<!-- MHonArc v2.4.4 --> <!--X-Subject: [MUD-Dev] Re: In game bulletin boards vs. Web based. --> <!--X-From-R13: Xb Rvyyba <rzvylNgurybavbhf.arj.bk.np.hx> --> <!--X-Date: Wed, 24 Jun 1998 00:13:34 -0700 --> <!--X-Message-Id: 19980624071311.33887#thelonious,new.ox.ac.uk --> <!--X-Content-Type: text/plain --> <!--X-Reference: matt#mpc,dyn.ml.org --> <!--X-Reference: 199806232349.QAA06435#under,engr.sgi.com --> <!--X-Head-End--> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <html> <head> <title>MUD-Dev message, [MUD-Dev] Re: In game bulletin boards vs. Web based.</title> <!-- meta name="robots" content="noindex,nofollow" --> <link rev="made" href="mailto:emily#thelonious,new.ox.ac.uk"> </head> <body background="/backgrounds/paperback.gif" bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" alink="#FF0000" vlink="#006000"> <font size="+4" color="#804040"> <strong><em>MUD-Dev<br>mailing list archive</em></strong> </font> <br> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] <br clear=all><hr> <!--X-Body-Begin--> <!--X-User-Header--> <!--X-User-Header-End--> <!--X-TopPNI--> Date: [ <a href="msg01188.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg01190.html">Next</a> ] Thread: [ <a href="msg01182.html">Previous</a> | <a href="msg01198.html">Next</a> ] Index: [ <A HREF="author.html#01189">Author</A> | <A HREF="#01189">Date</A> | <A HREF="thread.html#01189">Thread</A> ] <!--X-TopPNI-End--> <!--X-MsgBody--> <!--X-Subject-Header-Begin--> <H1>[MUD-Dev] Re: In game bulletin boards vs. Web based.</H1> <HR> <!--X-Subject-Header-End--> <!--X-Head-of-Message--> <UL> <LI><em>To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI> <LI><em>Subject</em>: [MUD-Dev] Re: In game bulletin boards vs. Web based.</LI> <LI><em>From</em>: Jo Dillon <<A HREF="mailto:emily#thelonious,new.ox.ac.uk">emily#thelonious,new.ox.ac.uk</A>></LI> <LI><em>Date</em>: Wed, 24 Jun 1998 07:13:11 +0000</LI> <LI><em>Reply-To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI> </UL> <!--X-Head-of-Message-End--> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-Begin--> <HR> <!--X-Head-Body-Sep-End--> <!--X-Body-of-Message--> <PRE> J C Lawrence (claw#under,engr.sgi.com) spake thusly: > On Sun, 14 Jun 1998 13:29:34 +0000 (GMT) > Matt Chatterley<matt#mpc,dyn.ml.org> wrote: > Distributed servers seems to be a popular idea of late. > > Within the last fortnight I've cauight mention and hint of four > distributed server attempts out there (outside of the still bubbling > attempt to make ICGnu distributed). None seemed to be much beyond > the, "Umm, I got this great idea but don't know C very well, does > anybody wanna help?" stage. I've got one; the code's pretty ugly and inefficient but it does things. > > Another chap was looking at the central server with client-side > plug-ins, something like what Dr Cat has mentioned briefly ("special > characters" can create private worlds in the main world), but with the > difference that the master copy of the private would would be located > on the player's client and would auto-update and resolve against the > copy on the central server upon connection, thus allowing the world to > be developed in-abstentia of the server. My code is entirely server-based; all world objects are on the servers. The idea is that a given geographical area of the mud is assigned to each server (the rationale being that most objects will tend to stay within the same geographic area most of the time). There's a central server which holds user passwords and names and the addresses of all the other servers. Objects can migrate between servers; my RPC mechanism allows you to send objects as parameters, and there's a method of automatically marshalling and initialising objects based on a table of variable pointers. That makes the RPC work a bit harder; basically, when sending an RPC message it first looks on the local server, then goes and asks the node where the object was created if the object's there (the originating node is coded into the object name, in the form node.object). If it is it does the RPC, otherwise the creating node tells the calling node where the object is (the object tells the creating node where it is whenever it moves). Obviously reliability of nodes is an interesting problem here; basically, I intend object transfers to fail unless the creating server has been notified of the object move (so objects can always be found), and I intend to give a convincing excuse if the node an object wants to move to is down (so if Bubba wants to go to SomewhereLand, on another node, he has to go tthrough a customs post or on a boat; if the node is down then the customs post is closed or there's a storm) I haven't decided what to do if a server fails halfway through a transfer yet; I'll probably have some system for recursive transfers which I'll make atomic, so Bubba and all his possessions either all transfer correctly or not at all. Anyway, I'm a bit further than the 'wouldn't it be neat' stage; I've got 20-30,000 lines of code, and the actual RPC/distribution stuff works quite nicely at the moment (it's in C++). Trouble is I have no time at the moment thanks to working on Harmony (widget set) and fulltime real work starting in August. Jo </PRE> <!--X-Body-of-Message-End--> <!--X-MsgBody-End--> <!--X-Follow-Ups--> <HR> <ul compact><li><strong>Follow-Ups</strong>: <ul> <li><strong><A NAME="01198" HREF="msg01198.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Multi-Server games</A></strong> <ul compact><li><em>From:</em> Ben Greear <greear#cyberhighway,net></li></ul> </UL></LI></UL> <!--X-Follow-Ups-End--> <!--X-References--> <UL><LI><STRONG>References</STRONG>: <UL> <LI><STRONG><A NAME="01182" HREF="msg01182.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: In game bulletin boards vs. Web based.</A></STRONG> <UL><LI><EM>From:</EM> J C Lawrence <claw#under,engr.sgi.com></LI></UL></LI> </UL></LI></UL> <!--X-References-End--> <!--X-BotPNI--> <UL> <LI>Prev by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg01188.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Databases: was Re: skill system</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by Date: <STRONG><A HREF="msg01190.html">[MUD-Dev] mud-related event: Dr. K...</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Prev by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg01182.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: In game bulletin boards vs. Web based.</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Next by thread: <STRONG><A HREF="msg01198.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Multi-Server games</A></STRONG> </LI> <LI>Index(es): <UL> <LI><A HREF="index.html#01189"><STRONG>Date</STRONG></A></LI> <LI><A HREF="thread.html#01189"><STRONG>Thread</STRONG></A></LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> <!--X-BotPNI-End--> <!--X-User-Footer--> <!--X-User-Footer-End--> <ul><li>Thread context: <BLOCKQUOTE><UL> <LI><STRONG>[MUD-Dev] Re: The lessons of Habitat's Dr Death repeated?</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM> <ul compact> <LI><strong><A NAME="00958" HREF="msg00958.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: The lessons of Habitat's Dr Death repeated?</A></strong>, Jon A. Lambert <a href="mailto:jlsysinc#ix,netcom.com">jlsysinc#ix,netcom.com</a>, Thu 11 Jun 1998, 04:44 GMT </LI> </ul> </LI> <LI><strong><A NAME="00919" HREF="msg00919.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: In game bulletin boards vs. Web based.</A></strong>, Greg Munt <a href="mailto:greg#uni-corn,demon.co.uk">greg#uni-corn,demon.co.uk</a>, Tue 09 Jun 1998, 20:22 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="01032" HREF="msg01032.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: In game bulletin boards vs. Web based.</A></strong>, Matt Chatterley <a href="mailto:matt#mpc,dyn.ml.org">matt#mpc,dyn.ml.org</a>, Sun 14 Jun 1998, 12:34 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="01182" HREF="msg01182.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: In game bulletin boards vs. Web based.</A></strong>, J C Lawrence <a href="mailto:claw#under,engr.sgi.com">claw#under,engr.sgi.com</a>, Tue 23 Jun 1998, 23:49 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="01189" HREF="msg01189.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: In game bulletin boards vs. Web based.</A></strong>, Jo Dillon <a href="mailto:emily#thelonious,new.ox.ac.uk">emily#thelonious,new.ox.ac.uk</a>, Wed 24 Jun 1998, 07:13 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="01198" HREF="msg01198.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Multi-Server games</A></strong>, Ben Greear <a href="mailto:greear#cyberhighway,net">greear#cyberhighway,net</a>, Thu 25 Jun 1998, 04:34 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="01202" HREF="msg01202.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Multi-Server games</A></strong>, Jo Dillon <a href="mailto:emily#thelonious,new.ox.ac.uk">emily#thelonious,new.ox.ac.uk</a>, Thu 25 Jun 1998, 06:43 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="01227" HREF="msg01227.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Multi-Server games</A></strong>, MH <a href="mailto:michael#sparta,mainstream.net">michael#sparta,mainstream.net</a>, Fri 26 Jun 1998, 22:47 GMT <UL> <LI><strong><A NAME="01232" HREF="msg01232.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Multi-Server games</A></strong>, Jo Dillon <a href="mailto:emily#thelonious,new.ox.ac.uk">emily#thelonious,new.ox.ac.uk</a>, Sat 27 Jun 1998, 11:19 GMT </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL> </LI> </UL></BLOCKQUOTE> </ul> <hr> <center> [ <a href="../">Other Periods</a> | <a href="../../">Other mailing lists</a> | <a href="/search.php3">Search</a> ] </center> <hr> </body> </html>