X3 multiplayer mod mechanics discussion

[sirus a]

X3 has always been something of a favorite game for me and has caught my attention for an MMO project that I want to make.

Whoa, whoa whoa I hear from the peanut gallery. MMO? X3 has only ever supported a half dozen players with the best mods.
Which is 100% correct because the mechanics that X3 uses to make such a massive universe feel alive also gimp its capability as a multiplayer engine... and so what?
The client application can be used to render player occupied sectors for the players themselves, and some middleware can interpret IS data to a central OOS server.
There's some load juggling to handle when players enter the same sector together, but hardcore multiplayer X3( the thought of which makes my Diablo II bones ache with joy) is some ways off and the point of this project is to open X3 modding to a new era.

I'd appreciate the expertise of the modding community in their thoughts on how a middleware interpreter would work best with X3's peculiars. I'm new to Steam modding itself and have no idea if the central server needs its own Steam instance to run properly, or if the Steam network would support multiplayer for games that don't feature it natively... also is there anyone who'd like to help?

[Red Spot]

I'll just put my 'tl;dr' reply here.

I applaud you if this a serious effort ... and will be waiting for the news you broke your own skull banging it up against the wall ....

[Axeface]

X3 had a multiplayer mod? Ive never heard of this.
And good luck with it.

[Happyscientist]

This sounds like an absolutely huge undertaking. I am very curious about how you intend to handle all the issues that SETA would cause in a multiplayer x3.

[Ketraar]

Originally posted by Axeface:

X3 had a multiplayer mod? Ive never heard of this.

Yes there were several attempts at various types of "multiplayer" but afaik none have gone past the issues to actually implement any of it.

MFG

Ketraar

[Don]

Even if you at least get 2 player co-op to work, that would be a tremendous step for X3. Good luck!

[sirus a]

The game engine and the "game" are two vastly different concepts. Most any game engine can be modded to have multiplayer, but many engines do not handle multiple player occupied areas well and others have their core game mechanics broken by the existence of two players. The answer on SETA is that it's a no go. SETA is mainly used to skip over sections where it's too tedious to play the game; whereas the fleet command, building, and the dogfights cannot use SETA effectively( except in the case where construction times are ridiculously padded because SETA exists). If you like playing X3 on DID difficulty, you'll enjoy the experience I have in mind.

I realize that I may not be talking to a general crowd that can handle black box engineering, but the existence of a mod interface implies that the game engine can be fed information and disgorge information to a center platform that will put the "game" together in different way. Terms before we start: IS means "in sector" and OOS means "out of sector." The game engine handles these two environments in fundamentally different ways to simulate such a massive universe, while providing a stimulating player environment. I plan to use the perfectly functional mechanisms of the in sector BUILD GATHER FIGHT mechanics to create a sector capture game.
I would make a mod that acts as our server and monitor the OOS transactions of our multiplayer game world. A second mod allows the players to connect their IS environments to the OOS world by reporting their IS movements as OOS NPC ship actions which the server can relay for other players.
In sector dog fighting is the most difficult part to figure out because the OOS tick rate is several seconds, and a lot can happen in several seconds of dogfighting. Once I'm deep in the project, I'll figure out if I can give the game engine multiple player io streams. There's a possibility this could lead to M3 or M6 class dogfighting with players, but don't keep your hopes up. My plan for player-on-player IS battles involves giving players a single ship with limited movement. Whereas players may freely control "drones" when they are the only player in a sector, when another player enters their sector all drone control is severed and players will be stuck on the bridge of their ships, giving movement commands to their crew. This way is a turn-based PVP strategy with real time PVE gameplay.

TL;DR: serious applications only.

[TAURUS]

are you talking about this really? OMG! that would be awesome!