ShadowNet: Real-time SR4 gaming online Options

[Dashifen]

ShadowNet
Current Version: 0.33 (alpha, i.e. not working)

So, this came up in a thread in the SR4 forum. I had tooled around with making some real-time chatting software that would eventually include online tools for SR4 gaming like an integrated die roller and character record system or, if I get really ambitious, an online character generator (thus, cross platform, too).

I see this as being both a handy tool for people who want to a real-time chat based game or for those, like myself, who use skype or other voice chatting system for the majority of the gaming experience but might also like the ability to send private and/or public messages to people as necessary.

Like other community projects here at the DSF, this thread can be used to post questions, comments, bug reports, etc. I'll be using this first post to enumerate plans, open tickets, etc. so that people can get a sense of where I'm at with the system.

Thus, here's the road map towards a beta (i.e. working) release. Struck through items are complete.

1. Working game creation and joining system with password protection.
2. Public chat between game masters and players.
3. Private chat either from GM to player (and vice versa) or between two players.
4. The exiting and saving of games in the archive and subsequent access to the archives by appropriate parties.
5. The automatic closing of a game after an appropriate quanta of inactive time.
6. The automatic removal of game archives after an appropraite quanta of time probably not less than 14 days.

My goal is to have a beta by Saturday (November 3rd).

Extended plans for a 1.0 release include primarily the integration of an online die roller to the public and private chats to facilitate online play as well as an account system for GMs and players to manage a game over multiple sessions as well as maintain archives and other information over a longer term. Looking even further forward, a 2.0 release will include the character record system so that players and GMs can store information about characters within the ShadowNet system for reference during a game.

Other ideas can be incorporated as time goes on. Like I said, I don't at this time intend on producing an online PHP/MySQL/JavaScript character generator as a part of ShadowNet, but if after all the other work is done and stable it's something the community would want, I might be persuaded to give it a shot. Especially since so many of the other generators are focused on Windows, the benefit of an online generator would be it's accessibility to a variety of platforms and systems. But, for now, such a project is outside the scope of what ShadowNet is intended to be.

I will update this post as I work. Feel free to visit the ShadowNet site. There's not much there as of this posting other than the basic information and the game creation/joining code, but I expect I'll get maybe #2 and #3 done tonight or tomorrow and 3-6 aren't going to take too much time at all.