/ Announcing Gachapon Lobby
Posted on January 11, 2012 in Gachapon Lobby by dotMaiku
Gachapon Lobby is the next lobby program I have been developing. It is a much more advanced chat program than its predecessor Soku Lobby. It has many benefits and features, such as plug-ins and a full community system.
The plug-ins are a big part of the program. They extend functionality on the server and client seamlessly. Take for example, your basic chat room. You are able to talk with others and do basic things. Now add a game plug-in. Instead of a normal chat room, all players in the chat are connected to the host’s game. Another example: a video room. Built-in to the chat room is a video player, which could play YouTube videos. So while you’re watching the video, you can chat and comment on the video.
These plug-ins are kept on the server. That way, if any of them are required, they can be automatically downloaded to the client. The server will store other information as well, including member avatars and localization text.
The client and server can have their own plug-ins, which the other doesn’t know about. For example: the server might have an anti-CAPS plug-in. It kicks users if they use caps too much. The client doesn’t need to download the plug-in to access the server. Another example: a link previewer for the client. Whenever someone posts a link in the chat, the client will fetch the link and preview it in the program.
I am making the code open source. Anyone can download a server and host their own. Anyone can also write plug-ins for it as well. This makes it easy for communities to start their own server for themselves and customize it.
Users of Soku Lobby will see a lot of existing features in the new program. However, there will be a lot more including fixes to annoying issues. When the program is ready, there will be a migration process. Soku Lobby will still be available. It will be updated to support the Gachapon Lobby server, yet it will only connect to part of the new server. Soku Lobby will be focused on Hisoutensoku, while Gachapon Lobby won’t have a general focus on topic.
Good luck, cant’t wait for this one