[MUD-Dev] Requirements for MM (was Complexities ofMMOGServers)

[Ted L. Chen]

Brian Hook wrote:

> I've mentally subdivided multiplayer into (unfortunately)
> different "M" classes, differentiated relative order of magnitude:

>   1 player = single player
>   1-10 players = minorly player
>   11-100 players = moderately multiplayer
>   100+ players = majorly multiplayer
>   1000+ players = massively multiplayer

> There's obviously a lot of gray area, but it pretty much hammers
> down the difference a 2-4 player game; a 16-32 player Counter
> Strike session; a 180 player MUD; and a 1500 player server.

>   (This is where "players" means "players that can interact with
>   each other").  

Not picking on Brian per se.. (he's just unfortunate to have the
last message on this thread so far), but why does 'M'assive have to
deal with the number of players?  It's probably been brought up
before by someone else, but can't the massive refer to the size of
the world that's actively being simulated?

More specifically, the area simulated is the 'active' regions around
each player.  In a multiplayer game of quake, a player's active
region is the room in which she is in.  A 2-64 player quake game
would still have the same active world since the levels are not that
spanning and a lot of overlap occurs.

For a MUD, the world could be a lot bigger, but not necessarily have
a larger active world if there's only 2 people.  An active region in
a MUD can be a room/zone or an arbrtrary distance in EQ.

As you add more people into a MUD, the percentage of 'active' world
versus just world starts to increase as players start to spread out.
At some point, the number of users is enough that almost all zones
in your world have some activity.

So what is the threshold of 'active' world for being labeled a
'M'MOG?  It's pretty subjective really, but I'd say something along
the lines of:

  If Buffy stands at one end of the 'active' world,
  she should not be able to see or interact Bubba
  standing at the other.

Of course, global chat trumps this, but you get my point.

This definition brings in a few interesting things to the table.
VATSIM, the online ATC network that links together flight
simulations (MSFS, X-Plane, Fly) has about 200 people online
simultaneously at any given time.  They're generally spread out
across the world at the busiest times of the day, and across
continents in the wee-hours.  Most pilots don't directly interact
with each other, but they know they're there in the shared reality.
Does that constitute a MMOG?

Just food for thought.

TLC


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