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Original post by Anonymous Poster
Regarding MySQL, "if you can''t afford to buy a better database" is too harsh. MySQL is really quite good. It''s better than Postgres on some things; Postgres is better on some things; and both are better than Oracle at several things. Except Oracle cost LOTS of money.

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Neither MySQL or Postgres have bind functionality. Binding is an absolute must for speedy database access. Oracle may cost a lot of money but it is damn fast.

LostLogic
www.lostlogic.com
Author, Multiplayer Game Programming
Author, Strategy Game Programming with Direct X 9 (Not yet released)

"Costs a lot" is an understatement for anyone other than a mainstream publisher with money to burn. In 1999, an Oracle 8i license for a single 1 CPU server was 14k or so and I'm sure it's probably gone up since then.

I honestly don't know much about Oracle or even what you mean when you say "bind", but I've used MySQL for years and plan to use it when I build my persistent, multiplayer RPG. We know it will work because it has worked with at least one mainstream system I know of (Dark Age of Camelot) and probably others as well. Planeshift is also using it but they are still under relatively low load (30 or 40 users) so we'll still have to wait and see how their implementation holds up.

[edited by - bpopp on September 23, 2003 11:55:51 PM]

DAoC does not use MySql for it''s real time database. They do use MySql for their message boards and non-time-critical features of the game but as far as I know from reading Dave Rickey''s comments and talking to him at the MudDev dinner - they didn''t use MySql for the real time data access.

Dave "Dak Lozar" Loeser

The Postmortem on gamasutra says that DoAC uses mysql:

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Because running Camelot would require a considerable amount of data management, we initially planned on using Oracle to store account and character information. However, Oracle''s quoted license fee of more than $900,000 quickly removed them from contention. Once we got over our shock and amusement at Oracle''s pricing, we turned to a Linux-based freeware solution, MySQL, to manage Camelot''s data storage, which so far has worked admirably.

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I''m not sure what you mean by the ''real-time'' aspect of it.

I know in PlaneShift we have just done a fairly sizable redesign of our server database system in where we cache about 75% of the data in the database on start up. Only when things like players login/logout is the database hit. We felt that this was better then constantly hitting the database for info.

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Andrew
PlaneShift - A MMORPG in development.

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Original post by acraig
The Postmortem on gamasutra says that DoAC uses mysql:

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Because running Camelot would require a considerable amount of data management, we initially planned on using Oracle to store account and character information. However, Oracle's quoted license fee of more than $900,000 quickly removed them from contention. Once we got over our shock and amusement at Oracle's pricing, we turned to a Linux-based freeware solution, MySQL, to manage Camelot's data storage, which so far has worked admirably.

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I'm not sure what you mean by the 'real-time' aspect of it.

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Here's a post to the Mud-Dev mailing list that should help clarify what I mean by 'real-time'.

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Original post by acraig I know in PlaneShift we have just done a fairly sizable redesign of our server database system in where we cache about 75% of the data in the database on start up. Only when things like players login/logout is the database hit. We felt that this was better then constantly hitting the database for info.

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Nod, that is precisely what we were doing in AoA. Our mentality was that RAM was cheap and data-access was expensive - I think in the long run that your decission will prove wise.

Dave "Dak Lozar" Loeser
---EDIT---
Fixed link.

[edited by - Dak Lozar on September 27, 2003 8:55:08 PM]

Oddly enough, I purchased that massively multiplayer development book yesterday. It should be in my hands in 3-9 business days.

I'll give you guys a review as soon as I get it.

Until then,

Cheers

[edited by - raymondo on September 28, 2003 11:02:04 PM]