Server ability : URL forwarding of MISSION content

[Dwarden 1125]

Terox as many games already have this ability, web hosters already offer for free to mirror the mission content

in fact one of reasons many hosters increase the prices of A2/OA hosting is because of the way higher bw block used by server itself

anyway this one of many improvements considered not the only one

[Pulverizer 1]

Why would the JIP client ever need to redefine the variable value more than once when he connects

The system would have to overwrite data where needed, not store a million changes to the same variable of course :P

It is possible to write to a certain offset with FTP, right?

Obviously this would not save any bw on constantly moving units etc. I was thinking about changes to much more static things such as fallen trees, damaged buildings, dead bodies, ammo taken from cargo and so on.

Getting the sync correct would be the difficult part. Ie, knowing exactly what data the connecting client needs updated. I guess the webserver JIP file would have to be locked every other minute or something. The client would report which "version" of JIP data he has upon connecting and the game server would know what needs to be refreshed from there.

Edited October 29, 2010 by Pulverizer

[PiratRu 10]

Awful this English!

Not absolutely I have understood all, but I will re-read once again. Somebody can show on an example of one mission. What, how, where and where to register?

[larsiano 12]

If i understand correctly this option will give the players a popup where to get the mission? In that case i hope you can auto- redirect them to a side URL for the download. This could be a great feature for private servers like the one i run that struggle with bandwidth. Will it include an addon download option that would be lovely :)

[=wfl= sgt bilko 10]

I'm all for flexibility. It would probably be a game server variable specifying redirected or local server download (and a list of valid URLs if it is redirected). "Redirected" in this context, would mean that mission will be downloaded automatically BUT from a specified URL rather than from local game server.

Actual URLs should be set by server admins in game server config not by the mission makers.

This is how it's been in many other games for a longtime and works quite well.

It used to be that the local server download rate in other games were capped to same as player data rate to avoid bandwidth hogging. With the introduction of redirected download you could (depending on web hosting)theoretically reach your ISP download rate without any impact of game server traffic for other players.

JIP (in the sense of local game world initialization) is another beast not related to missions/mods download.

And it would be nice to see, not only missions, but also mods downloaded this way (though I don't know if A2 game engine would allow for that).

Sorry if this has all been covered already, I confess I didn't read through the complete thread :)

Edited November 2, 2010 by =WFL= Sgt Bilko

[Dwarden 1125]

If i understand correctly this option will give the players a popup where to get the mission? In that case i hope you can auto- redirect them to a side URL for the download. This could be a great feature for private servers like the one i run that struggle with bandwidth. Will it include an addon download option that would be lovely :)

no popup, the aim is to be completely seamless download on background

if it fails it will utilize the same method as now

anyway when and if ... no ETA

[Yoma 0]

It's a good idea. Just do it :)

[PiratRu 10]

Guys, please... :confused:

Show please on an example!

As well as that where to write. To be honest, you at all don't represent, as these falling of the server out of the blue have already bothered.

I have noticed that more often the server falls at connection of the new player.

There is a site where I and can lay out cards! But in any way I will not understand where and what to write, what the new connected were swung not by servers. Was already tired to experiment.

Edited November 2, 2010 by PiratRu

[=wfl= sgt bilko 10]

Guys, please... :confused:

Show please on an example!

As well as that where to write. To be honest, you at all don't represent, as these falling of the server out of the blue have already bothered.

I have noticed that more often the server falls at connection of the new player.

There is a site where I and can lay out cards! But in any way I will not understand where and what to write, what the new connected were swung not by servers. Was already tired to experiment.

The redirected download feature is not yet implemented. I'm sure there will be a "How-To" when it is in place. This thread is only to get community ideas and opinions.

[gossamersolid 155]

This would be great if it would be included in the upcoming 1.55 patch.

[bearbison 10]

this would be a great idea for us server owners and also just the players.

[red29 10]

I'm going to be brutally honest:

Why wouldn't BI offer it? What could possibly be the downside of offering a simple redirect to download mission files, especially when it can be enabled or disabled at will? Why wouldn't BI just take the initiative to do something so easy that would do so much good for the community, instead of creating a poll that probably wasted 10x the effort of just coding it?

[Hatsune Miku 10]

I'm going to be brutally honest:

Why wouldn't BI offer it? What could possibly be the downside of offering a simple redirect to download mission files, especially when it can be enabled or disabled at will? Why wouldn't BI just take the initiative to do something so easy that would do so much good for the community, instead of creating a poll that probably wasted 10x the effort of just coding it?

Design procedures, probably - although trully it is quite a basic and essential feature that should have been implemented a long time ago, which you can clearly see the positive effects when observing the source engine handling this very same issue.

[Dwarden 1125]

it's still on TODO list definitely not forgotten as some might fear

[Banshee 9]

We've used this for Enemy-Territory servers in the past. It seems a good solution for public servers with frequently changing big missions and limited bandwith.

With that feature you could place the mission file on a CDN or filehoster. For example Dropbox, Github, Rapidshare or simply your own webserver. This allready works with the Six-Updater by the way trough YML-files and a custom repository.

This will stress the network connection of the gameserver less than now.

I think resources should go into other stuff, but if you want, go ahead. :)

Edited February 9, 2012 by Banshee

[wohali 10]

In support - very helpful as you mention in other engines (including Unreal). It'd help significantly if related assets to a mission could be downloaded without the use of another tool, such as Six.

[HazJ 1289]

Maybe make it optional by server admin/owner.

[Cowboy Pilot 10]

/This is needed, for many of the reasons already stated and understood by BI. This is one thing I definitely will not have a dissenting opinion on.

[Double Doppler 10]

Would this solve the problem of mission files over 4 MB not being downloaded properly? If so I am supporting it, but only if it can be used by the server admin's discretion.

[gossamersolid 155]

It's probably not going to happen at this stage, let's hope for A3 implementation.

[Dwarden 1125]

things may happen, even as test-bed for the A3 before getting it there ... so never say never until A3 is out :)

[gossamersolid 155]

things may happen, even as test-bed for the A3 before getting it there ... so never say never until A3 is out :)

"Never", there I said it :p

Well if this does make it to A2, I would be pleased.

[Hud Dorph 22]

This would be awsome - Customizing mission contents in mp an still having players that dont get autobooted.

This can only be a big win for whole comunity.

[SWAT_BigBear 0]

things may happen, even as test-bed for the A3 before getting it there ... so never say never until A3 is out :)

-ZxHAZChcYU

Edit..lol, go start reading the 1st couple of pages in this thread, this new forums make us look uber geeky.

Edited February 17, 2012 by SWAT_BigBear

[nomad_man 10]

Man, some people are driving me nuts in this thread. They didn't read the original message or explanations.

If you are indifferent to the answer, than don't post a reply.

If you are ok with the way things are setup, all you will have to do is change a config option.

Everyone else will benefit from having missions hosted at a different location. This will save you bandwidth and potentially speed up your downloads, provided you don't pick a slow mirror.

If there is a mission that you play out of the box, someone can create a mirror everyone else can link to it.

I say it's a definite yes.