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2. Basics on the used client/server architecture

Unlike DOOM and similar games Quake uses a ``server'' process (or even computer) which ``does'' all the game play. The ``clients'' (at least one) send to the server all input events (keys, mouse etc.) and receive all necessary information to draw the current picture. This prevents Quake from inconsistencies and the network load increases linear with the clients and not quadratic.

The communication between server and clients is an asynchronous one. If you don't press any key, your computer won't send any packets to the server. But you receive from time to time (the network is unpredictable) a packet to describe the state of your client. It is obvious, that these packets must contain some time stamp information, the positions of all monsters in sight and some player state information like the current weapon, ammo etc.

And exactly this is the DEM file format: the recording of all packets from the server to that client, who recorded the game (the first client). I call these packets ``blocks of messages'' and the single information (time, position, ammo etc.) ``message''.

Whether the (listen) server process itself or the client process does the actual recording (file write access) isn't known but it is irrelevant for the understanding of the recording process.


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