Topic: 2D MMORPG in the works

[Johnny]

Basically, I have been heavily involved in the creation of a new 2D overhead MMORPG. I'm doing some sprite editing here and there. I've been working for about a month or two with a small team of people and I believe in this project and want to see it succeed. The project is GPL so its all open source. Mostly, I want to keep it all under wraps until I get a PM and someone can prove they are truly serious about helping. My tarnished reputation around here and people not being able to let go of a long standing foolish grudge has led me to be very wary in regards to trusting any familiar faces around here. However, my presence here is strictly to aid a hard working team to make a game that people will enjoy and so I'll keep to discussing this project only. Anything unrelated I will not respond to.

Thanks Guys.

[uzo]

What grudges? I don't even remember you at all.

[Gunlord]

Neither do I, to be honest. o,o

[Johnny]

A few minor details:

The maps in the game will be Orthonogonal style and not Isometric. The engine will most likely be EAthena. The tiles each are 32 x 32 and will need shading and have to be at a 45 degree angle. It will feature different races in the game to choose from as well as classes to pick.

[uzo]

You're not really telling us anything. Much less anything that would entice me or anyone else to just join your little club and start working.

You need to give details. What does it play like. What should it look like. Screen shots, documentation, etc. Is it commercial, or free? Development schedules, rough estimates, etc etc etc.

If it is not a free venture, then you should be looking to hire someone from a professional hiring agency or community, not here.

[beingthehero]

I don't remember you either. On the bright side, that means you have a fresh start here.

[yubaba]

Hey everyone as one of the leaders of this project id just like to say hey there and thanks for your interest. Johnny explained some of the details of the project but let me go into depth for you. This project is based off a free 2D MMORPG "the mana world". I will post some screenshots of examples as well. Basically this project is called HOA (Hero Of Athene) and were looking for some potential developers to help us accomplish our goals of completing this game. Basically this game will have the concept of having 1 main world, with a wizard house full of doors to allow you in different dimensions (other worlds) an example for these worlds would be a Halloween like world, Christmas like world, Forest like world, and a desert world (with pyramids, mummys and other stuff). A game very similar to this idea is probably like a concept of kingdom hearts. This game server HOA will be running off something called eAthena and will be limited unless we find some good programmers. This WILL be a free game (so it would be something you would volunteer for) If you have anymore questions about this project feel free to join our IRC channel on irc.freenode.org  #HOA
there is also a forum board you can use, you wont be able to see the development forum yet unless you plan on contributing because only people in the "developers" group on that site can see it http://majestic.freeforums.org/ is the forum site. I am still working on a main website for the game as well. If anybody has anymore questions my name is "ComfyCheeks" on freenode and you can email me at yubaba@hotmail.ca
Any kind of help would be awsome (pixel artists, programmers, etc)

Thanks for your interest!

Regards,

[uzo]

What coding language have you been using so far? How are you handling the networking components?

[yubaba]

hey there,

We are using eAthena.
eAthena is coded in the C programming language and makes use of the zlib and MySQL libraries. The actual application is split into three servers - login, char, and map, each of which serve a different purpose. Support for multiple map servers is also possible. Thus, while the individual eAthena servers are single-threaded, they do essentially have support for running on multiple processes, and even on multiple computers.
For storage of dynamic game data, eAthena can be compiled to use one of two different modes of database operation: TXT or SQL. TXT is short for plain-text whereas SQL is MySQL. SQL is the standard way of running the eAthena servers. TXT is generally used merely only for testing and development purposes as a quick and convenient way to get eAthena up and running without having to deal with any 3rd-party software, and is not recommended for live, production servers.
eAthena uses plain-text databases for configuration of static game data such as item, monster, and skill information, although some of these can optionally be configured to use MySQL instead. Additionally, eAthena features a fully custom, C-like scripting engine for configuration of NPCs, quests, warp portals, and monster spawns, among other interactive in-game systems.

There is more information about the server on the servers wiki.

Regards,

[uzo]

A quick search leads me to believe that eAthene is intended to be an RO private server emulator. My question would be, exactly HOW flexible is this then? I assume you're looking to emulate the Mana series gameplay, and NOT use a point and click interface? So, is eAthene really just an SQL network handler for any online application? Or is it strictly made for RO?

PS: Use SQL for everything. It's way more efficient and secure.

[Johnny]

Eathena is intended to be private server software for Ragnarok Online and it was created only for this purpose. However, it has and can be adapted to perform functions which are tailored for other games such as Evol Online and The Mana World. Sometimes the version used for The Mana World is known as tmwathena rather than eathena since its a modified version of Eathena. Regarding the flexibility, this all would depend on who is coding and tweaking the software and what is decided as time goes on regarding a project. Yes we are looking to emulate The Mana World in terms of the basics but as said earlier we are also looking for some major differences as well. EAthena can be a SQL Network Handler for any online application if the coder decides to add in the functionality which would depend on the team of coders we can get on board as to whether or not its a feasible goal.

As for your last questions/statements I will say again that yeah EAthena was made strictly for Ragnarok Online. However, as shown by projects like The Mana World and Evol Online it can be adapted to suit the needs of any particular project. Using this logic we can hope that this would easily apply to Hero of Athene (Our Project).

[uzo]

OK, so if I understand this correctly; You're not making a new MMO, you want to make a modified version of an existing MMO called "The Mana World" using eAthena, which is software for emulating RO servers, but you want to rip it apart and re purpose it for your modification of The Mana World.

[Kale]

I know uzo's an ass, but ... yea I don't really get it. So, you're restyling the Mana World?

Is it going to be CV related?


Side note: I don't really remember you either Johnny. I do remember the user name though, but it sounds kind of generic, so maybe it wasn't you I'm remembering.

[uzo]

OK, I think I've figured out what they're trying to do.

The eAthena free software Ragnarok Online server is used until our own server has matured enough to replace it. Once ready, we'll be making releases of our server too so anybody will be free to set up their own server and start building their own online world.

The Mana World is an existing MMORPG, build (seemingly) from the ground up, using eAthena (presumably modified?) as the back end. This is until they complete their own server application.

So what they're trying to do is make a modified version of The Mana World, which would require the coders to know and work with both The Mana World's source code, and also eAthena's source code. However, since The Mana World is by far not complete (judging by the change logs on the current build), I wonder how much you could realistically modify it before they change some drastic requiring things to be recoded to fit. Sounds like a very intensive game of cat and mouse keeping up with revisions.

[Johnny]

Yeah no its not going to be Castlevania related but we will have a nice horror themed world. As far as The Mana World goes, yeah we're taking the EAthena base TMW's project but we're not touching upon Mana Serv as yeah it is very incomplete. However, if someone can convince Yubaba/Maria that they can finish Mana Serv or make another engine for HOA's purposes into a custom server engine for us and show her something promising and tailored to the project's vision and goals which actually surpasses the benefits of having an EAthena modified server and is committed to it, I'm certain she wouldn't close the door on an opportunity like that depending on the details and how much she would have to compromise on what she really wants. As I have come to know her, shes very open to suggestion but also realistic about getting things done in a way that works for everyone on the team.

I guess I should discuss why we're using EAthena. The current team we have assembled is very small. We have one coder who understands EAthena and another person who understands how to make things like spell scripts and item placements. This changes if the server changes and basically people have to either be retrained on how to go about things or enough new people have to come in to know what they are doing. It would complicate things as such. In addition we use a program called Tiled to make our maps (as does The Mana World) and it has certain graphical size ratios we go by hence 32 x 32. Most of the tiles are going to be this size. Sprites, Armor, Equipment all have a certain size aspect ratio to them as well. The EAthena engine we're using works well also with tiled and these properties. Doing everything from scratch would mean coming up with loads of new armor, items, equipment, etc. Its tons of work to really veer off into such an ambitious direction and if we don't think realistically, we wouldn't even have the small start that we do now. We don't even have the manpower to think about bothering to do this. Also keep in mind say we do get one coder who decides to make us a custom server engine and do custom coding, we have a couple of graphics people who can work with it, and scripters and map makers. Then all of a sudden, someone just doesn't feel like doing it anymore. If we try to bring in someone new, they won't be able to make heads or tails of what the previous person did, ESPECIALLY if its one person alone doing all this custom server and client coding and not a whole team. To ask us why we're not trying to reinvent the wheel by making a brand new MMORPG with our own engine from scratch and all the graphics and properties from scratch is like asking someone working on a small Game Maker rollerskating race fan game why they aren't making a game thats as good as Jet Grind Radio. Remember its a free project. We really have to take what we could get and work with what we have while at the same token being realistic about making a proper plan which will aid in the completion of the project. This is why Maria planned things out and blueprinted it the way she did. Because for the most part, EAthena would be a universal coding system that where one person leaves off, another could maybe come in and make some sense as to what went on previously. With an engine from scratch or resources from scratch, it poses a problem in that regard. Right now we don't have much of a team which is why we're reaching out any way we can to expand. Thats our biggest priority at the moment and not complicating things further.   

For the most part, we will have our own coding and server path and since we're working on a different premise than TMW is, updates for the most part will be different. TMW right now is halted because they are bound by server limitations so theres very little they can do. We don't want to be bound by those same limitations. This is why we're only taking the basic of what they have and adding lots of our own to it. As you know, once a server is up, there really aren't many changes that can take place without taking the entire server down and working on it. This is why they never made the transition from EAthena to Mana Serv or even modify their EAthena very heavily and further it. Because in order to do that, people would have to make all new accounts on TMW's server and they will lose all of their characters and information. So they have been stuck at a standstill.

The case is different with us. We're not bound by anything close to what most teams are bound by unless it becomes too unrealistic to the point of not being doable. We are not close minded and rigid to the point where we would dismiss anything truly positive people serious about helping are willing to bring to the table. We plan to make significant progress when and where we can. Our goal is to put together a team which can work cohesively in making the many concepts we have into a reality.

Please feel free to keep inquiring and asking questions if need be. Also if anyone is truly serious about joining the team or helping us out in any way possible, as said throughout this entire topic this is exactly what we want.