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phennexion

Programming in WU? Idea for my students

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Hi Everyone,

 

I've been leading some classes in programming for gr 7-12 students, and I dont want to do Minecraft for Education... prefer to do wurm :)

 

I havent played WU yet, but i've been playing WO since 2007. 

 

Is there any "game programming" experience opportunities for students to maybe make their own server and do a little wurm programming on their own WU server?

 

Thanks!!

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Start simple, explain on how to use an IDE my recommendation is IntelliJ to compile mods via artifacts, explain the modloader, make sure they know what Java interfaces and listeners are. 

 

Do a first introduction project with some small cool things, like a zeus command to throw a lightning on some other players or something like that. Such a program can be done in just a few lines of code and could be a nice and funny hello world project example.

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I am sure I replied to this like 10 hours ago, so either someone deleted my post or I am losing my mind, I don't like the thought of either tbh.....

 

The general gist of my post was that making mods would be a good way to learn some programming, everyone would need to buy a copy of WU though with their own steam account.

They can create a server on a 'lan' which no one else can access from the internet, it's not that hard to set up.

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Awesome, thank you!

 

They're fairly proficient with Javascript and C#, so they can read simple code... Is it pretty advanced coding to make mods on this game?

 

Thanks!

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1 minute ago, phennexion said:

Awesome, thank you!

 

They're fairly proficient with Javascript and C#, so they can read simple code... Is it pretty advanced coding to make mods on this game?

 

Thanks!

 

You should know the basic java concepts and object oriented programming. Knowing about classes, interfaces, methods, listeners, java keywords like public, static, final, private, finally, try / catch, exceptions and the most important datatypes is recommended.

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I am teaching myself c# at the moment so I went with making external tools to manipulate the game world(world painter/viewer type tools) instead of creating actual game mods. Might be something to look into if you aren't looking to get into java but still want to be involved in WU.

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3 minutes ago, Deviator said:

I am teaching myself c# at the moment so I went with making external tools to manipulate the game world(world painter/viewer type tools) instead of creating actual game mods. Might be something to look into if you aren't looking to get into java but still want to be involved in WU.

 

If you know C# it is only a small step to get into java. Java is a lot easier in some areas than C#.

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4 hours ago, Cuddles said:

everyone would need to buy a copy of WU though with their own steam account.

 

If it were me, I  would try hitting up @Rolf or @Retrograde to see whether Code Club might "sponsor" this school learning project by donating a half dozen Wurm keys ^_^ However at the very least you'd probably have to "prove" somehow it is an actual official class learning project. Or maybe some WO community members would like to donate keys for the students. Or maybe some combination of the two.   

 

I suspect it is the type of project that could appeal to Rolf ...  and could somehow translate into a good PR project for Retro. If somehow Retro's gang could video tape it and pass the video on to some gaming news outlets, it sure might be a nice way to get Wurm's name out there even if the game is barely mentioned and its all about the classroom learning project.

 

Otherwise knowing high school students, I would wager a number of them can;t afford to buy a key on their own. Or maybe your school could subsidize the project.

Edited by Brash_Endeavors
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2 hours ago, Brash_Endeavors said:

 

If it were me, I  would try hitting up @Rolf or @Retrograde to see whether Code Club might "sponsor" this school learning project by donating a half dozen Wurm keys ^_^ However at the very least you'd probably have to "prove" somehow it is an actual official class learning project. Or maybe some WO community members would like to donate keys for the students. Or maybe some combination of the two.   

 

I suspect it is the type of project that could appeal to Rolf ...  and could somehow translate into a good PR project for Retro. If somehow Retro's gang could video tape it and pass the video on to some gaming news outlets, it sure might be a nice way to get Wurm's name out there even if the game is barely mentioned and its all about the classroom learning project.

 

Otherwise knowing high school students, I would wager a number of them can;t afford to buy a key on their own. Or maybe your school could subsidize the project.

 

 

That's an awesome idea! I dont mind buying some licenses to start since i've got some money in my budget - but maybe there can be a WU for Education Sku!

 

What are some game programming related aspects you guys think I could code right off the bat to get them engaged?

 

I was thinking map design and building would be cool, getting them to plan their own houses and deeds, maybe a pvp objective? I will have to speed the timers and skill gain ALOT since they're used to minecraft and forknife (yes i know i spelled that wrong ;)

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actually playing the game wouldnt have any real programming experience, playing it would be more of a problem solving type thing with goal orientation but it is still a viable learning tool for that tbh.

As far as programming, I do server mods myself and it's not really that hard if you already know some code basics, there is also already a lot of public released mods that they can look over the source code and learn from there. Could even be a project of go through this mods code and point out good and bad coding practices, which could be done without even having the game.

 

I always say you can do pretty much anything in WU mods, it just takes skill, effort and time.

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When I used this in a class I taught, the focus was on the "Survival Crafting Genre" and WU was one of the games I showcased. Since it was a new class and asking the University for much more than just IT / computer support would probably have killed it, I just created 15 new Steam accounts and got the software, myself. It was a bit of an investment, but it gave me complete control. I did have one Game company offer to give me instances of their game (but I decided to support them with money instead.)

 

I ended up creating a "Gilligan's Island" scenario, thanks to the help of many here on the forums, for that class. (The point was not basic programming, but how one could take an off the shelf commercial game and modify the content, potentially for use in education environment.) The students enjoyed the experience. Have no idea if any of them actually bought the game or did anything more. But I have felt for many years that the potential in education is a vast untapped market for WU.

 

In fact I started looking at options, recently, since I am about to retire and thinking I could do something with the local library, etc. But the current news on WU, etc. has been a little unsettling.

 

Edit: the company that offered to give me copies for education was not Rolf / Wurm. I have discussed the potential for educational uses with some of his minions but nothing much ever came of it. Would be glad to hear you had better success.

Edited by lokitheweaver
additional info in response to another comment

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