What do you guys see as the biggest obstacles to multiplayer...and how would you go about fixing it? I believe the #1 biggest obstacle to RF2 right now is (some...not all) of the multiplayer aspects. It can get a bit discouraging at times. I know from my personal experiences those MP negatives are the one thing I do not enjoy. Trying to join some servers can be a lesson in patience. It goes like this....You click to join a server...it says you don't have all the content...you agree to allow the download...it starts and you wait for a long time...it comes back and says not all components were installed. That can be extremely frustrating and can happen two or three times before you find a server within you have all the content to allow joining. By the second time most folks have stopped trying and moved to single player. Is one car and track in the file, the answer?
We already had this in one file before. It was more painful that you can imagine. So be careful what you wish for. Well what we have now works but only if host was nice enough to set get mod right with links to tracks for one to download if they are missing them. Problem is that some hosts don't do it right and it makes casual user seek for each missing content online. This is a problem of modable platform that allows end user to set things as he or she likes, but that enforce you to get yourself in sync with that what host wanted to have on his server. I see 2 solutions to this problem. 1. Hosts create servers with 1 car and 1 track vmods so it will be very easy to get the idea what's needed to join. However it criples the variety on servers. Second one is much much better however it might be difficult to achieve. 2. Allow every user to join a server that has for example F3.5 on 12 tracks in vmod. You only have 7 of them but you are still allowed to join only if a track that is being used at the moment is the one you own. As soon the track changes to a different one while you're still on the server and that particular server you don't have, it kicks you out of the server. I know harsh but at least you can race on that few tracks that are currently on and you own. Better than nothing I would say.
Before rF2 was released I pointed out the flaw in this current MP system. It basically forms an intricate combination lock. Where the server has X1, Y3, Z3.4 Tracks and Sun1.4, Moon2.2, Stars0.3 Cars and you NEED all of them to continue. You can't just join a server running with X1 with Sun1.4 even if you have X1 with Sun1.4 because the MP server is now bundled. The only legitimate solution would be ISI hosting all mods. We pay for multiplayer service and although sending mods out is a lot more bandwidth centric than just managing the frontend there are new and better technologies to do it. Currently the only way I can keep my circle of friends ready to play at a moments notice is to have everyone run http://www.bittorrent.com/sync and sync up their packages folders and even the installed folder on some. If I get a new mod it gets seeded to all my friends who's computers are left on. That way we ALL have the exact same version of all tracks and cars. A similar system could be licensed out and used by ISI themselves, built into rF2. Using the userbase to share the bandwidth requirements and sync up users. A subscription system like steam has on offer with their workshop.
The obstacles are: - vmods need to be created by hosts - vmods need to reference all content in the schedule, not just the 1 race - due to vmods referencing all content in the schedule, you cannot join unless you have all content referenced, even if you just want to race the currently racing items - servers cannot be setup to switch content without doing the above (to switch content, you need singly referenced vmods for content, and this means you manually activating them on the server for each different race) This has all been hashed out before. And it's something we are aware of and actively working within.
Sorry guys, this topic wasn't meant to ruffle feathers. I'm just trying to see if anybody has an inkling of how to fix the issue. It is a rather serious one where multiplayer is concerned.
Simplicity is the way to go. As i said before. RF2 is full of wonderfull stuff wrapped in a confusing and ugly package. Its like when you go eat something.....it could be the best meal in the world but the eyes are the ones eating first. Theres two ways of looking to this issue. One from leagues perspective and one from regular online gamers (non league ones). For leagues, its all in admins side. The "hard" work is made by them. Members just need to download from some fórum the stuff (mod, tracks, rfmod) and thats it. For casual online gamers the scenario is awfull. First of all, the laucher should have links to where they need to download stuff (at least ISI stuff). Not everybody knows about this fórum. Here starts the first blockage. Some random guy buy rf2, want to go online and need to spend some time searching on why he cant join a server, where he need to go to download stuff, how to install things and finally why after he has everything installed he cant join the server (wrong mod versions, track versions, etc). For a guy who read something about sims in the net and want to try this, it is not an easy task. I said before and say it again. RF2 has all the potential to be the top sim in every aspects. But ISI need to make a "restart" on many things, specially the ones around racing, cause racing is top in rf2. I remember well the RF1 message: Costumize, Control, Connect.........If rf2 had some message asweel it should be something along: Buy, search where is the fórum, read a bunch of stuff, ask another bunch of stuff or read a bit more, download Gb´s of content, go again on fórum and search how to install things, then go on multiplayer list and search for a server running your content.....its empty? Well, return another time. Simplicity is the way to go. PS- Why not having the "Install all avaliable ISI free content " option on launcher? Something automatic. Or something in laucher giving the ability to people choose there what to install in the moment. It makes no sense that all the oficial content is not on first install or at least in the launcher. Its just one thing, right, there are others. In the end we can have rf2 as it is, a great sim with complicated system, or we can change the "complicated system" to a "an OK system" suitable to everybody.
Well said Sir! ISI is making it complicated and nontransparent (right word?)! They should have learned that the casual or random customer is NOT - experienced with rF1, what make some things easyer - that full of knowledge about how to use options and resolve computer probs - patient enough for the ISI-way. Heck, they aren´t even able to read the EULA / terms of the product, to know that the update-function in the launcher is only aviable when purchase is active! They should be aware of that things and the fact that most users are....... lazy, at least!
