Netcode question

#1 Check out this url:

garagegames.clipper.net/articles/gdc_networking/index.html

It covers how Tribes2 networking works.

#2 Maybe i missed it but i don't see the information that i watned. I only need ot know if the netcode sends info about other players/things in the whole server or just in a certain radius of a person

#3 Hmm...your're absolutely right. My apologies. Now -I'm- curious. I'm sure they must use a culling system of some sort...anyone else know?

#4 Matthew,

No, it does not send information about clients which are out of scope. However, the definition of 'scope' get's pretty tricky.

If an object is near you, it's more likely to be in scope. If it is a player, it's more interesting than a vehicle, which is more interesting than an item. Projectiles heading in your direction are more interesting than those going another direction.

Players moving across your field of view get more priority than those moving parallel to your view.

... and many more.

All of this is done each 'update' (32 miliseconds) and packaged into a packet. The engine fits whatever it can into the packet for that update, then calls it quits. Thus you always get the most important updates, the less important stuff just gets tossed. In this way, you may recieve information that is not directly displayed on screen, but more likely there isn't enough bandwidth beyond updating what's in your face.

I recall most of this being stated in the document actually. I'll have to dig around again. Go through the Power Point slides too, they cover some other ground.

I'm working on a clone of the net engine in Tribes 2, it's a really nifty system.
--Bryan

PS: Garage Games Networking Forum

#5 Thanks Bryan. I remember this was a difficult area when they were designing the Unreal netcode. First they just updated anything that was visible. But then something may be just around the corner but making a sound, so they had to test for that too. I'm going to have to look through the ppt file again.

#6 ah ok that's actully good so that means less coding i will have to do for getting the netcode more MM compatible.

BTW can anyone tell me how tribes 2 is with lag on a 56k or slower?

#7 It is surprisingly smooth. There is some lag but that is to be expected on a 56K.

#8 Actully you play games using the half-life engine like CS? No lag even on AOL except when you get packet loss, which isn't much. the second I push foward, i move foward and i'm actully there not just client side there, server side there!