Developing cloud based Minetest

[hatchquest]

A somewhat theoretical question, is it possible to develop a browser-based Minetest game and can it reuse the existing code or does it have to be completely re-written? Also, will such a system be significantly less capable to a client-based Minetest game?

[rubenwardy]

Do you even know what cloud means?
It seems that what you meant is making a browser based client. I don't really see the advantage.

However, if you did mean cloud, then it would be nice to make a node based server architecture to spread load, however you might as well rewrite MT from the ground up. (Would be less effort, probably, given the debugging you'd need to do if changing MT)

[hatchquest]

I work with a k12 educational company where we see a lot of chromebooks being used in schools. We can add Linux and run Minetest on it but most schools like to keep their chromebooks locked down (dev mode disabled). If there was a way to deliver a Minetest game over the browser we would be able to open up Minetest for educational usage in schools. That would be the advantage.

[twoelk]

I guess from a school/teachers point of view chromebooks are pretty much a dream come true if set up as strict thin client,
-no need to install anything
-no possability to install anything
-no need to do any updating
-no data lost if the machine is destroyed
-no personal data on the local machine
-> connect with any machine to the cloud and everything is there at all times from all places and devices.

and best:
-no need for nerdy, I mean knowledgeable of course, teachers
-hacker kids cannot destroy the local installation as it more or less doesn't exist (of course keep in mind that this simply shifts the responsibility for security away from the overworked teachers towards some trusted corporation such as the mighty knowallmypersonallsecrets google)

of course that means google does all the hard work
and thus decides the limits in which the chromebook may thrive
and thus has more or less full control
and all data is stored in some cloud out there beyond complete personall control.

The Chrome OS running the chromebooks is actually a single job app that only runs a browser so indeed it favors supplying just an interface to software running elsewhere in the web (web applications). Nothing new as such but not the type of environment Minetest has explored yet although the Minetest client itself does have some similarity to a thin client if you dissallow local singleplayer worlds.


Back to the original question, two paths among others seem promising:

The Chrome-OS does supply the Google Native Client technology so if Quake, Doom and Battle for Wesnoth can do it why not Minetest; providing we have or find coders who care to do it.

The faster path at the moment may be the Android Runtime for Chrome (ARC) as Minetest has allready been ported to Android. The problem would now be that the non-touchscreen navigation must be added again, such as support for keyboard and mouse input.

[Calinou]

In my experience, browser-based games remain too slow to be really usable. See WebQuake if you want to try, or BananaBread. Those run at least 3 times slower than their native counterparts.

Maybe WebAssembly will make this better, but it's not guaranteed.

[hatchquest]

Thanks. I did try the games and while i can play them on my laptop I suspect that the lowest-cost Chromebooks that schools tend to buy won't handle them as well.

On the subject of personal control, Chromebooks can just as well work with open source web apps as with Google apps. See Sandstorm open source platform for servers