Zugg Software :: View topic

Sorcerer Joined: 15 Apr 2011 Posts: 809

I had a cmud vs mushclient argument with a member of my clan on my MUD this evening, and the conclusion was that he won't even consider cmud as a viable client because it can't be run off a USB drive. He said, I quote: "yes, [cmud] is dying solely on fact that it doesnt give people ability to move around with it in memorystick. mush does." Something to consider, perhaps.

Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 1:24 pm

That isn't entirely true. There is nothing to stop you during your install of CMUD on each system telling it that your document folder is on E:\Muds or whatever drive/folder you may have setup on your pen drive.

You can carry your pen drive around and use CMUD wherever you've installed it in that way. It is just that CMUD itself cannot be installed to or run from a pen drive due to the copy protection.

Although at a guess you probably could install CMUD to the pen drive too it would just need you to repeat the same install on any machine you wanted to use the stick on such that the necessary entries/classes etc got put in the registry and then register it each time too. Like I say that is a guess, never tried it, never wanted to but it may work.

Sorcerer Joined: 15 Apr 2011 Posts: 809

Yes, it can work, but you need to enter your license key on every computer you use it on. That's a big inconvenience for people who have many computers, and you may not always have permissions to write to the registry.

Wizard Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 2320

What the argument ultimately comes down to is the difference between a licensed product and a shareware or freeware product. A licensed product like Cmud needs to be registered on the machine it runs on, and so cannot be transported on a USB drive.

Somehow, I doubt that most mushclient fans make their choice over Cmud based on whether they can use it on a USB drive--the fact that mushclient is freeware is probably the bigger reason.

Wizard Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 2320

As a side-note, Zugg did have plans for a Cmud Lite, which would essentially be a portable client storing its data in a remote server--essentially a cloud-based mud client. Unfortunately, that has been way way down in the priorities.

Sorcerer Joined: 15 Apr 2011 Posts: 809

True, but if this is a selling point for some people, it may be a good idea to release cmud lite sooner rather than later.

Wizard Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 2320

Possibly. It would be a major coding project, and would indefinitely postpone all other improvements that other people would like to see. Selecting the next focus of development is a balancing act between appealing to current users and appealing to potential users. Since Zugg is no longer dependent on Cmud as his primary income, developing for new users might not be as high a priority, but I'm sure he will still be interested in gaining new users. For that matter, a number of current users expressed interest in the Cmud Lite when it was first discussed.

Sorcerer Joined: 15 Apr 2011 Posts: 809

Major coding project? Cmud lite is already done, just not released...

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 12:43 pm

You mean by making CMUD free?

Otherwise where are you getting your information?

Sorcerer Joined: 15 Apr 2011 Posts: 809

The information that cmud lite is done? Here.

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 1:11 pm

I suspect that is achieved via compilation directives much like TeSSH is and would load file based sessions and settings.

I'm hesitant to believe that Zugg has fully completed the product whereby it can store your sessions and settings on his server.

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 6:45 pm

CMUD Lite is stripped of the modules that make it stand out (mapper, db, whatnot). That's really the value of CMUD, so I don't see Lite bringing in more purchases. At best, it might raise awareness of CMUD.

Even if a portable version wasn't stripped, I don't see a need for portability - install it, drop your files and settings in, done. If you lack permissions to install, odds are you shouldn't be gaming there anyway.

I'd prefer to VNC to desktop, opposed to accessing a cloud or carrying a flash drive.

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 6:50 pm

iOS and Android are another story.

But like Zugg has said, the market is so very niche that these subgroups are tiny, similar to his decision in dropping Unicode.

Wizard Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 2320

Hm. The concept I was remembering was a cloud-based system, where the client would be small and portable, and would grab session, settings, and map information from a central database. I think Cmud Lite was only the first step toward that. The proposed product would have all the features of Cmud, but you could run it from anywhere.