Mud Game Programming [With CDROM]

by Ron Penton

Develop your own Multi-User Dungeon games Multi-User Dungeon games are still going strong. It's no wonder'they're easy to create and easy to access. They also have an additional appeal for game... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1592000908
• ISBN13: 9781592000906
• Release Date: December 2003
• Publisher: Premier Press
• Length: 666 Pages
• Weight: 2.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 7.4" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Fun and Informative: An excellent gateway into mud programming

I found this book very easy to read & follow. The author provides a good primer on network/socket programming (that alone made it worth the purchase) as well a decent framework for creating a mud. It helps to have a little background in c or c++. This book is perfect for someone who hasn't programmed in awhile but wants a fun project to get involved in. Still, the book is fairly self-contained and with some patience, time and a good C/C++ reference (or internet access) a relative newbie might also enjoy it.

Good Book

I just bought the book and it is almost all I expected it to be. The author writes in an easy to understand English, not technical gibberish. I especially like all the algorithms and formulas he included to get you jump started into the subject. The code itself is pretty outdated, it's text based MUD design, but I do not find that disturbing, as the GUI part for a MUD is a whole different story. I am not a C programmer, so I especially like the pseudo-code he uses and I know, that when writing my own code base, there will be much of those design ideas he exposes, behind it. I would love to see an updated book on the subject, but it's a good starter. The 2 major examples, the SimpleMUD and BetterMUD do a nice job of pulling you into the subject in slices you can digest. I do recommend the book fully and give it 5 stars, minus 1 star for being a bit outdated, overall 4 stars.

Mr. Explainer does it again

When I read Ron Penton's first book, Data Structures for Game Programming, I couldn't wait to see what he did next. MUD Game Programming lived up to all of my expectations, and indeed surpassed them. The author has an extraordinary knack for making complex topics understandable -- and, equally important, making them interesting. Reading MUD Game Programming is like having a friendly, cheerful expert sitting down next to you and showing you the tricks of the trade. Instead of just telling you what to do, he explains the thinking behind the decisions that go into the design of a complex program such as a MUD server, enabling you to make the decisions that are right for your own project, which might not be the same. You end up with not just knowledge but understanding. I highly recommend MUD Game Programming to people doing any type of network-based multiplayer programming, not just traditional MUDs. I'd give this book six stars if they'd let me.

Excellent Book!

I can't believe anyone actually wrote a book about MUD's. When I wanted to learn how to make my own, I had no idea where to start, and looking at the code from all the existing MUD's just confused the hell out of me. So when I saw this book I ran out and grabbed it immediately, and I am just amazed at how much information is packed into it. This book is great if only for the networking information; the whole first 5 chapters of this book could be an entire book on its own, but in addition to all of that there are even two full MUD's! The book even teaches you how to use Python--another bonus! I look forward to making my own MUD with this book! By the way, one of the reviews here made a big deal about the circular dependency issues covered in the book, and I must say that I disagree with that review completely, the book handles them well. I see absolutely no problem with using macros if they are used with caution, which they are. Overall: Great book, worth every penny.

Great Book, Great Read!

This book takes you from the basics of network programming to creating an extremely flexible Multi User Dungeon (MUD). Each concept is broken down into easy to understand parts. Great read! I would recommend this book to anyone interested in MUD Programming and network programming.