[captain-custard]

i just hosted for 1st time and it was confusing, then i fu***d up , and well biatch slaping me would be a good idea !

so please lets have a do's and donts of hosting, then idiots like me will get it right


andi aka captain custard,


ps     SORRY

[Shade]

Not a bad idea. I'll see if I can write something up and post it on the wiki. Could you post the various problems and/or questions you had? It would be good to know which issues that most need to be addressed

[captain-custard]

ok how about we start with ..............

NEVER DO THIS section

A breif over view of missions that mark points in FS2net

and just some of the set ups and stuff u need to do to host

[karajorma]

Before you add any advice that I'll have to change later, for those who don't know the BtRL build and anything after 3.6.9 Official allow you to use the command line "-cap_object_update 0" which has the same effect as the old trick of shouting "SET LOW" at newbies.

 In other words if you're hosting on anything later than 3.6.9 Official you should be adding this to your command line and setting your updates on high unless you're playing a LAN game. 

[FUBAR-BDHR]

Well I started to get away from just hosting but it's good info so I'll leave it.

Host:
  Always a good idea to set warpout to host only. 
  Always check respawns before starting. 
  After people join and you go through mission load assign people to their ships
  You have to lock before people can choose weapons but once locked you can't move players to different ships.
  Don't end the game until all players are dead or the goals are complete.  If you die wait on them.
  If your game isn't full try not to use the replay option.  Give it a few minutes in forming just in case other want to join.
  /kick can be useful at times.
  Someone who pauses the game but doesn't answer may be stuck in limbo. 
  Remember you have to assign ships and weapons to AI before you commit.
  Playing a TvT or FFA rests difficulty to medium.  Double check difficulty before playing coop.

All:
  Lag bombing is considered a cheat.
  Tab loading is also bad.   Although a Pegasus with Helios can be quite useful at times.   
  Pausing except by the host is not usually a good idea unless for a really good reason.
  If you don't know what to take in the mission ask, copy the loadout of someone who does, or use the default.
  Don't leave the game just because your in observer mode.
  Don't bug the host to start the game.  Patients is a virtue and he may be drinking a beer.  See /kick above.
  If you get stuck in limbo (die but don't get respawn or observer mode) it's a good time to pause.

TvT Host:
  Always try to assign someone with a good connection and preferably not a noob to be the other team leader.
  Both team leaders must lock before weapon selection can begin.
  Just because the primary objective message comes up it doesn't mean the game is over.   It's only a bonus.
  Normal play is until all on one side are dead.
  Normal respawns are 10.  This came from squadwar.  But a lot of people like 15. 

TvT General:
  No AI, AE, SD, mean no AI controlled ships, no Area effect weapons like piranhas, EMP, and infernos, or Self Destructing.
  Support is usually a no-no unless the all support ships show up as the team that calls the first one bug has been fixed.
  FISH = piranhas, FIRE = infernos

BTW Kara that option be put in the multi.cfg like the low updates was?  It would be nice for standalones.
 

 

[CP5670]

Good list of advice. The lag bombing glitch seems to have been fixed at some point. I don't think you can do it in modern builds. The lag loading is apparently still possible though.

Also, although it is good to know what AE/fish/etc. means, I'm not sure if that should be given as advice to hosts. Those rules never made sense to me and although we rarely do TvTs these days (due to the lack of dedicated servers), I certainly do not enforce them in any games I host.

[karajorma]

BTW Kara that option be put in the multi.cfg like the low updates was?  It would be nice for standalones.

It's a command line option so it should work with standalones already. Although I vaguely recall being puzzled as to whether or not it would.

What are tab loading and lag bombing? If they're a problem it might be possible to fix or make optional.

One other thing, the knocking code (unlike on Tom's build) only works if you haven't password protected the game. I figured anyone with a good enough reason for locking a game wouldn't want to be bothered by those people who they didn't want in the game in the first place.

[FUBAR-BDHR]

Lag bombing is loading out withe 2 banks of bombs.  You lock and fire one bank, quickly switch banks, and then fire again.  The host computer picks this up as both banks being locked and fired.  Therefore you can launch 4 helios or cycs in the time it would take to launch 2.  The higher your ping to the host the easier it is to do.  That's why it's called lag bombing.  With higher speed connections it's probably harder to do these days. 

I can't remember how to do the tab loading thing but it has something to do with taking the weapons from one ship, using the tab key to switch ships while holding on to the weapons.  They then show up on the other ship even if the ship is not capable of carrying them.  Kind of useful for testing multiplayer missions but not good to play that way.

I was wondering if that command line option could just be placed in the multi.cfg.  That way you don't have to worry about it when you switch from regular to standalone server.  Guess I could just make a shortcut though.

[CP5670]

You can do it with all six bombs by holding down the weapon switch and fire keys at the same time. You may right about the connections though, as the whole thing depended on network lag to work. I've had people in my games report that it couldn't be done, but that might explain it. This glitch was so common that a few missions were actually designed with it in mind, expecting players to use it. There was some talk about that on Fredzone many years ago.

The loading bug was similar and was based on lag. I remember it now. If the ping is high enough and you drag a new ship to your slot, it takes a second to actually register on the server and appear there. Hitting the tab key flips to the weapon screen, where you could quickly pick up a disallowed weapon, wait for the ship to update and then place it. The game would let you pick it up because you still had the old ship selected at that point. Apparently the game only checks what weapons are allowed when you pick them up, and not when you place them.

[FUBAR-BDHR]

Just a note on the lag bombing.  Firing 4 or 6 bombs at the same target is fine if you lock each bank.  Always liked using my bomber as a flak shield for the 2 helios I fired from a distance and then firing 2 more at point blank.  Riding them in like that is not lag bombing. 

That explains why I was never able to figure out tab loading.  I only tried it when I was hosting.

[captain-custard]

 thanks for the info guys ,
 it helps ,
 if only to let the veterans host ,
 this way you dont have to listen to them winge if your not fast enough ,
 make a mistake or dont do as they would,
 to be good at anything it takes time and many mistakes,



andi aka captain custard

mistakes are part of a learning curve

but then again so is death

[karajorma]

Apparently the game only checks what weapons are allowed when you pick them up, and not when you place them.

Well that should be pretty easy to fix then.