Today I introduce to the community the existence of what I call the PCRPG PolyAutomation Tool. This tool is a powerful utility for any Tribes or TRPG server owner to help with administration. It is a strongly modular program that allows plugins performing various server automation and assistance tasks to all be ran concurrently within a single application using language-independent, COM-visible DLLs conforming to the platform design requirements.
Currently, I've ported both my automatic backup system and online character stats applications into PAT compatible plugins. Initial tests have been promising, as with little effort all seems to be working. PAT took over both of these functions as of today, and today's backups and character stats have been updated as expected.
I plan to develop some other useful tools for server admins such as remote administration capabilities, and I intend to release a selection of the plugins as well as PAT itself for the community. The plugin system is extremely powerful. You could theoretically use it for a server-side bot setup similar to Ghettobot or Bromide. You could even make a full 3D game in plugin form if you wanted to. The possibilities will be as lofty as one's imagination and programming skills.
Anyhow, I was excited to announce this project now that it is a functional beta. A public release will come later. I know that this is not really my style, but I think the days of TRPG server competition is over. Let's help each other instead.
