April 1998
- Persistant storage.... My current idea. J C Lawrence
- Persistant storage.... My current idea. J C Lawrence
- Persistant storage.... My current idea. Chris Gray
- Persistant storage.... My current idea. J C Lawrence
- Persistant storage.... My current idea. J C Lawrence
- OT: This is a test of a system config change. coder@ibm.net
- MUD Development Digest Dr. Cat
- MUD Development Digest Justin McKinnerney
- MUD Development Digest Nathan F Yospe
- MUD Development Digest Justin McKinnerney
- MUD Development Digest J C Lawrence
- MUD Development Digest J C Lawrence
- MUD Development Digest Jon A. Lambert
- MUD Development Digest Chris Gray
- MUD Development Digest J C Lawrence
- MUD Development Digest J C Lawrence
- MUD Development Digest J C Lawrence
- MUD Development Digest Ben Greear
- MUD Development Digest Jon A. Lambert
- MUD Development Digest Chris Gray
- MUD Development Digest Ben Greear
- MUD Development Digest Dr. Cat
- MUD Development Digest Ben Greear
- MUD Development Digest Justin McKinnerney
- MUD Development Digest Dr. Cat
- MUD Development Digest Justin McKinnerney
- MUD Development Digest Dr. Cat
- MUD Development Digest J C Lawrence
- MUD Development Digest Matt Chatterley
- MUD Development Digest J C Lawrence
- GRUMPS maddog@best.com
- caved in: Algorithms for for storing free space. Ben Greear
- internet connections Chris Gray
- GRUPMS? Vadim Tkachenko
- [Fwd: MUD-Dev] Richard Woolcock
- [Fwd: MUD-Dev] Nathan F Yospe
- [Fwd: MUD-Dev] coder@ibm.net
- [Fwd: MUD-Dev] Katrina McClelan
- [Fwd: MUD-Dev] Richard Woolcock
- [Fwd: MUD-Dev] J C Lawrence
- [Fwd: MUD-Dev] Travis S. Casey
- [Fwd: MUD-Dev] maddog@best.com
- [Fwd: MUD-Dev] J C Lawrence
- [Fwd: MUD-Dev] J C Lawrence
- [Fwd: MUD-Dev] Jon A. Lambert
- [Fwd: MUD-Dev] Richard Woolcock
- Meta: who dat guy, wot dat web? coder@ibm.net
- Meta: who dat guy, wot dat web? Katrina McClelan
- Meta: who dat guy, wot dat web? s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- Meta: who dat guy, wot dat web? J C Lawrence
- Meta: who dat guy, wot dat web? Jon A. Lambert
- Meta: who dat guy, wot dat web? J C Lawrence
- [META] Mailing lists Katrina McClelan
- [META] Mailing lists Travis S. Casey
- META: The web presence and wot it ain't gonna be J C Lawrence
- META: The web presence and wot it ain't gonna be Shawn Halpenny
- META: The web presence and wot it ain't gonna be J C Lawrence
- META: The web presence and wot it ain't gonna be J C Lawrence
- (fwd) code for teleport coder@ibm.net
- (fwd) code for teleport Ben Greear
- (fwd) code for teleport s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- (fwd) code for teleport J C Lawrence
- META: Archive of Megami/Wout's list's traffic? Archive of the CC: list? J C Lawrence
- Resisting Charm or you're cute and nice, but not to die for. Jon A. Lambert
- Resisting Charm or you're cute and nice, but not to die for. s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- Resisting Charm or you're cute and nice, but not to die for. Katrina McClelan
- Resisting Charm or you're cute and nice, but not to die for. J C Lawrence
- Genetic Algorithms Jon A. Lambert
- MUD Development Digest J C Lawrence
- MUD Development Digest Alex Oren
- MUD Development Digest Chris Gray
- MUD Development Digest Jon Leonard
- MUD Development Digest Jon A. Lambert
- Resisting Charm or you're cute and nice, but not Jon A. Lambert
- Unreal J C Lawrence
- META: The web archives are up for review (alpha 1) J C Lawrence
- META: Archive of Megami/Wout's list's traffic? Archive of Alex Oren
- RGMA Alex Oren
- META: That bloke Yaltec. Khan one
- META: That bloke Yaltec. J C Lawrence
- a fruitful exchange on classlessness in r.g.m.admin Cimri
- MAGE 2 MAGE v. 0.88 J C Lawrence
- META: membership (was a fruitful exchange on classlessness in r.g.m.admin) coder@ibm.net
- META: Archive of Megami/Wout's list's traffic? Archive of Wout Mertens
- (fwd) Development of new code base coder@ibm.net
- Seductions of Sim: Policy as a Simulation Jon A. Lambert
- Seductions of Sim: Policy as a Simulation J C Lawrence
- META: membership (was a fruitful exchange on clas Jon A. Lambert
- Resisting Charm or you're cute and nice, but not t Jon A. Lambert
- META: Web futures and the demise of MUD civilisation as we know it. coder@ibm.net
- There can be.. only ONE! Matt Chatterley
- There can be.. only ONE! Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- There can be.. only ONE! Matt Chatterley
- There can be.. only ONE! J C Lawrence
- There can be.. only ONE! Richard Woolcock
- There can be.. only ONE! J C Lawrence
- There can be.. only ONE! Vadim Tkachenko
- There can be.. only ONE! Jon A. Lambert
- There can be.. only ONE! Vadim Tkachenko
- There can be.. only ONE! Jon A. Lambert
- There can be.. only ONE! Richard Woolcock
- There can be.. only ONE! J C Lawrence
- There can be.. only ONE! Matt Chatterley
- There can be.. only ONE! Matt Chatterley
- There can be.. only ONE! J C Lawrence
- There can be.. only ONE! Matt Chatterley
- There can be.. only ONE! J C Lawrence
- There can be.. only ONE! Ling
- There can be.. only ONE! Matt Chatterley
- There can be.. only ONE! J C Lawrence
- There can be.. only ONE! Matt Chatterley
- There can be.. only ONE! J C Lawrence
- There can be.. only ONE! J C Lawrence
- OT: Caballah [was Character development] Alex Oren
- OT: Caballah [was Character development] Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- OT: Caballah [was Character development] Vadim Tkachenko
- OT: Caballah [was Character development] Vadim Tkachenko
- OT: Caballah [was Character development] Marian Griffith
- OT: Caballah [was Character development] Jon A. Lambert
- Personality modelling Oliver Jowett
- Personality modelling J C Lawrence
- Personality modelling J C Lawrence
- META: membership Holly Sommer
- META: membership Cimri
- META: membership s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- META: membership Katrina McClelan
- META: Other mailing lists Alex Oren
- META: Other mailing lists J C Lawrence
- META: Web site backgrounds and readability J C Lawrence
- META: Web site backgrounds and readability Cimri
- META: Web site backgrounds and readability Holly Sommer
- META: Web site backgrounds and readability plateau
- META: Web site backgrounds and readability Vadim Tkachenko
- META: Web site backgrounds and readability Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- META: Web site backgrounds and readability Vadim Tkachenko
- META: Web site backgrounds and readability Greg Munt
- META: Web site backgrounds and readability J C Lawrence
- META: Web site backgrounds and readability Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- META: Web site backgrounds and readability Matt Chatterley
- META: Web site backgrounds and readability Holly Sommer
- META: Web site backgrounds and readability Jon A. Lambert
- META: Web site backgrounds and readability Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- META: Web site backgrounds and readability Jon A. Lambert
- META: Web site backgrounds and readability J C Lawrence
- META: Archive message format J C Lawrence
- (fwd) equipment J C Lawrence
- 3D evaluation? J C Lawrence
- META: Archive searching now works... J C Lawrence
- META: Archive searching now works... Bruce Mitchener
- META: Archive searching now works... J C Lawrence
- Fw: [DESIGN] Combat system Richard Woolcock
- [Fwd: Grids and curvature of a sphere] Richard Woolcock
- [Fwd: Grids and curvature of a sphere] Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- [Fwd: Grids and curvature of a sphere] J C Lawrence
- [Fwd: Grids and curvature of a sphere] J C Lawrence
- SfD: AI and muds; several approaches Nathan F Yospe
- META: We have moved. J C Lawrence
- (fwd) Mudlib Design J C Lawrence
- (fwd) SERVER: New Code Base in VB Started J C Lawrence
- (fwd) SERVER: New Code Base in VB Started Jon A. Lambert
- Graphical MUD project (Sea Of Blood) J C Lawrence
- (fwd) Sea of Blood Graphical MUD J C Lawrence
- MAPPING: Creating a bitmaped graphic from map coordinates John Bertoglio
- MAPPING: Creating a bitmaped graphic from map coordinates Nathan F Yospe
- MAPPING: Creating a bitmaped graphic from map coordinates John Bertoglio
- MAPPING: Creating a bitmaped graphic from map coordinates s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- MAPPING: Creating a bitmaped graphic from map coordinates Jon Leonard
- MAPPING: Creating a bitmaped graphic from map coordinates Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- MAPPING: Creating a bitmaped graphic from map coordinates J C Lawrence
- MAPPING: Creating a bitmaped graphic from map coordinates Vadim Tkachenko
- Gentle Reminder J C Lawrence
- Systems you use Ling
- Systems you use Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Systems you use J C Lawrence
- Systems you use Adam Wiggins
- Systems you use Jon A. Lambert
- Systems you use Katrina McClelan
- Systems you use J C Lawrence
- Systems you use Katrina McClelan
- (fwd) CODE RELEASE: [client] Jcrossclient - java client to "crossfire" J C Lawrence
- Teamwork Ling
- Teamwork J C Lawrence
- MAPPING: Creating a bitmaped graphic from map Jon A. Lambert
- MAPPING: Creating a bitmaped graphic from map J C Lawrence
- MAPPING: Creating a bitmaped graphic from map Jon A. Lambert
- MAPPING: Creating a bitmaped graphic from map John Bertoglio
- MAPPING: Creating a bitmaped graphic from map Jon A. Lambert
- MAPPING: Creating a bitmaped graphic from map Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- MAPPING: Creating a bitmaped graphic from map Jon A. Lambert
- (fwd) AD: [custom graphical] whitestar Crossfire MUD J C Lawrence
- (fwd) AD: [custom graphical] whitestar Crossfire MUD Dr. Cat
- (fwd) AD: [custom graphical] whitestar Crossfire MUD Ben Greear
- (fwd) AD: [custom graphical] whitestar Crossfire MUD Matt Chatterley
- (fwd) AD: [custom graphical] whitestar Crossfire MUD Chris Gray
- (fwd) AD: [custom graphical] whitestar Crossfire MUD Dr. Cat
- (fwd) AD: [custom graphical] whitestar Crossfire MUD J C Lawrence
- (fwd) AD: [custom graphical] whitestar Crossfire MUD Jay Sax
- (fwd) AD: [custom graphical] whitestar Crossfire MUD Dr. Cat
- (fwd) AD: [custom graphical] whitestar Crossfire MUD Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- (fwd) AD: [custom graphical] whitestar Crossfire MUD J C Lawrence
- (fwd) AD: [custom graphical] whitestar Crossfire MUD Matt Chatterley
- (fwd) AD: [custom graphical] whitestar Crossfire MUD Chris Gray
- There can be.. only ONE! (fwd) Matt Chatterley
- There can be.. only ONE! (fwd) J C Lawrence
- There can be.. only ONE! (fwd) Matt Chatterley
- There can be.. only ONE! (fwd) Adam Wiggins
- There can be.. only ONE! (fwd) Matt Chatterley
- There can be.. only ONE! (fwd) J C Lawrence
- There can be.. only ONE! (fwd) J C Lawrence
- There can be.. only ONE! (fwd) Matt Chatterley
- There can be.. only ONE! (fwd) Matt Chatterley
- There can be.. only ONE! (fwd) J C Lawrence
- There can be.. only ONE! (fwd) Matt Chatterley
- There can be.. only ONE! (fwd) J C Lawrence
- There can be.. only ONE! (fwd) Matt Chatterley
- There can be.. only ONE! (fwd) Jon A. Lambert
- There can be.. only ONE! (fwd) J C Lawrence
- There can be.. only ONE! (fwd) Matt Chatterley
- How to represent a 3d object... Ben Greear
- How to represent a 3d object... Oliver Jowett
- How to represent a 3d object... Ben Greear
- How to represent a 3d object... Justin McKinnerney
- How to represent a 3d object... J C Lawrence
- fwd Room descriptions, was Roleplaying John Bertoglio
- fwd Room descriptions, was Roleplaying Chris Gray
- fwd Room descriptions, was Roleplaying Ling
- fwd Room descriptions, was Roleplaying J C Lawrence
- Room descriptions, was Roleplaying Richard Woolcock
- Room descriptions, was Roleplaying John Bertoglio
- Java for Mud Client (Crossfire MUD topic) Justin McKinnerney
- Java for Mud Client (Crossfire MUD topic) Joel Dillon
- Java for Mud Client (Crossfire MUD topic) Justin McKinnerney
- Java for Mud Client (Crossfire MUD topic) Joel Dillon
- Java for Mud Client (Crossfire MUD topic) s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- Java for Mud Client (Crossfire MUD topic) J C Lawrence
- Java for Mud Client (Crossfire MUD topic) J C Lawrence
- Java for Mud Client (Crossfire MUD topic) Ben Greear
- Java for Mud Client (Crossfire MUD topic) J C Lawrence
- META: mud-dev@null.net is now decommissioned. J C Lawrence
- META: mud-dev@null.net is now decommissioned. John Bertoglio
- META: mud-dev@null.net is now decommissioned. J C Lawrence
- Group mechanics/Leadership [was: Room descriptions] Shawn Halpenny
- Group mechanics/Leadership [was: Room descriptions] John Bertoglio
- (fwd) [DESIGN] Macro semi-language J C Lawrence
- (fwd) [DESIGN] Macro semi-language J C Lawrence
- (fwd) POLL: Games ruined by bad players (Player killers, tank rushers etc) J C Lawrence
- (fwd) POLL: Games ruined by bad players (Player killers, tank rushers etc) Dr. Cat
- (fwd) POLL: Games ruined by bad players (Player killers, tank rushers etc) Marian Griffith
- (fwd) POLL: Games ruined by bad players (Player killers, tank rushers etc) J C Lawrence
- (fwd) POLL: Games ruined by bad players (Player killers, tank rushers etc) Chris Gray
- (fwd) POLL: Games ruined by bad players (Player killers, tank rushers etc) Koster, Raph
- (fwd) POLL: Games ruined by bad players (Player killers, tank rushers etc) Adam Wiggins
- (fwd) POLL: Games ruined by bad players (Player killers, tank rushers etc) J C Lawrence
- OT: Birth announcement Koster, Raph
- OT: Birth announcement Nathan F Yospe
- OT: Birth announcement J C Lawrence
- OT: Birth announcement J C Lawrence
- OT: Birth announcement John Bertoglio
- OT: Birth announcement J C Lawrence
- OT: Birth announcement Jon A. Lambert
- OT: Birth announcement Koster, Raph
- (fwd) POLL: Games ruined by bad players (Playe Jon A. Lambert
- (fwd) POLL: Games ruined by bad players (Playe Dr. Cat
- (fwd) POLL: Games ruined by bad players (Playe J C Lawrence
- (fwd) POLL: Games ruined by bad players (Playe Dr. Cat
- (fwd) POLL: Games ruined by bad players (Playe J C Lawrence
- (fwd) POLL: Games ruined by bad players (Playe Richard Woolcock
- Some thoughts on languages and users - was: Macro semi Jon A. Lambert
- PK's: A solution? John Bertoglio
- PK's: A solution? Shawn Halpenny
- PK's: A solution? Michael Hohensee
- PK's: A solution? s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- PK's: A solution? J C Lawrence
- PK's: A solution? Katrina McClelan
- PK's: A solution? John Bertoglio
- PK's: A solution? Holly Sommer
- PK's: A solution? J C Lawrence
- PK's: A solution? John Bertoglio
- META: Membership authentication J C Lawrence
- (fwd) MOB or player? Global Communications on Muds J C Lawrence
- (fwd) MOB or player? Global Communications on Muds John Bertoglio
- (fwd) Confusing? J C Lawrence
- (fwd) Confusing? Chris Gray
- (fwd) POLL: Games ruined by bad players (Player killers, tank rushers etc) J C Lawrence
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Jay Sax
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea John Bertoglio
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Chris Gray
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Ling
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea J C Lawrence
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Adam Wiggins
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea J C Lawrence
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Adam Wiggins
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Marian Griffith
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Dr. Cat
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Koster, Raph
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Dr. Cat
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Jon A. Lambert
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Dr. Cat
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea J C Lawrence
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Koster, Raph
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Marian Griffith
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Dr. Cat
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea John Bertoglio
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Dr. Cat
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Marian Griffith
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Dr. Cat
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Adam Wiggins
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea J C Lawrence
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea J C Lawrence
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea John Bertoglio
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea J C Lawrence
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Marian Griffith
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea J C Lawrence
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Alex Oren
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Jon A. Lambert
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea J C Lawrence
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea J C Lawrence
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea John Bertoglio
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Dr. Cat
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea John Bertoglio
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea J C Lawrence
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Adam Wiggins
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea J C Lawrence
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Adam Wiggins
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Adam Wiggins
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Marian Griffith
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Koster, Raph
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea J C Lawrence
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea John Bertoglio
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea J C Lawrence
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea John Bertoglio
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea J C Lawrence
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Adam Wiggins
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea Marian Griffith
- PK and my "Mobless MUD" idea John Bertoglio
- META: Mail archives and MIME attachments J C Lawrence
- META: Mail archives and MIME attachments Jon A. Lambert
- Bio of John Bertoglio J C Lawrence
- Reuters: Cheaters Never Prosper J C Lawrence
- Correction s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- Supporting articles found for UOL play style J C Lawrence
- Supporting articles found for UOL play style John Bertoglio
- Supporting articles found for UOL play style J C Lawrence
- Supporting articles found for UOL play style John Bertoglio
- Supporting articles found for UOL play style Koster, Raph
- Supporting articles found for UOL play style J C Lawrence
- Supporting articles found for UOL play style Koster, Raph
- Mud-Client, and specifically, COOLMud and SFWhite Jay Sax
- regulating player-created objects Dan Shiovitz
- regulating player-created objects Adam Wiggins
- regulating player-created objects Dan Shiovitz
- regulating player-created objects Adam Wiggins
- regulating player-created objects s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- regulating player-created objects Brandon J. Rickman
- regulating player-created objects Marian Griffith
- regulating player-created objects Brandon J. Rickman
- regulating player-created objects Adam Wiggins
- regulating player-created objects Brandon J. Rickman
- regulating player-created objects Adam Wiggins
- regulating player-created objects Brandon J. Rickman
- regulating player-created objects Adam Wiggins
- regulating player-created objects Nathan F Yospe
- regulating player-created objects Nathan F Yospe
- regulating player-created objects Nathan F Yospe
- regulating player-created objects Dan Shiovitz
- regulating player-created objects Shawn Halpenny
- regulating player-created objects J C Lawrence
- regulating player-created objects J C Lawrence
- regulating player-created objects John Bertoglio
- atomic functions Felix A. Croes
- atomic functions Shawn Halpenny
- atomic functions Felix A. Croes
- atomic functions Shawn Halpenny
- atomic functions Jon A. Lambert
- atomic functions Felix A. Croes
- atomic functions Jon A. Lambert
- atomic functions Felix A. Croes
- atomic functions Jon A. Lambert
- atomic functions Felix A. Croes
- atomic functions Jon A. Lambert
- atomic functions Felix A. Croes
- atomic functions J C Lawrence
- atomic functions Felix A. Croes
- atomic functions J C Lawrence
- atomic functions J C Lawrence
- atomic functions Felix A. Croes
- atomic functions J C Lawrence
- atomic functions Felix A. Croes
- atomic functions J C Lawrence
- atomic functions Felix A. Croes
- atomic functions J C Lawrence
- atomic functions Chris Gray
- atomic functions J C Lawrence
- atomic functions Chris Gray
- atomic functions J C Lawrence
- atomic functions Jon A. Lambert
- atomic functions Chris Gray
- atomic functions J C Lawrence
- atomic functions Jon A. Lambert
- atomic functions Felix A. Croes
- atomic functions Joel Dillon
- atomic functions Jon A. Lambert
- atomic functions J C Lawrence
- atomic functions Jon A. Lambert
- atomic functions J C Lawrence
- atomic functions Chris Gray
- atomic functions Jon A. Lambert
- atomic functions Shawn Halpenny
- atomic functions Adam Wiggins
- atomic functions Adam Wiggins
- atomic functions Shawn Halpenny
- atomic functions J C Lawrence
- atomic functions Jon A. Lambert
- atomic functions Chris Gray
- atomic functions J C Lawrence
- atomic functions Felix A. Croes
- atomic functions Shawn Halpenny
- atomic functions Felix A. Croes
- atomic functions Jon A. Lambert
- atomic functions Shawn Halpenny
- atomic functions Jon A. Lambert
- atomic functions J C Lawrence
- Atomic functions Par Winzell
- Atomic Functions Ben
- Atomic functions Felix A. Croes
- (fwd) AD: [custom graphical] whitestar Dr. Cat
- (fwd) AD: [custom graphical] whitestar Caliban Tiresias Darklock
On 12:12 PM 4/30/98 -0500, I personally witnessed Dr. Cat jumping up to say:
>
>Well, I don't know if many people do, given the "not much interest" you
>cite from prior attempts.
I've always suspected it was because nobody knew who I was and therefore
couldn't take me seriously, but I also had this nagging feeling that I
wasn't giving people enough credit. ;)
>the main reason I don't talk about my work too much is because I have
>hundreds of things to implement, most of which I thought up years ago,
>and only one programmer (me) working on them.
I have about forty different pieces-parts of a BBS system lurking on my
hard drive, which was a terribly ambitious project. Most of them are more
comment than code, and most are in flat assembly language. The farthest it
ever got was accepting logons and doing some teleconference stuff, but it
has some really impressive bits and pieces in the incomplete message base
system that I never managed to find time to complete. Lately I've been
looking at it and thinking it would probably work really well for a MUD if
I put some work into it, but I doubt anything useful will materialise. So I
know where you're coming from on that... some of these files are internally
dated mid-1989.
>> It's not much of a secret that I tend to prefer text
>> to graphical, based on certain economies of bandwidth and disk which come
>> from that, but I have to admit that when push comes to shove graphical will
>> pull more users.
>
>This is a non-issue to me. All functions wherever possible must be
>executable using either mouse-only or keyboard only. This just seems
>intuitively obvious to me.
Me too... I was just looking at the thought of what the user is looking at
here, not how he interacts with it.
>Generally the "easy for novices" way of doing
>a thing (usually, but not always, the mouse interface) should be the
>easiest to notice (or have shoved in your face by the documentation),
>while the "power user" interface should be not too hard to find out
>about, but not "in your face" if you don't desire it and don't go looking
>for it.
How do you feel about 'modes' of operation, like a novice/expert toggle? I
always detested them, myself, since it always seemed like neither of them
ever quite fit the way I interacted with the game. Have you ever seen one
done well?
>> To a degree, this can be remedied with natural
>> language processing, like shorthand:
>
>This, to me, is a false grail.
Agreed, though an intriguing concept from an AI perspective and something I
see people discuss here and there.
>Regretably most software developers seem to
>feel that the solution space is (or should be) "as many different things
>that are possible to do as I can possible enable the users to do".
I've occasionally fallen prey to this, since I find that the things which
are the most interesting to code are the things nobody in his right mind
ever looks for. It still traps me now and again, somehow, even when I know
going into it that no one will ever use the feature I code. I wrote a
web-based shopping cart application recently that took relative adjustments
to quantity; if you replaced the '4' in the quantity box with '-1', the
quantity would become '3'. I got a lot of weird looks for that.
>Players not feeling like they're wasting
>time is a good thing. Tightly map your interface to what's actually
>doable. And try to map what's actually doable to what players will want
>to do and what will generate large amounts of the mystic quantity known
>as "fun".
I'm reminded of a BBS door called 'CyberWorld' (I think), which was
basically MUD Lite. (Ooh, a potential new server name.) You could talk and
emote and pick things up and put things down and use things, and that was
more or less it. If you felt like building something, you could create and
describe an object, and put it into another object, which was sort of nifty
in a weird way. Programmable activity for objects was purely limited to
displaying messages. It was a popular hangout for a lot of people, because
you could do weird things like pick up a box, and put it inside itself.
Most of the people who hung out there proved to be programmers or wannabe
programmers. Unfortunately, it started to eat disk space like mad (once you
put a box inside itself, it was forever lost and just dead DB space) and I
had to get rid of it. But other things like 'Murder Mansion'
>learning is an ongoing, dynamic process, and the help a users
>wants/needs in their first hour of using your product is very different
>from what they need in their second day, which is different from what
>they need after three months. But pressing F1 for help in any Windows
>app is likely to pop up the exact SAME help menu with the same sub-menus
>and documents every time, forever.
Ouch... you know, I've noticed this and been frustrated by it more times
than I can count, and it never ONCE occurred to me to seek some sort of
reasonable solution? I think I just learned the meaning of "At that moment,
he was enlightened." ;)
>you have "Beekin the Help Dragon" pop up and
>suggest "Say, now that you've gotten this far in the game, I think you
>might want to learn how to be told automatically when your friends are in
>the game. Click [Here] to find out or [Here] if you're not interested."
This sounds a little like the MS Office Assistant. In my experience, most
people seem to hate it. I for one like it, but not because of the help... I
like that the little paperclip dances around and acts suave and
sophisticated in the corner of the screen. In other words, I like the
degree of levity it introduces to the process of boring memo writing. When
it pops up help messages, I tend to be a little irritated. Are you familiar
with this feature of MS Office, and if so, what's your immediate impression
of it?
>It's because people learn how to do all the basic things in life from
>other people. That's what people are used to, what they want, and what
>they're conditioned to do to seek out knowledge when they perceive that
>they're missing something.
Another whack on the side of the head. I feel really stupid now.
>The ideal help interface to me is a big button that says "help", and when
>you press it a dialog pops up that says "Do you want to A) ask for help
>from another user, or B) browse through the game documentation?"
I like this concept... you know, what strikes me at this point is that I'm
not sure I can add much of anything to the discussion. I'm learning a lot
more than I feel able to meaningfully contribute. I hate that. But I'll try
anyway.
A corollary to this is that people generally like to be respected and
considered knowledgeable. So not only do the majority of people like to be
helped by a person, but they like to HELP people, too. Bringing into this
the idea of pop-up help, after a person reaches some particular milestone
you might want to pop up a request that they join the newbie helper team. A
lot more people would treat that as an honor instead of a duty, as opposed
to requesting that people specifically volunteer to join the team without
prompting. You might ask at two or three different milestones, if they
don't 'jine up', to see if they've had a change of heart.
Several MUDs provide an avenue for people to join the staff after a long
period of devotion and scrutiny, but many of us feel like we don't have
appropriate opportunities to distinguish ourselves as potential staff,
since it certainly looks like the criteria mandate 'applicant must be
someone the existing staff like to hang out with'. (I'm reminded of the
Dilbert cartoon where Alice reads a position announcement that says
'Qualifications: The applicant must be an overweight guy named Bob with
glasses and a beard' and notes 'I think they may have someone specific in
mind.') Opportunities like the above would provide ways for people that
want to staff on a MUD (but *don't* want to start their own) to be
recognised.
I'm still thinking a lot about how I'd remedy the help file thing, so I'm
not too useful for innovation at the moment. I'll make some other
observations tomorrow. ;)
--
MUD-Dev: Advancing an unrealised future. - (fwd) AD: [custom graphical] whitestar Dr. Cat
- (fwd) AD: [custom graphical] whitestar J C Lawrence
- (fwd) AD: [custom graphical] whitestar Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- DOOM Gets a Storyline? Holly Sommer
- DOOM Gets a Storyline? Koster, Raph
- META: Filtering suggestions J C Lawrence
- (fwd) AD: [custom graphical] whitestar s001gmu@nova.wright.edu
- (fwd) AD: [custom graphical] whitestar Dr. Cat
- (fwd) AD: [custom graphical] whitestar J C Lawrence
- UO in Wired, was OT: Birth announcement Koster, Raph