Hello
Recently I started working on (less than 24 hours ago, actually...) a basic text-based RPG somehow incorporating LTC. I've had the idea for a while, and back weeks ago when I got into litecoins I think I mentioned it in an IRC to pooler, but it didn't really seem to go anywhere. At any rate, I decided to tune up my java skills a bit (they are still quite pathetic though :/) and try to make some kind of simple text-based RPG.
The client is currently an executable .jar file which should work automatically on most if not all systems. You can download it from
http://www.litecoinfaucet.com/RPGClient.jar. Just double-click on the jar and wait a few seconds.
At the current moment, it's very simple, but here's what (seems to be) working:
---Account Creation from Client
---Account Login from Client
---MD5 password encryption------SHA512+salt password encryption instead
---Shadow Caves monsters
---Basic combat
---Leveling
---XP Saving
---Admin panel (for admins when we get to that point...) Has the following currently:
------Leveling accounts
------Transferring Stats to new Username (Username change)
------Password change
---Account Options (Accessible to all users) Has the following currently:
------Changing Password
------Binding email (optional, but allows for account recovery, otherwise password lost = account lost... :/)
------Deposit/Withdraw LTC (coming soon!)
DeLorean and I talked on IRC about this a while last night, he brought up a really good point about databases. Currently I'm using my own database structure with making text files and reading from them, and he suggested I move over to mySQL. Currently we're still on the old .txt-based system, but pretty soon I suppose I'll figure out mySQL+Java, seems like it will be not-so-clunky. He also expressed interest in adding on to the project, which is totally awesome
(items, etc.) Thanks!!
Soon I'm going to add in some kind of quest feature to allow story-line-like quests. If anyone is interested in writing copy for this (basic storyline, etc.) that's awesome
.
Please note: Any leveling you do right now will likely not carry over as we are still working on the xp algorithms, leveling system, balancing the game, combat, etc. This is more of a pre-alpha run of the software, not pulling in aspects of game theory, etc. (none of which I know...).FAQ:
1.) How do I sign up, it says to enter a username? Ahh yes, just start up the client, enter the username you want, and it will walk you through making an account straight inside of the client window.
2.) How will LTC work in the game? I'm always open to suggestions for how they could be used here, but one idea is to use them as an internal economic system for players in addition to the normal in-game currency. LTC could be used for player trading, of items, etc. It would also be an efficient way for people to buy in-game currency from others. I don't know how the technical side of this is going to work, but I'll figure it out eventually. They may also in the future be used in things like PvP betting matches, etc. (way down the road when I can figure out how to do something like that...). I don't, at the moment, expect to charge LTC for anything like a recurring membership. Another far-fetched idea is to embed the game in a webpage, then on that webpage also have a web-based LTC miner, and have monsters randomly drop very small amounts of LTC supported by what players mine using the embedded miner.
3.) Is this Open Source?As much as I love open source, this project is not likely going to be completely open source as that would open it up to people knowing all of the quest story lines, all of the, well, everything that is mysterious in a game that adds to the fun.
If you want to know how I did something such as the UI or the networking or the Databases, I may release sections of code that don't relate to the actual gameplay elements, if someone would like.
4.) What does it run on? The game currently runs on a 0.98BTC/month VPS with a 2.4 GHz, 1 core processor, 256MB RAM, 10GB Disk Space, and 1TB/month of bandwidth. I don't know the exact bandwidth speed, but it seems to be anywhere from 50-100Mbps, suppose depending on what the other systems on the same machine (the other VPS's) at the moment are using. This game is fairly light on resources, so it seems to run fine, but we haven't had a stress-test with more than 2 players online at one time.
5.) Are there bugs?Tons. For example, one very annoying one is that, in the client, when you are typing in a number choice for an option and for whatever reason what you type in isn't valid input (can't be cast to an int) the client will freeze, and closing it can be a bit of a pain. The source code to the client is included in the jar file, so you can look at that if you wish. If you find a bug in the client, please let me know, especially if you find an easy solution to this crashing problem. I'll probably resolve this in the next few days...
6.) Server doesn't seem to be working...?The client should auto-connect to the right IP. If it doesn't seem to connect, likely I am changing something on the server. It should be back up soon.
7.) Will I lose everything I've done in-game when we update to a true alpha or beta?More than likely yes as the leveling/xp earning/etc. algorithms are subject to change a lot, so it would be unfair to allow people to have levels from an easier system (or even a harder system) carry over. However, I may put the stats you earn in this addition of the game into a "legacy" leader board (once I get leader boards working... lol).
8.) I don't like this game. Where are the graphics?Go play Runescape.
9.) Why does your code have so much clutter and so few comments? That turns out to be a really bad habit of mine (saving old code that doesn't work in comments, and not putting actual functioning comments in to tell you what is going on). Sorry.
10.) Mind if I make an improved client? Go for it!
Please bang on it and let me know what goes wrong.
BTW, do you guys think this is a good idea, or am I wasting my time?
