TGYoshi, Meuh is writing things that are so right on the spot, it's incredible how big is the gap of understanding!
It's probably a loss of time to explain why a solution with locator would be a fail, but I can try just to help you realize:
* players, in a title, should be capable to disallow downloads (for
moderation purpose, age rating, or simply the lack of bandwith & price link to it in many places in the world)
* players should be capable to easily manage the space they want to use (if you have to download 200 MB to play a map each time you enter a server, because your cache is too full/too small, or that you don't remember if it was on your disk at home or at work, it's annoying not to have a proper install/uninstall system like
the most known operating systems. A locator is like a URL and your don't install and manage your stuff online, but you can't really have big websites with 200 MB for a page to reach.
* bandwith management for hosting side: players should be capable to host serves easily. What if the required bandwith explodes. Also, who will host the locator made data? who will check all the integrity of the data? the rights of the data?
But in the end, it's even more for a bigger reason that I am using the Title system, it's because when I connect to Stadium, I want to play Stadium, and not a car that drives 2 times faster or whatever else modification that became popular there. There is an information layer that is link with titles: news, updates, choices, debates, forums and else. It would be less efficient if it was per server and I think the world of gaming is divided by games and our desire is to follow this division while being capable to help it to unite.
Now, I already said
1. When there is a frustration, there is often solution, it's just that it's often more complicated than the suggested one.
2. When there is a solution, it can take time to do it.
3. When we do it, it's difficult to say that we are going to make it, or then we can not change of solution or timing.
4. We have some major element of the solution to be revealed at the demo release
1. I understand your frustration
2. Rome was not built in a day
3. I can not reveal our solution
4. But it will be done at demo release in July
If you believe that your solution is better, or that title are bad, you have the right. But if you believe that it's without entering the real interesting questions like some I have raised here, please avoid to conclude. Frustration can not be denied, solutions are rarely brought by people who ignore more the questions than others.
And to conclude:
In fact, I think our solution to make Maniaplanet as United as possible, including what you will see in the demo, is superb. And this is why that even if it will be a quiet release, I believe that the demo is our most important release ever, by far \o/
Maniaplanet is mostly a paying environment today and there is between 1500 and 2000 peak simultaneous players every day. I don't say it's good enough, but it's much more than when we were going to release Nations in 2006. I don't think the demo will make Maniaplanet grow really quickly, but I know how interesting for the growth. It's "make your own title" nations time. It's more complex and Shootmania/Maniaplanet are less known than Trackmania out of France than Trackmania was in 2006, but it's much more 2.0: Twitter/Twitch/Youtube/Facebook ready than most things I know. And once you will see the feature of the demo, you may be more convinced than now. So, at least, wait until the demo
to Nadeo)
I am so curious and impatient when it comes to new features ^.^