General
InstallationrpgEE is a container-based client/server application designed to give table-top RPG players with the ability to play across the internet. It fills precisely the same nitch as OpenRPG but is not associated with that project.
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When I started back into online RPGs, I used OpenRPG
(and I still do, until I can get rpgEE live).
However, there was the OpenRPG2 project which was
completely re-architected application written in
Java. I tried to join that project, but it appeared
to be moving slowly and had some very serious
philosophical differences with the way that I
develop. After a discussion with the admin of that
project, I decided to start my own effort using the
OpenRPG concepts, like the game tree, but written in
Java using available technologies to do the heavy
lifting.
I also had some additional ideas, like distributing
game elements as pre-packaged resources (like a
module) that weren't received well by the OpenRPG2
team.
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Simple answer: we're Java coders.
Less simple answer: Python's great. I love python as
an admin scripting language and even for some things
much
more complex. It'll easily handle stuff that would
make me tear out my hair (if I had any) using Java.
But python has its weak areas.
This app has a visual basis. That means using GUI
tools, and no offense to the Python world but the
Python + wxPython release cycle is difficult for a
GUI app to follow. Getting all the clients to have
the correct versions of those products (now that
they're actually available for the various OS types)
is highly problematic. Java is easier to deal with.
Install a particular version of the JDK (1.5+ in
this case) and run the app.
When we get the client JNLP activated, it'll be even
easier than that.
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You don't just yet. It's not ready. When it's ready
for first release, installation will initially
involve unzipping an archive and executing
java -jar rpgee.jar
. Eventually, the client will be a JNLP-launchable
app that auto-installs so the server host can just
point people to the rpgeeclient.jnlp file and it'll
download and install. That's a ways off. :)
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