im planning to create a mmorpg, here is the basic layout but i dont know anything about mmo specifc game problems(i havent even played any new MMORPG's), can anyone point out anywhere it can be improved first its going to have 2D graphics and a similar style to a "secret of mana game" or RPG maker game, it will have isometric or just normal square tiles its meant to requre little prossesing power so the server can be run on a typical pc problems -first of all area transitions, im not sure how to deal with the exit point being cloged with other sprite(playes and such) -im using winsock.h and im wondering how fast a tipical PC can spit out UDP packets, there wont be much data but (tell me if theres a better way)i need a packet for every frame, so 15fps * 20 users would be 300 packets a second, more since it need to spend some of that second doing game calculations, the only alternative i can think of is some games insted of having sprite with a pixle x,y cordants are locked to a tile(can't stop between tiles) but animeted so it looks smooth(like FF6 or rpgmaker),since the tile to tile animation are set i could have 20 fps bu onlt 5 update packets per second -is the linux winsock.h port resonable efficent since i want to make a linux verson of the server -are there any calaculation(collison detection, inventory) that i could convenently put on the client side to reduce the load on the server -what should the penalty for dieing be [Edited by - Kaze on December 6, 2004 12:27:28 AM]

Or you could do what online FPS's and such have done for years, dont send absolute data packets every time, have the server send "hints" every so oftain, and leave it up to the client to interpolate. IE: specify the spot when the person starts running... every once in a while as they are running to keep things in check, when they would run into a wall, and when they stop, and let the client figure out the rest.

Quote:Original post by Kaze
(i havent even played any new MMORPG's)

here goes a good piece of advise for use Kaze:
P L A Y before you start!

despite what a lot of people commonly states, every MMORPG is a different game, of course with lots of things in common. by playing a geat variety of games, you will soon notice that many "similar" games do not appeal to you the same way. and all players feel like that.

the game that 1 person finds great, might be not even playable for another!

first, find out what you like: more fantasy oriented? more realism? what kind of graphics? (not only 2Dx3D, but what kinds of colors do you want to see, etc)

i can point out dozens of free games for you if you want

thanks for the advice

Quote:Original post by Sandman
Still, I'd recommend getting maybe a simple multiplayer RPG engine for say, 2-8 players going first, and then perhaps expanding it to being 'massive' once you have a clearer idea of the technical problems you're going to face.

if i make a resonably scalable system for player and sprtie mangament the only real diffrence between 2 and 200 players should be incresing the max array size until the server lags out

Quote:Original post by Elehisie
i can point out dozens of free games for you if you want

ok, if you post some i could try a few,
though i usally like having to figure out some of the problems myself so i can come up with original solutions

Try Ultima Online first, for some good reasons
first UO is the first MMORPG ever created
second UO today has many free servers, and the client is free too
third UO is the only "free" MMORPG made in professional way

death problem.
I used to be a GM in a UO server, and the death problem is more complex than immaginable:
If the death is only a loose of time to the healer, you will see a huge number of Player killers, whose hobby will be to wonder around seeking newbies to kill
if death is hardcore style, you will not see a player... not one, because in a MMORPG you can't calibrate monsters on a single pg, you have to do areas for newbies and areas for power players, but newbies once created will first go to power player's areas to see big monsters, and then they will realize that is better start from litle bags, and not from grats wirms

another question is: what do you think of PvP in MMORPG? a PVP MMORPG will need some no PvP areas for newbies and thoso who don't want PvP, but no PvP areas will seem a fencing for the sheep

there are a lot of different views of every MMORPG, seek for some very different UO and try them, I'm italian and I know only italian shards, so I can't help in this, unless you are italian too or you understand italian

well the on death thing was just bugging me, il start with the technical aspect first, il ask more qusetion like that when im farther along

i dont know if theres a better way but i was palning on first creating a normal RPG except having a abstraction layer to pass info between the I/O and the game engine and adding the network part as the last step(this is a bit of work but debugging my last network app was a nightmare)