   Saved Data in an FPS that translates over to the next game
  What is needed/how hard is it to program a game (MOD'd FPS) to collect data from a completed game and grant advancement points to your character so that it "levels"?For example, Modern Warfare 2, one advances through experience gained in each match completed.  What is needed to make this happen?  How hard would it be to implement a feature that saves/collects all the data from games (or just the end-result/final tallies) and applies that 'experience' to a communal object of the 'side' you were allied with(ie; a growing city/territory)?For example, say for every victory, the resources allocated or experience (X) gained goes towards the construction of a city/zone/hub that players meet at before going into other games.Not a traditional MMO, but an FPS where each battle helped/hindered the advancement of your Nation.  What are the design flaws in this?  What are the design boundaries/limitations? Thank you for your time, it is appreciated =)<3   
Quote:Original post by UraeusWhat is needed/how hard is it to program a game (MOD'd FPS) to collect data from a completed game and grant advancement points to your character so that it "levels"?Not much really, just need to have some counters that you keep track of per user per game session.Quote:How hard would it be to implement a feature that saves/collects all the data from games (or just the end-result/final tallies) and applies that 'experience' to a communal object of the 'side' you were allied with(ie; a growing city/territory)?For example, say for every victory, the resources allocated or experience (X) gained goes towards the construction of a city/zone/hub that players meet at before going into other games.Not hard, a trivial implementation could be done using web requests to post data and fetch data from a web server. Note that any method you use will need some form of anti-cheating mechanism, but that's another problem entirely.;  If you have the code for the game, know how to program, and understand network programming, then not very hard.If any one of the three are lacking, then very challenging.Also, on the PC, you'll have a hard time trying to fight cheating. On Xbox that's easier, because Microsoft does it for you (with console bannings and whatnot).;  How about games through VAC on Steam~ a mod for HL2.   ;  I don't think Steam provides the persistent servers you want -- you'll have to write those yourself. If you're not familiar with network programming and database back-ends, it will be challenging to write something that will work well, allow for proper management, and scale to lots of users. If you're not familiar with HL2 modding in general, it'll also be hard just to collect the data you need and make it actually DO something when you have it.In general, though, the question "how hard would it be to ..." will have the answer "pretty hard, because you needed to ask in the first place.";  I am not suggesting that I would do this myself~ I was asking those who know (cause I don't), so that when I talk to someone who does know, I can at least grasp some understanding.  I'd like to know what is plausible and what isn't, even if I don't know everything that goes into programming it at this moment.So, for a MOD of something like HL2 or Cry-Engine, I am asking if it is worth the time to implement as a feature?  If I gave someone on a team a task to do this, is it something that would be too much to ask/or even possible (is my intentional question)? Thank you again~ your knowledge is like gold.   ;  You are asking a question that is impossible to answer. "Is it worth it" depends entirely on the cost involved (less cost the more you already know how to do it), and the benefit you'll get (totally unknown, between 0 and milions).