-----Original Message----- -> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -> From: "muldy" -> -> We all know VALVe and Microsoft sleep on the same bed, -> Microsoft wants OpenGL out of the way to impose (one more!) -> the DirectX Api. -> -> OpenGL is portable, DirectX is not! Don't even talk -> about WineX, Why emulate clients if you can make a client -> for other platforms? -> -> VALVe has got an excellent game on it's hands, and does -> not need to team up with Microsoft or any other major company(ATI?). -> Microsoft & VALVe will chose the requirements for -> playing Half-Life from now on...
Which is why HL2, and all it's mods will become single-player FPS games, or small LAN games run in the confines of home. I agree, I'm waiting for the day when the end will come, and it will given the choices made by Valve. I really wish I am wrong, but it doesn't look that way. Money is made from the sale of client copies, and that will be the focus. MS and Valve will bank on the fact that people will run Windows clients and connect to Windows servers.
One of the driving factors for the popularity of HL so far has been the proliferation of servers available to play on, and all of the assistance available to would-be server operators. It's no fun trying to play an online FPS when you can't find a decent server to play on. For example, I have a ton of people pleading with me to open up a Nascar Thunder 2004 server on one of my OC3 links. Unfortunately, this will not happen unless EA releases a unix dedicated server. Because I, like many of you, provide game servers as a service and not a commercial entity, I have no recoup of my costs in operation. Those of you who do run commercial services have to worry about your solvency. Running Windows servers is not economically feasable. It's simple math:
Windows 2003 Server, 5 license = $995.00 X 5 servers = $4975.00
FreeBSD 5.1 (my personal choice), unlimited = $0.00 X 5 servers = $0.00
Now apply those figures to a commercial entity with 100 servers, then factor in the additional management to do monthly hotfixes or service packs, and the downtime involved.
Since those of you who do run commercially know the slim margins you're on now, can you afford to amortize in the costs of the OS as well, yet realize a profit during the lifespan of the game?
So the OpenGL/D3D argument is really a moot issue here. It doesn't matter what method of rendering is used, if there aren't servers for the client to connect to, the networked game is dead.
/BA Michiganburbs.com
I dont quite understand your point? what makes you think that games will stop making linux servers? Valve certainly will not stop linux server development, and pretty much any *popular* game that has even remotely intelligent developers will have one as well. for example EA/Dice finally got around to making a battlefield linux server.
pretty much everything you just said is complaining about an irrelevant, non issue in a vacuum? or am I missing something?
kev
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