a_bertrand

Checking a DB is fine... if the DB is small, the best choice is to use a MySQL memory table if possible, however keep in mind memory tables do not keep the data after a reboot and backups don't store the data neither. So it must be like just a pure "cache" or "notify" area. Using text files is also ok, but then keep the file very small.

SEO friendly URL are actually not important as search engines now doesn't give a smaller score to dynamic pages than static one. It now purely cosmetic if you want to have your URL different. Now, for your link problem you should edit your pages such that you use the nicer URL that's it.

For something like that you don't need any image, all can be done with even quiet simple HTML. BTW Limit the usage of images only when you cannot do things natively with HTML or when the HTML would be way too complex.

Well then it would be smarter and faster to type them into the same spreadsheet and import in block.

Why would you need to type the description by hand? That could be inserted automatically as well (as long as the text is inside excel that's it).

As my excel example shows you create the INSERT statement directly out of excel. You don't need to type it again as you just type once the excel formula and then copy / expand it over the rows required. Excel will then generate all the INSERT statements. You then copy those cells and paste them as any other SQL text and you will have your fresh data in your database. I use that all the time not only with MySQL but also with Oracle. So I know it works very well ;)

Well here you are with an easy baby example: http://base.nowhere-else.org/temp/sql.zip Basically in the first 3 columns you have your data (which could be yet over a lot more columns) and on the 5th column you have a formula which produce the SQL statement. You can see that basically I just do string concatenations using the & operator so "string"&A1 will concatenate the string with the content of A1. Now if you select one of the formula and grab the bottom right "black box" and drag it, it will copy the formula over an area... which is great if you need to make more rows with the same formula. Excel will also point to the new row and therefore you will have all the SQL generated for you. Remains to select the column copy and paste it into phpMyAdmin and you are ready to insert 1000 lines in batch.

How many "lines" or stuff must you enter? And can't you make some scripts to do it? I'm willing to show you how to make some "insert" statements automatically out of excel ;)

Quiet a good post, however you don't say what those frameworks can do for you and what are the downsides (as there is some). Keep in mind that frameworks varies a lot from framework to framework, and learning / mastering one can be time consuming. So choose wisely which one you want to use. Finally study what kind of license those frameworks are based on as some could force your code to be an open source as well, which may not be your wish.

Moved to the appropriate section as it was certainly not a WSIRC bug ;)

Here I agree, just as a mere nice customer policy, bug fixes and security patches should be released. Also we are not talking about hidden holes we are talking about well known issues. However I was pointing out that if someone is not willing to invest the time to check what he pay for and spend some time him/herself customizing it, then it is better to change hobby.

I'm not sure I completely agree with you guys here. I do fully agree that a script should be as bug free and specially as secure as possible, however completely bug free and completely secure will never be the case with ANY software. Also, considering it costs only 200$, think about how much work it is to create something similar from scratch. I never checked the sources myself (also because nobody ever gave me access to them), but from what I know it is not just 2 files with 40 lines each. Now... check, if it is even 10 days work to create something similar from scratch, it would be still 20$ per days which is quiet cheap. So even if it is baldy written it offers a basic framework where to build your game on. And the fact it is not perfect it allows / force people to work it out. Sorry guys but I find completely stupid that some (if not many) of you wait that such a package is ready to go in production and you just have to copy some files and that you have a game ready without any work from you. Doesn't work like that, you should really think about your game, features, rules, story and the fact the game offers all even if not perfect it is just goodies, but hopping to away from your own work as owner is pure dream. Otherwise it would be too easy to have just a custom layout (basically a single background JPG) and a name change, and you would have tons of identical games which offers none interest to the player. As conclusion, if you are not ready to invest the time to make your game secure unique and appealing then you can forget having a game ;)

Ok and if you fail? Also... what level is ok as I could ask some stuff to be written in PHP and most of you would fail is that something pleasant? No honestly I don't see the need for all that.

Well in my game Nowhere Else and Beyond players can create themselves new items (setting the attributes, description and even create an image). So over time the number of items increase. On top of that, island managers (basically people which write quests but are not member staff), can ask for quests items (which could be refused). To keep the game balance (as this is for me one of the most important thing), items are based on some formula, and you cannot create a overkill item as it will be mainly based on your own skills. So if you have not enough stats you will simply fail creating it. And to keep things fun, player items can be crafted only 20 times such that they are even rare.

I would say objects should be useful for quests or for realism. So either you can use the objects in some way or simply avoid to add them. Players don't like objects which cannot be used ;)

Actually the wireless connection at the office is open ;)

Lilith: Well can't wait that you have it too such that we can share tips and help each others ;) Also 16 min for me seems a long time (even if I was on the laptop) but well DOF is something which usually requires a lot of render pass or anti alias to get right. On the other side the instancing and the micro-displacement really shines.

a little image of mine (3D rendered and modeled): Even if the model is... a sphere with a texture :D Render time: 16 min (due to the high antialias setting for the Depth of Field (DOF))

Well, when I started like 7 years ago they was offering a very good service for an incredible low price (for that time). Now honestly, if as soon as you have 10 people browsing your page a day you get kicked (maybe a bit more but not that much), then really 4$ a month is way too much!

DO NOT use their services, they are extremely picky about server usages and even 1% or less of CPU usage will kick you out of them. So really those are not the one you can rely on and find some other hosting. I currently host my forums on them and some other unused pages, and they say I start to use too much resources (with about 1% cpu usage). So really if a forum for a few players is using that much then they really should not be trusted. MDShare had the same issues as well.

I don't understand your point mr_shuu....

Maybe because some admin created it even if it wasn't needed....

You are mixing a 3D game engine with a 3D DESIGN / RENDER software Coly. If you are after 3D game creation I would strongly suggest to check http://unity3d.com/ Beside that, most of those packages I listed support at least some way of scripting which would allow you to react to open a door when something approach, but that would be quiet certainly used to automatize animation (like cinematic scenes) and not to produce a playable game ;)

Seems way off as price... specially for something not that complex. Also you should handle keys not only mouse click and if mouse movement at least to handle a continuous walk until you release. Also your map seems to have a single layer where you would need at least a second one for the objects.

Seems somewhat a slow render for that Lilith even if the quality is not bad. I would say it should not take more than 3-5 min for a grain less render with so little details. You must do something not completely correct I fear or the soft is very badly optimized. BTW it's "c'est la vie" ;)