I'm not going to say anything bad about Rich (not suggesting that you are) no matter what he did. Even if he did pull the plug suddenly, and without warning, I'd have to believe he's not in the right state of mind. This is not something the Rich we know would do.  

I can't help but think that something isn't wrong with Rich. I mean bad wrong. I suppose the human mind has a tendency to fill in the blanks of the unknown, but the signs are ominous. I'm not necessarily talking about death, either.  He could be at a low point in his life.

As far as I know, no one, and I mean NO one, has heard from him in a while. This is the aspect to me that's the most bewildering. Isn't there  anyone who has his number? Anyone at all who can find out? No one lives near him? It should not be a crime to be concerned about a friend, and want to know if he's ok.  That guy has had a rediculously hard life.

I have his number, and I know of others who do. Rich doesn't appear to want to communicate with us at the moment. if that changes and I hear something I can pass on I'll do so immediately.

[warning]

and I have six if warning's run out.

Rich told me that he had it set up that Andy would take over gone gold if he wasn't able to run it. So he had thought about it.

this has been the understanding between Rich and myself for years, but he never gave me the password I need to be recognized by the company hosting the site, so I can't do much at the moment.

[A]

Would either of these two reasons have required the plug to be pulled with no advance warning?

they wouldn't require it (or justify it IMHO), but they might explain it.

More importantly what response would either explanation give?

A) There was much rejoicing and dancing in the streets

B) The silence was deafening

C) There was sadness across the land

PS. Thanks Meal

the more likely one is a probable A, but I fear the other is a C.

Would either of these two reasons have required the plug to be pulled with no advance warning?

they wouldn't require it (or justify it IMHO), but they might explain it.

[1.]

here's what I know:

1. I have not left Gone Gold. I was away from home and without Internet access for ten days in September - the longest I have been away since I became involved with the site.

2. We've been having server issues for a while - primarily with @gonegold.com email accounts, but my ability to access the server to update the main page was also affected.

3. there is no third point!

4. I do not know why the site is currently off the air. I am in Australia and my only contact with other people involved in maintaining the site is via email. nobody has told me anything.

5. aside from "technical difficulties" I know of two possible reasons the site might have been taken off the air, but I'm not prepared to disclose details until I have confirmation and authority from Rich or Mary Jo to do so.

6. I am unaware of any recent change in Rich's health.

[Daveman]

thanks Daveman. I just tried again, using every conceivable sequence of menu screens and button pushing but they're not talking to each other

[Mario Golf Toadstool Tour]

thanks. I already found that but I'm not seeing a "red connection screen"

I suspect my PAL version of Mario Golf Toadstool Tour is incompatible with my US Mario Golf Advance Tour.

If so it will be the first compatability problem I've heard of between US/Euro versions of Nintendo games   - not a good sign for the future

[Mario Golf Advance Tour]

do I have to reach a certain point in Mario Golf Advance Tour before I can load my character into Mario Golf Toadstool Tour?

I got the GBA game yesterday - created and saved a character but I can't work out how to do the connectivity thing.

any advice will be appreciated.

a movie has been announced - I believe it is already in pre-production.

the series left me wanting more - I wouldn't call the ending a cliffhanger but it left unanswered questions (as I'd expect at the end of what should have been the first season)

Star Trek DS9 simply isn't as much fun after Firefly - I'm looking forward to watching the whole series again when it is released here on DVD in August (my first viewing was of a friends imported DVDs)

I watched it recently, in order, and loved it. What did it for me though were the characters - they feel more "real" than the cast of other sci-fi shows. I see what you mean about the alliance ship thing, but it never bothered me at the time - just as I never tried to pick holes in Buffy or Angel since I was having too much fun watching

[.]

I have invites available also - send a note to "stingel.a" at "gmail.com" if you're interested.

[only]

well it finally made it to Australia and I'm fairly sure my kids are going to be disappointed when they get their hands on it.

the single-player campaign sounds like it'll be fun, but multiplayer is only possible using Pokémon which have been captured in the single-player game or in Ruby or Sapphire on a GBA. the N64 Stadium games gave players the choice of battling with "stock pokémon" but that option is gone now. they can't even play the single player game on their own memory cards then pit their pokémon against each other - only one player can use a team caught in the GCN game.

if I'd known this I'd probably have passed on the game  

[AUSTRALIA!!!]

Australia! AUSTRALIA!! AUSTRALIA!!!

[Jet Set Radio Future]

definitely Jet Set Radio Future - liked it so much I bought the soundtrack CD

picking up the 'cube version of this one as soon as it is available in Australia.

not for the first time this year a multiplatform game is being released substantially cheaper on one system (AU$99 on X-BOX and PS2, AU$69 on GCN.) I'm not sure yet whether this is a good trend...

I've had it for a few weeks now and I'm happy with the port (Shining Force 1 & 2 were my favourite games of the 16-Bit era)

I haven't played far enough for the new "card" system to come into play yet, but it doesn't seem like it'll have a big effect on gameplay.

the graphics look good and the interface is largely unchanged. character sprites are a little more detailed and some of the combat animations seem to have been redrawn, as have some of the portraits that appear on the screen when party members and key NPCs speak. There is a 'run' function for use outside combat and each character now has 4 additional inventory slots.

I've noticed a few dialogue changes - I'm guessing what is in this version is closer to the Japanese original.

compared feature-for-feature with Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics Advance it may come up a little short, but anyone who enjoyed the original should have fun with this new version.

thinking of picking up Colosseum for my kids when it is released in PAL regions - can someone who has it please fill me in on the multiplayer options?  all the online reviews I've read have talked almost exclusively about the single-player quest.

in the N64 Pokémon Stadium games it was possible for two players to choose a team of generic pokémon and fight head-to-head - is this possible in the new game or do they need to export pokémon from GBA games or the single-player quest?

[Excitebike 64]

I picked it a up a few weeks ago - finding it a liitle tough to advance at the moment, though I haven't spent much time with it. even so it is great fun

of the few bike games I've played I'd rank MX Unleashed with the best of them (being Excitebike 64 and Midtown Madness 2 - it comes from the developer of the latter)

I was playing at 800x600 on a PIII733MHz (256 MB RAM/GeForce 2 GTS 32 MB)

I have the PC version and Tribunal expansion but instead of getting Bloodmoon I decided to go for the X-BOX GOTY release.

firstly - my PC specs are lower than yours and I was happy with the performance of MW on my PC, so when I say I have no problem with the X-BOX version you may feel differently.

I don't know of any way to use mods with the X-BOX version - I read in an interview with someone from Bethesda that the 'hooks' are there to allow mods to be used with the game, but I haven't heard of anyone finding a way to load mods.

as a rule I don't like playing FPS games on consoles so I prefer the control scheme of the PC version, and I encounter occasional "dirty disc errors" when loading MW - something I don't get with any other X-BOX game.

despite those problems, it is still a blast to play on X-BOX and I haven't fired up the PC Version since I got it.

[Gameboy Advance]

I tried to put my collection on IGN but they were missing too many games I have

Gameboy Advance

• Advance Wars
• Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising
  
• Banjo Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge
• Car Battler Joe
  
• Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
• Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
  
• Colin McRae Rally 2.0
  
• Dokapon: Monster Hunter
  
• Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
• Fire Emblem
• Game & Watch Gallery Advance
• Golden Sun
• Golden Sun: The Lost Age
  
• Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town
  
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
  
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
  
• Mario Golf Advance Tour
• Mario Kart Super Circuit
• Megaman Battle Chip Challenge
• Megaman Battle Network
  
• Megaman Battle Network 3: White
  
• Metroid Fusion
• Metroid Zero Mission
  
• Monster Rancher Advance
• Monster Rancher Advance 2
• Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire
• Pokémon Ruby
• Puyo Pop
• Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon
• Shining Soul
  
• Sonic Advance 2
• Sonic Battle
  
• StreetFighter Alpha 3
• Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World
• Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island
• Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3
• Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis
• Virtua Tennis
  
• Warioware, Inc.
• Yu-Gi-Oh! DungeonDice Monsters
• Yu-Gi-Oh! Stairway to the Destined Duel
  

GameCube

• Ace Golf
• Animal Crossing
• Bloody Roar: Primal Fury
• Disney Sports Football (Soccer)
  
• Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
  
• Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles
• Freekstyle
• F-Zero GX
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
  
• Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life
  
• Kirby Airride
  
• The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time/The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
  
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
• Lost Kingdoms II
  
• Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
• Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
• Mario Party 4
  
• Metal Arms: Glitch in the System
  
• Metroid Prime
  
• Mystic Heroes
  
• NBA Street Vol. 2
  
• NHL Hitz 2003
  
• Pac-Man World 2
  
• Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II
• Phantasy Star Online Episode III: CARD Revolution
  
• Pokemon Colosseum
  
• Piglet's Big Game
  
• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
  
• Rayman Arena
• Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc
  
• The Simpsons: Road Rage
• Skies of Arcadia: Legends
  
• Sonic Heroes
  
• Soul Calibur II
• Spider-Man 2
  
• SSX Tricky
• Smugglers Run: Warzones
• Star Wars: Rogue Leader
  
• Starfox Adventures
  
• Summoner: A Goddess Reborn
  
• Super Mario Sunshine
• Super Monkey Ball 2
• Super Smash Bros. Melee
• TimeSplitters 2
  
• Viewtiful Joe
• WarioWorld
  
• X-Men: Next Dimension

X-BOX

• Amped 2
• Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
  
• Beyond Good and Evil
  
• Bionicle
  
• Buffy The Vampire Slayer
• Burnout 2: Point of Impact
• Colin McRae Rally 04
• Deathrow
• Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure
• Dungeons and Dragons Heroes
  
• Dynasty Warriors 3
• The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind - GOTY Edition
• Gauntlet: Dark Legacy
• Gladius
• Hunter: The Reckoning
  
• Jet Set Radio Future/Sega GT 2002 bundle disc
  
• Kung Fu Chaos
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
  
• Magic the Gathering: Battlegrounds
• Marvel vs. Capcom 2
• Midtown Madness 3
  
• Midway Arcade Treasures
  
• Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
• MX Unleashed
  
• Pirates: The Legend of the Black Kat
  
• Project Gotham Racing 2
  
• Quantum Redshift
• RalliSport Challenge 2
  
• Sega Soccer Slam
• The Simpsons: Hit & Run
  
• Sphinx & the Cursed Mummy
  
• SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom
  
• SSX 3
  
• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
• Tiger Woods 2004
• ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth
• Voodoo Vince
  
• Worms 3D
• Wrath Unleashed[
  

key:
newest additions
currently up for trade :
virtually unplayed

lots of virtually unplayed games there most of which my kids have given a good workout.

bummer

I don't think I'd begun the game proper after an hour of play - the initial tasks set by Tom Nook are a bit if a drag.

I had a great time with the first game, as did my wife and kids. eventually the cost of the final house upgrade got too steep and we all drifted on to other things, but I'm considering wiping our village so the kids can start over from scratch in a few months.

yep, I've just woked that out - now I feel like an idiot.

not an unfamiliar feeling either.

I blame Nintendo for delaying the PAL release of Animal Crossing for about a decade.

[here]

IGN has info here on the Japan-only upgraded version of Animal Crossing.

understood, but I won't be going online with it.
thanks.

excellent. sounds like I need to pick it up when it is released in Australia shortly.

sounds good.

if two players are playing co-op do they each draw on their own cards from their own saved character?

can anyone tell me whether PSO3 supports split-screen offline multiplayer, and if it does can it be played co-op or is it head-to-head only?

I guess I'm hopeful that aspects of Animal Crossing will start showing up in other games. The Urbz will apparently let you stay with your character throughout their day (no disappearing when they go to work) and if they can roam their neighborhood and interact with other perpetual inhabitants then we might be crossing over into Animal Crossing territory...

...no harm in hoping, is there?

[Animal Crossing 2]

I think I read somewhere that Animal Crossing 2 will be a Japan-only release incorporating features added to the first Animal Crossing game for its US release.

EA have just announced The Urbz which sounds like it might have something in common with AC.

[[RPGamer]]

this preview at [RPGamer] is the most detailed I've seen - trouble is it says the game was coming out in February. I hope it does eventually make it to USA or Europe.

thanks Ron - I tend to steer clear of cash trades since bank fees for currency exchange eat up too much of the proceeds. at least GBA carts are universally compatible (unlike PAL 'cube & X-BOX games)

[will]

I'm in Australia so shipping may be a little slower and more expensive than for domestic US trades.

will consider my-three-games-for-your-single-title proposals.

note: Australian GBA games will work in US GBAs, and vice-versa.

available
- Car Battler Joe
- Colin McRae Rally 2.0
- Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
- Megaman Battle Network
- Shining Soul
- Virtua Tennis
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Worldwide Edition: Stairway to the Destined Duel

sought
- Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
- Pokémon Sapphire
- The Sims: Bustin' Out

Mods - if there are any trade forum protocols I'm not following let me know and I'll change/delete this thread as required.