*^~ I| Raichu |I ~^* 2026-08-22 04:44
The worst thing about disk-based online: Updates. Undernet may get multiple updates with new features. and the worst part is that i may have to create a bunch of new disks (because each disk is a server and the servers will have 4 players each). so i will have to make 3-4 disks every single update so that new content is supported. There may be errors if you try to use old disks on new updates. the last thing i want this to do is break some of the old servers and/or new servers. Anyways. this is not meant to be some kind of guilt trip and i will still appreciate any update ideas once it releases.
SP4CEBAR 2026-08-22 17:53 (Edited)
You could store a version number in the files, so that new versions could play along with older versions (for minor updates). You could for example store a list of compatible older versions in this program. The program could disable a subprogram with new features if it runs in such a compatibility mode
Alternatively/additionally, you could have a program with a version higher than the disk automatically request disk update permission from all other clients, if all other clients agree, then the client with the highest program version will perform the disk update. All versions of the program could be designed to ignore disk data that it wasn't programmed to need so that they can play along with a disk that was newer than their program version
To make this more robuust you could have a set of supported versions for each version: during the update, the newer version writes in the file which older versions are supported. If a client with an outdated version sees this, it may prompt the user to update
To conform to my communication protocol I recommend appending the version to the file 0 name as specified
Alternatively you could do it manually and keep something like four sets of disks in different versions, and override the first one once all sets are full. You will still need to store the disk version so users who try to join know what version they need to join
SP4CEBAR 2026-08-22 18:01 (Edited)
If you are planning to use your own disks, I can recommend naming them something unique other than Disk.nx so that the multiplayer program can be opened as a tool inside this disk for an easier multiplayer setup (credit to Moechofe for this idea)