[MUD-Dev] Re: (fwd) AD: [custom graphical] whitestar Crossfire MUD

[Matt Chatterley]

On Wed, 29 Apr 1998, J C Lawrence wrote:
> On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 14:03:48 -0500 (CDT) 
> Cat <cat at bga.com> wrote:
> 
> > Consider my alternative tool, Microsoft Visual C++ - which I did, in
> > fact, choose.  Had I even considered the alternative of doing a
> > non-web based Java app, as Crossfire did, rather than a Windows-only
> > .exe file, I'd be looking at a simple tradeoff.  The majority of my
> > potential Windows users, the ones who do not happen to already have
> > the Java runtime environment installed, would have to go through
> > extra download time, and extra setup time.  Some of them would still
> > try the game anyway, others would decide it's too much hassle to
> > bother with.  So I lose that number of potential users.  In
> > exchange, I gain some percentage of the users of other platforms
> > that Java runs on - most (but not all) of the non-Windows-based
> > computers out there.  It's a simple question of numbers.  Is the
> > number gained larger than the number lost, or smaller?
> 
> I should probably note up front that your choice lost me as a
> potential customer.  I have only one system out of the half dozen plus
> at home that is physically capable of running Windows (Windows doesn't
> run on Alpha's, PA RISC's etc), plus the minor fact that I refuse to
> own or use any MS products of any flavour.  <shrug>  Then again, my
> computing habits don't fall into any of the more commercially
> desirable mass-market demographics.

True, commercially speaking, I think.. although not necessarily. There are
a *lot* of people with non-windows machines which can run Java (*example
only* - lets not drop into Java advocacy issues, please?). Amiga, Linux
(and other UNIXite systems) being the main to leap to mind. I believe the
Acorn/ARM machines can also run Java, now.. thats probably enough to
balance up the 'risk' of requiring the JRE. Of course, for a commercial
product, you could supply a suitable JRE along with a copy of the client
on disk or cd.

As to which number would be larger (assuming download-only distribution)..
who can tell? This list isn't a particularly good survey form, since I
think we are largely non-windows based? I do know that a commercial
release over multi-platforms could play up on this fact advertising wise,
to reach a greater audience.. Hmm. Interesting.

[Snip rest]

--
Regards,
	-Matt Chatterley
"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.." -John Lennon (Imagine)


--
MUD-Dev: Advancing an unrealised future.