New in-game multi-protocol messaging and lobby system

Hi All,

It has been a while since my last blog. That's primarily due to the fact that we have been working like crazy on n-Node.

What is n-node you say? In short, the n-Node Communicator client is a fully featured, stand-alone, 2D chat client that connects to multiple instant messaging services without the need of running multiple clients and for the first time allows end-users to communicate in real-time with 3D virtual worlds like Second Life. Plus, with the addition of our 3D in-game client, users will be able to continue their conversations while playing popular 3D games like Half-Life.

Primary features of the Communicator client include:
Chat and Instant Messaging with AIM, YIM, MSN, Google Talk, Xfire, ICQ, MySpace Chat, Second Life and n-Node
In-game messaging
MS-Widows, MS Mobile, web and Blackberry client support
Group chat
File transfers
Real-time presence information for if and where your friends are online
Voice communication (VoIP) with other n-Node users

Now with that being said we are working on some really cool, Torque specific, integration features.

Master Server: manages the available game servers and allows clients to host matches, query for available matches and join an existing match.

Authentication Server: manages the authorization and authentication of an individual logging in to the game, their status while in game and their disconnection from the game. Security and licensing are also features that should be considered in the Authentication Server.
Community Server: manages the in game lobby, friends management, chat, news, user-generated content, etc.

Out of the box (even including the available community resources), Torque really only provides a basic framework from which to build out these services. It leaves it up to the developer to not only flesh out the User Interface and the necessary Torque Script to access these services but it often leaves the server side functionality up to the individual developers to implement as well. While this provides flexibility, there is a large overhead in developing these features for each new game project and as each module may use different communication mechanisms (HTTPObject, TCPObject, custom TorqueScript wrappers), it adds significant complexity to the code and the subsequent maintenance effort for that code.
With the n-Node in Torque technology, we have fleshed out the missing pieces from the out of box Torque experience, unified the protocol and code base for providing all 3 services, and extended the capabilities of Torque to provide a superior online game environment.