UC MUD Code Planning

Interface and code

• Web based?
• AJAX?
• Rails?

Brainstorming

1. Have defined sections of the page for basic ways to interact with game

• • Room/environment view box
  • Inventory
    • Item view
  • Other characters/NPCs
    • separate from room? or basically like the room is a container and a subwindow that shows what's in the room--items, players, npcs. Things can go in and out without changing the view of the environment.
  • Combat
  • Conversations
    • Include emotes here? basically, an action window?
    • Split between chat lines/tells/room actions? If we have chat lines/tells

1. Obvious and non-obvious methods of interaction

• • Obvious methods (go north, wield sword, don armor, press button) as clickable links
  • Non-obvious methods not displayed, but given an empty text box to input commands

1. Way to script things?
2. Mobile site?
3. Telnet option

• • Web interface a wrapper around all information given, but with traditional telnet interface of many lines coming at you?
  • Or telnet interface with a text-based browser style? Keep the different windows?

Database

• Rooms
• Items
• Characters
• Monsters/NPCs
• Actions

Table brainstorming

1. Everything as an item?

• • Rooms are containers
  • Characters and Monsters/NPCs modeled the same, also containers
  • Item=object. Table includes very basic information common to all objects. PK/FK link to other tables

1. All actions have common ties

• • Actions include spells and attacks, but also skills, emotes, buying, etc.
  • Any interaction with an object, including yourself. Leveling up is an action.
  • Not all actions can be called directly. Some can only be called by computer/other action. This flag can be one of the common ties
  • Actions PK/FK link to other tables to further define them
  • Are actions also items? Or can items have actions? Or can items have access to a class of actions?

1. Classes of items/actions

• • Clearly defined definitions of items and actions. Adding a new item/action must go into one of these groups. Adding a new class rearranges the DB a bit.
  • Subclasses/Superclasses can be defined to combine/narrow things down. Probably superclasses are more likely, to make things have only one class?

Interaction

• Modeling NPCs as computer-controlled PCs
• Objects with built in calls for actions?
• Characters as special kinds of items?
• Rooms as special kinds of items?

UC_MUD