<!-- MHonArc v2.4.4 --> <!--X-Subject: Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: BUILDERS: Ferries --> <!--X-From-R13: [nevna Uevssvgu <telcubaNvnrui.ay> --> <!--X-Date: Sun, 07 Dec 1997 19:19:27 +0000 --> <!--X-Message-Id: Marcel-1.26-1207170546-b49Ky&5#Gryphon,knoware.nl --> <!--X-Content-Type: text/plain --> <!--X-Reference: Pine.PMDF.3.91.971205170814.541423946A-100000#nova,wright.edu --> <!--X-Head-End--> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <html> <head> <title>MUD-Dev message, Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: BUILDERS: Ferries</title> <!-- meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow" --> <link rev="made" href="mailto:gryphon#iaehv,nl"> </head> <body background="/backgrounds/paperback.gif" bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" alink="#FF0000" vlink="#006000"> <font size="+4" color="#804040"> <strong><em>MUD-Dev<br>mailing list archive</em></strong> </font> <br> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] <br clear=all><hr> <!--X-Body-Begin--> <!--X-User-Header--> <!--X-User-Header-End--> <!--X-TopPNI--> Date: [ <a href="msg00516.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00518.html">Next</a> ] Thread: [ <a href="msg00506.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00552.html">Next</a> ] Index: [ <A HREF="author.html#00519">Author</A> | <A HREF="#00519">Date</A> | <A HREF="thread.html#00519">Thread</A> ] <!--X-TopPNI-End--> <!--X-MsgBody--> <!--X-Subject-Header-Begin--> <H1>Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: BUILDERS: Ferries</H1> <HR> <!--X-Subject-Header-End--> <!--X-Head-of-Message--> <UL> <LI><em>To</em>: Mud Dev Mailing list <<A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#null,net">mud-dev#null,net</A>></LI> <LI><em>Subject</em>: Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: BUILDERS: Ferries</LI> <LI><em>From</em>: Marian Griffith <<A HREF="mailto:gryphon#iaehv,nl">gryphon#iaehv,nl</A>></LI> <LI><em>Date</em>: Sun, 07 Dec 1997 17:05:46 +0000 (GMT)</LI> </UL> <!--X-Head-of-Message-End--> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-Begin--> <HR> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-End--> <!--X-Body-of-Message--> <PRE> On Sat 06 Dec, s001gmu#nova,wright.edu wrote: > On Fri, 5 Dec 1997, Sauron wrote: > > In order to avoid this exact scenario in my mud I have started with a > > map of the world, creating continents, oceans, major landmarks and other > > places of interest which will be the majority of the programmed rooms on > > the mud when I and my co-God Locke are done. > > One of the challenges I > > have found both interesting and enjoying about working with an entirely > > original theme is that of creating a believable world with an enthraling > > history which draws people in. I belief this is much more important to the game than the actual map. The history will provide the game with a sense of continuity and it can guide the area builders in their efforts much more than a fairly abstract map can do. > Amen. :) I think having a full world map also makes solving the problem > of long distance travel a little easier.. at least it's easier to keep it > a realistic solution. Having a map is not the critical issue. You need to have a lot of back- ground information of how areas look, how they interact and how they came to be to be able to create a consistent world. You also run into a problem of scale. Certain areas have to be more de- tailed than others and to keep everything into scale you will find that you end up with countless rooms of 'wilderness'. E.g. to create a city you need rooms that are no bigger across than a couple of meters to do it justice. The same amount of detail on your 'plains of the east' will leave you with an area of thousands of rooms across. And if you decide to make rooms in the plains bigger by a hundredfold than those in the city you have effectively shrunk the plains to city size. And lost the scale of the mud. Crossing the plains is no harder than walking across the city. There's a more elaborate summary of this topic on the website in case you want to discuss this more elaborately. > > Concerning the matter of IC travel across long distances such as oceans > > or "blank area" between important areas, I think it should take some > > time for a player, however, they shouldn't have to sit at their terminal > > for two hours waiting to finish crossing an ocean. I believe if you > > follow the general rule: "keep it realistic (as applying to RL) only if > > it does not interfere with the overall enjoyment of the players" works > > effectively in this situation. > The difficulty with doing long distance travel instantaeously is that, > unless you have some teleport mechanism (magically or techonology based), > characters SHOULDN'T be able to travel vast distances in the blink of an > eye. You have an inconsistancy in your game world. Whatever solution you choose is going to be somewhat (or very much) un- realistic. And if it is not then you have to a major redesign your game to deal with 'in-between' areas that are in scale with the actual areas in a way that does not annoy the players. The game will be rather small geographically speaking though. > I fully intend to have such teleportation devices (magically based as it > fits our very loose fantasy theme) available, to increase the > 'fun-factor', but leave the option for the normal over-land routes, > adding the 'adventure-factor' for those who are willing to undertake such > a journey. You might want to consider making such travels to be a central part of the game. Then preparing for such a travel would be an acceptable sub-game and the actual travel can be made as challenging and inter- esting as the eventual goal. If the world is dangerous then it can be fun to (role)play a caravan guard that escorts traders and other travellers to a neighbouring city. The actual time spent travelling is of less concern under those circumstances. In fact, by making the world too small and speedily travelled you would actually diminish the fun of the game. Travelling all two thousand rooms of 'the great plane of the east' can be fun if you know there will be all kinds of dangers varying from grass-cats and nomads to ghosts and undead, who all are bent on something that is carried in the caravan. And under such circumstances being -required- to find food, water and shelter may indeed add to the game as well. It wouldn't be a traditional mud but it can be made into an interesting and challenging game I think! > We haven't decided if we want to have trans-contental transportation... > it never came up, actually. :) I imagine we'd handle it in similar > fashion... tho I doubt sea-travel would be as exciting as land travel. It can be, if properly embedded in the game. The only real difference is that at see a group of players stay in the same 'room' or rooms of the ship and are moved about by the game (currents and wind). There's still plenty of opportunity for danger and excitement. And the oppor- tunity to add totally new skills and requirements to the game. What if a player can choose to become a captain of a ship and be required to learn to navigate the seas, learn about the dangers and how to a- void them. It may even allow skills that are only useful to groups of players, like the handling of ship and sails in high seas. The traditional 'you can walk on water if you carry a canoe' style of gameplay would not be at all interesting I agree. Marian -- Yes - at last - You. I Choose you. Out of all the world, out of all the seeking, I have found you, young sister of my heart! You are mine and I am yours - and never again will there be loneliness ... Rolan Choosing Talia, Arrows of the Queen, by Mercedes Lackey </PRE> <!--X-Body-of-Message-End--> <!--X-MsgBody-End--> <!--X-Follow-Ups--> <HR> <ul compact><li><strong>Follow-Ups</strong>: <ul> <li><strong><A NAME="00556" HREF="msg00556.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: BUILDERS: Ferries</A></strong> <ul compact><li><em>From:</em> Derrick Jones <gunther#online1,magnus1.com></li></ul> <li><strong><A NAME="00552" HREF="msg00552.html">[MUD-Dev] World Design</A></strong> <ul compact><li><em>From:</em> "Jon A. Lambert" <jlsysinc#ix,netcom.com></li></ul> </UL></LI></UL> <!--X-Follow-Ups-End--> <!--X-References--> <UL><LI><STRONG>References</STRONG>: <UL> <LI><STRONG><A NAME="00506" HREF="msg00506.html">Re: BUILDERS: Ferries</A></STRONG> <UL><LI><EM>From:</EM> s001gmu#nova,wright.edu</LI></UL></LI> </UL></LI></UL> <!--X-References-End--> <!--X-BotPNI--> <UL> <LI>Prev by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00516.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Guilds & Politics [was Affecting the World]</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00518.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Guilds & Politics [was Affecting the World]</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Prev by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00506.html">Re: BUILDERS: Ferries</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00552.html">[MUD-Dev] World Design</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Index(es): <UL> <LI><A HREF="index.html#00519"><STRONG>Date</STRONG></A></LI> <LI><A HREF="thread.html#00519"><STRONG>Thread</STRONG></A></LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> <!--X-BotPNI-End--> <!--X-User-Footer--> <!--X-User-Footer-End--> <ul><li>Thread context: <BLOCKQUOTE><UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00493" HREF="msg00493.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] OT: forests and such</A></strong>, Chris Gray <a href="mailto:cg#ami-cg,GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA">cg#ami-cg,GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA</a>, Thu 04 Dec 1997, 15:47 GMT <LI><strong><A NAME="00490" HREF="msg00490.html">Re: BUILDERS: Ferries</A></strong>, coder <a href="mailto:coder#ibm,net">coder#ibm,net</a>, Thu 04 Dec 1997, 06:41 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00499" HREF="msg00499.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: BUILDERS: Ferries</A></strong>, Sauron <a href="mailto:dlove#kusd,kusd.edu">dlove#kusd,kusd.edu</a>, Fri 05 Dec 1997, 02:24 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00506" HREF="msg00506.html">Re: BUILDERS: Ferries</A></strong>, s001gmu <a href="mailto:s001gmu#nova,wright.edu">s001gmu#nova,wright.edu</a>, Fri 05 Dec 1997, 22:36 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00519" HREF="msg00519.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: BUILDERS: Ferries</A></strong>, Marian Griffith <a href="mailto:gryphon#iaehv,nl">gryphon#iaehv,nl</a>, Sun 07 Dec 1997, 19:19 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00552" HREF="msg00552.html">[MUD-Dev] World Design</A></strong>, Jon A. Lambert <a href="mailto:jlsysinc#ix,netcom.com">jlsysinc#ix,netcom.com</a>, Tue 09 Dec 1997, 05:25 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00556" HREF="msg00556.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: BUILDERS: Ferries</A></strong>, Derrick Jones <a href="mailto:gunther#online1,magnus1.com">gunther#online1,magnus1.com</a>, Tue 09 Dec 1997, 07:45 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00824" HREF="msg00824.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Re: BUILDERS: Ferries</A></strong>, Marian Griffith <a href="mailto:gryphon#iaehv,nl">gryphon#iaehv,nl</a>, Mon 15 Dec 1997, 00:15 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00864" HREF="msg00864.html">Re: BUILDERS: Ferries</A></strong>, s001gmu <a href="mailto:s001gmu#nova,wright.edu">s001gmu#nova,wright.edu</a>, Thu 18 Dec 1997, 15:35 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL></BLOCKQUOTE> </ul> <hr> <center> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] </center> <hr> </body> </html>