large Lan game setup tips :-) ?

[capri2_77]

Hello all, i am setting up a lan game for our company's users conference (we are "themeing" the conference after tron 1 / tron legacy this year, well sort of.) but i will have the opportunity to run as many machines on a lan as i can! - and we will assign users from companies to play together with their co-workers in teams against the other companies. it will be a ton of fun! (in testing, i cant get our employees off the machines!)

I have tested it so far with
- 1 server on a 10/100 switch
- 7 clients

Runs good (somtimes one machine might get lag, and others dont, wich confuses me) Perhaps i should get some ping diagnostic software to make sure each connection / cable / card is good?

I "want" to run:
- 1 Server (10/100 switch of course)
- 16 clients
- 1 spectator machine for the big screen display (i need help with this part! a top view of the grid in play is proving elusive)
I will settle for:
- 2 servers
- 6 clients (6 per server)
- 1 spectator machine per server

The clients i am using (stuck with them and their config, there not all that bad anyway) 19" Intel Atom 1.6 Ghz, 1Gig Ram 10/100 connection. Windows embedded (less stuff running). I have run the clients at max resolution and max detail settings.. they run good overall (no real fps gain from low to high res/detail). I have run the server (windows) on 1.6 Ghz Atom and 1.8x2 Ghz Duo. I got less lag on the faster machine, but that may be the network card.

My Big Issues: When I run more clients (more than eight), i get some bad lag at times, that makes the game play awkward. What approach do i use to remedy this? (faster server? swap to a gig card? inspect cat 5 cables? etc). [bad lag = more than a 1 second sync hiccup and jumpy bikes {like the bike is vibrating} - i would expect this 10/100 to offer me more room than that] - i understand the high level of instant play maneuvers this game requires, i just want to try to irorn out as many hardware, config wrinkles as possible to make it a smooth and transparent game play for these first time users. im not worried about FPS (because that is easily remedied).



Any help with the config appreciated too (i.e. max in / out rates etc.. basically whatever is ideal for my environment)

This might help you get a feel for the game play i am trying to run:
Rubber 2 or 3
Speed -1
Arena 1.
This will give them a movie style experience and the speed will give them a low learning curve. The touch of rubber will give them some room to screw up a little but still give them consequences for a bad decision.

My wish list for my run (i am almost certain this is possible, i just don't fully know how)
- I want to run a monitor feed of a "spectator' machine to the big screens (either one, or two, depending on how many servers i run). A top view of the game would be ideal. i toyed with some free camera settings and sort of got something close to a top view, but i had to use the mouse or keyboard at each round to reposition and rotate it (it was at an odd angle too - top view would be nice!).
- Pre assign the clients to teams (i can do this by having the game wiat for the last person to join, this might work)
- get the start: 3,2,1 to wait to for a server command (after everyone is staged, on the right teams, ready to go.. if this is possible it would be kewl!)

- like above, have it wait after the end of a round, before starting the next round automatically

My client and server are:
- 0.2.8.3 RC2 with modified movie pack.
- 0.3.alpha8870 "seems" to run faster. Ii have only run the client. i would do this one, but disabling the hud isn't immediately apparent to me. (yet)

Man, playing this with your team mates sitting next to you, hearing the other team talk in frustration as you nail them with teamwork is VERY VERY FUN. for testing I got 6 machines downstairs and a server on a 10 port switch with DHCP, i cant ge the kids to stay off (goofballs want high rubber settings to toy around). What a fun game!

I really look forward to this conference. I hope i can get some of these minor issues squared away, as it will make this already fun LAN game a blast!
Thank you for your input and help on this!

Chris

capri2_77@yahoo.com

[epsy]

Hell, I hope you're not running an April Fool's joke with a post of this length :)

(somtimes one machine might get lag, and others dont, wich confuses me)

Try increasing MAX_OUT_RATE (and MAX_IN_RATE if you like, too) on the server

My Big Issues: When I run more clients (more than eight), i get some bad lag at times, that makes the game play awkward.

I'd shoot sparks on this one, at least on the 0.3 clients. Turn them off. (The setting is just SPARKS, afaik)

- get the start: 3,2,1 to wait to for a server command (after everyone is staged, on the right teams, ready to go.. if this is possible it would be kewl!)

Tournaments use /admin start_new_match for this. It doesn't do any sort of countdown or warmup yet, though.

- 0.2.8.3 RC2 with modified movie pack.
- 0.3.alpha8870 "seems" to run faster. Ii have only run the client. i would do this one, but disabling the hud isn't immediately apparent to me. (yet)

You should consider 0.2.8.3.1 and trunk_alpha_z951_20100324, respectively.

Man, playing this with your team mates sitting next to you, hearing the other team talk in frustration as you nail them with teamwork is VERY VERY FUN. for testing I got 6 machines downstairs and a server on a 10 port switch with DHCP, i cant ge the kids to stay off (goofballs want high rubber settings to toy around). What a fun game!

:)

I hope i can get some of these minor issues squared away, as it will make this already fun LAN game a blast!

Good luck!

[capri2_77]

ha, its not an april fools post
I will give the sparks and max out a try this weekend. (are the sparks part of the server output and not the client rendering?)

so that i understand this better (re: "Tournaments use /admin start_new_match for this. It doesn't do any sort of countdown or warmup yet, though.") -- does this mean I can have the game "wait" to start until i say "start_new_match"? (if so, thats perfect.. and if so, how do i configure the server to wait in the first place? all i know how to do currently (in relation) is to set the min players and use that to keep it from starting.)

I really appreciate your reponse. thank you!
I will post monday with some results.

[Lucifer]

If you're willing to compile your own client, I'm sure someone here will be happy to help you get a client configured that can do the top-down view for you. (Maybe me, what sort of timeframe are you looking at? Also, if you have any money to throw at the situation......) I believe that will require a custom client, but shouldn't take too long to make.

If you're not using any new stuff that's in 0.3 or the trunk on the server, I strongly suggest running the same server version as the client. You're in a controlled environment, so you'll get the best performance by locking the versions down. Not that you'll suffer if you don't, mind you, but there are reports that locking the server and client versions to the same exact release helps with lag (and we're all skeptical, but while you're at it....).

You can also crank up the max in/out rates at least an order of magnitude higher than the default values. The default values are for servers running on a regular old cable/dsl broadband connection. I'd crank it up at least an order of magnitude higher and test again.

Look around for posts about multicore processors. I don't know if we still have any outstanding issues with them, but the timer hickup symptom you described sounds like one of the symptoms of a problem that only shows up with multi-core processors.

And finally, one way that I know of that seems to bring about a more consistent gameplay experience is to limit simulation frames. It doesn't give you the *best* gameplay experience, it gives you the most consistent. If you're running your two servers on separate physical machines, please disregard this paragraph entirely.

I would also disable ping on the HUD for clients for this event. No need to encourage "LAG! LAG! LAG! I SHOULD HAVE KICKED YOUR ASS!!!".

And finally, I would consider running 0.3.0 for the clients so that your players can have the mini-map. In fact, 0.3.0 for the clients (after testing, since it *is* considered unstable) and the most recent 0.2.8 release might be the best configuration. Of course, if you don't need all of the newest 0.2.8 features, you might even backtrack to 0.2.8.1 or 0.2.8.2.1. Since you're on a LAN and operating off the internet (at least as far as public play goes), you should be able to consider yourself reasonably safe from the exploits that are in those versions, and they more closely match 0.3.0 in network protocol. But you don't get the bugfixes that are in the newer versions, either. It's up to you. Maybe 0.3.0 for the client and server is the best move.

Just remember you have more options than what we normally talk about because you're on a private network hosting a server for private play. Our usual support requests are for servers operating on the internet for all to use, so the advice given for those requests may or may not actually apply to you.

[capri2_77]

Depending on the cost, i wouldnt mind paying for a top view client.

Who ever is interested: email me at capri2_77@yahoo.com
- or post here.

thank you for your help! best forum reponses i have had from anywhere.

[Word]

not sure what you mean by "top view", but you can check out the labyrinth camera

[capri2_77]

I havn't had a chance to try the changes yet (labrinth camera and maxin/out settings) on the server and spectator client.

I will update you guys as soon as i get time to config and run/test the server with clients.
thanks again for your help.

[capri2_77]

At the risk of sounding like a newbie.. how do I enable "labrynth" camera mode?
(is this version specific as well)

[Word]

(when you are playing, press Escape --->) Player Setup ---> Player 1 Settings---> Camera Setup ---> Set initial camera to "external", disable the other cameras if you don't like them, enable the Labyrinth Camera

[Phytotron]

Uh, yeah...Labyrinth Camera? Say what?

[ItzAcid]

Oo I've never heard of a labyrinth camera. Hope your massive LAN is a success and yes this is a great game for playing in person with a group of friends or employees. (school with armagetron is most definitely ftw, until county administrators block it )

[Word]

oh, that's just for my german version...try "mercam"

[capri2_77]

ahhh. i get it now. ok, the "external" / "labyrinth" cam is slightly above, flowing the bike.

What i was looking for was a full screen version of the top view - I believe beta version 0.3.x has a top view map of the game on the lower right. basically that - as a full screen output; to show onlookers the game in progress on the large conference screens.

[Phytotron]

Er, Mercam isn't in 0.2.8.x, either.

[capri2_77]

this might help explain the setup i am trying to do.

(iamge attached)