Ivanna Humplot
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Posted - 2008.01.30 14:36:00 -
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Edited by: Ivanna Humplot on 30/01/2008 14:37:33
Edited by: Ivanna Humplot on 30/01/2008 14:36:39
Fleet Mode
Ever since large scale battles became more and more evident, EVE as a whole has suffered in terms of client and server load causing the game to be unplayable. CCP have done everything in their power to reduce client and server lag by upgrading software and hardware and have acheived a great deal although the solution always seems unacheivable.
The Facts:
Fleet fights are affected by several factors:-
* Client Lag - reduced heavily with the introduction of trinity but is always and will always be there to some degree, especially with the new models and client side caching.
* Server Lag - This isn't bandwidth from the nodes themselves, this is simply a huge load of calculations on a single server being queued up for action. If you think about it, 200 people in system, all activating modules, targetting, moving, damage calcs etc etc are all these calculations building up. Also coupled with the fact that no system has its own node (apart from Jita) so you are also sharing server space with other systems all over eve.
Solutions?
Obvious solutions are here but aren't really achievable:-
* Upgrade the Eve Cluster 100 fold and each client upgrades their pc - like i said, aint happenin'
* Change the game to suit a new level/style of combat where these numbers are involved... and this is where it gets meaty and really needs the community and devs to get their heads together to acheive.
Whats the target/goal for the new solution?
* Keeping existing enjoyment that you would experience in a normal pvp skirmish
* Keeping the game speed relative (ie. dont slow it down so you are sat in a battle for 5 hours and dont see a thing)
One idea I have on the fly which may/may not be desirable or even doable:
1. Fleet RPG - When you enter a system with > 150 players in 0.0, your client switches to a RPG view. This could form a text based interface or a basic graphical representation on whats happening in the system. From here you control your commands and they are turn based. The time between 'turns' is dictated on the fly by server load. Each player will then have 10 seconds to make their 'move'. All current eve controls will apply but you will not be able to constantly fly you ship in different directions real-time but orbit etc will still exist. (Shouldnt be a problem as you cant do that in fleet fights now anyway!). For this mode, the eve cluster should dynamically move this system to a dedicated server (instance) so as not to affect others on that node. Obviously needs tweaking but this has the benefits of:
a. You dont jump into a system and stay at a black screen for 2 hours and then finally find yourself in a pod without seeing anything as this is a turn based system and all timescales will be updated on your client at all times.
b. Ok its taking out some interactivity and graphical awe but in fleet fights are you really bothered about how shiny your megathron is looking or whether you can 'see' the sun sheen.
So I open up this thread to the entire eve community for ideas on how we can effectivley change fleet fights (ie. where there is > 150+ players on the node activley pvping).... anything else is 'playable'.
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