6/13    What is the best FREE massively multi-player on-line game?
        \_ shockforce.
        \_ xcraft.  http://www.csua.berkeley.edu/~xcraft
            \_ is this just a ripoff of http://www.freecraft.com
            \_ so out of curiosity, did 169 grade you at all on originality/
               design?
            \_ you ripped off the warcraft gifs, and made it networked.
               you expect this to remain "free"?
               \_ the graphics can be easily changed (though the units, spell
                  effects and such would also need to be) ... still, I find
                  it rather audacious for the authors to say, "Xcraft is ...
                  similar to Warcraft 2".  Similar?  Similar is comparing
                  Warcraft to Starcraft.  Xcraft is a clone, don't deny it.
                  BTW, I'm assuming that since Xcraft is a WC2 clone, it only
                  supports a maximum of 8 players.  That's hardly massively
                  multi-player.
                  \_ also not bad for 3 months work in 169. --jon
                        \_ No; it only has footman and peons.  We had progress
                     \_ They actually wrote all the source code for building
                        bases, casting spells, etc.?  In 3 months??
                        \_ No; it only has footmen and peons.  We had progress
                           reports to write and MBAs to coddle.  --dbushong
                     \_ I'm not saying it's not impressive.  It is.  But it's
                        still asking for lawyers to come knocking.
                        \_ It was a class project.  Who cares.
                        \_ Well, long term it'll use the data files from
                           the original... or would have.  It looks like
                           the freecraft people are doing fine, so I don't
                           feel terribly compelled to put more time into
                           it.  --dbushong
                     \_ Even more impressive after visiting the web site and
                        finding out that Donald Horton was one of their team
                        members.  I was unfortunate enough to have him in one
                        of my project groups; a stuffed animal or a cheap
                        paperweight would've made more of a contribution to
                        the group than he did.
                        \_ Wow.. another victim.  Good old Donald "Whoa, whoa,
                           whoa.. No One Said Anything About Archers!" Horton
                  \_ Actually the #/players limitation in XCraft is largely
                     that's it's basically 100% server intelligence.  If
                     you can get a machine buff enough to pathfind, track,
                     etc N moving units for M players, it'll handle that
                     many players...  in theory.  The plus of this is that
                     cheating is largely impossible.  Of course the whole server
                     really needs a rewrite (I'm free to say this since
                     I didn't really work on the server ;)  --dbushong
        \_ netrek - if you want to have real skills
        \_ mailto:lwall@csua.berkeley.edu
        \_ BSXMUD / ReGenesis
        \_ playing "spot the darkie" in soda hall?
           \_ is that you, bem?
           \_ why must we be so racially insensitive in this day and age?
              \_ Listen to this whiny-assed rice-boy.  Ain't he cute?
                 \_ Woe be to he who is an asiaphile anime-watching rice-
                    chaser participating in the assimilation of h07 42N CHIX!
                 \_ The H07 42N CH1X think so.
                            \_ forty-two'in ?
        \_ EarthSiege3, the alpha tech release, is the best Mech game
           I've ever played.  Actually, its one of the best games ever if
           you think skill and smooth game play are important.