UC MUD Code Planning

Interface and code

• Web based?
• AJAX?
• Rails?

Brainstorming

1. Have defined sections of the page for basic ways to interact with game
   • Room/environment view box
   • Inventory
     • Item view
   • Other characters/NPCs
     • separate from room? or basically like the room is a container and a subwindow that shows what's in the room--items, players, npcs. Things #an go in and out without changing the view of the environment.
   • Combat
   • Conversations
     • Include emotes here? basically, an action window?
     • Split between chat lines/tells/room actions? If we have chat lines/tells
2. Obvious and non-obvious methods of interaction
   • Obvious methods (go north, wield sword, don armor, press button) as clickable links
   • Non-obvious methods not displayed, but given an empty text box to input commands
3. Way to script things?
4. Mobile site?
5. Telnet option
   • Web interface a wrapper around all information given, but with traditional telnet interface of many lines coming at you?
   • Or telnet interface with a text-based browser style? Keep the different windows?

Database

• Rooms
• Items
• Characters
• Monsters/NPCs
• Actions

Table brainstorming

1. Everything as an item?
   • Rooms are containers
   • Characters and Monsters/NPCs modeled the same, also containers
   • Item=object. Table includes very basic information common to all objects. PK/FK link to other tables
2. All actions have common ties
   • Actions include spells and attacks, but also skills, emotes, buying, etc.
   • Any interaction with an object, including yourself. Leveling up is an action.
   • Not all actions can be called directly. Some can only be called by computer/other action. This flag can be one of the common ties
   • Actions PK/FK link to other tables to further define them
   • Are actions also items? Or can items have actions? Or can items have access to a class of actions?
3. Classes of items/actions
   • Clearly defined definitions of items and actions. Adding a new item/action must go into one of these groups. Adding a new class rearranges the DB a bit.
   • Subclasses/Superclasses can be defined to combine/narrow things down. Probably superclasses are more likely, to make things have only one class?

Interaction

• Modeling NPCs as computer-controlled PCs
• Objects with built in calls for actions?
• Characters as special kinds of items?
• Rooms as special kinds of items?

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