The Dink Network

rabidwolf9 would now like to present to you his Fire-Spin Spell, inspired by the Sorceress's ice orb spell in Diablo II. When he says "inspired by," he means "completely ripped off from with little modification." Fortunately for him, this is permissible under the GNU Fantasy Public License, under which any original fantasy concept can be freely borrowed and used in a variety of products and settings for decades to come.

Erwin has updated Magical Mayhem to v1.01. As it turns out, the title screen I raved about in v1.00 was about the only thing that worked. This time, there is playable content! Hooray!

dinker123 create Dink with Shovel. Dink like shovel. Dink use shovel dig hole. Dink fall in hole. Dink get concussion. Dink no like concussion.

Erwin has unveiled his fourth D-Mod, the Magical Mayhem BETA. This appears to be a two-player D-Mod, and the title screen looks excellent.

rabidwolf9 continues his developmental-file antics, with the release of the Fire-wall Spell. This combines the power of fire, with the... wallness of a wall, into the unstoppable... er... stationary FIRE WALL! Amaze your friends with a wall of fire, and notice how they run around it to punch in thanks for their singed eyebrows.

Sparrowhawk has released a new script, Countdown Timer. If you ever wondered how the countdown script in Mystery Island worked, or wanted a version with more features, Sparrowhawk says that this version has tons of comments, and can count down minutes and seconds to boot.

Teej88 has created a new D-Mod titled The Attack of the Goblins. From the title, I have deduced that Dink goes on another misanthropic genocidal rampage against the poor, beleaguered goblin race. How much longer will the goblin race lay downtrodden under the herb boot. Rise up, my goblin brothers!

rabidwolf9 has updated a few of his development files with a couple minor fixes.

Mouse Mode Tutorial has been updated to v1.01, and fixes some information in step 4.

Pre-Used Scripts In Dink Smallwood has also been updated to v1.01, by fixing the name of the big heart script, and including the lgold script.

LolitaChix has created a couple new midi packs for any D-Mod developer who wants some nice music for their D-Mod.

One thing to point out: the descriptions for these MIDI packs are among the best I've seen, and detail the background of the music, what type of instruments are used, and example situations where it would be appropriate. Kudos to you, LolitaChix.

Dink Smallwood Battle Chess MIDI Pack is a pack of about 20 MIDIs based on the music from Battle Chess.

Random Midis is a pack of 4 midis, suitable for mysterious forests and more.

Sparrowhawk updated Bug Mania to 2.01. Dink will no longer get stuck in the 'secret bug areas'. Is 'secret bug area' just a euphemism for something much, much dirtier? Download Bug Mania and find out!

GameDaily carries news that Guitar Hero III Mobile has now sold nearly 1 million copies, an astounding feat in the mobile game space. This comes just weeks after the announcement that 7.5 million songs had been downloaded for the mobile version alone.

What on Earth does this have to do with anything here? If you didn't know, the great Seth Robinson was responsible for the programming behind the game, as evidenced by RTSoft About page.

On a different subject, maybe I will supply you with actual Dink news in the near future. Maybe not. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy these delicious new flavors of Mountain Dew. Mmm, Voltage...

(Thanks to Joystiq for originally bringing the news to my attention)

After almost a year, Merder has finally updated his demo of Tears of the Devil to v0.05. It stars two white-haired metrosexuals who spend over half the game beating things senseless in cutscenes and has an install time that lasts over 20 minutes on a PS3... or I could just be thinking of another game that involves the devil and crying.

Sparrowhawk, my partner in the crusade against gluten, has issued a standalone release of his Bug Mania project, which apparently comes to version 2.00 now. I almost missed this, but apparently Bug Mania's first incarnation surfaced as a part of the One Screen D-Mod Compilation that surfaced in October.

I haven't tried either version, but apparently Bug Mania involves whacking bugs with a hammer. Why don't you give it a shot and pen up a review?

If your subservient community hasn't granted you a new D-Mod to play, why not revisit an old favorite? One-Mod Wonder Marpro has updated The Fall of Tahmar, which took second place in the Failure D-Mod Contest late in 2006 (which I apparently didn't vote in... chances are I was being whipped at the time). Marpro boasts that the new version 1.5 not only fixes bugs, but also includes a new area, more secrets, more dialog, and a freshly-recooked scent, among other things. Chances are I completely missed out on the original, but I'm interested in seeing how the updated release fares.

Have you looked into creating a D-Mod, but can't really seem to get the ball rolling? Are you a seasoned D-Mod developer, but motivation is lacking?

Well, here's another contest to draw your attention.

For this D-Mod Contest, you must create a D-Mod involving the main character(s) rising to power in some way.

View the comments for more information.

The Rules

Deadline: All entries must arrive be uploaded via the Upload Form before July 20th, 2008.

Eligibility: All non-staff members can participate. Staff members may also participate in the contest, but they will not be able to vote or view the other entries before the rest of the community.

Voting: Voting will be conducted by eligible staff members during the month following the deadline.

Prize: The 1st placed entrant will receive a copy of the DinkC Reference book, not to mention bragging rights until the next contest rears its head.

If a group effort was involved in the creation of a winning D-Mod, only one prize will be awarded.

Specifications: These requirements must be followed in order to be eligible for the contest:

The D-Mod must be centered upon a playable character's rise to power. This ascension to greatness can be relative, however. Ethel's duck taking rule over Stonebrook would be just as valid as Dink becoming King.

The protagonist must succeed in rising to power. This may not necessarily be the end of the game, but their rise to power must be the central theme of the d-mod.

It is recommended that you create a typical RPG/Adventure-style D-Mod for the contest, though originality is an excellent way to set your d-mod apart.

Size: There are not any size limitations, either in map screens or file size. However, it is strongly recommended that entrants focus on making a quality D-Mod, rather than a larger quest of dubious worth.

Cancellation: Prizes will only be awarded if two authors / groups submit D-Mods for the contest. Also, Tal can cancel the contest at any time he pleases for any reason he chooses. The usurped King Daniel will be supplying the competition's prize.

Misc: If you have any questions, or think some of the rules are a bit silly, please post a comment or a message on the board.

Previously released D-Mods are not eligible, nor major parts of their map and/or story. For example, Sharp couldn't take Milder 3, make Milder become king of the universe, and submit it for the contest.

The staff decided on a "Rise to Power" theme to commemorate Tal's new found power.

If have been working on a D-Mod for a while that fits in the rules, please start a new one. Contest D-mods are a special breed, and if we find out you are submitting something you started last year, Duck Assassins will be sent for.

You can submit more than one entry. But beware: you may end up 'splitting the vote', and allowing another D-Mod to win.

Example

A lowly pig farmer comes to be head pig farmer of the multinational corporation, Pigs Inc. The methods used to do this are completely up to the player; do you make money and buy out the local farms? Or destroy the competition through underhand means?