From: John Morrice <spoon@...>
Date: 2010-11-07T00:10:06+09:00
Subject: Rubyists and RPG Fans: Take a look at CARPS

Hi guys,

I have some new Ruby software for you!

CARPS, the Computer Assisted Role-Playing Game System, is a tool for
playing pen and paper RPGs over the internet.  It's a little different
from current tools (like OpenRPG) because it runs over email, uses
strong cryptography, and you can play it the terminal :)

CARPS is a little unstable at the moment.  Infact, I can't make
any promise it will work for you at all.  However, if you are a
developer, and you want to try it, then check out these links, and the
text below.

https://github.com/elginer/carps

Also, have a look at an example CARPS mod

https://github.com/elginer/fools

(You should go for it.  Who can resist debugging large distributed
programs anyway?)

CARPS differs from other such systems because CARPS is not a
‘real-time’ system. It suits people who want to log on once or twice a
day, take a turn, and then log out again. While OpenRPG could be
described as being similar to a chat-room, CARPS is more similar to an
email client.

CARPS is an extensible system: game rules are provided by ‘mods’.

CARPS supports these mods by providing:

    * Text-mode user interfaces for the players and the dungeon master.
    * An easy to use probabalistic API which not only rolls the dice,
      but can report the probability of various game events occurring.
    * Automated static character sheet verification, according to a
      schema defined in YAML. For example, a game might require your
      strength to be an integer.
    * Support for the semantic validation of character sheets according
      to game rules. For example, a game might require the sum of
      character’s attributes to be below a certain maximum value.
    * Together the validation features allow a mod writer to encode
      game rules cleanly, as they do not need to consider the
      possibility of receiving an invalid sheet.

CARPS has other strengths:

    * Anyone can play or host a CARPS game because CARPS’ protocol is
      implemented on top of email.
    * CARPS is designed to be secure. Multiple email security options
      are supported, and all CARPS messages are cryptographically
      signed to prevent spoofing.
    * You can instruct CARPS to use your favourite text editor and
      terminal emulator.
    * CARPS is easy to configure because it includes a wizard.

However, CARPS is new and the following features, which you might take
for granted, are not yet supported:

    * No GUI
    * No support for maps
    * No chat - all communication goes through the Game Master.
    * Games are currently invite only, at the discretion of the Game
      Master.
    * Security mechanisms are not well audited.

CARPS has been tested on gentoo linux, using the 1.9.2p0 tarball from
the ruby-lang website.

If you want to write CARPS mods, or just want to play it, please feel
free to get in touch,

John Morrice