next COD4 Server

I remember when Call of Duty 4 came out. The first time I saw the game was when my friend showed it to me. The game’s release coincided, not so miraculously, with the arrival of my friend’s new gaming rig. The game was simply jaw dropping at the time and it wasn’t long before a bunch of our friends had rented their own COD4 Server from a hosting service. The game, when it came out, was a bit of a memory hog and I know it held up a few would-be addicts from playing.

I know because I was one of them. I could barely get the game to run let alone log onto my buddies’ COD4 Server. Whether it was with Call of Duty or another game, pretty well any gamer has had a similar experience. What, you ask, does this have to do with hosting services? The answer is a new model for running games that being tested called OnLive. If it works, this new technology has the potential to radically change the way gaming software is distributed and used.

The key component of the new OnLive technology is a new data compression system that makes the whole system feasible. The idea is to make it possible to stream games they we already steam music and videos. The difference is that games, involving many dynamic variables and calculations needed to make them interactive, resist the same compression methods usually employed to stream other types of content. Video games consistently push the boundaries of available technology.

The idea behind OnLive is to offload the processing requirements of video games, which have until now always been handled by users’ local machines, onto a remote server. All the local machine has to handle and transmit is the input from the gamer to the server and then display the final output sent to the local machine by the server. This means that gamers can subscribe to the service and play the newest games without necessarily needing to keep their personal computers equipped with the latest hardware.

The idea to run server-side applications isn’t new. Many of the dynamic functions and applications we all use on a daily basis are handled and processed by remote servers. The breakthrough, in this case, really hinges on making it possible to effectively stream such large amounts of data so as to enable a seamless gaming experience.

Apparently, early tests of the system are very positive. What remains to be seen is whether or not the system can handle widespread use. The high demand in peak hours, the frenzy associated with new games, the usual Internet slowdowns and connection problems. Even running a relatively simple COD4 Server can be frustrating if you have connection problems, so it might be a while before all of the potential kinks are worked out of the new technology. For games that are played exclusively online, there is an obvious benefit even if the new technology can’t overcome all of the shortcomings of the Internet. While the advantage of being able to play games without constantly upgrading your system is clearly still an advantage, it may not be worth the hassle of having to make sure our Internet connection is up to par even when you want to play single-player games. Further, the benefit of saving on hardware upgrades is only really meaningful if the OnLive service offers an affordable subscription fee.

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