What do you want from the developers moving forward?

[Nadnerb]

Both points are correct. I've been in touch with Cyan legal about the licensing issue, and so far that hasn't been fixed.

I'm still curious though. What server did you use for testing?
It doesn't seem possible to develop a client without a server to test it against.

Yes, it was tested against the MOULa servers, No, it could not do any of the magic that the internal client can. (Without modifying and compiling it yourself, which makes this moot since you can compile plasma.internal yourself too)

[phoenix]

Shorah Explorers

I remember back when I played URU for the first time and came to grips with the beauty of the worlds we could visit, it really made an impression on me that a 3d game could be non-violent and be so playable. During that time I came to notice some very simple features which I thought were lacking which would have made URU stand out by a million yards from anything else. So now that we have the source code, I would like to offer my observations, and maybe some really cool coders out there can implement it for a writer like myself.

Online/Offline Mode
It would be very cool for URU to have a simple button inside the game or prior to launch which basically makes it go into "Offline" or "Online" mode. I think you can already see how this will help a lot of folks out there. We wont have to run separate engines, and everything could be centralised. I dont know how the client could be made to run without the server, unless the server gets built into the client, and therefore gives the explorer their own sandbox that does not need ethernet/internet functionality.

Quicker Start Up
When I create test-levels, probably a quarter of my time is getting through the intro sequences to check my work. Phew! It would be slick to have a simple way to get straight to the level without having to go through the intro clips, watching Relto load, then having to link out from Relto each time to test the level.

These two I leave with you for starters. I got more cool ideas but wont burden you guys all in one go.

Later in Uru!

Phoenix

[Annabelle]

@ Phoenix

For the intro clips it is fairly easy and everyone can disable them:

1) Open your URU Live / Until Uru / Uru CC / (whatever) Uru folder

2) Open the avi folder

3) Rename the intro.bik giving it an additional underscore mark "_" so it will become _intro.bik for some game you have 2 intro files so do them for both.

4) If and only if there is an update, you will have to redo the same 1,2 and 3 steps.

[Corvus]

The Offline KI also has a very useful command.

/autolink can automatically link you to any age when you start Uru, which is especially handy when developing/testing in an age

[nathan2055]

Now that Cyan has given us the source, the Guild programmers have lots of options for how to proceed.

As always, our goal is to create the tools and software that you the writers need in order to create your wonderful worlds. Now that we have the CyanWorlds.com Engine sources, I feel it's also our responsibility to help as many people as possible be able to enjoy your worlds, through enhancements to the engine.

Some of the first efforts we have in mind are to port the game to Mac OS X and Linux. After that, other enhancements are possible, and "the sky's the limit" so to speak. I'd like for those enhancements to be driven by the artists. That is, we'll make sure the game can do what you want to create.

One thing we're seriously considering is breaking network and PRP compatibility with Cyan's servers and data. This will allow us a wider range of options in the future. I hope that since many of you will have to re-export your ages for the CWE engine anyway, you'll be willing to work with us when we change things.


Now that that's out of the way, the question in the topic can finally be addressed: What do you want to see from us as we move forward with development?

I think a shard with all of the Fan Ages, and a free offline client, plus porting to all of the above operating systems is very important.

[D'nial]

Some of the first efforts we have in mind are to port the game to Mac OS X and Linux.

I love you.