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[Jaqie Fox]

One small suggestion to improve responsiveness in the game througout.

Seperate user input, rendering, and physics/ai/everythingelse into three seperate independent processes.  Allow a keypress to give visual feedback to the screen  During heavy calculations (the times that the game seems to pause and become unresponsive) draw a progress indicator in a corner of the screen.  (using a single character space to issue these symbols in succession would be quite adequate -,\,|,/)  Allow world movement to act normally even during heavy calculations so people can at least look around.

[ March 30, 2007: Message edited by: Jaqie ]

[Chthon]

This is more complicated than you realize.  Although I agree that it should be done, you have to make sure that nothing the player does can affect those calculations that are currently going on, or you risk causing problems as the game might not recieve word to recalculate before it's too late and cause errors.

[Jaqie Fox]

I do realize how complicated what I say is. by small suggestion I mean small in how it will effect playability.

And anything done can easily be applied AFTER said intensive calcs are done and the game would normally have started responding normally again, that part is very easy to do.

[Toady One]

Yeah, I really don't know the slightest things about threads or whatever.  Somebody showed me something once, but it didn't like something I could use, and even if I could, it seems like quite a project.

[Bas Cost Budde]

Multithreading would not be something you add overnight. Depending on the amount of architecture you have on paper, it may be possible to refactor the design into things that go in their own threads, yes, but er... it changes virtually all internal messaging.

At least, that's where I am currently with my knowledge.

Edit: I'm definately with the idea of adding responsiveness, though. Customers already made me consider that as a priority. "You may be slow, but you must tell me that now!"

[ March 31, 2007: Message edited by: Bas Cost Budde ]

[Jaqie Fox]

You speak the truth, Wise Bas.

[Veroule]

Actually the reality of the world does not trully lead to multi-threading when one considers all of the prime movers within the world.

That is basically a bunch psychology "mumbo jumbo".  DF provides an immersive environment.  Within which the prime movers of the world are displayed.  Threading the representation of those primary powers does not actually do anything beneficial.

Consider the world which you chose to call real for a moment...No one single entity or power has primary choice of movment/action over another.  All are processed and the cumulative effects are displayed.  This is a single threaded model, and I believe Mr. Toady is trying to respect the world within DF.

[Jaqie Fox]

You trying to say that SMP systems are detrimental to performance, and so is multithreaded / SMP capable software?

What color is the sky in your world?

[Canuck-Errant]

quote:Originally posted by Veroule:
<STRONG>Actually the reality of the world does not trully lead to multi-threading when one considers all of the prime movers within the world.

That is basically a bunch psychology "mumbo jumbo".  DF provides an immersive environment.  Within which the prime movers of the world are displayed.  Threading the representation of those primary powers does not actually do anything beneficial.

Consider the world which you chose to call real for a moment...No one single entity or power has primary choice of movment/action over another.  All are processed and the cumulative effects are displayed.  This is a single threaded model, and I believe Mr. Toady is trying to respect the world within DF.</STRONG>

I, er, think you've got the wrong idea of the word "multithreaded" here.