(Message inbox:80) Return-Path: vexar@watserv.ucr.edu Received: from mail.fwi.uva.nl by gene.fwi.uva.nl with SMTP (5.65c(FWI)/3.0) id AA08910; Mon Feb 15 08:03:04 1993 Received: by mail.fwi.uva.nl from watserv.ucr.edu with SMTP (5.65c(FWI)/3.0) id AA15642; Tue, 16 Feb 1993 01:09:38 +0100 Received: from watnxt14 by watserv.ucr.edu (NX5.67c/NX3.0M) id AA01645; Mon, 15 Feb 93 16:03:06 -0800 From: Joe C Solinsky Message-Id: <9302160003.AA01645@watserv.ucr.edu> Received: by watnxt14.ucr.edu (NX5.67c/NX3.0X) id AA00378; Mon, 15 Feb 93 16:03:04 -0800 Date: Mon, 15 Feb 93 16:03:04 -0800 Received: by NeXT.Mailer (1.87.1) Received: by NeXT Mailer (1.87.1) To: Regenesis@watserv.ucr.edu Subject: more ideas and such for the restructuring Hello, fellow Scheppers! I thought that as long as we are building new ideas to think about before the 19th, I would put in my two cents worth. It is my opinion that BSXmud has some definite strengths, but that the compiled look of the game is not really up to par for the average user. What I mean by that is it isn't 'cushy' enough. I would bet that if we tried to appeal to players that don't necessarily have programming skills, we would have a great deal more support. As the unoffical Public Relations person for the game (as in I tackle the advertising, and any questions that result from interested parties), I have to say that I have personally seen at least 15 people pass my way asking for help on the game. One guy (I won't say who) couldn't understand that if you don't have a telnet command on your unix machine, you can't really enjoy the game. I was sorry to tell him that it could not be played through the mail. He didn't like that, and he was sure that there was a way to play it through the mail. I told him that the screen updates were in less than a second, and he realized that his concerns about using a mail protocol might not be well founded, given the recent bit of info I shared with him. With examples like these (most from people a little less clueless, I might add), it is clear to me that playing the game requires some work for the user. That should be expected, but should it also require the player to know how to compile and debug a program? We would really loosen some of our players into joining if the game was easier to start up. One way to do this would be to have all the new players register via mail, emphasizing that the whole process of starting up the game and all is not one that they should have to do in shadows. I realize that this sounds a great deal like leading people by the hand, but what's wrong with that? Disney movies are things that people who are not technical in the artistic sense can enjoy, some even at ages so young that they miss the plot details or subtle humor. Those movies always have things like sight gags and slapstick, so why not make our game appealing at such a base level? I suspect that Regenesis started from the mind of a programmer (with artistic inclinations). If this bothers anyone, remember, I can't PROVE you are a programmer, I can only deduce it for myself. The problem is that it appears as if it was also designed FOR a programmer, since there is a definite lack of support for details of the game. My personal favorite detail that I would like to see improved is the whole dial-up situation. If someone doesn't know how to play the game, and they just dial-up without a client, they may not know that they are missing a massive portion of the game. There should be a little event trap that catches people who don't use a client when they log in, and then after they have played without it, they get a massive letter in the mail telling them what they missed, and how they can use it the next time. Perhaps the best way to handle this would be a questionaire. The new user logs in (after being told that if he doesn't have a character yet, he is going to go through the process of building one), then he is asked the specifics of his machine that he is using, namely, if he is logging in from school, work, or remotely, and then he is informed of the availability/ unavailability of a client for his machine. Example: Welcome to Regenesis! by Bram Stolk, etc. please enter your character's name at the prompt. If you do not have a character, enter in a name for a new character and answer the questions that follow. Name: Wolverine is the name of a new player. Welcome, Wolverine! Please tell us what machine you are using: : The NeXT is not a computer we support on the Regenesis site. Do you have access to any other workstations? : Here is the list of available operating systems that we support: 1. Xwindows11 2. Sparc ....and so on.... Enter in which machine you have access to, or type 'n' for none. : Well, Wolverine, you still have a few options. Do you have a personal Computer? : Please enter which machine you have: 1. Amiga WB 1.3 2. Amiga WB 2.0 3. Amiga AGA (A1200, A4000) 4. IBM with CGA graphics 5. IBM with Windows 6. Macintosh 7. other : <1> The Amiga is a fine machine, Wolverine. Fortunately, we support it as a front end for the Regenesis game. [goto *] :<4> The IBM is a widely used computer, so naturally, we support it as a front end for the Regenesis game. [goto *] :<7> I'm sorry, Wolverine, these are the only machines that we support right now. But, we will include your name and mailing address on a list, so that we may inform you of any updates in system support. Keep in touch with our public relations mangager, vexar@watserv.ucr.edu, and he will keep you informed about the game. In the meantime, please tell us which machines you do have access to, so that we may include them in a poll to decide for which machine we should concentrate on developing a client next. Computer name: Well, Wolverine, that is definitely a machine we will consider for making a client, and again, we appologize for not supporting it. Thank you for investigating Regenesis, Wolverine, and we hope to contact you soon. [*] The client for your Amiga is available by FTP from the following site: lysator.liu.se in the directory /pub/lpmud/bsx. Are you familar with what FTP is? : FTP is the abbreviation for File Transfer Protocol.... If you are not sure if you know how to use FTP, or if your server does not support FTP, or if you cannot easily get the file to your home computer that you wish to use as the front end for the game, contact stolk@fwi.uva.nil using your server's mail program, and he will assist you in getting the client set up for your machine. Thank you for investigating Regenesis, Wolverine, and we hope to contact you soon. *********************** Well, as you can see, that is a great deal more wordy, but people like being talked to, not informed. Have I made my argument? Obviously, this block of text is not necessarily entirely accurate (although the Amiga is a fine machine), but it is what I was talking about when I said 'look' of the game. Obviously, a programmer doesn't need all that text, but I would be accurate in saying that most of our new players or potential players are not the programming type. As for the remainder of the look of the game, I think that there needs to be a certain unity to the game, although I think that the space cabs are a good place to start. I have no qualms with the artwork, especially the work of The Captain, but I am saying that there should be a little more in the way of utilities. Example: There is a phone booth on Earth, right? Why not make it ring if it senses a new player? The new player will obviously be curious about it. Chances are that a decent player would figure out how to walk around and manipulate a few things. That phone booth could be the essential help station of the game. Players could go there and they could ask questions on the telephone, and with a little advanced interpretative skills, maybe they could be helped by the telephone. If someone is helped by a seasoned player, it would make sense that they would go to that player for more help. If there was a telephone database, they would go to that database. Admittedly, they could also use the command-line help database, but we would have a real cut above game if there was a certain structure to it all. Also, the concept of using tools and objects deserves some talk. I am willing to bet that people have found crud littering the streets of Regenesis, the least of which would be the newspaper. Why wasn't the newspaper in a vending machine (like Voyager's soda machine)? Why was the red ring lying on the ground? Shouldn't it be in a glass case or something? If the objects are more realistically set, there may be more of a logic to the game. A good example of this is the post office. That is the only place to buy a stamp and an envelope. It is tedious, but it is also very, very realistic (unless someone opens up a stationery store!). I think the most appealing thing about this game is the ability to create and store. We should add a simple "apartment complex" for all the new users. Set it up on Earth, and make a routine that starts with a ground floor of a fixed width and length, and then as new users are added, more apartments are built. There would be hallways and stairs and elevators, as well as personal mail boxes and private room keys and a computerized desk clerk. I don't think that there is a game yet that has our kind of appeal. Let me explore this apartment thing a bit more: as the apartment grows in height, why not make it look taller from the outside? Just add on a room-sized box with a window, and voila, you now have an accurate way of counting how many players are in the game. Heck, as long as we are talking ideas, why not make lights appear in the windows, so we know who is playing? I can see people wandering around the surrounding gardens of the apartment, looking up at the windows... It is just hilarious to think about it! Oh, and one last thing: if someone makes a drawing program for the Amiga, I volunteer to do any artwork requested, as well as any animations (since that is my trade). I can't program very well yet, so I cannot offer that as a service. But, I did solve the Towers of Hanoi problem of recursion, so I can't be that hopeless! My fingers are bleeding, so I had best not type anymore... -Joe Solinsky vexar@watserv.ucr.edu