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Is hosting a dedicated server a feature you might consider? Listen servers are OK, but not really preferred in networked play.
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I haven't given a lot of thought to dedicated servers yet, because at this point, the player base is practically zero, so a server wouldn't be useful yet. Of course a dedicated server is better for latency, so maybe it would be a good idea to support that at some point since this game is latency-sensitive. I think the other reasons I haven't gone down that route are (1) the obstacle of having to figure out how to run Oni headlessly on a server, and (2) wanting to base the matchmaking on the Marathon model, which is much more personal and enjoyable for me than the way that dedicated servers are used for most games.
Check out the Anniversary Edition Seven at ae.oni2.net!
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I never played Marathon, so I don't know how its matchmaking system works, however, I do know that a lot of games that uses matchmaking runs on dedicated servers. A recent example would be the competitive part of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Matchmaking in Oni is pretty obsolete, in my opinion though. Like you said, the player base is extremely small for the game, so matchmaking would only divide players and perhaps to such an extent that some won't be able to play with anybody because they're too bad or good at the game. However, I acknowledge the hassle it might be to create external dedicated server software.
On a side note, is there any footage of your project on YouTube? It'd be cool to see how it works in comparison with Gumby's project.
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The language around servers can get tricky because not everyone is consistent with their terminology. By "dedicated server", I'm referring to the kind that hosts a group of players in a level. It's this kind of server that I am currently not supporting, instead requiring players to host their own games.
But then you need a "metaserver" to keep track of games being hosted, so people can find a match without having to connect directly to the IP address of a host. The metaserver will in fact require its own dedicated server, which will allow players to find matches (passive matchmaking), as well as provide a chat lobby. Fortunately, I have my eye on some good metaserver software which could be used for our needs, so I shouldn't have to write it myself. So there will technically be one dedi server.
There will also probably be a third kind of server which I'm tentatively calling a "central server", which will serve MP-related files, functioning as more of a storage place (like the Mod Depot) instead of an active program running on a PC.
As far as video footage, I've purposely been holding back on publicizing that until things are a little more refined. There is private footage for the first release, v0.060, but it's not representative of v0.061, and soon I will be supporting class-choosing, chatting, and respawning, at which point it will make for a better video and will be at parity with Flatline in terms of features.
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This is great info, thanks. Be sure not to pull a GameSpy when you create the master server though. It's good to know the project is still going!
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Be sure not to pull a GameSpy when you create the master server though.
Heh, I hear what you're saying. This is something that I'm very cognizant of, due to the history of Bungie's old games. While Marathon never had a metaserver in the first place because its multiplayer was LAN-only, Myth lost the support of Bungie's metaserver after Bungie was acquired by MS. But Bungie made the source code available so that the fans could run their own meta, which is what I would do with the Oni metaserver. In fact, the software I am looking at is already open-source, so in that case I won't have to do anything
Check out the Anniversary Edition Seven at ae.oni2.net!
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That's great news! A lot of good games took a hit when GameSpy shut down. Fortunately, some of them was saved by third-party projects, and some even by the developers themselves. But it's good to know there might be some reliability and sustainability down the road. Good luck!
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Super, this is what I wanted to hear. A simple in-game hosting and connection is the perfect multiplayer in my opinion.
I haven't given a lot of thought to dedicated servers yet, because at this point, the player base is practically zero, so a server wouldn't be useful yet.
Sadly you has right. Not just because there are not too much ONI player left, but not even all of those people know about this projekt. This is an old game, even someone sees it, I not think they would buy this old game. However It may be the question of time. If there will be fun multiplayer videos about the game, more and more ONI fan will come here to know more about this. This did the miracle with Duke Nukem 3D, so it may do the same with ONI.
Justice for all Gears!
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I wish I had a Mac... Maybe I could play it at school lol.
If we don't change the direction we're going, we'll likely end up where we're headed.
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There was not much update since I looked onto the forums. I hope the project just made into silent development. It would be a wast to shut down such a promising project.
Justice for all Gears!
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The project has been in hibernation for the past few months, but I am actually just now resuming work on it. I hated to be away from it for so long, but it couldn't be helped because of real life and some other responsibilities in the community. So hopefully people will start seeing some progress again in a couple months as a result.
Check out the Anniversary Edition Seven at ae.oni2.net!
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This is a good news. There isn't any problem with longer breaks. I relieved this is just a break. I will look forward to the progress.
Last edited by Justice (03/25/16 15:03)
Justice for all Gears!
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I thought I would give a little update for anyone who is interested, so I'm not being my usual quiet self and people know that I am still working on stuff.
What happened is that I underestimated how long my current side project would take. I don't like to talk about things until they're ready, but suffice to say that I was working on a support project that helps me develop Zukai, and part of it accidentally turned into a whole separate project when I realized that it might have some use for the community in general. So unfortunately I have been spending my time on this other project that we'll call Project K instead of on Zukai.
Besides that, it's become harder to find time for Oni. I haven't been at peak productivity since early 2015. So this past year has been a case of real life knocking at my door and also getting distracted by a side project that I might be able to release later on, which is a shame because I am still passionate about making progress on Zukai. At this point I'm probably looking at another 1-2 months before I am actually working on Zukai again and then another 1-2 months before I can make a new release.
Check out the Anniversary Edition Seven at ae.oni2.net!
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Thanks for the update, glad to hear you are still working on your project.
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Do you think K will be finished in two month? Or is it then in a state that allows Z to continue?
Maybe show us something of K so we don't die wondering
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Do you think K will be finished in two month? Or is it then in a state that allows Z to continue?
The second one.
Maybe show us something of K so we don't die wondering
It's the project I told you about the other week. So as you know, it's nothing sexy. Probably the first time anyone will see K is when it is used for project "A3", because that will be a good tech demo for it.
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It's nice to see updates in this project. Thanks for your effort Iritscen.
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It's been a while since the last info about your projects. Can you share some info how are you doing, and what is the status of K and Zukai?
Justice for all Gears!
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Thanks for asking. Unfortunately things got really crazy for me in real life starting back in September, and my Oni time has been virtually zero since then. However, it looks like my schedule will get under control soon, and I am starting to peck at my projects again. I'll try to remember to post an update here as things begin to move forward.
Check out the Anniversary Edition Seven at ae.oni2.net!
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I can understand it, here were some chaotic days also. I'm glad you haven't gave up those projects. I wish you luck for your real life, all the crazy stuff ends sometimes.
Also I would have an offtopic question. Is there a way to disable the moves-unlocking in Anniversary Edition? I mean to play it like the original game, and a new move gets unlocked at the beginning of the stages/missions.
Justice for all Gears!
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Check out the Anniversary Edition Seven at ae.oni2.net!
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Thank you for the answer. And again, good luck with everything, I look forward for the updates.
Justice for all Gears!
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