| Map Downloader Suggestion [message #427524] |
Tue, 04 May 2010 09:39  |
jez636363
Messages: 8
Registered: April 2004
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Hi Folks,
I'm not sure how you are planning on doing the map downloader, and I'm not familiar with the internals of Ren, but here is a suggestion that might make things easier to code.
First, assume you do not need to download new maps in a big hurry. As long as most people get it over a few days then that is fast enough.
To manage maps being unavailable to some players at first, implement a smart 'nextmap' chooser, so that it skips maps that are not available to every player in-game. Not sure if you can do that - if you can't then you have to allow more time for a map to trickle down is all, before including it in a rotation.
Second, assume you have access to some cheap webspace NOT on the gameservers.
Each new map would be split up into say 1MB chunks, and stored on a webserver somewhere out there - not the game server.
The background download process would gradually download the chunks and store them.
Whenever the whole program starts up, it would check for any maps that were fully downloaded, and install them - so that only happens when you are not in game. Perhaps you can insert maps while the game is running too, or at least make them load from the previously downloaded chunks, at the start of the game?
Thew background download would use async reads with a small packet size, to stop it interfering with the game. You would limit the frequeny of reads by monitoring the time between starting the read and getting the data, and limiting the download to say 30% of time or something appropriate.
That way, you can release new maps, they will start tricking down to players, and the server will only start using them when all the players have got them.
Yes, it would take more time to get maps out there, but its not the end of the world, and its easier, and gets rid of the problem of people being kicked out because of not having the right map.
Cheers,
Jez
[Updated on: Tue, 04 May 2010 09:53] Report message to a moderator |
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