Indie-Resource.com

I like to code my game in a language based off of Java. I thought of using Eclipse or NetBeam as a software tool to do so. Would you recommend this, Vim, or something else?

I am also wondering is there any good mud code base written in Java? I have heard about Diku and LP, but I do not believe they are based off of Java. What do you recommend as a code base?

Do you think I will have to program in a language based from a code base? If so, what do you recommend, Diku?

Or

Do you think I can find a code base in Java language?

The only MUD I know of made in Java is CoffeeMUD. It is a nice Diku-inspired MUD though.

As far as PBBGs (browser games) go, Java is not used very often. JSP is not a very good platform for making PBBG dynamic sites.

I would not necessarily define my game as browser based. However, my concept of what a browser based game could be murky. It runs like Iron realm games. It looks similar to an enhanced chat room. But I suppose that is similar to what the working definition of PBBG is. I am not sure you would define this as a PBBG type of game. I also would not put it in the typical class MMO has become.


These things I am not quite sure of, at this time. Perhaps my ideas are wrong.

Would you recommend just using a code base using Diku?

Do you know what language Diku is based from, C/C++?

i would not recommend Java. Real pain! With today's browser technology, client based muds are obsolete. You can make the same thing in a browser that has no download.

How about live script aka Java script. I have been noticing a lot is done using that, but I imagine that it is coupled with HTML, possibly HTML 5 now.

I realize what you are defining as browser based now. So, it seems Diku is the way to go, in your thoughts?

I thought Diku and Java both could create a client based game. The exception that you create a application to run a client on top of the browser, where as with Diku it runs with (kinda like side by side). Would it be a correct assumption that if you use Diku, you may us Live script?


I am sorry to ask so many silly questions. Once I learn more about things, I hope to contribute to this community as much as it has been helpful to me.

Your right, Iron Realms games are not browser-based games. They are full-on MUDs that run over Telnet. Halls does have a point in that MUDs are quite outdated now and relatively few people play them compared to PBBGs (such as Torn City, Urban Dead, Halls' Forsaken Sanctum and Quest of Crocania, etc.). A handful of PBBGs have 50,000+ people on at a time. The most popular MUDs get up to about 400 at the same time at the most.

But if you want to use Java, check out CoffeeMUD which I linked above. It is a nice MUD codebase that has Diku-style play. The actual Diku codebase is written in C/C++, but CoffeeMUD gives the same gameplay plus more.

I agree with Halls' opinion on Java as far as PBBGs go. It is a terrible server-side scripting language for making them. But for things like MUDs, Java is excellent.

@the fix: remember java and javascript are two different things.

I still want to look into making a true, real-time browser-based MUD engine that does not run over Telnet. I originally though Javascript (as Halls said, different from Java) and AJAX could do it, but the nature of MUDs just does not jive well with an AJAX/PHP model. Now I am looking at possibly making the client with Flash and using something like ElektroServer for the backend, but this is still a project way off in the future.

Sorry, I did not make that clearer. I do realize Java and Java script are different. Java script used to be called live script I believe. But it is practically looks the same as Java to me.

Well, I imagine since I want to create a whole community then, it would be best to use Diku instead of Java. So, not to complicate things in the long run.

However, I am wondering if I should couple Java script in that. I want my first game to be small to medium size. Possibly just for that one game I can use a bit of Java script. Would you recommend any code base out there written in Java script? My guess is that most muds use a code base like Diku or LP then couple Java script with it or html.

I would think Flash would die off in a few years because it seems so narrow base. Can you not couple PHP with html5 for your engine?

I think you are confused on what exactly a MUD is. A MUD has nothing to do with web development, so in turn, it has nothing to do with Javascript, HTML 4 or 5, PHP, etc. MUDs are typically written in either C or C++, although a handful are written in Java (not Javascript) and C#. They are not accessed in the same way websites are. Instead, users connect with a "Telnet" client, which just simulates a text-based terminal. The server for a MUD does not run on a web server. Really, MUDs are closer in development and use to a real MMORPG server, like the servers to World of Warcraft, than they are to a web game. Some MUDs can be played in a web browser, but that is an illusion, as they have used something like Java or Flash to write a real Telnet client that runs in the browser. They are not browser-based games.

"Diku" was an old MUD codebase that I believe was written in C in 1990. Thus, it is older than the internet. The word "Diku" only means one, specific MUD codebase. What differentiated it from other MUDs was its heavy focus on killing mobs, leveling up, gaining better equipment, etc. (basically like almost every MMORPG out today, which all borrow heavily from Diku). Other MMOs and MUDs can be called "Diku-like", but they are not Diku, since Diku is technically neither open source, nor free software (although it somewhat resembles both).

For the time being, if you want to develop an actual MUD, you must do traditional server programming, using sockets, and other fairly complex programming tasks, and it will most likely either be in C, C++, Java, C#, VB.NET, etc. While Javascript may have a passing resemblance to Java and shares part of the same name, they are completely unrelated. A MUD has nothing to do with HTML, Javascript, PHP, or other web programming languages. If you want to develop a browser-based RPG, like Legends of Zork, you will find that most of this forum is dedicated to that, since the admin and owner, Hallsofvallhalla, has made a lengthy video tutorial about their creation. Thus, much of the community here has gathered with that common interest. I think I am one of the few people here with some knowledge and interest in regards to MUD development, though. They really are a dying breed, with only Iron Realms and Simutronics games enjoying any continued commercial success.