[MUD-Dev] Re: Alternate UOL's

["Koster, Raph" <rkoster#origin,ea.com>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: D. B. Brown [mailto:dbrown1#stny,lrun.com]
> Sent: Thursday, August 06, 1998 7:45 AM
> To: mud-dev#kanga,nu
> Subject: [MUD-Dev] Re: Alternate UOL's 
> I'm actually working on a system used as the front end of a 
> mud.  Generally,
> no more than five or six animated objects on screen at once.

In Meridian 59 I regularly saw 8-10 people on screen at one time in
social gatherings... In UO we regularly see 30-40, with peaks at over
100. In text muds I also see regularly 8-10 with peaks of 30-40 in a
single room... you're going to need to handle more. :( Some sort of LOD
(level of detail based on total poly count) or something like what
Shiny's Messiah engine is doing is really a must, but that adds
significantly to your development time.

> Not that a 3D system will be easy, but it's a better alternative than
> trying to put together a 2D system and rely on a steady art income.

Tiles are easy, really (comparatively speaking); your figures to run
around on them are the hard part. ;) Buildings fall somewhere in
between.

-Raph