Joining during a battle

[Gunny 0]

I want to have an ability to join the game during a battle like any good MP games (Quake, HL...). Its a core of the MP. Players want to have a choice - connect and disconnect to servers at any time. The game will become more dynamic and more players will spend free time on servers cause they will be able to connect to any free server at any time and start the game immediately.

Give us Freedom!

[nQr 0]

Gotta agree withthis one, we need more on line players, and this is the way to go!

[quiet 0]

Agreed!

It can be made server or vote optional but as you it's the way to go.

[morbid 0]

BIS have already stated that it is unlikely that they will do this

[Gunny 0]

Thats why ive started this thread - where are no game features which are more necessary than the joining during a battle.

[Showstopper 0]

Right, that's a MUST HAVE for any MP game. Sort of a standart - you have mp, you must have this feature. First on the list.

[Col Rambo SBS 0]

Agreed on this point.

What happenes if you put up a server with infinate respawn and a time limit of 60 min, then people are stuck for ages waiting for it to restart.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE , BIS, you must reconsidder this point. it what made the Deltaforce games such a success, and dommed others.

[B Dumphuck 0]

Yes, we definitely need a way to build MP Server communities. I've had a server up nearly a month and barely anyone plays on it except our regular folks. People want to join a game in progress, not wait 45 minutes.

How about a server setting to allow it if the server admin desires? Or, at minimum, allow the server op to set up "respawn ability" in any map, and let the map run all day if he wants. People can pop in and out at any time.

Without MP enhancements, the game will die. Nothing worse than waiting 20 minutes for a game, and bothering people playing for information on how long the wait is, and then having the server admin take the server down on you.

[quiet 0]

That's very true, especially if you something goes wrong a person needs to be able to reconnect.

Also, a suicide feature (even if admin only level) would be nice if there are problems of getting stuck.

But mid-game join is a necessity if you want this game to become more popular or keep an audience.

[quiet 0]

One thing you could do is have it so if someone wants to join mid-game it turns into a vote.

Then if teams are unbalanced that person joins that particular team - then another dialogue comes up where the leader of that team decides that person's role.

Or to keep the game fair, if it's a non-coop (though I think coop should respawn) you have it so that person who joins mid game is not close to his other comrades - at least that way it appears the person is being deployed from a far off location.

Good or bad idea?

(Edited by quiet at 11:05 pm on Oct. 14, 2001)

[v4nd4l 0]

i love counter strike, i realize that this game is NOT counterstrike at all, but i love the tactical idea of this game, i agree on the "mid game join" idea.. i hate having to look up game IPs, then see if i can join, then see if anyone is even IN THERE! its such a hassle.. ( i wish my gamespy would work)

[quiet 0]

Yes, this sure would be nice. Or if it can't be done, at least report to server front end programs the time left in a game so people aren't stuck in the in-game lobby.

But in-game joining is the only true answer. Just consider it reinforcements, which is pretty realistic for wartime simulations.

[quiet 0]

I apologize for pushing this really hard, but I believe it's a necessity for the game to survive.

I've been asking a lot online MP friends if joining mid-game can make or break a game and they basically said if it wasn't for joining mid-game they wouldn't be playing most of their games.

I think the dev team here should seriously look into option (joining mid-game) to sustain and encourage (sell more of the game to) a larger base of MP OFP players.

Thank you.

[Loafer 0]

By enabling a feature such as this it would allow map-makers to have large scale wars using the whole of the island and respawning/resupplying. The qualities of a sector control type game with each side battling for ownership of towns and key facilities/high ground etc would be awesome. These maps could be played over several hours. Currently you have to play limited time to allow others to join the fun.

I know the netcode isn't up to large numbers of players yet, but the implications of introducing this feature would really give it an edge in the marketplace.

Jus' dreamin...

[quiet 0]

I say add the feature and just implement a warning about lag... work on the netcode from that point on.

[quiet 0]

Suma,

Do you see this thread?

I believe this simple feature - and expanding more players would make this game what 'world war 2 online' only could hope.

Thanks!

[suma 8]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">

Do you see this thread?

I believe this simple feature - and expanding more players would make this game what 'world war 2 online' only could hope<span id='postcolor'>

Yes, I do see it.

As I already explained several times before, implementing "Join in progress" would be very difficult for us, as the code is not prepared for it. Basically the difficulty lies in this:

When player joins game that is already running, complete state of the world (all vehicles, all dammages to static objects, all soldier, flying bullets, playing sounds) has to be transmitted to him. Something similiar is done when game is starting, but on the game start you know many things cannot be happenig yet (nothing is destroyed, no sounds are playing). The ammount of information that needs to be sent for a new player would be terrible and there would be a lot of new message types we would have to introduce.

From the resons above, I can say that almost certainly there will be no patch for OFP that will enable "Join in progress".

[quiet 0]

Thank you for the honest response.

If that's the case, I suggest one piece of information be transmitted in two different places:

Time remaining - for mission - in the in-game lobby.

Time remaining transmitted to the master server to show as a ruleset on front ends such as ASE, Gamespy, etc. how long the game has left.

Is that possible?

Thank you. =)

[Col Rambo SBS 0]

If thats the case, my Flashpoint will be likely to be binned.

Join in progress is, as you said, likely to be very hard to do, this does not mean impossible.

For this reason, I play other games online lots more than I play Flashpoint, even though Flashpoint is superior in every other way. i will be Sticking to the DeltaForce series for now, as I can jump in for a quick battle when I have 10 min to spare, and this time is not lost sitting waiting in hope that the server will be reset for me to get in.

You ask people for feed back, well this is it. For serious Online players, this is a "Must Have " feature.

Why create a Super human being, and forget to give him 2 eyes !

You need to look at this seriously, otherwise it will have a knock on effect of sales of Flashpoint, as many people are purchasing it for the Potential multiplayer fun, which is completely lost by having to wait for a server to restart.

We are a patient bunch when we know something is on the way, but we need assurances from you that you will try.

The Extra missions, Vehicles and Weapons can all be added later, the MP aspect needs addressed first and foremost.

Dont get me wrong, I do like the game, but i prefer playing online than offline.

Thank you for listening if you have done.

[quiet 0]

Rambo is correct.

Despite how great the game is - and it's an amazing game, people will most likely end up playing other games due to the fact they can't simply join mid-mission.

Most of us have time constraints, and being able to join up in a game while it's playing adds to the fact it's for entertainment, not an essential part of our lives.

Too bad, this game has great potential. =(

(Edited by quiet at 4:28 pm on Oct. 15, 2001)

[Bronco 0]

"From the resons above, I can say that almost certainly there will be no patch for OFP that will enable "Join in progress".

Well that blows. Hope you guys are working on a new game which will include joining the game in progress. Because the life span of this game has been cut in half by leaving that feature out.

[Gunny 0]

Absolutly true,Rambo. For now people play the game offline but the real potential of the OF is great MP battles and without such patch it will be just another game not serious tactical shooter...

[suma 8]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Time remaining - for mission - in the in-game lobby.

<span id='postcolor'>

This is possible only in some mission types (CTF, Deadmatch) and even in those only when Server decides game should be terminated after certain period of time (other possibilities include play to certain score). Even in this game everything is handled internaly by mission scripts and game engine has no direct access to the infromation.

For many mission types (Coop) mission termination is determined by achieving some objectives - in this case it is almost impossible to make even an estimation of time left.

[WheelchairWho 0]

yea joining in progress just wouldn't work for co-op missions, or doesn't make sense.

For deathmatch or CTF, fine. we had someone join during a game on a CTF map, not sure how he did it.

[Bronco 0]

How about a smaller Island (death match Island) designed for join in progress games. This could be a small area so less data needs to be transmited to each player as they enter,with or without vehicles. A place where we could jump in and shoot each other. And for a more serious game take the time to setup the game as we do now. The join in progress maps could be included in a patch so everyone has the same map.