Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game 89
An anonymous reader sent us linkage to a MMORPG [?] called
Arianne. It looks like crap, but it could be an interesting framework for a group of hugely ambitious and impatient artists and hackers not willing to wait for Diablo3. I also found it very humorous that they have a warning that the windows bins are infected with a virus...
Get in on the ground floor. (Score:1)
kwsNI
Looks Ugly (Score:1)
Apologies to The Hollies, but... (Score:2)
All those banner ads (Score:1)
BeOS port (Score:1)
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BeDevId 15453
Download BeOS R5 Lite [be.com] free!
More disturbing than the bad graphics... (Score:3)
Worldforge (Score:5)
numb
Looks nice... (Score:1)
It looks nice, and it looks more like Ultima Online than it does diablo. The graphics are about on par with the current mode, where a least common denominator is needed.
I'd like to see more of this, since Middle Earth was cancelled by Sierra, and UO/Diablo/EQ/AC are all played out and very 'sploitable. It is nice to see this in an opensource model, if not to simply to find all 'sploits in code, instead of through cheat sites.
This also helps fledgling MMORPG authors to understand the structure for the creation of even more ambitious projects. I'll have to grab this tonite.
tha lanugage (Score:1)
corect. I wuold meself but English is not me best
lanugage.
looks like crap? (Score:3)
Looks like crap... (Score:1)
Like I say though, I at least was able to get a working client(by using windows). I have yet to find the mythical version of SDL that works on my system (tried both Slakware7 from tar.gz and Mandrake 7 from RPMS). Or at least will work with more than one client. Worldforge, which I've heard so much about still doesn't have a working client that I can tell, and from every indication on the webpage, questions about the ones that have been released are not supported as these are obsolete versions!
Nice auto download... (Score:1)
Although I didn't like the immediate download when I went to the site, I'd like to see this prosper. It's too bad I haven't coded anything since working on a couple MUDs back in '94.
It's just like riding a bike right?...once you learn you never forget?
Server Player Limit (Score:2)
Site /.ed...oh well.... (Score:2)
The idea of a massively multiplayer game has been around for quite a while. Having a single world in which hundreds or thousands of people can interact is not *too* difficult, if you plan your programming carefully.
I spent about six months designing a project with a friend of mine that would do something very similar; It was an interactive online world in which anyone could participate. I found that the biggest issues that came up were the networking code, and the "action data" code (i.e., the information sent to the server describing what a person was doing). Both of these had to be tiny and fast.
We achieved some good working results, but then decided that the best way to do it would be to have a sort of distributed system, in which the processing was spread out onto the computers of anyone who was logged in. We did some preliminary work on this, and it seemed to get great results, but neither of us felt up to rewriting the damn thing as a distributed application, so we gave it up.
Aaanyway, my point is that if anyone is really interested in the subject, there's more out there than just this one. A couple of programmers could hack something together without too much trouble, as long as they are clever and creative. Too many game designers rely on legacy frameworks, instead of innovating.
Oh, well.... :o)
This just seems like a... (Score:1)
el game-o (Score:4)
1) The graphics are primitive, but just because there are primitive graphics (to today's standards), doesn't mean the game will be crap. It depends on if the game is going to be "just another" roleplay/hacknslash game or if it'll have its own unique twist that gets people playing. It's too soon to tell.
2) Most things such as this start out small and primitive... look at Linux, it didn't turn into Redhat 6.2 overnight.
3) They're not professional, but they're not making any money at it either, so you can't really expect them to have their own domain name and really slick graphics on their website. For all intensive purposes, they're in alpha.
4) It's just too soon to tell how it will turn out.
5) Back in the days when muds were more popular, this is the sort of thing that people thought that someday would happen. It's probably easier to just create a text mud though, that's for sure.
What I thought was funny, off the website:
1)8-9-1999 Wednesday Miguel Angel Blanch Lardin
We start our work.
2) 11-9-1999 Saturday Miguel Angel Blanch Lardin
Arianne RPG 0.0.0 release announced.
After 3 days, they get release ZERO? A nothing release.
"To play in a server you have to be online and that the server to which you
connect is running, this should be ok, but as the server is not too stable it
can hang."
Whoops that would suck...
Re:BeOS port (Score:1)
Except for one problem (Score:1)
For instance, a few weeks (months?) ago we had a interview with Woz. I forwarded the URL to my father-in-law who is a big mac fan ("big mac"? I made a funny). Later I realized he'd have to wade through scads of "first!" and "hot grits". Oops.
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Re:Imagery and symbolism in RPGs (Score:2)
I would say in general that symbolism and imagery are good, they teach kids that things are not always as they appear at first glance, and many many books contain quite a bit of symbolism. You didn't really think Animal Farm was about animals on a farm, did you?
//rdj
Weak game? (Score:1)
The quality of the website and the lack of fans are lacking.
I doubt that these guys can create software that can handle a huge number of people. 64 maybe, 100's (which "massively" does imply) not a chance.
Logo (Score:2)
English/Literacy? (Score:1)
Re:Imagery and symbolism in RPGs (Score:5)
Just for the record I am a Christian so you will know where I am coming from. I don't really like it when people insult all Christian or use images or words which defame my religion but as much as I don't like it, they do have the right to "blasphemous" speech. You can not take that away or you take away free speech all together. They have every right to insult religions. They do not have the right to force people to listen to them though. If someone has a web page that says that all Christians should be burned at the stake, I wouldn't like it but because I don't have to go to that web page they have every right to put it up. This is a real slippery slope that can allow any religion, mine included, to suppress free thinkers and that is a bad thing. Unfortunately in the name of removing "blasphemous" speech in my religion many crimes against humanity have been committed. What you suggest must be avoided at all costs.
Molog
So Linus, what are we doing tonight?
Adventure Game Engine... (Score:2)
www.twilightsoftware.com/age [twilightsoftware.com]
It's been years since I killed my MUD running on MudOS (which was written in lpc - WAY cooler than java - almost as cool as python).
I'm thinking of doing one again... anyone have any tips?
WorldForge (Score:1)
Re:Imagery and symbolism in RPGs (Score:2)
religion1 Credo: There is only 1 god
religion2: No there's not, there's 7 of'em. Blasphemy! you denied the existence of our gods! Sue Sue Sue!!
//rdj
Please check out WorldForge (Score:3)
It is truly one of the most exciting free software projects I have been seen, the website is chock full of information, check it out at www.worldforge.org [worldforge.org]
This project is for real and is really going places. Its ambitious but its a testament to what is possible through the power of free software.
For more information you can also check out the irc server, irc.worldforge.org, #lounge.
Thanks, please check it out if you care.
kfort
Moderate up! (funny) (Score:1)
Re:Site /.ed...oh well.... (Score:2)
Sounds good in theory, but only if everyone has a broadband connection. The problem with distributed systems is communication between processes and to keep a large world coherent and consistent would impose huge load on the network. The lag alone would probably kill the system.
It is conceivable to make some kind of a dynamic clustering scheme where the computers of those physically near in the gameworld cooperate on rendering and tracking "the neighbourhood" and bypass the central server -- but this is very, very far from trivial. It's definitely not something that A couple of programmers could hack something together without too much trouble
Kaa
Re:Logo (Score:1)
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Familiar idyllic feature set (Score:1)
M-M-moderating bad M-moderators good for karma? (Score:1)
That's not the way it works - if you don't have a login ID (like any first-time visitor to this site), you will see a ton of AC first posts, grits, and so on. That is generally accepted to be a bad thing. Thus those AC posts are correctly moderated down.
If the post is a troll, off-topic, or flamebait, it should be moderated as such whether or not it is from an AC. It's too bad we don't have meta-meta-moderation, so that if anyone is meta-moderated down for correctly moderating down a troll, that meta-moderator will be meta-meta-moderated down.
Since I read at +1, I give no attention to trolls, because they are already moderated below my sight-line. Thus I'm happy to have them moderated down. If I read at zero I would feel the same about trolls from ACs.
Re:English/Literacy? (Score:2)
There have been great coders from many nations, and not just english speaking ones. Granted that the vast majority of compilers work on source code that uses commands in english, but learning what the couple 100 reserved words are, as well as the very consistent structure of a programming language is easier then learning the whole english vocabulary and grammer structure. How many adult native english speakers are still to this day confused by their there and they're.
I'm sure that with the infant nature of this project that the exposure that they will get from slashdot will result in an inflow of the number of people helping them out. Lets see how things look here in a month or so when the help they get from slashdot readers who become interested in the project has had a chance to make some changes.
Re:Adventure Game Engine... (Score:2)
and you're right, LPC roolz over java, although we're currently working on a project to write an LPC -> java bytecode compiler, so we can have an LPC Java server, which would be pretty cool.
www.elephant.org [elephant.org]
or
telnet elephant.org [elephant.org]
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Re:Imagery and symbolism in RPGs (Score:2)
//rdj
Re:Site /.ed...oh well.... (Score:1)
Please enlighten me... If I read this correctly, you're saying that the processing power of the server became so much of an issue that you decided it would be a good idea to distribute it over the clients? Was there so much processing involved that a bigger server couldn't have handled it? I assume this was in the game code, as I can't see the actual network code take more than a trivial amount of time...
THEY STOLE THE TREES FROM WARCRAFT!! (Score:1)
Re: Imagery and symbolism in RPGs (Score:1)
Personally I have role-played since I was 11 years old, and for some reason I don't appear to be a sociopath, reclusive, or violent to be honest you couldn't get much more nonviolent then me... Actually I started rping with my mother, playing table top... to this day I still play table top, I've played online in chat rooms, I've played on multiple MUD's...
Role-playing is just as it sounds, taking on a role and playing it... you take your personality and build it into your character even if the character is nothing like you... if you believe that your children will be badly influenced by RPG's... then I hope you don't let them watch the news, read the newspaper, look at magazines... because next to those things RPG's are like little fuzzy rabbits... imho
Re:Site /.ed...oh well.... (Score:1)
haven't you been paying attention?
Re:looks like crap? (Score:1)
Yes, it looks like crap, the website reads like crap, and the binaries run like... (take a wild guess).
Yeah, it's great that they're taking up bandwidth and getting slashdotted so that their ad links get hammered and they get some bennies for all the auto-popup crap off of their site.
I've seen way too many half-assed pieces of software, let alone half-assed games, let alone half-assed RPGs, let alone half-assed MMORPGs to give a crap.
And now I feel better.
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Re:Imagery and symbolism in RPGs (Score:1)
"as morally ambiguous as an online RPG" RPG's are like computers: AMORAL. How does your conscience allow you communicate via a soulless, amoral machine? It's illogical, moronic, bible-thumping fools like you that caused the computer revolution to happen in the 20th century instead of the 17th century.
Also: Who said I was a 'secular humanist'? I pride myself on inhumanity and I am a very religious person. It just happens to be a religion THAT DOESN'T INVOLVE SPOUTING NONSENSE ABOUT WHAT I FEAR. Nor does it involve fearing things that I do not understand.
Wow, my life is complete, I have heard a xian call another a bigot. Does the hypocrisy never end with you people? Slavery, the crusades, the Inquisition... When will you get the picture that only evil comes from your infatuation with human sacrifice (Jesus) and vampirism (the Sacraments), not to mention a completely male-dominated Pantheon. Get over your obsession with dicks!
blasphemous? these guys are commies! (Score:1)
"Personally, I want Arianne to be like a utopical world where a society works in harmony for a commons goals, but because it is only a dream, Wars happen along the world, like these you read in Tolkien's books. That's for me Arianne."
this game will be a dud, not because of problems with graphics, or programming, but because the concept is unrealistic and, more importantly, unappealing.
utopian societies are boring enough, but someone else's utopia is the pits. the only thing worse than an utopian game is an utopian politician trying to impose his vision of a perfect society on the rest of us, like here: http://www.algore2000.com/agenda/
that looks remarkably like... (Score:1)
It seems like nowadays RPG games are all about the same, and to cover even a small portion of them would take a lot of spare time.
...
> A nasty looking dwarf throws a magic stone at you
Atriarch. (Score:2)
If you're looking for a MMORPG to sink your teeth into, check out Atriarch [worldfusion.com]. A spherical world, sci-fi alien universe, run on a Beowulf server, with a planned Linux release of the client software. *That* is a MMORPG to watch and get ready for.
Re:Imagery and symbolism in RPGs (Score:1)
NO! Shut up about the pentagram then! I will not here you degrade the holy symbols of others when they tolerate the continued presence of yours.
Re:looks like crap? (Score:1)
And again, just because he hasn't released an internet playable RPG doesn't mean he can't comment on one.
I'm sure Baby Geniuses [imdb.com] took a lot of work, but that doesn't mean it doesn't suck, or that I can't say it sucks.
[Disclaimer: I'm not criticizing Arianne, I'm just defending the right of any of us to criticize it]
Re:Imagery and symbolism in RPGs (Score:1)
What if I decide all that all xians offend me? Actually, by your rules, I should build a big old pentagram across from your church. You can't get rid of my symbol without having to take down your crucifix.
As for any regulation/moderation of ANYTHING: I am on the coalition to ban coaliltions. If we fail in our mission, we shall form the coalition to nuke coalitions.
Leave everbody else the hell alone and we'll continue to leave you alone, even though the age of xianity is gone. So take your busybody churchgoing ass on!
Re:looks like crap? (Score:1)
I browse at 0 (Score:1)
I browse at 0 because some very relevant and interesting points are made by AC (and sometimes some items [slashdot.org] are moderated down for bizarre reasons). I am however very glad that moderators are removing the particularly poor items. I do not browse at -1 in order to avoid what is down there. In fact it is interesting to reflect that the only people who could see your post were those who do browse at 0 and so defeat your argument as to why AC comments should not be moderated down.
I would be interested to know what the percentages are for the various default browsing levels. After that comment that most people browse at at least 1.
As I understand it the moderators themselves don't have to moderate at 0 (I've never moderated so don't know for sure). So only logged in users who normally browse at 0 (unless they set their browse level specifically down to 0 when moderating) are seeing these posts to moderate them.
I would say that your comment about how you claim to meta moderate shows that you have a poor grasp of the function of the 0 and the -1 levels. After all if -1 weren't there to collect the dross it would always appear at 0. Do you maybe not approve of the -1 level at all?
It's interesting that you posted this as AC because if you are posting at 0 simply to make a visiblity point then why didn't you include your ID in the post?
Note to Rob:
I will now show my ignorance by asking exactly what meta-moderation is and who engages in it. Also if someone who does it apparently without regard to the item that was moderated (apart from whether or not it was posted by AC) is qualified to do it.
Pike-based MMORPG (in development) (Score:2)
Future upgrades include dynamic AI NPC's with spellcasting abilities and 'Julia' bot like responses for helping new gamers and for quests.
If you looking for a place that really has a future in both ansi color text AND sound via Zmud client, then come by and take a look at us. We have been in development for over (3) three years and even wrote our own driver in Pike!
Webpage: http://stormbringer.sysconn.com/magi/ [sysconn.com]
Re:Imagery and symbolism in RPGs (Score:1)
And you've just proven yourself so much of a dumbass that I'm not even going to continue flaming your stupid ass. "The Word of God" is worthless to those who don't believe in god. Although I suppose I shouldn't expect better than circular logic from someone with an IQ in the shoe-size range. Goodbye, foolish xian... Anonymous Coward... See you in hell.
That's cool... (Score:4)
But what does that have to do with putting an age requirement or parental consent check on these games? Are you saying that _every_ parent in the world must agree with you? Or that other parents shouldn't be able to choose as you are? After all they aren't _your_ kids.
You are perfectly capable of keeping your kid from playing Ultima Online yourself, without an age check. Other parents can as well, yes? A parent who doesn't have even that much control over their children has far worse problems than RPG imagery, wouldn't you agree?
Re:looks like crap? (Score:1)
Re:Imagery and symbolism in RPGs (Score:1)
Distribution of processing over clients (Score:2)
We'd like to make free-to-play games where possible, and this makes resources especially scarce. Anyway, we have to work within our means, including annoying things like players who demand their characters survive sleep, work and disconnections.
Lots of fun problems.
Web page for this game has been deleted by tripod! (Score:1)
Re:Imagery and symbolism in RPGs (Score:1)
Re:Get in on the ground floor. (Score:1)
..we eat 'am an' spam an' jam alot...
Re:That's cool... (Score:1)
Re:Animals acting like humans (Score:1)
Re:Adventure Game Engine... (Score:1)
Re: Imagery and symbolism in RPGs (Score:1)
God, Guns, and Glory! (Score:1)
(sarcasm)
Re:THEY STOLE THE TREES FROM WARCRAFT!! (Score:1)
Re:el game-o (Score:1)
of course, I'm not sure which would be better though, a zero release after 3 days, or after 3 months?
SDL? Gosh... (Score:1)
I just did an apt-get install of the libsdl1.0 and libsdl1.0-dev packages, compiled dgen (a Genesis emulator), and ran it. No problems at at all...
Re:huh (Score:1)
shameless plug (Score:1)
Re:I browse at 0 (Score:2)
We really need a "slashdot" topic every two weeks or so, for this administrative stuff.
Massively Multiplayer (Score:2)
I sure do wish I had taken a look at the screen shots the first time.
Re:Red China (Score:1)
Ye Gods! although i didn't realize it at the time, it makes PERFECT sense for the chinese to have a hand in this. after all, they helped re-elect clinton, right? and they are developing a version of linux called Red Flag...hmmm..hey! i wonder if the developers of the game are using RED FLAG to develop this game. after all, china does have a LOT of people, so a massively multiplayer game makes sense.
i'm going to have to contact my undergound right-wing cell and communicate this breakthorugh insight
Re:Except for one problem (Score:1)
Send him a URL with the following parameters tacked on to the end:
"&commentsort=3&mode=thread"
Then he'll see it threaded with the highest ranked articles first.
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Re:Imagery and symbolism in RPGs (Score:1)
Correct. What this "Ronnie" fool doesn't understand is that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is not at all tolerant of heresy. He is just and loving, but when He returns to cleanse this Earth of the unsaved, He will be swift, He will be brutal, and He will be merciless. The screams of the damned shall echo like a sweet symphony of success to faithful Christians who are ascending to spend eternity with Almighty God. Folks like "Ronnie" need to learn that there are eternal consequences for Earthly actions, and when you face those consequences, a "mea culpa" isn't going to work as a Get Out of Jail Free card.
Ronnie, if you're reading this, you must renounce evil and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Savior. You must renounce wickedness and tolerance, and replace them with the firm precepts of Christian love. Then, and only then, will you be afforded life in eternity with the Father (unless you are homosexual or black.)
Re:Animals acting like humans (Score:1)
Re:Imagery and symbolism in RPGs (Score:1)
You are at a fork in the road... (Score:1)
>se
the point?
Zork rules.
Re:Imagery and symbolism in RPGs (Score:1)
Woo! Slashdotted! (Score:1)
Re:Imagery and symbolism in RPGs (Score:1)
As an atheist, there are many things that puzzle and upset me about religous people. I think the main one is their inability to try to look at themselves from another perspective. Their religion relentlessly teaches them that there is only one way to see the world, and that this way is clearly better than any other way. In fact, it's so good that there isn't even any need to examine other ways of thinking.
So, this leads to nifty statements like: "Free speech is fine, so long as you say anything I don't like." Sigh. If you don't like the first amendment, just say so. Don't pretend you think that freedom is a good thing just because you want people to have freedom to do what you want them to.
Oh yeah, and the other that I find endlessly strange about religous people, and hardcore Xians in particular, is that it's impossible to know when they're being serious. Look at some of the posts that come up on this thread. The Xian AC is being serious, right? So how in the world are you supposed to do a xian troll? Is there anything you could possibly say in jest that would be loonier than what so many fundies say in earnest?
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Re:Imagery and symbolism in RPGs (Score:1)
Huh? Are you serious? I bet you are the kind who still fights Darwins theories of evolution...
Re:Imagery and symbolism in RPGs (Score:1)
Re:WorldForge (Score:2)
Actually, there are working clients, but things are still under heavy development so it's a waste of your time and ours to provide installation assistance. (Tech support for a free pre-Alpha game?? Riiight...) We're still in the stage of adding many features, and shaking out design options. Please consider that even commercial game developers require several years paid fulltime work to get a game developed. When WorldForge is closer to having a working game we will split development of the various items into stable/developmental trees for you.
The best way to get a working client is to spend some of your time to help improve it.
Re:Server Player Limit (Score:2)
Well, surely you know what you must do to fix this - join the team and help make it the way you want. Or else find another project making a game more to your liking, and help them. Game development is hard and takes a lot of time. I gather these guys don't have commercial backing behind them to do this, and are doing this as a gift to all of us.
Consider that few commercial games, in spite of all of their millions of dollars worth of funding, meet every expectation of every gamer. So is it really all that bad that this free game has a few (theoretically fixable) limitations?
Re:Imagery and symbolism in RPGs (Score:1)
The paper books are printed on and the ink they are printed with are not 'moral', they are simply objects. However, the human act of parsing the information presented by the paper and ink can translate into moral statements (both obvious and subtle). I doubt you would argue that books can not influence a person morally.
I would contend that any piece of software running on a computer that presents something to a human can also contain moral content. Your argument is extremely flawed; just because the messenger is 'amoral' does not mean the message is.
--Another anonymous person because you seem like the sort of person who is easily baited.
Re: Imagery and symbolism in RPGs (Score:1)
Re:Adventure Game Engine... (Score:1)
I have made my mudlib non-medieval.
I rewrote most of what came with TMI-2 at the time, using most of Nightmare's network code, and written my own base classes, as well as filesystem security modules (modeled it after Novell security).
There is a difference between Domain code, and mudlib code. Mudlib is just an overriding of efuns (simul-efuns), as well as a base object hirarchy (such as container, room, light, object, lightsource, collective, etc.) Domain code is like weapons, clothes, etc.
Mine was not bug ridden -
At least not my lib code. Domain code was written by independent creators, and may have had problems.
Anyway, I worked on mine for about 4 years back in 1992, and have since not touched it. The closest language next to smalltalk is python, anything else is not a good tool for large development efforts by marginal coders..
Just my 2c
Re:Distribution of processing over clients (Score:1)
The client is in hostile hands. Anything you send to it is available to the player, and anything you receive from it can have been made out of thin air by the client (in particular, never let the client be the only one to enforce your rules).
There are only two solutions to your dilemna. Send more than you probably should, and let the client display it all. Or put more processing power, and do it correctly. But even then, you have other constraints.
One example: I want to be realistic, so I send the client only what is in front of the player (no 360 eyes). Problem: if the player turns around, what happens. Two things may occur: If the client turns around, then he sees nothing, and suddendly things pop up in his field of vision (the server has been notified of the new vision angle and replied 200ms later with new data). Or the move goes to the server, the server sends back your new angle of vision along with new visible data. New problem: Your character is unresponsive: you turn around... and the character starts turning around 1/3s later.
So, in the end, your character does have 360-degrees field of vision, even if the basic mode is subjective vision. And so on.
Re:el game-o (Score:1)
Re:English/Literacy? (Score:1)