DUST Search - Ongoing network problems in Chromosome

Cal Predine wrote:

Just wanted to point out that (despite a few decent experiences) these problems are still very much in evidence.

While the Reykjavik game show is on, I took advantage of the ability to select my own server (rather than subject myself to the dubious mercy of the matchmaking system) to run a highly un-scientific test.

I discovered exactly what I expected to - playing from south coast UK, I should be able to expect the best playing experience on the EU server in Amsterdam (about 350 miles away)
Playing on the EU server, I saw one of my very worst scores - 11 deaths, 4 kills. Yeah, I try not to dwell on K/D either, but *come on* Ugh

So just as I was about to quit in disgust, I thought "I wonder..." and tried a North America server. 5000-odd miles away.

15 kills, 4 deaths.

As I said, highly unscientific, but ably demonstrates just how painful the experience is playing on the EU server from south coast England.

Any chance of someone from CCP finally at least acknowledging that there is a problem, and that they'll investigate it with their server hosts?


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Cal Predine StarKnight Security 37	Posted - 2013.01.16 20:49:00 - [1] - Quote Sadly, the network problems observed soon after the release of Chromosome continue... As a result I've been testing increasingly less and less just lately - it's frustrating to exist solely to pad more fortunate players' killboards on what has become a very uneven playing field. Nonetheless, following today's hotfix to improve server performance, I thought I'd give the game another shot... First game appeared to be running OK, but soon after first contact with the enemy it became clear that (as has become the norm) my weapon was inflicting very little damage. Soon after that it became clear that no server communication was taking place - I could move, but: other players were running in place, one player's weapon sound effect was constantly looping, I was unable to interact with the game environment in any way Damage output had dropped from negligible to zero. After a moment or two, I was not in the slightest surprised to find myself returned to my Mercenary Quarters, just minutes after the start of the match. Undaunted, I gave it another shot. First contact with the enemy was at long range, so i coudn't be sure whether the lack of damage output was simply due to my newly-reset character's skills not being up to long-range combat, although the laser-bunny next to me seemed able to take anyone down pretty quickly. This is a signature problem of this build and the associated network issues - lots of assists, but (even after continuous fire) no kills. So I ran forward. Took an enemy completely by surprise, and managed to pour two or three seconds of sustained fire into him at close range. After this time (while I was still firing), he turned and shot me down in less than a second of gunfire, his shields barely dinged. That was when I quit. Now let's be serious here - the gameplay experience is profoundly broken, and (given the fact it wasn't this way before Chromosome arrived) it looks like something has been broken with the update. We all want this to game to work and be the great success it deserves to be, but please take a reality check - if the player experience is this unpleasant when Dust goes open beta, you know it's rather likely that the early reviews are going to kill the project outright. I think it'd be useful to have a thread to comment on general issues which are apparently network-related - lag, for sure, but other issues like hit detection, outright loss of connectivity to the game, being kicked back to MQ etc, so I'd invite any players in a similar situation to comment below. And I'd also request you add the following details when you do so, so CCP has the best possible chance to track our problems down: Player location: EU (South-coast England) Network Connection: 20Mb cable broadband Network problems outside Dust: None WiFi or Wired: wired connection via Gb Cisco switch Router config: PS3 is DMZd, although problems are also evident using port forwarding and UPnP. Problems persist when router is swapped for a completely different make and model. Other observations: Connections to my "local" game server are being routed via Texas... Perhaps you could ask your server hosts to advertise their routes more aggressively, or else choose supplier with more universal network connectivity?
Cal Predine StarKnight Security 37	Posted - 2013.01.19 15:54:00 - [2] - Quote Had hoped to post this on 17th, but... well, couldn't! I joined 6 games tonight, sort of . First game started as a barely playable experience, and degenerated over the few minutes I was in the match, until I was booted back to my MQ. Second and third games were basically playable, but everything was a massive struggle. After completely out-maneuvering the enemy on several occasions, my reward was not a quick efficient take-down I might hope for, but a number of seconds of protracted gunfire at their undefended flank (to little effect), before they return fire, which rapidly stripped me of shields and armour. Rather dissappointing and frustrating, so I decided to quit for the night. However, after a break from the crazy girlfriend that is Dust, I decided to try again a few hours later. She knows we love her... Fourth game I got the familiar experience of watching the loading wheel for a long, long while, then hear the crunch of your boots landing back in your MQ, so never even joined that game. Next game - well, clearly not right, but playable! At one point I even felt I was contributing to the game. So I joined another... And again quit in disgust after my first engagement where my weapon caused no or negligable damage to anyone I cared to fire it at (enemy weapons, as ever, took me down in a very small fraction of a second). So that's 9 games I've attempted over the last couple of days In 3 of these I was disconnected from, or never even made it into, the match, 2 were so bad I voluntarily disconnected. The rest were playable, but clearly not the experience we're hoping for. Now sorry to labour the point guys, but that's less than 50% of matches playable, with all problems (and IP traces) pointing to network connectivity issues, and I'll reiterate I didn't get these problems before Chromosome came along.
Cal Predine StarKnight Security 37	Posted - 2013.01.19 16:12:00 - [3] - Quote And again on the 18th... Completely different experience on joining Dust tonight... I'm not going to claim it was all kittens and rainbows, there were some small freezes and a few instances of the usual damage-dealing problems, but entirely playable and enjoyable to do so. In short, my game experience was absolutely fine for a public beta. I played a fair few games, actually managed to hit the SP cap! This may not siund like much of an achievement, but over the past few days it's been pretty much impossible due to inability to join/ stay in games, and lack of opportunity to actually affect the game world while there. Over time the usual problems crept in, so I tried resetting the console, but alas no luck - they were with me for the rest of the evening. Still, promising, and I'd like to think Dev action (maybe the hotfix?) may have at least partly been responsible? If so - good job! Fingers crossed
Cal Predine StarKnight Security 37	Posted - 2013.02.09 13:45:00 - [4] - Quote Just wanted to point out that (despite a few decent experiences) these problems are still very much in evidence. While the Reykjavik game show is on, I took advantage of the ability to select my own server (rather than subject myself to the dubious mercy of the matchmaking system) to run a highly un-scientific test. I discovered exactly what I expected to - playing from south coast UK, I should be able to expect the best playing experience on the EU server in Amsterdam (about 350 miles away) Playing on the EU server, I saw one of my very worst scores - 11 deaths, 4 kills. Yeah, I try not to dwell on K/D either, but come on So just as I was about to quit in disgust, I thought "I wonder..." and tried a North America server. 5000-odd miles away. 15 kills, 4 deaths. As I said, highly unscientific, but ably demonstrates just how painful the experience is playing on the EU server from south coast England. Any chance of someone from CCP finally at least acknowledging that there is a problem, and that they'll investigate it with their server hosts?
Cal Predine StarKnight Security 37	Posted - 2013.02.10 14:00:00 - [5] - Quote Cal Predine wrote: Just wanted to point out that (despite a few decent experiences) these problems are still very much in evidence. While the Reykjavik game show is on, I took advantage of the ability to select my own server (rather than subject myself to the dubious mercy of the matchmaking system) to run a highly un-scientific test. I discovered exactly what I expected to - playing from south coast UK, I should be able to expect the best playing experience on the EU server in Amsterdam (about 350 miles away) Playing on the EU server, I saw one of my very worst scores - 11 deaths, 4 kills. Yeah, I try not to dwell on K/D either, but come on So just as I was about to quit in disgust, I thought "I wonder..." and tried a North America server. 5000-odd miles away. 15 kills, 4 deaths. As I said, highly unscientific, but ably demonstrates just how painful the experience is playing on the EU server from south coast England. Any chance of someone from CCP finally at least acknowledging that there is a problem, and that they'll investigate it with their server hosts? EDIT - I swear it's getting worse - over 50% of games currently leave me wondering why I even bother opening fire, since my weapon's only effect is to draw attention to my presence - yes, that's right, I've completely out-manoeuvred the enemy and gotten the jump on them. However, once I open fire, they still have time to realise I'm there, acquire me and shoot me down before the game registers enough damage to take them out. Not ideal... I also just had the old "unable to interact with the environment.... then a long wait and you're back in your Mercenary Quarters" problem again.