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Re: CF: images & caching.





>> The whole point is that there is no xpm vs gif vs png since one client
>> could use a xpm font server and another client could use a png font server
>> while both simultaneously playing on the same map and CF game server
>> doesn't even know what image system the clients are using.  The key
>> is that it pulls the whole image issue away from the game engine and
>> the client platform limitations.
>
> However, the font servers must remain up to date.

Yes, but that just means the local font server would have to get an
update.

There would appear to be two serious client issues.  First is the
bandwidth issue of downloading fonts during game play.  Second is then
issue of having to pick one CF image format that is fast and pretty
on all platforms.

I propose that both can be solved if upon start of client game play that
all font info in an image format native to the client's display logic 
ia locally available to the client.  This converts those client issues
from real time performance (bandwidth and CPU) issues into a simpler
image database info issue.


A more precise description of the proposed font server design would be:

The CF game server has an IP port for game play.  The same machine
also has an IP port for font requests.  The master font server can return a
font image of whatever supported image type.  The master font server
supports a new font request message of a GET_NEXT fontname (same concept
as SNMP GET_NEXT) to allow acquiring all image info without knowing the
names of added images.  

There would be a client font update utility which connects to the specified
server and gets any new images.  If the server does not support the image
used by this particular client then the font update utility must then
also convert the image to the local format.

The client(s) make an IP connection to CF game server.  The images are
either presumed to locally exist or are to be requested from a local
font server in the native format for this client's display logic.

								sdw
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