CF: OpenWorld update (fwd)

[Kristofer Bosland <krisb@ring.org>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 2 Jul 1996 13:36:11 -0400 (EDT)
From: Michael B. Martin <martinm@mbmartin.bevc.blacksburg.va.us>
To: crossfire@ifi.uio.no
Subject: CF: OpenWorld update


Well, I got in touch with the person working on the OpenWorld project 
(generic game engine for crossfire-like games) over the weekend.  I am 
including his full reply at the end of this message.  It basically says 
that he has selected the BeBox (see http://www.be.com/ if you don't know 
what this is) as his initial development platform, and that he has begun 
working on server code.  It looks like it will be a  while (maybe a long 
while) before he has something really usable ready. Oh, well.

-Michael

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>From bull@cs.unr.edu
Date: Sun, 30 Jun 96 13:14:57 PDT
From: "W.E.B" <bull@cs.unr.edu>
To: "Michael B. Martin" <martinm@mbmartin.bevc.blacksburg.va.us>
Subject: Re: OpenWorld

Well, I'm now working on writing the server on my new BeBox. I'll be 
putting the specs for the development system up, I suppose next weekend. 
(I'm looking at a $50/annual web site for my BeBox development pages.)

What does this mean?

	There's two directions this will be going:

1) There will be an open standard/protocol for client and server 
communication. This will explain the requirements for the clients
pasar and the rest is up to the client for requesting retrieval and
other information.

2) My first goal is now working on an enhanced communication system using
the SOM (CORBA 2.0 compliant) API which Be Inc. is adopting. This will be
for accelerated and simplified development for BeBox players.

Why the BeBox?

	First of all it's POSIX compatible. ie. There's UNIX underneath.
Next, it's fast and cheap and may very well be the next pc-desktop 
workstation low cost pc-organ-donor multiprocessor CHIRP/PREP compliant 
computer to take over the planet. Well, to be honest it has a lot going 
for it and is really going to be great for running servers and such. The 
development tools are in place and the power to price performance can't 
really be beaten (especially looking long term.) And finally, the API
(application programming interface) is SLICK, simple to use and object
oriented. It supports shared memory and libraries and we're receiving
a lot of help from the developer guys at Be Inc.

How long is this going to take to be public and all over the place?

	Well, first a solid design on the BeBox will have to be running.
Once the core is up, it can be ported to UNIX very easily. I'm not saying
much online about this since I want to make sure it's object model is
done well. I don't have a huge requirement for a lot of help since it's
just me and Mike Brown (and the rest of the world doesn't have a BeBox yet.)
We're working on two BeBoxes in an office in the University of Nevada, Reno
and still have classes and such pressing heavily upon us.

How about a recap?

	The goal is still for a modular networkable game development 
system. We're concentrating less on the game itself and more on the tools 
for developing gaming 'systems'. Since the difficulties with platform 
independent coding hasn't been resolved with Java (although we work very 
hard a making it do-so) we are now resloving back to C++, our preferred 
language. The system will consists of a driver (much like a mud) and a 
rule library for the style of game the driver is running. There will be a 
dynamic editor/creation system to expand the rule library and manipulte 
the data common to the system.

	The BeBox has a very powerful integrated database in the OS. This 
will be tightly coupled to the driver and allow for excellent response 
time in managing the system as a whole. The common message system within 
the BeOS also makes reusing data (such as a standard graphics object, 
pictures, text, etc.) much more managable in a drag and drop development 
environment. Will this be public? We hope so. I'm not in this for the 
money, but there's nothing stopping me from doing a total rewrite a few 
years from now to put out a professional version of the developer and 
association modelling system we're working on.


---

Please be patient, we're really trying to do something right in what 
little time we have. Since we're being held up by Be for the next version 
of the OS, dr8 we've been told to wait for the CORBA networking parts. 
Once this is released most of the networking specs will be much more 
definative. I'll get to you and outline of the system a.s.a.p., if not on 
the web at least ftp'able so you can read more about how we inted to 
implement the networking protocols and the development ontology.