User information for Steve Wood

Real Name
Steve Wood
Nickname
Rockn-Roll
Email
Concealed by request - Send Mail
Description
Rock (Ibanez 7-string guitar into Marshall amp) and Roll (Corvette Stingray).

Computer Engineer for 28 years...mostly corporate applications, but some gaming. Have worked for/with Gamespy, Intel, IBM, Hewlett Packard, and People Soft.
Homepage
None given.

Supporter

Signed On
June 25, 2004
Total Posts
280 (Amateur)
User ID
21182
Search For:
Sort Results:
Ascending
Descending
Limit Results:
 
280 Comments. 14 pages. Viewing page 1.
Newer [  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  ] Older
6.
 
Re: DOOM Eternal Delayed
Oct 8, 2019, 20:10
6.
Re: DOOM Eternal Delayed Oct 8, 2019, 20:10
Oct 8, 2019, 20:10
 
Hmm...Invasion mode removed from the initial release and the entire game delayed? Sounds like Invasion Mode is trickier than they thought and requires some significant game mechanic modifications and they want to make sure the modified game is solid without it before adding something that has proven to be unstable in the current version.

Bummer. And, I am already selling off a lot of my Team Fortress 2 items to generate the $60 for the pre-purchase that I was going to make soon after. I can wait...who knows...they may reduce the price or offer a more desirable bonus besides something 22 years old.
Let's Rock!
Avatar 21182
33.
 
Re: DOOM Open Beta Next Week; DLC/Season Pass Plans
Apr 9, 2016, 12:43
33.
Re: DOOM Open Beta Next Week; DLC/Season Pass Plans Apr 9, 2016, 12:43
Apr 9, 2016, 12:43
 
The Positive Stuff:
1. The DLC can be pre-ordered AFTER the launch...you don't have to buy anything without knowing its value first.
2. This business plan is Identical to TF2 in every way except it's not "free to play" because you have to buy the game before you can play MP and there are no in-game item drops. But, perhaps in the future they will offer "Doom Live" like they did with "Quake Live".
3. Idsoftware has always tried to maintain game balance, so no matter what they offer for purchase they will need to balance everything to keep the game fun. They know that it has to be fun to succeed...give them some credit.
4. I actually want something like SnapMap...I get frustrating moding other games because I am not a good artist...it takes me days to create a decent texture. It will be nice to have the textures already applied and shined up on everything. I might actually be able to release a final product after decades of works-in-progress.

The Negative Stuff:
1. It looks like Idsoftware with the fixed load-outs is trying to make Doom MP like TF2. All they are doing is making it obvious that they feel like fools for not hiring Robin Walker, John Cook, and Ian Caughley 20 years ago when they had the chance. Doom should have stayed with all weapons for everyone. I doubt that I will play Doom MP much because I can already play TF2 for FREE! and not some knock-off.
2. No true deathmatch/arena mode where all players get all the same weapons and armor? Am I missing something? Doom Deathmatch is what made the original Doom so much fun...then Quake CTF and Quake Arena turned it into a true sport. If those two features aren't in MP then you won't see me in any MP games for very long...I'll return to playing TF2 after I finish the Single Player component.
3. I'm afraid Doom MP is going to quickly dwindle like Enemy Territory Quake Wars...it may be new and fun at first, but will soon become predictable and not fun.
Let's Rock!
Avatar 21182
62.
 
Re: DOOM in May
Apr 3, 2016, 15:48
62.
Re: DOOM in May Apr 3, 2016, 15:48
Apr 3, 2016, 15:48
 
Caslon wrote on Mar 31, 2016, 22:44:
Get ready for the inevitable announcement that the game will get pushed back 4-6 months with the inevitable reason "To make the game the best that it can be". Wait for it.

Not this time...they just released the second closed BETA (yes I get a turn at it this time) and the announced release date is in next Month. Yes, in the past they have pushed back game releases but only when the announced release was almost a year away...they've never failed to deliver when it's just a few months or in this case next month.
Let's Rock!
Avatar 21182
60.
 
Re: DOOM in May
Mar 21, 2016, 21:56
60.
Re: DOOM in May Mar 21, 2016, 21:56
Mar 21, 2016, 21:56
 
I just Checked http://doom.com/en-us/beta and there is another "Closed" BETA.
Starting: Thursday, March 31, 2016 @ 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time (UTC – 5)
End: Sunday, April 3, 2016 @ 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (UTC – 5)

Again...this is not the "Open" BETA that we are waiting for. It will again be a selection of PC and XBOX 360/XBOX ONE players who
...will receive an email from Bethesda with a key code prior to the start of the Beta.]
and PS3/PS4 Players
...Search for the Closed Beta in the PlayStation Store to download it

However, this one has one important difference:

The Beta is expected to feature two maps, Heatwave and Infernal, and two modes, Team Deathmatch and Warpath, along with never-before-seen weapons, armor sets, taunts and hack modules.

Yes, you may share your gameplay experiences from the DOOM Closed Beta.

Let's Rock!
Avatar 21182
59.
 
Re: DOOM in May
Mar 6, 2016, 21:50
59.
Re: DOOM in May Mar 6, 2016, 21:50
Mar 6, 2016, 21:50
 
I pre-ordered a long time ago on steam so that I will be able to play the BETA which ID said would be available in the Spring...I hope they will take that literally and release the BETA on March 22nd or whenever the 1st day of Spring is.

It is valid to be concerned about the PC controls because everyone at ID develops the game with console controllers...all of their demos are created using console controllers which is why it seems twitchy and mono-directional.

If the BETA has a good feeling then I'll probably spring for the collector's edition. The Revenant would look cool on my desk.
Let's Rock!
Avatar 21182
1.
 
Re: Happy Cloud Joins the Cloud Crowd
Sep 27, 2011, 10:37
1.
Re: Happy Cloud Joins the Cloud Crowd Sep 27, 2011, 10:37
Sep 27, 2011, 10:37
 
LOL...this is like seeing a news report that someone got tired of dragging their box of tools around and "pioneered" legs on it that had round disks which allowed the box to roll. My guess is that a whole lot of sales and marketing people are unemployed and still trying to sell us a pig in a poke when the cat is already out of the bag.
Let's Rock!
Avatar 21182
3.
 
Re: Wizardry Online Beta Next Month
Sep 26, 2011, 22:37
3.
Re: Wizardry Online Beta Next Month Sep 26, 2011, 22:37
Sep 26, 2011, 22:37
 
Wizardry was the first first person RPG that I played...back in 1988. Followed closely by Bard's Tale. I used my programming skills to develop an application that could exactly copy the data disk for Wizardry (it had some basic for of copyright protection) so that when it came time to level up I could do it several times and pick the best roll of stats. But, it backfired...my character was so powerful after a few levels that I was just swatting the baddies without any worries...however the best fun was actually in mapping the area and finding the secrets and such. Of course, some people think the best part about the game was the box graphics.

With all that said, I wouldn't want to play it again...there really wasn't any story there that I can remember except that you are the good guy and the bad guy keeps sending his minions at you as you go deeper into the dungeon. But, it is a good first RPG for anyone that wants to go solo before joining the madness that is MMO gaming.
Let's Rock!
Avatar 21182
25.
 
Re: Steam Translations Value Estimate
Sep 25, 2011, 21:55
25.
Re: Steam Translations Value Estimate Sep 25, 2011, 21:55
Sep 25, 2011, 21:55
 
Not only translations...think about all the developers that they force to write the mods. And, since I am a wiki.teamfortress.com contributor myself, what about all those people maintaining and adding to the game wikis?

Or, just maybe...I know it's a stretch for some of you...that some of us actually enjoy Steam so much that we actually want to contribute!
Let's Rock!
Avatar 21182
24.
 
Re: Star Wars: The Old Republic December Launch, Pricing Details
Sep 24, 2011, 16:33
24.
Re: Star Wars: The Old Republic December Launch, Pricing Details Sep 24, 2011, 16:33
Sep 24, 2011, 16:33
 
Let's see...first you give them like $60 for the standard edition or upto $140 for the collector's edition, then you give them at least $12.99 per month. Eventually, if you play the game for 2 years, you will have paid anywhere from $360 to $400 for one game. Is it really worth that much?
Let's Rock!
Avatar 21182
56.
 
Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS
Sep 24, 2011, 12:45
56.
Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS Sep 24, 2011, 12:45
Sep 24, 2011, 12:45
 
Mashiki Amiketo wrote on Sep 24, 2011, 09:22:
Remember that the average reading level in north america is between grade 6 and grade 8.

This is true...and actually much worse in some states...believe it or not. When I was taking bone-head English in college I was given illiteracy as one of my 1,000 word essays...maybe they were trying to make it a personal issue because I didn't even qualify for bone-head English...they wanted me to take English as a second language, but I my problem was that I didn't know any other language either.

I was astonished that over 50% (some sources report higher incidence) of high school graduates in the USA are functionally illiterate. What that means is they can read something...know what most of the individual words mean, and perhaps understand the meaning of most sentences; however, they don't understand any ideas or messages that those sentences and paragraphs intend to transmit. There is plenty of evidence from substantiated sources such as university studies and even Federal and State reports which prove it.

In fact, anyone that continues to agree to EA's UELA is evidence enough that they are functionally illiterate or just don't care about democracy or freedom.

As to the discussion concerning the legality of UELA's especially those which indicate that the purchaser must agree to have no constitutional rights to a jury of their peers...being nearly 54 I remember some big changes in laws and judicial processes some 40 years ago or so concerning "small print" in contracts. Many businesses used to present contracts for people to sign, which had important information for example requiring people to pay large or unspecified amounts for the products or services, in an extremely small font which could not be read with the naked eye and frequently the contract was a copy where the print was so smudged that it was completely illegible even under a magnifying glass. As I recall the courts got tired of it and funneled some law suits to the U.S. Supreme court so that a Federal ruling would be made that made it clear that any contract which used that technique would not be enforceable. Didn't anyone wonder why some of the contracts and UELA's have capital letters? It was that ruling which made it necessary.

But, don't fool yourselves...this is a game company and not a real estate or financial institution like with the "small print" ruling. This is a game company and nobody is going to care if some violent game players lose their constitutional rights in order to play some games. The only person who should care is you...and you are the first line of defense for your rights. And, yes...I read and understand every UELA that I agree to, and I keep a copy either soft or hard, so that if necessary I can refer to it at any time if I think there's something that isn't right. To be honest, it only takes about 15 minutes to read 5,000 words (3 minutes for every 1,000 words), and most UELA's plageraize other UELA's so that they are all very similar...you just need to train yourself to spot the differences. For example, I just signed an agreement to give all the rights to any of my inventions to a contract company that has offered me a job...but as with all contracts of this type it specified that it is only in conjuction with the work I do as Work For Hire with that company. I remember one time I actually started work for a company in their computer center just inserting data disks...not even a technical position, and they gave me a contract to sign after I had been working there for 2 weeks which clearly said I had to give them all inventions and ideas prior and after my work there...I circled the portions and gave it back to them unsigned...they fired me the next day. Years later I own the copyrights to a suite of programs equal to MSOffice and have ideas and inventions which include gravitational energy extraction and molecular circuits.

My point is that the future could be very different from what it is painted to be by a company. If you sign your rights away then more than likely the company will do things in the future which will cost you everything you own...because they can...and you let them. Also, keep in mind that most likely at least 80% of all gamers who read and understand the UELA will not be accepting it. So, with only 20% of the share of gamers EA's Origin service will most likely have financial trouble very soon and will have to raise it's prices to avoid bankruptcy and soon after will most likely lose another 10% and most likely fold and you will be forced to sue for your money back so you can get the software licenses validated by another download service...in fact so many will need to do that it will be forced into a class action suit by the courts...oh wait...you signed a UELA saying you can't participate...BOOM! You lost everything...whose fault? Yours.

This comment was edited on Sep 24, 2011, 13:50.

Edit: In fact, here's the email I just sent to ea:
Losers,

I decline this offer. I specifically forbid the use of my previous EA account from becoming an Origin account. I also specifically revoke any and all rights EA might have had to my account prior to this email. I consider this to be your only notice that I am ending any and all relationships that I have with EA. I also reserve the right to sue in court as an individual and as a participant in a class action suit by not logging into any EA account for which I had created or was created on my behalf in order to keep my rights to licenses which I have previously purchased.

Sincerely,
Steve Wood
Let's Rock!
Avatar 21182
30.
 
Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS
Sep 24, 2011, 02:13
30.
Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS Sep 24, 2011, 02:13
Sep 24, 2011, 02:13
 
Quboid wrote on Sep 23, 2011, 21:10:
This isn't legal, is it? Is it? Please tell me that this isn't legal.

Uhm...it doesn't say anywhere in the US constitution about class action suits; thus, it remains a State right.
Let's Rock!
Avatar 21182
29.
 
Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS
Sep 24, 2011, 01:59
29.
Re: Origin Adds Anti-Lawsuit Language to TOS Sep 24, 2011, 01:59
Sep 24, 2011, 01:59
 
"or to participate in a class action"

I think this proves more than anything that they intend to screw every participant in their service one way or another. They most likely won't pick on any one group, but most likely do something across the board like raise fees by a large amount after they have enough "client" who have committed to enough "license" agreements to download and play games through their service. That would definitely keep their costs down and increase their profits...so instead of maintaining an expensive infrastructure like what they have already committed to just for us gamers that only purchase one or two games a year they can cater to just the wealthy who purchase like 10 games a year and don't care about the price.

Boycott them while you have the right to do so.

Think of it this way...EA is inviting you into their dark secret area so you can give them your money, but you have to wear a blindfold and arms tied behind your back and shackles and wear nancy pants.

OK...nancy pants was my idea, but you get the point...don't do it if you value your freedom. In the USA at least 200 years ago people were willing to die for their freedoms...today it looks like some people might be willing to give it up for a game.

This comment was edited on Sep 24, 2011, 03:37.
Let's Rock!
Avatar 21182
40.
 
Re: On Deus Ex: Human Revolution DLC and Boss Battles
Sep 23, 2011, 22:03
40.
Re: On Deus Ex: Human Revolution DLC and Boss Battles Sep 23, 2011, 22:03
Sep 23, 2011, 22:03
 
OK...lots of comments from me on this.

1) Play testers are usually hired from temp agencies with little or no experience...I'm sure they "attempt" to find people that have played games before and "attempt" to find people that have played that kind of game before. But, the bottom line is that they contract out to a temp agency in order to get 20 or 30 cheap game testers that they can use for a couple of months and then dump without notice. I know because I was hired to test a game for Nintendo and they didn't require any previous gaming...they do see it as a plus...and my skills did allow me to free-form test while everyone else had to follow scripts, but game testing gets the smallest budget and is the poorest quality stage of development. And, also when someone is paying you to do something it is not a good idea to say that their product sucks...everybody that I have game tested with was desperate for the minimum wage job and afraid that they might lose their job if they made honest comments...testers tend to only make comments that they have absolute proof that there is a problem. And, if they say the game sucks then the developers might just figure that they didn't have any fun because they aren't interested in video games or whatever.

Developers that rely on temp hired game testers obviously don't care about the final product. If they really cared then they would hire at least one of us gamers for a decent wage and get an experienced and honest opinion...if they game sucked then we would tell them and help them build a game that would be fun.

2) When they outsourced the boss battles they failed to specify that players must be able to win using stealth and non-lethal attacks. The failure was on Square Enix and Eidos.

3) The boss battles do have some tricks you can use such throwing barrels to kill the first one, or for the second boss if you purchased the dermal plating preventing electro-shock and destroyed the nodes or just jumped up onto one of the sub panel boxes, or cloaking for the last, or just typhoon them all. But, the point is that for example I played non-lethal stealth my first play through. I didn't carry any weapons other than a Tranqulizer gun with just a few ammo...most of my inventory was concussion grenades, gas grenades, health items, and power bars. I honestly didn't think about any boss battles because I wanted to play Deus Ex on Deus Ex mode and have fun. I didn't think about using the barrels in the first one because I didn't even know I could since I only used them to hide behind all the previous 10 hours of the game. Tranquilizer darts did absolutely nothing to any of the bosses. I had to restart the game from the beginning (I didn't know we could save our progress anywhere because it had that auto-save thing and usually games that auto-saved don't allow user saves).

Requiring a kill to the boss meant that I needed to carry some heavy weaponry with me all through the rest of the game just so I can make it past the boss battles! That sucked! I had to purchase the full inventory and I still barely had enough ammo to kill the rest of the bosses...yeah there are tricks to kill them, but I didn't know what the tricks were the first time through and since I was being forced to fight then I chose to use weapons. Eventually, and even though I wanted to play stealth and non-lethal, I had to carry the rocket launcher and all the rockets I could find or buy all through the game just so I spent as little time as necessary in the boring boss battles.
Let's Rock!
Avatar 21182
1.
 
Re: A Game of Thrones RPG Screenshots
Sep 20, 2011, 21:27
1.
Re: A Game of Thrones RPG Screenshots Sep 20, 2011, 21:27
Sep 20, 2011, 21:27
 
Yeah...I can see where it can be confusing at first look RTS and RPG all start the same and appeal to the same audience. But, the Real Time Strategy looks like it might be going for a quality almost as good as and hopefully better than Battle for Middle Earth II which is still the game I play when I get an RTS itch.

I really didn't know that they were going to do an RPG until I saw this. I did send blue an email on sept 13...tuesday last week...that the RTS was finished...as reported in GRR Martin's blog. Perhaps this report and the one this morning that the RPG is a long way off is to help clarify that there are two games now in development...the RTS is finished and just getting wrapped up while the RPG has just begun development.

I look forward to the RTS and will be judging what the RPG will be like based on it...perhaps not fair to the team in France, but I've been burned by so many RPGs catering to the elemetary school level that I'm very jaded.
Let's Rock!
Avatar 21182
17.
 
Re: Cancelled Avengers Game Footage
Sep 18, 2011, 20:21
17.
Re: Cancelled Avengers Game Footage Sep 18, 2011, 20:21
Sep 18, 2011, 20:21
 
Maybe it's not a typo...perhaps the game got cancelled because they expected Incredible Hulk, but instead it was Isomorphic Hull whose power is to change characters by one letter without the author knowing. Think about it...this super hero is incredible...he's moosed up blue's posts several times. And, there's plenty of authors who made the New York Times Bestseller lists that have been co-op'ed by this Marvel Hero.

Edit: I am Isomorphic Hulm.
Let's Rock!
Avatar 21182
18.
 
Re: Op Ed
Sep 17, 2011, 22:35
18.
Re: Op Ed Sep 17, 2011, 22:35
Sep 17, 2011, 22:35
 
That's not on targe...it's like saying removing stimulus improves immersion. Take that to the limit and it's like he's saying we would be more immersed with text based games! When the target is immersion then more stimulus is required in order to compensate for the fact that it's not real thus our own senses are hampered. Two senses are all we really have in a video game...sight and hearing...and even that input is heavily simulated.

In computer games we depend on the visual stimulus to replace the normal sensations...in fact the more stimulus the more immersed we become. Now, if you cover up one of the stimuli with another one then it defeats the purpose of the first one...so if you clutter the screen with inventory data then yeah it may be distraction, but it also adds more stimulus as long as the screen shows enough of the visuals. Heck...I'd go for an electric shock if my character gets electrocuted...some realizm goes a long way.

I just remembered that we had this same discussion when idsoftware added the damage face in Wolfenstein 3D. Some people thought it was obstructing their view and other thought it was cool ie. the technical details. But, what we learned later was that the visual indication of damage really helped the immersion level. But, id added a switch to turn it off...I think it's the people with small screens that have the problem...with lots of indicators and such their viewport shrinks from 17" down to like 15" and that's just too small for anything these days.

This comment was edited on Sep 18, 2011, 01:23.
Let's Rock!
Avatar 21182
28.
 
Re: New Gaming Peripherals
Sep 17, 2011, 02:38
28.
Re: New Gaming Peripherals Sep 17, 2011, 02:38
Sep 17, 2011, 02:38
 
I build my own mice...I didn't like it when they removed the middle button and I have not found a wireless mouse that still provides a middle button. So I buy large Logitech Mouseman mice and remove the guts and buy the best wireless mouse circuitry available and do some soldering so that the buttons on the mouseman are wired to the electronics of the wireless mouse.

For those of you that have tried wireless keyboards & mice and get disconnects and such then you are buying the cheap ones...which do not have very good electronics. I never get a disconnect and since the large mouseman has more space inside it I replaced the small battery of the wireless mouse with a larger one. A full charge lasts 6 months and I use my computer for at least 80 hours a week (I just looked at my Steam community page and it says I've played 142.7 hours in the past 2 weeks so at least 70 per week just playing games and I use my computer for work too).
Let's Rock!
Avatar 21182
1.
 
Re: Social Gaming Ready to Rumble
Sep 15, 2011, 13:11
1.
Re: Social Gaming Ready to Rumble Sep 15, 2011, 13:11
Sep 15, 2011, 13:11
 
If it's going to be a game that uses facebook then they should allow us to shoot the advertisements and for each time we kill one Ad we get the advertiser's personal marketing data so we can sell it to their competitors.
Let's Rock!
Avatar 21182
17.
 
Re: Diablo III Encounters
Sep 15, 2011, 13:08
17.
Re: Diablo III Encounters Sep 15, 2011, 13:08
Sep 15, 2011, 13:08
 
dj LiTh wrote on Sep 15, 2011, 04:36:
Rockn-Roll wrote on Sep 15, 2011, 02:49:
...the game would have to "cheat" so that the player always lost when they were supposed to. Or, I suppose the player would have to jump from character to character so that they are always the one that wins.

Um....personally i'm fracking tired of push over games were i could be so drunk i cant even stand up, but i have no problem beating a game. I MISS the days where a game acually gave me a challenge. Now when i lose, i acually get excited because i think i might have a challenge ahead of me. But hey thats just me, good luck /w your iwinbutton gaming

You missed my point entirely...the game won't give you a challenge...it will actually cheat i.e. if you battle away at the enemy for hours or even days and rise up to the challenge and whoop up on the entire enemy except for one remaining after the slaughter...that one enemy could just be a camp follower or a dog even...but the game will give it an infinite health and you would never be able to kill it...you would spend weeks or months or years thereafter with your troups getting bitten bite after bite as each one dies of the bite wounds while the remaining enemy doesn't get hurt no matter what you do to it. It's actually the scenario that I laid out where the game probably plays better if you are drunk...the game will compensate and cheat so that the outcome is always what it needs to be. For example the reverse would also be true...let's say you must win a battle for the story to continue...it would mean that even if your strategy is so dense that all your men get wiped out...the game will leave one standing and give it an infinite health so that no matter what the enemy throws at you you won't lose.

If you went back and read some of my posts like for the past 5 years or so, here as well as lots of other gaming forums, you will see that I consistently indicate that games are too easy throughout the majority of the game and only become a challenge when it's a boss battle, but the boss battle isn't any fun if it's just shooting the same enemy over and over and over especially when you learn that it's just a trick that kills the boss. For some reason developers refuse to give us more enemies to fight...they increase the health and damage for individual enemies, but rarely just give us more to make it a challenge...and I don't mean continuous waves of 3 or 4 enemies...that's just not as much fun to me as having one wave of 10 enemies...that's a challenge...lot's of running and shooting where combat skills really make a difference but none of the tricky shoot the eye when it glows junk.

I think this trend started when developers started designing for consoles where aiming and combat skills aren't as important as positioning your character in a specific spot and pressing the scenematic key so you can watch your character do the combat for you. There was a time when increasing the difficulty increased the number of enemies as well as their strength...providing that increased challenge that you are talking about. But, that wouldn't be fun for console gamers...they don't want more aiming...they want more complex button presses to take out more elaborate enemies with cooler looking scripted combat moves...so that the "skill" becomes pressing buttons in the right combination for the right time for the right enemy. A good example is Batman: Arkham Asylum. The opposite of that is where combat has everything to do with aim and movement where you need to keep your crosshairs on the enemy while firing a weapon while sidestepping and crouching and jumping to make it harder for the enemy to keep their crosshairs on you. A good example is Team Fortress 2 (though playing the Spy class is more like a console game which is why I don't like playing Spy).
Let's Rock!
Avatar 21182
55.
 
Re: This is not new
Sep 15, 2011, 07:33
55.
Re: This is not new Sep 15, 2011, 07:33
Sep 15, 2011, 07:33
 
Vektuz wrote on Sep 14, 2011, 23:57:
This is client side prediction and has been used in games since 1996, in Quakeworld.

I don't think so. Prediction is what causes lag...when the client receives a packet which indicates that something is in a different place from where the client thought it would be then the client changes it's location...it seems to jerk into it's new location. When this happens a lot then we call it laggy because things keep moving around while our character seems to be standing still...or sometimes the client has reached a prediction limit and freezes.

It sounds like what they are saying is that the client data is correct...and the server changes the location of objects for that client based on what the server receives from the client...as long as they are reasonable...this keeps the client rendering smoothly, but means each client has it's own set of server variables. Unfortunately, when latency is above like 250ms then after awhile some clients will be displaying something very different.

Where the problem will be is when there's lots of action and more than one client might be giving their player the same reward...what it sounds like is that the player with the faster connection...better ping...will get the loot while the player who played just as well as the other player...at least from what they can tell...will get disconnected? Or, do both players get the rewards? Or will the rewards not be immediate? I think Blizzard needs to clear this up.

I don't think there is any way to avoid lag without introducing something worse. The only client for which latency is not a part of the equation is a single player client...when you add a server and another player then you either have to wait until the server tells the clients what the other player is doing or the two clients are going to be presenting a different game to each player. Something else I thought of is when players team up and the actions of one player have to be timed so that they immediately follow the actions of another player...there's no way to make this happen without a server to pass on the other player's action to the player that needs to follow up with their action. It's not even something that can be predicted.

I encountered this exact problem today while playing TF2...a medic had an uber built up...and for 3 times in a row either he died or I died before the uber worked for both of us...he sometimes saw the uber start to work then I died and I also had instances where I saw the uber start to work then he died. The problem was caused by a sniper that the server says received a fire button press before it received a fire button press from the medic. There was no way to predict it, so for the duration of the total lag amount the medic and/or myself saw the uber start to work until the server came up and slapped our hands for predicting something that didn't happen because one of us was dead.

How would the Diablo client/server process handle this? I don't know, but it sounds like the medic and myself would both get the uber while the sniper would also get credit for a kill. But, we would see something very different unfold for the other players...I suppose the sniper would see something very odd...the medic or myself would have died, but some of the other players around us would be dying without any reason. I suppose in this situation the server would disconnect myself and the medic or perhaps the sniper? I don't know.

What I can tell is that client-side prediction with server authority has been in use for a long time and a lot of players are comfortable with it...why try something that would be strange?
Let's Rock!
Avatar 21182
280 Comments. 14 pages. Viewing page 1.
Newer [  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  ] Older