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<H1>Re: [MUD-Dev] Virtual rooms (was: RP thesis...)</H1>
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<LI><em>To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#null,net">mud-dev#null,net</A></LI>
<LI><em>Subject</em>: Re: [MUD-Dev] Virtual rooms (was: RP thesis...)</LI>
<LI><em>From</em>: <A HREF="mailto:clawrenc#cup,hp.com">clawrenc#cup,hp.com</A></LI>
<LI><em>Date</em>: Wed, 21 May 97 15:40:04 -0700</LI>
<LI><em>Reply-to</em>: <A HREF="mailto:claw#null,net">claw#null,net</A></LI>
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<PRE>
In <<A HREF="msg00662.html">33830A81.167EB0E7#iname,com</A>>, on 05/21/97
at 08:30 AM, Shawn Halpenny <malachai#iname,com> said:
>clawrenc#cup,hp.com wrote:
>> In <<A HREF="msg00561.html">Pine.LNX.3.96.970518090712.185C-100000#mpc,dyn.ml.org</A>>, on
>> 05/18/97 at 09:07 AM, Matt Chatterley <root#mpc,dyn.ml.org> said:
>> >We have both normal rooms, and our own mappable virtual room areas,
>> >you can create a map such as:
>>
>> >XXXXXXXXXX X = impassable terrain
>> >**######## * = swamp
>> >*######@## # = grassland
>> >XXXXXXXXXX @ = a lake
>>
>> >and set a scale for each room - this map would be converted into
>> >normal rooms with randomly set sizes, descriptions, weather suited to
>> >the area, and so forth.
>>
>> The problem with virtual rooms, which can be handled is when players
>> make a change to a virtual room which requires them to become
>> permanent, or the notice something in a virtual room and refer to it
>> later expecting it to be permanent.
>>
>> eg:
>>
>> > l
>> You are in a forest...(desc of forest)
>> > cut blaze on tree
>> You cut your sigil on a nearby tree.
>>
>> or:
>>
>> > l
>> You are in a forest...yada yada something about an oak tree.
>> ...much later...
>> > say "Just go east in the forest until you see the Oak tree,
>> and then head west..."
>Is this something better handled by modifying the room description or
>creating an object in the room that functions as a tree with a sigil
>cut upon it? I envision doing this with the object as a tree. The
>room would have a method to allow an occupant to "cut" something on a
>tree (or some other synonymous variation). The method then creates
>the tree-with-sigil that people would see.
Yup, this would work for most cases, tho I predict problems with
determining the list of possible permanent-object-creation actions
(you're going to tend to miss some (sure you can blaze a tree, but
what about a fire scar? or re-arranging the pebbles on the ground into
a pattern, or painting a tree with woad?).
>...As well, making the tree an
>object makes it cheap to have other trees-with-sigils at any other
>place in the world, without creating rooms left and right to
>accomodate a single change in each (i.e. it's fine to modify the room
>desc if you cut the sigil into ten trees, but say you cut it into a
>hundred thousand of them...).
Yup, but now you have a specialised object template for a tree with an
emblazoned sigil (whose sigil BTW?). What about a tree with a sbil
that been painted with wad? Or a sigil and painted with lime? Or a
sigil and all the leaves picked off on one side? Or a sigial and all
the trunk moss removed? Or just part of the moss removed? Or all the
above and the tree partiall pushed over? Or a tree with an uprooted
bush tied to it? Or a tree with a streamer tied to it?
You get the idea. You need a very generalist solution here to record
permanent state changes based upon generic objects instantiated from a
generated description for a virtual room.
>OTOH, this isn't as much of a factor if there is a fixed number of
>actual rooms making up the entire world (but this is not my case).
Next problem, which is not really a feature of virtual rooms or
permanent rooms per se (tho its worse with virtual rooms):
You have an endless grassy plain. It is uniform and compleatly
unfeatured from horizon to horizon. The composition and
appearance of the grass is unvaried.
A toop of users and mobiles tramp across the plain, back and
forth along a single route.
Shouldn't a path be worn into the grass?
Next take a simple forest with a path wending thru it. If nobody
traverses the path, should it grow over and dissappear? Should the
room descriptions be dynamic and change back from a "this is a path"
type to "this is a forest type" with possibly multiple gradations
between? How long should the transformation take? Can the process be
accellerated say thru magic?
Take the same path thru those verdant woods. A trader sets up a
caravan route which leaves the path at one point and cuts thru the
untamed woods as a perceived short-cut. Caravans travel this shorter
route with decent frequency -- should a new path form? Should the
description of the room where the path diverges change in accordance?
Yada yada.
--
J C Lawrence Internet: claw#null,net
(Contractor) Internet: coder#ibm,net
---------------(*) Internet: clawrenc#cup,hp.com
...Honorary Member Clan McFUD -- Teamer's Avenging Monolith...
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<li><strong><A NAME="00693" HREF="msg00693.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Virtual rooms (was: RP thesis...)</A></strong>
<ul compact><li><em>From:</em> Shawn Halpenny <malachai#iname,com></li></ul>
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<ul><li>Thread context:
<BLOCKQUOTE><UL>
<LI><STRONG>Re: [MUD-Dev] RP thesis...</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM>
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<LI><strong><A NAME="00659" HREF="msg00659.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] RP thesis...</A></strong>,
Travis S Casey <a href="mailto:casey#nu,cs.fsu.edu">casey#nu,cs.fsu.edu</a>, Wed 21 May 1997, 20:01 GMT
<LI><strong><A NAME="00675" HREF="msg00675.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] RP thesis...</A></strong>,
Caliban Tiresias Darklock <a href="mailto:caliban#darklock,com">caliban#darklock,com</a>, Thu 22 May 1997, 01:17 GMT
<LI><strong><A NAME="00849" HREF="msg00849.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] RP thesis...</A></strong>,
Marian Griffith <a href="mailto:gryphon#iaehv,nl">gryphon#iaehv,nl</a>, Wed 28 May 1997, 00:27 GMT
</LI>
</LI>
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00662" HREF="msg00662.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Virtual rooms (was: RP thesis...)</A></strong>,
Shawn Halpenny <a href="mailto:malachai#iname,com">malachai#iname,com</a>, Wed 21 May 1997, 21:38 GMT
<LI><strong><A NAME="00686" HREF="msg00686.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Virtual rooms (was: RP thesis...)</A></strong>,
clawrenc <a href="mailto:clawrenc#cup,hp.com">clawrenc#cup,hp.com</a>, Thu 22 May 1997, 05:45 GMT
<LI><strong><A NAME="00693" HREF="msg00693.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Virtual rooms (was: RP thesis...)</A></strong>,
Shawn Halpenny <a href="mailto:malachai#iname,com">malachai#iname,com</a>, Fri 23 May 1997, 00:22 GMT
<LI><strong><A NAME="00723" HREF="msg00723.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Virtual rooms (was: RP thesis...)</A></strong>,
clawrenc <a href="mailto:clawrenc#cup,hp.com">clawrenc#cup,hp.com</a>, Sat 24 May 1997, 06:24 GMT
<LI><strong><A NAME="00841" HREF="msg00841.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Virtual rooms (was: RP thesis...)</A></strong>,
Shawn Halpenny <a href="mailto:malachai#iname,com">malachai#iname,com</a>, Tue 27 May 1997, 23:11 GMT
<LI><strong><A NAME="00897" HREF="msg00897.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Virtual rooms (was: RP thesis...)</A></strong>,
clawrenc <a href="mailto:clawrenc#cup,hp.com">clawrenc#cup,hp.com</a>, Thu 29 May 1997, 00:24 GMT
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