Offline mode

[Ian Doncaster]

'Plan to'. Would be nice if they confirm or deny whether such archiving is actually happening. I doubt it, since quite a number of core developers had rotated elsewhere by now.

If they don't have a basic backup strategy that keeps a copy of at the very least current client code, current server code and a reasonably up-to-date server data snapshot somewhere safe but readily accessible if needed, then there are way bigger problems than "will we get an offline mode someday" such as "will the company survive at all when it's its turn to be hit by ransomware?". That's not a "oh, that was Bob's project and he left five years ago" optional extra.

Whether they're also keeping backups of much older code and data so that you could also run the original 2.1 with the galaxy of the time as well, maybe not.

But it really shouldn't be "we don't actually have an archive of code and data" that's their excuse in N years time for not providing it.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

I doubt it.

 

[Sunyavadin]

I'd happily RAID a few 8TB SSDs to keep a server going for my friends if the game shut down. I probably need more storage anyway, I've got like 500GB free out of about 40TB...

 

[Sunyavadin]

I was just there this Monday morning, and there were four other CMDRs beside myself at the station. Not in Mobius, mind you, but rather in Horizons 3.8 in Open.

I guess Horizons 3.8 isn't as dead as we were all led to believe.

I don't personally know a single friend who plays 4.0

Not for lack of trying, but a bunch are on RX 6000 series cards, others are on older ones that can't handle the 50%+ drop in FPS from 3.8, to 4.0 since it puts them in sub-30 territory, others just prefer to wait until a functional lighting system is implemented in 4.0.

 

[Florenus]

how much memory/storage for the entire galaxy (systems, factions, economy) ?

one floppy disk?

 

[Darth Ender]

an offline setup would only have to store data for systems regarding the galaxy that you have gone to or have customized the build of. this would be maybe hundreds of thousands over the course of years of gameplay. the storage requirements, i would expect to be little different from what they are in the current game. in other words, nothing like terabytes or even gigabytes of data for the galaxy.

even in the current online setup. they only store data for systems that have been visited or have been customized, which is a tiny fraction of the total systems in the galaxy. add to that, simple compression and the database is likely very manageable in size still. especially since most of what needs to be stored is a date, id number of body, id of activity and id of user type stuff.

 

[Scary Asp Explorer]

well server code can be reverse engineered from client. this how battlestar galactica online game was brought back to life,someone built the server from scratch. so if ED servers die, someone with good programming skills will be able to create base for server and bring game back to life.

 

[Comandante]

well server code can be reverse engineered from client. this how battlestar galactica online game was brought back to life,someone built the server from scratch. so if ED servers die, someone with good programming skills will be able to create base for server and bring game back to life.

I am not so sure that it could - it depends on how the client code interacts with the server. If the server code operates as a 'service', that code would be hidden from the client and there would be no reverse engineering - unless, by reverse engineering you mean 'figuring out what the server did and re-doing it yourself'. Which would not be an insignificant task. You'd 'probably' (cough cough) need a little bit more than 'someone' with 'good programming skills'.

Happy to be proved wrong of course!

Your optimism of building the server from scratch is however a welcome ray of light in these dark times!

PS beware EULAs and the $$$s a company has already put into developing a game (not sure if that includes the $$$ the KS backers put in, of course )

 

[Scary Asp Explorer]

yes backers,kickstarter .. and offline mode... well if ED dies it would be not released to public but to highest money-giver in kickstarter. they would not publish code once ED dies. not that way..

the offline mode will never be released because it would break whole sense of game itself. easy to manipulate/cheat and then connect to live and you play on cheated save.. thats one of many reasons why it was not included to game,it would break it.

 

[ebbrell]

No chance, no point things you do influence others and likewise the other way round.
Offline wont work as you station data will be out of date instantly.
This was why they create solo to allow people who insist on playing alone an option to do so.

Personally open is best way to play. Pg has its uses solo is pointless
Even a pg with only you in works like solo, which is why solo seems pointless

 

[Darth Ender]

yes backers,kickstarter .. and offline mode... well if ED dies it would be not released to public but to highest money-giver in kickstarter. they would not publish code once ED dies. not that way..

the offline mode will never be released because it would break whole sense of game itself. easy to manipulate/cheat and then connect to live and you play on cheated save.. thats one of many reasons why it was not included to game,it would break it.

your 'save' that you play on the normal existing game exists on the server, not your pc. so anything you do on a hypothetical offline mode won't be connected at all to the network character you are playing with.


edit: and fdev had previously stated that if the game was killed off, they would release the server side stuff. but that was a long time ago are fdev loves to retcon so who knows if that would ever be actually done.

 

[Scary Asp Explorer]

well good programmer with networking skills could make ED server.he need to understand how game client works,where it connects,what data is sent to server and what data is sending server to client etc. basically with eoungh knowledge server functions could be emulated on localhost on own machine. it could have limited functionality of course but that could be milestone to work on private server, writing the server code for ED would be another story but with gained experience it could be done... of course first server would appear like 2-3 years after official ED servers death.

 

[Ettanin]

well good programmer with networking skills could make ED server.he need to understand how game client works,where it connects,what data is sent to server and what data is sending server to client etc. basically with eoungh knowledge server functions could be emulated on localhost on own machine. it could have limited functionality of course but that could be milestone to work on private server, writing the server code for ED would be another story but with gained experience it could be done... of course first server would appear like 2-3 years after official ED servers death.

ED runs on peer to peer. Programming an adjudicator (Similar to a filesharing tracker) and TURN servers (to bridge players that cannot connect to each other) and all services needed for BGS and other backends (all likely to be simple services backed by databases with scheduled jobs run periodically) to work may be of a far more simpler nature than true MMO servers since most game physics and calculations are done on the client side. (Which is why, btw, the tutorials can all be run without having a connection to the FDev servers).

The problem is that such infrastructure cannot be built up by a mere mortal, it requires a lot of resources and funding.

 

[starman]

Yes when they shut down the online servers.

 

[Phoenix_Dfire]

I remember when SOE said they were 'Sunsetting' The Matrix Online and Star Wars Galaxies. People when crazy trying to capture network packets to try and reverse engineer the system. There were mixed results. MXO got a 'ghost town' game world where you could walk around the Matrix, see other players and chat with them but there no MOBs, NPCs or missions. They just couldn't work out how they were done.

However, SWG had much better success. I can't remember if the server side code was leaked but there were (and still are, if I remember rightly) some developers who originally worked on the game support the development of these 'Rogue' servers. These servers have a mostly working game and they even added new content to it lately.

What I'm trying to say is, in order to keep the game running, in any kind of decent state; you'd need all the server side stuff as well. For a prime example, look at Freelancer, even after almost 20 years there are still fan run servers where people can multi-player together.

 

[Old Duck]

ED runs on peer to peer. Programming an adjudicator (Similar to a filesharing tracker) and TURN servers (to bridge players that cannot connect to each other) and all services needed for BGS and other backends (all likely to be simple services backed by databases with scheduled jobs run periodically) to work may be of a far more simpler nature than true MMO servers since most game physics and calculations are done on the client side. (Which is why, btw, the tutorials can all be run without having a connection to the FDev servers).

The problem is that such infrastructure cannot be built up by a mere mortal, it requires a lot of resources and funding.

I agree, but this only applies to instancing and a shared BGS. An "offline" mode (in quotes since it would still require a server) would, at least in theory, be quite doable for an individual with decent programming skills in network databases, assuming he / she has access to the APIs and Frontier released a version of the game client that allows the player to direct server queries to any IP address. I would definitely give it a shot (writing my own server software) if the opportunity presented itself.

 

[Old Duck]

well server code can be reverse engineered from client. this how battlestar galactica online game was brought back to life,someone built the server from scratch. so if ED servers die, someone with good programming skills will be able to create base for server and bring game back to life.

I know what you are talking about, and the trick is [REDACTED]. I'm not saying it can't be done, as I've done something similar in MSFS (standing on the shoulder of giants), but I would dare not try it in Elite as long as the game remains active, because it is the very definition of reverse engineering, which is against the ToS.

 

[Northpin]

Personally open is best way to play. Pg has its uses solo is pointless
Even a pg with only you in works like solo, which is why solo seems pointless

Nope, it's not pointless
Solo has the minimum network utilization/requirements
And solo was the only mode i could play on a really crappy 3g connection with really weak signal.

 

[DrinkyBird]

Personally open is best way to play. Pg has its uses solo is pointless
Even a pg with only you in works like solo, which is why solo seems pointless

Solo is less clicks, and guarantees no other players whatsoever. Not pointless.

 

[Northpin]

FDev will not allow shady public servers to run (on copyright grounds)
And there might be a really long time till they'll release the code to the grand public

So, Offline ED wont happen unless FDev will make it possible - i'm pretty sure they can pack the server side in a single package along with a modified client to install on our computers thus allowing us to run in a full offline mode.

Not exactly sure how big it could be - if it goes above 500GB , it may not get much traction since people are complaining the current 3.8+4.0 client is 70GB