Suma - multiplayer feature wanted in next release

[Lt_Dan_Sweden 0]

BIS/Suma, when you are changing the Netcode, why not make it so that a ABCmission.pbo, includes a pointer to the ADDONS needed and let them be downloaded too, if needed for the client?

If you don't the players will(already are) be divided in two camps:

1- Those only use oridinal addons from patches and cant play on all servers. Getting kicked/hung/crashed on every other server. Server having ghost players after client crash.

2- Those who give up manageing and controlling the addons, and simply downloads all, and I mean all. This very likely results in a buggy and memory leaking OFP which gets back at you guys...

I have 450 missions on dedic server, and I have no idea which mission demand what addon

One clan member has above 600 Mbytes in ADDON

So please consider and or respond to the suggstion.

[Puddle 0]

Yeah, specially the crash/ghost it so F($%* annoying, there should be a pop windows that stop the user to connect because he dont have the addon. Take example of Ghost Recon!

I'm frickin tired to see

nOOb connecting

nOOb connected

nOOb (2) connecting

nOOb (2) connected

nOOb (3) connecting

nOOb (3) connected

nOOb disconnected

nOOb (4) connecting

AEERRRRGH!!!

[Espectro (DayZ) 0]

"Downloading mission and addons file 64kb/235783kb" please stand by.

[joltan 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Espectro @ April 23 2002,09:26)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">"Downloading mission and addons file 64kb/235783kb" please stand by.<span id='postcolor'>

Yeah, that would suck. Especially as the player might have the addon needed already on his harddisk (hell, I got 1Gig+ of addons on my disk and only a handfull of them installed in my addons folder). Even with dsl downloading something like the winter islands plus the ranger addon would definitely take to long to be fun (and the players with 56kbps would probably just bail out anyway).

Better: give the player a list what addon is needed and thus the chance to install it for the next time he wants to play it.

[kegetys 2]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Puddle @ April 23 2002,02:58)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Yeah, specially the crash/ghost it so F($%* annoying, there should be a pop windows that stop the user to connect because he dont have the addon.  Take example of Ghost Recon!<span id='postcolor'>

I think it would be nice if people who do not have addons would not get dropped out of the server, but instead they would go to the "game in progress" screen or something similar, and they would get a message that they cannot join this game as there are addons missing. He could then talk to the players in the game about what addons are needed and where to get them instead of gettind a weird crash into desktop which usually results in an attempt to re join which causes that annoying join/disconnect flood.

[Vegabond 0]

The ghost problem sucks, sometimes The ghost cant be kicked and nobody can go pass to a mission..

[ALDEGA 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Lt_Dan_Sweden @ April 22 2002,01:52)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">why not make it so that a ABCmission.pbo, includes a pointer to the ADDONS needed<span id='postcolor'>

Each mission.sqm includes a list of all the required addons.

The feature would have to be like this. After a mission has been selected, read the addon list from mission.sqm. Submit that list to each client. Let each client check whether all the necessary addons are present.

If not:

- show a message on the client, displaying the names of the missing addons

- show a message on the host, displaying the names of all the players that have missing addons.

Additionally, if the game is launched, while there are players with missing addons, those player should be 'kicked' to the main menu (disconnect from server). Also those players shouldn't be required to press "START", only the players that have all addons. This would solve many problems with ghost players and thus not being able to launch because the ghost can't "press START".

[Lt_Dan_Sweden 0]

Aldega, the list in MISSION.SQS has a list of the Sub-ADDON needed.

For exampel. I make a mission which uses KegtOffArtic.pbo. and is listed in the Mission.Sqs. Fine. So now I go look for KegtOffArtic.pbo in the ADDON directory. There is no such PBO??? It's because the KegtOffArtic.pbo is a Sub-ADDON inside an ADDON called KegtKolgevXYZ.PBO that is 4 MEGS.

So your solution is not rocksolid, but i good start.

My opiniuon is that, yes a newbee, with 56 K trying to play without any addons (needing 20 Megs) would be aproblem.

My answer/solution.

BIS makes a script that during the download mesures

1 Size of download

2 Estimated time needed to recieve complete package.

Of course all Dedic servers should be able to EDIT 1 and 2 according to there capacity and choice.

This script combined with a ADDON_needed_log given to players who get kicked/diconnected would be a powerful solution.

[Gugus 0]

I want only join a game when I want... And not wait 30 minutes on the screen "game playing".

The new player could replace IA and load-balance team.

Flashpoint is the most expensive chat client that I know ! ;-)

[whisperFFW06 0]

Gugus, be prepared for a big flaming!

Join In progress has been discussed over and over here, and is currently impossible, due to the coding of the software.

Whis'

[N.o.R.S.u 0]

There's one problem though, you have to restart OFP to use new addons .

DL addon from server would be good for small and useful addons like editor addon which is used quite often in CTF missions.

[ALDEGA 0]

Lt_Dan_Sweden, if you have to download addon A (which uses addon B), then the readme of addon A will probably state that you require addon B to run it. If not then it's a fault on behalf of the addon creator. Anyway, it isn't a problem at all for the game to read the addons required for an addon. It can be done.

Also note that mission designers should use the least possible number of addons. And if server admins really want to have those addons in their missions, then they should post a list of necessary addons to play on their server.