[MUD-Dev] Writing a MUD Server in Visual Basic?

[Jon Lambert]

Kevin Littlejohn wrote:
> "Dan MacDonald" wrote
>>> From: Matt Owen [mailto:MOwen at Channel4.co.uk]

>>> A colleague of mine has recently been talking about writing a
>>> MUD server in visual basic, as he believes that the speed of
>>> current machines more than outweighs VBs sluggishness.

>> I'm having fun, but from what I've observed so far I don't think
>> VB can handle the server side of things without a lot of work and
>> dependence on some other non VB components.

>> When I get a little further in development I'll post some
>> performance Numbers if there's some interest.

> I'd definitely be interested in some performance numbers - I'm
> still on the lookout for anything vaguely approaching benchmarking
> for muds.

There's at least 4 or 5 VB muds out there.  BEMud and WheelMud for
starters.

As far as benchmarking goes... Here's an old usenet post.  Dont
bother following the links as they don't work anymore.  I have a
copy of the code somewhere around here.

------------------------cut---------------------------------
From: annelise at pasch.demon.co.uk (annelise at pasch.demon.co.uk)
Subject: Re: Any MU* written in VB?
Newsgroups: alt.mud.programming
Date: 1999/03/16

In article <01be6dda$b94a3960$12ea0fd0 at oemcomputer>,
  "Roy Mullis" <mullisr at oz-online.net> wrote:
> Does anyone know if there is any MU* written in VB?

First download and examine the following:

  http://www.pasch.demon.co.uk/code.zip
  http://www.pasch.demon.co.uk/Mudlib.zip

You will need VB5 Service Pack 3, and an evaluation copy of Sax
Basic Enterprise Edition, available from http://www.saxsoft.com/

We's currently purchasing a server to host a copy of the mud from
http://www.lightmail.com, which will be finalised in the next 2
weeks.  (A dual pentium with 45MB/s T3 connection) Beta testing will
then begin in earnest.

The daemon compiles commands on-the-fly that are written in
SaxSoft's VBA-compatible language, so all rooms, objects and spells
are in the Visual Basic-like VBA language. It is extremely fast and
powerful (Roughly 70000 instructions/second) on a Standard PII 300
Celeron - Enough to handle 800+ player commands/second. In
comparison, the largest Mu* server I know of is muck.furry.org 8888
with 512 online players at peak hours, and lags a little when > 300
players.  (PS: Typing 'WHO' is a bitch there. Luckily, they have a
3who command, which shows 3 players per line, and still creates 3-4
pages of players online...)

The daemon itself is written in pure VB, and uses commands/
instructions similar to those found in Beek's MudOS systems, such as
Descartes' Nightmare mudlib, or Rust's Lima Bean, it can
theoretically maintain up to 16.7 million objects (Signed 32-Bit
Integer index). An object being a single cloned instance of an
ActiveX class, such as Weapon.cls, or Armour.cls.

The next version of the daemon, which we're working on, will use
DevSoft's IP*Works ActiveX, which has a more stable TCP/IP interface
and can handle loads normally found on commercial web sites. (1000
stable simultaneous connections) We'll also be implementing a few
unique features such as Web Portal access to the mud accounts, so
that you can use your character as a free email/web service and have
pages devoted to your character, read bulletin boards/your mudmail
via a web interface.

Mud bulletin boards will also be able to have 2-way feeds to Usenet
newsgroups that correlate to the board's function, such as a
wizard's programming board can have a feed from alt.mud.programming.

As Descartes/Rust/Beek's Intermud 2-3 specification is restricted to
LPC-only formats (Or so I gather) - I will be implementing the
Intermuck protocol, such as that used by SocioPolitical
Ramifications, or the ever-popular FurryMuck. An IRC channel- link
has even been proposed, but that may generate too much off-mud-topic
traffic.

A full GUI interface is being worked on to generate 'template' code,
such as rooms, exits, objects, etc. Creating your own mud without
knowing *any* code would be possible. (If a little tame.) 
Customisation of most major commands is extremely simple, such as
the usual login screens, who command format, etc.

If you're interested in helping develop, either the daemon (an
executable version of which (mud.exe !) will be available in a few
weeks, after we fully license SaxSoft's control - The evaluation
copy expires after 30 days) or the new mudlib (Slayers - Named after
the anime of the same name, and Buffy) then send an email to
annelise at pasch.demon.co.uk and ask for information on joining the
Kitsuki development team.

Anne-Lise.
(Kitsuki)

Kitsuki Mud Daemon Development Team:
Kitsuki, Lina, Lum & ToiletDuck(tm).

Slayers Mudlib Development Team:
Akane, Kitsuki, Nokoko & Vixen.

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----------------------end cut---------------------------------------


Here's some early source code...

  http://groups.google.com/groups?q=vb+mud&start=110&hl=en&group=alt.mud.programming&safe=off&rnum=113&selm=352f4e96.4618484%40news.demon.co.uk

--
--* 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.*--








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