Modulus Software… Bakburner Etc… Arcadium Software. What’s up with all the name changes? Its just a branding really… nothing official. And to be honest they’re all 100% pointless. I’m pretty sure Arcadium Software is where we’ll stop, though. I’m confident in that because its the one that really means something to us; not just a name we invented just for the sake of having a name. We started out writing stuff for The Arcadium and all of our projects have evolved from that. It fits.

We’ve had our ups and downs as far as projects go. Those of you who’ve followed us from PGM to GATM until now have seen some interesting shit come and go. Successes? PGM+gNIX, Hoverboard, Firebox and MuseX, The Zinger Gamemode… plus Chad’s numerous useful modules. Failures and disappointments? GATM+Gear, Gadget, Zahmbeez!, The Zinger XNA Game/Arclyte, etc, etc, etc… lets not dwell on those; what we take away and learn from them is more important.

What have we learned? LOTS!

Chad and I both have what we’ve come to refer to as Developers A.D.D.! We really have a hard time focusing on projects. Its not a lack of commitment, its just we often find other things of interest that detours us from— holy shit that cat has a big nutsack!

Secondly, we’re also O.C.D.-ish perfectionists. Which is why we “start over from scratch” oh too often.

And finally… although we both retain the ability to do all sorts of extravagant stuff, including writing a game engine from scratch, what we’re really best at is developing for Garry’s Mod. Why? Its simple: its where our roots are at. And as a couple of programmers, using all the already existing content of Garry’s Mod makes our work so much easier. When we try to do standalone projects we find ourselves like a couple of bums wandering around town begging for content… “maps for the poor? a few models please? just spare me a texture or two? no I won’t buy alcohol with it… ninjas kidnapped my family I need assets to buy kung-fu lessons”.

So whats Arcadium Software up to these days? Surprisingly to most of you… LOADS. We don’t talk about our projects much anymore. We’ve learned that hype isn’t really something you need at the start. Sure, once you have something to show… something worth showing… then you can start fishing for interest and find yourself some followers to get decent feedback.

On my days off when I’m in my garage (because the rest of the family is sleeping) I’ve started working on the Arcadium Software website from my laptop. I’m trying to manage my time better. So instead of working on the website stuff during the day (when I have access to my desktop computer), I work on whatever project I’m currently occupied with. I’m maximizing my time! A concept new to me

If you know what we’re up to, you sneaky bastard! If not… patience. Because we are up to stuff I’d like to invite you all the rejoin the forums and tinker with them; let us know of anything that needs to be fixed. (read this thread as to why you need to rejoin the forums)

I remember back when it was a Garry’s Mod server that became a favorite to many people, around the same time PGM was around. And then everyone requested more and more game servers, and I complied. And then the community got bigger, and problems arose, and more bullshit happened and kept happening. So I tried to bandage the community by reinventing it into a bigger community that encompassed all sorts of games… well you know the story.

The saddest part is that The Arcadium got lost in all the commotion… until now. Yes The Arcadium is coming back. When? Soon.

After nearly two years with my current server host I decided to switch to a new host. This time its going to be a provider on the east coast. WHRY?!? …you ask. Well, mainly because the provider is a really good one (from what I’ve been reading) and they only have data centers over there. Most of the people that play seem to be east coast as well. I did a few traceroutes and ping tests and I get a pretty good ping to there location anyways, so it shouldn’t be that big of a deal for me and the other west coasters.

So once the new server is ready I’ll get The Arcadium server up again and let everyone know!