Understanding of MMORPG
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I have never played a MMORPG, only MORPG (diablo2).
I have a few questions about MMORPG.
First, does all the players play in the same game? So there is one huge world everybody play in it? ot are there several games that players can choose from to play in, but they have no connection in the game to players in other games (like diablo2)?
Second, who is providing the server service? is it the same company that made the game? Is there only one server or several servers of the same company working together? Or can anyone with enough money open a server for an MMORPG? or is it not possible because there is one huge world and thus only one server or several servers connected to each other can manage this world?
I would appreaciate your answers on this matter.
Generally, there are several 'Servers' (in quotes because each one might really be a cluster of servers), and within each 'server' is a single world that all players participate in (generally the same world).
Either the game creator or publisher hosts the servers, either themselves or through some third party. The server software is pretty much always closed, meaning individuals can't run a server for commercial games because they don't have the software. People have, however, recreated server software through extensive study of the real client and how it interacts with the real server.
Either the game creator or publisher hosts the servers, either themselves or through some third party. The server software is pretty much always closed, meaning individuals can't run a server for commercial games because they don't have the software. People have, however, recreated server software through extensive study of the real client and how it interacts with the real server.
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Quote:Original post by Extrarius
Generally, there are several 'Servers' (in quotes because each one might really be a cluster of servers), and within each 'server' is a single world that all players participate in (generally the same world).
Either the game creator or publisher hosts the servers, either themselves or through some third party. The server software is pretty much always closed, meaning individuals can't run a server for commercial games because they don't have the software. People have, however, recreated server software through extensive study of the real client and how it interacts with the real server.
So how many different 'worlds' there are in SWG for example? and how many players can be hosted in a single world?
Quote:Original post by The C modest godIt depends entirely on the MMO. I haven't played any MMOs outside of trials and even then it's been a while, so I have no idea on the specific numbers.
[...]So how many different 'worlds' there are in SWG for example? and how many players can be hosted in a single world?
Quote:Original post by The C modest god
I have never played a MMORPG, only MORPG (diablo2).
I have a few questions about MMORPG.
First, does all the players play in the same game?
This depends on the game. These days, it's common for there to be at least one game per real-life area [1 game for europe, 1 game for americas, 1 game for asia for example] to cut down on latency.
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So there is one huge world everybody play in it? ot are there several games that players can choose from to play in, but they have no connection in the game to players in other games (like diablo2)?
Depends on the game.
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Second, who is providing the server service? is it the same company that made the game?
Generally. Some times the actual sys admins are a sub-contracting company, but the development/publishing company still pays the bills. I'm sure there's some odd ones out there that do not follow this pattern though.
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Is there only one server or several servers of the same company working together?
These days, there's often at least 2 physical machines [server and dedicated DB] involved. Having more is not unheard of even for an individual game.
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Or can anyone with enough money open a server for an MMORPG? or is it not possible because there is one huge world and thus only one server or several servers connected to each other can manage this world?
I'm sure if you've got enough money, anything is possible. But generally companies will not allow a random person to run a game server as it might tarnish their image, or create support problems. Also, if the game runs in one world, it might be difficult or impossible to make the game pick between two.
The distinction is a matter of scale mostly. Whereas a big traditional online game might have 32 players at once, a MMO usually is talking a thousand to a couple of thousand. It's also persistent - the same "game" is up 24x7 for weeks at a time, and when it does go down it saves all the state and restores it afterwords.
The answers you've gotten so far are much too small for a commerical game
3 games per real life area?
World of Warcraft has 110 simultaneous games(realms/servers/whatever) for Europe alone (and 100 for the USA).
Each of these realms supports huge numbers of players
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This depends on the game. These days, it's common for there to be at least one game per real-life area [1 game for europe, 1 game for americas, 1 game for asia for example] to cut down on latency.
3 games per real life area?
World of Warcraft has 110 simultaneous games(realms/servers/whatever) for Europe alone (and 100 for the USA).
Each of these realms supports huge numbers of players
Perhaps at least should've been in bold. The smallest modern commercial non-mud MMORPG I know of [puzzle-pirates] has that general layout, each server serving a little under 1k users comfortably.
There are many more MMORPGs than just the very top AAA titles. The majority are glad to have 1k simultaneous users.
The fact that more users means more hardware is so painfully obvious, I didn't mention it. Perhaps that was a mistake.
There are many more MMORPGs than just the very top AAA titles. The majority are glad to have 1k simultaneous users.
The fact that more users means more hardware is so painfully obvious, I didn't mention it. Perhaps that was a mistake.
There's a good overview of Everquest here.
To give you an idea how big an operation it is, here's a quote from the story
I find it somewhat interesting that they use some form of UNIX on the servers, but don't have a linux client. Then again, I guess it makes sense from a business standpoint, the client is a very different beast than the server.
To give you an idea how big an operation it is, here's a quote from the story
Quote:A large steel cage surrounds more than 500 servers stacked 32 high in towering racks—and this is just one battalion, albeit the largest, in Sony's 1500-machine army of servers.
I find it somewhat interesting that they use some form of UNIX on the servers, but don't have a linux client. Then again, I guess it makes sense from a business standpoint, the client is a very different beast than the server.
Quote:Original post by Extrarius
Generally, there are several 'Servers' (in quotes because each one might really be a cluster of servers), and within each 'server' is a single world that all players participate in (generally the same world).
Usually, yes. Sometimes, different instances of the same world are created to allow players to be "on their own" a bit. For example, when you enter a dungeon, the server might create a unique instance just for you. This works a bit like Diablo, where others might be in a different copyof the same world.
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So how many different 'worlds' there are in SWG for example? and how many players can be hosted in a single world?
Varies a lot. Some 3rd party engines claim to support unlimited number of players on a single server (or shard). (By unlimited, they mean hundreds of thousands and up). Most games seem to manage around 3000 per server. Eve Online is the biggest I know of, which has 12k or so on a single server.
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