Daphny Naarma
Imperial Academy
Amarr Empire
3
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Posted - 2012.03.14 22:36:00 -
[1] - Quote
One of the biggest and most important factors here are that players don't realize very well how big the server roundtrip - including calculations and checks - really are. CCP, like all mmo "providers" have as one of the top priorities as well as challenges(!) to make the game appear as smooth and lag free as possible - often "cheating" by expoiting client side mechanics that the human mind doesn't notice as clearly as others.
With the above, I am simply stating that your "ping" (some two-three figure ms unit) will NEVER be a reliable factor when it comes to certain functions (those that cannot as easily be "hid" client side), and neglecting them in search for "other explanations" is always going one step too far.
Do any of you think it is a coincidence that it is always a function where a logical "check" of the interactions between players (did he lock or not - yes or no - there is no client fasade to smooth this out) that always "bugs"? That's a rethrorical question ofc.
In short - several things could have happened at the particular case described in the OP. it is however rather pointless to speculate, when the fact is latency is always a lot more than you think and *can* always be the explanation. Stating "I had no lag" is simply null-worth. We all have a lot more lag (higher server round trip time) than most of the game's functions let us be aware of. The second one understands that - many "bugs" (definate player interactions mainly) become 100% logical.
If CCP didn't cut corners (all mmos do this) playing on our human awareness and all checks (incl hitting rats/whateverlowpriorityfunction) actually made the linear route from client to server to calculations/checks back to client -> "your lazor hits rat for loads!", people wouldn't bear playing it due to a massive sensation of lag. This is a fact and something mmo providers have to compensate for as much as possible to give the *impression* of the most game functions actually working at pace of listed "ping". This is never the case in reality though and some things (like definate yes/no checks that has to be relayed to players) can't be smoothed by the client cutting corners.
"Cloak of shadows" bug in WoW. Locking/cloaking bug in EVE. Just succumb to the fact that they are not bugs, but extremes of examples where the full server roundtrip is needed, and a full server roundtrip is always way longer than your ping (calculations and checks are NOT instant and a lot of compromising is needed on locations/commands etc - this is much more processor heavy than some might think).
It doesn't get better than this with current internet/server technology - CCP literally have to compensate also for slower connections to make for an overall 'seemingly' lag free gaming experience. Just be happy that it's hard to reach locking times that closes in on real server roundtrip times but always assume your server connection (when it comes to player interaction commands) is in the second(s) range and not your two-three ms digit "ping", because that's the truth. |