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121 lines
5 KiB
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On MUX and Softcode: A brief overview
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=====================================
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Evennia was originally created in order to provide a MUX/MUSH-style
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development environment without the kludgery of softcode. Although it
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has since grown to be adaptable to any style of MU``*`` it still ships
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with 'MUX-like' default commands.
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This document will provide a quick overview of what softcode is, why it
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drove us to write Evennia, and why we instead use Python.
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Softcode is a very simple programming language that was created for
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in-game development on TinyMUD derivatives such as MUX, PennMUSH,
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TinyMUSH, and RhostMUSH. The idea is that by providing a stripped down,
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minimalistic language for in-game use, you can allow quick and easy
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building and game development to happen without having to learn C/C++.
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There is an added benefit of not having to have to hand out shell access
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to all developers, and permissions can be used to alleviate many
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security problems.
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Writing and installing softcode is done through a MUD client. As is
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such, it is not a formatted language. Each softcode function is a single
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line of varying size. Some functions can be a half of a page long due to
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this, which is obviously not very readable. The lack of formatting is
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one of the big reasons Evennia exists today. Bigger projects tend to
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choke under their own weight after time unless your entire staff has a
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good understanding of functional programming practices.
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Examples of Softcode
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--------------------
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Here is a simple 'Hello World!' command:
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::
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@set me=HELLO_WORLD.C:$hello:@pemit %#=Hello World!
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Pasting this into a MUX/MUSH and typing 'hello' will theoretically yield
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'Hello World!', assuming certain flags are not set on your player
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object.
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Setting attributes is done via ``@set``. Softcode also allows the use of
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the ampersand (``&``) symbol. This shorter version looks like this:
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::
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&HELLO_WORLD.C me=$hello:@pemit %#=Hello World!
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Perhaps I want to break the Hello World into an attribute which is
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retrieved when emitting:
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::
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&HELLO_VALUE.D me=Hello World
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&HELLO_WORLD.C me=$hello:@pemit %#=[v(HELLO_VALUE.D)]
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The v() function returns the HELLO\_VALUE.D attribute on the object that
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the command resides (``me``, which is yourself in this case). This
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should yield the same output as the first example.
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If you are still curious about how Softcode works, take a look at some
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external resources:
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- http://www.tinymux.com/wiki/index.php/Softcode
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- http://www.duh.com/discordia/mushman/man2x1
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Problems with Softcode
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----------------------
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Softcode is excellent at what it was intended for: simple things. It is
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an incredible tool if used for its intended purposes - an interactive
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object, a room with ambiance, simple global commands, simple economies
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and coded systems. However, once you start to try to write something
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like a complex combat system or a higher end economy, you're likely to
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find yourself buried under a mountain of functions that span various
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objects and are of various length.
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Not to mention, softcode is not an inherently fast language. It is not
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compiled, it is parsed with each calling of a function. While MUX and
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MUSH parsers have jumped light years ahead of where they were even seven
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or eight years ago, they can still stutter under the weight of the more
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complex systems if not designed properly.
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Changing Times
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--------------
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Now that starting text-based games is easy and an option for even the
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most technically inarticulate, new projects are a dime a dozen. People
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are starting new MUDs every day with varying levels of commitment and
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ability. Because of this shift from fewer, larger, well-staffed games to
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a bunch of small, one or two developer games, some of the benefit of
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softcode fades.
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Softcode is great in that it allows a mid to large sized staff all work
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on the same game without stepping on one another's toes. As mentioned
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before, shell access is not necessary to develop a MUX or a MUSH.
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However, now that we are seeing a lot more small, one or two-man shops,
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the issue of shell access and stepping on each other's toes is a lot
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less.
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Our Solution
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============
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For the hobbyist who would like the option to use a full-featured
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language, we created Evennia. We are no longer bound to single lines of
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softcode. Game developers now have access to the entire library of
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Python modules out there in the wild. Our complex systems may be
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organized neatly into modules, sub-modules, or even broken out into
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entire Python packages.
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So what is *not* included in Evennia is a MUX/MOO-like online player
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building system. Advanced coding and building in Evennia is primarily
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intended to be done outside the game, in full-fledged Python modules. We
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feel that with a small development team you are better off using a
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professional source-control system (svn, git, bazaar, mercurial etc)
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anyway.
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There is of course nothing stopping you from adding very advanced online
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building commands to Evennia (or even re-implement MUX' softcode in
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Python should you be very ambitious), but at this time this is not
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something planned to come with he core distribution.
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