The curse of servers refers to the various challenges and problems that can arise when using or managing servers in an IT infrastructure. Servers are critical components of any network, responsible for hosting and delivering various services and applications. One of the main curses of servers is their vulnerability to hardware failures. Servers are often working around the clock, processing large amounts of data and performing complex tasks. This intensive workload can lead to wear and tear on hardware components, increasing the risk of failures. When a server goes down, it can result in disruption of services, downtime, and potential loss of data.
Unread post by MMXAlamar » 16 Jan 2011, 03:50
As for the events of M M I-V, M M II starts almost immediately after the very end heroes reaching the Gate to Another World of M M I, M M III starts about 9 years after M M I-II, and WoX M M IV-V and the aftermath starts several months after M M III it takes days for Corak and Sheltem to reach XEEN and then months later the heroes start their adventure in Vertigo. As for the events of M M I-V, M M II starts almost immediately after the very end heroes reaching the Gate to Another World of M M I, M M III starts about 9 years after M M I-II, and WoX M M IV-V and the aftermath starts several months after M M III it takes days for Corak and Sheltem to reach XEEN and then months later the heroes start their adventure in Vertigo.
When a server goes down, it can result in disruption of services, downtime, and potential loss of data. Another curse for servers is the potential for security breaches and attacks. Servers hold sensitive information and are often targeted by hackers who seek to exploit vulnerabilities for various purposes, such as stealing data or launching malware attacks.
After 25 years, Might and Magic 6 reminds us what it's like to have fun
1998 was arguably one of the best years for video games. Ocarina of Time, Half-life, and Resident Evil 2 all released in the space of twelve months - to name only a few. While we celebrate the 25th anniversaries of our most foundational games, however, one shouldn't be forgotten. Sometimes, it seems like anyone with a PC at the end of the 90s had a copy, and while not all of us will remember it fully, most will remember it fondly. Released on the 30th April 1998, Might and Magic 6: The Mandate of Heaven is now 25 years old.
I don't remember if I played Might and Magic 6 in 1998 or in the next two years, but then I don't recall much of yesterday. What I do remember is getting our first Gateway PC - which came in the same dirty beige all PCs of the time seem to use - and Might and Magic 6 appearing soon after. I also remember sinking so many hours into the game that I spent weeks seeing it when I closed my eyes.
Might and Magic 6 plants you on the world of Enroth, as a party of four whose hometown of Sweet Water is destroyed by "devils." The path to revenge, however, is blocked by the Medieval equivalent of the United Nations, whom you must appease to access the mysterious Oracle. The secret to defeating the "devils" it turns out? Lasers. Big lasers.
It's a blend of fantasy and science fiction that's emblematic of the series' menagerie of inspirations.
Might and Magic 6.
"I started playing computer games in college. Ultima and Wizardry were two of my favorites at the time, but I also played a lot of board games as well as Dungeons & Dragons," designer Jon Van Caneghem told me over email. "Might and Magic was my desire to make a game with all the things I enjoyed from the tabletop game combined with what the computer did well."
The result was a series of unprecedented scope and non-linearity for the time, providing ways for players to scratch the fantasy itch, even when their D&D groups couldn't get together. It offered a level of freedom that only grew as the series progressed.
"A lot of stuff that we take for granted now was new back then," Paul Rattner, who worked in multiple roles on the series, and as a designer on Might and Magic 6, told me. "New technology was constantly becoming available that let us do lots of things we couldn't do before with every new [Might and Magic] release."
Might and Magic 6.
After the fifth game wrapped up the story of Sheltem that kept the series busy until then, 3DO acquired New World Computing in 1996 and Might and Magic joined the industry's leap to 3D.
Because 3D engines at the time gave the CPU all the responsibility of rendering, "this created many challenges for everything in the game and the design had to go with what was possible to maintain frame rate and memory," Van Caneghem explained. "I'm still amazed we made it work, but for the time I think we accomplished something special."
For players at the time, special was the word for it. Consoles may have ruled the rooster in most households, especially with the release of the Nintendo 64, but many of us got our first taste of the potential of PC RPGs through Might and Magic 6. Finding a broad, colourful world removed from the isometric perspective and stop-start gameplay of many CRPGs at the time, Might and Magic 6 was rendered in first-person with real freedom of movement.
Might and Magic 6.
"You could see the monsters coming toward you rather than just stepping on an empty square and getting an encounter, like in the earlier Wizardry games," Rattner told me.
It was surely a step up from The Secret of the Inner Sanctum, written on an Apple II while Van Caneghem was studying at UCLA. In just over a decade, the series had gone from combat based solely on text to being realised in real-time 3D. Performance was aided by a mixture of polygon and sprite-based graphics that holds up surprisingly well. And it was all punctuated by a soundtrack composed by Steve Baca, Paul Romero, and Jennifer Wang that is emblematic of how enduring video game music of the 80s and 90s remains.
"I think," Van Caneghem added, "Might and Magic 6 is a milestone for the series and quite the milestone in computer RPGs."
Through a wealth of loot, weapons, and spells, and with dungeons larger and richer than most Skyrim caves, Might and Magic 6 felt like it placed no limits on what the player could do, where they could go, and how they played. In a lot of ways, Might and Magic 6 is probably the closest we've come to the feeling of playing a D&D campaign without breaking out the D20s. It never corralled you onto a path with overwhelming difficulty, nor pushed you along with a limiting narrative. It was, rarely even for the time, a video game that inspired one's imagination and, in the freedom inherent in Might and Magic 6 are some lessons modern RPGs could stand to learn from.
Might and Magic 6.
This was a freedom that was communicated back to Van Caneghem at the time as, "Playing a game, the way you want to play."
But more than anything, that freedom is punctuated by fun, something that's not a given in a modern gaming landscape built less around creating great games than managing player engagement. Whether it's a stream of references - many of them Star Trek related - or being able to visit an in-game facsimile of the New World Computing offices (complete with a goblin Jon Van Caneghem who inflicts fear as soon as you enter his office), Might and Magic 6 manages to be both self-serious and pleasantly tongue-in-cheek.
This is a sense of fun that was apparently reflected in the development process. Heading into production on Might and Magic 6, "The team at New World Computing had grown and I had additional designers and writers to work with," Van Caneghem said. "It was so much fun to have a team to iterate with, they made it possible to add new ideas and pull it all together."
Fun is a word that Van Caneghem uses often when looking back at that time. Describing how the game's voice acting was first created using New World Computing staff and later voice actors specialising in Saturday Morning Cartoons, Van Caneghem said, "Being in Los Angeles and near Hollywood made that accessible at the time and so much fun. wish we kept all the outtakes."
We can, I think, be guilty of conflating the games of our childhood, games like Might and Magic 6, with a perceived simpler time. Speaking to Van Caneghem and Rattner, however, makes me wonder if we're not really looking back to a time when fun was more obvious, a time when anything felt possible and fun really meant something to us. It wasn't something to feel guilty about or to fit in between obligations. Luckily, thanks to GOG, 25 years later Might and Magic 6 can still remind us to just have fun.
"For a lot of people, the Might and Magic games were foundational for them, much as any art you encounter in your youth can be," Rattner said. "I feel the same way about some of the other games I was playing back then."
There's nothing wrong with looking back wistfully or recapturing old positive feelings through the things we did when we were younger. We all do it. Revisiting old games, old hobbies, old places. It can be cathartic. Playing Might and Magic 6 in 2023, it feels good - it feels fun.
Van Caneghem, for his part, is glad the fun is continuing even so long after the game's initial release.
"I am very proud of what we accomplished and so happy to hear people are still enjoying it today!" he told me, before adding:
"Wow, 25 years, that's amazing."
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About King of Erathia being mentioned, that was, well, the King of Erathia It is explicitly stated near the end of AB that Morgan Kendal had to choose the new ruler of Erathia, so it's logical that he did so. There was a talk about Sir Kentaine's words in A True Blade in the forum, but he doesn't say anything that would disprove the new king ruling Erathia during CotD. He just says "I have outlived a king and a queen, thus I don't think I can be a Swardbearer anymore". Kentaine just refers to him outliving two members of Gryphonheart dynasty to which he is the Swordbearer. Demons fighting on Mutare's side were never called ”the Kreegan” in CotD. They appear to be demons from the Underworld. A miniscule number of Kreegans did survive the events of AB (as indicated by Gauldoth's words in Half-Dead and Hexx's bio), but this was no significant number and in CotD there is clearly the army of Demons.
Protecting servers from these threats requires a robust security infrastructure, including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and regular patching and updates. Scalability is yet another challenge associated with servers. As businesses grow or experience fluctuations in demand, servers need to be able to accommodate increased traffic and workload. Scaling servers can be complex and time-consuming, requiring careful planning and implementation. Server management and administration can also be a curse. Configuring, deploying, and maintaining servers is a complex task that requires specialized knowledge and skills. Managing software and hardware updates, troubleshooting issues, and optimizing server performance can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. Lastly, the curse of servers includes the high cost of ownership. Servers, especially enterprise-grade ones, can be expensive to purchase, maintain, and upgrade. Additionally, the costs associated with power consumption, cooling, and physical space requirements can add up significantly over time. In conclusion, while servers are essential for modern IT infrastructure, they come with their fair share of challenges and curses. From hardware failures to security threats, scalability issues to management complexities, and high costs of ownership, the curse of servers demands careful attention and proactive measures to ensure smooth operations and secure data..
Reviews for "The Curse of Server Hardware Failures: Identifying and Addressing Weak Points"
- Emily - 1 star - I did not enjoy "Curse of the Servers" at all. The plot was confusing and hard to follow, jumping between different timelines and locations without clear transitions. The characters were bland and lacked depth, and I didn't feel invested in their journey at all. Additionally, the writing style was heavy-handed and filled with unnecessary descriptions that bogged down the pacing. Overall, I found this book to be a disappointment and would not recommend it.
- Alex - 2 stars - "Curse of the Servers" had an interesting concept, but it fell flat in execution. The author tried to tackle too many themes and genres, resulting in a disjointed and confusing narrative. The world-building was underdeveloped, leaving many unanswered questions, and the ending felt rushed and unsatisfying. While there were some intriguing moments, they were overshadowed by the book's flaws. Ultimately, I was left feeling disappointed and unfulfilled.
- Sarah - 2.5 stars - I had high hopes for "Curse of the Servers," but it did not meet my expectations. The pacing was uneven, with long stretches of inaction followed by rushed and chaotic plot developments. The dialogue was stilted and unrealistic, making it difficult to connect with the characters. Additionally, the book relied heavily on clichés and tropes, resulting in a lack of originality. While there were a few interesting ideas, they were overshadowed by the book's flaws. Unfortunately, I would not recommend this read.