Vanilla Netrek Server Development Archive
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[VANILLA-L:886] Re: [VANILLA-L:884] they're playing our song...
On Sat, 6 Jun 1998, Tom Holub wrote:
> We are once again a couple weeks away from the start of an INL season,
> so it's again time to ask--what's the status of the INL Robot? I know
> at least we have some playtesting on it now, but is it ready for prime
> time?
That is an excellent question. However, I think the question is
misdirected. I think we should be the ones asking you if the INL robot is
ready.
I'm not sure if you are subscribed to this list. If you dont regularly
read the list, I would suggest you look through the archives and read the
messages I sent out about a month ago where I listed the known deficiencies
in the robot. (Or I can email them to you if you prefer.) As far as I
know, there is nothing in the robot that is broken. However, there are a
few features that are not available. (Most notably, the lack of PW stats.)
If these features are critical to the game, in your opinion/the INLC's
opinion, then a list of what must be done would be appreciated.
The other thing is, it may be worthwhile to adopt a policy of: "if we
declare it, they will build it." I first started hacking on the INL robot,
roughly two and a half years ago. I can only guess as to how long it lay
fallow prior to my first encounter with it. After I left, the code lay
dormant, the issue unraised, until Dave Ahn declared that he would have the
server ready for the '97 summer season. Since then the only public
exposure has been the test games I called a couple of months ago.
It seems to me, the INL robot has transcended reality and become a pseudo
netrek-myth. Sort of like, "Balton would have lived." People have heard
about it, they'd like to believe in it, but to them it is just an "old
wives tale." If the robot is brought into main-stream use, it will get
more exposure. With this exposure there is an increased likelihood that
trekers will be motivated to fix the bugs and add the features. As it
stands now, only a minute fraction of the total community is even
considering working on the code.
So, if upgrading to the INL Robot is desired (and it may very well be the
case that it isn't), I would suggest identifying what must be fixed now,
and then going with the server in a bare-bones fashion. Once the server
gets the playtesting and exposure it needs, the code for the features will
fall into place. (Or conversely, we will find out that the INL robot
wasn't desired afterall..)
-Kevin
--
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| Kevin O'Connor "BTW, IMHO we need a FAQ for |
| koconnor@acsu.buffalo.edu 'IMHO', 'FAQ', 'BTW', etc. !" |
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