[Nel] Some thoughts about NeL

Wed, 15 Nov 2000 17:27:27 +0100

According to Thierry Mallard:
+> This is something I though about in the Genesis project (yes I know,
+> not very original name ;-) a few years ago. The problems we found
+> were the consistency of the global universe, and the trust we could
+> have to any server. For example : who managed the characters ? who
+> can we trust for them ? There can be a time line synchronisation problem
+> too, although that seemed less important... 
+
+In a very different world (and a closed system implementation), it's also
+something Bioware's NeverWinterNights wants to achieve. Their model allows
+servers (what they call modules, which is in fact a process running a
+specific area - but you can have multiples instances concurrently running
+on the same CPU) to link to each other.
+
+Of course, their model is simpler: all servers are guaranteed to run the
+same software (it autoupdates over the Internet), the character formats are
+well defined, and the characters are ultimately stored on a central database
+(the NWN Vault) who enforces "plausibility" on the characters (a level 1
+cannot get to level 6 and 70,000 XP points in an hour of playtime; a level 3
+character cannot have a plate+2, a cloak of displacement and boots of speed,
+and so on).
+
+And they do not want to inforce any universe continuity: each server admin
+has to do it, by allowing other modules to link to yours or not.
+-- 
+Vincent Archer                                         Email: archer@nevrax.com
+
+Nevrax France.                              Off on the yellow brick road we go!
+
+