Been looking at the mysql patterns for this very old game that was made in 1999-2001 called "Return Of Warrior" (Downloaded some private server files and checked how they stored the equipments and items for players)
Looked into their mysql column for users equipment and it was a binary code: (0xB62600000000B7260000000000000000000000000000B5040000BF230000). And the user only had a 1h Sword with 2-5 damage on it, etc. (Weird?) How is this data read and stored? Would i need the source code in c++ to read it out?
And for users inventory it looks like this:
So i'm just wondering, what kind of storing method was this and wouldn't be terrible for scaling and pulling data? For my game, I have a simple user_equip_items and user_misc_items (for potions/scrolls/enhancments/etc) and equips for gear. And then just calling them from the table.... How would all this work via the way the binarycode does above? (I've always wondered this) Btw, the game is coded in c I believe.
AND to make this Question PHP Relevant!.... How would we read and store this binary data in PHP? (Example, getting a 2-5 dmg 1h sword from that equip field data lol)
The real question is, were the developers very smart doing it this way? Or stupid? (serious question btw)