<!-- MHonArc v2.4.4 --> <!--X-Subject: [MUD-Dev] Re: Implementing god. --> <!--X-From-R13: "Ybfgre, Dncu" <exbfgreNbevtva.rn.pbz> --> <!--X-Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1998 07:51:13 -0700 --> <!--X-Message-Id: 11A17AA2B9EAD111BCEA00A0C9B41793760DA0#forest,origin.ea.com --> <!--X-Content-Type: text/plain --> <!--X-Head-End--> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <html> <head> <title>MUD-Dev message, [MUD-Dev] Re: Implementing god.</title> <!-- meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow" --> <link rev="made" href="mailto:rkoster#origin,ea.com"> </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="msg01004.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg01006.html">Next</a> ] Thread: [ <a href="msg01045.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg01007.html">Next</a> ] Index: [ <A HREF="author.html#01005">Author</A> | <A HREF="#01005">Date</A> | <A HREF="thread.html#01005">Thread</A> ] <!--X-TopPNI-End--> <!--X-MsgBody--> <!--X-Subject-Header-Begin--> <H1>[MUD-Dev] Re: Implementing god.</H1> <HR> <!--X-Subject-Header-End--> <!--X-Head-of-Message--> <UL> <LI><em>To</em>: "'<A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A>'" <<A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A>></LI> <LI><em>Subject</em>: [MUD-Dev] Re: Implementing god.</LI> <LI><em>From</em>: "Koster, Raph" <<A HREF="mailto:rkoster#origin,ea.com">rkoster#origin,ea.com</A>></LI> <LI><em>Date</em>: Thu, 10 Sep 1998 09:48:43 -0500</LI> <LI><em>Reply-To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI> </UL> <!--X-Head-of-Message-End--> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-Begin--> <HR> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-End--> <!--X-Body-of-Message--> <PRE> > -----Original Message----- > From: Adam J. Thornton [<A HREF="mailto:adam#phoenix,Princeton.EDU">mailto:adam#phoenix,Princeton.EDU</A>] > Sent: Wednesday, September 09, 1998 11:23 PM > To: mud-dev#kanga,nu > Subject: [MUD-Dev] Re: Implementing god. > This is actually something I've never understood about the UO > model. Say > I've been at work all day. Am I really going to want to get > home, log in, > and go to work for a few more hours? *I'm* not. Are there > people who are? Yep. Tens of thousands of them. Actually, we provide means of automating some of the work; for example, you do not actually tend the counter, which is dull for most people (except for the few exceptions like roleplayers who enjoy running taverns). Instead, most people opt to make running a shop a supplementary income, and the "work" involved is stocking the shop. An automated NPC we call a "vendor" can be hired (initial setup fee and ongoing costs based on value of goods in stock applies) and this NPC handles the counter. The role of the player is then to play how they like--say, killing orcs--and dropping off the loot they don't want at their vendor to serve as stock for the shop. Of course, a catchall stock like that doesn't tend to do all that well. The most successful merchants are those who corner the market on valuable resources, such as the reagents needed for magical spells, or healing potions. To do this does indeed involve a huge amount of scouring the NPC shops (whom the players treat as wholesalers--they buy them out completely, then turn around and resell the items for a markup from their vendor). Also successful are the specialty shops, such as those that carry only the best of the magical items, or the shops devoted to the work of master craftsmen (for example, a grandmaster smith's shop can do quite well selling his exceptional goods). The thing to remember is that no matter how dull this may seem to a given player, to someone else it's the coolest thing since sliced bread. What we found with UO is that eventually everyone who has a house runs a vendor too. (You have to be able to won a building before you can run a shop). Which is to say, almost everyone in the game is shooting for trying this feature at some point. It is an "elder game" in the best sense. Players suddenly start worrying about things like optimum visibility for a trade shop, traffic flow along major corridors of travel, issues with warehousing and supply, etc. They're playing a different game than they used to, which makes them stay players longer. I count the basics of the vendor system, and the crafting skills as well (not necessarily the implementation of any given one, but rather the proof of concept) as some of the great successes of UO... -Raph </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="01007" HREF="msg01007.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Implementing god.</A></strong> <ul compact><li><em>From:</em> "Adam J. Thornton" <adam#phoenix,Princeton.EDU></li></ul> </UL></LI></UL> <!--X-Follow-Ups-End--> <!--X-References--> <!--X-References-End--> <!--X-BotPNI--> <UL> <LI>Prev by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg01004.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: [CODE QUESTION] How to encode floats into bytes?</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg01006.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Implementing god.</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Prev by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg01045.html">[MUD-Dev] Off-topic! Re: Off-topic! Re: Windows->Linux TCP/IP stack performance problems</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg01007.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Implementing god.</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Index(es): <UL> <LI><A HREF="index.html#01005"><STRONG>Date</STRONG></A></LI> <LI><A HREF="thread.html#01005"><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>[MUD-Dev] Re: OT: Windows->Linux TCP/IP stack performance problems</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM> <ul compact> <ul compact> <LI><strong><A NAME="01014" HREF="msg01014.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: OT: Windows->Linux TCP/IP stack performance problems</A></strong>, J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#kanga,nu">claw#kanga,nu</a>, Fri 11 Sep 1998, 04:34 GMT </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="01019" HREF="msg01019.html">[MUD-Dev] Off-topic! Re: Windows->Linux TCP/IP stack performance problems</A></strong>, Adam Wiggins <a href="mailto:adam#angel,com">adam#angel,com</a>, Fri 11 Sep 1998, 18:41 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="01025" HREF="msg01025.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Off-topic! Re: Windows->Linux TCP/IP stack performance problems</A></strong>, Jo Dillon <a href="mailto:emily#thelonious,new.ox.ac.uk">emily#thelonious,new.ox.ac.uk</a>, Sat 12 Sep 1998, 11:58 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="01045" HREF="msg01045.html">[MUD-Dev] Off-topic! Re: Off-topic! Re: Windows->Linux TCP/IP stack performance problems</A></strong>, Adam Wiggins <a href="mailto:adam#angel,com">adam#angel,com</a>, Mon 14 Sep 1998, 19:42 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </ul> </ul> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="01005" HREF="msg01005.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Implementing god.</A></strong>, Koster, Raph <a href="mailto:rkoster#origin,ea.com">rkoster#origin,ea.com</a>, Thu 10 Sep 1998, 14:51 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="01007" HREF="msg01007.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Implementing god.</A></strong>, Adam J. Thornton <a href="mailto:adam#phoenix,Princeton.EDU">adam#phoenix,Princeton.EDU</a>, Thu 10 Sep 1998, 19:29 GMT </LI> </UL> <UL> <li><Possible follow-up(s)><br> <LI><strong><A NAME="01008" HREF="msg01008.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Implementing god.</A></strong>, Koster, Raph <a href="mailto:rkoster#origin,ea.com">rkoster#origin,ea.com</a>, Thu 10 Sep 1998, 20:41 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="01001" HREF="msg01001.html">[MUD-Dev] Economics: Arrow's Impossibility Theorem</A></strong>, J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#under,engr.sgi.com">claw#under,engr.sgi.com</a>, Thu 10 Sep 1998, 01:34 GMT <LI><strong><A NAME="00999" HREF="msg00999.html">[MUD-Dev] PERL based MUDs</A></strong>, J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#under,engr.sgi.com">claw#under,engr.sgi.com</a>, Wed 09 Sep 1998, 23:52 GMT </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>