Adding to Tom's talk here, you can also try "Vinux" (formally Vibuntu" http://vinux.org.uk as its an even "more!" accesible version of the ubuntu platform. Current version is v1.2, however it uses ubuntu v8.10 as the operating system.
Trenton, the T Man! On 1/31/2009 10:17 AM, Thomas Ward wrote: > Hi Bill, > Well, if you are serious about creating a mud server from scratch, and > wish to do it right, that is a pretty big undertaking. I don't want > to be discurraging, but it is a rather big project. At any rate here > is my take for a project like that. > First, you need to get the proper software, tools, and environment to > build your mud server. For games like mud servers I absolutely, > totally, recommend using a dedicated Linux based computer to host the > mud. The most accessible, blind friendly, Linux os out there is Ubuntu > 8.10. You can download the cd for free from > http://www.ubuntu.com > and they have a getting started wiki on sight. Also check out the Orca > wiki on > http://live.gnome.org/Orca > which has getting started information for new blind Linux users new to > Linux screen readers, magnification, etc. There are howto docs on > there how to install Linux with speech and so on. Plus the Orca list > is another great resource. > If you were absolutely dead set on using Windows for your mud server > it can be done using a Unix ssubsystem such as Cigwin on Windows > Server 2003 or 2008, but it is not recommended. There are a lot of > reasons why I personally say go the hole hog and put Linux on an extra > PC you might have laying around to act as your mud server platform. So > why use Linux instead of Windows? > > 1. Linux is more reliable - Windows based servers tend to crash or > freeze more often than Linux installations, > that generally run for weeks if not months without needing a reboot. > 2. You can install and upgrade new software applications without the > "you need to restart the computer to complete > the installation" hastle Windows always gives you when installing > software. That of course results in down time for a mud on Windows. > 3. Better proformence - the same program, running on the same hardware > (dual-boot) will tend to > run faster under Linux than under Windows. Especially, when comparing > a Ubuntu Linux server vs Windows Server 2008. > 4. Much better networking with multi-user support - Windows Server > 2003/2008 servers tend to slow down quite a bit when you hit about 100 > simultaneous connections. By contrast, Ubuntu Linux is geared up to > handle many connections at the same time, that is why most web > servers and mud servers are Linux, not Windows based. > 5. Free software - things you need like the C++ compiler, SQL server, > web server, and many other > software applications are free under Linux. Since the entire operating > system, screen reader and all, is free it will save you money and will > cost you nothing but your electric bill to run your mud server. > 6. More support - stuff like the "startup" scripts out there are > geared to a Linux installation. > 7. Better tools - installing snippets is easier with "patch" and > "diff" which work best > under Unix (again, they work OK under Cygwin too). > 8. Viruses and worms - you know most PCs these days are Windows PCs, > and that is exactly > what the worm/virus/trojan horse writers are targetting. With Linux > you tend to be > left alone most of the time. > 8. Better firewalling - Linux comes with built-in firewall tools > (again, I know that > XP/Vista does too) which make it easier to secure your connections. > I don't really want to start an operating system "flame war", and I > use Windows (for > example to develop most of my software and like a lot of aspects of > it, however for good, > solid, mudding I think it is hard to pass by Linux as the mud server > platform. > > As far as a programming language goes definitely go with C++. Linux is > geared mainly for C/C++ development, and to my knolege must mud > servers are written in C/C++ using the gcc compiler that comes with > most Linux distributions or can be downloaded for free if not. I've > heard of some mud servers written in Java, and I suppose that is ok, > but my vote is for C++. Keep in mind that you will have to get into > some rather advanced topics such as socket programming just to make it > online playable and that isn't the funnest or easiest thing to do in > C++. What you might want to do when starting out is grab a free open > source mud server to practice with, find out how they handled this or > that, and use it for a template for your own server. > HTH. > > --- > Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org > If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to > gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org. > You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at > http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. > All messages are archived and can be searched and read at > http://www.mail-archive.com/gam...@audyssey.org. > If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the > list, > please send E-mail to gamers-ow...@audyssey.org. > > --- Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. 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