Forum Discussion

5 years ago

Solved

Servers: Troubleshooting for EA/Respawn and Multiplay

Let's put the boot on the other foot... I'll put myself out there and say i think it's pretty unanimous that performance isn't that great in the games current state that's only getting worse as each...

discussion

apostolateofDOO
5 years ago
@Shertgun Respawn... https://twitter.com/i/status/1379338747846688769

DoYaSeeMe

5 years ago

@fuzzykeuh I don't think it got worse suddenly, it was gradual. This is due to the pandemic that added a lot of pressure, as the internet demand grew, also because of new stuff added to the game that requires more processing power, of more people playing, code changes to address various issues, etc.. Only a small part is actually servers, contrary to what most people think. People need to stop ignoring the fact that between them and the servers there are dozens of routers and hundreds to thousands of miles of cables that aren't perfect and are the ISPs problem.

Your assumption is simply wrong. Devs do bother with all the code a lot, because a great playing experience means is the most supreme reward for them, besides the fact that it also comes with a lot more profit than an unsatisfactory one. But this doesn't make problems solvable within the snap of a finger, if at all. Almost everything is life is a compromise anyway.

The lack of lag compensation would go in 2 ways. In the client authoritative version, the shooter would not see any hit registry errors, but would die from dead people's bullets and get hit behind cover far more often. Cheaters would have the opportunity of faking hit confirmations, steal loot, etc. Players dropping in hot areas would have loot disappearing from their inventory. In the server authoritative version, a shooter would get more no regs, unless he applies an unintuitive lead (think of shooting 1 meter in front of a target that's like 5-10m away from you to hit it and miss it completely if you crosshair is spot on the target). Sure, there's also the version you speak about, where you just send the inputs to the server, but that's the worst possible solution, as it adds a lot of input lag and much more pressure on the server. Basically, what you talk about is the same thing as cloud gaming.

Sil7erfox

New Hotshot

5 years ago

I don't know if they already did this, but it may be good improvement to reduce both server and client CPU workload:

Bullets have a max traveling distance depending on weapon, and also depending on line of sight (LoS) or aiming down sights (ADS). Client and server should only take care of the objects that are within these 3 variables, and details should be rendered according to them:

when heap firing or running around: the server should strictly take care of the few things a player can see on his LoS.
when ADS the above reduces considerably for both server and client, even more when sniping.
even sound should not be taken care of farther than a certain radius, all strictly on client side (i believe this already happens).

IMO, something must be done about netcode, the servers or both, and I'm sorry @DoYaSeeMe but as end users we actually don't care why EA/Respawn think they have in place the best solution when the fact is that every mainstream FPS game performs better than Apex Legends with far less budget (battlefield 1 is a good example).

DoYaSeeMe
5 years ago
@RayleenKovacs Improving workload is usually a continuous process, because it's not important just for this game, but for many others that might use this game engine or a new iteration of it. But data being transferred can only be reduced up to a point, from where you need to change core mechanics (for example simplify movement, make weapons hitscan, with no bullet drop, etc.), sacrifice performance (apply strong compression algorithms, etc.) or reducing security (give the client the authority over certain actions, reduce checks for suspicious behaviour, etc.).

I know what you speak of with limiting the distance for interactions, but Respawn went with Apex in this direction intentionally, the devs wanted something different than other multiplayer FPS games like PUBG, a game where players can enjoy a large map with a lot of different setups, interactions, rich loot, while also being under constant pressure, adrenalized.

Changing how the game feels is a big no-no, core mechanics and features need to stay the same or get refined further when the technology allows it.
- Sil7erfox
  New Hotshot
  5 years ago
  @DoYaSeeMe I never meant to change anything on the mechanics neither the game pace, this is about to make the game perform better, and it has nothing to do with loot (which should be randomised pre-game). Though I still don't understand quite well what you are saying... Are you a Respawn authorised voice saying "we wont fix this"?
  
  As I said before, Respawn can fill up their backlog with excuses and whatever "no-no" they believe necessary. In the end, we as users could'n care less about the excuses or valid reasons why the game is not performing. As clients that pay substantial money for battle passes and cosmetics we just want a smooth gaming experience and if we don't have it... you can guess what's next
  
  Fortnite, Valorant, Warzone, even Battlefield (whith a heavier and much more detail oriented engine for 64 players and endless destruction effects) have a better netcode performance.
  
  There must be something Respawn can do... If a crappy code game like PUBG got fixed, I'm sure Apex can be fixed too. Right?
  - DoYaSeeMe
    5 years ago
    @RayleenKovacs No, I'm not a Respawn authorised voice saying that they won't fix it. I'm a game dev that knows a thing or two about how stuff works behind, telling people to set their expectations realistically and maybe not throw money thinking magic will happen.
    
    The assumption that destruction effects are heavy on the netcode is wrong. It is basically a set of coordinates and an action id and damage output where it's the case, which are sent once or in a few updates. The animations of a destruction are often scripted, so that the server doesn't have to send the information for each small piece that gets blown off to all the clients. When destruction makes use of the game physics engine, there are only a few large chunks . An AI such as a Prowler in Apex can be heavier on the netcode than a destruction effect, as its data contains coordinates, animation states, etc., which is sent each update until the AI is disabled. This is why Respawn didn't let Prowlers to get loose everywhere in World's Edge.
    
    At this point, I believe the heaviest thing on the netcode and servers are the projectiles. First of all, because the TTK is high, there's a significantly higher amount of projectiles to be checked than in most other games. Then, it's about their effective distance, also much higher than in many other games (a Kraber can down someone at 700m away), which means that they have to be checked for their whole duration of their flight, against all potential targets in that direction. Also, the fall off the projectiles add more parameters to the hit calculation formulas. In the end, the data required for Apex projectiles is probably many times bigger than the data needed for hitscan shots in most competitors.