UI Modding

[Attackroot]

Problem – How to build a proper U.I.

• U.I.s in MMORPGs have been a source of great inspiration and frustration for players and developers
  • What makes a U.I. great can be very personal and subjective
    • While some factors such as speed, responsiveness, and overall utility are shared needs, what some people expect in a modern U.I. is not necessarily shared with the majority
• U.I.s tend to consume a large amount of developer bandwidth on the design and engineering side

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Solution

• As discussed during our Kickstarter, we are building our U.I. out of the web
  • This is only the first step of the process. The web provides some of the required tools, but we still need a lot of custom code
  • The User Interface is built out of the web, letting players create custom UI mods with HTML5 and JavaScript
• Allow the players to take our U.I. to the next level by open-sourcing the entire U.I. code, and not just the mods to it
  • Make it available on GitHub, under the Mozilla Public License
    • This allows the entire Camelot Unchained community access to the code
    • GitHub serves as the repository for the code, and allows the community to comment and improve on it
      • If we approve of the changes, we can incorporate the changed code into our codebase
    • Code is already available on GitHub at https://github.com/csegames/cu-ui
• For discussion with your fellow intrepid modders and hackers, hang out in our backer forums at: https://forums.camelotunchained.com/forum/63-ui-modding-hacking/

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Making Mods

• The User Interface is built using an implementation of Chromium to provide web features
• The UI uses jQuery, a JavaScript library that makes working with the DOM, AJAX, events, and effects much simpler
  • Powers the majority of websites
  • A “known quantity” for the vast majority of web developers
• The underscore.js JavaScript library is included for convenience and ease of code cleanup
  • Lots of “helper” functional programming style functions, with only about 1000 lines of code
  • Embraces JavaScript’s functional programming paradigm
• The UI is written in TypeScript, providing compiler features which can help catch errors early
  • Basically, this is JavaScript meets C#
  • User-friendly; fewer mistakes for inexperienced engineers
  • Supports pure JavaScript as well; no need to learn a new language

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Odds and Ends

• Social functions for groups, guilds, etc., can also be created out of the web
• In-game chat can be accessed via external XMPP clients, such as Trillian, with website integration accessible to all our backers (coming soon)
  • This is the exact same code that we use for in-game chat. A perfect example of how we are building the U.I. out of the web
  • This system has been in testing for months, and has been pretty solid so far
  • Players will be able to communicate easily, whether they are in the game or through a web client or mobile app
    • No need to log into game to check on your friends, guild, etc. You can do so through an XMPP client
    • No inter-realm chatter will be supported by this system: You will not be able to talk to people who are not on your server and realm

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Summary

• CSE took the first step in making the MMORPG’s U.I. open-source by a decision to build the U.I. out of Chromium
• Now we are taking it to the next level by placing our U.I. code on GitHub and inviting people to work with it
  • Code is already available on GitHub at https://github.com/csegames/cu-ui
  • Code will be under the Mozilla Public License
• U.I. codebase also includes jQuery and underscore.js, and is written in TypeScript
• For discussion with your fellow intrepid modders and hackers, hang out in our backer forums at: https://forums.camelotunchained.com/forum/63-ui-modding-hacking/
• Camelot Unchained’s chat system utilizes XMPP, and has been in testing for months with our Internal Testers
  • We will soon open chat system to all Backers
  • Chat can be accessed through compatible XMPP apps and programs: Backers who are out-of-the-game can talk to players who are in game and visa-versa
    • No cross-realm chat will be allowed at launch