community server (was: Re: Bit on cheating)

[Gregor Mückl <GregorMueckl@gmx.de>]

Am Donnerstag, 11. Dezember 2003 09:49 schrieben Sie:
> > See above. Some time ago I've started to design some sort of generic
> > metaserver along with a player database, which would essentially become
> > some sort of single-sign-on environment for players.
>
> That sounds interessting - I hope you may get to the point of realizing
> this.
>
> Mads

Although the project's functionalilty is not that difficult to implement, the 
problem I see are the interfaces to the clients. The server's network 
protocol should be so simple that implementing it in the client is 
straight-forward (well, I'll still try to develop one or two reference client 
libraries). So I'm facing a decision here:

1. use a custom protocol: might be easier to implement in the client; however, 
a seperate web interface will be needed for some of the functionality, too. 
Additionally, a complete server program must be developed that does all thet 
network traffic (not that easy and may have raise problems with network 
security). Additionally, this protocol might be blocked by some firewalls.

2. use HTTP: this is a tad more difficult to handle on the client and not as 
flexible as a custom protocol. However, an existing web server and scripting 
language can be used on the server, making the implementation and 
installation much easier. And HTTP is not blocked by most firewalls, as well.

I can't make a decision between these two. Which solution would you prefer?

Regards,
Gregor