Re: Status of xfire. Client/server 3d.

[Kjetil Torgrim Homme <kjetilho>]

+--- Stephen Wray:
| Ummm... do you expect a 3d version of crossfire to be faster?
| Or is it that the 2d version is too fast?

Client/server will be faster. When you divorce the two, it is the
hardware of the client machine which limits the possibilities, not the
network bandwidth.

+---
| I have this vague suspicion that a 3d version of crossfire would
| have to be a lot slower... (Having seen linuxxdoom)

Huh? Doom under Linux is almost as fast as Doom under DoomOS. At least
on our 486/66 16MB S3-928 machines, and who would buy anything less
than that these days?

(As an aside: It seems like we would have to use the MITSHM extension
to get the performance, the xpm-library just isn't fast enough on
most machines.)

+--- Mark Wedel:
| I have done some work on the client/server. I will probably be
| making a new release of crossfire within a week or two, and it will
| include the work I have done on it.

That's great, Mark!

+---
| Also, going from 2D to 3D changes game play considerably. In 3D
| mode, you have forward vision with limited side vision. in present
| mode, you have all around vision.

True, people with 3D-clients will be at a disadvantage. However, some
people may think it is worth it for the extra tension. This is much
the same the discussion we had about people wanting to play without
line-of-sight.

+---
| Also, 3D would require rewrites in major portions of the code.

Well, we could fake it, you know. Ie. look at Wolfenstein, not Doom.
Stairs and ladders are way out of reach, I agree.


Kjetil T.