Hosting the server part

Discussion of ongoing programming work.
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Trilarion
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Hosting the server part

Post by Trilarion »

One of the best methods would probably the google apps engine. Just discovered it. So we can basically use googles bandwidth and computer power to get a server running all the time. And if it is not used heavily it might even be for free - which I find amazing. Supported languages are Python and Java. Alternative could be the amazon cloud.
Veneteaou
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Re: Hosting the server part

Post by Veneteaou »

So we could have a 24/7 matchmaking service? That would be outstanding.
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Trilarion
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Re: Hosting the server part

Post by Trilarion »

Veneteaou wrote:So we could have a 24/7 matchmaking service? That would be outstanding.
We could have a match making service, ranking system in php in this webspace here without problems. With google apps we could even put the server part (AI, parts of the game logic) in the cloud. And finally we could even put the client part there and then it would be a complete online game...

The really good thing that google apps is the only place I know where I can run Python and Java online 24/7. This might change the discussion we had earlier about the optimal programming plattform. On the other hand I don't want to make myself too dependent on google. If the game is too dependent on too many google specific services it would be bad. The best would be if it would run always locally on your computer and optional also online...
The_Engineer
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Re: Hosting the server part

Post by The_Engineer »

Trilarion wrote:On the other hand I don't want to make myself too dependent on google. If the game is too dependent on too many google specific services it would be bad. The best would be if it would run always locally on your computer and optional also online...
In the singleplayer mode everyting should run locally. So why do you need to host a server for the multiplayer mode? This only raises difficulties, e.g. its costs, its maintenance and so on.
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Trilarion
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Re: Hosting the server part

Post by Trilarion »

Reason for this new tendency for computing, storing ... everything somewhere in the internet is that many people have internet access and somehow prefer to access a new game via a browser instead of installing an app. For example here people need to install the JRE. Also for us it would have advantages, we wouldn't be dependent on different hardware and can deploy updates easily at any given time - wouldn't need to wait until people install updates.

But I think for this project this question is decided more or less with the start of the programming. Old school standalone desktop software it is. :)
The_Engineer
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Re: Hosting the server part

Post by The_Engineer »

But the not marginal drawback of this solution is that you have to provide enough server power to garanteer unimpeded access to your game. This might cause fixed costs for you.
In case of an open source game Java is an excellent choice. The users only have to install the IRE - an acceptable effort (I guess most people have already installed it). And there are no hardware dependency and no installation process using JAR files.
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Trilarion
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Re: Hosting the server part

Post by Trilarion »

This weekend I checked how the current version looks on Linux (Ubuntu with Open JDK 7) and graphically there are incompatibilities with the Windows (Oracle JRE 7) version. Maximized frames aren't starting maximized and the layout is changed, there is at least one big space where it shouldn't be. This is bad, since it demonstrates that even with Java it is not simple to programm cross-platform.

It's difficult to find out how many people have a JRE already installed. For example Mac OS doesn't have it installed automatically anymore. It means one additional hop and programs don't work right out of the box. Or if I want to make it working out of the box, it means additional effort for me, which has no priority for the first couple of versions.

The reason why I started in Java is that it's my best language. For other projects I really want to try other stuff (Website strategy game with Ruby on Rails, HTML 5 or a Python hybrid (website and desktop) game). But for this project it will now be Java including all its advantages and disadvantages.

At least we still have the possibility to port it later to another language with only small to medium amount of effort.
The_Engineer
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Re: Hosting the server part

Post by The_Engineer »

I must confirm your observation. Unfortunatly, both jdks are not equivalent. Even some programs do not work under open jre at all. But Oracle's platform is available for Mac, Windows und Linux and with this those issues should not exist.
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