Best posts made by Chime

Living in Portland now! ...the movers arrive with our boxes in a week tho. Thankfully, the house is basically furnished already, so essentials are present.

Classy neighborhood too:

Apparently Portland has one of the highest per-capita concentrations of stripclubs. * shrug *

The house is amazing. Here's a shot of the dining room from the listing:

Original wood!

The drive up was amazing. Well-- the California part up the 5 was as-expected; an endless sea of cowshit stretching to the horizon. The Siskiyou pass was beautiful though-- still snow on the ground, but we didn't need to break out the chains. Rained pretty much continuously from the Oregon border all the way to Portland. I LOVE IT.

@Thenomain Well. My mechanipus branch of tinymux will auto-reconnect sql as needed... see
this commit if you want to try it in isolation...

Otherwise, set up a ~/.my.cnf file with something like:

[client]
user=gamename
password=...
database=gamename

and then a ~/wait-for-sql.sh like:

#! /bin/bash
while ! echo 'select distinct "sql is up";' |mysql; do sleep 1; done

and then be sure to set it executable

$ chmod 755 wait-for-sql.sh

and then edit your crontab (cron -e) to have something like:

@reboot wait-for-sql.sh && cd /home/mush/gamename/game && ./Startmux

or if you're on my fork something like

@reboot wait-for-sql.sh && cd /home/mush/gamename/game && bin/mux-start

menacing helpfulness intensifies

I've found all of those pretty mild compared to Atlanta.

It was an endless , sparkling ocean of tree jizz.

And now, the real reason I love Portland.

Ignore the bird, follow the river.

@HelloProject said:

I feel like this would all be solved if everyone just agreed to make a MOO, somewhere in between a MUD and a MUSH.

Yep. There will always be random players that claim they can't code for moo but can for mush. It's best to smile, nod, and ignore them. If they can't pick up moo coding in a few minutes, they probably shouldn't be "coding" on a mush either.

Damn, I sound so jaded and elitist.

In summary, MUSH should refer to a technology type centering around MUs that implement command queues and quasi-quoted function evaluation over a primitive hierarchical object database. It's a soulcrushingly bad design. Like MUDs, mushes have a lot of hardcoded commands and concepts. The community tends to favor RP, but there are always outliers and extras.

Similarly, MUCK is the same idea, but with the "softcode" implemented by a dialect of Forth. Whether that is a good thing or not depends largely on how much you like Forth, but I think most sane developer types would still consider it a step up from MUSH. A very, very big step. Less hardcoding here, so much more flexible. The community is predominantly furry. Whether that is a good thing or not depends largely on how much you like the whole furry concept. They're more accepting of my fascination with octopuses, at least...

MOO went a step further, and instead of using Forth-- an extensible stack-based language-- it uses a stack-based bytecode VM. A javascript-like (but much earlier) language then compiles down to moo bytecode. The bytecode structure is conceptually analogous to JVM or CLR bytecode, but users don't interact with it directly. There is no community left that I've found.

MOO also spun off coolmud and coldc. It's a pretty flexible design, but the implementations are very much showing their age. The beautifully abstract and minimalist hardcode that is its strength is also a community weakness; every MOO is very different.

So. What about MUDs? Well, the have a reputation for -- whatever, who cares; like any technology you can do anything with it. The unifying idea, if there is one, is that more of the game is implemented in hardcode and less in softcode, if any softcode is present. That can be good or bad depending on the implementation language and the nature of the problem you are trying to solve.

Moving forward, why aren't we all using (insert whatever perl/python/java/javascript/etc mini server is popular this week)? Similar too MOOs, there isn't much of an established codebase, and what is there is still far too primitive or incompatible with existing user expectations.

My current direction is actually much more MUD-like; throw almost everything into hardcode and implement it faster/cleaner/better THERE rather than in the softcode layer. Why use a crap baby-language when we can just use a proper one? Mushcode is training-wheels without the bike.

@Arkandel said:

Those demons aren't going to grind themselves, you know.

That brings to my mind an entirely different-- and not entirely unwelcome-- image of what activities might be involved therein. ^-^

Hi! (As always nudge me in other media if I'm not responsive here; thanks @Misadventure!)

Several things:

My fork is designed for change a variety of things for the sorts of games I was working on. There are two pertinent branches; 'mechanipus' which is more or less the 'master' type branch containing all of the various changes, and 'mechanipus-rebased-vs-git_dev' which is a rebased (change collected and minimized set of diffs) version vs one of Brazil's dev branches.

In this rebased one, all the main patches are separated out as major functional changes covering the bits people find separately interesting:

https://github.com/lashtear/tinymux/commits/mechanipus-rebased-vs-git_dev shows the commit history for that resulting branch, with them always re-ordered so my customizations are at the end (independent of chronology). You can click on any of the hash-ids to see patch data for that change.

Or, in command line form:

git clone https://github.com/lashtear/tinymux.git
cd tinymux
git checkout mechanipus-rebased-vs-git_dev
git log --abbrev-commit --sparse --decorate --pretty=oneline

Which will give you a display something like:

In your case, you are only interested in that last one there. Hot damn I'm a markdown badass.

git show 5fd60802

Which will give you

commit 5fd6080286dc36fe7ba6673a208dbfb445a6d056
Author: Emily Backes <lucca@accela.net>
Date:   Wed Sep 28 22:46:09 2011 -0700

    use BLIND on rooms to really silence messages
    
    * Covers X goes home.
    * Covers connected/disconnected/partially disconnected.
    * Works even with REALITY_LEVELS configured.
    
    This is for quiet rooms and character freezers, and allegedly breaks
    other games that use BLIND rooms for some other purpose.
    
    Based on 37c8fcf06b34f57ad9f06b060acdcbe37521cc32 but with changes to
    REALITY_LEVELS support.

diff --git a/mux/game/text/help.txt b/mux/game/text/help.txt
index af4df527..1cb90c5f 100644
--- a/mux/game/text/help.txt
+++ b/mux/game/text/help.txt
@@ -5021,10 +5021,15 @@ BLIND
 
   FLAG: BLIND(B)
 
-  This flag suppresses the '<who> has arrived.' and '<who> has left.' messages.
-  When set on a player, the messages caused by their movement are suppressed.
-  When set on a location, the messages for everyone entering or leaving that
-  location are suppressed.
+  When set on an object that can move, the '<object> has arrived.',
+  '<object> has left.', and '<object> goes home' messages that would normally
+  be generated and delivered to the new and old locations are suppressed.
+
+  When set on an object with location, the '<object> has arrived.',
+  '<object> has left.', '<object> goes home', '<player> has connected.',
+  '<player> has disconnected.', and '<player> has partially disconnected.'
+  messages are that would normally be generated and delivered to everyone at
+  that location are suppressed.
 
   This flag can only be set by Wizards.
 
diff --git a/mux/src/move.cpp b/mux/src/move.cpp
index eb481dac..901107a7 100644
--- a/mux/src/move.cpp
+++ b/mux/src/move.cpp
@@ -676,7 +676,9 @@ void do_move(dbref executor, dbref caller, dbref enactor, int eval, int key, UTF
 
         if (  (loc = Location(executor)) != NOTHING
            && !Dark(executor)
-           && !Dark(loc))
+           && !Dark(loc)
+           && !Blind(executor)
+           && !Blind(loc))
         {
             // Tell all
             //
diff --git a/mux/src/netcommon.cpp b/mux/src/netcommon.cpp
index d389d5a1..1b0a60ee 100644
--- a/mux/src/netcommon.cpp
+++ b/mux/src/netcommon.cpp
@@ -1058,25 +1058,15 @@ static void announce_connect(dbref player, DESC *d)
     int key = MSG_INV;
     if (  loc != NOTHING
        && !(  Hidden(player)
-           && Can_Hide(player)))
+           && Can_Hide(player))
+       && !Blind(loc))
     {
         key |= (MSG_NBR | MSG_NBR_EXITS | MSG_LOC | MSG_FWDLIST);
     }
 
     dbref temp = mudstate.curr_enactor;
     mudstate.curr_enactor = player;
-#ifdef REALITY_LVLS
-    if (NOTHING == loc)
-    {
-        notify_check(player, player, buf, key);
-    }
-    else
-    {
-        notify_except_rlevel(loc, player, player, buf, 0);
-    }
-#else
     notify_check(player, player, buf, key);
-#endif // REALITY_LVLS
     atr_pget_str_LEN(buf, player, A_ACONNECT, &aowner, &aflags, &nLen);
     CLinearTimeAbsolute lta;
     dbref zone, obj;
@@ -1206,22 +1196,12 @@ void announce_disconnect(dbref player, DESC *d, const UTF8 *reason)
         key = MSG_INV;
         if (  loc != NOTHING
            && !(  Hidden(player)
-               && Can_Hide(player)))
+               && Can_Hide(player))
+           && !Blind(loc))
         {
             key |= (MSG_NBR | MSG_NBR_EXITS | MSG_LOC | MSG_FWDLIST);
         }
-#ifdef REALITY_LVLS
-        if (NOTHING == loc)
-        {
-            notify_check(player, player, buf, key);
-        }
-        else
-        {
-            notify_except_rlevel(loc, player, player, buf, 0);
-        }
-#else
         notify_check(player, player, buf, key);
-#endif // REALITY_LVLS
 
         if (mudconf.have_mailer)
         {
@@ -1354,22 +1334,12 @@ void announce_disconnect(dbref player, DESC *d, const UTF8 *reason)
         key = MSG_INV;
         if (  loc != NOTHING
            && !(  Hidden(player)
-               && Can_Hide(player)))
+               && Can_Hide(player))
+           && !Blind(loc))
         {
             key |= (MSG_NBR | MSG_NBR_EXITS | MSG_LOC | MSG_FWDLIST);
         }
-#ifdef REALITY_LVLS
-        if (NOTHING == loc)
-        {
-            notify_check(player, player, mbuf, key);
-        }
-        else
-        {
-            notify_except_rlevel(loc, player, player, mbuf, 0);
-        }
-#else
         notify_check(player, player, mbuf, key);
-#endif // REALITY_LVLS
         raw_broadcast(MONITOR, T("GAME: %s has partially disconnected."),
             Moniker(player));
         free_mbuf(mbuf);

If you aren't using my fork (which now has a few other rather invasive changes)-- then THAT patch there is your best bet.

Quick explanation: Brazil got the ifdefs for reality_lvls wrong and the result is it emits a bunch of extra messages if your game is built with them. He disagreed, and cited incompatibility with other game(s)-- likely Firan, but I haven't talked to anyone on that side and didn't immediately see what the conflict would be. In any case, the patch is certainly compatible with new games that want this behavior, so there it is.

@Three-Eyed-Crow said in What do you WANT to play most?:

Original theme sci-fi. Though I'd also just like to see some not-overdone sci-fi, like something based off Star Trek or a newer property like The Expanse.

More harder sci-fi too... Blue Planet, Eclipse Phase, etc.

@Ghost said in What do you WANT to play most?:

Matrix

Only if you retcon that stupid "humans are for heat because we don't understand basic thermodynamics lol" nonsense in the movies.

Farscape

Playable ships?

Conan

By CROM! I have more fondness for that IP than I should. Somewhat helpfully, it has a rich history of trading hands through the years so likely it's easier to avoid infringement claims than you'd think-- much like the Cthulhu mythos, it has been fanfic'd for over a hundred years.

Street Fighter

...but why? Freaking capcommunists.

If you want to make a mush out of a fighting game, then you should

LET MORTAL KOMBAT BEGIN! *Gongggg* o/~ test your MIGHT o/~

Horror that isn't WoD

Hell yes. I'd love to see a game set in the world of the Laundry Files (Charles Stross)-- there's even an RPG book for it already. It's fantastically detailed and appeals to me thematically in a great many ways.

Problem is, as has been pointed out to me repeatedly... this devolves to a bureaucratic infighting simulator if you take it to anything larger than tabletop.

Dark, original fantasy theme

We don't need more song of ice&fire clones.

Interestingly, several people found this odd tangent as interesting as I did and informed me of the usage "blank" carbon-copy; I'm still not sure which is most prevalent, but both blank and blind carbon-copy do appear to be used and used interchangeably.

Per Wikipedia, "Ralph Wedgwood obtained the first patent for carbon paper in 1806."

So. I guess we can celebrate 209 years of cc and bcc, at least as used for office political shenanigans.

Oh, I can think of plenty of bad things to say about Texas.

But that's true of most places. As a young child, I rode through the panhandle, which was an endless waste of desert, road, and 'Don't mess with Texas' signs. As an adult, I realize-- it gets better.

I've only really spent time in IAH flying to various places, and a week or so in Austin. Austin is really nice and the people are great. I could be pretty happy there. Texas has never really felt 'south' to me; I lived for a while in Tennessee, and have spent many weeks in Georgia, Virginia, and others over the years. Texas is different.

I don't like most of the Texas politicians that we hear about from outside-- but I understand that the news being what the news is, we really only hear about the crazies.

Comparing it to China is pretty absurd. Texas can be ugly. China is a shithole. Even with China though, I know individual people there and they are wonderful.

I sure as hell don't want to debate you on gun control. No one ever wins those arguments. (Disclosure: am armed and would apply for ccw if it were feasible in my county).

@Cobaltasaurus

Hmmmm. public makes it accessible outside the class, rather than just inside. Good. void makes it return nothing. Good. () after the name means it takes no parameters. Good.

But without static, it's an instance method-- that is, you'd need to invoke it on an object of the class holding that method. If you want it to work without having an instance of that class, it'd be a public static void, much like the traditional main.

Also... the . after println seems very odd to me. Best recommendation: try compiling it and watch what happens. Never hand anything in without trying it.

The Kowloon Walled City, in the late 80s or early 90s. In 1987, the demolition was announced. Imagine how much more difficult the forced evictions of the 90s would have been if the residents included vampires and the like.

As others have said though, the details are critical for providing a reasonably diverse set of RP locations and solid sense of atmosphere. I don't think I have the data to provide the details.

@ThatOneDude said:

@Glitch I love the Black Company books by Glen Cook (though its not urban fantasy). The book Three Shades of Night (nWoD Fiction) is pretty good too. I'm a huge Dresden Files fan so I'd recommend those as well.

I highly recommend is more recent series, The Instrumentalities of the Night. (Tyranny of the Night, Lord of the Silent Kingdom, Surrender to the Will of the Night, Working Gods' Mischief, so far) It's got most of the good features of the Black Company but in a very different (and astonishingly) more detailed world based around medieval Europe and the Palestine. Summary: Fantasy, Humans conquering Gods.

@Cirno

Yep. A lot of people say a lot of things. The past is the past-- but it is really important that we all study it so that we don't have to repeat it. tl;dr it sucked and pretty much everyone did horrible stuff. Kinda makes me wary of what we're doing now that is that bad.

Do various minorities of various types and designations "deserve" some sort of assistance? I dunno. That's an ethical and psychosocial engineering question that is pretty far outside my field. Ally yourself with whoever you like! I generally do favor various types of social incentives to promote diversity and better knowledge and understanding-- but I think helping others in general is a good idea, independent of social barriers or past crimes.

Do I feel responsible for what happened before I was born? No. If people want to blame me for it, fine; that lets me know they are a dumbass that much sooner. Stupidity is one of the human universals that seems to transcend all social groups.

I do feel responsible for humans in general. We're all stuck here and should do what we can to make the world better. Sometimes that meshes with minority interest, sometimes it doesn't.

She also explains why mixed-race people are A Threat To Society.

I think being of mixed heritage is a wonderful thing-- but. I utterly loathe the concept of pride in these things. Self confidence and respect? Sure; those are good. Pride? What the hell for? Taking credit for your parents boning is absurd. Now, taking credit for being an awesome person despite whatever that you might have been through? That's great, but I've seen way too much of the former.

According to some black women, tall blonde athletic white women are The Face Of Evil Itself. 

Evil can be pretty sexy.

I'm no Christian, but, apparently, according to our black sisters, Satan Herself is a white woman.

Actually, I know some pretty entertaining Urban Fantasy / Paranormal Romance that... well, explores that. (Not the race questions, but focusing on the adventures of a female demon...) Check out Debra Dunbar's Imp series. Most entertaining.

@tragedyjones said:

@Chime is an amazing (and amazingly busy) person who provides awesome and stable hosting for these games to live on.

Thanks! Just had a major change of things at work so maybe stuff will get better. I'm hoping, at least.

@Thenomain said:

I really don't want to be singled out for helping code things.

Preach!

I code WoD, which is one of the most convoluted, intricate, and annoying system I've ever coded. 7th Sea was a hundred times easier to code, and I imagine D&D is likewise. I want people to rely more on simple systems and creativity than this kind of thing, but here we are.

Preach!

I rather hate that people rely this heavily on code to make a game. It makes the barrier of entry so damn high, and I promised @Chime that if she made her Modernized Moo, I would code all over it. I think she's calling it Squidcat. Or Squishy. I don't know, but I want it.

Squids are THUGS of the SEA. I prefer octopodes. Or cuttlefish-- they are pretty cute too. I like nautiluses in theory, but the simpler eye kinda weirds me out. The fantastically bizarre vision capabilities of octopuses and cuttlefish are half the attraction.

And no; I've had various stabs at it codenamed various things over the years. Initially, I'd been looking for something short, simple, and starting with MU. I discovered fairly quickly that TinyMuff might be interpreted somewhat differently by other people.

If I finish up the Lua-based prototype I have, it'll be called TinyMoon. I don't forsee myself finishing a js-based solution, though I made some work down that direction; had a C++ prototype using V8 back before nodejs was really a thing; it had a fair bit of thought spent on scalable high-performance attributed strings (e.g. color specifications and other markup, but generalized in the way that only bored compsci people can...). It was called TinyMuut, but I don't think I'll be continuing it.

I have a fork of MOO somewhere that adds a variety of functional-programming concepts for stacked list processing functions and essentially most of the good stuff that a proper lambda form would offer. Awkwardly, the MOO VM makes it a bit difficult to really do that right, as functions aren't first class objects and specifying anonymous closures as tiny moo-forks tacked onto the end gets messy. Really messy, considering MOO needs to decompile the bytecode back into sourcecode to show it.

I also want a hot librarian nerd girlfriend.

...I can see the appeal.

My baseline for code legibility is @Cobaltasaurus. For everyone who says, "I don't understand code," I point to her. She was still saying it when she coded +events. When I was coding WoD stuff, I would point her to things and say, "Does this make sense?" If it did, I was on the right track.

That's reasonable. I gave up on making things understandable a long time ago, though. Instead, I aim to make the code understandable by me when I look at it in the future. Toward that end, code should be clean, concise, and move like poetry. These are sometimes often conflicting goals.

@thenomain said in Um...What?:

Me: I...what? Did I Kickstart something and completely forget about it?

I'm glad I'm not the only one that does that ._.

Hi! Fixed reachwiki. Sorry about the trouble.