Fulcrum says, "First, I'd like to thank you all for coming."

Fulcrum says, "Tonights topic will be a Space System that I am presently developing for PennMUSH."

Fulcrum says, "I will try to keep this presentation relatively informal, and to that end, I am going to allow the audience to vote on their favorite topic."

Fulcrum says, "Everyone please 'look Voter', and follow the instructions."

Fulcrum says, "I will wait about another 15 seconds, and then assume the majority of the vote is in."

Kingpin says, "Does it tell you you've voted or did it not get mine? :)"

Trispis says, "It's a secret ballot. (;"

Kingpin says, "ahs"

Kingpin ahs

Hopper says, "So no flogging afterwards? :)"

Fulcrum says, "It should respond with 'You set your vote to selection...'"

Brody shakes his head. "Nothing came to me."

Gyles didn't get a response, either.

Kingpin didn't see anything

Dybs chuckles.

Jabba says, "Me neither."

Lotak says, "Nope"

Talek says, "Nor I. It's broke. ;-)"

Fulcrum says, "Woops. Slight bug."

Brody says, "Show of hands? :)"

Brody grins

Rusty votes for #2

Whip says, "Good album. :)"

Fulcrum says, "Should be repaired now."

Brody nods

Kingpin says, "do we vote again?"

Gyles nods.

Brody says, "Fixed"

Marlek says, "Innovations in debugging."

Fulcrum says, "Please cast your votes now."

Talek nods. "Vote again."

Jabba hehs. "Anybody else having doubts after that?"

Fulcrum says, "Everyone please look to Rusty for the broken code, he just HAD to play with it."

Gyles pokes Jabba in his corpulent ribs.

Kingpin grins

Rusty chuckles

Fulcrum says, "Alright, I'm going to assume that the votes are in... and the results are..."

Kingpin looks at Rusty with a mean look. :)

Rusty says, "Log Opened"

Fulcrum says, "16 in favor of topic 2, 11 in favor of topic 1."

Fulcrum says, "I will be speaking about the features and uses of the system."

Fulcrum says, "Essentially, the Space System is 90 percent softcode, 10 percent 'hardcode'."

Fulcrum says, "This allows for a truly unprecedented level of customization."

Fulcrum says, "The displays on the "consoles" used to operate the ships are totally softcoded, and customizable to the extent that you may load different display templates for each user."

Fulcrum says, "The 'physics' of space itself is totally customizable."

Fulcrum says, "Indeed, there are limitless possibilities for modification."

Siris goes down the few steps to the seating area.

Siris comes down the few steps from the stage.

Chris says, "Nothing is limitless."

Kingpin shhh

Fulcrum says, "Are you sure, Chris? Actually, each ship may have its own individual physics model..."

Fulcrum says, "Multiple "spaces" may run simultaneously, with the ability for "overlapping"."

Chris says, "There are a defenite set of possibilites. it may be astronomically high but there is always a limit."

Blue_Guest smiles.

Fulcrum says, "Furthermore..."

Fulcrum says, "All the systems used in the ships are modeled individually."

Talek coughs. "Quiet in the audience, until Q/A, please."

Fulcrum says, "From life support, to "warp drives", to your attitude control thrusters."

Fulcrum says, "The systems are totally modular, and may be combined in any way."

Fulcrum says, "They can be coded to support different technologies, or mixes of technologies."

Fulcrum says, "They can be coded to respond to 'damage' in any way you choose."

Fulcrum says, "Individually."

Fulcrum says, "When a system is added to a ship, appropriate commands are automatically added to the associated control consoles, and displays are automatically updated."

Fulcrum says, "This means systems can actually be created, on the spot, for TP, and added to a ship."

Fulcrum says, "It also means that combat is very detailed."

Fulcrum says, "Softcode also allows everything to be "dynamic", in that objects can literally recode themselves on the fly."

Fulcrum says, "Totally seamless."

Fulcrum says, "No reboots are needed after modifications to the space system..."

Fulcrum says, "Objects in space can dynamically change form, like a star going nova, with an expanding blast radius."

Fulcrum says, "Everything is changeable."

Fulcrum says, "In fact, ships can be shifted between dimensions, by moving them, on the fly, from one space to another."

Brody grins

Fulcrum says, "I'm short on time, so we'll go to Q&A now."

Fulcrum says, "Adam?"

AdamDray says, "Do objects in space have a size or are they represented as points? That is, can you run into a huge star with your little ship? How do you detect collisions?"

Fulcrum says, "That was something I debated about for a long time, and the answer I came up with is essentially thus:"

Fulcrum says, "Objects as large as a star are NOT going to be "collidable". The reason is not the capability of the system, but a matter of playability."

Fulcrum says, "We don't want players dying in crashes every day, when they get disconnected briefly."

Fulcrum says, "However, objects LARGER than a star, such as Dyson Spheres, will be collidable."

Fulcrum says, "Next Question... Raevnos?"

Raevnos says, "How adaptable is the system to non-space uses? Like, say, sailing ships, or aircraft or land vehicles?"

Fulcrum says, "Well, its very adaptable in fact, on most levels. The exception is the 10 percent hardcode: The sensor routines. You need to have a little skill with the C language to modify that. However, the basic "modularity" principles, and the modifiable physics, allow you to simulate just about anything."

Kingpin says, "Do you have a planned/general idea of when you'll be releasing your space system? How big would the base system be on a MU*?"

Rusty chuckles

Raevnos nods.

Fulcrum says, "Well, these things take quite a bit of time. The system has been in development for about two years now. I'm not exactly sure when it'll be ready for public release, but hopefully, within another year at the outermost."

Fulcrum says, "Next question, from Hopper."

Hopper says, "How hard is it to teach and understand enough for your basic novice?"

Fulcrum says, "Its pretty hard to teach the entire system, once its complete, in a short period of time. However, individual consoles will be relatively easy to teach, and thats how most players will start."

Fulcrum says, "Last question, from David."

David says, "What kind of documentation is there? I've seen space systems that looked good, but hard for anyone who wasn't a developer to figure out.""

Fulcrum says, "There will be some basic documentation, but I don't plan on writing advanced, detailed stuff myself. There simply isn't time. If someone would like to volunteer, when the system is ready for documentation, I'd be glad for the help."

Fulcrum says, "Thanks for coming, this concludes the presentation on Space Systems."

Talek carefully walks up the narrow stairs to the stage.

Fulcrum goes down the few steps to the seating area.

Fulcrum comes down the few steps from the stage.

Kingpin applauds

David claps.

Rusty applauds

AdamDray claps.

Brody claps

Talek says, "Thank you, Fulcrum, and I apologize for the audience heckling."

Marlek claps.