<!-- MHonArc v2.4.4 -->
<!--X-Subject: [MUD-Dev] Next gen MUD wishlist -->
<!--X-From-R13: Pelpr Vneevatgba <oelprNarcghar.arg> -->
<!--X-Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2000 10:40:47 -0800 -->
<!--X-Message-Id: Pine.LNX.4.10.10002170243480.12147-100000#pulsar,neptune.net -->
<!--X-Content-Type: text/plain -->
<!--X-Reference: 11A17AA2B9EAD111BCEA00A0C9B4179303D6E27F#molach,origin.ea.com -->
<!--X-Head-End-->
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
<html>
<head>
<title>MUD-Dev message, [MUD-Dev] Next gen MUD wishlist</title>
<!-- meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow" -->
<link rev="made" href="mailto:bryce#neptune,net">
</head>
<body background="/backgrounds/paperback.gif" bgcolor="#ffffff"
text="#000000" link="#0000FF" alink="#FF0000" vlink="#006000">
<font size="+4" color="#804040">
<strong><em>MUD-Dev<br>mailing list archive</em></strong>
</font>
<br>
[ <a href="../">Other Periods</a>
| <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a>
| <a href="/search.php3">Search</a>
]
<br clear=all><hr>
<!--X-Body-Begin-->
<!--X-User-Header-->
<!--X-User-Header-End-->
<!--X-TopPNI-->
Date:
[ <a href="msg00386.html">Previous</a>
| <a href="msg00388.html">Next</a>
]
Thread:
[ <a href="msg00420.html">Previous</a>
| <a href="msg00416.html">Next</a>
]
Index:
[ <A HREF="author.html#00387">Author</A>
| <A HREF="#00387">Date</A>
| <A HREF="thread.html#00387">Thread</A>
]
<!--X-TopPNI-End-->
<!--X-MsgBody-->
<!--X-Subject-Header-Begin-->
<H1>[MUD-Dev] Next gen MUD wishlist</H1>
<HR>
<!--X-Subject-Header-End-->
<!--X-Head-of-Message-->
<UL>
<LI><em>To</em>: "'<A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A>'" <<A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A>></LI>
<LI><em>Subject</em>: [MUD-Dev] Next gen MUD wishlist</LI>
<LI><em>From</em>: Bryce Harrington <<A HREF="mailto:bryce#neptune,net">bryce#neptune,net</A>></LI>
<LI><em>Date</em>: Thu, 17 Feb 2000 02:46:02 -0800 (PST)</LI>
<LI><em>Reply-To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI>
<LI><em>Sender</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev-admin#kanga,nu">mud-dev-admin#kanga,nu</A></LI>
</UL>
<!--X-Head-of-Message-End-->
<!--X-Head-Body-Sep-Begin-->
<HR>
<!--X-Head-Body-Sep-End-->
<!--X-Body-of-Message-->
<PRE>
I'd like to get input on creating a "wishlist" for a kind of
"next generation online RPG". What would you want to see in
a brand new codebase?
I've been speculating pretty intently about online rpg's for
a year now, and having been lurking on this list a bit I'm
finally eager to try to do something about this desire. ;-)
I think it'd be a big job to do something like what I've heard
people say, but that don't bother me too much. I started such
a list back in the early nineties for a Civilization sequel,
which was eventually picked up and done by Microprose. (No,
no name in the credits for me, sadly, but the game was pretty
cool. Do a search on "bryce harrington civII" to see the proof.)
I'm pretty sure that once the requirements have been hammered out,
me and some of my co-workers could bang out a design that'd do
the job. Coding and playtesting it might take some time but is
also 90% of the fun. ;-)
Anyway, some wishes I've seen (or thought of) so far:
Licensing / General
* Freely available codebase
* Ability to use codebase commercially, but is more hobby-oriented
than commercial-oriented.
* Allows/encourages sense-of-community (the key to success)
* Allows/encourages player-world-building (the key to uniqueness)
* Allows/encourages community to establish and enforce its own
rules (the key to avoiding burdensome administration)
Server
* Should support on the order of 100-500 simultaneous players
(Is this a realistic number?)
* Should permit scripting in easy to learn, existing language
* (Desired) should allow use of any arbitrary scripting language(?)
* Should abstract rules in a way that allow modular replacement
* Should be genre-generic, and even game-generic, at the core
* A stock world/rules should be provided, as a basis to work from.
Further, it should include all graphics, music, and text media to
characterize that world.
* In general, the server should be easily customizable by the admin,
so that new wannabe admins can take a stock world and immediately
and quickly turn it into something interesting and unique.
* As much as possible, customization and editing should be doable
while the game is still running.
* Allows "building" and "inventing"
* Free market, player-driven economic system
* Allows for creation/optimization of sophisticated AI's
* Dialectization - Modify player speech to suit the race/nationality
they're playing (orcs speak orcish, etc.)
* Coordinate-based rather than room-based.
* Able to make large scale world changes (meteorites, massive weather
changes, etc.)
? Server distribution? Should it be possible to link several
different people's servers together?
Client Interface
* Should support graphics (to compete with UO/EQ/etc.)
* Cross platform playable
* Don't forget about importance of text and text interfaces
* Can't trust client (treat it as already hacked; it _will_ be)
* Configurable dynamic music (music changes to suit the scene,
and can download new tunes between play sessions as they become
available)
* Semi-dynamic graphics: can upload your character portrait or
animation to a central server, for others to (auto?)download.
(This encourages the players to generate the hardest artwork -
character animations - themselves.)
Note that at this point I don't care about technical issues like the
graphics engine or database system; those will flow out of the design
that will be produced later.
This is just a start, but hopefully it'll grow into something useful.
Please send me your thoughts/ideas/requests, and I'll incorporate them
and repost for further comments.
Bryce
_______________________________________________
MUD-Dev maillist - MUD-Dev#kanga,nu
<A HREF="http://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev">http://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev</A>
</PRE>
<!--X-Body-of-Message-End-->
<!--X-MsgBody-End-->
<!--X-Follow-Ups-->
<HR>
<ul compact><li><strong>Follow-Ups</strong>:
<ul>
<li><strong><A NAME="00416" HREF="msg00416.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Next gen MUD wishlist</A></strong>
<ul compact><li><em>From:</em> Bruce <bruce#puremagic,com></li></ul>
</UL></LI></UL>
<!--X-Follow-Ups-End-->
<!--X-References-->
<UL><LI><STRONG>References</STRONG>:
<UL>
<LI><STRONG><A NAME="00368" HREF="msg00368.html">RE: [MUD-DEV] a shrinking pool of players?</A></STRONG>
<UL><LI><EM>From:</EM> "Koster, Raph" <rkoster#origin,ea.com></LI></UL></LI>
</UL></LI></UL>
<!--X-References-End-->
<!--X-BotPNI-->
<UL>
<LI>Prev by Date:
<STRONG><A HREF="msg00386.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] The Endeavour Map and MUD Applications</A></STRONG>
</LI>
<LI>Next by Date:
<STRONG><A HREF="msg00388.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] code base inquiry</A></STRONG>
</LI>
<LI>Prev by thread:
<STRONG><A HREF="msg00420.html">RE: [MUD-DEV] a shrinking pool of players?</A></STRONG>
</LI>
<LI>Next by thread:
<STRONG><A HREF="msg00416.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Next gen MUD wishlist</A></STRONG>
</LI>
<LI>Index(es):
<UL>
<LI><A HREF="index.html#00387"><STRONG>Date</STRONG></A></LI>
<LI><A HREF="thread.html#00387"><STRONG>Thread</STRONG></A></LI>
</UL>
</LI>
</UL>
<!--X-BotPNI-End-->
<!--X-User-Footer-->
<!--X-User-Footer-End-->
<ul><li>Thread context:
<BLOCKQUOTE><UL>
<LI><STRONG>RE: [MUD-DEV] a shrinking pool of players?</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM>
<ul compact>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00368" HREF="msg00368.html">RE: [MUD-DEV] a shrinking pool of players?</A></strong>,
Koster, Raph <a href="mailto:rkoster#origin,ea.com">rkoster#origin,ea.com</a>, Wed 16 Feb 2000, 17:51 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00384" HREF="msg00384.html">RE: [MUD-DEV] a shrinking pool of players?</A></strong>,
Chris Turner <a href="mailto:christ#rd,bbc.co.uk">christ#rd,bbc.co.uk</a>, Thu 17 Feb 2000, 18:40 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00391" HREF="msg00391.html">RE: [MUD-DEV] a shrinking pool of players?</A></strong>,
Matthew Mihaly <a href="mailto:diablo#best,com">diablo#best,com</a>, Thu 17 Feb 2000, 20:47 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00420" HREF="msg00420.html">RE: [MUD-DEV] a shrinking pool of players?</A></strong>,
Chris Turner <a href="mailto:christ#rd,bbc.co.uk">christ#rd,bbc.co.uk</a>, Fri 18 Feb 2000, 17:43 GMT
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00387" HREF="msg00387.html">[MUD-Dev] Next gen MUD wishlist</A></strong>,
Bryce Harrington <a href="mailto:bryce#neptune,net">bryce#neptune,net</a>, Thu 17 Feb 2000, 18:40 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00416" HREF="msg00416.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Next gen MUD wishlist</A></strong>,
Bruce <a href="mailto:bruce#puremagic,com">bruce#puremagic,com</a>, Fri 18 Feb 2000, 07:49 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00418" HREF="msg00418.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Next gen MUD wishlist</A></strong>,
Bryce Harrington <a href="mailto:bryce#neptune,net">bryce#neptune,net</a>, Fri 18 Feb 2000, 17:43 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00429" HREF="msg00429.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Next gen MUD wishlist</A></strong>,
Bruce <a href="mailto:bruce#puremagic,com">bruce#puremagic,com</a>, Sat 19 Feb 2000, 05:04 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00430" HREF="msg00430.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Next gen MUD wishlist</A></strong>,
J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#kanga,nu">claw#kanga,nu</a>, Sat 19 Feb 2000, 06:56 GMT
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
</ul>
</LI>
</UL></BLOCKQUOTE>
</ul>
<hr>
<center>
[ <a href="../">Other Periods</a>
| <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a>
| <a href="/search.php3">Search</a>
]
</center>
<hr>
</body>
</html>