Commercial Hosting
 

One difficulty with network games at the moment is that the host is invariably also a player, and if/when that player is knocked out of the game, he/she is still saddled with the task of running a game in which they have no further interest.

One possible solution to this would be a paid hosting service. Someone to dedicate some hardware and administration time to hosting Dominions not because they're playing, but because they're being paid.

Would this be legal? At (say) US$10 per player per game, would it get customers? If not, how much should it cost? If so, would it be worthwhile from the host's perspective?

Re: Commercial Hosting
 

I'd happily provide near-24/7 hosting at even $5/player ($85 for a game that potentially go on for 3 months...). The only times the server would go down would be for very infrequent and short restarts, and when the server quickhosts and crashes while I'm out. I would also keep whatever force-hosting schedule the players desired (up to once daily, which would have to be at a time determined by me - I can't host when I'm not at home or when I'm sleeping). I would also provide a forum post or email players every time the server hosted.

Re: Commercial Hosting
 

I think this is just dumb... pay someone to run a server????

Pfft, I'd do it for free.

Another thing, why would someone pay PER PLAYER? More players hardly change anything. It doesn't take up more bandwith that's for sure, it doesn't take more hardware power...

A server is only worth a mere 10$ a month no matter how many players are in one game.

[ February 05, 2004, 04:20: Message edited by: Argitoth ]

Re: Commercial Hosting
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Fair enough, but how many games that you're not playing in would you be willing to host? If there're players who want consistant, quality hosting from someone who is not playing in the game, then I am happy to provide that service. For a fee, because as I see it my time and effort is worth something.

Re: Commercial Hosting
 

I have hosted others peoples games on my server.
The problem is that the game doesnt have an efficient seperate hosting program. And most machines cant handle running more than 1 or 2 games at a time which can Last months.
A machine could handle many PBEM (email/ftp) Versions of the games but people dont seem to like those.

There has been a project to try and create a web-based signup and file managment for games. (do a search on server) That would offer probably the best of both worlds. Any old thow-away computer in someones closet could host a hundred games on a DSL or Cable connection that way. I have offered my server (linux) and shrapnel offered its server (windows) to host such a project. The pieces of it are mostly ironed out I think, but no one has jumped on the idea.

[ February 05, 2004, 04:19: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]

Re: Commercial Hosting
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I just saw this edit - $10/month sounds pretty reasonable for one game as well. I thought the per player price was good for the sole reason that games tend to Last longer the more players there are. A monthly fee would handle this even better.

Re: Commercial Hosting
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">What we need to do is get the SEIV PBW people addicted to Dominions, so that they will set up their software to also host automated Dominions games.

Re: Commercial Hosting
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">One of the first things I would do with the proceeds from hosting would be to purchase more RAM to host more servers http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I saw this thread a week or so ago, but I didn't look too closely and was under the impression that the project was still underway. How much space is required? Does it need to be hosted from a server with Dom2 installed, or can the person running the game do it remotely? If it has to be hosted from a Dom2-capable computer, can I get some cursory assistance with web hosting? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

I'd be happy to host games this way.

Re: Commercial Hosting
 

The problem with Dominions II hosting is that Dominions II hosting, even dedicated hosting, requires a fair amount of human attention. Battle reports as of v2.06 still retain the cross-platform compatibility bug which causes battles viewed when the server and client OS differ to have no relation to their reported results. Plus, at least in the Windows Version, the Dominions II server seems to handle forced disconnection poorly: If a player crashes or lags out, it seems to leave behind a memory leak which is reflected in the increasingly inaccurate "active players" count. Eventually, the server program grinds to a halt under the weight of these dead connections and has to be rebooted.

Re: Commercial Hosting
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">What we need to do is get the SEIV PBW people addicted to Dominions, so that they will set up their software to also host automated Dominions games. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">heh....i have been talking to the guy that runs the SE4 PBM....just go talk to him on the SE4 board....

Re: Commercial Hosting
 

I have a spare PIII 600 with 384MB Ram which is currently not in use. The only problem is trying to get the graphics card to drive my TFT screen.
Screen is Phillips, card is Geforce 2 Titanium 64MB. I would be happy to host games I'm not playing.

Re: Commercial Hosting
 

I think I would pay some euros (a month, or for each game) for a web site showing which games are in progress, what games (with settings) are proposed, a list of players ranks, and other added values. A centralized place for PBEMing for dominions would be a rather cool idea, and I dont see why this would not lead to a small reward for the author. Initially, it would have to be free, so that there is enough players attracted though.

Re: Commercial Hosting
 

I just checked the memory requirements and while it is bad for running one copy of dominions it doesnt seem too bad for multiples.
http://www.techno-mage.com/~dominion/memstat.txt
I did have more problems earlier but just upgraded to a swapd arrangment which might be helping (daemon to manage swap area on the fly). This information is from a Debian Linux machine.

A server is pushing the information out the port. A server machine doesnt really need a graphic card or sound card that can play the game. It also doesnt need much hard drive, or all that much CPU. But CPU and RAM are the two things that make the most difference in the performance of a server. Unfortunately those are the two most expensive things if you wanted to build one. You can cut back by having minimum video/sound/drives, and no keyboard/mouse/monitor.

If someone wanted to pick up one of the BBS softwares (Bulletin Board System, all-in-one package for web managing web forums, file upload/download, personal Messages between Users, and a news page) then they could probably become a multiple game manager with just that knowledge. The domains of dominions2.net dom2games.net domgames.net dommap.com dommaps.com dom2taw.net dominionist.com dominionism.org are still available if anyone wants them.

Re: Commercial Hosting
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I might as well, though I'm not sure of that. It would need to have added value in addition to just hosting the game, though, like a "find opponents" feature (need not be ultra-refined).

As for the "hoster loses interest in the game" problem - what prevents them from zipping the game's files and sending the result to another player, who could from then on act as a host - either network or PBEM?

Re: Commercial Hosting
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Good idea if someone else can host.

Too often I have seen players who are about to lose (1 or 2 turns away) just quit showing up. Everyone waits for them to do their turns, eventualy the hosting is forced. If the first person out also happens to be the one who started the game it can be a real headache. Thats what happened on the game Im hosting on my machine. I suspect the whole game would have died if it hadnt been hosted on a neutral server. The new "master password" feature can help and I would highly recommend it when anyone is starting a game. But there is also a definate need for neutral servers so that someone isnt stuck hosting a game for months that they are already dead in.

[ February 05, 2004, 19:55: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]