[MUD-Dev] The Lag monster...

[Harlan Beverly]

"Sean Kelly" <sean at f4.ca> wrote:

>> I can see how optimizing the data sent might help performance,
>> but I don't think data transfer is the bottleneck in regular
>> gameplay.

By your own admission, in some cases Data Transfer is one of the
bottlenecks.  (such as when you were on a bad broadband
service... and no doubt especially for modem players).  So for these
players, data compression, grooming, etc. would indeed improve their
apparent laggieness.  (the question would be to what extend?)

> "Justin Randall" <logic at jrlogic.dyndns.org> wrote:

>> Offloading *authoritative* server calculations to one or more
>> clients only leads to new avenues of grief. Rule #1 in online
>> gaming: NEVER trust the client, even if other clients are
>> watching.

I find this an interesting point, because 'the jaggies' is caused by
incorrect extrapolation results, etc.

What would happen to MMORPGs if you COULD TRUST THE CLIENT?  For
example, all players of a game must have a special NIC card (which I
will gladly sell).  This NIC card has preloaded firmware which is
Digitally Signed (and cannot be modified without the creators
digital signature)...

This NIC card (with a PowerPC + Digitally Signed Firmware), could
perform certain interpolation/extrapolation/ and even certain Server
functions... (Not sure what), that could help distribute the
processing load away from the Server computer.

What effect would this have on Game performance, apparent lag, etc?

Harlan
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