Grace gave birth to a lovely baby girl, our daughter, Ella Rose, at 12:39 AM. It was a difficult labour for her, and she is still recuperating in hospital, but she should be coming home tomorrow…and overall, she’s doing very well. So very well, especially considering that she was awake for somewhere between 80 and 96 hours between the onset of early labour (back on Thursday) and some time this afternoon, when she finally managed to get some much-needed rest.
And as her husband, I have to say this much: I could not be prouder of her. I’m so proud of how she handled the circumstances that were thrust upon her during labour, and how she handled the fact that virtually nothing about the hospital stay went according to our hopes. And I’m so proud — and very much in awe — of the sheer determination, courage, and strength she displayed all through the delivery. It was clear, from her every word and act, that this wasn’t just a case of “I just want the baby to come out,” — she wanted to be a mother, to meet her daughter…not just be free of the pain and contractions.
Which, I think, is how it’s supposed to be.
And me? I wouldn’t have traded my place in all of this for the world. If there’s a way for a father to participate in a delivery more, I can’t think what it might be; I got to coach her through every push, and I was right there, providing counter-pressure to each effort she made. And I cannot find words to describe the feeling of seeing one’s child emerge into the world, that first moment where this little purple person almost leaps into the air and is quickly wrapped in a cloth by the doctors.
Grace is so beautiful, and little baby Ella is so very precious and dear. Though I’ve had many moments in my life when I’ve become aware of God’s plan, woven through the very fabric of creation, I’ve never found myself intersecting with it, or being so profoundly aware of it, in such a way as I am whenever I behold the two of them. A man such as myself does not deserve such good fortune as this.
I’m a dad. My wife is a mother. We have a daughter.
Oh, I cannot begin to describe the thankfulness I feel. And please, good Reader, do keep my wife in your prayers, that her healing may be complete, free from complication, and expedient.
This open-source 3D client for Ultima Online has been updated to version 2520, for both Windows and Linux. Updated installer files can be downloaded from the project website, or via the project entry here.
Tags: 3D, Linux, Ultima Online, Windows
This interesting project that imports shapes from The Black Gate into Serpent Isle has been updated and patched since last I looked in on it. Specifically, it has been updated to version 6.8.7, which has also been patched to fix an issue with compilation.
Full details can be found at the project’s discussion thread in the Exult forums. Updated downloads are available there, or through the project entry.
Tags: Exult, Serpent Isle, The Black Gate, Ultima 7
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Produced by: Malignant Manor
Website: SI BG Merge @ the Exult Forums
Releases:
* [drain file 544 url SI BG Merge v6.8.7] ([drain file 544 size])
* [drain file 543 url SI BG Merge Patch] ([drain file 543 size])
This interesting mod for Exult imports the shapes from The Black Gate into Serpent Isle, adding hundreds of new shapes, with a few being repeated for use with The Black Gate’s usecode.
It is still in development, and still buggy (some in-game functionality may be lost by use of the patch), but for users of Exult Studio this may well be an exciting development indeed, as it vastly expands the versatility of available shapes when modifying or creating maps.
Tags: Exult, Exult Studio, Serpent Isle, The Black Gate, Ultima 7
Additional Files
* Black Gate Sound Files (4.6 MiB, 26 hits)
* Black Gate Sound Files (Roland MT-32) (6.2 MiB, 18 hits)
* Black Gate OGG Music Files (1 of 2) (12.0 MiB, 32 hits)
* Black Gate OGG Music Files (2 of 2) (10.9 MiB, 28 hits)
* Serpent Isle Sound Files (5.9 MiB, 28 hits)
* Serpent Isle Sound Files (Roland MT-32) (7.7 MiB, 22 hits)
* [drain file 407 url Nokia 770/M800 - Data] ([drain file 407 size])
* [drain file 403 url Nokia 770/M800 - Music (mono, low quality)] ([drain file 403 size])
* [drain file 404 url Nokia 770/M800 - Music (stereo, higher quality)] ([drain file 404 size])
Exult 1.4 (unstable)
* Exult 1.4 (Windows) (2.2 MiB, 29 hits)
* Exult 1.4 (PocketPC - ARM4) (1.3 MiB, 15 hits)
* Exult 1.4 (PocketPC - ARM5) (1.3 MiB, 19 hits)
* Exult Studio (Windows) (3.5 MiB, 23 hits)
* Exult Tools (Windows) (1.3 MiB, 22 hits)
* Exult 1.4 Source (4.3 MiB, 18 hits)
* Shapes Plugin for Photoshop (87.7 KiB, 20 hits)
* GIMP Plugin (50.4 KiB, 21 hits)
* GIMP Plugin 2.0 (47.0 KiB, 19 hits)
* SDL 1.2 Libraries
An amazing remake, Exult is a cross-platform reworking of the Ultima 7/Serpent Isle engine that allows the game to be run on modern operating systems with expanded memory environments. This is not the same as a Voodoo memory-manager wrapper program, and it works on many systems apart from Windows.
Exult 1.2 is the latest “stable” release – Team Exult is making massive engine changes, and subsequent releases are expected to have instabilities as a result. It has Windows, Mac OS X, Sharp Zaurus, and Fedora builds available. Also avaliable is the source code, so that people running other systems can compile and build Exult.
Tags: Exult, Fedora, Mac, OS X, Serpent Isle, Sharp Zaurus, The Black Gate, Ultima 7, Voodoo, Windows
The bleeding-edge version of Exult — the Ultima 7 engine for more operating systems and platforms than one cares to list — has been updated as of October 9th. Exult Tools and Exult Studio have similarly been updated, and all can be downloaded from the project website.
Or from the project entry here at Aiera.
Tags: Aiera, Exult, Exult Studio, Exult Tools, Ultima 7
I missed this update, which is already almost two weeks old, to the Redemption website. Direhaggis posted an advertisment, announcing the project’s need for writers:
Do you like Ultima dungeons? Does the thought of creating NPC’s and plots based around or involving an anti-virtue sound interesting? Do you want to check out all of the behind-the-scenes action?
We’re looking for a new writer or two to help sparsely (or maybe not so sparsely) populate several remaining dungeons in U9R. You have 100% free artistic license over your area and will obviously get credit for your work.
So if you find that you are interested in climbing aboard one of the most exciting projects currently under development in the Ultima community, Direhaggis has provided his email address and the submission guidelines at the Redemption website. Go and check thou it out!
Tags: Morrowind, The Elder Scrolls, Ultima, Ultima 9, Ultima IX: Redemption
Iris2 (Iris-Ogre)
* Iris2 Installer (Windows)
* Iris2 Binary (Windows)
* Iris2 (SUSE) (RPM)
* Iris2 Latest Source Code
Also required (for Windows):
* Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redist. (x86)
* DirectX9 End-User Runtimes
Ultima: Iris is a 3D game client for Ultima Online, which gives the game a more modern feel in keeping with the evolution of 3D MMORPGs while still retaining the Ultima “feel” of UO (such as it is). Iris is only compatible with a number of different “freeshard” server types. See the project website (actually a wiki) for full details.
Iris requires a legal copy of Ultima Online, preferably one of the later-edition versions of the game, but it serves to note that trial versions of UO can be used for play on freeshards without suffering limitations. Trial versions of the game can be obtained from the links given on the Iris2 forums.
Tags: 3D, Iris, Iris2, MMORPG, OGRE, Ultima, Ultima Online, Ultima: Iris