Distributed Server Usage?

[Thurrok]

Hello, and forgive me for my totally impossible idea, but...

...what would happen if you distributed the data that is currently processed by the server to the clients themselves?
I'm not really a programmer and can therefore just guess the amount of work needed for such a modification, but it could allow an infinite amount of new players, since every new client could also take over part of the server's task. Since I do not know the server-side code, I cannot know what exactly makes the server lag, but by creating a peer-to-peer network, it could improved. I'm thinking of something like Seti@Home, maybe Haven@Home?

Of course, that would mean greater vulnerability of the game world itself since hackers would try to manipulate the piece of info that is being processed on their computers, so also some kind of encryption must be implemented. On the other hand, how many people in the Haven&Hearth fanbase are capable of such a feat?

I discussed this with someone in-game and he told me to post it here, so I did. I would love to see Haven become more stable and lag-free, as it is the best game I've played in quite some time.

[Sever]

On the other hand, how many people in the Haven&Hearth fanbase are capable of such a feat?

Famous last words or How to underestimate the power of bored geeks.

[loftar]

Of course, that would mean greater vulnerability of the game world itself since hackers would try to manipulate the piece of info that is being processed on their computers

That is, in fact, the primary reason why I try to do as much as possible on the server. It would be logically impossible to distribute the game mechanics to the clients without them being susceptible to hacking by the users, and you need not doubt that people will do it.

Apart from that, distributing work to the clients would be far more difficult than anything else I could attempt. Either way, the current lag is not due to lack of CPU power on the server anyway. It's mostly because of lack of bandwidth and lack of RAM in the server. I hope that we can remedy the latter soon enough. The former is harder, however; but Jorb will (probably) at least, during the coming week, call his ISP and see whether his Internet connection can be upgraded.