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Jazuela · 11-06-2002, 02:16 PM

Newbie answer to newbie question...since when I was a newbie, not a single one of these answers would've made a lick of sense to me.

Look at Sanvean's explanation first...so you can see that all these terms are acroynyms that stand for different things.

Code base..invariably, most text-based games descend from the computer language C, C++, or similar. People have gotten together and taken the language, created routines, subroutines, and functions, and put them together in a package. The package would be either MUD, or MUX, or MOO, for example.

Now, without having a very good memory, I can't tell you which came first and which is a derivative of what. However...assume MUD came first. Any game that took the MUD package and tweaked it to create a new package would be called a derivative.

There's one codebase that I'm vaguely familiar with from the coder's perspective, and that's Lambda MOO. Its functions are fairly easy to understand, IF you are well-versed in C or C++.

The functionality of the package (or codebase, as it's called) determines the type of game usually created with it. Lambda MOO comes with combat AND roleplay functions, and so it would typically create a hybrid game.

MUSH does not come with combat functions that I know of, or if they do, they're extremely limited in scope. And so MUSH games would be mostly pure RP, with little or no "mechanics" whatsoever for combat.

Tweaks come and go, such as GodWars (the first), various Diku-types, TinyMUX, etc. etc. etc..some stick, some get lost in the shuffle. But each "tweaked" codebase becomes a derivitive of the code it comes from, and would have to follow whatever rules and policies set forth by the originator(s) of the base code.

Further, even a "standard hack-n-slash" code base can be tweaked to include nifty roleplaying devices, thus providing the coder with the means to create a hybrid game. The same is true with the MUSH-type codebase...adjustments can be made and functions added to allow for an engagement and combat system, crafting, etc..

However, Codebases already exist that work perfectly for certain types of games, and so it's very rare you'll see a hard-core RP code base tweaked to include combat, or a pure PK code base changed to add much in the way of RP support.

Again, my references to this or that code base are probably completely incorrect (except for Lambda MOO) so please consider them only as hypothetical examples.

11-06-2002, 02:16 PM	#5
Jazuela Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: New England Posts: 849	Newbie answer to newbie question...since when I was a newbie, not a single one of these answers would've made a lick of sense to me. Look at Sanvean's explanation first...so you can see that all these terms are acroynyms that stand for different things. Code base..invariably, most text-based games descend from the computer language C, C++, or similar. People have gotten together and taken the language, created routines, subroutines, and functions, and put them together in a package. The package would be either MUD, or MUX, or MOO, for example. Now, without having a very good memory, I can't tell you which came first and which is a derivative of what. However...assume MUD came first. Any game that took the MUD package and tweaked it to create a new package would be called a derivative. There's one codebase that I'm vaguely familiar with from the coder's perspective, and that's Lambda MOO. Its functions are fairly easy to understand, IF you are well-versed in C or C++. The functionality of the package (or codebase, as it's called) determines the type of game usually created with it. Lambda MOO comes with combat AND roleplay functions, and so it would typically create a hybrid game. MUSH does not come with combat functions that I know of, or if they do, they're extremely limited in scope. And so MUSH games would be mostly pure RP, with little or no "mechanics" whatsoever for combat. Tweaks come and go, such as GodWars (the first), various Diku-types, TinyMUX, etc. etc. etc..some stick, some get lost in the shuffle. But each "tweaked" codebase becomes a derivitive of the code it comes from, and would have to follow whatever rules and policies set forth by the originator(s) of the base code. Further, even a "standard hack-n-slash" code base can be tweaked to include nifty roleplaying devices, thus providing the coder with the means to create a hybrid game. The same is true with the MUSH-type codebase...adjustments can be made and functions added to allow for an engagement and combat system, crafting, etc.. However, Codebases already exist that work perfectly for certain types of games, and so it's very rare you'll see a hard-core RP code base tweaked to include combat, or a pure PK code base changed to add much in the way of RP support. Again, my references to this or that code base are probably completely incorrect (except for Lambda MOO) so please consider them only as hypothetical examples.