[Server Software Suggestion] Allow Multiple Maps Without Forcing All Players to Transition

from Elemental Forums

To elaborate somewhat on precisely what I mean by the suggestion,

I would like it very much if the dedicated server software is capable of hosting multiple maps and keeping track of the players on each map and their transitions between them, ala Neverwinter Nights, as opposed to requiring every player to switch map if someone activates a trigger to load into a submap (city, dungeon, new overland continent, what have you).

Now, it MAY already be like this.. I don't know. But I suspect strongly it wouldn't be. If it isn't, and the network coders/engineers get some time, could we look into the feasibility of allowing this, even if the limits to number of maps at once / players / map size becomes prohibitive on the 32 bit server software as it did for NWN2?

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As to the Why? It would drastically improve the ability to develop and run persistant online RPGs. It should already be quite possible even if the best we can do is load a single huge map and design it as a mostly walkabout map with tiles indicating area changes the like with teleport triggers to connect 'levels' of dungeons and the like, but allowing players to be on differing maps but still within the same server would be magic in how much it opened up the design freedom.

 

42,093 views 9 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

Would also let us use caves and such in a normal game. :)

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Tridus, reply 1
Would also let us use caves and such in a normal game.

If by 'normal' game you mean a normal MP game, then true! It certainly would. Would allow a little more diversity to the online play for the standard TBS games as well. :)

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Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

To my knowledge there will not be any sub-maps at all.  I believe we've pushed them enough that it is high on the list for an expansion though.  We MoM-fanatics want our Shadow Plane!

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Valiant_Turtle, reply 3
To my knowledge there will not be any sub-maps at all.  I believe we've pushed them enough that it is high on the list for an expansion though.  We MoM-fanatics want our Shadow Plane!

In terms of there being a single map file with and overland/underland type setup ala Age of Wonders; correct. It doesn't appear to be a feature of the game as it stands.

However!

As per an earlier Dev Article (April 20th or there abouts, the Modding Preview one) Brad stated that there ARE triggers which will let you load into a different map entirely while maintaining the state of the prior map and of course your character. You can then use another trigger in the map you entered to either revert to the prior map, or assumably into yet another different map (no idea what happens to state of the first map in such an instance, but hopefully and assumably it is still retained).

So! What I'm asking here is for the Dedicated Server software to support this as well, and support it to the point where if one player activates a map change trigger, it moves THEM over, and not EVERYONE in the game.. It MIGHT already do so, in which care merely seeking confirmation. But I believe the likeliest scenario with the dedicated server software at the moment to be that if a map transition takes place, EVERYONE in the game gets shifted over as well. Which would be just fine for a co-op type adventure (although still nonoptimal) but if you wished to setup a persistant online play where some players might be playing together but most probably wouldn't?

Yeah, you really need to have the server be capable of having multiple maps loaded at once to make this work.

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

Like it!

Reply #6 from Elemental Forums Top

Sounds good.

Reply #7 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Naithin, reply 4
So! What I'm asking here is for the Dedicated Server software to support this as well, and support it to the point where if one player activates a map change trigger, it moves THEM over, and not EVERYONE in the game.. It MIGHT already do so, in which care merely seeking confirmation. But I believe the likeliest scenario with the dedicated server software at the moment to be that if a map transition takes place, EVERYONE in the game gets shifted over as well. Which would be just fine for a co-op type adventure (although still nonoptimal) but if you wished to setup a persistant online play where some players might be playing together but most probably wouldn't?

Yeah, you really need to have the server be capable of having multiple maps loaded at once to make this work.

I agree it would be nice to have, but I'd set this at a pretty low priority.  If push comes to shove have it after launch or possibly in an expansion.  Just having multiplayer at all is a huge improvement from GalCiv2 IMO.  From Stardocks point of view I think the important part is leaving the code in a state where it's not a pain in the ass to add.  Hell for all I know it's as simple as creating a new process and passing players between them.

I know this is completely off topic, but if you read your post by shouting all the words in CAPS (because caps typically mean shouting) it becomes kinda funny.

Later,
LAR

Reply #8 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting larrypeters, reply 7

I agree it would be nice to have, but I'd set this at a pretty low priority.  If push comes to shove have it after launch or possibly in an expansion.  Just having multiplayer at all is a huge improvement from GalCiv2 IMO.  From Stardocks point of view I think the important part is leaving the code in a state where it's not a pain in the ass to add.  Hell for all I know it's as simple as creating a new process and passing players between them.

Oh I completely agree. MP of any nature is a far, far better scenario from what we had previously. I already suspected that if it wasn't like this already that it probably wouldn't make it by launch -- unless of course; the network engineers are all sitting on their toes wondering what they can do next, given their work is 'done'.

Even if the dedicated server does run how I suspect at the moment -- one map for all players, anyone triggering a change causes everyone to switch maps -- there is still a lot we can do with the game and modding online play around this area, thanks mostly to the vast size of the maps permissable.

...Actually; that leads me into another question. I know that the 64 bit client software is almost a certainty at this point -- albeit a post release client -- and that it will likely allow for bigger maps still... But.. Will there also be a 64 bit dedicated server available? If so, and it supports the huger map sizes, would 32 bit clients be able to connect with the server doing most of the heavy lifting? Or would it still require the 64bit client regardless?

Anywho, aye. My main hope really is that we could get this at some point. So I just hope that the server software, as you say, isn't written in such a way to preclude it being added in relatively easily. :)

Quoting larrypeters, reply 7

I know this is completely off topic, but if you read your post by shouting all the words in CAPS (because caps typically mean shouting) it becomes kinda funny.

Hah, like a clean version of tourettes. :P

Reply #9 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Naithin, reply 8

I know this is completely off topic, but if you read your post by shouting all the words in CAPS (because caps typically mean shouting) it becomes kinda funny.



Hah, like a clean version of tourettes.

ROFL I guess so.  \o/

 

..Actually; that leads me into another question. I know that the 64 bit client software is almost a certainty at this point -- albeit a post release client -- and that it will likely allow for bigger maps still... But.. Will there also be a 64 bit dedicated server available? If so, and it supports the huger map sizes, would 32 bit clients be able to connect with the server doing most of the heavy lifting? Or would it still require the 64bit client regardless?

Well the 64-bit client is good because it allow the client to use more than 2GB of memory.  I figured that would be for art assets because 2GB of just straight executable and map data is absolutely massive.  If that's so a dedicated server doesn't need to load any art, so it should be a non-issue.  A 32-bit server would work fine with 64-bit clients connecting to it.  In any case if you have a 32-bit client you're going to be limited to "32-bit" maps.

Later,
LAR