From: rwatkins@cmcvx1.claremont.edu
Subject: Re: Area editors
Organization: Claremont McKenna College
Date: 10 Jan 93 14:55:04 PST

> From: spacefox@acs.bu.edu (Godfrey Degamo)
> Subject: Area editors
>
>     Hello.  Recently, someone requested about area mud editor.
> Someone replied about an editor costing $20.
 
Currently, I know of three different DIKU editor programs.
 
    Muditor   - v0.50 edits .wld and .mob files
    DikuCLI   - edits .obj files
    DikuEdit  - edits .wld, .obj and .mob files
 
The $20 I referred to was the cost to get the registered, v1.0 of
Muditor.  That program is Shareware, as opposed to the other two.
Muditor v1.0 is supposed to handle .obj files as well, and they will
send you the source code.
 
Each has its merits and faults.  I use a combination of the Muditor and
DikuCLI to write my areas, as none alone is adequate.
 
>     -portability     (if none, what operating system does it run on,
>                          mem requirements, etc...)
 
Mudior and DikuEdit are MsDos programs, and I think DikuEdit is a 500k
program.  Muditor and DikuCLI have much smaller executable files.
DikuCLI was written in Ansi C, specifically to be portable.  There are
currently Unix and MsDos versions.
 
>    -modifiability   : is it easy to change to meet the needs of
>                             future changes to mud rooms?  is it easy
>                             adapt to current mud room construction?
 
Muditor and DikuEdit are not modifiable, they come with preset flags
that you can tag on the mobs and objs.  You cannot alter them to write
aff_flags for your own diku.
DikuCLI on the other hand is totally configurable.  It comes with
default .def files, which can be configured for your own needs.  DikuCLI
comes with the source code as well.
 
>     -learning curve  : how easy is it to learn?  does it come with an
>                             on-line help explaining terms?  any
>                             manual on changing? modifying?
 
None are really that hard to learn.  I am still having problems getting
DikuEdit to read from files properly, but all three have online help.
I would say Muditor is the easiest to learn, while DikuCLI is the hardest.
 
>     -error handling  : how does the program handle user's errors?
>                             are error messages clear and intuitive or
>                             cryptic  (i.e. segmentation faults)
 
All are pretty bad at handling errors, though I have had the hardest
time getting DikuEdit to read my files.  It simply crashes half the
time.
 
>    -bugs            : are there any?
 
*snicker*  "Its not a bug, its a feature."   But realistically, if you
are used to the world of Diku muds, you have to be used to bugs.  All
three programs have crased on me for one reason or another with little
or no error message.
 
>     -time saved      : what percent of time do you cut down as a
>                             result of using this editor as compared
>                             to using a text editor like emacs?
 
This depends very much on how much experience you had writing with just
a text editor.  Many Imps have completely memorized the tinyworld format
and all the flag values, so they are able to write rather.  I havent
memorized the format or the flags, and it saves me quite a bit of time.
 
Muditor helps alot to get the format down, and I go back and add the
flags by hand.  DikuCLI is rather limited, I use an editor to write the
descriptions of objs, and then use DikuCLI to do the flags and values.
DikuEdit I havent spent much time using.
 
>     -creativity      : does the design and procedure of using this
>                             editor hinder the type of spatial areas you can
>                             create?
 
Only Muditor and DikuEdit currently edit .wld files.  In my experience
with Muditor, I dont think it alters the type of spatial areas I create at
all.
 
>     -value           : is it really worth $20 dollars when there are
>                             other free editors out there?  Following this,
>                             how does it compare to the other editors?
 
I'd willingly pay $20 for Muditor v1.0 but I my recent email to the
authors has gone unanswered.  This way I could edit .obj files as well,
and configure the flags to my needs.
 
Currently the only configurable editor is DikuCLI, and it is horrible to
try and write descriptions with.  Muditor is the best for writing descriptions.
Ideally I would like a version of Muditor that edited .obj files, and
define my own flags.  Realistically I see using Muditor v1.0 to write
the basics of all three files and then use the as yet unfinished DikuCLI
to add the flags and values to mobs and objs.
 
Both Muditor and DikuCLI are available via Anon FTP at
ucbvax.berkeley.edu, while DikuEdit is at mccool.cbi.msstate.edu.
 
I understand that the mob editor portion of DikuCLI is being beta
tested, and shoudl be out in a couple of weeks.
 
Currently, I dont know of any editor that will write zone or shop files.
 
If anyone knows of any other off-line editors, or would be willing to
alter an on-line editor to stand alone, please let me know.


:: Ryan L. Watkins :::::::::::::::::::::::: "people need to be shocked" dan ::
:::: rwatkins@cmcvx1.claremont.edu ::::::::::::: "lord in a bucket" melissa ::
:::: vamp@seanews.akita.com ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: "woosh!" nina ::