Time to start all over again...

[David]

Hi all! :P

It's bad news time: at 9am this morning (18th June 2001), someone logging in from AOL managed to hack our board and reset everything to defaults! There are a lot of AOL users out there, so we're not going to start pointing fingers...

So, sorry guys! We were in such a rush to get your opinions on the new PopCap games back in March that I didn't get chance to have the forum backed up in case of such emergencies. Lessons learned, I'll get a backup system sorted, and I've also patched the back door the hacker used.

As ever, if you want to be part of Astraware's beta testing then register on this site and then go to http://www.astraware.com/board/betareg.php3. There aren't any beta forums at the moment, 'cos (unusually) there aren't any live betas. They'll be back in a week or so, I expect, as we've got a new batch of PopCap updates coming out at the start of each month.

Thanks for your continuing support! We've been astounded at how much people have contributed over the last couple of months, and we hope everything'll be back to normal soon!

David

[rogerkang]

Oh, man....

[DECx]

Ouch!... :(

oh, well it was only three months of stuff... it'll just take us another 3 months to fill it up again :)

DECx

[nilepoc]

I just can't understand doing something like that.

oh, well, I guess I am a newbie again. Mabye I can now beat hiroshi in number of posts? :)

[Hiroshi]

Mabye I can now beat hiroshi in number of posts? :)
Congratulation! You won!:D
Anyway, I don't believe that I meet with the real Zap! on the BB.
So, I'll calling that the Zap!2001 beta1 personaly. However, I won't expect come to beta2, 3 and more.:P

[jerryc98]

This realy SUCKS:(!!!!

[Xiantayne]

Oh Man! And I was almost at Fast Newbie too! I also had the only 3-page non-game related post going. :(

[FireSpy]

I am shure we will all be ready when you need us next.

[DECx]

What the heck would anyone gain by trashing Astraware's board? It's not a particularly heavily posted board, not politically associated, doesn't employ child labour... :)

DECx

[fishfuzz]

Ha! HAD makes me get up a half-hour before I go to bed and then I have to pay him to allow me to work!

T =D

[Azmeos]

Who would do such a thing? Well, whoever it was needs a swift kick in the pants!

[Kintama]

I'm quite certain they will get a dose of Karma. Something will upset them 10x over the total upsetting it caused all us and Astraware. I feel bad for the reflected damage that he/they/she will receive.

James

[jonathanhuang]

I'm BAAAAACCCKKKKK!

Anyway, it was most likely some poor guy who got hacked, and his AOL account used to hack with. <sigh>

[David]

Hi all!
Many thanks for all those kind words! I'll put the hack down to someone with intellectual curiosity... and me being stoopid!
Just to say that if you're thinking things are rather quiet at the moment then it's cos (a) this week Howard and Haemish are both on vacation (and it's boiling here in the UK, well, 30C/86F is hot to us), and also we're all busily working on a project for someone! Once finished the product won't be sold by Astraware, but it'll mention us and we think it'll be fun! We should be back doing our own things mid-August time.

[Hiroshi]

it's boiling here in the UK, well, 30C/86F is hot to usIt is 35C/95F central in Japan.:P
Once finished the product won't be sold by Astraware, but it'll mention us and we think it'll be fun!Could you tell me that name?

[David]

Whoa, that's hot! There's no air conditioning in our houses, where we work, though...
Sorry, no, the product name is a secret for time-being! We're hoping that our publisher will allow us to let some of you wonderful beta testers help us nearer the end of the project, then you'll know what it is. Stay tuned!

[Hiroshi]

Sorry, no, the product name is a secret for time-being! We're hoping that our publisher will allow us to let some of you wonderful beta testers help us nearer the end of the project, then you'll know what it is. Stay tuned!
As I thought:) I understand that and I look forward to then.

[Xiantayne]

Mid-August??? Ahhhhh, I'm going to die before then! We're all going through Beta withdrawal now as it is. What are we to do until Mid-August? It's an eternity away....

oy.... :)

[Hiroshi]

Recently, I feel strange regarding slow response from Astraware and Had said
some game will alpha release start of this week. However, No release and they take a vacation in this week?
I guess Astraware get change the state of affairs in here a month, right?
Or, simply, The distribute channel changed of this weeks alpha and you can't up on the BB?

Ofcause, I'll be patient waiting until you create incredible/great game for long time.
And, I know you need a lot of time for crating wonderful game.:)

However, I hope to know exactly your schedule. If you can inform to us.:P

Have a good vacation! and thank you for your fully working:)

[Xiantayne]

True. It's not like Howard to tell us something and not follow through with it, but he is also in need of a well deserved vacation and we can not deny him that.

Whatever Astraware is currently working on, I'm sure it will be just as good or even better than what we've seen before and it'll be worth the wait....right David? :)

[Howard]

Well, I'm back from a bloody good holiday. (Doing basically nothing for a week. I've got about a million new game ideas...)
The good news is, while I've been relaxing, seems everyone else has been working double hard, and I reckon that (given permission from the publishers, and IP owners) we'll have the first betas underway next week.

(Shall I let them know anything else, David? We can censor each other you know....)

Perhaps I'll whet your appetites...
We're working on a set of arcade games from the 80s, and although there's nothing ground breaking or original in them (compared to some of the things Astraware have done), they're all great fun, and are sure to be popular. We'll be emailing everyone on the (new and old) beta lists to invite them to test, just as soon as we have permission to get them into beta.

Had.

[Xiantayne]

Welcome back Howard! Glad to hear you had a relaxing vacation. Although, if you were thinking all week about what new games to create, must not have really been a vacation then, eh?

Well, now that you're back.....get to work! :)

I'm looking forward to the new games.