Re: [glob2-devel] The future!

[Martin Voelkle]

> *3) The multiplayer base needs to be improved. The YOG server and
> client need to be able to facilitate easy enhancements to their
> protocol, perhaps by converting them to use an XML based protocol,
> which is easy to parse by machine or human, easy to expand and shrink,
> etc..
>
> *4) On the same idea, the game host - game client code needs to be
> improved as well. Right now, as far as I can tell, it uses the same
> system that the system used in-game to communicate. This is a
> signifigant change, it would be desirable to convert it to an XML
> based protocol as well, maybe even merge most of the code with the YOG
> protocols, and leave binary based communication only for in-game.

Can I suggest to base this on the xmpp (jabber) protocol?
It already offers multi-user chat like irc (suitable for both yog and
pre-game chat, with anonymous rooms, password-protected rooms, etc.),
voip (google talk), file transfert (for maps and games), zeroconf (for
lan games), decentralized authentication and can easily be extended to
add glob2 specific pre-game notifications (game created, etc.).

Here is how I see a yog game:
Player joins chat room address@hidden, where he can chat
with other glob2 players, and with any other people using any jabber
client.
Player creates a game (a new room), which adds a special glob2 token
to his presence, indicating the room the game corresponds to. Glob2
clients see this special token and show that a new game has been
created, normal jabber clients ignore it.
Other players join the game (by joining the room). The creator sends
them the map. When the game is started, the clients initiate an out of
band peer to peer connection to use glob2's in-game protocol for the
rest of the game. In-game chat could still use the jabber game room.

In a local network, the same would happen, except that the players
would get in an initial room using link-local messaging (zeroconf aka
rendezvous aka bonjour).

You can find more about the relevant protoclos:
Jabber protocols: http://www.jabber.org/protocol/
All proposed jabber extensions: http://www.jabber.org/jeps/
Of particular interest are base protocols (XMPP), multi-user chat (jep
0045), file transfer (jep 0096), link-local messaging (jep 0174),
jingle raw udp transport (jep 0177), user gaming (jep 0196).

Martin