[MUD-Dev] Room-based vs. Coordinate based[Was semi-graphical muds]

[J C Lawrence]

On Tue, 13 Feb 2001 08:37:49 +0000 (GMT) 
the logos <the_logos at www.achaea.com> wrote:
> On Tue, 13 Feb 2001, Warren Powell wrote:

> Hmm. In both coordinate and room systems, players have the freedom
> to go where you allow them to go. No more, no less. 

Given that you define the entire mehcanics of motion within the
environment, this is rather tautological isn't it?

> Since no one on earth has yet succeeded in modeling true weather
> patterns, 

Actually weather patterns have been simulated to very high degrees
of accuracy as long as the imact of factors external to the
simulation are not overly significant (eg the temperature of the
Humbolt current has a whole lot to do with winter rainfall in the
Hebrides -- an excessively large and complex data set to model).  

>From a game vantage, weather simulation is probably not that
interesting.  While a small percentage of players may be interested
in observing the patterns of flow of your pressure systems and
whether or not and when they are being approach by a cold or warm
front etc, in the general case a half-arsed stab at the area which
seems halfway possible without much examination will likely do if
only for the fact that few games either cover enough planetary area
or provide sufficient data on the planetary weather systems to even
form reasonable expectations.

The big exceptions of course are magic and large scale events in the
game worlds.  Setting a tar lake the size of Nebraska on fire will
probably ensure that the weather patterns for the next while do not
enclude many sunny days.  Bubba magically raising a volcano (as a
means of obtaining a laval elemental) would tend to suggest that
massive rain systems are moderately likely within a week or so.

> I suspect that simply implementing them in a coordinate-based text
> mud is going to be insufficient. However, it's not hard to add
> semi-realistic weather patterns to room-based MUDs. 

Yup.  Adding the consistancy stuff is a bit harder.  The dirt road
to Yule should not be dry and dusty when the river nearby is a
bank-verflowing torrent due to three weeks of continuous rain, the
sun should not shine in through the windows of the pub when the sky
is filled with ashes from Bubba's volcano, and in fact, even in the
midst of winter, the fjords should probably not be frozen and the
herring boats not locked in harbour due to the same volcano.

> I don't understand why rivers and roads can't be followed in
> room-based MUDs either. Certainly the players who use the highways
> and rivers in Achaea (room-based) would disagree with you there.

One of MUD 2's early claims, which far too few people seem to have
considered something to match, was that rooms really were logically
related.  The example that was given as I recall was that of a stick
thrown into a river.  You could follow the stick down the river,
over waterfalls etc, and watch it wend its way to the sea.
Similarly, if you didn't follow it, you could have other players
staged along the river and they would see the stick pass them along
the same route (within limits -- I think fairly heavy/aggressive GC
would reap the stick early if there was a good chance (Richard?)).

--
J C Lawrence                                       claw at kanga.nu
---------(*)                          http://www.kanga.nu/~claw/
--=| A man is as sane as he is dangerous to his environment |=--
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