Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Note
As the number of devices that can connect to the Internet has exploded in recent years, the number
of available unique numbers is being exhausted. A new numbering system called IPv6 is beginning
to be used to replace IPv4. IPv6 and IPv4 are available in Vista and Windows 7, although in most
cases the rollout has been slow. On June 8 2011, the Internet Society, together with several other
large organizations, will hold a World IPv6 Day, a global 24-hour test of IPv6.
The IP address also contains a unique number given to that machine. It is
common for users
'
PCs to have a dynamically assigned IP address; this means
'
that the machine
s IP number does not stay the same. This is fine for general PC
use, as you do not need the IP address to stay the same. This is not the case for
servers as any MMO client needs to know where the machine is so that the client
can connect to it. If the IP address keeps changing the PC will not be able to find
the server. This is the same issue when you decide to visit your favorite website
in a web browser. Say, for example you type
www.makeamazing.com
into a
browser. The browser looks up the name on a special server called a DNS server
and translates this domain name to an IP address, at which point it knows how
to connect to the server.
So having a static IP address for your MMO server is essential if you want
anyone to find it. If you are going to test your MMO at home and have a few
friends connect to it over the Internet, you could provide them with the current
IP address that your ISP has provided. If you have a server online provided by an
ISP then this will be a static IP address.
If you want to set up a server at home with a static IP address, you should
contact your ISP (Internet Service Provider) to get a static address.
Note
An ISP is an Internet Service Provider; these are the people that provide you with Internet access.
Note
Not all MMOs will install software to the client PC. In games such as RuneScape, the game is
played within a web browser (although the user has the option of downloading a client).
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