who specialized in hunting, gathering and mining realized that they could become more efficient if they worked together, to share their secrets about the best places to mine or the best way to hunt different creatures. By working together they could also help establish a more consistent market for the goods they sell. After much discussion and some initial efforts to work together the Gifts of the Dome guild was established. since the establishment of the guild the members have worked to help educate those who are new to the field of hunting and gathering and have worked to establish relations with merchants and customers to set up dependable and profitable markets.

Members: Membership in the guild is open to anyone who makes their living, in full or in part, from mining, hunting, gathering or farming. members are expected to donate to the guild either by taking part in guild events, such as markets, or helping run the guild shop, or donating a portion of the goods they collect/gather to the guild. New members will get help in the form of education and advice from the older members. All members benefit form the contracts the guild sets up with merchants and customers. Even though the Gifts of the Dome was created as a business, we are a Roleplaying guild. We ask all of our members to participate in guild roleplays including guild events, elections, trading, and general development of character.

Guild structure: Guild ranks are based on either your primary profession or your primary role in helping run the guild. Guild ranks are:

Mining
Hunting
Fishing
Harvesting
Guardian - Sort of like the guild guards, to help defend the guild and guild members.
Organizer - Primarily in charge of organizing guild events and participation of the guild in outside events like market days.
Ambassador - Responsible for maintaining relations with other guilds and negotiations of business contracts with potential customers.
Councilor - The people who give advice to the guild leader and who help run the guild when the leader isn't around.
Overseer - The elected head of the guild.


The guild leader is elected by the full membership from one of the members in the Guardian, Organizer, Ambassador or Councilor ranks.  Elections for guild leader are held annually.

Website: Visit http://giftsofthedome.guildlaunch.com/ for more information, or to apply.

Thank you!

Well I've been working on a few texture mods and this is one of my better ones so far. Its for Clamod fenki who actually would like to wear pants. Its based on Zalya's cloths, and it came put pretty well. Most of the textures are from the Planeshift files, but the leather pants are from the GIMP textures.


There are four files included in the download, one for the head, torso, legs, and arms. All of them are Zipped. That means unzip them.

In your PS folder, there should be another folder called art, in art there will be a file called materials.zip. Unzip the folder drag all the Enkif_[something]_3.dds files in to it and click replace when prompted. Then just rezip all the files and name the new zip materials.zip and replace the old materials.zip. To zip the files on a mac select all and right click and select 'Compress' or if your using windows choose 'Archive'.