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plura
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« on: Oct 03, 08, 11:59 am » |
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Hello Project Darkstar community!  We're new here, but hoping to help out all the developers here with a way to monetize their games. We posted a blurb on the Products & Services page, but here it is as well for convenience: -------- Plura Processing allows for the quick and easy monetization of Java-based browser or desktop games. Our monetization process creates a continuous stream of revenue to developers by connecting players to our distributed computing system. We pay game developers in exchange for computing time provided by people playing their game. Our technology is completely secure and operates within the Java security model. Developers can control Plura usage to ensure a seamless player experience. You can learn more at: http://www.pluraprocessing.com. We will be launching a Java game-focused Plura service soon! -------- If anyone here has any questions about Plura, please let me know. I'll be checking the forums here, but you can also reach me directly at shion -at- pluraprocessing.com. We'd love to work with any and all game developers interested in Plura. Thanks, Shion Deysarkar Plura Processing |
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Jeff
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« Reply #1 on: Oct 03, 08, 12:07 pm » |
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What sort of processing is this?
I'd have real security concerns about giving you unfettered access to my customers' machines. What are the gaurantees that you can't use this access to steal sensitive information, install viri, etc?
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plura
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« Reply #2 on: Oct 03, 08, 02:18 pm » |
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Jeff, Those are valid concerns, but we've specifically designed Plura so security issues will be minimized. The client side runs entirely within memory; the hard drive is not touched at all. All processing or computation is done within the Java sandbox. In other words, you are not giving us unfettered access. In fact, it's quite the opposite We follow everything listed at http://java.sun.com/sfaq/, whether we're running an applet from the browser or from within a desktop application. The processing being done is for a variety of commercial and research groups. Some examples include stock market analysis, searching for prime numbers, and protein modeling. We verify that each application using Plura is non-malicious and non-abusive to node computers using a rigorous testing process. I should also note that our affiliates (i.e., Java game developers) can control how and when Plura is launched from their site or game. They can even control how much of a CPU Plura uses. (Note that currently Plura only uses 1 CPU, while most machines today are at least dual-core.) Hopefully I answered your concerns. But if not, feel free to continue the discussion! Oh, you can see an example of Plura running on http://www.handdrawngames.com. - Shion |
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« Last Edit: Oct 03, 08, 02:33 pm by plura »
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Jackal von ÖRF
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« Reply #3 on: Oct 03, 08, 03:38 pm » |
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Is it also possible to control the amount of bandwidth that the program uses when it downloads the data to be processed and uploads the results?
Let's assume that I have a game where I want to use Plura. My game runs as a non-sandboxed desktop Java application. How can I start Plura inside a sandbox? Is it so, that I create a new thread, call some methods on the security manager, which will sandbox the current thread, and then start Plura in that thread? Will the JVM then guarantee that Plura will always stay inside the sandbox? How can I control Plura from a non-sandboxed thread (start, stop, pause, set CPU and bandwidth limits etc.), without executing any Plura code outside the sandbox? May Plura's source code be read?
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zammbi
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« Reply #4 on: Oct 03, 08, 08:56 pm » |
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This looks very interesting, I might look into the web site version now. With browser plugins now blocking google ads, this might be a nice ulturnative.
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plura
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« Reply #5 on: Oct 04, 08, 08:13 am » |
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To answer Jackal's questions: We are currently exploring different ways of controlling bandwidth. We'd definitely be interested in how the community here feels it should be implemented (i.e., how granular should the control be, when does bandwidth need to be controlled, etc.). Plura was originally created to run as an applet in web browsers. As such, the code was designed to run within the sandbox. The same code is used in the desktop application version as well, so it follows all the same restrictions. To run Plura from within a desktop application, you would: - Use a ClassLoader to load a JAR from our server - From that ClassLoader, load a class name that we specify - Cast the class above to type IPluraInterface, which is an interface that we will provide you with; IPluraInterface will contain all of the methods that you need to interact with Plura (start, stop, pause, set CPU usage, etc.) - You can limit the system access of the code that you download from Plura in a policy file, which will let you explicitly prevent Plura from performing I/O, executing external commands, etc. Plura just requires the permissions associated with the browser sandbox, as well as SocketPermission to www.pluraserver.com and *.pluraserver.com on port 80. We're looking into releasing generic portions of the Plura client code, but the computational client code will probably not be released. We can certainly provide some sample code demonstrating the above process (will get back to you on this). - Shion |
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zammbi
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« Reply #6 on: Oct 04, 08, 07:39 pm » |
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Well I have signed up. I'll soon be adding it to a site.
Just reporting a bug on the site, on the integration page, the download link is broken for the desktop version.
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oak
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« Reply #7 on: Oct 05, 08, 07:00 am » |
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Could you give an estimate on the earnings pr. client? Lets say a client stays online in the game for 1/2 to 4 hours at a time. And a decent amount of CPU can be allocated. What will the earnings bee (approximately?).
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plura
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« Reply #8 on: Oct 05, 08, 09:05 am » |
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Zammbi - the download app will be up soon; it's currently in development.
Oak - The earnings per client will not be significant, but at 1,000 users playing 4 hours at a time, an affiliate could expect to earn up to $14 per month. At 10,000 users playing 4 hours at a time, that would go up to $140, and so on.
If you want to put it in terms of # of concurrent users, a game would make up to $2.6 each month for every 1 concurrent user. So 1,000 concurrent users = $2,600 per month, 10,000 = $26,000, etc.
Interestingly enough, Plura actually encourages game design that incentivizes players to stay idle or perform macros while connected to the game (as opposed to disconnecting), since they are creating money for the game developer while doing this without taking up as much bandwidth. This is a bit different than traditional game design.. we're interested to see if game developers explore this more and if they come up with anything interesting that takes advantage of this!
- Shion
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« Last Edit: Oct 05, 08, 09:38 am by plura »
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Jackal von ÖRF
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« Reply #9 on: Oct 05, 08, 12:20 pm » |
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Interestingly enough, Plura actually encourages game design that incentivizes players to stay idle or perform macros while connected to the game (as opposed to disconnecting), since they are creating money for the game developer while doing this without taking up as much bandwidth. This is a bit different than traditional game design.. we're interested to see if game developers explore this more and if they come up with anything interesting that takes advantage of this!
That had come to my mind as well. Because of that I wanted to know, that will it be possible for the game host to know how much CPU time each player has contributed for Plura? Here is one idea how to integrate Plura into the game play: The player gains health points, energy or some other resource by running Plura. The resource should be such that it motivates the players to run Plura even when not playing, but at the same time it should not give too much advantage to those with more powerful CPUs. It could for example boost the speed of researching for new technology or learning skills, such as in EVE Online the player learns skills even when the client is not connected. |
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zammbi
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« Reply #10 on: Oct 05, 08, 01:17 pm » |
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For that to work the game server would need to check the Plura server, as you never trust the client.
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oak
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« Reply #11 on: Oct 05, 08, 11:33 pm » |
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As a side-note, I feel someone must bring to attention an important side-issue. If users let their machine stay turned on all night (for what ever reason) they spend more electricity. This might seem like their problem - but increasing gasoline prices, global warming, etc. etc.
I know this is indeed a side-issue, all I am saying is that making a game where the player just needs to have his/her machine on all night... is first of all more expensive in power than what the game developer earns (depending on power consumption of the given machine). Second in the light of "global energy consumption" it is not a good thing to design any PC application such that leaving the machine on during none-use hours is beneficial to the end user.
This is not to say that there are no idle CPU cycles that can be harvested, just that they should be harvested while the machine is already on (like at work, while actually playing, etc. etc.)
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plura
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« Reply #12 on: Oct 06, 08, 09:18 am » |
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Oak,
You raise a good point regarding power usage. Environmentally-speaking, it makes most sense to run Plura while the computer is being used for other purposes.
I think ultimately it's up to the game developer and the game player to decide if running the game in an idle mode should be encouraged and if it's worth paying the electrical/environmental cost to advance in the game.
I should also point out that there actually is a positive effect on the environment from Plura. The people using Plura need to their computation somewhere. The next best alternative is going to large data/computing centers, which are going to have an impact on the environment, especially when you consider the initial cost of developing land, creating large buildings, etc.
- Shion
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CWolf
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« Reply #13 on: Nov 20, 08, 10:45 am » |
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This looks very interesting. I believe there are many ways to implement this in-game in a way that encourages the user to actively process the data (if given an opt-in / opt-out option). Our team already has a few good ideas on how to achieve this.
We will take a closer look at this when the time is right for us.
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