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[daigidan]

I've stumbled over here from the OGRE3D wiki and am pleasantly intrigued by what I've read so far. :]

I'm not really a player of MMORPGs, but I want to help build one. That may seem an odd statement, but I'm a long-time tabletop GM with the concomitant compulsion to create worlds. The feeling has been growing in me that online games and virtual worlds represent an emergent form of art and communication, and I want to get in on the fun.

PW caught my eye after reading the design objectives, many of which figure in the never-to-be-realized-one-man-MMORPG-project-in-my-head. So I'd like to offer what help I can and would appreciate some input on where I could be useful. To that end, a little about me.

I am something of a computer generalist, working on one of the top three instant messaging networks (that isn't said to toot my own horn, just to make folks aware that I have experience with large scales and loads). My C++ skills are woefully lapsed and I've never done any game programming, but I am a solid programmer in other areas. My modeling skills are rudimentary, although I did work with 3DMax in another lifetime. I consider myself a good writer and I've got plenty of ideas in the fantasy genre. My primary asset is that I'm a quick study. ;] Any pointers on where I could jump in would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

[RicoSuave]

Thank you, and yes, I agree that Python's ability to cross-platform is a huge selling point (as if they sold it). In my business, over 99% of the systems I deal with are Windows-based in some way, thus naturally, I started focusing on Windows scripting myself.

One more quick question if you don't mind...
Have you experienced any problems with Python scripts if you open/edit a script using Notepad, then doing so later with an IDE? Where I work, we have many hands on a single file, editing and tweaking it. Some use Notepad; some use IDLE; we all experience problems with indentation not transferring correctly from one editor to the next. Just wondering. Thanks.

-Rico

[daigidan]

Yes, I've seen issues with indentation from IDEs -> Notepad or vice versa. Problems arise when the relative indentation level differs or when tabs and spaces are intermixed. The common recommendation is to pick a number of spaces, and then make sure that everyone's IDE uses that same number of spaces instead for a tab.

This is one gripe that I find legitimate about Python or any language where whitespace is significant, but arguably one advantage is that it forces prettier code. As a longtime Perl writer of Perl one-liners I sometimes chafe at it, though. ;]