Potential Games LLC

It has been some time since my last post, but I have been far from idle. There have been no new (Alpha) releases lately, either. Despite seasonal distractions, all of my efforts have been focused on a renovation of the core content system. The software design is significantly better; but what does that mean to you, the player? Absolutely nothing! The next release should play exactly the same as the last one, albeit with a sleek new content model. Read the rest of this entry »

This article provides a use case that chronicles my experience with the Java Logging API, as used for my MMORPG platform. Software developers can take this article as a cautionary tale against code reuse zealotry. It is often advantageous to follow your own software design goals rather than force your design around an existing system. Read the rest of this entry »

Sun has released Java 6 Update 10, with the primary goal of improving end-user experience. Java is a wonderful programming language and runtime platform for developing many types of applications. Unfortunately, running a Java application can be a stumbling block for end users, which, in my opinion, has been holding Java back from reaching its full potential. This update promises many welcome improvements to the platform.

Attention Alpha Playtesters: I'll be testing the new Java version soon, with the goal of officially updating the game's base Java requirements to this version. Playtesters are encouraged to try the new update and report any issues/improvements.

In the rest of this article, I give my two cents on Sun's approach to Java thus far, and examine a couple improvements I've been eagerly anticipating. Read the rest of this entry »

Forgive the somewhat sensationalized title. This article does not describe any actual attacks on MMORPG chat systems (e.g., no World of Warcraft exploits). Nonetheless, there is good reason to believe that undisclosed chat exploits exist. This article explores the potential for exploiting MMORPG chat engines, based on related security vulnerabilities that are known to exist, which occur due to common software development practices. Anyone with experience in this matter is encouraged to comment, as there is a lack of community discussion on this subject. Read the rest of this entry »

In support of Cyber Security Awareness Month, this article is written as a tutorial on basic login security, including techniques to defend against potential vulnerabilities. I encourage anyone with a software security background to comment on this article. Although I have some years of software security experience, peer review is essential for building secure systems.

TIP: Any and all security techniques (including these) should be considered experimental until thoroughly reviewed by the security community.

Read the rest of this entry »

Students of software must be taught early the benefits of object oriented design, lest they succumb to the dark side of static programming. When designing a software component, the temptation can be to write globally accessible public static methods in lieu of instantiable objects. Even experienced developers must remain diligent to avoid being turned to this quicker, more seductive, approach. Read the rest of this entry »

Serialized object data is inherently fragile. A change in one class effectively renders any serialized data that includes the class (even deep within the object graph) unusable. This article describes how I have (potentially) addressed this problem in my MMORPG platform. Read the rest of this entry »

This article describes an interesting design pattern that I utilized in my Potential RPG code. The following describes the pattern in general and how I've used it in my code. Has anyone seen this pattern in the wild? Does it have any other common forms or names? Read the rest of this entry »

This article covers a handy bit of logic to stabilize Java/Swing components that otherwise have annoying grow/shrink behavior. The (perceived) problem occurs when a Java/Swing application uses layout managers that obey internal components' desired sizes. The layout shifts to accommodate internal components as they grow/shrink, which can cause much distress to the end user (at least it does to me). Read the rest of this entry »

There is now a mini-SLOC (Source Lines Of Code) graph in the sidebar. I generate this nightly from my software repository, using custom scripts and tools. If there's anything I like more than writing code, it's simplifying code. At the leading edge of the SLOC graph, you'll notice a massive drop from yesterday. Those 6,436 lines of code are attributable to Task#235 - Update towns to new designs. The new design for towns and shops is much more traditional, in exactly the right kind of way. From a software and content development standpoint, it's easier to work with and much more extensible. For Alpha testers, I'm gearing up for another update, which will feature a few of the latest design changes, including towns, shops, resources, and weaponsmithing.