Re: Introduction!

[Steve Baker <sjbaker1@airmail.net>]

Josef Spillner wrote:

> Now what I've found to be an interesting challenge with regards to the
> mentioned windows-influenced gamedev scene is the following:
> http://www.gotdotnet.com/terrarium/whatis/
> 
> I asked myself how that would be possible on the Linux as it is now, or will
> be in a few months from now, without .NET (mono) and what its VM has to offer
> in regards of security/capabilities (see below).

I wrote something *very* much like this on a bunch of Sun workstations about
15 years ago (it would be just as easy under Linux).  I had a tiny interpreter
for a simple language which was used to drive little tank-like vehicles around
the screen.  The 'world' these vehicles fought in was hosted in a distributed
manner such that any of the computers could be taken off the net and the
remainder would continue to run the "game".

However, this isn't much of a game in the usual sense of the term - and there
are some severe problems with doing it without a central server that I'm sure
".NET" doesn't help you to resolve.  Issues of simultenaity in a large network
are what kill you.  It's REALLY hard to do that stuff right - even with a
central authority.

> To write the main framework for this game, any normal methods could be used,
> however I'd prefer a scripting language for 2 reasons:

...but if you don't use a scripting language then you can only run on utterly
homogeneous machines who are *VERY* trusting!  (Which is why Microsoft can
do it).

I really think this is a case of "Well, yes - quite clever - but *WHY*?"

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