tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814591084344141656.post7536092949070939199..comments2022-04-11T20:34:56.519-07:00Comments on Gamer By Design: [IndieDev] Balancing Access vs. Experience; Where Should a Game Dev Draw the Line?Talarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684944568000522986noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814591084344141656.post-37036629598008264532016-01-12T12:08:21.200-08:002016-01-12T12:08:21.200-08:00+1, agreed. LAN or central server, or bust.+1, agreed. LAN or central server, or bust.Talarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17684944568000522986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814591084344141656.post-26996919705681126932016-01-12T10:03:19.490-08:002016-01-12T10:03:19.490-08:00It also occurred to me that Direct IP won't so...It also occurred to me that Direct IP won't solve your canonical example of the issue. The university wifi and wired networks are separate logical networks.<br /><br />But they will also be separate internal networks behind gateways. There won't be an IP that the student can type in and access from the other network. And the student has no control over the gateway, so forwarding ports and similar tricks won't work.<br /><br />So basically, Direct IP can't solve your base user story for the issue, making it a bad solution overall.<br /><br />Realistically, the only solution for the student would be to get his own wireless router, and then put the computer and the phones on the same logical network behind the router.Rohanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09090769681887119989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814591084344141656.post-63845126378901924092016-01-12T00:08:30.355-08:002016-01-12T00:08:30.355-08:00Internet norm latency is too high still, generally...Internet norm latency is too high still, generally. That's part of the problem :( Hence why we're on a LAN. We need near real-time communication between the phones and the PC to get the reaction fidelity required for smooth movement marker usage. Or at least as low as we can possibly get. We also can't really afford to pay for a central service at this point either. <br /><br />Both cons are currently insurmountable, which probably tells me I should just leave it as is and say, "Sorry, no dice."<br /><br />Your point about NAT and network topology is also spot-on, another reason to say "Sorry, no dice."<br /><br />All excellent ideas/points!Talarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17684944568000522986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814591084344141656.post-46213359052094004712016-01-11T19:29:08.814-08:002016-01-11T19:29:08.814-08:00I wouldn't do Direct IP. For one thing, you...I wouldn't do Direct IP. For one thing, you'll have an unfun time dealing with NAT traversal and other antics in network topology. You'll end up with a service that works in more cases than now, but still fails in a lot of cases.<br /><br />Perhaps consider a central server relay. The game signs into the relay and is assigned a hash. Phone clients sign in and use the same hash to connect. Your relay just routes packets from the game to the phones and vice versa.<br /><br />Pros: this is almost certainly guaranteed to work, regardless of network hassles. Your connection issues will be minimal, as long as both sides have access to the internet.<br /><br />Cons: latency will increase, but will be within internet norms. The big one is that you'll have to pay for this service, which includes a server and bandwidth.Rohanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09090769681887119989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814591084344141656.post-58875357323553963722016-01-11T17:23:56.840-08:002016-01-11T17:23:56.840-08:00We currently have no tech to check for latency, th...We currently have no tech to check for latency, though it wouldn't be that hard to build--a day of work to plan, build, test, then probably another 2 - 3 days to figure out UI (planning, building, testing). My estimate might be a big on the long side, though.<br /><br />And perhaps we should, as it gives users a way to check if the game is performing correctly rather than throwing us under the bus if their router is half-cocked.<br /><br />The problem is latency is variable, a one-time check wouldn't be sufficient--how frustrating would it be if we prevented you from playing if you just had a lag spike? Or later you get lag spikes, but we allowed the game to go forward. Far less likely on your own router (though not impossible, mind!) than over the Internet. The Internet throws all sorts of spanners in the machine.<br /><br />Still, a latency monitor in general is a good idea, regardless of the Direct to IP Address issue. Something to think about.Talarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17684944568000522986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814591084344141656.post-25642027497614372882016-01-11T16:51:27.824-08:002016-01-11T16:51:27.824-08:00How about make it possible to enter an IP address,...How about make it possible to enter an IP address, but if the latency is too high, pop up an error message instead of letting them play the game with bad latency. Maybe put up a message like 'Checking network latency' for a couple seconds while you test the speed.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04047841296728736073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814591084344141656.post-14738009929436684392016-01-11T16:26:13.228-08:002016-01-11T16:26:13.228-08:00That's my big fear. We don't exactly have ...That's my big fear. We don't exactly have a plethora of programmers to make it work super awesome if it turns out to be a bad idea, and removing a feature like that--even in Early Access--might be a Bad Idea™ as users might get really upset they could play, but then I took it away from them.<br /><br />Very good points overall.Talarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17684944568000522986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2814591084344141656.post-35236918839743121822016-01-11T15:07:34.202-08:002016-01-11T15:07:34.202-08:00That is a tough one, but I am leaning towards &quo...That is a tough one, but I am leaning towards "don't do it." We like to stretch to accommodate the customer, but I have been burned enough times allowing exceptions only to have the user come back and complain that it wasn't good enough and now they have an expectation that I will make it better that I am okay with drawing lines and saying certain things just won't be supported.<br /><br />Do you want people complaining that they cannot play the game or writing reviews that the game is bad because you allowed them to play with a problematic configuration? I'd prefer to just say sorry, the game was designed only to function under specific circumstances.Wilhelm Arcturushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07033496821708933394noreply@blogger.com