<!-- MHonArc v2.4.4 --> <!--X-Subject: Re: [MUD-Dev] Graphical mud perspectives --> <!--X-From-R13: @nguna Kbfcr <lbfcrNunjnvv.rqh> --> <!--X-Date: Fri, 23 Jan 1998 00:57:20 +0000 --> <!--X-Message-Id: Pine.GSO.3.95q.980122143902.1037B-100000@uhunix1 --> <!--X-Content-Type: text/plain --> <!--X-Reference: 34C862C8.50B6#dial,pipex.com --> <!--X-Head-End--> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <html> <head> <title>MUD-Dev message, Re: [MUD-Dev] Graphical mud perspectives</title> <!-- meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow" --> <link rev="made" href="mailto:yospe#hawaii,edu"> </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="msg00289.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00291.html">Next</a> ] Thread: [ <a href="msg00289.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg00291.html">Next</a> ] Index: [ <A HREF="author.html#00290">Author</A> | <A HREF="#00290">Date</A> | <A HREF="thread.html#00290">Thread</A> ] <!--X-TopPNI-End--> <!--X-MsgBody--> <!--X-Subject-Header-Begin--> <H1>Re: [MUD-Dev] Graphical mud perspectives</H1> <HR> <!--X-Subject-Header-End--> <!--X-Head-of-Message--> <UL> <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 mud perspectives</LI> <LI><em>From</em>: Nathan Yospe <<A HREF="mailto:yospe#hawaii,edu">yospe#hawaii,edu</A>></LI> <LI><em>Date</em>: Thu, 22 Jan 1998 14:57:05 -1000</LI> </UL> <!--X-Head-of-Message-End--> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-Begin--> <HR> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-End--> <!--X-Body-of-Message--> <PRE> On Thu, 22 Jan 1998, Richard Woolcock wrote: :Okay I know we have discussed graphical muds a fair bit, but something :I've been thinking about while debating if I should code a graphical :mud is what sort of perspective view to have. The different types I :can think of are: :* First person perspective: You see what your character sees, like : Doom/Quake/Daggerfall/etc. Problems: Suffers from general sillyness in a non-VR environ, thanks to the square shape of your monitor. Works very well when applied to VR. Creates problems with periphery views. Really sucks when there's a status bar across the bottom of the screen. (With VR test cases, I found glowing stats just to the right of forward focus that were not visable unless triggered - I eventually hope to allow quick eyeblink control triggers for the GURU arcade engine - were both the greatest convenience and the least annoyance/distraction of any approach.) If used correctly, the most immersive view. :* As above, except your character is standing forward slightly (as : if you are standing behind them). While a little more awkward, : this does allow you to see your character performing manoevers - : so if you do a backflip, you see your character do it rather than : see the screen spin 360 degrees. Also known as over the shoulder or floating cam view. I've programmed engines for this before. It can be rather attractive, and tends to be my favorite view for non-VR. (VR, naturally, demands 1st person.) And if you are controlling multiple characters in proximity, this is just about the best you can do. GURU non-VR uses TOtS - translucent frames of your characters with the camera panning around them. :* Overhead view: Like the old Ultima games, or perhaps Gauntlet (hey, : anyone for a game of mud-gauntlet? ;). It could also be done in a : similar way to WarcraftII/Command and Conquer/Total Annihilation, : except with each player controlling a single 'unit'. The trouble : with this is that you rapidly start moving away from all social : aspects. I'd guess Raph has something to say about this. I think UOL uses this view, no? BTW, I still like the first and third (and portable) Zeldas for their approach to this. (The new one is, it would seem, OTS, very high polygon count, and extremely detailed.) :* Isametric view: Syndicate, Diablo, Dungeon Keeper, etc. Suffers : from similar problems to overhead views - although I keep thinking : of the way you can 'switch' into creatures in Dungeon Keeper (gaining : a first-person perspective view), which could make things a bit more : interesting perhaps Hmmm. What about side-scroller view? *duck* Okay, forget I said that. :I am beginning to favour the idea of an overhead PK-style game, with :a form of character customisation similar to Syndicate (except fantasy :themed). As long as I don't bother with fancy graphics or computer :controlled mobs, it shouldn't be too difficult to get a very simple :sort of game running - then its just a matter of adding the mud-server :part, and linking the two together. Of course it'll probably take :months to get this far, but once I have something simple, its quite :easy to build on. What OS is the clien going to be hosted on? There are a lot of sprite animation libraries out there, some of them free (for Dos and MacOS.) Give it a look-around. BTW, if anyone wants to port something from NT or 95 to MacOS, and is using the (thankfully unixlike) sockets, I did write and make freely available a win32->OT(MacOS) porting library. I also wrote one for posix/unix->OT(MacOS) -- "You? We can't take you," said the Dean, glaring at the Librarian. "You don't know a thing about guerilla warfare." - Reaper Man, Nathan F. Yospe Registered Looney by Terry Pratchett yospe#hawaii,edu <A HREF="http://www2.hawaii.edu/~yospe">http://www2.hawaii.edu/~yospe</A> Meow </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="00291" HREF="msg00291.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Graphical mud perspectives</A></strong> <ul compact><li><em>From:</em> Richard Woolcock <KaVir#dial,pipex.com></li></ul> </UL></LI></UL> <!--X-Follow-Ups-End--> <!--X-References--> <UL><LI><STRONG>References</STRONG>: <UL> <LI><STRONG><A NAME="00289" HREF="msg00289.html">Graphical mud perspectives</A></STRONG> <UL><LI><EM>From:</EM> Richard Woolcock <KaVir#dial,pipex.com></LI></UL></LI> </UL></LI></UL> <!--X-References-End--> <!--X-BotPNI--> <UL> <LI>Prev by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00289.html">Graphical mud perspectives</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00291.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Graphical mud perspectives</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Prev by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00289.html">Graphical mud perspectives</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg00291.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Graphical mud perspectives</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Index(es): <UL> <LI><A HREF="index.html#00290"><STRONG>Date</STRONG></A></LI> <LI><A HREF="thread.html#00290"><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="00297" HREF="msg00297.html">RE: [MUD-Dev] Graphical mud perspectives</A></strong>, Koster, Raph <a href="mailto:rkoster#origin,ea.com">rkoster#origin,ea.com</a>, Fri 23 Jan 1998, 15:47 GMT <UL> <li><Possible follow-up(s)><br> <LI><strong><A NAME="00298" HREF="msg00298.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Graphical mud perspectives</A></strong>, Mike Sellers <a href="mailto:mike#online-alchemy,com">mike#online-alchemy,com</a>, Fri 23 Jan 1998, 17:42 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00299" HREF="msg00299.html">RE: [MUD-Dev] Graphical mud perspectives</A></strong>, Koster, Raph <a href="mailto:rkoster#origin,ea.com">rkoster#origin,ea.com</a>, Fri 23 Jan 1998, 18:21 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00289" HREF="msg00289.html">Graphical mud perspectives</A></strong>, Richard Woolcock <a href="mailto:KaVir#dial,pipex.com">KaVir#dial,pipex.com</a>, Fri 23 Jan 1998, 00:24 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00290" HREF="msg00290.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Graphical mud perspectives</A></strong>, Nathan Yospe <a href="mailto:yospe#hawaii,edu">yospe#hawaii,edu</a>, Fri 23 Jan 1998, 00:57 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00291" HREF="msg00291.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Graphical mud perspectives</A></strong>, Richard Woolcock <a href="mailto:KaVir#dial,pipex.com">KaVir#dial,pipex.com</a>, Fri 23 Jan 1998, 01:40 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00264" HREF="msg00264.html">META: Web futures for the list</A></strong>, JC Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#under,Eng.Sun.COM">claw#under,Eng.Sun.COM</a>, Tue 20 Jan 1998, 21:05 GMT <LI><strong><A NAME="00254" HREF="msg00254.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Vast areas in muds</A></strong>, John G. <a href="mailto:ashen#pixi,com">ashen#pixi,com</a>, Mon 19 Jan 1998, 21:26 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="00256" HREF="msg00256.html">Re: [MUD-Dev] Vast areas in muds</A></strong>, Nathan Yospe <a href="mailto:yospe#hawaii,edu">yospe#hawaii,edu</a>, Mon 19 Jan 1998, 22:17 GMT </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>