UPDATE: Screwball Scribble is now the official portal, support and forum for English Worldox. Please refer to Worldox options below Screwball Scribble banner or Worldox forum (within "Specials" section on board index) for more information on this very addictive and FREE to play game!

Worldox uses TWL 06 dictionary.

This thread retained for reference.

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A french programmer is developing a new version of Wordox called Superdox. It's still in testing but he expects the french version of the game to be up and running by the first week of March. An English version will follow around mid April. In order to play, you need to download a plug in called Silverlight and then register. I've been in and the controls and graphics are very impressive. It's just a shame about my french lol.

Am off to bed now but in the meantime, below is a link to the developer's forum translated into english. Most of what you need should be in there but I have links to the plug in and to the game room if they're needed. Happy oxing!

http://translate.google.com/translate?h ... .com&twu=1

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Interesting

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Is Superdox replacing Wordox?

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Formerly quahappy :: Andy

Not replacing as such Andy. The 'original' wordox was java based and the rights to it held by Flipside. Hoyle also developed a windows based version of the game. Both sites are now defunct and certain parts of the code for the java version went AWOL. Mark Byers filled in the gaps and developed Wordsteal, and now this french chap has done the same and come up with Superdox. As long as they don't actually call their games "Wordox" it's a new game. From what I understand there are also a number of other developers doing the same. Not sure what is happening with the windows version.

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Thanks for the informative information Oz. Always great to hear of new online Scrabble themed games.

I've had a quick peek at the forums and from the information within, all looks to be in full swing with development. The only downside that may put new players of is having to download the plug-in as most Scrabble online games are self-contained.

Look forward to when it's released though and will try it all out.

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Formerly quahappy :: Andy

I downloaded it and it didn't take long. Did you find the links to the plug in and the game room?

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Not had time to do that yet. Just had a look at my Firefox add-ons; already have one called "Silverlight". Wonder if it's same one? Will check this later.

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Formerly quahappy :: Andy

Hello !

I've stumbled across your forum thanks to Google.

My name is Laurent and I am the developer of Superdox.

Since Google's translations are far from perfection, I'll try to summarize what is Superdox and why I am developing it (please excuse me for my bad English !)

- I have started this project in December 2009, as Wordsteal was down for 3 weeks without convincing explanations. I and most of the other French players were a bit disappointed, especially by this strange leak of communication, and many of us thought that it would never be repared. As a developer and former "Wordox addict" I decided to create -at least try to create- my own Wordox version.

- I have chosen to use the new Silverlight plugin and not usual platforms like Java or Flash because Silverlight (developed by Microsoft) is expressively designed for .NET developers like me. I wouldn't be able to program it in Java because I've never programmed anything in Java. Like Java or Flash, the Silverlight plugin is totally free and can be installed very easily like any other Web plugin.

- Developing this game is difficult for me, because I can work on it only during my free time and I've never developed a multiplayer game before. There are still -rare but critical- bugs regarding the connection and the game progress and many functionalities to program or to improve (player stats, chat and so on). So I would say that the game will stay as a "beta version" probably during some weeks.

- Since some English speaking players have asked me if Superdox could be translated in English, my answer is Yes, I'll build an English version of the client but only when it is enough stable. Probably not in March but rather in May or April.

- Although I have developed all the game alone, many French players help me in my work, and for me it is a collective project. In the forum mentioned by MissGnomer, anyone discusses freely about any aspect of the game and I am open to any proposals, features requests and so on. Feel free to take part in these discussions if you want, but it would be nice to write (or try to write) in French because it is basically a French forum.

(I don't think that there are many other projects of free "Wordox-like" games because it represents a huge work - I think that I have spent more than 300 hours of work for it in 2 1/2 months, and there is still much much work to do...)

Laurent, aka "Jourbon"

Thanks for the info Laurent - much appreciated - keep us posted please

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Laurent - thank you for taking the time to update us on your upcoming new online Superdox game. We hope, as Lainy said, that you keep us posted with further developments and progress. We hope it proves extremely popular. Always good to see another variant.

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Formerly quahappy :: Andy

Of course I'll keep you informed.

For the moment I try to fix some casual bugs and to better handle disconnections. Later I will improve the chat, add themes (players could choose their own colors and sounds) , and then I think that the game will be ready for translations.

I've just added localization to the client, created an English room and played my first game online against myself in English (with the TWL06).

I've translated some parts of the interface (lobby and table buttons) but there are probably more than 80 controls and messages to translate.

Currently I am replacing all hard-coded strings in the client with string resources. It will take a bit time. I'll send you a template for the translations, perhaps tomorrow or in two days. The English room is not accessible yet, it was just a test.

I have used the same tile distribution as Wordsteal. If you think that the SOWPODS would be better thant the TWL, I can change it, or perhaps create two separate rooms, one for each dictionary.

For the moment, all rooms will be handled by the same server (hosted by a friend) because I have to modify it relatively frequently and sometimes we run it in debug mode.

I will of course be glad to help with any translations

Glad to see you're making great progress Laurent!

I and some friends have tested the English room, it works fine, except that there are some bugs when games are running in both rooms (French and English) in the same time. I have to work on the server, which was initially not intended to manage more than one room. I hope that it could be ready in less than two weeks.



Laurent

Looking good - as it did when I popped in

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It is indeed looking good

I assume that a user (or user name) can be in only one room at a time? With WordSteal you can be in multiple rooms at once with the same user name, which obviously is just asking for problematic bugs...

If you want, I'll send you the file tomorrow.

Yes, connections from the same user (name, not IP) are not allowed even in different rooms.

For some reasons, I have decided to rename the game, and thus move it to another location. Its name will be "Worldox". The host needs some days to create the new location. When it is ready, I will apply your translations and run the game with both rooms, but only for testing purposes.

I don't know when the site (and the server) will be ready for the test, perhaps in a few days, or next week.

We have tested again the server running both rooms at the same time and I think that I have fixed the last bugs.

We can begin the tests with real english speakers now.


Laurent

Preparation for English Worldox (Portal/user guide, etc.) is currently taking place...

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Formerly quahappy :: Andy

English Worldox is now up and running.

The link is: http://worldox.free.fr/en (or click on Worldox below Screwball Scribble logo).

Screwball Scribble will be the gateway and forums to this exciting (and addictive!) new online multi-player game for all English users. A Worldox forum has been set up which will eventually contain useful information on how to play the game, FAQ, and your opportunity to provide feedback and post comments, etc. Eventually, most information will be contained via links to the proposed portal (yes - it's coming back!) for quick access to key areas. The Worldox forum is within Screwball Specials block on the board index page.

In the meantime, several moderators are in the Worldox lobby on hand to answer any questions you may have (moderators are defined in grey/italics). If no moderator is around, please post in the Worldox forum here (registration is required to post ).

We hope you enjoy the game as much as we have had testing.

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Formerly quahappy :: Andy