[MUD-Dev] Pocket PC Development

[Matt Owen]

Frank Crowell <maddog at shell9.ba.best.com> wrote:
> Peter Tyson wrote:
 
>> Still surprised a little that no one in the MUD world has thought
>> of offering their game with a premium subscription for PPC
>> use. The classic idea of playing UO at home and then managing
>> your trade/vendors with your PPC when away from home. I'm sure
>> there is an audience for that kind of continued gameplay. And
>> they'd pay too.

[SNIP]
 
> Conceptually, it is not hard to imagine a lightweight client for
> the PDAs.  I believe the way that the wireless phone services are
> handling web stuff is that they use a server to do most of the
> work, then format and send to the phone just the data it needs for
> the request.  Of course in a mud you don't need a separate server
> -- you just build in the hooks that you need.

> The basic problem is that wireless service for the PDAs is fairly
> limited.  Cell phones have a much better network, but their cost
> is horrendous.  The service from MobileAria actually gets its
> wireless from a cell phone and then feeds it into the Palm. Great
> for the phone companies, but not great for me.

I myself own an integrated PocketPC/GSM phone. The PocketPC has
direct access to the modem in the Phone part of the device (it
appears as COM6: and can be used by PPCs dial up
networking). However, dialing up the internet at 9600bps is a major
pain, and I sure the time it takes to log on wasn't this annoying 10
years ago. So the slow speed and high call costs would at this stage
make online RPGing and MUDding uneconomic, and mostly impractical.
GPRS, which is already available in Europe and the UK, promises
always on, medium speed access, but at the moment is still out of
reach for most users, due to limited support on the hardware. When
it does start to hit the mainstream, I think mobile online gaming
(MOG?) will finally take off.

- Jaruzel.
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