I'm thinking of building an MMO RTS game...

[DireEmblem]

But cant for the life of me decide if I should make this in php(which means i need to teach myself this) or write it in java.

What are peoples thoughts on the pro's/cons between the two?

 

[NathanE]

Mmm, how about neither? Choose something modern and appropriate.

 

[AHarvey]

tbh, have you got the skills to make such a thing if you're struggling over the languages?

Browser based or standalone?

You can use different languages but not sure that php/java would be the two I'd automatically jump to.

Go and read up on the creation of Eve Online and the use of Stackless Python, see if that gives you some insight.

Tbh, an mmo rts would be a MASSIVE undertaking by 1 person anyway and probably wouldn't be worth the effort and years it would take.

 

[doiks14]

Tbh, an mmo rts would be a MASSIVE undertaking by 1 person anyway and probably wouldn't be worth the effort and years it would take.

This... it's an absolutely massive undertaking for a single person

 

[djkav]

Even Trion Worlds and Petroglyph had trouble making an MMO RTS. They already had the knowledge and infrastructure. Altho, I don't know what your skill set is.

You could try for something really different and slightly simpler.
A MMO point and click graphical adventure I don't think anyone has attempted one of those. I'm thinking "beyond the steel city" type.

 

[RoyMi6]

But cant for the life of me decide if I should make this in php

THIS I would like to see!

Not to say it isn't possible, anything's possible, but it's like saying you're going to build a house out of straw. Yeah, sure, people can make houses with straw (pretty cool houses in fact!) but it's more useful and practical for others things - like making baskets.

Why not try and make a basket?

 

[Inferno99]

PHP/Java would be absolutely fine for some Planetarion clone. .NET would be a good alternative. The obvious choice would be down to whichever you feel to be more suitable - possibly in expertise.

 

[UncleRuckus]

I would suggest that you make a prototype to see if you actually have the skills to make an mmo rpg in the language which is most practical and you are most comfortable with first.

I don't mean to sound harsh, but if you can't weight the pros and con of a language do you really have what it takes?

Do you

• Program AI
• Make a good UI
• Normalise a database
• Program a game engine
• Make your code scale
• Know enough about security that your user's data is secure
• Have the 100's of hours needed to produce the game

This is just to name a few...

I'm speaking from experience, start small

 

[RoyMi6]

PHP/Java would be absolutely fine for some Planetarion clone.

Loved this back in day! Make that!

 

[DireEmblem]

Oh don't worry...

I'm turning to freelance work, and this will be my hobby between jobs to sharpen my skills.

I've written/hosted a poker site before, albeit the graphics weren't great, it could handle Omaha/Holdem stt and sit n gos. It was never good enough to take on sites like full tilt/poker stars though.

I have a spare server, so the rough plan is to have the logic based in SQL with a web/java interface. People would own/build/attack and conquer villages with their armies. I'm not sure but I think Middle Ages would be best. If your town was high in the mountains, then you would get better perks mining ore, in the plains you could support a larger population, and at the seaside you would have a higher food production and faster transport between other fishing towns.

Follow my drift? I'm not sure on the next part but it would be pretty cool if you could send your army anywhere, as long as you had a clear transport route to provide supplies, otherwise men would start to die and so on. Not so sure on how real I should make this, but would be cool if it kept to Britain having a good navy, French cavalry and so on - more regional perks.

This way there could then be a lot to the game, without myself having to worry too much about the graphics.

I would build an in game tribe/communication system as well. Would also be pretty cool if it was open source for people to contribute to its development if/when it becomes up and running but I like the idea of creative control.

 

[ZombieFan]

Sounds pretty cool. What's your reasoning behind doing the logic in SQL? I would suggest you create a separate business layer for your logic away from your database and UI. This would be easier to maintain, easier to test, and also make it easier to switch to a different type of database if you need to in the future.

 

[DireEmblem]

Sounds pretty cool. What's your reasoning behind doing the logic in SQL?

The reasoning behind sql is that it should be easily scalable without too much strain on the server and that I should be able to create various virtual worlds running on the same logic with different variations on aspects of the game.

I agree it will take a while to implement, but I think its a good project to complete whilst I am between jobs.