“The first new idea was called ‘Area of Relevance.’ Somewhat like ‘Level of Detail’ for graphics (or Stephen Hawking’s Time Cones—depending on your preference), it’s a set of circles that emanate out from you, and the amount of data that we send back depends on what can actually affect you at a distance. A good example of this is the sniper scope. When you’re not using the scope, we send less information about players that are a long way away from you—for example, the exact direction their head is facing—but when you zoom in with the scope, we tighten that cone (and area of relevance) and again send this data with more regularity.”
GameSpy: Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
“I came back for my own purposes,” said the Time Traveler, looking around my booklined study. “I chose you to talk to because it was . . . convenient. And I don’t want you to do a goddamned thing. There’s nothing you can do. But relax . . . we’re not going to be talking about personal things. Such as, say, the year, day, and hour of your death. I don’t even know that sort of trivial information, although I could look it up quickly enough. You can release that white-knuckled grip you have on the edge of your desk.” I tried to relax. “What do you want to talk about?” I said. “The Century War,” said the Time Traveler. I blinked and tried to remember some history. “You mean the Hundred Year War? Fifteenth Century? Fourteenth? Sometime around there. Between . . . France and England? Henry V? Kenneth Branagh? Or was it . . .” “I mean the Century War with Islam,” interrupted the Time Traveler. “Your future. Everyone’s.” He was no longer smiling. Without asking, or offering to pour me any, he ...
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