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<H1>Re: [MUD-Dev] Graphical MUDs</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] Graphical MUDs</LI>
<LI><em>From</em>: Michael Hohensee <<A HREF="mailto:michael#sparta,mainstream.net">michael#sparta,mainstream.net</A>></LI>
<LI><em>Date</em>: Sat, 19 Jul 1997 20:43:04 -0400</LI>
<LI><em>Sender</em>: <A HREF="mailto:michael#sparta,mainstream.net">michael#sparta,mainstream.net</A></LI>
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<PRE>
Cynbe ru Taren wrote:
>
> Michael Hohensee <michael#sparta,mainstream.net> notes:
>
> | Has to do with client
> | renderers, and stuff like that. I'd be interested to find out if anyone
> | else has done any thinking on the subject, and if so, whether I've
> | missed anything.
>
> My thinking so far has been that graphics muds have
> all the problems of text muds, plus lots more (such
> as serious performance and synchronization issues,
> which can largely be ignored in the text setting):
> I'm kind of hoping to hold off on graphics stuff
> until a decent solution to text muds can be found :)
Heh, well, the kind of thing I'm describing would
just fall into place, if a good client/server system
is built. :)
> As far as graphics specifically: I won't claim to
> be an expert, but I -did- spend a decade employed
> doing GL graphics on SGI boxes, plus I've been
> writing a mudserver for the last five years, so
> I've had a little time to think about all this. :)
> I think you clearly want GL/ActiveX level graphics
> for interactive stuff for the forseeable future,
Sorry, you've lost this poor little fledgling coder
here, precisely what are GL/ActiveX level graphics? :)
> but
> that it would be nice to have the option of running
> off stills using POVray or (better) Renderman. (Note
> that BMRT makes Renderman available free on Linux,
> even if source is unfortunately not available.)
> I think one clearly wants to plump for procedurally
> generated world geometry rather than the currently
> popular static polygon databases, more or less for
> the reasons you suggest.
> A procedural world definition also makes it
> significantly easier to output either GL-level
> polygon definitions or Renderman-level surfaces,
> so as to support both nice interactive worlds
> and nice stills.
That's what I thought. Another thing just hit me,
since light sources are just objects, you could have
the "sun" change position over time. *that* would be
a spiffy effect. One that is probably unmatched even
in the single-player graphical games. Because all of
their images are pre-rendered, it seems unlikely that
very many "duplicate" frames are going to be made to
simulate some detailed night/day activity. While it's
trivial for this rendering system.
That's what's so attractive about it to me, a chance to
make a game that is *better* in some ways than commercial
products. :)
> As a practical matter, I think you should look at
> the emerging 3D binding for Java:
> <A HREF="http://java.miningco.com/">http://java.miningco.com/</A>
> has a pointer to the 0.98 spec and an unofficial
> implementation. IMHO, the ubiquity of Java-enabled
> browsers and the gigabucks of development money
> going into Java make it a tide you want to swim
> with rather than against. At least, unless you have
> a few gigabucks to throw at your alternative client
> design... :)
Hmm, yes, I thought about writing the client in Java, since
everyone's got it, but there is the problem of efficiency.
Java, being such a high-level language, is not going to have
the same efficiency of some well written and optimized C code.
Especially when the client that I'm envisioning will operate as
a parallel database to the server...
I had considered trying to write it for X windows, but then balked
when I discovered that Motif costs something like $150. *sigh*
perhaps Java is the only solution... Ack, gotta go and learn a
new language. :( :)
--
Michael Hohensee michael#sparta,mainstream.net
"If all the world's a stage, I want to operate the trap door."
-- Paul Beatty
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Heights/9025/">http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Heights/9025/</A>
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<li><strong><A NAME="00213" HREF="msg00213.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Graphical MUDs</A></strong>
<ul compact><li><em>From:</em> clawrenc#cup,hp.com</li></ul>
<li><strong><A NAME="00211" HREF="msg00211.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Graphical MUDs</A></strong>
<ul compact><li><em>From:</em> Shawn Halpenny <malachai#iname,com></li></ul>
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<LI><STRONG><A NAME="00207" HREF="msg00207.html">[MUD-Dev] Graphical MUDs</A></STRONG>
<UL><LI><EM>From:</EM> Cynbe ru Taren <cynbe#laurel,actlab.utexas.edu></LI></UL></LI>
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<ul><li>Thread context:
<BLOCKQUOTE><UL>
<LI><STRONG>Re: [MUD-Dev] Multi-threaded programming under Linux</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM>
<ul compact>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00232" HREF="msg00232.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Multi-threaded programming under Linux</A></strong>,
clawrenc <a href="mailto:clawrenc#cup,hp.com">clawrenc#cup,hp.com</a>, Thu 24 Jul 1997, 07:19 GMT
</LI>
</ul>
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00212" HREF="msg00212.html">Brief bio</A></strong>,
Niklas Elmqvist <a href="mailto:croziys#algonet,se">croziys#algonet,se</a>, Mon 21 Jul 1997, 23:20 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00374" HREF="msg00374.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Brief bio</A></strong>,
Martin Keegan <a href="mailto:martin#cam,sri.com">martin#cam,sri.com</a>, Mon 04 Aug 1997, 18:39 GMT
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00207" HREF="msg00207.html">[MUD-Dev] Graphical MUDs</A></strong>,
Cynbe ru Taren <a href="mailto:cynbe#laurel,actlab.utexas.edu">cynbe#laurel,actlab.utexas.edu</a>, Sun 20 Jul 1997, 07:04 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00208" HREF="msg00208.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Graphical MUDs</A></strong>,
Michael Hohensee <a href="mailto:michael#sparta,mainstream.net">michael#sparta,mainstream.net</a>, Sun 20 Jul 1997, 07:44 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00211" HREF="msg00211.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Graphical MUDs</A></strong>,
Shawn Halpenny <a href="mailto:malachai#iname,com">malachai#iname,com</a>, Mon 21 Jul 1997, 21:06 GMT
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00213" HREF="msg00213.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Graphical MUDs</A></strong>,
clawrenc <a href="mailto:clawrenc#cup,hp.com">clawrenc#cup,hp.com</a>, Tue 22 Jul 1997, 02:58 GMT
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00205" HREF="msg00205.html">Graphical MUDs</A></strong>,
Michael Hohensee <a href="mailto:michael#sparta,mainstream.net">michael#sparta,mainstream.net</a>, Sun 20 Jul 1997, 01:45 GMT
<LI><strong><A NAME="00185" HREF="msg00185.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Evil coders from beyond the grave</A></strong>,
Chris Gray <a href="mailto:cg#ami-cg,GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA">cg#ami-cg,GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA</a>, Sat 19 Jul 1997, 00:18 GMT
</LI>
</UL></BLOCKQUOTE>
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