April 2004

• [BIZ] Playas Pay to Spread the Luv Michael Tresca
• Mogi from Newtgames Olivier Lejade
• Client side simulation dienw
• • Client side simulation Nate Combs {Home}
  • • Client side simulation Thomas Tomiczek
  • Client side simulation Amanda Walker
  • Client side simulation Artur Biesiadowski
  • Client side simulation Byron Ellacott
• [Devops] Initial meoww cleanup J C Lawrence
• Middleware (was Sun's Sim Server and Gordon's 10 Reasons (thefirstone :)) Michael Sellers
• • Middleware (was Sun's Sim Server and Gordon's 10 Reasons (thefirstone :)) Tess Snider
  • • Middleware (was Sun's Sim Server and Gordon's 10 Reasons (thefirstone :)) Amanda Walker
  • Middleware (was Sun's Sim Server and Gordon's 10Reasons (thefirstone :)) Derek Licciardi
• Announcement: Community Work Symposium - May 21 T.L. Taylor
• Middleware ceo
• [NEWS] Final Fantasy XI debut on PS2 in US kennerly@sfsu.edu
• Random Placename Generation Matt Chatterley
• • Random Placename Generation Joshua Hughes
  • Random Placename Generation Ben Hawes
  • • Random Placename Generation Matt Chatterley
  • Random Placename Generation Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
• Sun's Sim Server and Gordon's 10 Reasons (thefirstone :)) Mike Rozak
  Tess Snider:
  
  > The middleware folks have their heart in the right places. Let's
  > get all this technical nonsense out of the way so that people can
  > do content generation! The universal problem with all middleware,
  > however, is the flexibility/work tradeoff. That is, the more
  > flexible the middleware is, the more work the buyer has to do. If
  > they come after you with an "It slices! It dices! It even does
  > RTSes!" routine, you're going to have to do a lot more than
  > content generation to make a game out of it. Alternatively, you
  > end up with a constrained system, as Raph was explaining, and you
  > may not be able to use it to make the game you want.
  
  This is one problem with middleware. There is another equally large
  problem not mentioned so far:
  
  When I worked at Microsoft and had to deal with middleware, we found
  it quite scary...
  
  1) What happens if there's a bug in the middleware that prevents
  your MMOG from shipping? Obvious soln: You include bug-fixes in
  the contract. (My group had this happen, although the project had
  nothing to do with MMOG.)
  
  1a) What happens if your middleware provider ends up being
  somewhat incompetent... not doing source code management, bug
  tracking, or making lots of extra fixes 1 week before ship (even
  though they claim they only made one minor change that you
  requested)? (Don't forget, the middleware provider is also
  selling their middleware to other MMOGs, some of which are many
  months away from shipping and which have requested large feature
  changes.) (My group had this happen.)
  
  2) What happens if there's a bug in the middleware and the company
  that produces it is unwilling/uncapable of fixing it? Soln: Ammend
  the contract to keep a copy of the source in escrow so that if it
  comes down to the wire you can access it. (My group had this
  happen.)
  
  4) What happens if 1.0 ships successfully but sometime before you
  start 2.0 the middleware vendor goes belly up? Do you a) pay money
  to buy the rights to the middleware vendor's source code, or b)
  use another vendor and change all APIs (and assumtions) in your
  code that used the middleware. Option a) costs money, option b)
  will slip 2.0.
  
  4) What happens if the middleware vendor sees how much money
  you're making and decides to up their royalties for any features
  you request for 2.0? Again, you can either pay or rewrite your
  code to use some other middleware.
  
  5) What happens if the middleware vendor is purchased by a
  competitor? They may follow the contract to the letter, but you
  can bet they won't provide you 2.0, 3.0, etc. versions of the
  middleware. You'll be forced to rewrite your code to use a new
  middleware layer.
  
  6) What happens when you, in turn, want to license out your entire
  MMOG engine as middleware? You'll need to watch out in the
  contract to make sure you can sub-license. (My group had this
  happen.)
  
  7) If your MMOG is made of entirely middleware, what value added
  do you have? (Ie: The more middleware that's out their, the easier
  it is for a competitor to emerge. The more competitors, the less
  money you make.)
  
  8) What happens if your middleware provider uses the annuity
  they're earning from you to finance their own entry into the MMOG
  environment and end up competing with you (while selling you their
  middleware at the same time)? (My group had this happen.)
  
  As a MMOG (or any company), your response will depend upon where you
  see your own product going:
  
  a) If your product is a one-off then always use middleware.
  
  b) If your product (and codebase) needs to last years then avoid
  middleware like the plague... except under the following
  circumstances:
  
  - If the middleware conforms to an API that is also
  well-supported by other middleware then the middleware is easily
  (hopefully) replacable. (Ex: Speech API, video/audio drivers,
  SQL.)
  
  - If the middleware is from an established company that isn't
  likely to go bankrupt or get sold, then you're reasonably
  safe. (Example: Use of Orcacle's database, or Micorsoft's
  database.)
  
  - If the middleware is open-source then your reasonably safe
  EXCEPT open-source code sometimes has licensing issues that may
  make it difficult to license your entire product at some later
  date.
  
  PS: If you design your own middleware API and get a middleware
  vendor to modify their codebase to support the API (as opposed to
  your software using their API) then you can also pay a backup
  middleware provider to port to your API. (Conversely: If you use a
  vendor's API you may have legal problems if you get a backup
  middleware provider to use the original vendor's API.)
  
  Mike Rozak
  http://www.mxac.com.au
• Middleware Luca Girardo
• Habitat Redux Mirjam Eladhari
• MUD-Dev Convention Report David Kennerly
• Licensed setting MMOGs Matt Mihaly
• • Licensed setting MMOGs Michael Sellers
  • Licensed setting MMOGs Matt Mihaly
• [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Matt Mihaly
• • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! John Buehler
• Player Justice Freeman, Jeff
• Licensed setting MMOGs Taylor Daynes
• Licensed setting MMOGs Christopher Allen
• [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Jeff Fuller
• Dangers of Middleware Mike Rozak
• Licensed setting MMOGs Christopher Allen
• [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Matt Mihaly
• [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! John Buehler
• • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Amanda Walker
  • • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! John Buehler
  • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Marian Griffith
  • • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Jeff Fuller
    • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Douglas Goodall
    • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Eric Random
• [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! John Buehler
• • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Matt Mihaly
  • • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! John Buehler
    • • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Stone, Jason
      • • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Douglas Goodall
• Sun's Sim Server and Gordon's 10 Reasons (the firstone:)) Thomas Tomiczek
• • Sun's Sim Server and Gordon's 10 Reasons (thefirstone:)) David Kennerly
• [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Jeff Fuller
• • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Matt Mihaly
  • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! J C Lawrence
  • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! John MacQueen
• [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Brian Hook
• • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Travis Casey
  • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Jeff Fuller
  • • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Brian Hook
    • • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Jeff Fuller
      • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Kevin N Shallow
• Paranoia Ragnar Lonn
• Player Justice Amanda Walker
• • Player Justice Paul Schwanz
• Less constrained environments Chris Duesing
• • Less constrained environments John MacQueen
• MMOG money-making clients ceo
• • MMOG money-making clients Koster, Raph
  • MMOG money-making clients Valerio Santinelli
• [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Otis Viles
• • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Paul Schwanz
  • • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Paolo Piselli
    • • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Otis Viles
      • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Amanda Walker
      • • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Vincent Archer
        • • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Jeff Fuller
          • • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Thomas Tomiczek
            • • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Steven King
          • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Daniel.Harman@barclayscapital.com
          • • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Vincent Archer
            • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! J C Lawrence
        • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Brian Miller
        • • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! John Buehler
          • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Chris Duesing
      • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Paul Schwanz
      • • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Paolo Piselli
        • • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Amanda Walker
      • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Matt Mihaly
      • • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! baar@imperian.com
• Middleware (was Sun's Sim Server andGordon's10Reasons (thefirstone :)) Matt Chatterley
• MudDev FAQ - part 2 Marian Griffith
• Gay Characters in Videogames Michael Tresca
• • Gay Characters in Videogames Tess Snider
  • • Gay Characters in Videogames Darksuit
  • Gay Characters in Videogames Matt Mihaly
  • • Gay Characters in Videogames Michael Tresca
    • • Gay Characters in Videogames Jon A. Lambert
      • • Gay Characters in Videogames matt@ironrealms.com
  • Gay Characters in Videogames Douglas Goodall
• MUD-Dev Digest, Vol 11, Issue 10 kihyun {GTA Interactive}
• Player Justice Freeman, Jeff
• • Player Justice Paul Schwanz
• Licensed setting MMOGs Ian McDonald
• • Licensed setting MMOGs Christopher Allen
• [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Ryan S. Dancey
• • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Otis Viles
  • • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! baar@imperian.com
  • [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! J C Lawrence
• R: [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Ghilardi Filippo
• [BoardGameDesign] Fog of War (to Robert & dr1010xltd) (fwd) J C Lawrence
• Online economies was [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Brian Hook
• PvP vs. PvE was [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Brian Hook
• [News] Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy! Eric Random
• Kaczynski's Law Freeman, Jeff
• • Kaczynski's Law Michael Sellers
  • • Kaczynski's Law Freeman, Jeff
    • • Kaczynski's Law Michael Sellers
      • • Kaczynski's Law Jon A. Lambert
        • Kaczynski's Law jfreeman@soe.sony.com
        • • Kaczynski's Law Robert Flesch
          • • Kaczynski's Law Freeman, Jeff
            • Kaczynski's Law Freeman, Jeff
    • Kaczynski's Law J C Lawrence
    • Kaczynski's Law Mike Rozak
    • • Kaczynski's Law Michael Sellers
  • Kaczynski's Law cruise
  • Kaczynski's Law Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt
  • Kaczynski's Law Mike Rozak
• Playing catch-up with levels [WAS Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy!] Byron Ellacott
• • Playing catch-up with levels [WAS Virtual goods--Oh, the controversy!] Steven King
• PvP vs. PvE Rob C
• notes from MUD Dev conf and GDC Mirjam Eladhari
• • notes from MUD Dev conf and GDC matt@ironrealms.com
  • notes from MUD Dev conf and GDC Luca Girardo
  • • notes from MUD Dev conf and GDC Jonas Heide Smith
  • notes from MUD Dev conf and GDC Ren Reynolds
  • notes from MUD Dev conf and GDC Brian 'Psychochild' Green
• Playing catch-up with levels Byron Ellacott
• • Playing catch-up with levels Amanda Walker
  • • Playing catch-up with levels Craig Huber
    • • Playing catch-up with levels Michael Sellers
      • • Playing catch-up with levels Threshold RPG
      • Playing catch-up with levels Ben Hawes
      • • Playing catch-up with levels Amanda Walker
        • • Playing catch-up with levels Kwon J. Ekstrom
          • Playing catch-up with levels Hulbert, Leland
        • Playing catch-up with levels John Arras
        • Playing catch-up with levels jfreeman@soe.sony.com
        • • Playing catch-up with levels Matt Chatterley
          • • Playing catch-up with levels Kwon J. Ekstrom
            • • Playing catch-up with levels Matt Chatterley
              • • Playing catch-up with levels Kwon J. Ekstrom
          • Playing catch-up with levels John Buehler
          • • Playing catch-up with levels Matt Mihaly
          • Playing catch-up with levels Vincent Archer
          • • Playing catch-up with levels Kwon J. Ekstrom
            • Playing catch-up with levels cruise
            • • Playing catch-up with levels Stephen Routledge
              • • Playing catch-up with levels cruise
            • Playing catch-up with levels Lars Duening
            • Playing catch-up with levels ext.Christer.Enfors@tietoenator.com
            • • Playing catch-up with levels Vincent Archer
              • • Playing catch-up with levels Kwon J. Ekstrom
                • • Playing catch-up with levels John Buehler
                • Playing catch-up with levels ext.Christer.Enfors@tietoenator.com
                • Playing catch-up with levels Eli Stevens {WG.c}
          • Playing catch-up with levels Zach Collins {Siege}
          • • Playing catch-up with levels John Buehler
            • • Playing catch-up with levels cruise
              • • Playing catch-up with levels Amanda Walker
                • • Playing catch-up with levels cruise
                  • Playing catch-up with levels Threshold RPG
                  • • Playing catch-up with levels Amanda Walker
                    • • Playing catch-up with levels Threshold RPG
                      • • Playing catch-up with levels Jason Downs
                • Playing catch-up with levels John Buehler
                • • Playing catch-up with levels cruise
                  • • Playing catch-up with levels Steven King
                    • Playing catch-up with levels John Buehler
                    • • Playing catch-up with levels Chris Duesing
                      • • Playing catch-up with levels John Buehler
                    • Playing catch-up with levels Travis Nixon
                • Playing catch-up with levels Steven King
                • • Playing catch-up with levels Amanda Walker
                  • Playing catch-up with levels Travis Nixon
                  • Playing catch-up with levels cruise
                  • • Playing catch-up with levels Amanda Walker
                    • Playing catch-up with levels John Buehler
                  • Playing catch-up with levels Douglas Goodall
                  • • Playing catch-up with levels Threshold RPG
                    • • Playing catch-up with levels Douglas Goodall
                      • Playing catch-up with levels Harrok
          • Playing catch-up with levels Valerio Santinelli
        • Playing catch-up with levels Threshold RPG
        • • Playing catch-up with levels Amanda Walker
          • • Playing catch-up with levels Kwon J. Ekstrom
      • Playing catch-up with levels Jeff Fuller
      • • Playing catch-up with levels Craig Huber
      • Playing catch-up with levels Jeff
      • Playing catch-up with levels Byron Ellacott
      • • Playing catch-up with levels Craig Huber
        • Playing catch-up with levels Threshold RPG
      • Playing catch-up with levels Amanda Walker
    • Playing catch-up with levels cruise
    • • Playing catch-up with levels Zach Collins {Siege}
• DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Freeman, Jeff
• • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Edward Glowacki
  • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency baar@imperian.com
  • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Ian McDonald
  • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency baar@imperian.com
    • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Pileborg Joachim - FMT
  • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Paul Schwanz
  • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Matt Chatterley
  • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Rayzam
  • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Freeman, Jeff
    • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Rayzam
      • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Freeman, Jeff
        • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency John Buehler
          • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Freeman, Jeff
            • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency John Buehler
              • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Freeman, Jeff
                • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency John Buehler
              • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Matt Chatterley
              • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Freeman, Jeff
                • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency John Buehler
                  • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Matt Chatterley
            • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Douglas Goodall
          • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Paul Schwanz
          • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Rayzam
          • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency John Buehler
            • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency sziisoft
            • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency cruise
              • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Steven King
                • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Matt Chatterley
            • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Douglas Goodall
            • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Rayzam
              • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Douglas Goodall
                • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Rayzam
                • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency baar@imperian.com
                • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Eric Random
            • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Adam Helps
          • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Eric Random
  • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Brian Thyer
  • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Castronova, Edward
  • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Rayzam
  • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Eric Random
  • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Alistair Milne
  • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Rayzam
    • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency John Buehler
      • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Rayzam
        • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Freeman, Jeff
  • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Kirinyaga
  • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Freeman, Jeff
    • • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency brian@thyer.net
      • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Kirinyaga
  • DESIGN: Active and Inactive currency Arkitan Plu
• Story Generators Douglas Goodall
• ADMIN Changes to the list page J C Lawrence
• MUD-Dev Digest, Vol 11, Issue 19 Chanur Silvarian
• Playing catch-up with levels Jeremy Gaffney
• MUD-Dev Digest, Vol 11, Issue 19 Threshold RPG
• Bringing in friends Pat Ditterline
• • Bringing in friends Amanda Walker
• [biz][tech][dgn][soc] Ten MMOG's you don't want to do... ceo
• • [biz][tech][dgn][soc] Ten MMOG's you don't want to do... Freeman, Jeff
  • [biz][tech][dgn][soc] Ten MMOG's you don't want to do... Eli Stevens {WG.c}
  • [biz][tech][dgn][soc] Ten MMOG's you don't want to do... Sean Howard
  • [biz][tech][dgn][soc] Ten MMOG's you don't want to do... Mike Rozak
  • [biz][tech][dgn][soc] Ten MMOG's you don't want to do... Nathan Yospe
• Playing catch-up with levels Steven King
• • Playing catch-up with levels Byron Ellacott
• Playing catch-up with levels Threshold RPG
• MUD-Dev Digest, Vol 11, Issue 23 Alex Chacha
• Playing catch-up with levels Sean Howard
• • Playing catch-up with levels John Buehler
  • • Playing catch-up with levels Matt Mihaly
    • • Playing catch-up with levels John Buehler
      • • Playing catch-up with levels Matt Mihaly
        • • Playing catch-up with levels John Buehler
          • • Playing catch-up with levels Matt Mihaly
        • Playing catch-up with levels Amanda Walker
        • • Playing catch-up with levels John Buehler
    • Playing catch-up with levels Sean Howard
    • • Playing catch-up with levels John Buehler
      • • Playing catch-up with levels Sean Howard
        • • Playing catch-up with levels Matt Mihaly
          • • Playing catch-up with levels Ola Fosheim Grøstad
          • Playing catch-up with levels John Buehler
          • • Playing catch-up with levels Threshold RPG
  • Playing catch-up with levels Zach Collins {Siege}
  • Playing catch-up with levels Threshold RPG
  • • Playing catch-up with levels Sean Howard
    • • Playing catch-up with levels Threshold RPG
      • • Playing catch-up with levels Sean Howard
        • • Playing catch-up with levels Threshold RPG
          • • Playing catch-up with levels John Buehler