If valve were to implement a system where the lobby grabbed a server BEFORE the start game button was pressed, it could solve this problem, a little.
Let's say that as soon as you make a lobby, L4D will find a server for you, and tell you that a server has been found and reserved, and it has a timer showing how much time you have left in this reservation (5 minutes?). If that system was created and implemented, then people would be able to download the custom campaigns from the game server (or redirect server specified in the game server) that was grabbed WHILE IN THE LOBBY. Their progress could be shared with everyone, meaning the leader would know when everyone was ready to start. Then, they could just hit "Start the Game", and boom, connecting to a server, no time wasted searching for a server or waiting for people to download the .vpk's, as they would be downloaded while the lobby is filling up. Before anyone points out holes in this system: There could be a limit of how many people need to be in a lobby before a server is found. As long as people are downloading the .vpk, the server reservation would be extended, and the leader could start the game before it runs out if people haven't finished downloading. _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please visit: http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlds_linux
