Re: [Freeciv-Dev] Idea for 2.0

[Daniel Sjolie <deepone@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Please, this discussion is getting too messy...

I will try to straighten a few misunderstandings out here...

Objections to my solution:

1. The client should not be sent information it could use to cheat...
If You allow the client to figure out what it can see by itself it might
decide that it can see things it can't...

This is a fundamental misunderstanding...
I want to send the client *less* information... not more...
The client should never be sent any information it can not see at that
very moment... That is, it should never be sent information about what
it saw a few turns ago... Thus it *has* to keep track of this by itself
if it wants to know this... The software client is just an aid for the
player in my opinion... You could keep track of this with pencil and
paper... :)

Compare to a chess server:
The chess server only manages the board at that time and gives the
client a way to move the pieces... If the client would want to add a
feature for inspecting past moves in order to figure strategies out the
server should have nothing to do with it...

2. The border between the game-state and client specific options are
blurred...

Yes, this is an issue... But I think a very small one...
Certainly, it might be possible for the client to save some
non-game-state data in the server but why would the happen???
I certainly would have a very clear distinction between the ui
and the rest of the client in the client... This could not happen
by accident and I see no reason to do it deliberately...

3. Why add more complexity?

I must admitt that I don't quite see this point...
My heaviest reason for moving stuff to the client is
that things would get a lot simpler!
Simply send the client what it sees... Simple server...
Simply remember what You see... Simple client...
I have a problem understanding how 'shadow units'
and whatever would be less complex...

4. Traffic would increase...

Well, it probably would...
But I don't think it would increase too much...
This point is very open for discussion though...
(The others are only slightly open... hehehe... ;)

Also, I can understand that some of You think
'Shut up and show us the code'...

Well, I hope I will be able to do that relatively soon...
But I don't get a lot of encouragement these days... ;)
(And I am lazy :p )

/Daniel

-- 
Now take a deep breath, smile and don't take life so seriously... :)