So I've been fiddling around with my online game and had an experience over the weekend with a few other online games. Ever run into a game that makes you download so much content that you'll probably never see unless you play it everyday for months at a time? MMO's are getting huge. I always thought that it would be easier and save bandwidth if they only made you download what you needed and automatically download what you need as you go. I really hate games with 2-4gb of models, sounds, and maps. Do you think it would be a good idea to do something like this?
- Check user account info- Determine what maps, objects, and sounds the user will be accessing- Check if files are downloaded- Download needed files- Ignore unneeded files until requestedIf a player is just "trying" a game out, why make them download so many files? Of course an option to download everything could always be given to them. I like pie. I might try using a system like this.
I believe that would impose a lot of strain on a game's servers.
Would it be just as much having everyone download one large file?
Sounds like OnLive.
A little.Because then instead of having all of it downloaded already, you would have to stop during play and download it, which would be a pain in the ass. Also, wouldn't that overload the system a lot more than if you just had it all and that was it, rather than have every player be downloading SOMETHING at the same time? It makes sense on paper, but I don't think it would be a very realistic option.
But, since you said you're just trying the game out, they should have had a package of downloadable maps specifically for that purpose. Having you download it all just so you could see if you liked it isn't very smart. :/Hooray for geeking out!Use P2P to distribute the game's files. Server strain problems (semi) solved.