DUST Search - Credit for contributing to a kill

S Park Finner wrote:

ZDub 303 wrote:

...
Second is a coding issue... When you have multiple sources hitting a target and that target is receiving self reps and remote reps you can imagine how quickly trying to calculate WP contribution can get messy. If you assume its still only a maximum of 60 WP per kill, that means any point of rep would have to cancel out the damage contribution from another player. This means we need a table with the damage contribution of every single bullet with its own time index and player ID and a total sum for each player's contribution and then have one of these tables updating every 15-20(ish) microseconds for all players on the field. I understand PCs can do a lot but that sounds like a bit of strain and a lot of calculations... I'm not a programmer so maybe its not that bad but something tells me there is a reason why that doesn't happen in more games?

FWIW, an algorithm for this is well known. But the point of having the ability to do this server side is a good one. We can't answer that for the Legion servers.

For the masochists among us, an example.

Who fired and how much damage is done to a target is already known -- it's necessary to recording the damage to the target and giving credit for the kill if it happens.
How much damage is healed is already known -- it's necessary for repairing the target.
Each time damage is done the damage dealer's ID and amount of damage is pushed into a list associated with the target.
Each time the target is healed, the amount is subtracted from the contribution of the oldest damage dealer on the list.
When the contribution goes to zero, the damage dealer is removed from the list and excess damage is removed from the next damage dealer's contribution.
If the target is killed the list is used to parcel out credit for the kill.
If the target is fully healed all the damage dealers on the list have been removed -- it is reset.

So there's a lot of work. But it's not impossible and smart folks can come up with better solutions than the simple one above.

Only CCP can decide if this makes sense for their vision of game play and within the processing budget they have for the servers when everything falls out. Since this is server-side it isn't a Legion / DUST 514 issue if I understand their set-up correctly. The whole question of how possible it is will depend on how many hamsters CCP hitch up to the game when (if?) it comes out.


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ZDub 303 Escrow Removal and Acquisition Negative-Feedback 2980	Posted - 2014.05.22 13:37:00 - [1] - Quote I understand the desire to get more contribution for your kill, and having a kill stolen is always frustrating but there may be some issues with contribution based rewards. First is a design issue... The kill itself is what actually matters. If you deal 99% of my health and I survive and run away... I'm still a threat on the field. You've effectively done very little to remove me from the field... but that scout who cloaked up and ran all of the way around the socket, forgoing any opportunity at other kills, just to flank me gets that finishing blow. Does he deserve only 1% of the credit for actually killing me and removing me from the field? Especially if it took significant time to set up that ambush/flank? (fwiw I think fitting a cloak should reduce WP gains by 99% myself... because lolcloak amirite? ) Although just thoughts popping in my head... you could make damage WPs total to 40 WP and add a Killing Blow +20 maybe? A full hp kill would be 60 WPs then... same as a headshot kill. Second is a coding issue... When you have multiple sources hitting a target and that target is receiving self reps and remote reps you can imagine how quickly trying to calculate WP contribution can get messy. If you assume its still only a maximum of 60 WP per kill, that means any point of rep would have to cancel out the damage contribution from another player. This means we need a table with the damage contribution of every single bullet with its own time index and player ID and a total sum for each player's contribution and then have one of these tables updating every 15-20(ish) microseconds for all players on the field. I understand PCs can do a lot but that sounds like a bit of strain and a lot of calculations... I'm not a programmer so maybe its not that bad but something tells me there is a reason why that doesn't happen in more games?
ZDub 303 Escrow Removal and Acquisition Negative-Feedback 2980	Posted - 2014.05.22 16:48:00 - [2] - Quote S Park Finner wrote: ZDub 303 wrote: ... Second is a coding issue... When you have multiple sources hitting a target and that target is receiving self reps and remote reps you can imagine how quickly trying to calculate WP contribution can get messy. If you assume its still only a maximum of 60 WP per kill, that means any point of rep would have to cancel out the damage contribution from another player. This means we need a table with the damage contribution of every single bullet with its own time index and player ID and a total sum for each player's contribution and then have one of these tables updating every 15-20(ish) microseconds for all players on the field. I understand PCs can do a lot but that sounds like a bit of strain and a lot of calculations... I'm not a programmer so maybe its not that bad but something tells me there is a reason why that doesn't happen in more games? FWIW, an algorithm for this is well known. But the point of having the ability to do this server side is a good one. We can't answer that for the Legion servers. For the masochists among us, an example. Who fired and how much damage is done to a target is already known -- it's necessary to recording the damage to the target and giving credit for the kill if it happens. How much damage is healed is already known -- it's necessary for repairing the target. Each time damage is done the damage dealer's ID and amount of damage is pushed into a list associated with the target. Each time the target is healed, the amount is subtracted from the contribution of the oldest damage dealer on the list. When the contribution goes to zero, the damage dealer is removed from the list and excess damage is removed from the next damage dealer's contribution. If the target is killed the list is used to parcel out credit for the kill. If the target is fully healed all the damage dealers on the list have been removed -- it is reset. So there's a lot of work. But it's not impossible and smart folks can come up with better solutions than the simple one above. Only CCP can decide if this makes sense for their vision of game play and within the processing budget they have for the servers when everything falls out. Since this is server-side it isn't a Legion / DUST 514 issue if I understand their set-up correctly. The whole question of how possible it is will depend on how many hamsters CCP hitch up to the game when (if?) it comes out. Yeah, you are I are thinking the same thing, although if two people are firing simultaneously you would have to split up each bullet's contribution to a time ID. So Player ID - Damage - Time ID A - 30 - 1.25s B - 45 - 1.30s A - 30 - 1.30s A - 30 - 1.35s B - 45 - 1.40s etc etc and then have repairs remove listings from the top of the list. Programmatically its probably quite simple... that's a lot of calculations done per second though considering that would have to be done for each player in the game. I'm not a server engineer but its sounds like a lot of work for a battle server to have to deal with. Have you seen a similar system used in another game?