I've got some questions

ID:2384258
 
Jul 14 2018, 7:03 am
I've got a few random questions about BYOND and I'm not really sure who I should ask, so I'm just leaving them here in hopes that someone comes along and answers a few...

Ranked somewhat in order.
  • What does being 32bit mean for BYOND? (what limitations does this create)

  • Why does BYOND apparently still use Dx9? (why directX in the first place?)

  • Can you control what get's sent over a server at all?

  • Aside from churning out a web client. What are the plans for future development/changes?

  • What is the rate for the subscription/transaction system on BYOND and what legal requirements must be met in order to use it?

Jul 14 2018, 2:12 pm
To address the 32bit limitations, off the top of my head, I recall that 32bit applications are locked to a maximum of using 4gb of ram, and also there's a considerable efficiency difference.

DirectX is an API with lots of modern graphical options, and upgrading to a newer version for the engine would take a bit of work and probably complicate some things for lummox. If and when it becomes necessary or simple and smart for him to upgrade, i'm sure he'd look into it. But for the time being it doesn't really seem like BYOND needs anything more than what dx9 is able to do. Also, things like GL are an option but they're pretty limited, complicated with more advanced things, and it's becoming dated fast.

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by controlling what gets sent over a server.. There is Topic() so you can communicate between servers, and you can use AJAX, SQL and other things with BYOND if you really want to control things backend.

You can read Lummox's plans at the announcements forum, it looks like he might be focusing more on movement and reworking quite a few things right now, and possibly giving some much-needed attention to the marketing side of BYOND concerning byondexe, which would be great.

You can find all the details for transactions through BYOND when you adding them to a game's hub, I can't get the exact numbers right now since I'm on mobile.

Hopefully that helps some of your questions, sorry if I missed things! I'll check back when i'm on my PC tonight.
Jul 14 2018, 3:03 pm
In response to Konlet
Also, things like GL are an option but they're pretty limited, complicated with more advanced things, and it's becoming dated fast.

how so?

OpenGL 4.6 release date: July 31, 2017

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by controlling what gets sent over a server..

I was wanting to disable an object from being "updated" on clients. In other words, a server only object. So I was wondering if there was a way to do this..

Thanks for answering my inquiries btw
Jul 14 2018, 3:45 pm
In response to Orange55
Orange55 wrote:
Also, things like GL are an option but they're pretty limited, complicated with more advanced things, and it's becoming dated fast.

how so?

OpenGL 4.6 release date: July 31, 2017

In terms of graphics capabilities in comparison to d3d, OpenGL can have new features implemented immediately, whereas d3d has to have microsoft add them manually - but the driver support is superior with d3d, so in my opinion they're pretty much equal in terms of which is better for this tier of graphics.

The problem with OpenGL replacing DirectX for BYOND is that OpenGL is graphics only, DirectX handles graphics, sound, input, hardware, etc. So BYOND would have to either manually make a lot of extra effort or get a handful of unorganized libraries, or just use DirectX and make things simple. It's probably far too down the path we're on to go back now, anyways. (not that it would be a great idea)
Jul 14 2018, 3:47 pm
In response to Orange55
Orange55 wrote:
I'm not entirely sure what you mean by controlling what gets sent over a server..

I was wanting to disable an object from being "updated" on clients. In other words, a server only object. So I was wondering if there was a way to do this..

Like I said, SQLite can be used with BYOND if I'm not mistaken and probably some other external databases. There are probably some tutorials around somewhere here.
Jul 15 2018, 1:38 am
In response to Orange55
server only object

You mean a datum?
Jul 15 2018, 9:50 am
In response to MisterPerson
MisterPerson wrote:
server only object

You mean a datum?

A datum is just the default/highest parent for data types in DM, if that's what he meant by 'server only object' then it could be literally any data type.