> > I also want a reasonable way to keep track of bugs, and advertise
> > new features - to builders, players, admin and coders.
> >
> You mean there's a better way than my handy pocket electronic
> organizer? ;)
I usually use a system like jitterbug to do automatic sorting and
tracking of bugs, ideas, typos, and even a 'todo' command. It's easier
than hand sorting large lists in text files on the shell. I have a
slightly reworked version which allows me to sort these things rather
quickly - discarding, small feature request, large project, as well as
individual folders for each developer (be that coder, builder, typo-fixer,
or admin) and others. It also has a web and email interface - which
(ought) to be linked into the mud.. it'd be nice to have feedback on
bug/idea status in some cases where events on one system translate into
messages on the other.
> > as a builder, I want to see more tools; I want to have my building be
> > easy. One click
>
> We're talking about a text-based game here, clicking has no way of
> entering into the equation unless you want to write your own front end.
> CircleMUD is not even aware, nor does it care, that a mouse even exists.
>
> > Heck, I want a drag and drop interface
>
> Again, this is a text based game.
Hm. No one said that it all had to be text based.
> This is all easily done with stock CircleMUD.
> > and other ways to make mobs identical to
> > players, so they'll be a challenge.
>
> You mean balancing or?...
>
Actually, i mean, a level 50 mob should have the same stats and
relative powers/skills/abilities as a level 50 person. An average(*)
level _x_ person fighting an average level _x_ mob (where both x's are the
same) should have a 50% survival rate.
Something where you can take a stock mud and know with some
certanity that if you make a level 30 mob, it's going to pretty much kick
everone's butt. Not automatically kill you maybe, but the odds are
against you.
* - I mean average, and in most systems the range between characters in a
given level bracket are usually around 1-5 points from the theoretical
max..so most mobs will end up being as powerful as you could ever become
at that level. Not that I think that's a swell way to run a mud, just
that i've never seen any mud where people don't camp to get eq, or all run
around with nearly the best eq for their class after a certain number of
levels has been reached. It's just that whether that should be allowed,
or that eq can be so static in value and location, i guess.
> Again, all this can be done with stock CircleMUD.
>
> > No, most of these are not viable.
>
Yes, they can be done with stock circlemud, but not in such a way
that it can be done to STOCK circlemud. Ie, these are changes that I want
to have placed in such a way that everyone can use them, instead of just
the person who wrote it can use it only on their own system
Making a version of oasis that only works for your mud and
releasing just the system doesn't do alot for the code base itself. Even
if someone is tenacious enough to implant it in theirs, it's then just two
muds with it, not a potential 'all' muds.
When I say I want these things, some of them I want in the stock
code base. Some of them though, I want just so that they'll patch vs.
stock code. It's easy to make a system specific - it's very difficult
sometimes to make it general to work on all.
> Depends on how you look at it, you can't have a great MUD without great
> dreams and I tend to think that those people that fall into the trap of
> trying to limit thier thinking to what's viable end up being the ones
> who do not have new and innovative MUDs.
From what i've seen, very few people fall into that trap. The
majority of people seem to have dreams and goals, and high ideals. They
just never had the will or ability to carry them out. The few with all
three; ideals, will and ability - they can churn out some nice games - but
though it all it's because they're practical. Experience shows them they
can't have everything at once, and they accept it and work in measured
steps towards that goal, instead of the standard zipmud planning formula:
x -> <then a miracle occurs> -> y
Which usually involves at least one iteration of asking someone
else to write it for them.
I'd rather people concentrate on what they can do, with knowledge
that they can probably become better at programming to a point where they
_Can_ do those things they want. I've been on too many muds where the
first 3 things out of the admin's mouth were of the type "I had this great
idea, and I want to have it go in as soon as possible" - with a total lack
of foresight or understanding of even the basic nature of the system they
want to change.
I've never had to critisize someone for being too down to earth though.
PjD
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