Server
From Neverend
one huge world instead of the mirrored worlds/servers of other MMORPGs.
That leads to a lot of design issues that are inherent to the singe world/server solution. Some of them have simple solutions, while others do not.
How do you plan on dealing with over load in an area? Even if you do your best to make wide open spaces, there is the question of having 100 or 1000 people in one area, as is likely to happen with the most popular areas?
One thought I had was work at it from a standard real day situation. Buildings have maximum occupancy, so enforce something similar, as you've already said you would do on private spaces? Just have it larger, but still there. Bouncers or what not that keep you out if a certain limit is reached for a space?
Another issue granted or addressed by one world is the issue of players having an effect on the world. On a multi-server system you /can't/ allow players to have an effect or it would cause the servers quickly to become out of sync with each other and you'd lose the benefit of mirroring for content.
The main challenges with this approach:
1. Content creation. You can choose to generate most of the land and have it look like Asheron's Call, but then it lacks personality and detail. So you'd need dedicated map designers to make realms with a unique look and feel, and that takes time. You might only be able to start out with 5 realms in beta or at launch, and add more periodically until the maximum planned number is reached. Everquest was planned to have 5 continents, but shipped with 3 and released the remaining 2 in seperate expansions. You'd need dedicated content creators to release realms to support the playerbase.
2. Player content creation. I'll need more info on just what affect players can have on the map. You're starting with static towns and locations, and allowing players to build houses in the landscape like UO?
3. Patching. If the map is going to change constantly, then it needs to be updated constantly. You might be able to do real time patching, where content is applied while the servers are still running. Players would see changed areas dissolve or rewrite themselves, and possibly be off limits for a while. Player made houses and other features can be cached on the client harddrive so they load when approaching.
4. Technical limitations. Setting a max population for one realm or area is only a temporary solution, as more players will try to logon. Having a type of load balancing or server clustering will help focus on excessive lag and network traffic when load becomes too much for just one server to handle. The client can have adjustable settings for max models displayed, so if they have a laggy computer then only a few characters will appear to them. It seems cheap, but it works well in FFXI for alleviating crowded areas, and players appear on screen gradually rather than being there all at once.
