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From: notes@iuvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.games.rogue
Subject: Re: How about Multiplayer Rogue? - (nf)
Message-ID: <385@iuvax.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 18-Apr-84 01:02:34 EST
Article-I.D.: iuvax.385
Posted: Wed Apr 18 01:02:34 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 19-Apr-84 03:05:31 EST
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Organization: Indiana University
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#R:sdccs7:-119400:iuvax:9800024:000:1273
iuvax!apratt    Apr 17 13:28:00 1984

Writing a multi-player game is not as trivial as you may think.  One of the
things which makes Rogue a thinker's game (?) is the fact that you & the
monsters take turns, rather than having the monsters move while you sit and
think (like they do in warp).  With several people, you would have to
coordinate the moves, or else make the game "real-time".  Real-time games
on time-sharing computers are notoriously troublesome (check "empire" on
PLATO for an example -- and ever play "aliens" on your UNIX system?), and
this goes double for systems where all games are "niced" to 4 or so...
Inter-terminal tic-tac-toe (a two-player game where the players take turns)
is about as complex as you want to get, really.

Also, there IS a multi-player dungeon game being developed. We are an alpha
site for it, and I must say it's not very good... It's unreasonably slow when
two people are playing at once, and unreasonably hard when you're alone (can't
gang up on monsters). Of course, I said it's BEING DEVELOPED, so I expect it'll
improve.  Please do not mail me asking for information. The game is not ready
for public consumption. Thanks.

----
		"Fritz! They've killed Fritz!"
						-- Allan Pratt
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