[captain-custard]

this stems from my reply to the dead multiplayer thread my reply is here , i suggest you read it if you have time...

http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,64036.msg1264179.html#msg1264179

any way if you are interested in moving forward in this is suggest that maybe we can start trying to get multiplayer moving forward

any thoughts?

[The E]

Yes. First, here are andi's thoughts on the subject from the other thread. No need to endure all the flaming there.

getting ppl back into multiplayer and having an enjoyable experiance depends on quite a few factors

some of the problems we encounter are

1. time zones........we are but a few players all over the world and finding a suitible time that we can play together can be challenging

2. people not following instructions ..... turning up not using the correct build or having some problems with there set up which causes a crash for all players

3. limitations  ... we are still limited to a certain number of players in a game and although some multi-missions have been now updated and adapted to 12 players but it would be nice to see this as the standard for all multi missions

4. A lack of fredders creating new and exciting Missions and Coops ( and repairing some of the broken ones )

5. standalone servers..... this is one of the major problems a lack of standalone servers to support the game , atm it is only fubar that is hosting servers and he is USA based  we certainly need standalones in europe and australaisia

6. Ping..;; this is always a problem but can be cured by more standalones being put in place

7. Support..; not from the SCP or any specific MOD  but from players them selves willing to spend time bug testing and getting new things into the game quickly

-----

As for getting more ppl into playing multiplayer in one or more of its various guises , there is information posted in many hlp threads, some times the set up information although uptodate is swamped by lots of posts afterwards i think that this can be corrected by pulling the information out and stickying and locking it in its ow thread

other than that a little better communication with sister sites would be good and a lot more comunication between the gaming comunities , (not spam but a single post in the relevant areas)..;

but before we can support all of this we ( the ppl who spend half or more of our free time in here) need to get together and get the game play issues and limitations fixed , tested and out there so its up to us

are we capable of this can we do we want to do this ..

well there you go , i for one know we are capable and hope we can get this together

so if you are really interested in pushing the multiplayer project further pm me or post in the multiplayer section in the "the future of multiplayer " post which im about to create

Second, as somebody watching the SCPs work from the outside, I have no idea what kind of improvements are in the works currently regarding FS' netcode, so I'd say our first priority should be to improve our infrastructure. This means more standalones running 24/7, in other regions of the world. It also means creating and maintaining an approved, vetted package of MP missions and vps.

[karajorma]

Second, as somebody watching the SCPs work from the outside, I have no idea what kind of improvements are in the works currently regarding FS' netcode

If you're talking about with regards to new FS2NetD stuff, Taylor is working on new code which should be arriving at some point this year. If you're talking about the actual game, bugger all. I'm pretty much the only coder who does anything to do with the multiplayer itself (Taylor's almost completely back end stuff) and I only really deal with bug fixes. I haven't got anywhere near the level of C experience to start adding new things or bug fixes that are too complex.

[The E]

Yeah, that's pretty much what I meant. Thanks for the info, kara.

[GTSVA]

YEAH!

[captain-custard]

Second, as somebody watching the SCPs work from the outside, I have no idea what kind of improvements are in the works currently regarding FS' netcode

If you're talking about with regards to new FS2NetD stuff, Taylor is working on new code which should be arriving at some point this year. If you're talking about the actual game, bugger all. I'm pretty much the only coder who does anything to do with the multiplayer itself (Taylor's almost completely back end stuff) and I only really deal with bug fixes. I haven't got anywhere near the level of C experience to start adding new things or bug fixes that are too complex.

just for those who havent seen the server thread
this is what taylor said

 
 Offline

Posts: 4,847

  
            Re: new server ? status update
« Reply #1 on: February 02, 2009, 02:07:18 AM »   Quote

The answer depends on which new server you are referring to.  

Here is the basic rundown of everything though:

FS2NetD v2.5:  Client side of this is what is in current 3.6.10 builds and no further changes are intended before 3.6.10 goes final.  Server side it required a massive rewrite and upgrade to support everything.  These server side changes are currently in a state of being about 95% complete.  It meant a big change to packaging, fixing numerous security issues, reworking the code for auto-maintenance, massive changes to make everything be stored in the database as well as properly fixing old database issues, and recoding the lobby chat server daemon so that it can properly handle mods and have better security.

FS2NetD v3.0:  Depending on available time I would like to get this officially launched by the end of the summer if possible.  My plan is to take the code that is declared 3.6.10-final and then just upgrade all of the code in there for v3.0 support.  This way it will still be the same otherwise as the official 3.6.10 release, with only the multi being a little bit different.  This will offer numerous little changes both to the client and server sides.  The important stuff for multi-players: SquadWar will be back, login data with the server will be encrypted, all stats saving will be moved to the host like in retail (as opposed to being on each client like now) which should greatly reduce problems with stats not saving properly, better handling of clients reporting hacked data, better handling of host/clients having different verified data in the same game (the host will be able to set it so that everyone must have the exact same tbl signatures), reduced traffic between the clients and FS2NetD server, and hopefully a working NAT punch-thru setup this time to reduce firewall issues in games.  And unlike before, v2.x and v3.x clients will be compatible with each other.  The only incompatibilities are with SquadWar (obviously) and with the host option that says all clients must have the same tbl signatures (older clients in such a game would get booted as being hacked/invalid by the host).

New website:  The entirely new website is currently on hold for the next version of FS2NetD which will hopefully be released later this year.  The hold up was because I simply didn't have time to finish designing and coding the massive number of changes needed for the site, and because an even larger number of changes will be needed again in order to support SquadWar returning in the next version of FS2NetD.  In the meantime though, the old website has gotten a bunch of updates to fix problems and work with the new v2.5 server setup.  These updates bring better browser compatibility, a bunch of security fixes, numerous bug fixes, better support for mods, better reporting of active games, allowing logged in users to log out, and a user account area where you can change your password or email and have your login info sent to you again (ie. in case you forget your password).  The updated website is already done, but since it requires the new server and database setup to function, it can't go live until the rest of it does.


The v2.5 dev branch is a bit stale at the moment, since I didn't have nearly as much time to work on as I thought it the past couple of weeks.  I had originally intended it to already have two weeks of testing by now.  There is probably about 10 hours of work left to do on it though so hopefully I can get it finished up this week.

The v3.0 branch has already been started on the client side.  The client side SquadWar code is already around 80% reintegrated with FSO.  Most of what SquadWar actually is is on the server side though.  More of the todo list items have been started on the client side as well, but nothing having any real progress to mention.  The server side won't be started until after I get done the the v2.5 server changes.

   

full thread can be found here

http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,60735.0.html

[William Wolfen]

Personally, there are 3 reasons I'm never on multiplayer:

1)  The evening/night GMT games are in the middle of the afternoon for me (I work most evenings, so its pretty much a total time conflict)

2)  My schedule isn't consistent enough for me to name a good time for me to play and host games then.

3)  My ping times for anyone not in North America are absolutely rubbish and my primaries are totally useless, rendering the game basically unplayable.


I know that the first 2 are basically personal problems, but the ping issue seems much more exaggerated than my experiences with other games would lead me to expect.  Most of this experience coming from Freelancer.

[Rodo]

I'll try to get myself available for this saturday game, though I'm always busy at those hours maybe 4 or 5 hours later I'll be gettin into the wait room and see who comes up, but I can't host :S

[GTSVA]

Try the IRC. There, some games get scheduled. Other then that, There's a game on Wednesday and Saturday.

[Rodo]

IRC?... will try that way next time.

[FUBAR-BDHR]

Time zones have always been an issue.  One of the reasons even when I'm around I don't make the Saturday sessions is I like to enjoy a beer or 20 while doing so and if I start that early things wont go too well. 

My suggestion is if you want to play is do 2 things.  First just go to the lobby and wait.  That's what the lobby is there for.  Second IRC.  Check and see if anyone is up for a game there.  Alt-tabbing works pretty well except for some gamma issues at times (which you can fix by hitting F2 and changing it and changing it back).  This way you both are seen on FS2netD and can try to round up some players at the same time. 

[jedimasterseth]

Im always up for a game... Just PM me or find me on IRC