Each screenshot is from a different computer.

Individual clients are listed on the left; ran out of screen space but there are 22 clients in the system at the time of the shot.

This is just a teaser; a video will be shown early next week with an even better demonstration later that week (if you know what I mean)...

Always interesting to see actual Multiplayer projects done in 3DGS.

Do you use "native" 3dgs methods to move the entities?
Meaning, letting 3dGS handle global entities itself, (updating skills, and such);
Or do you use a custom method, and local entities? (sending only variables/arrays around)

And is this a LAN, or Internet session, that you tested it with 22 clients?

In all these posts, I'm going to try and refrain from giving details about how we do what we do... it would just take too much time... but since it's you Damocles, I'll make an exception:

1) No. We have disabled 3DGS automatic sending of updates to ALL clients and wrote our own dead-reckoning algorithm. As you'll see next week, it's a smooth as silk on a babies ass! As you well know, 3DGS's network system is a FPS MP system (no more than 10 clients), not an RPG MMO system (over 100 clients). We had to do this to control what was sent to whom. It was a very simple solution that took me one month alone to program, another month for my employees to optimize, and we've been using it for over a year with no problems (bugs, yes; fundamental problems with our system, no)

2) This particular shot is all LAN. Our WAN tests are limited (which is what we will be doing early next week) but every time we have done WAN tests, the results have been the same as LAN. This is not surprising since WAN is just LAN only with more hops and we have algorithms in place (of which dead reckoning is only one) to take care of this excess latency.

Very exciting to see fastlane69, looking forwards to see next posts.

Looking good Fastlane. So suxs == success and not the other!?

Nice shots!

Quote:

---

1) No. We have disabled 3DGS automatic sending of updates to ALL clients and wrote our own dead-reckoning algorithm. As you'll see next week, it's a smooth as silk on a babies ass! As you well know, 3DGS's network system is a FPS MP system (no more than 10 clients), not an RPG MMO system (over 100 clients). We had to do this to control what was sent to whom. It was a very simple solution that took me one month alone to program, another month for my employees to optimize, and we've been using it for over a year with no problems (bugs, yes; fundamental problems with our system, no)

---

Were you planning to sell this code for license? I'd be interested in some great dead-reckoning code to eventually port over for my kart game. Currently, my code works alright, but there is still a few chops when changing direction suddenly. Although, my entities do not move like an FPS game, so if this code is good enough for that, then it should work fine. Would really just like to see the smoothing section of the code. Please PM me or post an email address for further contact(if I remember right, your PM always seems to be full).

My PM is still full. If you know how to email, you can get in touch with me but I got sick of the 10 PMs a day asking how to the most trivial of things... gah!

In answer to your question, we have no plans on revealing our code right now. This is because when we go up to investors, they really love it when a person has a trade secret edge over the competition. We consider our MMO code our "Trade Secret" and thus it is not in our companies best interest to reveal it too soon.

My company will start rounding up investors for the final build of the game. We will try to raise roughly 1M USD. At that point, when we are solidly entrenched and on our way to commercial, then we will consider opening up our code to the public, but not sooner; but not until my companies position in the market (3DGS, Education, Video Game Industry) is secure.

Besides, wait for the video/demo next week and see for yourself how smooth we are... it may be we are doing no better or worse than you already are!

Indeed very interesting fastlane !!
Looks quite promising, waiting curious untill that video

Cheers

Frazzle

With the new net-dll by nfs42, I also have more interest into multiplayer again.
You should have a look at it, as it seems to develop quite well.

It has especially not the nasty overhead, that 3dgs produces
(various things, like checking that the same level is loaded on client and server,
requiering that the same skipt is used on both)
There are workarounds to that, but this is work I dont see should be nessecary.
You hate the native 3dgs funtions less than me...

But in case you offer a demo, to your project, I would be interrested to
see it running on a larger scale over the net.

i like the textures