<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE> [Nel] Greetings! And some questions / comments</TITLE> <LINK REL="Index" HREF="index.html" > <LINK REL="made" HREF="mailto:sferro%40wojo.com"> <LINK REL="Previous" HREF="000017.html"> <LINK REL="Next" HREF="000021.html"> </HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffff"> <H1>[Nel] Greetings! And some questions / comments</H1> <B>Sal</B> <A HREF="mailto:sferro%40wojo.com" TITLE="[Nel] Greetings! And some questions / comments">sferro@wojo.com</A><BR> <I>Sat, 11 Nov 2000 16:18:21 -0500</I> <P><UL> <LI> Previous message: <A HREF="000017.html">[Nel] WorldForge</A></li> <LI> Next message: <A HREF="000021.html">[Nel] Greetings! And some questions / comments</A></li> <LI> <B>Messages sorted by:</B> <a href="date.html#18">[ date ]</a> <a href="thread.html#18">[ thread ]</a> <a href="subject.html#18">[ subject ]</a> <a href="author.html#18">[ author ]</a> </LI> </UL> <HR> <!--beginarticle--> <PRE>Hi, First a little rant to explain my being here: :-) I am also a Worldforge developer, like Bryce. Though not nearly as famous ;-) I stumbled upon Nevrax the other day and am very interested in its development. My goal a few years back was to help create a free, massively multiplayer online RPG system, one that I could enjoy myself and that others could build from to make their own persistant online worlds. And a commercial effort such as Nevrax could be a powerful force in helping to achieve such a goal. Most opensource projects that start up have caught my eye, the first being the Ultima online emulator scene which I was a part of for a long time, coding admin tools, NPC ai, network code, etc. Whatever seemed the most challenging task. I got soon fed up with having to deal with the idea that all the hard work might not even turn out to be legal, and all the problems that OSI provided for the emu scene I didnt care for. So I then came across Worldforge, and that is where I am. Finally a totally free opensource project that met, if not exceeded my own standards for an online gaming system. So I took on the responsibility of developer XClient, a 3d client. The root of its homepage is here, if anyone's interested: <A HREF="http://www.worldforge.org/website/clients/xclient/">http://www.worldforge.org/website/clients/xclient/</A> Some shots of its recent developments (a terrain engine) are here: <A HREF="http://www.worldforge.org/images/screenshots/terrain1.jpg">http://www.worldforge.org/images/screenshots/terrain1.jpg</A> <A HREF="http://www.worldforge.org/images/screenshots/terrain2.jpg">http://www.worldforge.org/images/screenshots/terrain2.jpg</A> (Its very early in development) Some old out of date client shots: <A HREF="http://www.worldforge.org/website/clients/xclient/screenshots/">http://www.worldforge.org/website/clients/xclient/screenshots/</A> And lastly, a goals paper that I've recently written to illustrate what the goals are in XClient development. This one I recommend reading above the others. <A HREF="http://www.worldforge.org/website/clients/xclient/developer/goals">http://www.worldforge.org/website/clients/xclient/developer/goals</A> I've also created a Map editor (XEdit) a UDP networking library based off of the GPLd quake code (XUDP) and a simple test server (XServer). All of this and XClient are in Worldforge cvs for those interested. If there are questions about any of these things, please ask! Anyhow, yes there is a point to all this. It seems that a lot of Worldforge's goals and development are in tandem with Nevrax's. So, I thought it would be worth it to see 1) how compatible our projects are and 2) if we might be able to help each other out in any form, whether it be artwork, code, or knowledge. 3) how much interest, if any, there is in sharing efforts. So if I could ask a few questions. I tried finding out some information through the website, but some questions remain: 1) I understand that Nel will be a library to create games, but is this project also developing a specific game that uses the library? If so what details of it are known? As far as ruleset... gameplay... 2) What is the development strategy? For example Worldforge will be developing several smaller diverse games in succession (Acorn, Mason... etc. etc.) until we reach the final goal, entitled 'BelchFire'. Will you guys be doing a similar thing? 3) What features/goals are there for the 3d engine? What's being targeted (high end/low end hardware)? What rendering APIs? Software mode? 4) I get this question a lot :-) Why develop a 3d engine from scratch? Why not use/build from an existing engine, such as Crystal Space? 5) What are the capabilities of the current codebase? 6) Is development open to outside influence? Or are you following an internal-only plan, and just opensourcing the results? 7) Was there knowledge of Worldforge when this project was started? And if so, why was it deemed necessary to start another, independant effort with the same goals? 8) Would it be possible to get a brief description of what Nevrax will use in the following areas: - Protocol (UDP? TCP/IP?) - Mapfile format (Custom? XML? Binary? Database-Driven?) - Mapfile editors (What existing tools will be used, if any?) - Model format(s) - Texture format(s) 9) How the heck do you guys manage to pay a full development team off of free software? :-) Thats about all I have for now. I'm sure more will come up in the future. You might want to put a few of those in the FAQ, I've noticed its in need of some fulfilling... and other people may have similair questions. Anyhow, thanks in advance, and Congratulations and Good Luck in your efforts. Its a challenging and rewarding goal that we are working towards. I look forward to exchanging thoughts and ideas in the near future! - Sal <A HREF="mailto:sferro@wojo.com">sferro@wojo.com</A> </pre> <!--endarticle--> <HR> <P><UL> <!--threads--> <LI> Previous message: <A HREF="000017.html">[Nel] WorldForge</A></li> <LI> Next message: <A HREF="000021.html">[Nel] Greetings! And some questions / comments</A></li> <LI> <B>Messages sorted by:</B> <a href="date.html#18">[ date ]</a> <a href="thread.html#18">[ thread ]</a> <a href="subject.html#18">[ subject ]</a> <a href="author.html#18">[ author ]</a> </LI> </UL> </body></html>