[Bugreport / Request] The 255 player barrier

[Arkensor 96]

Hello there,

 

my community experienced a pretty strange behavior when it comes to the amount of players, shown in the arma 3 server browser and third party server tracking sites, which work over the SteamAPI.

 

But first things first:

 

The default server which we base this error on has a maximum of 255 players, which is the value from the server config file. This bug does not does not exist with server's which have got =< 255 max people. You can have got 255 players online without any issue. We have tested that, and had no problems.

 

To proove this I can provide 2 screenshots:

1) This is a server with 1 HC connected with a max of 255 players. Note: Steam does not count HC at all, which makes sense, that is why there is 0/255

 

2) This is a server with 1 HC connected + 1 Player (me) with a max of 255 players

 

==========

 

Now this was the case that it should be.

 

To now the critical number of 255+ in the next case 256.

 

Again 2 screenshots:

1) This is a server with 1 HC connected with a max of 256 players. Note: Steam does not count HC at all, that is why there is 0/0.

 

Now, this time Arma displays 256 people, Steam does not. However, Steam does not display, nothing ... It displays: MAX-Players - 256 = 0/0

To see the difference here is another screenshot

 

2) This is a server with 1 HC connected + 1 Player (me) with a max of 256 players

 

This is the point where the bug appears:  We have got 1 real player, and one headless client. The server browser ingame displays 2/256  - however Steam does 2 - HC = 1 / 256 - 256, which results in 1/0

 

To approve that the amount of the max players, has to do something with 255 look at this:

 

2) This is a server with 1 HC connected + 1 Player (me) with a max of 300 players

 

The numbers can be produced like this:

1 = 2 Players - 1 HC (not getting counted from steam) / 300 - 256 = 1/44

 

To put it into a nutshell, it would be very helpful if you @BI Developers could either fix that strange error, or have a nice little chat with your mates at valve :)

 

This error can be reproduced at any given time, under any given circumstances. You just need 1 dedicated server setup, and a player.

 

As a final result, 300 people on a server results in 44/44 players, displayed in Steam and all websites and tool, which use the SteamAPI, like gametracker, arma-server rating sites etc.

 

What we have tried:

• We contacted BI over the feedback tracker, which they told us to go to the steam developers (Yes we try thing one again right now).
• We contacted Gametracker.com staff, and other websites if they had an idea, how to fix that
• We contacted steam, over ALL email links ,that had anything to do with their development department. I got one email back from the costomer service, telling me that if I have got an issue with paypal, I shoud contact them. Well played steam, your support bot fails all the time. WOW. No response from any valve dev at all.

Since 6 weeks, I try to reach out to anybody that could deal with that, and no one was able to help. I hope that either a community member has an idea why this happens / how to fix that or that the BI staff can contact Valve directly to resolve that with them together.

 

That it happens with 255 + players, and then the amount is subtracted with 256 seems, like it is not random, but a max size for a steam query buffer, or a security max size. At some point in the steam api, there must be a bug, a variable that is limited to 2 ^ 8 = 256  or something like that ... 

 

If I should provide more information feel free to ask me any time.

 

Thank you very much for reading

 

 

Regards Arkensor

[sarogahtyp 1108]

Every variable has a limit somewhere, represented by the bits or bytes its using. In that case its 8 bits or 1 byte as u calculated above.

I think the next possible size would be 2 bytes which means 16 bit and a maximum value of 65536 states represented in that 16 bits which means it could be 65535 players then because 0 is a state too.

 

I ve never seen a server with about 200 players ( maybe i never looked for it). Why should that value be increased?

[terox 316]

I fail to see the player cap at 255 as an issue.

Unless things drastically changed in the 1.56 patch, your dreaming if you think you can run with that many players and get any FPS at all.

This smells to me like an RPG, "Life" type server query where player numbers are everything and QOS means very little

 

If I am wrong and you really can run 255 players with a playable FPS, let us have your secret, because you are the only one

[Arkensor 96]

I ve never seen a server with about 200 players ( maybe i never looked for it). Why should that value be increased?

 

We are running 200+ players since 1 1/2 years now, and we increase our server performace every day, so that we were already able to play on 255 people online.

Our server cps and fps are still high enough to ensure that the player's are not getting limited in their performace.

 

The actual reason why wo do not go higher, is that people with a cheap laptop or weak gaming pc, having so many people online reults in massive drops to their fps. That is why we stick to around 225 players.

However we already come up with a way to give even more space to people without any loss on performace or client fps ...

 

And that is why we want to go over the 255 limit, to see what is possible, to max everything our, to find our the limits. 

 

We tested 255 people, and it is possible, also not only for testing, but as a permanent maxplayer count.

 

Getting everything out of arma, is what our community loves, and we are always excited to get even more performace. But right now, we can not progress futher due to the 255 people barrier ... we could go higher, and say, well we do not care if the server displays 5/5 people, when we have got 260 online, but well that looks very stupid.

 

 

It would be nice to remove that barrier, so that we could see how high we can get, and stay there.

Also this topic is a bugreport / reuqest not a place where I tell stories about our performace or discuss if a arma 3 server should have that high amount of servers, so please keep things close to the issue.

 

 

Regards Arkensor

[SavageCDN 231]

Would you be willing to share your server specs and config files (server.cfg and basic.cfg)?  As Terox said if you're running over 200 simultaneous connected players then you're doing something that no one else in the community has been able to accomplish (at least to my knowledge).  This info would be very helpful for other server operators.

[Sturmgewehr 15]

If someone wants to test our hardware / setting with his mission (over a weekend). Then just write an email to contact@zero-one.cc.

Condition is: Constant number of players and the experience with the ASM Monitor (before / after comparison).

It would be a test for future planning.

 

https://forum.zero-one.cc/user/601-sturmgewehr/

[lordprimate 159]

im sorry this is going to be off topic .. however, I would LOVE .... LOVE to play on this server with 255+ people ... just for the experience.. can you pleas PM me so i can get your server info, mods needed etc... I would like to try this out... PLEASE.. i have never EVER seen a server with over 100 players in it... PLEASE LET ME IN!!

[Arkensor 96]

@lordpirmate look into your inbox :)

 

Back to topic ... 

 

Is there really no developer from BI, or anyone who remotely feels like looking that this "problem" ?

 

I know there might be more important things to do, that habing a look at this, but since the bugtracker is offline, we can only use the forums ... 

 

It would be nice to have some feedback. Maybe it is not a problem from Arma III at all, since the ingame server broswer is 100% correct, but then what is the problem ? Is there any developer who is in contact with Valve, who could help us ?

 

 

Regards Arkensor

[Dwarden 1125]

this is known issue with query vs max value (anything over it goes negative)

be glad we pushed Valve to fix the one where the limit was 128 not 256 ;)

for now I would prefer focus on quality of gameplay in range of 128 to 255 players than trying push unrealistic threshold

[Arkensor 96]

this is known issue with query vs max value (anything over it goes negative)

be glad we pushed Valve to fix the one where the limit was 128 not 256 ;)

for now I would prefer focus on quality of gameplay in range of 128 to 255 players than trying push unrealistic threshold

 

Thank you very much for that explanation.Well then, it seems that we need to stay within that range.

I am glad too, that it is not 128, since that would have been pretty boring.

 

Maybe ask them to increase that limit, for something like Arma IV :D

 

 

Regards Arkensor

[chris5790 24]

Goddamn is 255 not enough? There is no need for more than 200 players... This is just hell playing on servers with more than 150 players. Instead of wasting time on such silly things BI could focus on much more important things like fixing bugs....

[yawalla 10]

this is going to be off topic @chris5790

....but: circumstances alter cases. 150 playable Slots on server A is not the same on Server B

#justsayin