Host Advantage

At a guess, they have the lowest ping (i.e. 0 - it's local) and all the testing for whether or not you scored a hit is done on the server - so lag doesn't affect them so.

wonder if we, as developers, should consider gimping a player that hosts the server by a tad, treat his input, server wise, as incoming stuff but flag it for a small fraction of average pings.

Quote:

Original post by TheUnbeliever At a guess, they have the lowest ping (i.e. 0 - it's local) and all the testing for whether or not you scored a hit is done on the server - so lag doesn't affect them so.

Can you elaborate a little more. So since there is no lag their bullets hit you first? how does that make they shots stronger?

Quote:

Original post by isiahil Quote: Original post by TheUnbeliever At a guess, they have the lowest ping (i.e. 0 - it's local) and all the testing for whether or not you scored a hit is done on the server - so lag doesn't affect them so. Can you elaborate a little more. So since there is no lag their bullets hit you first? how does that make they shots stronger?

it wouldn't make them stronger, but it would increase the hit rate.

if you host gears of war is the server running on your xbox 360? Thats a bit gey seeing as you have to pay £5 per month to play online. Are there many dedicated servers?

Quote:

Original post by Riviera Kid if you host gears of war is the server running on your xbox 360? Thats a bit gey seeing as you have to pay £5 per month to play online. Are there many dedicated servers?

There are no dedicated servers on gears of war. Come to think of it I havent seen any console games that has dedicated servers.

On another note if you are on a dedicate server and your connection is alot faster then everyone else playing, do you benefit from this "host advantage"?

Thing is, on a LAN, where most competitions are, there won't be any noticeable lag.

The "host advantage" you speak of does not exist, and is merely an illusion caused by the extremely low latency hosts experience which practically gives them a much faster reaction time. Thus, they see you first, they shoot you first, they dodge you first, etc. Depending on the game, it might be a huge advantage or it might be none, but few games properly utilize lag compensation so in most it is a huge advantage.

You can generally notice lag compensation because you'll still get hit several times after you run around a corner or get behind cover. That is the downside to lag compensation - it gives some disadvantage to those with good ping and an advantage those with a worse ping. "Counter Strike" is a popular game with lag compensation (and the poor implementation is the cause of the "sticky bullets" effect where movement becomes difficult when you're getting hit)

Quote:

Original post by Extrarius (and the poor implementation is the cause of the "sticky bullets" effect where movement becomes difficult when you're getting hit)

I was under the clearly false impression that getting shot prevented you from running full tilt, sir.

Quote:

Original post by Ravuya Quote: Original post by Extrarius (and the poor implementation is the cause of the "sticky bullets" effect where movement becomes difficult when you're getting hit) I was under the clearly false impression that getting shot prevented you from running full tilt, sir.

I might be wrong, but I think the way I do because the "sticky bullets" effect is far from consistent and not only roots you in place, but can also slingshot you quite far back to a place where you are exposed (ie before you went around a corner). The way the lag compensation works is that the server saves old game states and when you send a packet saying you shot somebody (or maybe just that you shot, dunno), the server uses an old state based on your ping time (possibly with interpolation) to judge the shot for itself. I think it just happens to KEEP you where you were shot when it happens, so that somebody with a high ping can root you in place by repeatedly hitting you (each hit moves you back to where you were hit, which prevents you from advancing when the old states are far enough back in time). If that is the case, it's not exactly a "bug" or "poor implementation" as I called it, but rather a "poor decision" on the developer's part (IMO).