News Archive

Here's a simple tool for any web designers out there: a colour previewer. I really should have coded one of these months ago.

There's nothing like a bout of poor mental health to force one into activity. The new look is uploaded. Articles based on the sidebar gadgets are uploaded too. New content will start to appear tomorrow. I'm alive, if a bit shaky.

I've got five updates written up: three articles on gaming on a budget and two useful gadgets. Updates will resume once I've finished the redesign and got five more updates ready. I might as well have a load of content in the pipeline rather than upload everything as soon as its written.

In the meantime, Bluey's been updating his corner — but it's moved! Once the site's redesign is finished, Bluey's corner will be syndicated on the home page as usual. Until then, visit Bluey's Corner at its new location.

Another review for you today: this time it's the turn of Japanese indie shooter Cyclops.

Electricity crackles as power returns to the site once again. And first to be reanimated is Bluey, with a couple of new posts to Bluey's Corner.

I've updated the name generator code. Users of the dwarf name generator and the elf name generator should find selecting names somewhat easier.

The prototype version of the D&D 3rd-4th Edition Convert-o-matic has been uploaded! Its level of accuracy will astound you!

I'm working on the 3rd edition-4th edition D&D convert-o-matic. It will be as great a source of wisdom as the Omniscient Lavatory. I've got the basic code sorted, but now I could really use your help.

How? If you have any questions about converting 3E to 4E, no matter how fatuous, mail me. Every question I have to consider will improve the Convert-o-Matic!

Slack 'n' Hash will be unavailable from 9am BST to 9.30am BST, while I upload a ton of changes to the database. Hopefully it won't take me half an hour to change everything, but just in case…

One of the casualties of the server move and huge changes to the database was the search function. That's now been fixed and improved. Once I've got the current project out of the way I shall look into improving it further.

And we're back. Sorry for any inconvenience. The random thingy generators have been fixed. Now I can get on with the incredible D&D 3rd-4th Edition convert-o-matic. It will solve all your problems!

Things are a little quiet at present. I'm redoing all the code for the random thingy generators. I'm about halfway through that, I don't expect it to take too long. After that: the Amazing 3rd-to-4th-edition D&D Convert-o-Matic! It will amaze you!

Bluey has a word or two to say about the late, great George Carlin.

It's review time here at Slack 'n' Hash Towers. Today I've reviewed Questy, a retro platformer by Trevor 'Smila' Storey.

Oi! said Bluey. Those buttons in Bluey's Corner don't work! Fix 'em or I'll tell everyone about that business with the photo of Dick Cheney and the bottle of hand cream! And because he asked extra nicely, I did as I was bid. What a heartwarming story that was!

As promised, I've updated all of the random name generators. The code's much more efficient now; it should load quite a bit faster and use up much less bandwidth.

The LiveJournal syndicated feed is working again, more or less. I'm more than halfway through rewriting the code for the name generators too; at the moment I'm fixing three or four per day, so I'll be able to upload them and changes to the database before the week's out.

Just thought you should know.

I gave the database and files a good going-over with Xenu, and am happy to report that all cases of internal link-rot have been well and truly purged. I haven't plucked up the courage to see about the external links yet!

I've returned to the name generators. My next task is to tidy up their code and consolidate more database tables. When I'm done they'll load much faster.

I've made the changes to the database tables, and fixed the URL rewrites. You'll notice that Agartha and Shadegate are now gone and I doubt many will miss them, really. Now I just have to go over my pages with Xenu Link Sleuth and fix all instances of link rot. Bear with me, folks.

This site is going to change quite drastically. You may notice that all the old, abandoned cartoon series have been taken down, for a start. Now I can tell you what else is going to happen.

D&D 4th Edition is out now. One of the features of this game is an otherworld named the Shadowfell, which is the new edition's version of the Plane of Shadow. From what I've seen, it looks a hell of a lot better than Shadegate. That campaign world of mine has not aged well so I'm going to take it down. The same goes for Agartha, which I never got round to completing. They may return later in some other form, but this will not happen any time soon.

Where does that leave Slack 'n' Hash? Well, I'm going to concentrate on the stuff that made this site worthwhile: the name generators and other gadgets. I want to make this site more useful to gamers, regardless of system. This should also allow me to focus on improving my coding skills.

Only just noticed that the home page was acting up. Sorry about that, chaps. Took my eye off the ball there. Needless to say it's fixed now.

It's been brought to my attention that the dungeon encounter generator was broken. I've fixed it now.

Bluey's returned. I thought the place was beginning to smell funny.

For ages now, Slack 'n' Hash has been pretty close to critical mass. The site was bloated, and its content was a bit disparate; stuff that could very easily have been a site of its own was thrown into the mix, leaving the whole enterprise unfocused.

Since the site's move to a new server and the wastage that occurred, I decided I've got nothing to lose by pressing on with the redesign. Expect changes over the coming weeks, folks.

The sword name generator has been fixed up a bit. Not only should it work, but it should load quite a bit faster. Now, if only I can work that same trick on every other name generator… watch this space, folks!

There, that didn't hurt quite so badly, did it? The database is much more manageable now, although the sword name generator needs some fixing now. I'll alert you once it's back.

Slack 'n' Hash will be down for (at most) two hours, from 5 A.M. BST. I've got some changes to make to the database. Nothing you'll notice from your end, but it'll mean I'll be able to get rid of a hundred database tables, which'll make my life a lot easier, I can tell you!

Some of you may have noticed a link to a review of Treasure Tower that, annoyingly, didn't work. Minor issue with file ownership, fixed now. So here's a, er, review of Treasure Tower.

The Javascript Dice Bag code has been simplified. Greatly. Hope someone finds it useful.

Slack 'n' Hash is back, after a brief succession of cock-ups. Or should that be cocks-up? No, that sounds filthy. Anyway, we're here. The slacknhash.com domain name is temporarily unavailable, but Tabi and I have returned as slacknhash.net, slacknhash.org and slacknhash.info. Hopefully we'll regain control of slacknhash.com too, although that may take a phone call.

It's been a while since I posted a review of any kind, so let's put that right now. ROM CHECK FAIL by Farbs is responsible for me losing some of my few remaining marbles. Find out why.

Just a minor change to the site today: I've just been playing about with the menu tabs, and have come up with a minor visual cue that should aid navigation. If you want a quick example, go to the item generators page, have a look at the menu tabs, and you'll see what I've done. It's a little thing, but I'm proud of it.

There's not much in the way of visible redesigning going on just yet. I wanted to tidy up the back end first. You may notice some changes in the tools, though: many of them should load a bit faster, since I just spent a few days going through the Javascript and rewriting it. I'm particularly proud of the wild surge generator: even though it's not the best or most useful device, I managed to cut the size of its code in half. Much better. More news later!

I'm going to redesign the home page over the coming week. At the moment I'm tidying up the code, so expect me to groan at how bad some of the old PHP and Javascript code is. Hopefully I've learned a bit over the past few months. If you have any idea as to what you'd like to see in terms of content or design, please contact me.

Here's something for the old fart gamers. Anyone who still favours the 1st or 2nd editions of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons may find these two gadgets useful: a THAC0 calculator, and a device to make attack rolls based on calculator's outcome.

Find the gadgets, as always, in the customise box.

Here's something for fans of the old Marvel Super Heroes RPG: the FEAT roller. As always, you can find the control to toggle this device in the 'Customise the Sidebar' panel.

I've never been able to get into the World of Darkness RPG. Not enough dungeons, swords or death-traps for my liking. Still, since I decided to embrace other systems and try anything once, I've added a rather basic dice pool gadget for WoD to the sidebar. Find the relevant controls in the customise section of the home page. There may well be more of these later!

I told you there was more coming! Today I've uploaded an Attack Roll calculator for the HERO System. Find that in the 'Customise the Sidebar' box on the home page.

As promised, a couple of treats for fans of the HERO system: two more gadgets for the sidebar. One rolls Normal Damage (punches, clubs, etc); the other Killing Damage (knives, bullets). More to come later!

A couple of new gadgets will be uploaded shortly, ideal for fans of the HERO System. This update will also require you to resubmit which gadgets you want displayed in the sidebar, so be warned!

News concerning the planned mineral extraction and landfill site: we won. The project's been called off. Thanks to all those who signed the petition! Of course, HAWITAGE still has other fish to fry...

Anyone who looks at the Home Page may notice that the dice bag has disappeared. In its place are some more customisation options. From here you can add some useful gadgets to the sidebar: a resistance table checker for BRP, some useful die rollers for GURPS, and the old dice bag as well! More of these gadgets will follow later.

• Hockham and Wretham in Tandem Against Gravel Extraction
• Eastern Daily Press article.
• Sign the Petition (British residents only)

There's a planned gravel extraction pit less than half an hour's walk away from where I live. The operation will involve destruction of woodlands in a designated Special Protection Area. If that weren't bad enough once they've finished quarrying gravel it'll be replaced with a landfill. If you live in Britain, please consider signing this petition.

Ages ago I announced that we were working on a version of the deck of many things for this website. I am now happy to report that the deck of many things is ready at last!

At long last I've resumed work on the Deck of Many Things. Unfortunately, in the time that elapsed since Tabi and I started that project, I seem to have forgotten everything I know about AJAX. Over the next week I shall be tweaking the various JavaScript gadgets in an attempt to re-learn everything I've forgotten, and generally improve stuff.

Do not read Janrae Frank's review. You will be declared an SP and a PTS and you may be assigned to the RPF. Even now, clusters of body thetans are waiting to attach themselves to you. Report to Ethics. Do not read the review. WWLRHD? Caution: you may have your KFC and BLT taken away ASAP.

Bluey wakens from his drunken stupor and turns his beady eye on Nickolaus Pacione. Hooray!

This week's preview of the HEATHEN RPG concerns capture, kidnap and ransom. Just how much is a human life worth? Find out now!

The latest Dung Eon is now up.

I'm toying with the idea of breaking the site up: Dung Eon has already been hived off onto its own site. Perhaps other bits and pieces: Shadegate, Agartha, etc, would all do better to have their own sites. It'd also give me a good reason to come up with more designs and simplify the site architecture a bit more.
I started thinking about this at the beginning of the week, when I was looking for ways to promote HEATHEN and the next novel (yes, I'm a masochist and I didn't learn my lessons well enough when I put out the first book). A bit of googling led me to an article titled 10 Great Ways to Promote Your Book. The article was nothing special: a lot of crap, but some bits of advice made me think. I expect that was the point: Books tend to get "lost" when grafted onto existing web sites. For best results, create a web site specifically intended to promote and support your book. This permits you to focus all of the site's resources on promoting your book and leveraging off of its success.
I'm not quite sure what I'll do yet, but it does strike me that certain sections of this site might benefit from a tighter focus.