More MP mod ideas

[Gwledig]

I am thinking of getting around to a new mod, although I'm cautious as I had trouble finding the time to maintain my existing mods (Conquest & variants, Lazersquad, WesCraft, Chaos etc.)
What I'd really like to do would be a MUD (multi user dungeon) style MP map, representing an entire game world, players would explore the map, fight monsters, trade with other players, use stores, use magic, sleep, eat and drink to restore HP, accumulate skill levels, study/train new ability levels, acquire/wear/buy all armor, weapons and other items and join groups to fight tough monsters. Followers, pets and summoned monsters should be possible.
The key thing would be storing the player unit as (local) saved data, then loading this into the game, allowing progression over time. One idea I have is to store the player data as a series of codes, this is then inputted into the game and the unit is re-built based on the codes supplied, this could get impractical however if a lot of data is stored. However, if there is only a finite/known number of variables for each player, e.g. 8 slots for worn/wielded items, 10 slots for inventory, 8 slots for attributes, a 'gold' and possibly 'bank' slot, these could conceivably be supplied as a series of codes, it might be a pain to supply these on entry to the game but it would provide a powerful way to save/restore players into a MUD style game. The codes could be encrypted to deter cheating, possibly using an algorithm based on an acceptable initial code (like a pass key) issued to players.
The mechanism would also allow for 'saving' the player's stats, e.g. allowing the player to view their current codes at any time for noting/saving. This might be laborious but then again, RPG players are used to this kind of thing.
It might also be cool to have textual descriptions which could be added unique to currently occupied hex, then accessed by right-clicking player to 'view description', expanding the game world and providing clues and added factors for that 'room', e.g. there is something glinting on the floor. This could then be expanded into the kind of gameplay seen in rogue type games like Falcon's Eye e.g. right-click unit for actions such as 'explore', 'description' etc.
Of course the map/player state could be saved as a normal save, but this wouldn't be portable into multiplayer.
There is some discussion on this kind of thing e.g. https://wesnoth.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30679
One of my other projects is restoring an old MUD (text based game in UNIX environment) so I have some familiarity with these concepts.
Any further ideas would be welcome I am also going to look at some similar mods I noticed over the years, I think Heindal did something similar...

[EarthCake]

Heindal made Strange Legacy RPG, where you can choose your race, you have a story mode, you can find treasures, have dungeons, cities, you can trade and earn money (that is how I get all the money) etc.

[Ravana]

Wesnoth has PersistenceWML.

[Gwledig]

Heindal's mod is single player I think a simpler system would be needed for multiplayer maps Im guessing it would rely on core game more than strange legacy and use of regular turns with mv points deducted for actions... As well as a simple inventory system it would also need a good approach for mobs ie mobile which rely on AI have rich descriptions, carry lootable items and do things like pursue attacker...

[Soliton]

You could look at Wesband. viewtopic.php?t=21234

[Gwledig]

Another mod idea I have is something I'd call WesMech, where each player gets to customise a 'mech' style unit, this could be done pretty easily and convincingly with core artwork (see conq+ units like mech scout)... after customising the mech (starting with set amount of gold to buy armour, weapons, missiles, jump-jets etc.), you take on other players head to head, it might(not?)also be good to have a couple of re-supply type buildings where you can upgrade your mech, this could be done simply using abilities to add/replace armour, weapons etc. Ranged combat could be acheived using the same system used in Conq+, Lazersquad etc. Part of the fun would be the initial customisation of your mech, this could be done on turn 1 using a dialogue screen/menu, then you are able to move normally on turn 2... terrain would play a role, for mv and defense, area damage is also possible for missiles using same approach used in Conq+ Space/Lazersquad.

[Heindal]

You should check out WoW. World of Wesnoth, obviously. We did everything that you just described.
Guess what? Hardly response.

Creating a character is easy. You have to save persistent variables and than create a creation macro.
Say: you have a character who is an:

Race: orc
Class: necromancer
Intelligence: 20
Constitution: 5
Dexterity: 1
Strength: 1
Level: 5

With that you can already create a character. For example by selecting the orc_necromancer unit type, or by changing overlays, according to the selected race. The challenge in a multiplayer universe is that these variables have to be given an additional key.

For example player 1 needs to get Race1: orc, Class1: necromancer, while player two would need to get Race2: orc Class2: necromancer.