Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[A look at iPhone Apps making use of LotRO's XML data]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/15/a-look-at-iphone-apps-making-use-of-lotros-xml-data/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/15/a-look-at-iphone-apps-making-use-of-lotros-xml-data/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/05/15/a-look-at-iphone-apps-making-use-of-lotros-xml-data/#commentsFiled under: ,

Tony from the Lord of the Rings Online-focused blog MMeOw recently had a look at a couple of iPhone Apps that are taking advantage of the XML data that Turbine has made available. Both apps were developed by BAMsoft (which is just one guy, as is often the case with iPhone apps), and one has already been approved by Apple -- LOTROStatus will check the status of the US servers for you, and is available for free right now. If enough Europeans ask to have their servers included, another version of the app might be released especially for them.

BAMsoft's other LotRO iPhone App is called LOTROChar. With this program, you'll be able to view your in-game characters on your iPhone, check out lorebook links, and probably annoy co-workers by showing them the sweet loot you found the other night. This one hasn't been approved by Apple just yet, but it's sure to pop up in the iTunes store some time soon. It looks pretty nifty in the preview screenshots; keep up the good work BAMsoft!

MassivelyA look at iPhone Apps making use of LotRO's XML data originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 15 May 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Have a need to embed Pirates of the Burning Sea information in your website, blog, or toolbar? Then you'll want to read Flying Lab's PotBS developer Brendan Weitzman's latest developer journal. There he talks about the special Crawler server. You can't play on this server -- Crawler's job is to go through all the data on the live servers, figure out what has changed, and copy the changes to itself so that the developers -- and the wider world -- can use this information. What sorts of information Crawler can give you, how much of it you can use and how often -- all these are answered within.

Will this info change your life? Well, probably not. But isn't it a nice feeling to know if you did need this information, it would be there for you? See if your server is up without logging in -- or set up email alerts when your port gets thrown into contention. You can make those sorts of apps with this data. And maybe in the future, as they prepare ever more of their data for players to use, you could build something like WoW's Armory. We're just beginning to realize how games will be played in the future. They will be everywhere -- in your browser, on your cell phone, on your iPod.... This is how it starts, with a developer explaining how players can get at their data when they are not in the game.

MassivelyYarrr! There be treasure hidden in them thar data servers! originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>armorybrendan-weitzmanbrendanwcrawlerflying-labpirates-of-the-burning-seapotbsserversoeworld-of-warcraftwowwow-armoryxmlWed, 02 Apr 2008 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Dungeon Runners releases characters in XML]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/31/dungeon-runners-releases-characters-in-xml/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/31/dungeon-runners-releases-characters-in-xml/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/31/dungeon-runners-releases-characters-in-xml/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

This isn't quite the idea of MMO-to-go yet, but it's the first step towards something really huge in MMO gaming: a character API. An API is an Application Programming Interface-- basically a document or method of how to get computers to talk to each other through different applications. Facebook apps are made with the Facebook API, applications that hook into iTunes use the iTunes API, and so on. With an API, programmers can take information from one source, and do almost anything they want with it in other programs. Players have already done some amazing things with World of Warcraft's Armory (even without an actual API-- I'm pretty sure most of that is just HTML scraping), but now NCSoft's Dungeon Runners has upped the ante-- they've made all the character data in the game available to anyone as an XML file. With just a URL, you can access info on any player in the game, already marked up in XML.

What does this mean to you as a player? It means that programmers can create any number of applications using this data-- they can display your DR character's info almost anywhere at any time. And a skilled programmer could even track the info over time-- tell you how fast you leveled, how often you change your armor or gear, or how fast you've earned gold in the last day. And who knows what else people could come up with-- the best part about opening up information like this is that it gets used in all sorts of ways that no one could ever predict.

Jeff Freeman's exactly right: "This is really cool... just in case you don't get that." We're just scratching the surface of this stuff, but eventually you'll be able to do things like get text messages on your phone when your WoW auctions sell, or be able to monitor your guild's bank or your PvP team's wins via RSS (which itself can then plug into almost anything) When developers break out data like this for players, the possibilities are endless.

MassivelyDungeon Runners releases characters in XML originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>apiapplicationsArmorycodingdatadungeon-runnersjeff-freemanprogrammingworld-of-warcraftxmlThu, 31 Jan 2008 15:30:00 EST