The Dink Network

I'll start with the bad news first. I had a neurosis back in 2004, as some of you already know. It was a horrible experience, and while I was feeling better in 2005 and 2006, it just wouldn't fully heal.

Then it came back, and quickly became something much worse than a neurosis. Not as bad as schizophrenia, perhaps, but still awful. In fact, it got so bad I've just spent two [sarcasm] "wonderful" weeks in a "wonderful" psychiatric hospital with equally "wonderful" doctors[/sarcasm]. So "wonderful", in fact, that I just had to get out. I'm feeling a bit better than when I first entered the hospital, though, and am currently taking "Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor" medicine (See Wikipedia for more information), among other things, which I hope will help in recovering from my illness.

More bad news : I'm now quite sure Planewalker won't be released anytime soon.

Good news : I'm using what little motivation I have left to keep working on The Minions Of Darkness. It's got fairies, dragons, unicorns, fauns (well, at least one), as well as species you've never seen before, twisted humor, a plethora of main characters, and if that doesn't sound weird enough, it'll probably use Spivak pronouns as well. While it takes place in the Dinkiverse, quite a few D-Mods (such as the Friends Beyond series and most of Dan Walma's D-Mods) simply can't be part of the TMOD canon, otherwise its plot would have more holes than swiss cheese.

Assuming I don't die, plot and gameplay information coming soon, screenshots not-so-soon (I'll post one when I have something that doesn't look too ugly), trailer even-less-soon (if ever), game not-soon-at-all.

Oh, by the way, it's currently got *twelve* spell types. You can try to guess what they are. Spell types are mostly named depending on the source of their power (so don't bother saying such vague things as "healing magic" or "hurting magic").

For spell types 1, 2, 3, and 4; it should be very easy.
The fifth one is easily guessable if you've played FIAT (although this spell type will not have the same purpose as in FIAT).
The sixth one is hard : it's so obvious you may not think of it...
The seventh one is very easy if you bothered reading the D-Mod's title at all.
The eighth one isn't actually *one* element...
The ninth one is the most powerful among standard magic, and would actually at least partially fit into the eight category...
The tenth spell type has been used in other computer games. In TMOD, though, most characters cannot use this spell type. It is non-standard magic. One of the characters who can use it has been seen in other D-Mods.
The eleventh one is extremely hard to guess, but you can try to at least get close to it.
The last one is a secret spell type that can't be used by any of the main characters. It can only be used by a (former?) member of the Dink Community who makes a cameo appearance (HINT : Some people found him to be unintentionally funny, which resulted in him getting a lot of quotes).

I will send the very first D-Mod I created ("The Evil Pillbug v1.4") to the one who manages to guess all twelve spell types (though, since it's not much better than Glenn's first D-Mod, I'm guessing only those who are looking for Lost D-Mods will be interested). Should this happen, said member will have my permission to give it to other Dinkers should they ask for it... though I don't want it to be uploaded.
Of course, should you participate, I'll tell you how close you are to finding out the spell types.

Last but not least, feel free to post any questions you might have.

I gotta say, it's good to see you back.

Thanks, Chrispy.

Small things like what you just said can really help me feel better, especially right now.

Whoa. It sounds like you're coping with some serious things right now. Best wishes from me.

Judging by the sound of your Dmod and your newfound motivation, your Dmod is going to be awesome. I'm looking forward to it already.

Mmm, I agree. Get well soon. The D-MOD sounds good.

Thanks! I think it's safe to say that TMOD is pretty much what kept me alive. Never underestimate the power of one's mind .

Oh, yes, something I forgot to mention about the little guessing game in the thread should anyone participate. You have an unlimited number of guesses, but only one guess per spell type at a time and once you've posted, you have to wait for me to tell you how close you are to guessing the spell types, so no double-posting.

It shouldn't actually be *that* hard.

EDIT : I'll give a hint for the eleventh one. If a spell of this type is used against a spell belonging to one of the first ten spell types, instant destruction of both spells may follow.

Great to see you back.

Thanks! Great to see you too, SabreTrout.

(You know, I owe you. It was you who first asked me if I was considering making a D-Mod. That was years ago, and it ended up with me writing reviews, joining the forum, and making notes for various D-Mods, including TMOD. If it does get released, you can be sure you'll be listed under "Special Thanks To" )

Good to see you... or rather, nice to meet you I second what DaVince said, I can't say better!

Was it you who was/is making an in-depth walkthrough for CC2? Are you still making it? Just wondering.

I'll have some vague guesses at your spells:
1, 2, 3, & 4 are "easy" so must be the normal fireball, hellfire, acid rain and... something else
5 I guess is "healing magic" of a kind, though if it's not the same purpose I have no idea.
6 - Er...
7 is probably a summon zombie or some such spell.
8... not one element... two elements...? Fire and ice?
9 - powerful fire spell.
10 - Oh I don't know. Wild guess: electricity? What's standard magic?
11 - Ummm...
12 - A former member with lots of quotes is probably DraconicDink so the spell would be dragonfire I suppose.

Nice to meet you too, Sparrowhawk.

By the way, big misunderstanding there. Like I told Harshit, we're talking about *spell categories* (names are based on their *power source*). TMOD has a lot more spells than 12, and its magic system is quite different from most D-Mods.

About 8... You did get one element right, Fire, which is spell category #1 (guessing 2,3, and 4 should be even easier now).

As for "two elements"... Yep, that's extremely close to guessing category #8.

Ice... is a "sub-category" of spell category #3. So you're pretty close.

The member who uses category #12 is indeed DraconicDink, and the name of the spell category is related to his beliefs, especially Terry Goodkind's "Wizard Rules".

"Standard magic"... Can't give any hints there, sorry. Think about it, though - what odd character appears in more than one D-Mod, aside from Dink, Milder and Martridge, and what kind of magic could this character use? (this hint is for #10, of course).

Most (if not all) spell categories have at least one healing spell, by the way.

The CC2 walkthrough... is... um... let's just say I'm focusing on TMOD right now. In the meantime, people can e-mail me or use the forums should they have any gameplay questions about CC2.

Heh. I guessed it was DraconicDink, but thought it was some kind of annoying magic which destroys people who DD thinks to be irrational. Everyone, that is.

BTW, nice to see you back

Thanks.

Draconic's magic can indeed be pretty annoying for those who fight him. You see, the less people follow the Wizards' rules, the more powerful Draconic's magic is. Since it does not follow the normal rules of the TMOD universe, he can become unexpectedly powerful at times...

You were actually pretty close to guessing category #12 when you mentioned "irrational".

Hmm. It makes people go crazy?

Not quite... Read the Wizard's Rules (terrygoodkind.net), then think about it... What could be the source of Draconic's power?

(Category #12 is literally mentioned in one of the Wizard's rules).

EDIT : In two rules, actually.

Things have been going quicker than I expected (!) and I am almost ready to release some more information about TMOD and its first episode, Seth's Dragon.

Since

1) Only two people have shown any real interest in playing the guessing game,

2) These people do not seem to check the boards daily,

3) The original version of The Evil Pillbug is likely to get released eventually as a bonus,

4) "Some more information" includes telling you about the spell types,

The "contest" will likely close within the next 72 hours.

Here we go :

1) Fire.
2) Earth.
3) Water.
4) Air.
5) Void. In TMOD, this spell type is used to weaken and/or destroy magic belonging to the first four categories. So it's quite different from FIAT.
6) Energy, aka non-elementalized mana.
7) Darkness, aka "shifting energy". More info about this soon.
8) Hybrid. For example, a "breath of fire" spell would use both Fire and Air, and would therefore be a hybrid spell. Some spells may even use more than two elements.
9) Ancient. Basically, near-perfect control of magic, which is why I said it would at least partially fit into the 8th category. Spells of this category tend to use many elements at the same time.
10) Death (and Life). Well, Death has been seen as a character in several D-Mods.
11) I'm not saying anything about this spell type yet.
12) Just read the Wizard's Sixth rule : Wizard's Rules.

I'm currently writing background info about TMOD - hopefully it'll be done tomorrow.

Interesting.