[Downtown1]

Here is a simple suggestion anyone will understand (by that I mean the server admins who don't program!)

Would it be possible to make this mod support other games as well? I know dJeyL started working on UC Mod (I think??) but he stopped development a long time ago.

I just think it would be cool if we could write plugins that would work on any game like an amx_say, or since the game functions are bound to be different it would still be useful because we wouldn't have to learn how to use a new scripting language.

p.s. whose idea was it to use Small? You guys ever consider something that has more features like Python or C++ or Perl?

[BAILOPAN]

Make a game generic scripting language/meta plugin is an extermely daunting and difficult task. UA is attempting to do this with their silly idea, "Titan", to support a universal API for all game engines. The idea is folly because ever engine interacts differently and not all games use the same structure as Metamod. At best, you could port the different engine calls to a similar interface, if it was allowable. If a game doesn't release an SDK, you are screwed. And some games already have scripting built in. Baldur's Gate actually uses the Small machine for game scripting.

The idea to use Small for AMX Mod was OLO's, and he got the idea from Admin-Mod, which uses a very old Small Abstract machine (1.8.4) in its script engine.

Why would we move to C++? Then you would just be making Metamod plugins. The purpose of AMX Mod X is to wrap C++ calls to Small ones so it is easier to script. The roadmap for AMX Mod X is to stick to Small, because it works, and you, sir, are whiny. I'd rather not disclose the plans for my (proposed) HL2 scripting engine, but most likely it will not use Small.

It all depends on what the scripting language has to offer. Perl is a beast, and the number of people in the world that can fully comprehend the Perl core interpreter are probably very few. It would probably not offer much in the way of performance over, say, the P-code of a bytecode language such as Small. It would offer much easier scripting, however.

[Downtown1]

I'm not whiny I'm just trying to throw out some ideas so maybe you can get some of your own ideas and make an awesome amxx mod .

What would be wrong with using C++ if, say, you created your own objects and then overloaded them to use the standard C++ syntax. It could still work like Small but except we'd be using C++. Or too much to hope for?

Now I realize every game has different APIs, so you would probably have to make a gateway that could interface with all the various APIs. Would it be really that hard? The way I see it this project would become the #1 server side mod for all the games if it did that. Then just keep a crew of people to add new interfaces for new games to the gateway.

[BAILOPAN]

Overload? Overload what? The whole point of metamod is that you already overload everything. You define the function you want to overload, and what it should do instead.

And the issue isn't just with a different API. It's with an entirely different structure. For example, it is impossible to hook gamedlls in other games, and if you could, there's an entirely different engine architecture. Not every game has a "liblist.gam" that you can just slap and reroute calls to. It's just not feasible. The universal Metamod (or as UA calls it - "Titan") - would be a 30MB DLL that hooked every game in existance in its own ways.

[Downtown1]

What's the problem? Create a core gateway, and then have the client only download the DLL file for his own game, you don't need all 30 MBs.

Modules, modules, modules ;). Haven't tried making my own for metamod actually, because it's a hassle to get them to compile, and that's why we are seeing a lot more plugins after AMX has come out -- way easier to make them.

[MagicShot]

Bailopan,
I Really am starting to like small scripting, mostly because its easy and even easier than "c++".. It shall be interesting to see what you impplement for HL2..

P.S. Hints are nice..