New game?

*Spaff* · 07-15-2007, 04:23 AM

shall we whack a new game in? We can run it alongside Zork i think.
Any proposals for a new game?

DanJW · 07-15-2007, 04:32 AM

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?

vimes · 07-15-2007, 08:31 AM

Same as Dan.

Wrestlevania · 07-15-2007, 12:54 PM

I've heard good things about the HHGG text adventure over the years, so I'd definitely like to try that out.

brkl · 07-15-2007, 04:34 PM

Vespers. Lacks the nostalgy factor, of course. It's way shorter than commercial titles and it's free.

n0wak · 07-15-2007, 04:39 PM

Yeah, I'd be up for anything recent from the IF Comp http://ifcomp.org/

Something that no one is familiar with so that there's some sense of discovery. Better than watching someone do a Zork speedrun

Noyb · 07-15-2007, 07:15 PM

I've heard good things about Photopia.

Hitchhiker's is hilarious, although it *really* seems to delight in killing the player. Even more so than classic Sierra adventure games.

Edit: Just played Photopia. I definitely recommend playing it yourself. I don't want to spoil much about the plot, except to say that it's a well done implementation of building a character through seemingly disconnected vignettes. It's a compelling experience, but due to the shortness and lack of difficulty, doesn't seem that suited to a forum game. Then again, I can make an argument against H2G2 based on its sizable length AND insane difficulty.

*Spaff* · 07-18-2007, 12:52 PM

I'll see if HHG2TG is compatible, maybe Erkki knows.

*Jake* · 08-10-2007, 09:51 AM

If you do a Douglas Adams game, do Beaurocracy.

Scrobbs · 11-08-2007, 10:26 AM

I've just specifically registered because of the merest chance of playing HITCHHIK multiplayer.

Hi all, btw.

Wrestlevania · 11-08-2007, 01:13 PM

Welcome.

It would indeed be great to have Ziggy back up and running some time soon... please?

Erkki · 11-08-2007, 09:19 PM

Sorry guys. I know it's been down quite a long time now -- various issues have kept me from fixing it. But I'll try to get it running as soon as I can.

Scrobbs · 11-19-2007, 02:56 AM

Any closer?

*Spaff* · 11-21-2007, 08:54 AM

Good question, let me go hassle Erkki until he hates me

Wrestlevania · 11-21-2007, 10:01 AM

It's only because we love his work so much.

*Spaff* · 11-30-2007, 02:24 PM

i've just noticed how sarcastic and whiny i sounded then haha

FINE THEN I'L JUST GO HASSLE ERKKI UNTIL HE HATES MEEEE

I actually meant it hehe, he'll come fix it, he's just super busy with that classic enemy of thumbs called 'real life'

Erkki · 12-26-2007, 12:48 PM

It's possible that I might get ziggy working again soon. Sorry for the LOOOOONG delay. I suck.

I've actually never done any complex multi-threaded programming besides this one (I've done mostly web apps where there is almost always just one thread created per incoming HTTP request), and I guess it shows -- the code runs into some dead lock under certain conditions and I haven't fully figured it all out yet. But I should be able to fix it in the next few days, I hope.

I'm also toying with the idea of starting converting parts of the code from Java to Scala. I'm kind of starting to get sick of Java (the language, not the platform) and Scala seems like the next logical step, being very compatible with Java, but with all the good features. It should also make the concurrency code a lot easier, if I'm able to use it in this context (with the third party Z-Machine etc.).
Lately I'm thinking that Ziggy as it is is a bit over-architected (a common pitfall in Java-land I hear) and with converting parts to Scala I'm also going to try make it simpler again and thus more easily maintainable (if I find the time).

DanJW · 12-26-2007, 05:40 PM

You rock Erkki

Wrestlevania · 12-28-2007, 10:09 AM

Sounds great - looking forward to it, Erkki.

Erkki · 01-23-2008, 01:36 PM

Sorry

I didn't make it the "next few days" and then the new year started with a difficult assignment at my new job (still as a Java web programmer) and at the same time I agreed to help my previous employer finish a project in time, whom I left just a couple of months ago so I've been stressed enoguh that I didn't want to do any more coding at home (except learning Scala).

This situation will end this week so I'll try to get back to Ziggy soon!

Wrestlevania · 01-23-2008, 02:30 PM

Roger and understood.

No worries, Erkki; I certainly don't relish the thought of coding at home having had a tonne of other, paid work to deal with all day.

But, just out of interest, how are you finding Scala? I've not done any Java for well over a year now and I'm interested in brushing away the cobwebs -- especially if it's a good excuse to learn something more slick whilst doing so.

Erkki · 01-28-2008, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Wrestlevania:

But, just out of interest, how are you finding Scala? I've not done any Java for well over a year now and I'm interested in brushing away the cobwebs -- especially if it's a good excuse to learn something more slick whilst doing so.

For me right now, Scala is a joy to code in. It combines functional and object oriented programming brilliantly (IMHO, but I haven't really done any functional programming before, besides a few tutorials, and browser JavaScript), but it is somewhat more complex and has some quirks due to that. Then on the other hand, doing some things in it is so much simpler than in Java and my gut feeling tells me that practically any Java program could be written with maybe two times less code in Scala, or even less than that.
I'm not betting that it will replace Java for most people yet, but if another language will, it better be a lot like Scala!

Scrobbs · 03-13-2008, 12:03 PM

How's it going over here?

Scrobbs · 04-17-2008, 03:38 PM

I've just dug out my old copy of 'The Leather Goddesses of Phobos', one of Meretsky's too. Could let you have it...

Erkki · 04-18-2008, 01:03 AM

Sorry for the delays, my current plan is to fix the current issues with Ziggy during April/May but I haven't gotten around to it yet.