July 2001
- [TECH] Open Source oodb/object persistence toolkit library alpha release Brian Price
- In-game email (was On socialization and convenience) Gavin Doughtie
- In-game email (was On socialization and conveni ence) Freeman, Jeff
- In-game email (was On socialization and convenience) Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- TECH DGN: Single user MOB arena Trevyn
- TECH: CRPGs vs. RPGs, Way Back When... Michael Tresca
- TECH: CRPGs vs. RPGs, Way Back When... Matt Owen
- TECH: CRPGs vs. RPGs, Way Back When... J C Lawrence
- TECH: CRPGs vs. RPGs, Way Back When... Michael Tresca
- (no subject) Alan Unsworth
- (no subject) Edward Falconer
- (no subject) J C Lawrence
- (no subject) Bruce Mitchener
- (no subject) Travis Casey
- (no subject) J C Lawrence
- (no subject) Travis Casey
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Brian Hook
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Freeman, Jeff
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Trump
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Jeremy Noetzelman
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers J C Lawrence
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Matt Mihaly
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Matt Owen
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Jeremy Noetzelman
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Bryce Harrington
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers J C Lawrence
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Brian Hook
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers J C Lawrence
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Brian Hook
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers J C Lawrence
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Vincent Archer
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Madman Across the Water
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Richard Aihoshi aka Jonric
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Brian Hook
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers J Todd Coleman
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Brian Hook
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Sean Kelly
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Jon Lambert
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Sean Kelly
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Bruce Mitchener
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Sean Kelly
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Dave Rickey
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Travis Casey
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Bryce Harrington
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Alistair Milne
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Travis Casey
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers J C Lawrence
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Travis Casey
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Jon Lambert
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Adam Martin
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Vincent Archer
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Travis Nixon
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Adam Martin
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Vincent Archer
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Adam Martin
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Vincent Archer
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Adam Martin
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Dave Rickey
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Travis Casey
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Dave Rickey
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Timothy Dang
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Alistair Milne
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers J C Lawrence
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Brian Hook
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Sean Kelly
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Gavin Doughtie
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers J C Lawrence
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Brian Hook
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Joel Chestnutt
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Richard Aihoshi aka Jonric
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Aaron Mulder
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Max Gilead
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Jon Lambert
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Luke Carruthers
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Jeremy Noetzelman
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers J C Lawrence
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Jeremy Noetzelman
- Libs for 3D Client/Servers Adam Martin
- New polls claw@kanga.nu
- virtual mind project Phillip Lenhardt
- [TECH] Data-transfer protocols for MUDs Adam Martin
- Chatbot Michael Tresca
- GPL (was:Libs for 3D Client/Servers) Joackim Birgersson
- GPL (was:Libs for 3D Client/Servers) Travis Casey
- GPL (was:Libs for 3D Client/Servers) ghovs
- GPL (was:Libs for 3D Client/Servers) Vincent Archer
- GPL (was:Libs for 3D Client/Servers) Max Gilead
- GPL (was:Libs for 3D Client/Servers) Bobby Martin
- GPL (was:Libs for 3D Client/Servers) Joackim Birgersson
- GPL (was:Libs for 3D Client/Servers) Patrick Dughi
- GPL (was:Libs for 3D Client/Servers) Matt Mihaly
- GPL (was:Libs for 3D Client/Servers) Koster, Raph
- GPL (was:Libs for 3D Client/Servers) Joackim Birgersson
- Graphical Mud-in-a-box musings Brian Hook
- Graphical Mud-in-a-box musings Justin Rogers
- Graphical Mud-in-a-box musings Rob Bartel
- Graphical Mud-in-a-box musings Adam Martin
- Chatbot, NLP and explaining away NPC limitations Erin Mulder
- Server hosting Brian Hook
- Server hosting Corey Crawford
- Server hosting Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Server hosting Valerio Santinelli
- Server hosting Madman Across the Water
- Server hosting Frank Crowell
- Server hosting Alistair Milne
- Server hosting Brian Hook
- Server hosting Freeman, Jeff
- Server hosting Matt Mihaly
- Server hosting fred@clift.org
- Chatbot, NLP and explaining away NPC limitations Robert Zubek
- Edged weapon damage John W Pierce
- Player characters as a prey species Jon Leonard
- Player characters as a prey species Justin Rogers
- Player characters as a prey species Ling Lo
- Player characters as a prey species J C Lawrence
- Player characters as a prey species lhulbert@hotmail.com
- Player characters as a prey species Dan Shiovitz
- Player characters as a prey species Justin Rogers
- Player characters as a prey species Matt Mihaly
- Request to mailing list MUD-Dev rejected J C Lawrence
- Chatting in MMPORPGs Peter Tyson
- Chatting in MMPORPGs Derek Licciardi
- Chatting in MMPORPGs Matt Mihaly
- Chatting in MMPORPGs Peter Tyson
- Chatting in MMPORPGs Eric Lee {RAT}
- Chatting in MMPORPGs John Buehler
- Chatting in MMPORPGs lhulbert@hotmail.com
- Chatting in MMPORPGs Adam Martin
- Chatting in MMPORPGs Eli Stevens
- Chatting in MMPORPGs Dave Rickey
- Chatting in MMPORPGs Vincent Archer
- Chatting in MMPORPGs Adam Martin
- Chatting in MMPORPGs Kevin Littlejohn
- Chatting in MMPORPGs Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- Chatting in MMPORPGs Lee Sheldon
- Chatting in MMPORPGs Madman Across the Water
- Chatting in MMPORPGs Peter Tyson
- Chatting in MMPORPGs J C Lawrence
- TECH: Mail (was On socialization and convenience) Chris Jones
- [TECH] String Classes, Memory Management, and Fragmentation Derek Licciardi
- [TECH] String Classes, Memory Management, and Fragmentation Sean Kelly
- [TECH] String Classes, Memory Management, and Fragmentation Justin Rogers
- [TECH] String Classes, Memory Management, and Fragmentation Chris Dern
- [TECH] String Classes, Memory Management, and Fragmentation David Bennett
- [TECH] String Classes, Memory Management, and Fragm entation Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- [TECH] String Classes, Memory Management, and Fragmentation Kwon Ekstrom
- [TECH] String Classes, Memory Management, and Fragmentation Bruce Mitchener
- [TECH] String Classes, Memory Management, and Fragmentation Adam Martin
- [TECH] String Classes, Memory Management, and Fragm entation Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- [TECH] String Classes, Memory Management, and Fragmentation Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- [TECH] String Classes, Memory Management, and Fragm entation Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- [TECH] String Classes, Memory Management, and Fragmentation Derek Licciardi
- [TECH] String Classes, Memory Management, and Fragm entation Bruce Mitchener
- Mudpie Matt Mihaly
- strong encryption for authentication Fred Clift
- strong encryption for authentication David Bennett
- strong encryption for authentication Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- strong encryption for authentication Edward Glowacki
- strong encryption for authentication Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- strong encryption for authentication Derek Licciardi
- strong encryption for authentication Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- strong encryption for authentication shren
- strong encryption for authentication Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- strong encryption for authentication Ben Tolputt
- strong encryption for authentication Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- strong encryption for authentication Edward Glowacki
- strong encryption for authentication Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- strong encryption for authentication Edward Glowacki
- strong encryption for authentication Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- strong encryption for authentication Ben Tolputt
- strong encryption for authentication J C Lawrence
- strong encryption for authentication Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- strong encryption for authentication Vincent Archer
- strong encryption for authentication Fred Clift
- strong encryption for authentication J C Lawrence
- strong encryption for authentication Sean Kelly
- strong encryption for authentication Tamzen Cannoy
- strong encryption for authentication Sean Kelly
- strong encryption for authentication Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- strong encryption for authentication Tamzen Cannoy
- strong encryption for authentication Travis Casey
- strong encryption for authentication Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- strong encryption for authentication Travis Casey
- strong encryption for authentication Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- strong encryption for authentication Travis Casey
- strong encryption for authentication Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- strong encryption for authentication Travis Casey
- strong encryption for authentication Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- strong encryption for authentication Edward Glowacki
- strong encryption for authentication Matt Mihaly
- strong encryption for authentication Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- strong encryption for authentication Freeman, Jeff
- strong encryption for authentication Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- strong encryption for authentication Bruce Mitchener
- strong encryption for authentication Brian Price
- strong encryption for authentication Kevin Littlejohn
- strong encryption for authentication Brian Price
- strong encryption for authentication Kevin Littlejohn
- strong encryption for authentication Fred Clift
- strong encryption for authentication J C Lawrence
- strong encryption for authentication Robert Fleck
- strong encryption for authentication Sean Kelly
- strong encryption for authentication Edward Glowacki
- strong encryption for authentication Fred Clift
- strong encryption for authentication Fred Clift
- strong encryption for authentication J C Lawrence
- strong encryption for authentication Fred Clift
- strong encryption for authentication Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- strong encryption for authentication Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- strong encryption for authentication J C Lawrence
- strong encryption for authentication Oliver Jowett
- strong encryption for authentication Kwon Ekstrom
- strong encryption for authentication F. Randall Farmer
- strong encryption for authentication Kwon Ekstrom
- strong encryption for authentication J C Lawrence
- strong encryption for authentication Kwon Ekstrom
- strong encryption for authentication J C Lawrence
- strong encryption for authentication Dave Rickey
- strong encryption for authentication Jon Lambert
- strong encryption for authentication Dave Rickey
- strong encryption for authentication J C Lawrence
- Toward a Craftier Dragon Paul Schwanz
- Toward a Craftier Dragon Maximus
- Toward a Craftier Dragon rayzam
- Toward a Craftier Dragon Matt Owen
- Toward a Craftier Dragon Michael Tresca
- Toward a Craftier Dragon Travis Nixon
- Toward a Craftier Dragon Paul Schwanz - Enterprise Services
- Toward a Craftier Dragon Andrew Reisse
- Toward a Craftier Dragon J C Lawrence
- Toward a Craftier Dragon rayzam
- Toward a Craftier Dragon J C Lawrence
- Toward a Craftier Dragon rayzam
- Toward a Craftier Dragon Richard Aihoshi aka Jonric
- Toward a Craftier Dragon Michael Tresca
- Toward a Craftier Dragon John Hopson
- Toward a Craftier Dragon yospe@kanga.nu
- Grief players with ip/dns spoofers Tand'a-ur
- Grief players with ip/dns spoofers Sean Kelly
- Grief players with ip/dns spoofers J C Lawrence
- Grief players with ip/dns spoofers Greg Underwood
- Grief players with ip/dns spoofers Robert Fleck
- Grief players with ip/dns spoofers J C Lawrence
- Grief players with ip/dns spoofers Tand'a-ur
- Grief players with ip/dns spoofers Adam Martin
- Grief players with ip/dns spoofers J C Lawrence
- character transfer in EQ Matt Mihaly
- character transfer in EQ Derek Licciardi
- character transfer in EQ Dave Rickey
- character transfer in EQ Derek Licciardi
- character transfer in EQ S. Patrick Gallaty
- character transfer in EQ Michael Tresca
- DGN: Craftier dragon and players as GMs Mathieu Castelli
- DGN: Craftier dragon and players as GMs Matt Mihaly
- DGN: Craftier dragon and players as GMs Mathieu Castelli
- DGN: Craftier dragon and players as GMs Travis Nixon
- DGN: Craftier dragon and players as GMs Marian Griffith
- Biz/Media Peter Tyson
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? David Loeser
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Kwon Ekstrom
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Xuri
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Adam Martin
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Justin Rogers
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? David Loeser
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Matt Mihaly
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Matt Mihaly
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? luke@rocketship.com
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? J C Lawrence
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Freeman, Jeff
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Koster, Raph
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Freeman, Jeff
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Koster, Raph
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Joe Andrieu
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Koster, Raph
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? John Hopson
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Steve {Bloo} Daniels
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? J C Lawrence
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Travis Casey
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Joe Andrieu
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Dave Rickey
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Marc Bowden
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Sean K
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Freeman, Jeff
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Matt Mihaly
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Koster, Raph
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Dave Rickey
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? J C Lawrence
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Michael Tresca
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Trump
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Kristen L. Koster
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Sean Kelly
- To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG? Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- [NEWS] New MUD Magazine Derek Snider
- Real-world skills Was: strong encryption for authentication Travis Nixon
- Real-world skills Was: strong encryption for authentication Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- Something in the water Koster, Raph
- Something in the water Dave Rickey
- Something in the water Koster, Raph
- Something in the water John Hopson
- Something in the water Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Something in the water J C Lawrence
- Something in the water Sean Kelly
- Something in the water rayzam
- Something in the water J C Lawrence
- Something in the water Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Something in the water J C Lawrence
- Something in the water Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Something in the water J C Lawrence
- Something in the water Travis Casey
- Something in the water J C Lawrence
- Something in the water Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Something in the water J C Lawrence
- Something in the water Joe Andrieu
- Something in the water Sean Kelly
- Something in the water Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Something in the water Hulbert, Leland
- Something in the water Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Something in the water Hulbert, Leland
- Something in the water Matt Mihaly
- Something in the water Jon Morrow
- Something in the water Trump
- Something in the water Matt Mihaly
- Something in the water Matt Chatterley
- Something in the water Sparrowhawk
- Something in the water Matt Mihaly
- Something in the water Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Something in the water Tamzen Cannoy
- Something in the water Matt Mihaly
- Something in the water Tomas Clark
- Something in the water Matt Mihaly
- Something in the water Marc Bowden
- Something in the water Koster, Raph
- Something in the water Jessica Mulligan
- Something in the water SavantKnowsAll@cs.com
- Something in the water Miroslav Silovic
- Something in the water Travis Casey
- Something in the water rayzam
- Something in the water Travis Casey
- Something in the water Ian Hess
- Something in the water Marc Bowden
- Something in the water J C Lawrence
- Something in the water Marc Bowden
- Something in the water J C Lawrence
- Something in the water Dave Rickey
- Something in the water Marc Bowden
- Something in the water Travis Casey
- Something in the water Marian Griffith
- Something in the water J C Lawrence
- Something in the water Eli Stevens
- Something in the water J C Lawrence
- Something in the water Adam Martin
- Something in the water Dave Rickey
- Something in the water Dan MacDonald
- Something in the water Adam Martin
- Something in the water John Hopson
- Something in the water rayzam
- Something in the water Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Gearing up against GEAR Ted Milker
- Gearing up against GEAR Dan MacDonald
- Gearing up against GEAR Sean Kelly
- Gearing up against GEAR Vincent Archer
- Gearing up against GEAR Travis Nixon
- Gearing up against GEAR Kevin Littlejohn
- Gearing up against GEAR Sean Kelly
- Gearing up against GEAR Justin Rogers
- Gearing up against GEAR Sean K
- Gearing up against GEAR Alistair Milne
- Gearing up against GEAR Travis Nixon
- Gearing up against GEAR Vincent Archer
- Gearing up against GEAR J C Lawrence
- Gearing up against GEAR Vincent Archer
- Gearing up against GEAR Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Gearing up against GEAR Sean K
- Gearing up against GEAR Vincent Archer
- Gearing up against GEAR Sean K
- Gearing up against GEAR Dave Rickey
- Gearing up against GEAR Derek Licciardi
- Gearing up against GEAR Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Gearing up against GEAR Marc Bowden
- Gearing up against GEAR J C Lawrence
- Gearing up against GEAR Travis Nixon
- Gearing up against GEAR F. Randall Farmer
- OT: Writer needs help from people in the gaming industry Alex Oren
- What is cheating? [Was: Strong encryption for authentication] Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) Robert Zubek
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) Joe Andrieu
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) Robert Zubek
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) J C Lawrence
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) Robert Zubek
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) Sean Kelly
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) Joe Andrieu
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) Sean K
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) SeronisROTv3@aol.com
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) Joe Andrieu
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) J C Lawrence
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) Robert Zubek
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) Sean Kelly
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) Adam Martin
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) Jon Lambert
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) Robert Zubek
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) Kevin Littlejohn
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) Robert Zubek
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) Robert Zubek
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) Robert Zubek
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) Robert Zubek
- TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long) Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Real-world skills luke@rocketship.com
- Real-world skills Mathieu Castelli
- Real-world skills J C Lawrence
- Real-world skills Kwon Ekstrom
- Real-world skills rayzam
- Design patterns for game database implementations Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Design patterns for game database implementations Sean Kelly
- Design patterns for game database implementations J C Lawrence
- Design patterns for game database implementations J C Lawrence
- Real-world skills Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Real-world skills Chris Lloyd
- Real-world skills Justin Rogers
- Real-world skills Koster, Raph
- Real-world skills Travis Casey
- Real-world skills J C Lawrence
- Real-world skills Luke Parrish
- Real-world skills Dave Talk21
- Real-world skills R.Fry
- Real-world skills Dave Talk21
- Real-world skills Luke Parrish
- Real-world skills Dave Talk21
- Real-world skills Bruce Mitchener
- Real-world skills Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Mud Clients (was Real-world skills) Kwon Ekstrom
- Mud Clients (was Real-world skills) David Bennett
- Real-world skills Dave Talk21
- Real-world skills Justin Rogers
- Real-world skills Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Real-world skills J C Lawrence
- Real-world skills Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Real-world skills J C Lawrence
- Real-world skills Dave Talk21
- Real-world skills Luke Parrish
- Real-world skills Dave Talk21
- Real-world skills Adam Martin
- Players playing NPCs Vladimir Prelovac
- Players playing NPCs Christopher Allen
- Real-world skills Koster, Raph
- Real-world skills Bruce Mitchener
- Real-world skills Andrew Wilson
- Game Survey Michael Tresca
- Game Survey Richard Aihoshi aka Jonric
- Game Survey Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- Game Survey J C Lawrence
- MMORPG Construction Kit Koster, Raph
Well, here's what looks like the second graphical mud kit available
commercially. (Firts one I know of was Catware's _Shattered
Light_). Next one is of course the much-followed _Neverwinter
Nights_ from Bioware.
A quickie look at the features seems to indicate that the scripting
is not very robust, and that some key design choices are made for
you, much like a Diku but without the ability to dive into the code
to change things. But that's what you get for only $14.95.
Game's site:
http://www.trinityofdarkness.com
An interview:
http://rpgvault.ign.com/features/interviews/mmorpgkit.shtml
MMORPG Construction Kit Interview
July 26, 2001
Surveys conducted from time to time on various gaming sites
including this one consistently show that quite a few gamers harbor
thoughts of following careers in game development. This certainly
isn't surprising. Indeed, for those who love playing games, wanting
to make them may even be a pretty natural progression. After all,
it's difficult if not impossible to play a game without thinking of
something you'd like to add, remove or modify. And there can be no
doubt that despite widespread reports of the long hours developers
put in, especially during so-called crunch times, the industry as a
whole has gained and is continuing to gain a profile and an image
that focus disproportionate attention on its eye-catching aspects
rather than presenting a more complete picture.
During the past year or two, developers have started to make editing
and development tools available to players, either shipping them
with the games themselves or providing them afterward, usually over
the Internet, as separate Software Development Kits. However, these
instances have been pretty much limited to standalone games, so when
we recently learned about the release of a product called the MMORPG
Construction Kit <http://www.trinityofdarkness.com/> that is
described as including everything you require in order to build,
edit and host your own persistent online world plus a full game,
Trinity of Darkness, we were immediately interested to learn
more. Fortunately, we found that David Ullman, President of
developer Past Tree, was willing to answer our questions, the result
being this MMORPG Construction Kit Interview.
Jonric: Let's start with the obvious basic question. What is the
MMORPG Construction Kit and what kinds of things will it allow
would-be world builders to do?
David Ullmann: The MMORPG Construction Kit was designed to allow
anyone easy access to making their own online RPG game. The kit
allows players to build their own world and populate it with custom
spells, monsters, NPC's, quests and treasure.
Jonric: Before we discuss the actual product, please tell our
readers a bit about Past Tree and the team that was involved in the
project.
David Ullmann: Past Tree is located in the suburbs of Chicago. We
had about 20 different people that helped us through the life of the
project, but there was really our core team of about 14 people that
made the game.
Jonric: When did the idea for MMORPG Construction Kit arise, and
when did work actually begin? What were the notable milestones, both
positive and negative, during the development period, and when did
you release it?
David Ullmann: Work began on the kit around January of 2000 and
wrapped up in May of 2001. The game was made available through our
web site in June 2001. As for milestone, we, like any software
development project, had our share or bumps in the road. The game
ended up taking longer than expected but we managed to put more
features in than planned as well, which I am sure the players will
appreciate. We began beta testing the product in January 2001 with
the help of some very dedicated players around the US.
Jonric: What were your main goals in developing the product, and how
did these goals affect its development in terms of feature selection
et al?
David Ullmann: Our main goal with the kit was to provide a way for
fans of pen and paper RPGs a place online to build and host their
own worlds. We tried to make a very well rounded set of tools to
allow players to fully customize their worlds however they see fit.
Jonric: What are the Kit's main features? What's included in the way
of tiles monsters, weapons and other items, and other components?
David Ullmann: The Kit's main features include the server and
mapmaker. The Server allows the player to set hundreds of different
options to make his world just the way he wants it, including
spells, chests, items, monsters, quests, NPC texts and much
more. The mapmaker includes well over 4000 unique tiles, over 20
monster graphics, hundreds of item graphics, four different races
(both male and female), tons of ambient sounds and a lot of other
cool stuff the player can customize.
Jonric: How much flexibility do users have when developing their
worlds? Are they limited to using the supplied assets and modifying
their stats, or is it possible to add completely new ones including
their own art?
David Ullmann: Users have complete flexibility when creating their
worlds, we tried to make the kit to allow players to do this
easily. At the current time player can chose from any of the art
provided with the game and customize the stats, if things go well
there may be some "expansion packs" of art and more server options
down the road.
Jonric: What kinds of monsters are included, and to what extent is
it possible to modify their various characteristics?
David Ullmann: Creatures can be modified in many respects. Their AI,
experience, stats and spells they can cast can all be customized in
the monster tab in the server application.
Jonric: How about weapons, armor and other items? What kinds are
included, and what characteristics can be modified by the users?
David Ullmann: All weapons can be fully customized. We provide a
wide variety of graphics and base weapons for the players to
use. Weapons can be modified to have their damage changed, graphic,
what race can use them,
Jonric: Please describe the magic system including how spells work,
how many are available, etc. Again, what can users change? Can they
add completely new spells and spell effects?
David Ullmann: The magic system is very open ended. Players can
chose a graphic, set its damage, radius, effect, mana cost, range,
level required to cast it and what class is required to cast
it. Players can create their own spells but must use the supplied
graphics.
Jonric: To what extent can users script NPCs in terms of
conversations, branching dialogue, movement and other behaviors? And
how do users script or create quests?
David Ullmann: NPCs can be either general or quest related. The
system allows the player to assign NPCs a text message. If a player
has a certain item in his/her inventory that the NPC needs, the NPC
can be instructed to say different things and give players items
and/or gold as a reward. NPC text can easily be modified through a
simple text editor. NPCs can be given text to hint to a quest or ask
for players to bring them an item. Chests can have items placed in
them also.
Jonric: What are the hardware requirements? And as a practical
example on the server side, how many simultaneous users could a
system such as a 1-gig processor, 256 mb of RAM and a cable modem
handle?
David Ullmann: System Requirements (from web site)
Windows® 95/98
233 MHz Pentium II
32 MB of RAM
4 MB video card
16-bit sound card
650 MB of free hard drive space
Multi-Player: TCP/IP, 56 kbps modem (Internet Service Provider
required for Internet Play)
With that type of computer and connection you should be able to get
50 people playing on your world.
Jonric: What type of communication system have you included in the
Kit? Are there private channels for groups?
David Ullmann: The chat system is rather simple. It is placed in the
bottom of the interface and allows the player to use many different
commands. Some of the commands include; /reply, /tell "player name",
/kills (tells you how many monsters you've hacked to bits), /pkills
(how many players you have killed), /location and /info to name a
few.
Jonric: What amount of control does the world builder have over
player versus player combat on his or server?
David Ullmann: The host of the world can chose to have his would be
PvP or non PvP. If the world is PK then each player will be prompted
while logging on weather on not he/she wished to be PK.
Jonric: How do players go about finding worlds to play in? Are
characters portable between worlds? What security precautions are in
place to prevent cheating and hacking?
David Ullmann: Currently to find worlds to play on the players must
know the server's IP address. We had hoped to make a matching server
that would provide a list of all the worlds but we did not have time
to finish it before release. If a world is PvP then a prompt will
come up asking the player if they wish to be a player killer before
they enter the world. No, Characters are not portable between
worlds.
We took several measures to stop cheating. Maps are checked to make
sure they are the same as the ones on the server, if you do not have
the map, or it is different, then you will download it before you
can play on that map. All calculations are made server side and
then sent to the client. If there is a mismatch the client will be
updated to reflect what the server actual sees.
Jonric: Please tell our readers about the game that's included in
the Kit, Trinity of Darkness.
David Ullmann: Trinity of Darkness is a huge world, with over 100
maps, dozens of quests and tons of monsters. Originally Trinity of
Darkness was going to be the entire product, but we felt that one of
its strong points was the tools and thus decided to release them
along with Trinity of Darkness. Trinity of Darkness is a very good
example to people of how to build worlds, quests, spell systems,
monsters and all the rest. But Trinity of Darkness is in itself a
full game due to its size. It would take most people weeks or months
to solve all the quests in Trinity of Darkness.
Jonric: What are your plans in terms of providing on-going support
for players and world-builders?
David Ullmann: We try to help people as much as possible with our
e-mail based support. We will be adding a forum for the game shortly
to allow players to share idea and solve problems. We will try to be
very active on these boards.
Jonric: How has reaction to the Kit been so far? Where can they find
information on ordering? Is there any plan to release a demo?
David Ullmann: Reaction to the kit so far has been very
good. Ordering information is currently available through our web
site for $14.99 plus shipping and handling. We have no plans for a
demo at this time. - MMORPG Construction Kit Lee Sheldon
- MMORPG Construction Kit Lee Sheldon
- MMORPG Construction Kit Lee Sheldon
- MMORPG Construction Kit Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- MMORPG Construction Kit J C Lawrence
- MMORPG Construction Kit Brian 'Psychochild' Green
- MMORPG Construction Kit Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- DNA Game Patent [was Randy's Resume] Christopher Allen
- DNA Game Patent [was Randy's Resume] Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- DNA Game Patent [was Randy's Resume] Adam Martin
- DNA Game Patent [was Randy's Resume] Hulbert, Leland
- DNA Game Patent [was Randy's Resume] Chris Gray
- DNA Game Patent [was Randy's Resume] David Loeser
- DNA Game Patent [was Randy's Resume] Dave Rickey
- DNA Game Patent [was Randy's Resume] Jon Lambert
- DNA Game Patent [was Randy's Resume] F. Randall Farmer
- DNA Game Patent [was Randy's Resume] Travis Nixon
- DNA Game Patent [was Randy's Resume] F. Randall Farmer
- DNA Game Patent [was Randy's Resume] Kevin Littlejohn
- DNA Game Patent [was Randy's Resume] Jessica Mulligan
- DNA Game Patent [was Randy's Resume] Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- DNA Game Patent [was Randy's Resume] F. Randall Farmer
- DNA Game Patent [was Randy's Resume] Frank Crowell
- DNA Game Patent [was Randy's Resume] Adam Martin
- DNA Game Patent [was Randy's Resume] F Farmer
- Re[4]: Something in the water Travis Casey
- Population divisions (wasTo good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG?) Matt Mihaly
- Community feeling (was: To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG?) Alex Kay
- Community feeling (was: To good to be TRUE, in an M MPORPG?) Koster, Raph
- Community feeling (was: To good to be TRUE, in an M MPORPG?) J C Lawrence
- Community feeling (was: To good to be TRUE, in an M MPORPG?) Vincent Archer
- Community feeling (was: To good to be TRUE, in an M MPORPG?) Koster, Raph
- Community feeling (was: To good to be TRUE, in an M MPORPG?) Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Community feeling (was: To good to be TRUE, in an MMPORPG?) Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Re:DNA Game Patent [was Randy's Resume] Jessica Mulligan
- Multi-threading ( was: TECH DGN: a few mud server design questions (long)) Jon Lambert
- Wilderness Freeman, Jeff
- Wilderness Trump
- Wilderness Caliban Tiresias Darklock
- Wilderness Edward Glowacki
- Wilderness Dave Rickey
- Wilderness Sean Kelly
- Wilderness John Buehler
- Wilderness Brian Hook
- Wilderness John Buehler
- Wilderness Koster, Raph
- Wilderness Ling Lo
- Wilderness Freeman, Jeff
- Wilderness Nathan F. Yospe
- Wilderness Ling Lo
- Wilderness Nathan F. Yospe
- Wilderness John Buehler
- Wilderness Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wilderness Hulbert, Leland
- Wilderness John Buehler
- Wilderness Kwon Ekstrom
- Wilderness Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wilderness Matt Mihaly
- Wilderness Freeman, Jeff
- Wilderness John Buehler
- Wilderness Nathan F. Yospe
- Wilderness Travis Casey
- Wilderness Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
- Wilderness Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wilderness Koster, Raph
- Wilderness Dave Rickey
- Wilderness Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wilderness Brian Hook
- Wilderness Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- Wilderness Brian Hook
- Wilderness Freeman, Jeff
- Wilderness Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Wilderness Freeman, Jeff
- Wilderness John Buehler
- Wilderness lhulbert@hotmail.com
- Wilderness Matt Mihaly
- Wilderness John Buehler
- Wilderness Matt Mihaly
- Wilderness John Buehler
- Wilderness Matt Mihaly
- Wilderness Freeman, Jeff
- Wilderness Madrona Tree
- Wilderness Nathan F. Yospe
- Wilderness Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Wilderness Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Wilderness John Buehler
- Wilderness Adam Martin
- Wilderness Koster, Raph
- Wilderness John Buehler
- Wilderness Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Wilderness Adam Martin
- Wilderness Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
- Wilderness David Loeser
- Wilderness Matt Owen
- Wilderness Peter Tyson
- Wilderness Adam Martin
- Death among Friends Jon Morrow
- Death among Friends Tommy Wang
- Death among Friends Jon Morrow
- Death among Friends Matt Mihaly
- Death among Friends Jon Morrow
- Death among Friends Matt Mihaly
- Death among Friends shren
- Death among Friends Michael Tresca
- Death among Friends John Buehler
- Death among Friends Jon Morrow
- Death among Friends Matt Mihaly
- Death among Friends Michael Tresca
- BSD licenses Ross Dmochowski
- Hoping for more... (interfaces) Tommy Wang
- Hoping for more... (interfaces) Matt Mihaly
- Hoping for more... (interfaces) Ling Lo
- Hoping for more... (interfaces) Matt Mihaly
- Hoping for more... (interfaces) Jon Morrow
- Hoping for more... (interfaces) Kwon Ekstrom
- d20 shannon hall
- Group sizes and MUDs as sport? Ola Fosheim Grøstad
- free release of graphical MUD Chris Gray