Please note this is not a rant, rather an analysis from a programmers PoV
Sections to cover:
- Analysis
- Technical talk
- Solution?
- Final thoughts
After playing for over 400 hours, I think it’s finally time that something needs to be done about the servers. The current servers simply cannot handle the mass of requests and data from the client.
//Analysis with footage//
P.s. sorry for fps during recording, that however is not the issue at hand. My game runs fine at 60 when not recording.
The following footage shows what it is like for me to play from the United Kingdom, on [EU] Federpmin server.
In this video, notice the delay from when my character turns to face the object, this is me pressing [space bar], then notice the amount of time before the action actually takes place. This is the same for any type of interaction in the game.
In this video, I am showing myself simply Auto Attacking mobs in the area. Can you count how many of my attacks were cancelled? This is the most frustrating part for me. I am an efficient player, I like to play quickly and smoothly to clear areas and level myself as efficiently as I can. So to constantly be battling vs the servers, lets just say im on my 2nd mouse now…
Ping can be anywhere from 40 to 350, but no matter what number is displayed from //ping. There is a very noticeable 2-5 second on delay on any form of interaction within the game.
I am sure IMC are aware of this issue and are working to solve the issues. But after being out for nearly 2 months now, and with no noticeable changes to the connectivity ( at least for me, it’s always been like this )
//Technical talk//
From my PoV, I would say the flaws actually could be coming from the game itself, and not the servers. I’ve read that the game only runs one ONE core, and barely uses GPU. If this is true, that means that the game code isn’t threaded, meaning that the game cannot process multiple actions at the same time, so all of the requests in the game are sent to a queue for the one core of your processor to work through, instead of having the use of 2 or 3 cores to execute requests and commands simultaneously.
^ I think this is very unlikely, as any and every game ( even those on phones and tablets ) are all ( or should be ) threaded.
^ So if all of this is true then there could really be no hope for an immediate fix to the connectivity issues, the game would need to be re-coded and re-formatted from scratch, which would be a hefty task and lengthy task.
Although I think this is impossible to ask, but I’d like access to the game engine/ dev kit used for ToS. I’d be more than happy to look through the code and find an answer that the community can be happy with. Not saying that IMC can’t fix this or that they don’t know how to, im mearly after an answer, and if possible a solution.
//Can anything be done immediately?//
I cannot say for 100% what the solution would be without first knowing the issue. If the servers are to blame then the servers being used are cheap and aren’t capable of handling an mmo-styled game where there are a mass of requests constantly being sent to a from the server. Simply re-locate and partner with a better company if this is the case.
As I said before, if the issue comes from the games structure, then i’m afraid we may never actually see a solution. Although I cannot say this without having first seeing the structure of the game from a developers angle (dev kit/engine). < Which will probably never happen.
//Finale//
This is by-no-means a “I’ve had enough i’m quitting cya nerds” type of post. I love this game and will continue to play it for another 400 hours and more. I am simply trying to offer my help to “make america great again”, hah not quite… “Make ToS great… again?”. But seriously I want this game to be successful, connectivity is just one of the things that is slowing the game, But we do not need to cover those in this post.
I’ll finish of by saying that we need more communication between the developers and the players. I do nominate myself for this role if there is a position available. I’ll even do it for free. I am a game development student at university. So I can see things from a players PoV and a developers PoV, and try find that balance to make both parties happy.
TL:DR: We need more communication from the developers. They should be telling us more and giving us more information about the game. ( Although they are not obliged to )
@STAFF_Max @STAFF_Ethan @STAFF_John @STAFF_Ines @STAFF_No @STAFF_J
atill hoping though.