Topic: 2025/2/7
There was no update this past week.
I didn't have time to make a complete update. I've been working on both the client and server:
- The client now uses a unified map library. It uses it for save, load, and for decompressing patches.
- The server now uses this same unified map library. It uses it for loading and compressing patches.
- The server's scripting, pathfinding, and database handling (mail, market, pets) are now all combined into the same C library, instead of being three separate libraries. This library can also independently send packets over the network, instead of relying on the VB server code for the task.
What I'm doing next is:
- Making the server use Art.frc instead of the disparate Resource.* files.
- By doing this, the unified map library will be able to generate obstacle information itself.
- After this, short term, I will start on a map editor in the client. Previously, obstacle information was uploaded by the client alongside the map sectors. But it meant the client and server actually stored their maps differently. I don't want to rewrite this in the client. I want the map library to figure it out by itself.
- After this, long term, I can move the pathfinding code into the unified map library. This lets me have, eventually, unified pathfinding between client and server.
- Unified obstacle information also lets me do a better job of pathfinding with stairs. Right now, it works rather badly on the server.
- Once all this unification is complete I will have the ability to change the map format itself. My goal is to have a map format where sector music, sector sounds, and spawns are all stored together.
