What if MCCodes v2 was rebuilt with Laravel 13, PHP 8.5 and Livewire 4?

[AlizHarb]

Been thinking about this lately and wanted to see what everyone here thinks.

What if someone took MCCodes v2 and rebuilt it from scratch using Laravel 13, PHP 8.5, Livewire 4, Tailwind CSS 4 and Filament 5 for the admin panel?

Not just converting the old PHP files into Laravel, but actually rebuilding the whole game with a modern structure while keeping that classic MCCodes feeling.

I’m talking about keeping the original features like crimes, gym, energy, brave, will, HP, stats, cash, crystals, gangs, attacking, jail, hospital, inventory, markets, jobs, education, etc.

Obviously, a lot has changed since MCCodes v2 was originally released, especially when it comes to security, databases, performance and how players interact with browser games.

A few things I’m curious about:

• Would you keep the original gameplay formulas, timers and mechanics exactly as they were, or would you rebalance certain things?
• What features from MCCodes v2 do you think are outdated and need a complete redesign?
• Would you stick with the traditional page-based gameplay, or use Livewire to make things more interactive without turning it into a full JavaScript game?
• How would you improve the economy, PvP, gangs and other systems to keep players interested long-term?
• Should the admin panel allow owners to customize almost everything without touching code?
• What would you change about the UI to make it feel modern, especially on mobile, without losing the old-school text-based RPG vibe?

Another thing I’ve been wondering about is AI integration.

Do you think AI actually has a place in a game like MCCodes?

For example, AI-powered NPCs, dynamic missions, smarter opponents, personalized events, or even something that helps admins manage the game and detect suspicious activity.

Or would adding AI just make things unnecessarily complicated and take away from what made these games enjoyable in the first place?

Personally, I think the biggest challenge wouldn’t be rebuilding the code itself, but deciding what should stay true to the original and what deserves to be modernized.

I’m curious what people who have worked with MCCodes over the years think.

If you were rebuilding MCCodes v2 today, what would you keep, what would you completely change, and what new features would you add?

Would a modern MCCodes-style browser RPG still have a place today?

[peterisgb]

Well one of the things I like about mccodes is that's it is basic, no 3rd party integration. Independent. I find having third party embedded/integrated means you have to rely on their system/uptime etc. but that's my personal opinion.

Tho I do agree that it needs updating but it should remain independent from 3rd parties. Maybe the option to not have it on by default and allowing the end user to turn it on if they should choose to. But again, my opinion. 

[AlizHarb]

4 minutes ago, peterisgb said:

Well one of the things I like about mccodes is that's it is basic, no 3rd party integration. Independent. I find having third party embedded/integrated means you have to rely on their system/uptime etc. but that's my personal opinion.

Tho I do agree that it needs updating but it should remain independent from 3rd parties. Maybe the option to not have it on by default and allowing the end user to turn it on if they should choose to. But again, my opinion. 

That’s actually a really good point, and I agree with you. I think there’s a big difference between using modern frameworks to improve the codebase and making the game rely on third-party services just to function properly.

Personally, I think the core game should remain completely independent and self-hosted, just like MCCodes was originally intended to be. Using something like Laravel, PHP 8.5 and Livewire doesn’t necessarily mean adding external dependencies that require constant connections to other services. It’s more about having a cleaner codebase, better security, improved performance and something that’s easier to maintain and expand over time.

Security and performance would actually be two of my biggest priorities. The original MCCodes was built for a different time, and there are plenty of things that could be improved today, especially database queries, handling multiple players performing actions at the same time, preventing exploits, and making sure the game runs smoothly as the player base grows.

As for AI and other external integrations, I agree those should be optional and disabled by default. If a game owner wants to experiment with AI-powered features or connect external services, they should have that choice, but none of those things should be required for the game to work. Even if an external service goes down, the actual gameplay shouldn’t be affected.

I also wouldn’t want to turn MCCodes into something completely different just for the sake of making it modern. A lot of its appeal came from how straightforward and enjoyable it was. I think the better approach would be to keep that original experience while improving everything behind the scenes, and maybe giving game owners more flexibility to customize things without constantly editing PHP files.

 modernizing MCCodes shouldn’t mean making it more complicated or dependent on outside services. It should mean making it faster, safer, easier to manage and more reliable while keeping what made it great in the first place.

Things changing too fast 😢🤷🏻‍♂️