reptor
21-08-2008 19:00:46
Hello
Is it possible to use NxOgre on a dedicated server application which doesn't have the Ogre3D graphics engine.
In other words, use NxOgre without Ogre3D.
The dedicated server application would have no graphics engine at all.
Have you considered this scenario.
betajaen
21-08-2008 19:08:01
I have but only from a client view; I even prototyped a class for such a thing, but never got around to finishing it. NxOgre should never run in a server though; or at least the kind we use in our applications - perhaps a version that does not use Ogre; an a "Rendering" system that is a network wrapper.
Perhaps when NxOgre 1.5 is out, I'll start on it.
Jallen
01-09-2008 13:15:56
The best way i can think of doing this is making your own render system dll.
Like RenderSystem_GL.dll, except you wouldn't do anything in any of the rendering functions.
I don't know enough about the engine to know if that is possible, but it's worth looking at.
betajaen
01-09-2008 13:42:15
That may work; but it may be easier just to de-couple NxOgre from Ogre, which to be fair - most of the core is like that now.
reptor
01-09-2008 14:35:12
Yeah, well the point was to not have Ogre3D at all in the dedicated server. So the "rendersystem which doesn't do anything" doesn't exactly achieve that.
I'm in no hurry with this.
There are two possibilities currently in my mind.
A) Have Ogre3D but don't use rendersystem.
B) Don't have Ogre3D at all in the dedicated server but write my own code to deal with resource loading and the scenegraph, basically everything that is needed to have the correct "game state" at the server. This of course wouldn't include anything like sounds, graphics files etc.
On the server I would need to load and maintain configuration files, physics files, Lua script files, and handle game entity data (defined in config files of course). What else possibly?
B definitely sounds like it would be much more work for me. The positive side of B would be that the dedicated server would be much more light-weight if I go with the B than if I go with the A.
Currently I don't have a clear picture in my head of how much work it would be to go with the B. I need to do more planning. And write a test dedicated server to see how could it look like. Maybe I could get away with something simpler than the data structures Ogre3D has to have to maintain its "state".