--- Jonathan Wagner wrote:
> These are not "dogfight-only" problems. These are multiplayer problems
> which currently are not addressed well in the current multiplayer
> implementation. On the public servers with high latency, multiplayer
> flight can be choppy as a plane in your view "magically" disappears from
> your right view and reappears in your left view.
But critically, this only affects other aircraft in the current MP
environment - your own aircraft FDM is unaffected by network lag, or the
number of aircraft in the session. I don't really care if other aircraft
are a bit choppy as long as my aircraft is responding immediately to my
inputs. I should only be limited by _my_ hardware, not someone elses!
If what you are suggesting is that to use MP, we will have to run the FDM
on a server and accept a much lower refresh rate on the client, then I
don't think that is acceptable as it will make the civil MP experience
much worse.
I think our current MP architecture is superb for the following reasons:
- Setting it up is straightforward
- it is light-weight. The load on the client and server is low -
personally I have it switched on permanently - so people are encouraged to
use it for general flying, even if they are not flying specific MP
missions
- The environment is global - there is a single virtual airspace, no
matter which server you connect to (except for CVS vs. release ports)
All of these things mean that MP is a "no-brainer" for users, and help
populate the virtual skies.
If a new MP system lacks these qualities, it will not be as useful or as
popular. I cannot see a server-run FDM being able to meet these
requirements, as all aircraft in a geographical area will need to be on
the same FDM server, which may be on the other side of the planet from the
client. Additionally, the number of aircraft a server will be able to
support is going to be is going to be less.
My conclusion is that the dog-fighting MP protocol (using a server FDM) is
going to have to be completely separate from the civil MP protocol (usign
a client FDM).
-Stuart
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