I ran a BBS in the 90's but never played LORD with RIP graphics, so I thought it would be fun to see if I could make a web-based version of LORD with full RIP support in the browser.
You can try it out here: https://lord.nulled.com
I started with the Synchronet javascript port of LORD, completely refactored it using OOP and Typescript, and then created a Node.js server to run it. The client side using RiptermJS for the RIP support (I modified it to implement all the RIPscrip spec requirements for LORD, which RiptermJS didn't fully support as-is), and then used xterm.js for the terminal window, which resizes based on the RIP commands. It communicates to the server using websockets.
I made some improvements to the game port by adding LORD's scripting language called "Lady", which Synchronet's version didn't implement, so this version is using the actual event scripts from the official DOS version, as well as the official RIP graphics. I also fixed a few things and changed some of the prompts/text that didn't quite match the last DOS version (v4.08).
My web version has a few modern touches like a status bar and a rankings/leaderboard available to view without logging into the game. I added a basic authentication process to register an account, since there's no BBS connected. It will remember your session in the browser so you don't need to login every time.
RIP graphics can be toggled on and off using the "RIP" button in the top-right corner of the browser window, without restarting the game, so you can easily see what each game feature looks like with and without RIP (you may have to press a key in the terminal after toggling it to load the next screen).
The LORD RIP graphics are pretty fun and impressive for the era. It's interesting to see how it was used and implemented.
Let me know what you think! DM me if you hit any bugs/crashes so I can fix it up.
Is anyone interested in a web-based version of LORD2? No RIP support on that one, though, sadly. submitted by /u/talisto [link] [comments]