Meta: UMC (Nodeka Edition) v1.25.0 Released

October 14, 2021 by Doos

There's an update!

On October 6, 2021, after a 5-year hiatus, Uda has released a new version of the UMC (Nodeka Edition) MUD client. This replaces v1.24.0 which was released in August 2016.

From the changelog:

• Reworked the rendering engine to support HiDPI environments which will resolve blurry font scaling.
• Note: HiDPI will require using larger font sizes as the render view uses the native resolution.
• Changed the default font to Inconsolata. Options->Fonts->Use Default Fonts to reset.
• Fixed compatibility with new JRE versions. The minimum version is now Java 11 and compatible with 17.
• Fixed multiple layout issues under Linux.
• Removed Topmudsites voting.

Along with those changes, the website got a slight facelift. Navigation is similar, but instead of supporting a very 2016-esque rounded-corner-brown-and-yellow theme, the menu has been moved to the top header of the page, and the color scheme turned more neutral.

Uda also updated some of the download and installation notes. Currently, there is only a multi-platform release available, which requires at least Java 11 to run. Also provided are links to the latest Java runtime by Adoptium (Eclipse Temurin's OpenJDK implementation), as well as a link to Java for Apple silicon.

Changes

The first and most welcome change has got to be the JRE compatibility. By no means am I an expert, but the barrier of entry to the game itself is hard enough, without having to fuss over clients and compatibility. I fumbled my way through getting UMC to work natively on macOS Big Sur, which as noted below is fixed. Inclusion of HiDPI support is so welcome and after seeing the difference, won't miss the previous versions; as monitors have become higher and higher resolution, as well as including Inconsolata, one of the highest rated monospaced typefaces on Google Fonts, higher resolution support is a great inclusion. I didn't initially notice any differences in behavior on the Linux-side of things, but from what it seems, it was mostly under-the-hood. If you didn't already hide the voting reminder with the options, it's now gone, which is a minor annoyance now avoided altogether.

The base features are still there, and otherwise, there haven't been any substantial improvements or changes to the functionality.

Testing

As for testing the new release for both functionality and ease-of-use, I tested it on a number of systems and here's what I found out so far:

Windows 10

If your Java is up to date, launching the Windows command file opens UMC with no issues. In my case, a fresh install in a VM, I couldn't get it to run. After installing Adoptium and rebooting, UMC launched with no issues, other than the second terminal window that opens with it.

Linux (Ubuntu)

If you're using Linux, I assume you know more than I do. From a fresh install of Ubuntu, getting UMC to run has really never been an issue. Running the java -jar umc.jar command in the same folder the client is in launches and runs it if you have the Java runtime installed. This version worked as expected and gave me no issues.

macOS 11.5.1 Big Sur

Support is much improved here, I'm happy to say! Previously, you'd have to run a complicated shell script pointing to a specific version of a supported Java runtime, but now, with the latest Java installed (I tested it with Adoptium), the client launches with no problems.

A couple of things to note: you DO still have to run it with the command java -jar umc.jar command, as the macOS Java launcher doesn't run it; otherwise a seamless process now, which hasn't been the case if you ran any OS after Catalina. Secondly, it doesn't matter from where you have the UMC .jar file saved, as launching it from anywhere will still create the subfolder for /logs in the user's home directory. In addition, any other folders, such as /plugins and /areas, or scripts to be read, must all sit in the home directory.

Perhaps these two issues can be addressed, and I just don't know the answer. Please make a comment on the talk page if you want to make a comment.

Known Issues

Below are known issues that have come up about the new client:

• macOS: In some cases where a previous version would work fine, v1.25.0 wouldn't. On a tested macOS machine, updating the Java runtime solved the problem.
• macOS: On launch, no map is displayed in the output, but is fixed with #map
• NemBot v1.0.4 plugin doesn't load nor show a control window. NemBot-specific commands, such as #load does nothing and shows no output. #begin gives "unknown command" error.
• It actually seems all plug-ins won't load.

Conclusion

I'm grateful for Uda continuing the project and bringing it up to a more modern environment. Hopefully work on the project continues and allows for the game to continue to be played and enjoyed for years to come still, for both veterans as well as new players. As for now, I'd stick with v1.24.0, at least until the plugin issue is addressed.

Steps like this, a simple updating of the most-used client, ensures that the learning curve for a game as vast as Nodeka is as smooth as it can be. Each one of us plays a part in that vital on-boarding process. If you haven't upgraded in a while, or ever, I'd take this opportunity to do just that.

In the end, it's the community who keep the game playable. Through contributions like this one, the wiki (nodekawiki.net), and plugin authors (NemBot, Crafting Plugin, and more), the game gets better and better. Perhaps anyone with chops could be willing to get on-board and work to develop further tools, or join in one of the many ongoing and beginning existing projects–perhaps those authors would be willing to move to an open-source codebase.

Links:

• UMC (Nodeka Edition) MUD Client: https://sites.google.com/site/umcnodeka/download
• Direct download to v1.25.0: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1_hptbT1cC7C8lMZ0ZSFAzoW6XURyLkLn
• Adoptium Java Runtime: https://adoptium.net/
• Azul Zulu OpenJDK for Apple M1 Macs: https://www.azul.com/downloads/?os=macos&architecture=arm-64-bit&package=jre