Uru Live Personal Server
Sandman
We all know Uru was a big failure because Cyan couldn't keep paying for the
serves and bandwidth when so few signed up.
The problem with playing Myst online is that you generally play it by yourself
or with a friend/spouse or someone else. And you usually sit together at the
computer (or as me - connect it to the projector in the living room).
So what's in between then? Well, a personal Uru server, of course! I know they
released Uru as a personal server some time ago, I haven't tried it. I think it
was more of a "We don't know what to do. Here, play with this" kind of thing.
But a problem me and my friend is experiencing is that it's hard toi find time
to visit each other to play myst games with family and job taking way too much
precious Myst playing time away :)
So, what if Uru was revived, but not as an online service. I buy a copy of the
game, install it on my computer and then I can host a Myst game - and invite
other players to play with me.
The huge difference is that for this personal server, I would invite friends to
play Myst with me - not to play Myst on my Myst server - i.e. they wouldn't be
playing seperately.
So, this would mean that this version needs to support:
Live in-game audio for discussion, and a chat mode.
A crucial part of any Myst game - to discuss and talk about the puzzles.
Individual mode
Each player has a character of his/her own and can walk around with the group -
and some puzzle might be easier to solve when you have multiple people (think
pressure plates and time puzzles). IN this mode, players can't walk away too
far from the group, or will be transported to it automatically or manually
(i.e. if you get left behind a closing door or just get lost).
Master mode
But for convenience, a player can be set as Master player, and a mode can be
invoked in the other characters disappaer and everyone is watching one
character, or in first-person mode. This is the "transport mode" or the
"discussion mode" where discussion about the various puzzles take place.
Individual mode is more for solving puzzles. The role of being master can be
passed to any player in the group.
Note and screenshot mode (or rather - collaboration mode)
All notes found in the game isn't left on the table it was lying on, but rather
collected into a form of inventory, which each player has access to and can
look at. Savegames are saved on the server and can only be invoked by the one
who is hosting the game. This is a full-screen mode that has the inventory,
screenshots, notes and books sorted into "views" or tabs or something like
that. This view also have all the players in a top frame and a text chat for
sending information.
So, it's a cooperative playing experience. Maybe there would be a limit of four
players per server, including the one who hosts it. Mostly, only two would use
it I assume. There shouldn't be any puzzles that REQUIRE more than one players,
but some that benefit from it.
And, just as Uru, new Ages and puzzles would be created all the time, and
instead of a monthly payment to play on Cyans servers, new additions are
downloadable (and paid for) from within the game in the collaboration "room".
The players connect to the server, enter the collaboration room where a new
book is found on a pillar, but it's translucent. We open it and can read about
it, and when we place the hand on the panel the world is downloaded to the
server and then distributed to the clients (which get to borrow the servers
license, but can't play it offline unless they also pay for it). All of this
should take place inside the game and not through menues.
Any thoughts? I think it would be a great idea and Cyan could keep making money
for as long as they produce small Ages with puzzles. If they're smart they
incorporate parts of much bigger puzzles in the various smaller Ages - so each
six months a huge new Age (which is a lot more expensive, but includes all
other smaller ages) is released which needs information from the smaller ages
to be completed. This would cater to both the ones who want to play the latest
Age all the time and those who wait for something more substantial is released.
Long post, and pretty few readers here, but at least I got to say it :)
--
Sandman[.net]
"Apple beat Wintel to market with 64 bit personal computers"
- Edwin
Grey
"Sandman" <m...@sandman.net> wrote in message
news:mr-13FC79.14...@individual.net...
(IMHO of course...)
All very well if it works. My personal preference would be for Cyan to
produce more URU levels for the single player - or contract it out to
someone to make it on Cyan's behalf. Maybe even release the software tools
used to create levels, allow people to make their own and maybe get Cyan to
give their "seal of approval" to the best ones.
Graham
Sandman
in...@cyanworlds.com and Ryan Miller replied with a "Cool, thanks for the email.
We'll give it a good look".
Nice to get some form of response :)
In article <mr-13FC79.14...@individual.net>, Sandman <m...@sandman.net>
wrote:
Steve Williams
> All very well if it works. My personal preference would be for Cyan to
> produce more URU levels for the single player - or contract it out to
> someone to make it on Cyan's behalf. Maybe even release the software tools
> used to create levels, allow people to make their own and maybe get Cyan to
> give their "seal of approval" to the best ones.
>
> Graham
A Myst level editor would be very cool. The only problem I can
foresee is that in order to allow for all the wild varieties between
Ages, you'd pretty much have to make a full 3D modeling program (ie: few
if any predesigned objects) and let people mold and texture their own
Ages. That would certainly be cool and all, but the complexity of the
program would likely be above the heads of most casual players. So,
there probably wouldn't be that many fans willing to take the time to
design a whole Age from scratch.
That said, I still think it would be nifty, and a great way to fill
up all those empty spaces on your Relto bookshelf.
Sandman
Steve Williams <steve1....@sympatico.ca> wrote:
> > All very well if it works. My personal preference would be for Cyan to
> > produce more URU levels for the single player - or contract it out to
> > someone to make it on Cyan's behalf. Maybe even release the software tools
> > used to create levels, allow people to make their own and maybe get Cyan to
> > give their "seal of approval" to the best ones.
> >
> > Graham
>
> A Myst level editor would be very cool. The only problem I can
> foresee is that in order to allow for all the wild varieties between
> Ages, you'd pretty much have to make a full 3D modeling program (ie: few
> if any predesigned objects) and let people mold and texture their own
> Ages. That would certainly be cool and all, but the complexity of the
> program would likely be above the heads of most casual players. So,
> there probably wouldn't be that many fans willing to take the time to
> design a whole Age from scratch.
No, I don't think that would be necessary. "Modelling" an age would be like
actually writing a book. You would actually just provide the system with some
form of parameters that would generate the world. You wouldn't actually choose
textures and colors - but would "write" and "mold" parameters in a book - and
the Age would be generated (linked to).
But building worlds isn't the interesting thing about the Myst universe,
solving puzzles is - and how would that work?
> That said, I still think it would be nifty, and a great way to fill
> up all those empty spaces on your Relto bookshelf.
Hehe :)
--
Sandman[.net]
"As far as my decision to use the PC goes, that
went according to my pocketbook"
- Edwin, too poor to afford a Mac.