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Paul Vebber -> (6/18/2001 9:19:00 PM)
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on online play:
a) unlimited shots
when a unit gets stuck in this sort of loop itsbecasue teh target units computer is not acknowledging the data. The firer then gets reset and the shot "never happened". Usually moving on to another unit and coming back to it will help, but sometimes its becasue the firer computer gets out of synch with the target beasue a packet somewhere is misssed.
b) wrong opfire - same thing the firer "sees" the target in a hex that it is not really in, so it dfaults back to its old target.
c) timer - you will often see the timer "jump around abit" especially in multiplayer games as the game tries to keep synched to the other computers. It may not keep perfect time - but its supposed to give you teh idea of a limited time frame and how much time is left.
d) there is no easy way to get teh other machines to pause during opfire, if you keep it short (I use 3 sec) and use a little extra time, it can't be abused. If an opponant keeps "not responding" to opfire to waste your time, then I'd find another opponant.
e) Reinforcements sometimes unload offboard - when they do that they don't appear. This is a problem in some scenarios with loaded vehicels as reinforcements.
f) These units are not where your game thinks they are - if this gets to be a problem, save the game and email it to the opponent and start it again "resynched"
g-h) Limited intel is not perfect - it is assumed that you know whether its a Panther or a sniper that is shooting at you so you can decide to shoot back if the shooter is off the screen. some inapproriate messages still appear.
i) Sometimes the hit chance reflected is the wrong one (loses track of target), but when you shoot the correct one is used
j) Interface problem
k) Dust is smoke, so you can see it anywhere
l) He may know there are trucks moving, but if you move a tank one hex, then a truck many hexes or a truck one hex and tank many hexes, it quickly gets confusing as to whether it is a tank moving 1 hex 10 times or 10 tanks, or 1 truck, or 10 trucks...
Just like in other games (like flight sims) that try to use real-time data exchange latnecy and packet errors can lead to problems. THe "peer to perr" architecture we inherited from SP3 online makes teh "opfire confirm" a bit strange at times.
If you are playing very large scenarios (more than 100 units a side) of multiplayer, then its probably best to keep opfire confirm off. Every few turns, having one player save and send that file to the other players to "synch up" to will help. Cable modems or DSL help and a LAN is best (very few "synch problems"). Otherwise you have to chaulk some of this up to fog of war as the game goes on! I have found things like opfire triggering shots at the previous target to be helpful a lot of times :)
Our new games will use a Client server architectureand DIRECTPLAY, which will help online play, but in its current state it is at least as reliable as an ASL game where you realize you missed a shot, or miscalcuted odds etc. Tough to get is all perfect!
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