Go easy on me please I'm really trying to research this stuff the best I can before I trouble people with silly questions =)

Question 1:
I am aware that with the SDK you can write custom plug-ins for network handling of multiplayer games, but do you still need the pro version in order to have the full -svr functionality?

I guess what I am asking is can the entry level 3DGS engines run as -svr and use custom plugins to handle network traffic? Or are the noob version executables limited in some way?

Question 2:
Is this server logic sound (I've been working on it for a while now):
-Player starts client.exe
-Enters Login info
-Login server authenticates info against database and if authentication=successful checks file versions for updates.
-If updates needed the client executes updater.exe and exits.
-Updater.exe listens on port xxxx and the login server passes users IP to the update server which attempts to connect to that IP at port xxxx. Once connected files are downloaded and checked and the client is relaunched as the updater exits.
-User logs in again, files should be up to date now and he is passed the available server list from the login server.
-Player sends his server choice to the login server which pulls up character info from that players database on the selected server.
-Player sends his choice of character to the login server and goes into wait mode awaiting server response. The login server then retrieves that characters table from the player database on that server, finds the current zone that the selected character is in and forwards the players IP to the actual zone server who then initiates the connection to the player and begins loading the level.

Last question I promise
Can a network programmer have mercy on me and suggest some low-latency network modules to look into? I've been through a few now and currently I'm toying with SDL_net but I havent done anything more than download it at this time.

Thank you everyone for your time and patience. I appreciate any input.

Mark

With a SDK DLL you can do it principially with any edition, even standard. And you can do it easier that you are exspecting it. Without specially starting and so on.

Thanks Joe,

I really didn't want to invest anymore time in the extra engine without knowing wether I was going to run into a brick wall at some point due to a limited exe =).

I know it's a long hard road ahead but I'm fine with that. Just as long as the reasonable chance for success exists I'll persue it.

Thanks for your time.

Mark

Well this gets complex and I haven't fully researched enough yet but I will try and decribe what I understand so far and the premise that I'm working off of.

My model for my massively multiplayer project is that the server will run the levels or zones and the client must be updated as to any activity in that zone. The client is essentially a renderer that pushes user activity requests to the server who makes the coresponding action and sends the appropriate reponse to the client.

Example: Client presses hotkey '2' to activate the spell in the second slot of his spellbar. The Client sends a message to the server that he wants to activate hotkey '2'. The server checks the client's record for what action is currently assigned to hotkey 2 and executes the instruction and then sends the information to all applicable clients in the zone that clientxx is casting spell#2 so they can make the appropriate 3D rendering.

My understanding of what is needed in the DLL is a protocol written to allow the client and server to pass information between each other in an extremely fast and efficient manner. Multiple levels of priority will be needed depending on the nature of the instruction that is waiting to be sent and in the case of my network design the protocol must be able to speak to multiple servers simultaneously. (example: I am currently wanting to run game chat through it's own server entirely, so all chat related activitity will be sent to a different server than the player activity.)

Does my understanding of what the DLL will do sound at all correct?

I apologize for my lack of understanding but I'm doing the best I can with a fairly exhausted brain =)

Thanks for your input I really appreciate the help.

-edit- In answer to your question I don't have any experience with the SDK as I havent purchased it yet. I will do so this week I think unless A6 has other ways of implementing external proggies?

Mark

Your ideas seems principially correct. You can do it all with a SDK DLL, but you need good experience with DPlay and C++.

There's a contribution by Silbergolem (Silbergolem's Nocturn - German - not DirectPlay). I think that could be the quickest way to come to a result.

Another way is to change to the commercial edition, so you can test the multiplayer WDL code (up to 4 players). It's a good way to become familiar with the multiplayer stuff for a good prize! It can make a lot of pleasure!

PS: Multiplayer coding is much more pretentious than coding a SinglePlay game. So, testing and investigating time is very important.

Thank you for all your input on this DJ. It's a great relief to know that I am on the right track. I wish I had one tenth the comprehension of German that you obviously have of English so I could dig into that plugin abit =)

In fairness to it's creator though he did copyright it and bottom line is if I am going to truely be able to master all of the intricacies and problems of a multiplayer game I must know what I'm dealing with. I personally do not have any quality level of C++ and I know that I'm going to have to have a coder write this with me. What I need before I get to that step is a firm understanding of basic network communication. I don't have that yet If anyone has seen a similar plugin with some support in English I'm very intrested in hearing about it.

I want to do things as few times as possible with this project as it is a big enough chore as is without having to redo each phase 3-4 times due to my laziness =) There fore I will get the network module coded properly the first time once I understand how it will interact.

Thanks again for the help. I'll post some more when I take the next step. I'm not going to tackle the network stuff untill the client.exe is fully working with all GUI menus etc.

Mark

Hi!
A multiplayer-dll would be pretty good!
I only have A5 EXTRA, but i allways wanted to make a multiplayer-game in the future. Is there allready a multiplayer-dll existing, and if yes, where can i find it?

THX for all of your help!

HeLioS

PS: My english teacher is responsible for my bad english