Links Corner Forum

Has anybody heard from Dorse recently?
Just wondering...

Not a word

It will never be released.

Like always with Dorse!

clint wrote: ↑March 6th, 2022, 6:54 pm It will never be released.

Like always with Dorse!

And how many courses have you released?

Whether someone has designed or not is not the issue here, and I agree with Clint, based on my 20+ years of following and playing Links, it is unlikely this course will ever be released unless someone else is able to pick it up somehow.

There are many people who do not design but don't go around making promises they can't keep either. The APCD has a steep learning curve and is not for everyone, it is not fair to criticize people who do not design or who try to design and give up after a while. My hat goes off to anyone who can complete a course in APCD and I am in awe of those who complete multiple courses.

One of the strengths of this forum is that new and active designers can come and get advice and encouragement for course building. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't no harm no foul.

There are a few "designers", who I call the pretenders, however, who have come on these boards multiple times over the years, talked up courses in progress, shown screenshots or claimed they have a large list (20-30 courses) of projects in progress and then disappeared time and time again. By the late 2010s, most of them had thankfully moved on but the pandemic brought a few of them back for a while.

The pretenders end up doing a disservice both to the real designers (by inadvertently discouraging others from taking up certain course projects) and players (by getting people excited and their hopes up for nothing). The worst part is that the pretenders often just vanish, or leave everybody hanging with some kind of excuse like "life got busy but maybe I'll get back to this someday", which is particularly unhelpful as it leaves the course in limbo.

The best things a struggling designer can do is to either ask for help (as many designers do), release a beta version and leave it there (which often happens), or outright turn the project over to someone else to finish (as has happened on several occasions). In fact, there are several designers who have moved on but when contacted have allowed others to finish their project, which has been fantastic and gracious.

Colin-I couldn't agree more...I may never get an APCD course done (I've already encountered some "issues" with my initial project) so I contribute what I can by (hopefully) using the Beta for what it's meant to do-let folks "nit-pick" so the final result will be as close to perfect as possible.
From the feedback the "true designers" don't seem to have a problem.

Anyway, I'm still fighting my way through North Vancouver!

There is nothing to be gained by making negative comments about designers.

I feel like maybe I ought to stay out of this lol... but oh whatever Ill give my two cents.

In regards to Colin's post, I think it is very understandable to feel frustration over such course projects, I think we all do about a bunch of courses that seemingly get abandoned, but I think it might be going a little far to say that designers "make promises", no? Sure, Im aware that in some cases, for some desgigners, you could indeed argue that they phrased things pretty much like a promise, but even then, its not like they owe anyone a finished course, is it?

I think this one in particular is a good point to consider:

ColinC wrote: ↑March 7th, 2022, 3:05 pm[Those who abandon courses into limbo] end up doing a disservice [...] to the real designers (by inadvertently discouraging others from taking up certain course projects)

But still, overall, my way of looking at it is that I'd rather have someone work on a course that may or may not be completed, than having them not work on any course at all. And Im thankful for hearing about any such project, and I wouldnt want designers to be afraid of showing work-in-progress for fear of them being considered "pretenders" who "make false promises". If designers start feeling like that, it will be a sad reality for all of us in the Links community because it will mean less incentive for anyone to work on anything, and none of us want that. But as long as one (as a designer) dont phrase things like promises (if they cant be kept), I strongly want to encourage any designer - completely regardless of the level of APCD "skill" or "ambition" - to share as much of their work-in-progress as they're comfortable with. Im pretty sure most of us like seeing that stuff, and it has good chances to inspire others to try out (or return to) APCD as well. So please, no one refrain from sharing what you're working on, even if not 100% certain of finishing it.

Thanks for the great response Adelaide, that helps to clarify things. My post was not intended to discourage anyone from designing.

I actually am hoping that this conversation will help to encourage anyone who is struggling or losing momentum to reach out to the community rather than let their projects go off the rails.

I realize that nobody owes anybody anything, but a "hey I can't finish this can anyone else help" would be nice and would be more beneficial to the overall community (both designers and players) than having everyone think someone is still working on something when nothing is happening.

My comment on pretenders was not directed at new or even most designers, but we as a community need to recognize that there is a small minority out there who have talked up projects and then disappeared multiple times over a number of years. I don't even think they are doing it on purpose, but it is frustrating all the same and maybe we just need to take their postings with a grain of salt.

At the same time, there is a much larger group of designers, yourself included, who when they post on a project are highly likely to see it through to completion and all of your efforts are truly respected and very much appreciated!!