Multiplayer is Unplayable

from Sins Forums
First of all, let me first say that I love Sins, and I am not exaggerating when I say that it is the most engrossing RTS I have ever played.  The Single Player is decent, but Sins really shines in multiplayer, and that is what makes the multiplayer lag issues all the more annoying.  I am on a college network, and I have no control over which ports are open.  I am perfectly willing to concede that I probably will never be able to host a game (until I get a new ISP).  What really Irks me is that even games I join, my lag is fine, but I will suddenly lag out.  THe game will simply "pause" for a really long time, and I will eventually be forced to quit.  I have played many RTS games in the past (on this network), and in some of them I had hosting problems, but I could ALWAYS reliably connect to a game as long as someone else hosted.  If I was the only one experiencing these issues, I would blame in on my network, but i'm not;  I have played plenty of games where other people have lagged out, and they have had the exact same problem.  And I have seen stardock/Ironclad responses in the forums that these are problems only a small group experiencing these problems, or even outright denying that the problems are occurring.  For 2 companies who are (deservedly) known for having excellent customer service, these are simply unnacceptable respones.  Please get to the bottom of these lag issues, and fix them, or this is will become a game that fails to reach its amazing potential. 
Thanks,
           Matrix
multiplayer
9,146 views 10 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top

... well ... some Strategist (at SD or IC) decided that ICO would use the P2P system ...

and according to another Genius ( The Monk ), what happens then, is that the host only synkronizes data that is effectively processed (« simulated ») by each of the other participants...

consequently ... the slowest comp & the most laggy connection in the ICO game drags down the flow of the P2P experience for everybody ...

but what do i know about that, anyway ? ...



Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top
I think the problem in the multiplayer version is the fact that you dont get a 30 second lag leeway before getting dropped like you do playing Warcraft 3 etc on Bnet. The drops are more instant. Which if that was the case on a blizzard game would be due to a crash but that isnt the case with SINS. I believe most of the multiplayer problems will be fixed in 1.03 patch
Elemental: Reforged
Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top
... well ... some Strategist (at SD or IC) decided that ICO would use the P2P system ...

and according to another Genius ( The Monk ), what happens then, is that the host only synkronizes data that is effectively processed (« simulated ») by each of the other participants...

consequently ... the slowest comp & the most laggy connection in the ICO game drags down the flow of the P2P experience for everybody ...

but what do i know about that, anyway ? ...



What exactly did I do to deserve your sarcasm?


the Monk
Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top
As mentioned above, one bad apple spoils the whole fruit tray. Happens in other games too, mainly Civ4. The fact you are often dropped probably means you are the bad apple. Host has the option to drop any player while they are lagging!
Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top
What exactly did I do to deserve your sarcasm? the Monk


the sarcasm was directed at SD/IC, and finally at myself ...

u kinda got caught in the middle ...

i do sincerely consider u a genius in network engineering, and i was just relaying a very valid info u had posted elsewhere : no sarcasm was intended ...

too bad we cant edit old posts on this forum : i would fit u in with less ambiguity ...







Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top
two threads on the exact same subject... oh well. https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/?forumid=406&aid=177863

well for me i sometimes get dropped because optus over here have a really crappy adsl 2 service. i get drop out every hour on some days.. so it would be cool if the devs could make it so u could rejoin the game u just got disconnected from.
Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top
As mentioned above, one bad apple spoils the whole fruit tray. Happens in other games too, mainly Civ4. The fact you are often dropped probably means you are the bad apple. Host has the option to drop any player while they are lagging!


I've already explained that I can play literally any other online game (rts or otherwise), some have hosting problems, but I can always reliably join games. And while I do drop alot from games (maybe 1/2 of the time), other people drop from games I'm in on a regular basis as well. Hopefully ICO will be fixed for the next patch.
Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top
... well ... some Strategist (at SD or IC) decided that ICO would use the P2P system ...and according to another Genius ( The Monk ), what happens then, is that the host only synkronizes data that is effectively processed (« simulated ») by each of the other participants...consequently ... the slowest comp & the most laggy connection in the ICO game drags down the flow of the P2P experience for everybody ...but what do i know about that, anyway ? ...


So, if I play a friend over the internet via direct IP connection through his router and I am not using ICO, I am actually at the mercy of his CPU ghz and his internet connection from his ISP?
Reply #9 from Sins Forums Top

@ Matrix67

Please don't compare games to each other from a "network transport" perspective as even if two games were to use the same protocol and even the same port number, they most certainly could/would be using same in a vastly different manner.

Sins uses a "pure" p2p network transport method, and as such requires both the host (who doesn't really "host" anything, but instead simply "synchronizes" all of the clients) and client to have their networks in order (ie. ports forwarded if NAT-filtering is too strict, firewalls on hardware devices such as routers/modems disabled etc.)

Please read my latest guide "Networking and SINS" linked-to from the "Technical FAQ" stickied in the "Technical" forum. It should shed some light on your predicament.

thanks,

the Monk
Reply #10 from Sins Forums Top
So, if I play a friend over the internet via direct IP connection through his router and I am not using ICO, I am actually at the mercy of his CPU ghz and his internet connection from his ISP?



That would be the nature of P2P yes whether your're using ICO or not. ICO is for "matchmaking", not hosting. Everyone actually runs the entire "simulation" on their own pc, the HOST (in name only) "synchronizes" the data between all clients, and as such the "slowest" of the clients can/does affect everyone.


the Monk