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Any suggestions for server to make MMO ?

Discussion in 'Multiplayer' started by cemC, Sep 30, 2011.

  1. cemC

    cemC

    Joined:
    Dec 23, 2010
    Posts:
    214
    We have a project and this type is MMO (Like Knigt Online) However , there is a vital problem is that How many users can be login to the Game at the same time? And are there any suggestions to increase the capacity or smth like that ? And is it possible to login 1000000 people to our games as WoW.(Especially Game based on WebPlayer)
     
  2. fholm

    fholm

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2011
    Posts:
    2,052
    This question is impossible, in theory you could build a game that can handle as many people as WoW. But in reality you probably won't. You mention nothing of what network-server you're using. If you're using the built in Unity networking then no, you won't be able to build something like WoW on that.
     
  3. cemC

    cemC

    Joined:
    Dec 23, 2010
    Posts:
    214
    I read about the SmartFoxServer. And is there any suggestions like that?
     
  4. dilbertian

    dilbertian

    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2010
    Posts:
    74
    We are a core team of 3 and are about a year+ into our MMO game development and the advice I can offer you is this: Pick the server which best meets your skill level and fits with the equipment or environments that you are used to and have available. Server porting seems like a big deal maybe now, but out of the last 52 weeks of development, maybe 2-3 weeks of that total was required for the client/server implementation. We literally had our game up and running using the Multiplayer Island Demo method and a hard-coded level on the client, in a matter of an hour or two. The authoritative server took another week and then our latest port took about 2 weeks and we are about 80% done with that implementation.

    So maybe start by taking a look at:
    1. BootCamp Multiplayer Demo (Photon)
    2. Island Multiplayer Demo (SFS v1.x)

    We like the idea of Photon and liked some of it's features and capabilities but being only available on the Windows platform was a non-starter. SFS met our scalability requirements as well as being deployable on a variety of OS's including Windows, Linux and MacOSX.

    Depending on your skills (C# vs Java) and your OS preferences/requirements these are probably two of the most viable options, but certainly there are other options out there as well.

    Good luck!

    -Tim
     
  5. david.almroth

    david.almroth

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2010
    Posts:
    18
  6. Fiction

    Fiction

    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2011
    Posts:
    5
    I wouldn't recommend you use a server written in C# for a game that big and the reason is speed.
    Unity's built-in networking is probably not good enough for this task unless you have many very small servers that use the same database, but that world wouldn't have the same feeling.
     
  7. MaliceA4Thought

    MaliceA4Thought

    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2011
    Posts:
    406
    With all due respect, I don't think you've even asked the right question yet :)

    What type of MMORPG are you trying to develop with regards to the tech spec. Are you doing a single zone all players.. single zone with all players load balanced between multiple hosts, multi zone, multi zone with instances, multi zone with load balancing as required.

    There are other options.

    Personally, I went for a system that has multiple small - medium sized zones and instances, each of which can be instanced as a cell server for load balancing and has a max of 64 players in each instance before a new cell server is instantiated and the load balanced between the two.

    That way I have completely scaleable architecture which can run bare bones for testing and scale up as needed under use.

    Remember, it's important to keep the frame rates up as you will be running a fully authoritative server if it's an MMORPG and as such you will need to keep the transmission of data between servers and client optimal, and theres a LOT of transmission between the two. As a result, you need extremely efficient server and client code so that messages that need to be sent are sent quickly and those that are being recieved are recieved promptly.

    Remember, as an auth server, even player movement has two messages.. one from the client to server to say.. I am moving, one from server to client saying okay you get to here and this is happening regularly. Optimisation on extrapolating movement and position helps, but ultimately it's all down to the message flow :)

    When you get to building the multiplayer part of all this, theres probably as much goes into the design of the server architecture and message handling as into the design of the game, especially for a small indie team or a solo developer like me. In addition, much of the game design and operation has to besed on the server approach you have taken to maximise efficiency and minimise data loss.

    As can be seen in this post.. http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/103534-Colony-Alpha-(M)ORPG-(Updated) .. I use uLink and am very very happy with the results and they have an excellent indie deal on right now with most of their tools included.. not cheap in terms of cash for a solo or small team, but in terms of time, ease and efficiency.. priceless.. and trust me, this will be one of the cheaper things you need if you really go through with a full blown MMORPG :)

    The first video in my thread actually demos a zone transition.

    Regards

    Graham
     
    Last edited: Oct 3, 2011