It’s unrealistic and unnecessary to expect a complete recode of every class.

On what basis do we need to start over?

FunkyDeisel - 05 June 2008 07:05 PM

It’s unrealistic and unnecessary to expect a complete recode of every class.

is it?

some of the code in the game is from the beginning (thats 15 years), and theres always been rather loose standards on said code.  So we get areas that are code anemic and others that are overloaded.  I just think that maybe its time to look at rebuilding some parts of it, maybe the whole thing.

Sometimes its just easier to start over than to pile more crap on a weak foundation.

I’m awfully surprised at this coming from someone who has been playing this game as long as you.  If you want to do enough work to recode the entire mud, make your own.  I would suggest that what you say is offensive to the very few, very generous people who take the time out of their lives to make this “crap” that is piled on top of a “weak foundation.”

And yes, it is unrealistic and unnecessary.  Unless a majority of players think each class and area is so broken it can’t be salvaged, the mud according to Gogo is probably going to get voted down.

We’ve selectively scrapped code completely in favor of rewrites, and at other times, we’ve simply reworked and touched things up.  It really depends on the condition of the code, whether its salvageable, and what the cost-benefit analysis looks like.  That is, some things are important and worth the time & energy to start over, other things are not.  For example, a lot of Indel, I’ve found, is really anemic, to use Gogo’s word, but it’s simply not worth scrapping ... and in some case, it’s not even worth touching up because it’s so little used.  On the other end of the spectrum, I’ve nuked whole cities and re-written them from the sewers up.

We’re willing to whatever needs to be done for the benefit of the game, but - and here’s the big catch - our resources are limited.  First, the lib itself is old and is sometimes incapable of handling what we’d like to do, and second, there aren’t a lot of hardcore programmers available for the work.  As such, we need to prioritize.

Having said that, we’re more than happy to take recommendations on what should be prioritized above other projects.  You just need to speak up, as a community of users, and let us know what you feel should be invested in.  For example, if there was a groundswell that said *all* Area, Guild, and other Class work should stop to redo Druids from the ground up, then we’d do that at the next opportunity.

Belly is perhaps the nicest person in the universe:  Belly = Jesus
Jesus may or may not have existed:  The existence of Jesus is greater than or equal to zero
Therefore:  Belly’s existence is greater than or equal to zero
Belly’s creativity is the common denominator for all things great in MD.
Nothing can be divided by zero.
Therefore:  There’s a pretty good chance that we’re all fucked.

FunkyDeisel - 07 June 2008 08:13 PM

I’m awfully surprised at this coming from someone who has been playing this game as long as you.  If you want to do enough work to recode the entire mud, make your own.  I would suggest that what you say is offensive to the very few, very generous people who take the time out of their lives to make this “crap” that is piled on top of a “weak foundation.”

Yes i’ve been around for a long time, thru several versions, so its not some off handed comment i make lightly.  Like an old house, you can only fix it up so much before you reach the limits of it.  As belly said the lib is old, and if we want to bring in fresh blood then maybe the idea of a complete rebuild isn’t so far fetched.

It probably won’t ever happen, given so few who play and those few who code.  Perhaps in its prime it could have happened, but not now.  Doesn’t mean we can’t discuss it.  And Deisel i don’t think its offensive, would you want to spend all your time building something on top of an outdated system?

But suppose we were able to rebuild certain parts of the game, exedoria and anshelm are good examples.  Classes could be done behind the scenes and tested well before implementation.  Conversion might be a bugger but doable.

All it takes is a little faith

in reguards to mages…

School Specialization
A school is one of eight groupings of spells, each defined by a common theme. If desired, a wizard may specialize in one school of magic (see below). Specialization allows a wizard to cast extra spells from her chosen school, but she then never learns to cast spells from some other schools.

A specialist wizard can prepare one additional spell of her specialty school per spell level each day. She also gains a +2 bonus on Spellcraft checks to learn the spells of her chosen school.

The wizard must choose whether to specialize and, if she does so, choose her specialty at 1st level. At this time, she must also give up two other schools of magic (unless she chooses to specialize in divination; see below), which become her prohibited schools.

A wizard can never give up divination to fulfill this requirement.

Spells of the prohibited school or schools are not available to the wizard, and she can’t even cast such spells from scrolls or fire them from wands. She may not change either her specialization or her prohibited schools later.

The eight schools of arcane magic are abjuration, conjuration, divination, enchantment, evocation, illusion, necromancy, and transmutation.

Spells that do not fall into any of these schools are called universal spells.

Abjuration: Spells that protect, block, or banish. An abjuration specialist is called an abjurer.

Conjuration: Spells that bring creatures or materials to the caster. A conjuration specialist is called a conjurer.

Divination: Spells that reveal information. A divination specialist is called a diviner. Unlike the other specialists, a diviner must give up only one other school.

Enchantment: Spells that imbue the recipient with some property or grant the caster power over another being. An enchantment specialist is called an enchanter.

Evocation: Spells that manipulate energy or create something from nothing. An evocation specialist is called an evoker.

Illusion: Spells that alter perception or create false images. An illusion specialist is called an illusionist.

Necromancy: Spells that manipulate, create, or destroy life or life force. A necromancy specialist is called a necromancer.

Transmutation: Spells that transform the recipient physically or change its properties in a more subtle way. A transmutation specialist is called a transmuter.

Universal: Not a school, but a category for spells that all wizards can learn. A wizard cannot select universal as a specialty school or as a prohibited school. Only a limited number of spells fall into this category

http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Wizard