[MUD-Dev2] [DESIGN] Homogenized MMORPG Engines (Was: A rant against Vanguard reviews and rants)

[Morris Cox]

On 3/12/07, Adam Martin <adam.m.s.martin at googlemail.com> wrote:
> On 09/03/07, Morris Cox <morriscox at gmail.com> wrote:
> > That is what I'm really interested in. I suspect that a company could
> > make a lot of $$$ by building something like that and then selling
>
> There have been many that were, and are still a few out there. Have a
> look at BigWorld, Simutronics (Hero), Qazal, etc.

I appreciate the names and will be looking at them.

> > licenses to it. Releasing it as open source and for free would greatly
> > increase adoption; however, I doubt most companies (if any) would be
>
> If you want open-source, WorldForge has been doing OS MMO engine(s)
> for decades :).

I did take a quick look through their website. However, I wish they
would list the differences between the clients on the main page. I had
to click on the Downloads link on the left to get some idea. On a side
note, I like that they are using XHTML Strict.

> > One thing I've noticed looking at systems like WorldForge or Darkstar,
> > etc., is that they require that you use a particular language such as
> > C++ or Java. That is understandable, however it locks out those who
> > don't know that one language. What would be better is a system that
>
> OK, what exactly are you aiming at here? The vast majority of
> competent programmers will know one (or both) of those two languages,
> and if they don't would probably benefit from starting (given they are
> responsible for the vast vast majority of all programming jobs
> worldwide, or so I'm told by people with vested interests ;)).

One possible scenario is developers who want to work together but not
all of them know the same language. Myself, I do some PHP but have a
mental block when it comes to programming. I can see it in my head,
but I tend to be so abstract in my thinking that it's hard to put
things into concrete form. Might sound ironic, but I've found that
trying to learn programming by doing something like working on a MUD
was much more effective than taking a class.

> If you want to make this available to people who both cannot program
> and have no interest in learning to do so with modern mainstream
> programming languages, then my above comment is irrelevant. But, if
> that's the case, I seriously doubt you're going to see any non-trivial
> game, certainly little that is interesting and novel.

Myself, I have the interest, but four attempts so far and I still am
not able to do Java (though I did have some success with CoffeeMUD).
My attempt at taking a C++ class flopped. I did pretty good at
MUSHcode and somewhat okay with LPC. I can do XML. I am quite horrid
at graphics.

I do agree with you in general. However, you can get the rare gem.

> > would allow use of multiple languages so long as there was an
> > interface between them. One developer could use C++ while another
> > developer could use Java (or C# or PHP or XML, etc.) and still
> > interoperate. Properly implemented, that should lower the barrier to
> > entry.
>
> IMHO, there are far bigger concerns than whether it supports each and
> every programmer's language of choice.
>
> Adam

I agree. It just a feature that might be useful for some and doesn't
have to be used.
-- 
Morris Cox