[MUD-Dev] Thoughts about smarter Sims

[Jon A. Lambert]

Raph Koster wrote:
> 
> Wouldn't a rule like this be more generically applicable if it weren't tied
> to rats and cats? Why not use "predator" which is a definition dependent on
> the mobile with the rule, based on more abstracted qualities, such as eating
> meat which is what the rat is made of, the size of the rat (since some
> predators will judge it too big and others too small), and so on?
>

Yes, you certainly could write rules to interface with abstract classes.  
My sample rats are just big, bold, bad and fear nought but cats. :)
 
> A lot of the goals in your post (and approaches too, actually) are very
> similar to stuff that Kristen and I were working on before we were hired for
> Origin, for a new mud we were going to start developing after we felt we'd
> hit limits with LegendMUD. Some aspects but not others then made it into
> UO...
 
Nod, I recognized the sim strains in both of your postings on the list. ;)  
The nitty gritty basics of my approach are simple.

a) Goals - What are the strategic goals of the mud objects.  Are they simple 
like living, thriving and reproducing (rats), or are they more complex like
responsibilties of opening and closing the Midgaard city gates :-P, getting
reelected, aquiring wealth through trading, killing, robbing, etc.  Each goal
needs a plan or series of plans that can be executed to progress toward
the goals as measured by state. 

b) Context - Using the enviromental data that is currently available narrow 
down the set of possible plans of action.  If one is currently executing a 
plan of action, decide whether that plan is now invalidated by the current 
situation or whether it should be temporarily suspended or continued.

c) Plans - Procedures that are executed in order to modify state.  It's not 
enough to have a single plan for feeding, for example.  One must have multiple 
plans to accomplish the same goal based upon different contexts. 

Recognizing context is the critical function that takes you from the mindless 
behavior of the old life/fish simulations to the complex behavior of the
computer run kings in Age of Empires II.    

Finally new places to go from here...
d) Learning - One needs a form of memory and logging, plans that will 
perform random actions, and a process that can parse the context 
and weight the actions performed in that context in order to write new 
plans or modify old plans and assign new priorities to both of them. 

--
--* Jon A. Lambert - TychoMUD        Email:jlsysinc at ix.netcom.com *--
--* Mud Server Developer's Page <http://tychomud.home.netcom.com> *--
--* If I had known it was harmless, I would have killed it myself.*--
 




_______________________________________________
MUD-Dev mailing list
MUD-Dev at kanga.nu
http://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev