MultiPlayer Connection Method?

[TIK]

Appologies if this has been mentioned elsewhere, but I was wondering how we'd connect in MP in GWTC?

Is it like in PitF, or Direct IP?

Ideally, I'd like both methods [;)]

[SteveMcClaire]

Gateway to Caen will use the lobby interface, similar to Panthers in the Fog.

Steve

[TIK]

Thanks for the reply, Steve.

Personally, I'm happy with this. The lobby in PitF provides the easiest and most stable way to connect. And I play more PitF multiplayer than any other CC game for this reason alone.

I've mentioned it before, but I do have a couple requests. Could you please include a way of showing player ping? And maybe a way of being able to be notified when a player joins the lobby so we can minimise the game and do something else while we're waiting?

I know it's more work (which you probably don't need right now), but including these two things would really help a lot. Currently if a player is waiting in the lobby but is on another program, I can't contact him to let him know I've joined the lobby (maybe just have the game icon flash at the bottom). And the only stability problems I have are to do with lag - which is why showing ping will help.

Either way, thank you very much.

[Tejszd]

In addition to the lobby will the legacy direct connectionmethod be added back in?

Edit: being tied to any vendors servers is a risk. Atomic who developed the first 5 Close Combat games and if they had locked users to there servers CC would have died without being able to continue playing multiplayer. Now before you say Matrix is better here is a link to the Matrix COI forum where someone is asking (Oct. 8/2012) if the MMCC3 servers which added a strat map to COI are still running and there was no Matrix reply. Next post is in Dec. 2012 saying they are down and have been down for a while. Will the lobby be down a year or two after release like MMCC3???

[SteveMcClaire]

ORIGINAL: TIK
I've mentioned it before, but I do have a couple requests. Could you please include a way of showing player ping? And maybe a way of being able to be notified when a player joins the lobby so we can minimise the game and do something else while we're waiting?

Good suggestions, thanks. I'll file those away and see what we can do.

Steve

[SteveMcClaire]

ORIGINAL: Tejszd
In addition to the lobby will the legacy direct connectionmethod be added back in?

I don't think this will happen for Gateway to Caen but I understand your concerns and I will pass your suggestion along. Thanks.

Steve

[Platoon_Michael]

So does GWTC use a different Lobby than PiFT or will it be the same Lobby for online play?
Thanks

[SteveMcClaire]

Gateway to Caen will use a separate lobby.

Steve

[Kilovski]

Hi Steve,
Looking great, congrats to you, Cathartes Conrad and the rest of ye for working on this, it looks great! [&o] Just a suggestion which I also made for 'The bloody First', for connection purposes include an internet TCP connection option as well as the matrix lobby option, for the simple reason that Matrix games(hopefully not) might go bust sometime in the future, and we'd all be up s**t creek for online multiplayer if that ever happened [:)]

[Kilovski]

Any thoughts on adding internet TCP connection as well as having lobbies. Cathartes? Steve McClaire? Is it due to some coding issue, surely (not being a coder myself or anything) it would be easy enough? What are your thoughts and reasons for excluding it? It seems a no brainer to leave it in as an option as well as the Matrix lobbies, we son't at some point in the future not to be able to play H2H games[&:]

[CGGrognard]

Please consider adding the ability to see when players enter the lobby, so that the lobby screen doesn't have to be up. This would go a long way in creating MP matches more accessible. Currently posting a message on the board and waiting for a reply isn't the most effective method of match making, and leaves some players out of the MP community, while others find different ways of match making.
Anything that can be done before release to boost match making would be greatly appreciated.

[SteveMcClaire]

CGGrognard,

You mean some sort of notification when people enter the lobby, even when you're not running the game? That is a neat idea but we'd need some sort of software on the player's end to do it -- a small utility program that just monitors the lobby, or viewing the Matrix website perhaps.

Steve

[rmdesantis]

Personally, I have never had anything but trouble with the lobby and find it to be the worst implementation of H2H in the CC series.
I've played CC since the late 90's and FAR prefer direct connection. If the lobby were just there to find opponents, and then you switch to direct connection separately, then perhaps its useful. But in its present state, it's nothing but a mess in my experience.
But I know that Matrix is locked into the lobby system, which is why I volunteered as a beta tester to try to help improve it, rather than to continue to b*tch about the d*mn thing.

Mike

[CGGrognard]

Steve, Thanks for the quick reply.
Yes, some small utility program that would notify you when other players enter the lobby. This I believe would go a long way in improving the value and longevity of the game.
It's somewhat disappointing waiting in the lobby for a potential opponent to appear. It's worse when you've waited for sometime and no one appears at all.
Any method to communicate when those that own the game come online and are willing to play would benefit the game much. Thanks for listening.

[TIK]

I've mentioned this before and I agree completely with Grognard. If we could just minimise the game, then have the icon flash and make a sound when someone has joins the lobby, that would be ideal.

[Kilovski]

As usual, a simple question isn't answered![:@] @ Steve McClaire.... I've been playing Close Combat since CC1 on the Mac, I then switched to PC for CC3 (I thought the game was that good..Macs overpriced pieces of crap anyway), I've bought all the various iterations and reissues. I've seen the title switch between 3 different companies. I think CC is a great game and I'm looking forward to 'Gateway to Caen' seeing what the 3D 'Bloody First' game looks like. My simple question is asked out of love for this game, why for god's sake won't Matrix not add a TCP option as well as the lobby system. Matrix mightn't be here in 5 year's time(hopefully it will)and that would leave multiplayer games screwed. If the TCP option was included up until 'Last stand Arnhem', why oh why hasn't it been maintained? [&:]

[Kilovski]

@Steve McClaire....Whats the story with dropping the TCP connection

[SteveMcClaire]

Kilovski,

Sorry, I don't track the forum for Gateway to Caen every day.

The lobby system was added to centralize players, so people could find opponents easier, and the remove the headache of people having to open ports through their firewall / router.

The game does perform a direct connection if the host has the game port (1944) open on their system. You connect to the lobby purely to find an opponent and invite them to play. Once host and client are connected in this manner it will say "Direct Connection" on the multi-player screen and the lobby system is being bypassed at that point. If you see "Lobby Connection" after you've connected to your opponent, then there is an issue with connecting the two machines via port 1944.

Steve

[SteveMcClaire]

ORIGINAL: TIK

I've mentioned this before and I agree completely with Grognard. If we could just minimise the game, then have the icon flash and make a sound when someone has joins the lobby, that would be ideal.

I'll see what I can do.

Steve

[Tejszd]

ORIGINAL: Steve McClaire

Kilovski,

Sorry, I don't track the forum for Gateway to Caen every day.

The lobby system was added to centralize players, so people could find opponents easier, and the remove the headache of people having to open ports through their firewall / router.

The game does perform a direct connection if the host has the game port (1944) open on their system. You connect to the lobby purely to find an opponent and invite them to play. Once host and client are connected in this manner it will say "Direct Connection" on the multi-player screen and the lobby system is being bypassed at that point. If you see "Lobby Connection" after you've connected to your opponent, then there is an issue with connecting the two machines via port 1944.

Steve

So the direct connection code is still in the game and it is just the UI to allow players to enter the connection information themselves that has been hidden/removed making a dependency on company forum. If Atomic had done that originally CC would most likely not be still around today but since they didn't were able to keep playing H2H years after the company closed its doors....