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MMO Updates Part II
MMO Updates Part II
| Name: | Prairie Games |  |
|---|---|---|
| Date Posted: | Apr 10, 2007 | |
| Rating: |  4.0 out of 5 | |
| Public: | YES | |
| Comments: | YES | |
| RSS Feed: |  or Subscribe with  . | |
| Profile Page: | View profile page for Prairie Games |
Blog post
It's been another crazy few months for Prairie Games... The good news is that Minions of Mirth continues to sell very well... and we're now at nearly 40,000 registered players. That's not too bad for an OpenGL game where maybe 20% of the people who try it get a black screen and crash due to old drivers :)
It's been nearly a month since our last update. Here are a few happenings, broken into some sections.
----- Minions of Mirth - Upcoming Patch
We have a massive patch for Minions of Mirth coming within the next couple weeks. It has a whole slew of new features, content, fixes, optimizations, and other stuff. We'll be sending out a mailing about the patch once it is live.
The patch has been mostly developed by the "Community Development Group" which I discussed in a previous blog. These guys totally rock and I am constantly amazed at how fast they add high quality features to the game. For example, they've completely revamped the PvP system and it now supports Guild vs Guild, Realm vs Realm, etc. all on the same server and player selectable.
They also added a spiffy item hyperlink system for easily getting information (not unlike a certain mainstream MMO from Blizzard). You can add links to items, spells, skills, factions, etc, very easily to chat. So, no more typing item stats in :)
The patch notes are many pages long and there is some really cool stuff in there. We can't wait to get this off the test server and onto the live servers! It's not long now! :)
----- Minions of Mirth - Modding Kit
Minions of Mirth shipped with modding support. Though, it was a quite limited... the work we've been doing at the MMOWorkshop (see below) has allowed us to really boost up the game's modding support and it is now a fully moddable MMORPG!
The modding kit is intended for people who want to work on MoM or total conversions adding quests, monsters, making new zones, etc. Modders can run all the servers that are actually used for the official game (master, character, world, zone, GM, etc) it also comes with an integrated patching system. We also have a binary client and distribution builder with a handy "Minions of Mirth: Premium Edition" checker built in:
The modding kit is ready and available to be played around with right now. Though, it is in alpha and we are looking for feedback and help with it. The modding kit should be quite popular and also help bring more people into the Torque technology family. If you'd like to help us evangelize, feel free to let us know... We'll have more information (and some huge thanks) as we move into beta and release on the modding kit :)
----- MMOWorkshop.com
We've also been working on the MMOWorkshop.com site. It is primarily an integration of Trac project management, Subversion, and phpBB2 for authentication and forums. It works really well and other than needing a web designers touch, it is very functional. We have a timeline, change sets, ticket system, source browsing with revision logs, a wiki, roadmap, etc. Go ahead and check it out!!!
We've also been busy with documentation, cleaning up the sources (still a fair amount to do), releasing preview versions of the MMO Technology, and getting feedback on it all. There's a FAQ available on the site for more information, although like anything in beta/preview it is subject to change. Please pardon the dust!
----- IMGDC
Josh Ritter (the person writing this blog) will be speaking at the IMGDC on "Scalability and its Affects on Business and Design". I believe this is going to be recorded and it is the VERY FIRST time I'll be speaking in public, it should be interesting to watch :) I'm really excited for the conference and it should be a lot of fun. There should definitely be some great ideas bouncing around... and I hope some demo material too.
----- A very long engagement
Lara and I have been engaged since the move to North Dakota, founding of Prairie Games, the production of Minions of Mirth, and the year since its release. It is definitely time to put an end to this freaking engagement once and for all! We're getting married next month!! Here's the cheesy "engagement photo" that was part of the wedding photo package.
Woot!
-Josh Ritter
President
Prairie Games, Inc
http://www.prairiegames.com
It's been nearly a month since our last update. Here are a few happenings, broken into some sections.
----- Minions of Mirth - Upcoming Patch
We have a massive patch for Minions of Mirth coming within the next couple weeks. It has a whole slew of new features, content, fixes, optimizations, and other stuff. We'll be sending out a mailing about the patch once it is live.
The patch has been mostly developed by the "Community Development Group" which I discussed in a previous blog. These guys totally rock and I am constantly amazed at how fast they add high quality features to the game. For example, they've completely revamped the PvP system and it now supports Guild vs Guild, Realm vs Realm, etc. all on the same server and player selectable.
They also added a spiffy item hyperlink system for easily getting information (not unlike a certain mainstream MMO from Blizzard). You can add links to items, spells, skills, factions, etc, very easily to chat. So, no more typing item stats in :)
The patch notes are many pages long and there is some really cool stuff in there. We can't wait to get this off the test server and onto the live servers! It's not long now! :)
----- Minions of Mirth - Modding Kit
Minions of Mirth shipped with modding support. Though, it was a quite limited... the work we've been doing at the MMOWorkshop (see below) has allowed us to really boost up the game's modding support and it is now a fully moddable MMORPG!
The modding kit is intended for people who want to work on MoM or total conversions adding quests, monsters, making new zones, etc. Modders can run all the servers that are actually used for the official game (master, character, world, zone, GM, etc) it also comes with an integrated patching system. We also have a binary client and distribution builder with a handy "Minions of Mirth: Premium Edition" checker built in:
The modding kit is ready and available to be played around with right now. Though, it is in alpha and we are looking for feedback and help with it. The modding kit should be quite popular and also help bring more people into the Torque technology family. If you'd like to help us evangelize, feel free to let us know... We'll have more information (and some huge thanks) as we move into beta and release on the modding kit :)
----- MMOWorkshop.com
We've also been working on the MMOWorkshop.com site. It is primarily an integration of Trac project management, Subversion, and phpBB2 for authentication and forums. It works really well and other than needing a web designers touch, it is very functional. We have a timeline, change sets, ticket system, source browsing with revision logs, a wiki, roadmap, etc. Go ahead and check it out!!!
We've also been busy with documentation, cleaning up the sources (still a fair amount to do), releasing preview versions of the MMO Technology, and getting feedback on it all. There's a FAQ available on the site for more information, although like anything in beta/preview it is subject to change. Please pardon the dust!
----- IMGDC
Josh Ritter (the person writing this blog) will be speaking at the IMGDC on "Scalability and its Affects on Business and Design". I believe this is going to be recorded and it is the VERY FIRST time I'll be speaking in public, it should be interesting to watch :) I'm really excited for the conference and it should be a lot of fun. There should definitely be some great ideas bouncing around... and I hope some demo material too.
----- A very long engagement
Lara and I have been engaged since the move to North Dakota, founding of Prairie Games, the production of Minions of Mirth, and the year since its release. It is definitely time to put an end to this freaking engagement once and for all! We're getting married next month!! Here's the cheesy "engagement photo" that was part of the wedding photo package.
Woot!
-Josh Ritter
President
Prairie Games, Inc
http://www.prairiegames.com
Recent Blog Posts
| List: | 03/29/08 - TGEA 1.7 Build System and Embedded Python 03/14/08 - MegaTerrains - TGEA Update 01/18/08 - Minions of Mirth: Undead Wars Expansion 01/04/08 - Physics Overhaul - Video 12/26/07 - Web Integration - Video 12/21/07 - New MMO Client - Trees - Day/Night Video 12/18/07 - Minions of Mirth - 1.26 - Holiday Edition! 11/28/07 - TGB/TGEA integration first pass |
|---|
Submit your own resources!| Neo Binedell (Apr 10, 2007 at 09:58 GMT) |
| Thak (Apr 10, 2007 at 11:17 GMT) |
| Daniel Scott (Apr 10, 2007 at 11:57 GMT) |
| Rodney (OldRod) Burns (Apr 10, 2007 at 12:44 GMT) |
| Chip Lambert (Apr 10, 2007 at 12:55 GMT) |
| Dave Young (Apr 10, 2007 at 13:33 GMT) |
| Johnny Hill (Apr 10, 2007 at 13:45 GMT) |
| David \"Fulcrum\" Wyand (Apr 10, 2007 at 14:02 GMT) |
- LightWave Dave
| Pisal Setthawong (Apr 10, 2007 at 14:07 GMT) |
| Allyn "Mr_Bloodworth" Mcelrath (Apr 10, 2007 at 14:30 GMT) |
That did not originate from Wow. lol.
Anyway, you know i have been looking at your tech as far as an indi mmo kit, and i think i have to say, with all the investment required because of your architecture (server ETC..) i'm not sure this solution/technologies is really usable by Independent developers.... Well, the kind that lean more on the side of the hobbyist side as far as funding. The only ones that would really be able to leverage this tech are going to be well funded groups.
Any plans to create a solution that requires LESS hardware just to get running?
| James Laker (BurNinG) (Apr 10, 2007 at 14:36 GMT) |
| Vashner (Apr 10, 2007 at 14:38 GMT) |
| bank (Apr 10, 2007 at 14:38 GMT) |
Actually, you can have everything running on the same computer (server or usual PC).
And yeah, grats Josh & Co. :)
Edited on Apr 10, 2007 14:39 GMT
| Todd Pickens (Apr 10, 2007 at 15:25 GMT) Resource Rating: 5 |
Congratulations on everything Josh! And most importantly to you and Lara!
| David Montgomery-Blake (Apr 10, 2007 at 15:54 GMT) |
| Benjamin Bradley (Apr 10, 2007 at 15:58 GMT) |
| Allyn "Mr_Bloodworth" Mcelrath (Apr 10, 2007 at 16:08 GMT) |
| Unsung Zero (Apr 10, 2007 at 17:14 GMT) |
I'm thinking if you two can stick together through the development and release of a MMORPG, the next 50+ years should be cake.
Congratulations!
| Eric Schuld (Apr 10, 2007 at 17:22 GMT) |
I live in Minnesota just across the river from Nodak.
| Prairie Games (Apr 10, 2007 at 17:28 GMT) |
@Dave Young: You are going to be at IMGDC? Awesome, can't wait to meet ya!
@Allyn: The technology scales from single player -> player hosted worlds -> a complete server hierarchy on one computer -> a complete server hierarchy with multiple world and zone servers on distributed across many computers. I'm not sure how we can create something that requires less than one computer? :)
@Benjamin: Um, getting married in ND in Februrary?!?!?! That is like the darkest and most brutal months here... no thanks! ;)
@Eric: We don't currently have an office, though hopefully this will change within the next year or so... it has really become more than 2 people can manage!!!
-Josh Ritter
Prairie Games, Inc
Edited on Apr 10, 2007 17:42 GMT
| J. Erick Christgau (Apr 10, 2007 at 18:00 GMT) |
| Mark McCoy (Apr 10, 2007 at 18:08 GMT) |
| Joshua Dallman (Apr 10, 2007 at 18:55 GMT) |
sitting in a tree,
making MMORPG's
| Thomas Buscaglia (Apr 10, 2007 at 20:14 GMT) |
| Christopher Dapo (Apr 11, 2007 at 01:21 GMT) |
...I'm glad this time it's not just some guy!
Congratulations to the both of you!
- Ronixus
| Bryce "Cogburn" Weiner (Apr 11, 2007 at 01:51 GMT) |
Just remember you're representing indie gamers to the world. We're all counting on you.
No pressure.
:)
| Ted Southard (Apr 11, 2007 at 02:32 GMT) |
I'm another one who'll be seeing you speak this coming weekend- this community is going to have quite the showing, it seems. Beers are in order =)
| Leroy Frederick (Apr 11, 2007 at 08:36 GMT) |
| Jonathon Stevens (Apr 11, 2007 at 15:12 GMT) |
Quote:
Here's the cheesy "engagement photo" that was part of the wedding photo package.
Obviously someone's better half isn't going to be reading this post ;)
| Mike Stoddart (Apr 12, 2007 at 00:00 GMT) Resource Rating: 3 |
| Vashner (Apr 15, 2007 at 19:20 GMT) |
| Frank Carentz (Apr 24, 2007 at 03:39 GMT) |
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