Dev, Test and Stable
We currently have 3 versions of the game running: dev, test and stable. Each one has its own server (for this article, “server” usually means several machines).
Dev is the development setup. Most of our work is done there, and it is often down for short periods. Well, sometimes long periods too.
When we’re about to make a new release, we move everything to the Test server, where we test it, fix bugs, test some more etc. This process takes anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks, depending on the amount of new stuff.
When Test is ready, we move everything to the Stable server. Those of you who have been playing the game, have been playing on that server.
Live
We are about to launch yet another server: Live. This is the server where the game will be running for real. It is a lot larger than the others, with capacity for many more players.
For both Stable and Live, the actual machines are located in several locations. The strategy game is hosted in one place – and the action servers are spread all over the place, to keep the ping down for as many players as possible.
The Dev and Test servers are at our office in Copenhagen. We only use them internally, so it’s easier to keep them here. The stable strategy server is at a hosting center in London and the action servers are in Copenhagen.
The new Live server is being hosted at a new place. We are still evaluating the hosting center which we’ll be using for the strategy server, but it looks good so far. Expect it to be up very soon! To go with the strategy server, we’ll also have a set of new action servers. For starters in Copenhagen, Denmark; Chicago, IL; Austin, TX and the US west coast (we haven’t decided on a hosting provider yet). Probably additional places too (Russia and Australia might be good places). We’re spending quite some time now, studying maps of the major internet cables, and finding the hubs where we’ll place action servers.
Scaling Up
When the Live server is up and running, we can scale up the number of simultaneous players. We’re hoping to get into 4-digit numbers very soon. If all works out, we can start sending alpha invites to most (if not all!) of you who signed up for it.
Sign up for an Alpha-key here!
Wow, good luck devs :)
Wow, I have been waiting for quite some time to play this, so I am so excited now!!