Multiplayer Questions (DONT FLIP OUT!)

Hi, before anyone says "USE THE FRICKEN SEARCH BAR" I did, and this isn't about suggesting multiplayer, its a question why its so difficult to implement, I haven't been able to find an explanation on why it cant happen and or be implemented, so if anyone could explain it that would be great, thanks.

 

I used the fricken search bar and found this:

Didn't even take two minutes to find. :/

 

Wow. didn't have to be a dick about it. good for you, you can search better than me.

 

>insulting other people because of your own incompetence


edit @ below post:

>calls someone a dick
>is unaware that calling someone a dick is an insult

Good grief.

 

How was that insulting, I was just saying how you approached telling me about it.

 

BACK on topic gentlemen,

It sounds like the "RoR" approach would be best. Input lag is the absolute worst thing in any game. However, improvements should and expectedly be made from RoR's system.

-my 2 cents

 

This thread makes me want to clap slowly...

 

I dont think online, full contact multiplayer will ever be a thing with Beam. That is, unless supercomputers and fiber optic internet connections become widely available and practical.

@Zappymouse, I love you <3

 

I just had an idea. Please tell me if/how it's not possible or already been suggested before. How about each computer does the physics and damage for all the cars in the server/game and each person's computer just tells the other computer things about the vehicle they're driving like steering and throttle/brake input and location so that the other computers can figure it out. Would be hard on some computers with more than 1-2 other players, but could it work and be lag-free?

 

personally all i'd like in terms of MP is a Lan mode (i guess code wise it'd be the same as OTI multiplayer)

 

I had the idea at one point in time to spark a discussion (a discussion, not an argument) about where communications technology is at versus where it would need to be to allow for even rudimentary multiplayer. Nothing meant to force down the throats of the devs, or to blame them for the current state of internet connections. Numbers, estimations, prospective technologies, etc. for those of us too in the lay about technology.

I can't say for sure if it has. From where I stand, you could be describing:

• Server-based multiplayer, wherein one, powerful, central computer calculates all physics and input responses, and the other computers are dedicated toward input and display, or
• Some odd form of averaged computing, where each participating computer calculates the physics on all objects and takes inputs, and any discrepancies between the results are averaged out among the various calculations.

If the former, yes, it has been suggested. Input lag is the biggest roadblock there. If the latter, no, I don't believe it has.

 

No, I mean that each computer sends out stuff like position and throttle/brake/steering inputs to all other computers on the sever and those computers each do the physics and damage calculations by themselves. Basically like having an AI vehicle right now, except another person across the world is controlling it.

 

Ah, I see what you're saying. However, not sharing any information between computers except inputs will likely result in events on one computer not matching events on the other. Slight discrepancies in the physics or latency in the inputs may result in one car doing extremely different things on different computers.

 

Regardless of that, his idea is actually very good. Yes every player would see something different, but it still would make for interesting and fun game play, also it would be much easier to implement. It would mean frequent refreshing though since over time the cars would become more and more desynched, either that or everyone resets together.

 

Also beyond the scope of latency and transferring the data, you have to remember each computer might have trouble handling the calculations even if they were in real time. Multiplayer with full functioning physics with more then a few cars wouldn't really be feasible except for people with very powerful machines. I can only handle about 6 cars at max, so any multiplayer with physics would have to have small server sizes.

 

You could have the other computers sent basic locations. Like, maybe 4 or 8 locations on the vehicle are sent to the other computers so that they can figure it out and correct themselves if the vehicle ends up where the player isn't.

 

The problem in that is in BeamNG the cars don't have only 4 or 8 locations, they have thousands depending on the nodes and beams. Transferring only a few would allow for kind of what RoR has. It would mean no damage as the computer wouldn't be transferring the location of each node on the car.

*Edit So we've heard talk about same PC multiplayer, and the problems of latency and lag for transferring data over internet, what about over lan? I think lan would be the next step after same pc since it can transfer must faster with just about no latency.

 

Most threads suggest implementations and there are some dev replies I believe.
http://www.beamng.com/threads/11402-Tutorial-Searching-the-Forums-Efficiently

 

No, I mean that the 4-8 locations so the other computer can figure out what the rough location of all the other nodes/beams is and the control inputs so that the other computers can figure out what's going to happen next like the driver hitting the brakes instead of transferring all of them over the internet.

 

Ok i might not get what your saying. I was saying that driving around transferring 4-8 locations would mean when you crash it wouldn't send that data. You could have each user's computer calculate all the crashes, but with the physics BeamNG has, and the latency between hitting an object I think on each different PC the car would be damaged as the latency would change where the car hit, and at the speed.