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text based MMORPG

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Started by bdahlka February 29, 2008 04:55 PM

13 comments, last by Kylotan 16 years, 1 month ago

bdahlka

122

Author

February 29, 2008 04:55 PM

Before I can explain exacly the type of game I would like to build please take a look at this site http://www.mafiacorruption.com. I would like to make a text based browser game similar to this one. Different theme but the dynamics of the game would be the same. Basically I have knowlege of html, CSS, xhtml, and just recently bought some literature on PHP and MYSQL and I am getting the hang of making data bases and how to communicate with the database using PHP. I am unsure of how some of the features work such as The attack option. Basically if you attack someone with lower stats then you. You are victoriouse and are rewarded with exp points. Is this just done with "IF" and "THEN" statements or is there an easier method that I should be looking at? Please any help for this Newbie with a lot of time his hand and the patients to learn. Thanks in advance, Blake

Antheus

2,410

February 29, 2008 05:55 PM

Quote:and the patients to learn

Oh my, shouldn't patients be resting in bed? :)

Quote:just recently bought some literature on PHP and MYSQL

Both of those are good choice, but you may find that you won't be getting exactly real-time response.

Quote:Is this just done with "IF" and "THEN" statements or is there an easier method that I should be looking at

Depends. For trivial actions, you can use just that.

The "easier" here would mean manageable. As the number of interactions increase, if/then paradigm will become a nightmare to maintain.

To extend that, you'd usually resort to some form of table based actions. Have a table that contains a list of all attack moves, damage dealt, blocked, and other rules, then simply check against that. Good thing here is that in order to change the rules, you only need to change the table, even while the server is running.

Quote:Basically I have knowlege of html, CSS, xhtml

Those are good for presentation. If can manipulate DOM, you are pretty flexible already.

JWalsh

498

February 29, 2008 06:02 PM

bdahlka,

Another famous and well built text-based MMORPG is Legend of The Green Dragon, which is based on the old BBS game Legend of the Red Dragon (LoRD).

LotGD is written in PHP and uses CSS, XHTML, etc...just as you've indicated. And, fortunately for the world at large, LotGD is Open Source.

While the source may be a bit complicated to read for someone just beginning in PHP, etc...it'll definitely help you out as you become more experienced. It'll show you what's possible, stimulate your creativity, and give you a head-start in implementing a similar game of your own.

Good luck, and let us know how it comes along!

Jeromy Walsh
Sr. Tools & Engine Programmer | Software Engineer
Microsoft Windows Phone Team
Chronicles of Elyria (An In-development MMORPG)
GameDevelopedia.com - Blog & Tutorials
GDNet Mentoring: XNA Workshop | C# Workshop | C++ Workshop
"The question is not how far, the question is do you possess the constitution, the depth of faith, to go as far as is needed?" - Il Duche, Boondock Saints

bdahlka

122

Author

February 29, 2008 07:41 PM

Im not sure what you mean by Table based actions. How is this table created with a Database type application?

And as far as "not exacly real time" Why is this? Due to the lag in communication with the database?

Did you look at the example game? Is this how it was created? I looked at the script (which is still pretty intimidating) and Noticed it looks like there are tons of different databases.

I will be on here everyday untill I've got a grasp on this thing. I have an extremely boring job.

JWalsh,
Legend of the green dragon isn't really what I am talking about. That is a MUD game. I appreciate that your trying to help.

Thanks a lot

Blake

Eddy999999

134

February 29, 2008 07:58 PM

I meddled with some browser-based games using PHP/MySQL before I decided to try out C++. I found the best way to learn was to just jump in and figure out ways to do it myself. Looking back, I can see there were easier/cleaner/more efficient ways to do a lot of things, but coming up with ways to do things on my own really helped me understand exactly how it worked, rather than just copy/pasting code and only vaguely understanding it. The downside to that, however, is that it will take a lot more time and patience, but in the long run you will probably be better off. If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me. I can't say I'm anywhere near being a web developing guru, but I've been in the same spot you're in, and I can show you a couple projects I started, but never finished.

God is not all-powerful, as he cannot build a wall he cannot jump.Stelimar Website: eddy999999.ed.funpic.org/Stelimar/index.html

Eddy999999

134

February 29, 2008 08:02 PM

Quote:Original post by bdahlka
Im not sure what you mean by Table based actions. How is this table created with a Database type application?

I may be misunderstanding what he meant, but I believe what he means is that you would have a table in your database just for the different types of attacks, then in your script you would look up the requested attack in the database to find out how much damage it deals and such.

Quote:Original post by bdahlka
I looked at the script (which is still pretty intimidating) and Noticed it looks like there are tons of different databases.

You COULD get by with only a couple tables, but it makes things a ton easier to store things like item stats, attack info, mob info, etc. in tables rather than hard-coding it.

God is not all-powerful, as he cannot build a wall he cannot jump.Stelimar Website: eddy999999.ed.funpic.org/Stelimar/index.html

bdahlka

122

Author

March 03, 2008 01:23 PM

gotcha.... What free web hosting service would be recomended that supports php/mysql?