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Old 04-17-2008, 09:41 AM   #23
Zhiroc
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Join Date: Jan 2006
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Re: Are MUDs the clog dancing of online gaming?

I agree that MU*s need an update in their basic protocols. However, I believe there are two key requirements:

1. The client cannot be tied to a single platform, like Windows. Mac and Unix/Linux are much more prevalent in this community than in general MMOGs.

2. You cannot eliminate connecting via raw telnet. While this is not a primary gaming connection, I see people starting to connect via smartphones/PDAs to chat or even play (easier on the non-twitch gaming of MUSHes).

I think the implementation you list above is 1) duplicating (incompatibly) some of the existing standard called MXP (which others have mentioned); and 2) is too low level in any case.

The implementation I have in mind is more XML-based, probably utilizing stylesheet technology. The reason is to separate data from presentation, not to imbed presentation. Using HTML is only a small step up from today. This allows the client, and more importantly the user, to customize their experience.

For example, a chat from another user might come across the wire as:Using this data a client can perhaps put this OOC tell/page in a different window, maybe beep because Joe is on a buddylist, etc. It shouldn't be the server to tell you which window to use--this is best left to the user's preference (though there is nothing wrong with a MUD pre-configuring this as long as the user can redefine it).

A more interesting example might be, when looking at a room:Here, we see the beginnings of allowing for definitive context-sensitive content (I say definitive as opposed to intuitive based on string triggers). Exits can become clickable, to take you through them (how that's done is not specified in the data, it should be part of the MU configuration). Clicking on the character data could bring up a menu, send a tell, look at the character, etc.

And doing it this way, you can define a text-only translation (and do it server-side if the negotiation fails with the client), so that even telnet clients can have an acceptable presentation.
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