I tried copying the crystal space dlls to the planeshift directory, but that didn't solve the problem...I also tried setting up vs support, but that also did not work! I am still getting the same errors!

I'm at the step of the compilation guide for MSVC for PS where you're supposed to build planeshift and 'copy some dlls into the planeshift directory'...anyways, my linker is complaining about cal3d-vc9.lib (which I cannot seem to locate anywhere...I'm on windows...) and it can't seem to find libcurl.lib either, and I'm not sure where it is. Maybe I'll try building curl again...anyways, does anyone know what to do?

How about letting players train (or "teach") other players skills if the other player has a lower skill? There could be a teaching skill and a whole teaching system!

Wait, I think I fixed it. I had CEL set to "debug" instead of "release"...heh...

Technically the document didn't mention that you should set CEL project properties to release, so I'm blaming the document. It wasn't my fault, I swear!

How about roleplaying that in this universe, you can see people's names above their head? Or am I breaking the third wall? Is it not roleplaying to play like you would if play here if the rules in the world were different? For example, if on Earth everyone's names were displayed above their heads in text, we would be able to walk up to a stranger and greet them by name.

Or is roleplaying trying to keep your current "real world" customs in the game, and bending the game world to match reality? Do you want a reality based game?

As for the auctioneer, that's just a text chat for sharing items, right? So all the characters in the virtual world of, uh, what's it called again?, PlaneShift, have ESP. Nice and simple. 

If you're going to insist on the environment of the game matching your current reality, then perhaps we should do away with the auctioneer entirely?

What kind of tasks will I get as a developer? (My only task so far is to install the PS source and compile it...)

Also is there a secret developer discussion area where we can discuss game secrets openly???

No I didn't! I just said other forums. Not necessarily MMO forums...

As much fun as it is to play against AI, the AI in most games isn't very good. Also there's a tendency for AI actors to have less magical powers (and in general to be "lesser") than the players...I prefer a fair fight, and find much more challenge/reward in fighting against other players.

Interacting with players is an important part of online gaming. There are various ways we can interact - chatting, emoting (similar to chatting in many ways), trading, or, uh, fighting & stealing. I think it's silly to limit what is perhaps the most powerful and potent way that players can interact - with the combat system. In a good game, there's some stakes on the competition (maybe that's just the gambler in me speaking), so I like games where people can loot each other after they slay each other. DragonRealms and GemStone 3 (Which I believe was either the first or one of the first MMORPGs...it was on AOL & Prodigy before the interweb was popular) both allowed unlimited PKing (with consequences - if you PK'd without a good reason, then they'd lock you in the inescapable prison for a few days) and also graverobbing of all carried/equipped equipment/items.

Without the game punishing griefers, the players all formed an loose, unwritten alliance against graverobbers. Graverobbing was a death mark from the other players, and was pretty rare. (Although it did happen, very stealthily...) This kind of necessary alliance really could bring players together and form nice bonds.

Of course, trying each PvPer each time they PvP with a judge (GM) isn't the most resource friendly way of doing things...that being said, if PvP was allowed fully then the players would have to form a loose alliance with each other to slay anyone who would dare PK...

Sometimes you have to build a sandbox, and then let the users build a castle.