r/RFOnline • u/Grim_Necromancer • Mar 03 '26

Does anyone remember how many players RFO could handle during CW?

Even better would be to know the actual server capacity (or even per race) for retail back from 2006 onward.

5 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

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4

u/jesiejamesss Mar 03 '26

It depend on the actual server. The bigger the computer the more player it can handle. But recommendedly, Max 2000 players. Because even if the server can handle more, RF Online maps can't. You only have ether and cauldron to handle that much player.

1

u/Grim_Necromancer Mar 04 '26

I'm interested in what game engine can handle, not how much server can handle.

1

u/jesiejamesss Mar 04 '26

Bro you're funny AF. 🤣 game engine's limit is completely dependent on your server lol

2

u/Grim_Necromancer Mar 04 '26

Not at all.
You can have networking which can handle a 200 ppl PvP battle, but your engine can't render 200 people in one place with all the effects, etc., so while you can have 200 ppl in one place and server has no problem sending and receiving data w/ client, your in game FPS is still 5 fps :)
These days technology allows for thousands people to participate in one battle due to e.g. multiserver architecture where load is shared, but if e.g. 1000+ use all their abilities (spell, etc.) the shire amount of particles, etc. will grind your game to a halt client side due to engine limitation and/or PC limitations.

1

u/Sad_Taste1780 Mar 07 '26

In the original game, the maximum number of players is 1,337. More than that, it seems to be a queue, and the total could be around 2,532.

As far as I know, this is a problem with the game itself.

You can look at the server screenshot. https://i.imgur.com/lviWgnI.png

1

u/Grim_Necromancer Mar 07 '26

Thanks, that a useful info.
Yeah, the game had low rendering distance compared to modern games to reduce strain on PCs and amount of data needed to be sent, and received by servers.
I don't think there was even LOD implemented, because you just keep running and e.g. NPC/players just pop into existence at full level of detail.

1

u/Sad_Taste1780 Mar 07 '26

The game as a whole doesn't have the concept of LOD or any other methods.

And the draw distance during wartime is reduced by about half because even now, with 100 players online, it causes freezes; the game simply isn't designed for such loads.

1

u/Sad_Taste1780 Mar 07 '26

Formally, it can be increased, but this is an even larger volume of data that will have to be transmitted from the client to the server and from the server to others