[Development] Burning Skies: Profaned Sanctuary

[CptSky]

No update since a long time ?

[Spirited]

Originally Posted by CptSky

No update since a long time ?

Sorry, I should have updated you guys... I'm working 12 hours a day atm because of a campus emergency with the IT department. I'm training to become the new lab administrator (and the guy who knows everything leaves in two days). Also... I'm working on a second project which you'll know soon enough. Sorry for the inactivity, that'll change after this weekend. Cheers.

[Spirited]

Hey everyone!

After some stressful months and teaching myself a few new tricks (C++ socket systems, database management, etc), I'm back in business and developing on Kibou. That's right, development is back (as I promised). I decided to take a small spin off and program a few small systems. The first being the Lunar Platform.

Unlike TQ Digital's lunar platform, my server calculates the current lunar phase. Not quite sure what that means? No problem, here's a picture:



On the left is the current moon phase from Calculator Cat. On the right is Kibou's lunar platform. The phase of the moon in the real world is the same (or very similar) to the phase of the moon on the server. That's all I have to show for now. As usual, more development is coming soon!

Cheers,

Spirited Fang

[Spirited]

Hey everyone,

Today, I worked on the very first quest for Conquer Online's Burning Skies. The quest makes use of the new quest system I've implemented into Kibou, consisting of methods for saving and loading quests from the database as well as storing progression and completed quests in the client's quest log (server-side, not the client-sided quest log). I'll be implementing the client's quest log as soon as I straighten up my autopatch location (so I can update all of my testers with the correct client information).



I also worked on some features and systems that would be used in quests. Pathfinding is now implemented and will be used on most low level quests. Popup windows and such also were implemented. More development is coming soon!

Cheers,
Spirited Fang

[Spirited]

Hey everyone,

The quest log feature in the client will not be implemented on Burning Skies. You might ask why I have to do such a thing, but please allow me to explain. In sort, the client is so inefficient that implementing their feature at the scale I plan on implementing it would result in an extreme amount of network latency and bandwidth. It's simply not worth trying to work around when I can dedicate that processing power to other features that deliver a much better game experience.

"Why is the quest log so inefficient?" you may ask. Normally, quests keep track of progress. If the client doesn't have the quest, why send it to the client? The problem is, the client does not reinitialize the quest log after you log off, so the server has to send ALL possible quests to the client to reinitialize it. That alone is a huge amount of packets to send, but the main problem is with the data. Quest information isn't sent using an identification number and progression id (where time and status are controlled by the client), each progress is a quest in itself. Every step of a quest is a mission, which means you have to send each step of a quest as well when initializing the client (12 bytes per mission). If you have one quest with ten missions, that's already 128 bytes. If you have 50 quests with similar designs, that's 6008 bytes of information. My server plans on close to a few hundred quests. 250 quests is 30008 bytes of information (if they have similar designs, again). That's 50 packets of 605 bytes being sent per client, per login.

The system should be programmed to be mostly handled by the client and controlled using unique identifiers and progress ids from the server. To my readers and future players, I'm terribly sorry, but the quest log system will not be implemented due to the reasons above. I'll do my best to implement the feature through your web accounts instead. Again, my apologies, more development is coming soon.

Regards,
Spirited Fang

[{ Angelius }]

Originally Posted by Fang

Hey everyone,

The quest log feature in the client will not be implemented on Burning Skies.
....

That's not an excuse... However if you are so worried about the bandwidth why not inject a dll that will manage that sort of things for you.

[CptSky]

Few KBs per login won't make a big difference...

[Spirited]

Originally Posted by CptSky

Few KBs per login won't make a big difference...

What if I had 500 quests and each quest has at least 5 steps to it? That's roughly 50 quest packets of 605 bytes each. That's absolutely insane. Can the client even handle that amount of packets of that amount of bytes at once?

[pro4never]

Originally Posted by Fang

What if I had 500 quests and each quest has at least 5 steps to it? That's roughly 50 quest packets of 605 bytes each. That's absolutely insane. Can the client even handle that amount of packets of that amount of bytes at once?

Most servers have built in flood protection/packet queues to avoid overloading both the network and the client itself.

As long as they are separate packets though the client would most likely handle it somewhat gracefully.

That being said - I'm on the fence about your decision. On the one hand I'm all for cutting features if they are unable to be coded efficiently and are not crucial to the success of the project or are easily replaced with external functionality but that being said, removing the system entirely does come across as a slight cop out rather than finding an alternate solution.

I cannot really say for sure what the best option would be but in the end its your project and your decision so best of luck in finding the best of both worlds ^^


@ People claiming it's 'not an issue'. While the amount of data might not be crippling, it is still a massive waste and quite easily exploitable. Obviously there are quite a few steps one can take to protect but it's still a security hole.

[Spirited]

I shouldn't have underestimated myself and my server. After some testing, although this is an extremely large amount of wasted efficiency, my server can manage sending 50 packets of that length quite easily. It sends all packets to the client within a range of 0 to 10 milliseconds (it records as 0 but I'm giving it range since I'm using a low resolution timer). CPU consumption still at 0. I suppose I can afford such a system, although it feels very gross implementing it. My apologies for the confusion, I will be implementing the quest system.

[_DreadNought_]

Host it on linux kty.

[Spirited]

Hey everyone,

I'm currently working on improving features on the server (while they're still on my mind). Yesterday, I worked on a few things. First (most importantly), I completely finished how the quest system updates the quest log. I implemented it in the most efficient way intended where I allow the client to request questline progress a packet at a time. Obviously, I can't show you the text, but here's a picture of the rest of the window (working):



I've also been working on some small features with items. My most recent change is with clicking on items in chat and stacking items. The server now stacks items on top of each other (only certain items can be stacked). Players can also combine items in different ways. By dragging the item over another item, they stack automatically. Items with near full stack amounts will redistribute the stack as you would expect. Here are two examples:



On the left, items are being combined. On the right, item stacks are being redistributed. As far as the chat items go, there seems to be a major security risk with displaying them, so I'll be implementing protection on it next. Here's a picture if you're confused by what I mean:



I've also done some work in improving the general efficiency of some algorithms on the server (small but helpful). That's it for now, more development is coming soon!

Cheers,
Spirited Fang

[Spirited]

Hey everyone!

There's still a lot to do in Spring Town; however, I've made a huge step in making the market functional: player shops are now fully programmed. Players can now buy item from and sell items to each other. Here's a picture of it working:



The system is pretty basic. It uses the interface item (1108) packet with the npc spawn (2030) packet to create the shops. Now, I've done some extra work in ensuring that the market is free of people blocking the shops (since there's that bug in TQ's client that allows players to block market stands from being created - as you might know and be annoyed with). He's a snippet of a management npc I programmed (she teaches you about shops and how to sell things):





If a player has been blocking a spot for an extended period of time or just isn't selling anything, other players can report them. If the clerk decides that the player is doing wrong by sitting there, that player will be removed from the market (giving up that spot for other players who intend on selling things).

That's all for now. More development is coming soon!
Cheers,
Spirited Fang

[Spirited]

Dear supporters, colleagues, and friends,

It has been several months since I've last updated this thread regarding the status of this project. At first, I didn't believe this would be relevant to my work; however, as time has past, I do believe it is time that I update this thread with the news you all might not be looking forward to, for my work has definitely been affected. My grandmother, my only guardian, has always taught me how to live - how to be strong, how to keep myself up in the hardest of times. She was here at my side when I felt that the world was against me just a few years ago, when I felt the walls coming down. She took me in, and told me to survive for her sake; to keep strong even after her days were done. I never thought I'd go to college, I never thought what she told me to keep up with would be my future career... it's because of her that Burning Skies exists, and that I have such a bright future in my reach. Burning Skies was our idea, together. She hated technology, but supported me every second I talked about Computer Science and the project, and even bragged about my work at her favorite coffee shop. I never could tell her enough how much she influenced my work and meant to me in my life. Unfortunately, I never got to tell her one last time.

Since her passing a few months ago, I have had very little determination to finish the Burning Skies project. The very little enthusiasm I had remaining in C# has dispersed. You know what I'm about to say, but please understand that C# is no longer a challenge or creative outlet for me, and I have no interest in continuing programming in C# as a self-study. I am exhausted after years of constant programming in the language, I feel it is time I move on to bigger and greater things. The purpose of this project has been met - I now have access to local internships and scholarships; therefore, this attempt at the Burning Skies project is now closed.

Now, you might be asking "what's next". Truth be told, I've been trying to figure that out for a few weeks now. I can't say what yet, but magnificent events are falling into place, and it's time that I continue my work on a project that will utilize my new skill set. After talking with certain recruiters of my dream job, it has been decided that my best course of action is to peruse my interests: work on a project I'm passionate with that involves the type of work expected from me, but in C++ or Java (both languages the company and my other dream job companies use). After the past few months, I have learned more than I have learned in the past year and a half. I have drastically improved my skill set, and improved my server design by high magnitudes. So, in dedication to my grandmother and the efforts we put into my future as a software engineer, I am spending the next few months finalizing a new server architecture that is miles ahead of my current work. I will not be as active as I once was, for I'll be working on self-study for the project. The Burning Skies project will not die, not here, and not now. There is far too much potential, and not enough knowledge I have gained.

I do not ask for your condolences, but I do ask for your trust, that you put trust in the decisions I have made. The Burning Skies project will continue at a later date.

Kind Regards,
Spirited