' Wrote:Has anybody ever tried developing a replacement flserver.exe? that's what's missing here, and would be pretty useful experience
I've seen bigger games get reverse engineered
Yes, this was a big discussion a few months/years back. But well, the issue in the very end is the fact that people still don't fully understand Freelancer's net logic. Once again the lack of the source code is killing us, the only thing that can be done to even be able to write a 3rd party flserver.exe is sniffing packets for weeks or even months on end to actually document fully what gets sent between flserver and clients. This is not a small task and we could be doing much better things in that time, like trying to get a new engine working.
Quote:That can be done in UDK on the freetime.
Not on UDK it wouldn't. I love that engine, but it is not for MMOs unless you want to buy us the source code of Unreal Engine 3 and then get us a team of programmers that can actually make sense of it so as not to break it - so that they can basically rewrite a whole lot of the core net code and level handling from scratch.
It's not about "hacking hardcoded constants" like the whole client limit discussion would imply. It's about the capabilities of the actual engine. UE3 is optimised for small scale servers, read this to find out why: http://udn.epicgames.com/Three/NetworkingOverview.html
I read a lot about UDK. Have you read my post about interconnecting 3 servers to reach 192 player limit?
It's what Discovery had in 4.85 minus some reserved slots.
But that's not my business. If people can/want/love to fiddle in decade old engine, it's their choice.
All I am saying that Freelancer outlived it's time.
As for the argument of lack of developers, UDK SpaceSim game could get more of those than there is on Discovery since there are hundred times more people fiddling with UDK than with Freelancer.
' Wrote:I read a lot about UDK. Have you read my post about interconnecting 3 servers to reach 192 player limit?
It's what Discovery had in 4.85 minus some reserved slots.
But that's not my business. If people can/want/love to fiddle in decade old engine, it's their choice.
All I am saying that Freelancer outlived it's time.
As for the argument of lack of developers, UDK SpaceSim game could get more of those than there is on Discovery since there are hundred times more people fiddling with UDK than with Freelancer.
"interconnecting 3 servers to reach 192 player limit"
sure it is possible, but still you will be limited on player's per map, and how you gonna handle such situations when no free slots on map left, even if no battle occurs? you wont join with your single character? pff. Only renderer, physics, sfx parts of unreal engine are reusable, all other code should be written from zero point in a native way to achieve max performance, which means source code is required.
Snake you need to read what I am writing. There is nothing more that I would love than to switch to a new engine, but it's just not as easy as people make it out to be, and if we just drop everything and decide to go develop disco on some other engine without updating this mod, it will take us a year minimum and the community will die in the mean time.
And this applies especially for UDK, if you read what Mad wrote above. We're not saying "no, we will never switch", but we're not living in a blue sky world about it either. UE3 source code is something that is licensed for money, and we cannot make a new FL type game on the same scale as disco is currently with UDK. With UE3, yea why not because we would be able to actually edit the source code. But not with UDK.
The problem with finding a new engine is that there are very few multiplayer space sims left, and the unique networking code employed by games like FL and EVE are nearly impossible to recreate without access or to find available for liscense cheaply, we don't have the money to buy a more complex open-ended engine, and we don't have the dev time to produce our own.
I mean, if this was a 32-64 player fps, pfft, take your pick from a dozen engines.
gone four years, first day back: Zoners still getting shot in Theta :|
I fully understand the difficulties and such. And the scale is actually below average if we come to think. Discovery is small. There might be hundreds of systems and ships, but so little features on gameplay. Player bases and new equipment with them, turret zoom and steering took how many years to be introduced?
I don't want to make this an argument. All I am trying to say is that in my eyes Freelancer has aged, Discovery passed it's peek and that there are options requiring a lot of dedication but yielding appropriate possibilities.
' Wrote:"Network code for UDK can be created to be fitting for bigger multiplayer."
sure, but with source code on hands.
"There's no UDK source code to obtain. There is full UT3 engine to obtain."
like CryEngine to obtain, which is then much better 'cos it is supplied with source code.
"Even with 64 players per server and joining few of those up to house different regions (maps) would do a trick for starters."
then it wont be massive, just another team deathmatch.
"Unity3d"
it's a casual game engine, similar to unreal, as well as Gamebryo which was used to create Black Prophecy.
"As for limited objects in map issue, can't one just use level streaming or even different maps?"
heh, UDK doesnt support smooth transitions between different maps. also dynamic asteroid field generation is not possible like FL has.
actually, i got a friend working on the UT3 engine, he told me you can get all the coding and info from them IF you are willing to sign a waiver were you pledge not to ever use their engine for commercial use.... Since disco lives off donations, we can use the UT3 engine aslong as we never ever ask for money for our servers again.
' Wrote:actually, i got a friend working on the UT3 engine, he told me you can get all the coding and info from them IF you are willing to sign a waiver were you pledge not to ever use their engine for commercial use.... Since disco lives off donations, we can use the UT3 engine aslong as we never ever ask for money for our servers again.