Original Post
Hi all,
I just had this crazy idea, and though i would share it here.
We all (those that coded multiplayer stuff anyway) would like
to have static IPs and servers in our homes, so that we
could code the games, and actually have the servers to run
them, but that is expensive...
I thought about this, and what is the major drag about
multiplayer games? Finding opponent players, right?
Unless you know your opponent''s IP address, you''ll
never play the game.
So, I thought about a service, provided by someone with a
static IP address, I call it the Room Server.
You basicly hard-encode (or put it in a file) the IP address of
the room server. You send them a mail, and pay them for a register service (lets say 10 bucks per month per app/game...).
Their program, on their server, is allways running, and what
does it do?
Well, when you run your game, you connect first to the room
server, and request a list of servers or hosts currently online
and their IPs.
Their program maintains the following structure:
App Name
App Code
You send you app code to them (you got it when you registered the 10 bucks), and request a list, they return:
Number of servers running your game/app = 34
Server 1 name
Server 1 IP
Server 2 Name
Server 2 IP
Server 3 na...
Now, when your game runs in server mode, your game sends the following information to them:
Game Code
Your IP
When a Client connects to them, it receives a list of servers,
somewhat the stuff you see when you run Quake 3 or RTCW...
Its the client''s code''s responsability to create the ping and information structure (how many players on each server, type of game, blablalblabalbala)
I think this would be a good idea, cause those guys do not need
to run your code, they just need to maintain a basic structure
online and accessible...
I think this is a good idea, and wonder if it is not already being practiced somewhere...
Ok, waiting your replies,
Season''s Greetings,