All things related to multicast

[Marshall Eubanks <>]

"Kevin C. Almeroth" wrote:

> >>http://www.stomped.com/published/jcal987178242_1_1.html
> >>
> >>Valve's Multicast Tech Interview
> >>April 13th, 2001
> >>By John "JCal" Callaham
> >>
> >>The Counter-Strike mod for Half-Life has become the most popular first
> >>person shooter game to be played on the Internet by a wide margin over the
> >>past year or so and is now begining to become a staple in pro gaming
> >>tournaments. At the CPL/Speakeasy.net Counter-Strike Tournament that is
> >>currently happening in Dallas this week, the folks at Valve Software are
> >>showing off a beta version of some new software technology that will allow
> >>spectators to watch a Counter-Strike match in progress. The multicast
> >>technology could open up the way for pro gaming tournaments to become a 
> >>true
> >>spectator sport.
> >>Stomped got a chance to briefly chat with Erik Johnson, the project 
> >>manager
> >>at Valve, about the new technology and Valve's plans for their future
> >>support of pro gaming.
> >>
> >>Stomped: First, how did Valve first come up with this new spectator
> >>technology?
> >>
> >>Johnson: Ever since we released Half-Life, we've been looking for
> >>interesting ways to support the online and competitive gaming communities.
> >>We met Martin Otten over the Internet a few months back. He approached us
> >>with the beginnings of this project, we made some suggestions, and this is
> >>the end result.
> >>
> >>Stomped: What are the main features of this new tech?
> >>
> >>Johnson: The current multicast spectator allows an unlimited number of
> >>spectators to connect to a server at once. If the clients and server are
> >>multicast capable, then a proxy server connected to the game server could
> >>potentially host an infinite number of clients at once. The multicast
> >>spectator also allows users to view the map from a top-down view, where 
> >>you
> >>can watch iconic representations of the players connected to the game.
> >>Network data can be buffered up at the proxy for an arbitrary amount of
> >>time, which will allow us to do some more interesting things in the future
> >>(i.e. instant replay of spectacular events).
> >>
> >>Stomped: Once the spectator tech leaves beta, how does Valve plan to
> >>distribute it?
> >>
> >>Johnson: This will be rolled into the next Half-Life/Counter-Strike 
> >>update,
> >>so it will be available to all of our customers. We will also be
> >>distributing a stand-alone version of the client.
> >>Stomped: Will Valve charge a fee for professional tournaments to use this
> >>technology?
> >>
> >>Johnson: No.
> >>Stomped: Will this new technology be used in games other than
> >>Counter-Strike?
> >>
> >>Johnson: Absolutely, this doesn't actually require much in the way of code
> >>work on the part of mod makers. We'll be releasing an SDK to our 
> >>mod-makers
> >>before we release the next Half-Life update so mod makers have time to 
> >>roll
> >>this new feature into their mod.
> >>Stomped: Do you believe this new technology will make pro gaming 
> >>tournaments
> >>more popular among spectators?
> >>
> >>Johnson: I certainly hope so. I think it would be pretty amazing to have 1
> >>million people tuned in to watch the Counter-Strike tournament finals.
> >>Stomped: What other plans does Valve have in supporting pro gaming
> >>tournament in the future?
> >>
> >>Johnson: We've been working on the current spectator technology for quite
> >>some time, but not specifically as a pro gaming feature. We think this is
> >>something that all of our customers will really enjoy using, but it 
> >>happens
> >>to be particularly interesting from a professional gaming standpoint.
> >>Professional gaming and the CPL represent the hardcore gamers of our user
> >>base, which are an extremely important segment to listen to if you want to
> >>have success with an online game.
> >>
> >>Links
> >>
> >>Valve Software
> >>Cyberathlete Professional League
> >>
> >>

It was in slashdot yesterday  - Marty saw it :

http://slashdot.org/articles/01/04/26/0438236.shtml


--
Marty Schoch
<>
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http://www.on-the-i.com

I sent in a reply, but it was rejected by the /. "lameness filter".
I think  will challenge Cmdr Taco to a duel :)

--
                                 Regards
                                 Marshall Eubanks



T.M. Eubanks
Multicast Technologies, Inc
10301 Democracy Lane, Suite 410
Fairfax, Virginia 22030
Phone : 703-293-9624
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