MFI RP SIM/dspace

D-Space RPG Management System

Introduction

D-Space

D-Space is an RPG Management System designed from the Drupal Core to create a professional management system that specialised in the accomodation of Role-playing Games. The system was designed for the Maquis Forces International's RP SIM Division, a group that adds additional benefits of club membership through hosting and participating in text-based RPG's.

Drupal

Drupal is a modern, sophisticated content management system that works standalone or through the addition of modules which increase its core functionality. These are created by drupal users all over the world. D-Space employs this openly available modules as well as its own modules binding them into the core system

Many developers acknowledge that Drupal stands at the forefront of Content Management and that the possibilities with this core base are endless. Whats more is that the system is powered using just MySQL and PHP which eliminates the CGI Post/Get experience still found on other boards.

Drupal continues to be upgraded with new updates to the system in terms of additional core functionality and efficiency to which extent D-Space will be updated to comply with new core versions as and when feasible to upgrade with minimum disturbance.

Development

D-Space has been developed uniquely to any other Drupal Installation preying on the functions of existing modules and modifying them to specifically meet the needs of a Star Trek RPG.

Acknowledgement for the D-Space project goes to Drupal-developers globally and to Samuel Bibb who compiled this installation developing many custom modules to accompany the installation.

Access Levels

A part of drupal that draws attention to many developers is the simplicity associated with assigning access to indivudla users. Access can be per-role [A group of additional access features] or by feature i.e. access to edit a single page... In addition to this, access can be added per-group which is what is needed for the boards to work. Multiple roles can be assigned to a given account which pull in various different access features.

Alot of refactoring to the roles system has gone into this build which eliminates the mess generally associated with admin panels making it even easier to use. Levels of access are defined below:

Guest

This level of access is provided to those who are not logged in and do not have a user account:

• Read/View Posts
• Read/View Pages

Member

All members regardless of role with the exception of suspended accounts have this access. This enables the following:

• Ability to Log-in
• To Post
• To View posts
• To View pages

Board Administrator

This is a per-board role and is assigned to each individual board which means that in the case of their being two boards, one CO would not have administrative access over another CO's board.

This enables various administrative functions to the board:

• Edit HTML Board Front-Page
• Administer Roster [Add/Delete/Modify Character]
• Render a given users posts moderated on the board
• Approve/Disprove requests for membership to board.

SysOps

SysOps are as the name sorta gives away "System Operators."

SysOps carry complete front-end access over the system:

• Edit Members Accounts
• Suspend Members Account
• Grant Roles up to and including SysOp
• View Members Lists
• Has Admin Access over all boards [Cannot be removed - In the system, the Sys-Op role carries precedence over the Board Admin]
• Create/Edit Pages
• Put Site on/offline

System Manager

The System Manager to all extents and purposes is a SysOp with the exception that full back-end access to the database is granted and editing of system files is accessible.

By default, the system will permit only one user to carry this role at any given time however this can at the discretion of the SysManager be overrode.