From: rmk@baal.unh.edu (Robert M. Kenney)
Subject: NBR request
Originator: rmk@baal.unh.edu
Organization: USNH Computer Services, Durham, NH
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1992 02:57:38 GMT



	I realize that some people are against a default server being
   accessed if no command line options are given, and would prefer some
   kind of help message for the newbies, so:

	I'd like to recommend that the NBR have a server selection window
   accessible via a command line option(presumably doccumented at the end
   of the help file!).

	Advantages:

           1) A standardized list of servers(possible auto-updated by a
              request to the server), which might help to keep the core
              servers from being overloaded.  I'd guess that unless you've
              got a menu of servers to select from(shell script or otherwise)
              you might tend to just mechanically pick one of the 4-5 servers
              you remember best, and I'd bet that not everybody takes the time
              to set something like that up.

           2) With the server list being generated by the client, you could
              have the client take care of automatically associating other
              useful info with the server name, like whether the server
              supports UDP, allows borgs, etc.  Stuff you'd otherwise have
              to scrape up manually.  All this would be read from/saved to
              a text database file in the users home area.  And if you're
              saving this stuff, you could also save a list of the character
              names and passwords(disableable if you're paranoid).  This
              would give you the capability of auto-logging the person into
              the last account they used, just by clicking on the server
              menu entry.  I've set up auto-login in my client, and it's
              NICE.  Makes popping around different servers a lot easier and
              faster.

	   3) The server menu window could be something cool, like a big
              window filled with galaxy shaped bitmaps.  Elliptical
              galaxies for non-UDP servers, and spiral galaxies for UDP
              servers(etc).  They could be randomly placed, or could be
              spread out from the core(local client icon) with the pingtime
              being the distance between the bit/pixmap and the client icon.
              Maybe even red-shifted depending on distance from the client.
	                             (just joking!)

              The number of players on each server could be gotten from
              one of the metaservers and displayed above each galaxy.
              (The name of the server, too, of course).




	I can't see any disadvantages to this... the client would get a little
     bigger, but not by much, IMHO.  It might be a problem if the writers of
     the NBR decide that exiting from a game, or getting a recoverable error,
     causes the client to go back to the server menu(something I'd like to see
     happen) rather than completely exiting.  This would require most of the
     NBR code to be made re-entrant, and I know from personal experience that
     most clients were NOT written to be re-entrant. If this is a problem, I
     guess I can live without it <grump!>.

	I also realize people are into modularization, but I don't see this as
     advantageous unless a module has more than one use.  If running ck_players
     (the metaserver interface)usually leads to executing the client, and
     selecting a server in a shell generated window usually leads to running the
     client, they should be PART OF the client.  There's no major advantage
     to keeping them separate, and quite a few in fusing them.



     Sorry about babbling like this... I'll go away now...
-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Robert M. Kenney				Nearnet: rmk@baal.unh.edu
MIS Service Center				Phone:   (603)-862-4711
Kingsbury Hall, UNH
Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek