Mark	New things are happening in #madlib! We asked _kitten_, our star reporter from the Madlib Gazette, to talk to cahaya and get all the scoop right from the horse's mouth! (so to speak *wink*)

3/8/99 7:34 PM

This is _kitten_, from the Madlib Gazette, reporting the late breaking news from the world of Madlib. I conducted an exclusive interview with cahaya, the creator of Madlib. You will find out secrets and new things that will be happening to this wonderful game on IRC.

(_kitten_) Tell us briefly about the history of madlib. What inspired you to create such a fun game?
(cahaya) It all started out with Mach's #acro, a great game for creativity and fun, with a voting format. Several players there were wondering if a new game would ever come out, so I got to thinking of possibilities. After about 2 months of idea toying... the idea of making an online game based on the Madlib concept came to mind, combined with the voting format of #acro, and that's where
the design idea originated.
(_kitten_) and you already knew how to script, correct? well, apparently you did!
(cahaya) well... actually, no! *lol*
(_kitten_) really? you learned as you went along or you got a little help from your friends?
(cahaya) once I had an idea how the game format would be, I started piecing together the bot's logic in concept. Then the hard part -- putting it in mIRC script code. Actually, it wasn't all that difficult... the mIRC help/lookup facility is quite good, and the scripting language is very flexible. The first version of the bot took 3 weeks to write, in spare time on weeknights and weekends. Almost any client is equally good, for chat and play... I used pirch for a while, too. But for scripting, mIRC is tops.
(_kitten_) how many versions of the bot have there been?
(cahaya) essentially, one version, constantly added to and modified. For example, the earliest bot didn't have stats and didn't show who voted for who. Most of the additions came from suggestions that the players or ops made.
(_kitten_) oh, I see....so as time went on you saw improvements to be made and you made them
(cahaya) yup, although it was more the players who saw the improvements to be made... for about 2 months after the bot came out, I was pretty busy with code enhancements.
(_kitten_) this brings us to the next question: I hear that there is going to be a new bot. can you tell us about the new bot and how it differs from the old bot?
(cahaya) Yes, there is a new version of the bot coming out soon, already written and almost fully tested. It's in a different language, Eggdrop TCL, designed to run on UNIX servers rather than a PC. It will be hosted from a UNIX server in the U.S., rather than hosted from my home here like the current bot is.
(_kitten_) When is the bot going to be put on a unix and what differences will this make for you and the players?
(cahaya) First, I won't need to babysit the bot, while I'm out on travels (which is often). A bot isn't much unlike having a baby in the house! Second, it saves a lot of money for me... my ISP charges by the hour for connection time. The UNIX site (satexas.com) is in the process of changing their UNIX server hardware, so the bot will be hosted after that is done. Although the bot is totally different in coding, the actual play and displays are exactly the same, no difference to the players.
(_kitten_) so you had to change coding for it to be on the new server otherwise, it's still the same
(cahaya) yes, exactly :)
(_kitten_) and you got someone to help you out, as far as the UNIX server is concerned?
(cahaya) About the help... yes, I got some help with the Eggdrop TCL coding. Wrapper, who hosts #trivbot, #frenzy and #hanger did a similar exercise, and co-authored much of the code for the new bot.
(_kitten_) Now that the first year of this game has passed, what has changed most about the game?
Is there anything you would like to change about the game? If so, what?
(cahaya) Good question, there, about changes... I think the same has pretty much remained the same over the last year or so, except for the early additions we made.
(_kitten_) as mentioned above
(cahaya) We're seeing a lot more problem with server lag these days, though... and that's always < been a problem. So one change to expect is direct DCC interaction with the bot to eliminate the lag problem.
(_kitten_) can that be done? instead of /msg or /query you can dcc chat it?
(cahaya) yes, it's pretty easy to do. The hard part is the security aspect of it, making sure only players are DCC'ing to the bot, and not flooding it in the process. There's some work to be done there.
(_kitten_) and, of course, you are on top of that
(cahaya) Just read the help guides, code it, test it, and learn as you go :) and try things out...
writing a bot is a creative process.
(_kitten_) I can imagine it is
(_kitten_) the next question is: Do you have any plans to put this game on other servers (besides undernet and austnet, of course)?
(cahaya) Yes, definitely. As you probably know, Eingang (who co-wrote acrobot and chaosbot with Mach) already has had her UNIX version of the bot on two other nets. I'd like to host the madbot on other IRC nets, although haven't decided exactly where yet. There's also requests for foreign language bots (specifically Portugues for Brazil nets, and Italian)
(cahaya) (note: Portuguese spelling) :) The plan would be to expand the UNIX server hosting, rather than release code... it's a lot more easily managed that way (the bot running side of it). We'd probably have different channel managers (other than myself), though, for the new networks.
(_kitten_) that's terrific!!
(cahaya) It's pretty easy to set up another bot, essentially a copy of existing bots. For foreign languages, we'd have to translate bot displays, and redo the libs. well, the scripts are the same, it's the displays and libs that will change for translation.
(_kitten_) you have people in mind for the foreign language ones to redo the scripts?
(cahaya) For Portuguese, there's a couple of offers to help in that, and one player (Snaporaz) who's interested in doing the same for Italian.
(_kitten_) I have heard people talk about having madlib in different languages. that would be a nice project! good luck! you ready for the last question?
(cahaya) ok, ready!
*cahaya closes his eyes in anticipation!*
(_kitten_) you will have to think real hard about this answer
(_kitten_) What does your wife think about you running a channel 24 hours a day, 7 days a week AND on holidays?
(cahaya) Good question! :)
(_kitten_) quick! go ask her!
(cahaya) She, and my son, are supportive of my hobbies, and my son in particular is pretty fascinated by the idea of round-the-clock bots. Of course, in life, family and work come before hobbies, and I've kept that pretty well in balance. This also applies to the players on the channel too *lol* The UNIX bot will help a lot in the weekend/vacation period, being remotely hosted.
(_kitten_) so if something went wrong, someone else could fix it?
(cahaya) yes, I'll train a couple senior ops to be UNIX bot ops, and there's Wrapper, who co-authored the UNIX bot.

cahaya said that #madlib is an addicting game.....

(cahaya) ... I think people are addicted to the channel as much for the chat and joking around with other players there, as they are the game itself.
(_kitten_) honestly, I stink at the game, but I go to visit the people and have a good time
(cahaya) The game kind of helps move the humor and conversation along... in a real sense, a great aid to what's equally a chat channel as it is a game channel.
(_kitten_) I totally agree with that. In fact, some of the libs have inspired some great conversation
(_kitten_) any last words, cahaya?
(cahaya) Hmmm... yes :) I never imagined the channel and game would turn out like it has in the past year... it started out really as an experiment for a new game. With a wide player base, and a dedicated Web page (thanks, sker!), it has turned out to be far more popular than anticipated. With that, there came corresponding responsibilities for the ops and I. It's a lot of work, and I thank the ops for doing a wonderful job of it. What makes a channel is the people that frequent it, and we have a wonderful variety of people in #madlib... they bring life, humor and fun to the channel.
(_kitten_) aww, I know you are talking about me, aren't you? LOL
(cahaya) hahaha! yup, and your friends, and our friends, and friends of friends :)
(_kitten_) and the libs go on...... As you can see, cahaya has some great plans for Madlib, especially the bot. Another interview with him will be conducted in about 6 months. Stay tuned. And now back to ________________.