Hmm. First update thoughts: I'm considering on a way to figure out 'blocking' in MUSHCODE. I could easily end a block when the text reaches the classic attribute/command prefixes (& @, maybe +) But what about custom commands without a prefix? Or a prefix convention that's entirely new? I wonder if I should make the delimiter '-' optional, or create a tag to designate running a softcode command (#cmd <code>, etc) so the formatter knows not to roll it up into the previous. Hmm.
Hi gang! It's been a little while! I've been tasked to learn a couple of new technologies for work, so I've been working on a couple of tools for the MU world.
First up is MU-Format, a javascript library that handles minifying MUSHCode with some added bonuses like file inclusion and (soon) run-time variables and functions for taking care of pesky tasks like swapping out dbref numbers, or scripting repetitive tasks. I put together a little site to play with the library: https://mu-format-dev.herokuapp.com. It's a development build so it may take a moment to load initially, but should be good to go after that.
Be gentle with the Github feature, I haven't added oAuth yet to use your own quotas, so we're limited to 60 API calls an hour (for now). I have a garbage archive I've been using for testing that you can use for proof of concept: https://github.com/lcanady/archive-test. Don't try to read it as an actual system, it's random code files that I've strung together. I'll have something more substantial soon - or maybe YOU!
Anyways, let me know what you think! Lots of feedback is very welcome. 
@sparks Okay, thanks! That makes my life much easier.
I need to make a react app to learn the framework a little better. I have a theory that I can do fun stuff with React JS and Node that could actually make use of that ole' MXP/Pueblo protocol since custom XML like elements are the new hot thing (again), especially with React.
HOWEVER! I can't quite figure out the communication sequence for settling if the client supports Pueblo or not, and have the HTML flag turned on automagically.
I could always just send a @set me = HTML but you don't choose MUX for the easy way, no do you?
@skew said in WoD Games in the Works:
Which I just realized I wrote that pretty backwards as the two important pieces of information are above. Crescent Moon Mux and City of Shadows, both WoD 2E games that have stalled(?).
Kind of! We collectively decided to take a break till after the holidays blew over. We all got hit with RL responsibilities it seems like. You know how it goes! We're not far from soft opening, we just need... staff honestly. Pretty much the same problem others are having I'm starting to notice!
That being said, if you're reading this and interested in helping out? Join the discord channel: https://discord.gg/F7ZZT8p I'm Ghede there, and normally online (though slow most times). I'd love to talk! </shamelessPlug>
I'm really glad I brought this up here before starting anything. The feedback is awesome!
@faraday said in How would you format a log for publishing?:
It's been done, most (in?)famously by Otherspace back in the day.
The rights issues are the obvious stumbling block there. Otherspace had an advantage in that the world, at least, was original. Trying to do that with a Game of Thrones or Star Trek MU would be begging for a lawsuit. But a lot of people (including me) were very uncomfortable with the idea that playing on a game meant their characters/stories/writing were fair game for someone else to publish.
I agree completely, now that It's been brought up. While the idea of publishing things is fun, the rights thing would be a nightmare - especially for non-original IP games.
As far as formatting goes - I think MU wikis / log formatters take the general approach of making it seem like regular fiction. I.e. no pose breaks or other intrusive formatting. Just the text, ma'am.
Where I think it really breaks down is that MU scenes don't hang together like regular fiction does. There's neither an overarching story arc like you'd find in a novel, nor the stand-alone stories that you'd find in a short story anthology.
What do you think of the Storium style formatting of collaborative fiction? It reads like a PbP, but it formats so that it's easy to follow PbP, with the art and character portraits and what not. I haven't looked into Ares a whole lot, but you're doing something similar with your scene system? The addition of visuals to break up the walls of text?
@three-eyed-crow said in How would you format a log for publishing?:
@mietze said in How would you format a log for publishing?:
However, I would never play on a mush that would take my writing pieces and then publish them to make money for someone else and that would give the rights away in that format to a third party publisher. I am not knocking people that would. However, because I do write for my own pleasure, and sometimes elements of what I'm writing influence my RP or vice versa, I would not want the challenges/entanglements should I ever get up the guts to seek to publish any of my personal work in the future.
Yeah, I'll admit my first reaction to this is 'god there are a billion rights issues once you involve money and publishing beyond a game site that I would never, ever want to touch, including informing all players and staffers upfront of what you wanted to do and getting their permission' etc etc.
And this is totally why I brought it up here. I didn't even consider the rights problems! What about formatting to share through social media or the likes? I'm interested in ways we can do more with our logs then just store them (guilty! )
I've been mulling over an idea for adding more focus on the end product of RP, the collaborative fiction that we create. I want to interact with logs as short stories that could compile into anthologies (I think?) and ultimately being able to share them in.. any format really, So I thought - What about something that you could put on Amazon? While I love writing and RPing, my developer's brain is always looking for things to solve. Mainly that's how to spread the word about Mu*, and I could really truly use some advice from actual writers and enthusiasts.
As the title says, what kind of formatting would you do on a raw log to make it Kindle ready? How would you group those scenes to make a short story format for an appealing read for the uninitiated as well as the community as a whole? Is that possible to do?
I think self-publishing stuff would feel like an accomplishment! An actual thing I've made with my friends doing this thing I love. And hell, what if I can make a little pocket change doing it? Not that I'd expect too, but the prospect of finished work is fun! Plus games could 'tag' the fiction - a line/link at the bottom, or like a last page 'ad' or something.
I'm mulling over if this is something that can be done automatically with things like pose breaks, and inserting author names at creation and just feeding raw text into a script - or if this would have to be a tool that includes an editor and doing something like Markdown to format the logs, and maybe giving access to some basic spelling/grammar check tools - but I honestly think Google Docs and browser extensions have that pretty covered.
Any ideas or insights would be amazing! If I do have the opportunity to do something with the project, It would be open source and MIT. I'm more interested in advertising the art of collaborative fiction, and drawing people into the hobby! so what's been tried before? What's worked for you and what hasn't? What are your thoughts on formatting for a more professional polish? I look forward to the discussion!
@auspice said in What drew you to MU*?:
I'm trying rolegate after someone posted it here because woo! finally getting to play D&D!
And our ST just sort of faded out. He'd reply often at first! Then once a day.. then every few days... I've considered finding another game to join on it, but. Oi.
Another problem with the PBEM model, if one important person goes missing the whole story crumbles. I love how MU*s can continue and even thrive as individuals are active or not. The possibilities for storylines are endless!
@faraday I completely agree. Pacing is super important for me as well. I tried to run a Storium game for a little while, but sometimes the time between posts was so long, I'd start loose idea/story momentum until people would just sort of fizzle out.
@arkandel said in What drew you to MU*?:
Let's test this. Let's say all of General Your's friends retired tonight; there are still MUSHes around but they're all ran and played by strangers.
Do you start over? Go and make new friends? Or would it be likely you'd float away from the hobby?
I know that, before I took my break from the hobby I'd become jaded with some of the people I kept running into. I think my experience would have actually been better had there been a fresh crowd around my preferred 'series' of games. Now that I'm having to start making new friends in the community (most of mine have retired or moved on), I'm learning new things about MU*ing general.
What I'm trying to somehow determine - which is a fool's errand of course - is how much of MU*ing is a habit we've built, a social engagement we're in for the community, or if it's the unique combination of factors that many have already pointed out (the persistent world, opportunity to write in collaboration with others, etc) that's primarily responsible for keeping us going.
I, like a bunch of us, suffer from crippling social anxiety. Online is honestly how I really make my friends. So I would say yes, a big part of why I keep coming back is the opportunity to meet people and grow a social network that I couldn't manage, RL. It's always fun meeting new people to potentially build fiction with, especially when your writing styles just click well. I think it's a balance of both, community and persistent world, fiction building. Without one, you wouldn't have the other.
Also... coincidence. So many of our stories that I've read over the years boiled down to that one guy who showed us that one MU* back in the day, and we got stuck... but who knows what would have happened if that guy had been sick that day and we hadn't had that conversation.
I think that time is changing. I know I was introduced by my best friend in early HS to the world of MU*s myself. With the right server/client/advertising-spin combo and take mobile connections/interface/use cases into account? It's easier to find new ways to write and game with others with app stores. No longer is it purely word of mouth.
I have to agree with @Pyrephox about the ability to see character actions affect a persistent world. I also found it to be an easier fix than waiting once a week for my gaming group - and spending the majority of the time being distracted on catching up on the week (not that it's a bad thing!).
Then there's the web development side. MUX gave me one of my first real tastes in network programming. If not for MU* I may have never taken Computer Science in high-school and kick-started my programming career.
Participating in persistent settings is fun, creating persistent settings, to me, is even more drawing.
@runescryer I've heard some buzz about Savage Rifts, but I haven't had the time to read the rules. My knee-jerk response to that question is Macross Saga, my favorite. But, I'm going to go out on a limb and say Invid Invasion because the world is so open and vaguely defined - and way open to interpretation. Robotech + Post-apocalyptic Survival? Could be some interesting stories there!
@jinshei A super valid concern. Ultimately you need staff unafraid to say no and have a log submission and approval policy in place before allowing stories to go public and represent the game's fiction I think.
@jinshei I'm wondering how well I'd be able to get away with using the DFA's Scale rules (You pointed me towards!) without coming under fire, for settings where there's an obvious imbalance between power tiers.
Do you think Fate Accelerated is too abstract for new players or just the right amount of rules to get one's feet wet in the Fate universe? When I get to actual system coding, I'm going to give the setup choice between Core and Accelerated depending on what the particular game wants. Coding both versions won't be that hard once the general logic is done.
Right now I'm /really/ leaning towards Accelerated for its extra abstraction of rules, which I feel adds to the importance of story. But then I think 'what about Core with Skill modes?' (https://fate-srd.com/atomic-robo/modes) That might make people's lives easier! Granted, the same thing could be accomplished by setting your 'approaches' to represent career choices, but definitely not as granular which some might find more fulfilling.
By the way, if you haven't found it yet, fate-srd.com for those not in the know. It's THE BEST Fate Site IMHO, and can either just be referenced, or pretty much copied to your wiki (I believe).
What do you guys think? What would be the easiest transition for the FATE newbie?
@bobotron Oh good point. Hell, I'd be happy with Robotech, or some other space opera, Mecha optional - but preferred.
@wyrdathru said in Fate Development Thread:
With that all said, what are the major benefits to Fate over Fudge? I noticed there were a few additives to the system, but for my needs they were not particularly necessary. Has anyone got any first hand experience using the systems to compare what makes Fate better, friendlier, etc?
I view Fate to Fudge the same way I view a framework to a programing language. The language itself might be vast and powerful with TONS of features, but a framework gives you a set of directions to use those vast features as a set of best practices - and sometimes, abstracts the language into a format that easier to digest. I feel that Fate does the same thing for Fudge.
For some, Fudge might be a dream, it's hella open and vast in its possibilities, but Fate has created several 'design patterns' and best practices if you will, for Fudge, that works pretty damn well. The Fate Fractal? Brilliant.
I haven't had any experience personally running it online yet, but I feel the 'challenge' for using a Fudge-based derivative is onboarding and educating new players to the system. It really is different than most of what's popular out there and being used currently. I think it'll be all about presentation.
@ganymede I've been dreaming of making a Macross themed place for YEARS, I just never thought there'd be the player base for it.