Sorry if this is not the right place to ask, but am I the only one who thinks that Star Citizen’s new server meshing technology is an old hat? I believe it’s the same technology that a few highly scalable Minecraft servers have been using for years. WorldQL introduced this back in 2021, but I think the idea was around even earlier than that. GrieferGames has also put this into practice.

  • lukas@lemmy.haigner.meOP
    4·
    8 months ago

    But isn’t that exactly what the people at WorldQL accomplished already?

    To actually solve the problem, something more robust was needed. I set the following goals:

    • Players must be able to see each other, even if on different server processes.
    • Players must be able to engage in combat across servers.
    • When a player places a block or updates a sign, it should be immediately visible to all other players.
    • If one server is down, the entire world should still be accessible.
    • If needed, servers can be added or removed at-will to adapt to the amount of players.

    I think the last point specifically addresses your concern about dynamic server meshing. They can scale up or down depending on how many players are in an area.

    • macniel@feddit.de
      2·
      8 months ago

      Perhaps yeah, and it sounds like that. But the scale is not really comparable. Or can WorldQL still simulate whatever is going on in unloaded chunks?

      • ninjan@lemmy.mildgrim.comEnglish
        2·
        8 months ago

        I don’t think the base game, Minecraft, actually simulates chunks which aren’t loaded. IIRC they’re frozen until loaded into memory again. So no, but not because of WorldQL tech.

      • lukas@lemmy.haigner.meOP
        1·
        8 months ago

        Fair point. Minecraft itself doesn’t simulate anything in unloaded chunks afaik, so I think the WorldQL PoC can’t change that as a server plugin. They probably could if they develop a Minecraft server from scratch tho.