On 1/19/98 3:04 PM, Patrick J. Dughi (dughi@IMAXX.NET) stated:
> Anyway, I thought a great solution would be to place the three
>main data groups (room_data, obj_data, char_data) into a single structure,
>add a switch to choose which data type it actually is, and then using that
>for special cases, treat everything bascially the same. So, you could
>mount a flying carpet, or have a talking room,, or a fighting sword, or,
>well, a slew of interesting things. Add it up with a script system that
>is generic at user level, which differentiates between object types at the
>level at which it becomes important, and you're all set for something
>that's at least interesting...
>
> Any thoughts?
Not really practical... although it is done already with LPC based MUDs
(sort of).
The 3 "basic types" are not as basic as they might seem... rather they
are base classes to the various versions. Rooms could not be treated
like characters/objects in any way... you can't hold a room, put a room
in a room, hit a room, damage a room (well, maybe somethng like that), or
move a room.
Rooms are really the meta-containers, which contain two other containers:
characters and objects. Characters have two sub-classes: mobs and
players, which have their own appropriate data. Objects are a parent
class to all the different item types available. It would be like trying
to make an abstract class to represent a microphone, a computer, and a
tire. The best you could do is make it "physical mass", and have some
basic qualities to assign to it, but when it comes down to the many
differentiations, those basic qualities aren't going to matter when there
are more use-specific qualities available.
Besides, imagine the mess of code you would have... probably best to just
go C++ with those 3 classes... on my MUD, obj_to_room has become member
to_room of ObjData... if I were to make a meta class that all 3 primary
classes would inherit from, it would at most contain memory management
and the "id" member, which is the only member in common.
- Chris Jacobson
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