Sunday, February 29, 2004

It's odd seeing February 29 as an update date. Such a rare day usually doesn't exist. Happy Leap Day to everyone!

I promised you yesterday it'd be soon, and here I am today fulfilling the promise. Chapter 15 is online. "The Pirate's Bounty" covers the introductory story of The Wind Waker up through Link's getting on board the boat with Tetra. I actually hadn't planned on making an entire chapter on it, but it seemed right considering that I usually spend about a chapter for the introductory story of the games. So this only makes the Book of Mudora a longer project, something that I'm sure you guys are going to love to hear.

Let me be the first to dispell the rumour that the Book of Mudora is stopping at chapter 15. There's a lot more to cover than what I have there. I can't say exactly how many chapters there are going to be because, well, changes happen like they did today. The number will probably be in a state of flux for a long time to go. Right now, the guesstimate is 43. We'll see where that number comes. So no, The Book of Mudora isn't ending today. TGA isn't ending today. There's lots more where that came from.

~ The Missing Link

Saturday, February 28, 2004

This isn't much of an update. But I thought it was noteworthy.

Most websites will do something special for their readers (viewers?) when they reach certain designated hit counts. Usually those hit counts are cute little numbers like 22,222 or 67,890 or something like that. Well, today is one of those days. Sadly, I don't have anything special prepared or anything for the occasion, but I'd just like to note that, since May 2001 when Gandalf the Grey (then Pigeon5) and I became webmasters of Z:TGA, we have received a grand total of 1,666,666 unique hits. Yes, that's one and two-thirds MILLION hits. There's your random trivia for the day. So a quick thanks to everyone who's been with us the past three years and even before then! Thanks for sticking with us, even through the dirty times.

Hopefully by 1,777,777 hits, I'll have something extra special for you guys. The sad thing is I'm not all that artistic. So I'll have to fake something up, either a small fanfiction or something for you. :) And then I'll have to definitely do something extra special for when two million comes up, but that's going to take a good while still. So help us get to two million. Tell about us to all your friends. Spread the word. Help us break the multi-million barrier.

If all goes well on my computer pre-lab tomorrow, I should get Chapter 15 up either this weekend or early next week.

~ The Missing Link

Tuesday, February 24, 2004

So this is early for a Tuesday update. I don't care though; I'm labelling it Tuesday anyways.

I forgot to mention something pretty critical in Chapter 13 that I didn't realize I had forgotten until finishing up Chapter 14, so yes, I added a paragraph into Chapter 13. (It's the second paragraph for those who were wanting to know which one.) That'll take care of the plot hole I had forgotten to take care of.

More importantly though, Chapter 14, "Rise of the Forgotten," of The Book of Mudora is up and raring to go. I hope you like Koume and Kotake's incantation that I wrote. That's probably one of my favourite of all the poems and poem-like pieces that I've written for this story. So read up, enjoy, and don't be afraid to E-mail me about the Book of Mudora.

~ The Missing Link

Monday, February 23, 2004

You'll be happy to know that the plagiarist was stopped. That's why you don't see anything when you go to the link in the last update. So hip hip huzzah and all that good stuff.

On the other end of things, I've been ridiculously busy this past week with a computer communications lab that didn't want to work, homework, reading, and a myriad of other things. You might have noticed a slight delay in my E-mailing if you've sent me something; there's still about a dozen E-mails still unreplied to. So I promise I'll get to that soon. Also, chapter 14 isn't done. However, it is about halfway done. I'm hoping to get that online Monday or Tuesday, homework willing. Maybe we'll get a few more links added to ye olde list too while we're at it.

As far as the fan game is concerned, the link to it is now gone. I was doing a little bit of cleaning up on the site last night. I've got one or two more small things to do while I'm at it, so hopefully that'll pop up soon too. Be on the lookout for chapter 14. I'm excited to see where it takes me. I only hope you like it as much as I.

~ The Missing Link

Sunday, February 15, 2004

First off, thank you so much for the kind E-mails that many of you been sending about me taking over the website again. They really mean a lot, and I'm glad that you appreciate it. It lets me know that finishing this story will not verily be a waste of time in its closing.

Anyways, a few tidbits of information. The long anticipated Chapter 13, entited "Winds of Change," of the Book of Mudora is up! I spend most of the day yesterday writing it and today finishing it up, so I hope you like it. It covers most of the changes that take place between the Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask Hyrule and the Wind Waker Hyrule. There's a few not mentioned but... those will be saved for Chapters 14 and 15.

Also of note is that there's a tragic problem. Someone has had the audacity to plagiarize the Book of Mudora. I won't say who it is or where it's posted, but it's a great shame that someone feels the need to blatantly copy and paste someone else's work, especially when all that is needed to put it somewhere else is a simple E-mail asking me for permission and proper citation. Before anyone else complains, yes, I have reported it, but if you'd like to report it to, feel free. Multiple mailings to the fine people at fanfiction.net may make them work faster. But seriously, the Book of Mudora is still available for release; if you'd like to use it on your website or for some other purpose, please, E-mail me. It takes a short amount of time, and it's relatively painless.

Next up, we have a new link. I've already written a shining review of it on the Links page, but just to further emphasize the point, Independent Zelda is a great site, especially if you're looking for beautiful artwork or comics. Please, go there. You'll be glad you did.

Lastly, since I left the site sometime around the development of this fangame, I have to be honest. I know nothing about it. Rumours have it that there are some broken links to it on the site, and I don't know where those are. If someone could point out to me where the broken link is, I'd kiss you or something. Okay, maybe not that far... but please, let me know.

Wow, this is a big update. I guess I should stop now.

~ The Missing Link

Monday, February 9, 2004

It always happens. The moment you think you have time, it becomes a fleeting mirage. Yes, when 120+ pages of mandatory reading assignments are dropped upon you, due in a week, along with two midterms to study for, well... you tend to leave lesser tasks off for a while. However, here we are again.

So, the Book of Mudora is entirely revised. That's right, all of the (many!!) spelling and grammar mistakes (which I now feel so dumb for publishing) are gone (I think). If you come across one, please feel free to E-mail me about my stupidity. Also, the prophecy at the end of Chapter 12 has been changed; don't worry, you'll see the original prophecy in time. Trust me.

Lastly, the Links page is updated. Bad links are gone. One link added. Hopefully one or two more will come in the near future. Go visit Zelda no Densetsu. It's an awesome site. You'll like it.

~ The Missing Link

Monday, February 2, 2004

Alright, before we get started, first things first...

The information on the Miscellaneous pages (About, Credits, Hiring, Staff) and the Contact page is now up to date. Feel free to check over them, although I'm sure you'll find no surprise there. If you do decide to E-mail me, realize that I might not get back to you; I'll probably only send a reply if your E-mail looks particularly interesting.

Second, there's a bit of work that has to be done with the Book of Mudora as is before I can get to adding more, namely editing. I can't believe some of the grammar errors in there. So far, up through Chapter 4 is edited, and hopefully I'll get to Chapter 7 or 8 by tomorrow. I'll keep you posted on that. I might have to tinker with the last few chapters a bit for continuity's sake; Wind Waker came out, and that was bound to mess with the story.

Anyways, in case you're wondering, Wind Waker is the next game to be in the timeline. Just thought I'd give a quick preview of where we're going. Anyways, that's all for now.

~ The Missing Link

Sunday, February 1, 2004

No.

When I made my "update" last Sunday, it was in response to an E-mail from a dedicated fan. Last Sunday, it was to something I was no longer a part of. After all, I'd left the site a long time running; I was separate from it, and as such, it was the logical choice.

This Sunday, I come with a response to a different source: my heart. I can't let it happen. My work here was never finished. I left the Book of Mudora sitting there, unfinished, never sitting down to finish inking the remaining chapters of the book that I had been so excited to write once upon a time. That was the driving force to keep me here back in the day.

I can't leave this site as is. There's just no way my conscience will let me do it. So I'm going to try something. I don't know if it'll work, but... in times of trial, the winners never quit prematurely.

I'm planning upon finishing the Book of Mudora. It's something that my heart tells me has to be done. Before this site can be declared dead, it must be done. I know not if I will have the time to complete it. I don't know if other things will suffer in order to do so. That is why I cannot promise anything to you. I can't promise that TGA will go back to the days of old. I can't promise that I'll be reviving in full all of TGA. I can't promise that I can complete the task I am setting out to do. It may very well be an attempt in vain.

However, if the goddesses are willing, it will happen. I have that faith. With you to support me, I know I cannot fail. I am not a miracle worker, but with the power of many come together, miracles can happen if everyone believes.

I have discussed the situation with both Gandalf and Link Masaki. As of now, I am now Webmaster of The Grand Adventures. I will do my best to keep the updates coming, to crank out chapter after chapter for you. I hope you will all be patient with me; I hope you will all stay with me through the long haul.

And who knows? Maybe... just maybe... miracles will happen.

~ The Missing Link

Sunday, January 25, 2004

I think it's quite funny when I look back at the time I've spent away from TGA. It's been almost a year and a half since I've stopped actively helping out on the place, and probably around a year or so since I've even been asked to do a small favour for it. However, despite it all, my Inbox at Yahoo is still filled with E-mails from loyal fans asking questions, submitting Say Whats... not to mention the zillions of those who still think, a year and a half later, that I'm looking for new staff members.

Yet an E-mail struck my Inbox within the past few days, and I felt that it was one that I needed to comment on. I won't mention the author, but I will mention pieces from the E-mail (with spelling corrections where needed):

My question is now: Is this site really dead, or have you just forgotten about it?

. . . If you really have decided to let it slowly die without a notice to the loyal visitors (like me), then please I ask you, give it the finishing blow and get it off the Internet! I can't take it to see such a beautiful site vanish slowly in the realms of the unknown! My request to you is the following: Resurrect it, kill it, or give it away . . .

For those of you who have E-mailed me in the past year, nine times out of ten I've set up an auto-reply message telling you that an announcement would be coming soon to TGA and that you should pay attention. However, I look back at its history and realize that even me stepping down as webmaster into merely an advisor role was only a slight mentioning, barely even there. So, perhaps I should make an unofficial announcement that may put many of the aspiring rumours to rest.

1) I no longer work on the site; sadly, I have moved on. I am now in graduate school in college, working for my Master's Degree in Computer Science, not to mention working as a computer programmer. I have moved on to online roleplaying, predominantly as the head wizard (staffer to those not in the know) at Triforce MUCK along with several other non-Zelda MUCKs. All of this takes my full time, and as such, I have no time for TGA anymore. All in all, I have one humble request for everyone: please don't E-mail me asking me when TGA will be updated or begging for a staff position here. Most likely, you will get either an auto-reply or none at all, so please, spare the effort and help keep my box free of SPAM.

2) This means that the Book of Mudora will most likely never be finished, though I can take pride that I finished two of the games of the series within the pages therein. Before, I have not allowed any webmaster to copy these pages to their site; I have since decided otherwise. As a final farewell to TGA, I am going to allow on a case-by-case basis select websites to use the written content of the Book of Mudora on their websites. Permission can be sought by E-mailing me at the address that seems to still be on Contacts page. I ask webmasters to please respect my decision regardless of what it may be, and I hope that they will respect the copyright I have on the work.

3) I really don't have a right to say what is to happen to TGA. I am not the webmaster anymore, and as such, anything that I have to say will probably have to be reconfirmed my Link Masaki or whoever still happens to be in charge. However, since the last update was in October of last year, I give you the following presumption.

Zelda: The Grand Adventures will probably remain like this to its final day. There may never be an update on here again. To the person who sent me the E-mail concerning what to do with TGA... yes, TGA will remain online, but probably never like it used to be a year ago. I don't have the power to give it away, nor do I personally wish to see it be given away, for there are very few people in whose hands I would trust it. As such, TGA will be the last of the "classic" Zelda sites to exist, and hopefully, it will continue to be referenced for information, memories, and a few laughs.

If this is not the case and I have been too bold in my statement, then this will probably be revised in the next couple of days. I sincerely hope that is the case. However, this is my take on it. Sorry for disappointing all of you. Thank you for being loyal to us even though we were not as loyal to you as you'd have liked us to be.

With that, I bid you all my most sincerest thanks, for without you, TGA would never have been the site it once was, for the spirit of a website is not within its administrators, but within the people who visit it regularly. Godspeed, and may the Triforce be with you all.

~ The Missing Link