Forums

Swing Meter Module

• gilman10 431 Posts

  Mon, May 14 2012 10:00 PM

  YankeeAirPirate:

  What you have described seems like quite a probable scenario -- but only for the fix I have been advocating -- a downloadable module/program that would do all that calculating on my own box

  Ok youve persuaded me. What comes as easy common sense to me and you eluded the team that developed this game. Clearly they put no thought into this beforehand, and even if they did, the scenario being advocated by you was too complex for the likes of them to come up with..... oh wait.

  Even if Ithe calculating of ball flight is done server side, there is no impact on your swing meter which is clearly done client side. Your computer simply transmits if its early ding or late, and shot type / aim after you click. There is no large quantity of data transfer while your meter is running for you to blame stutter on. Why dont you download a bandwidth monitor and experiment some. Is there more data flowing while the meter goes back and forth? 

  On the other hand,  anecdotal claims of having more meter stutter on weekends is much better than an actual test with data and clear criterion for measuring. Skip that last part.

   

   

• bearclaw27 553 Posts

  Mon, May 14 2012 11:17 PM

  gilman10:

   

  This being the case you see, the swing meter issues are due to software or hardware glitches on your own computer.

  Wouldnt they fix this if they could? I mean the #1 issue making people upset?

   

  So you think that every meter stutter is a result of a problem with the end user's computer...?

  If that is the case, then there are 5 million WGT users with faulty computers..

  In regard to fixing the 'meter' issue(or any other 'glitch' with this game), here is my opinion...Whatever it takes, WGT is making enough money now that they can afford to hire another programmer to resolve these issues..

  ****not sure why I am wasting my own virtual breath*****

   

   

• YankeeAirPirate 124 Posts

  Mon, May 14 2012 11:25 PM

  manabouttown11:

  Not sure if you are aware or not that your computer does not have a direct connection to the WGT servers. 

  My connection to the WGT servers goes through, at last count, 11 different servers before it gets to WGT.

  Try a traceroute and see how many hoops your connection has to go through before getting to the WGT server. If any 1 of those servers is overloaded the signal is disrupted causing slow load or jittery meter or even disconnects, which is most likely to occur at peak times. 

  Of course this only explains why this happens as the game stands now. As for a meter module, i'm not a programmer so can't speculate as to how difficult it would be to integrate a stand alone meter module into the current flash set-up.

  PREZAKLY! And I'm not much of a programmer, either (some Perl, C++, Javascript), but that's never dampened my enthusiasm for expressing bold opinions. I guess I'd just have a pretty hard time believing that it is, truly, impossible to incorporate a progress bar (swing meter) module into the current setup.

  The near photographic concept, the game play model, all top drawer programming and that in part is what makes the klutzy swing meter to damned aggravating. Such an inconsistency with the entire balance of the game experience that is just downright excellent.

  Hard to imagine that level of excellence coupled with that level of incompetence, or that level of disregard for member enjoyment. Excellent comment, manabouttown11. And a very good explanation of why it is such folly to try to run a real-time action game over the Internet that is so damned dependent on precise controls (swing meter accuracy)

  Like you say, all it takes is for one of the hops between your box and WGT's servers to get hit with a traffic jam and there goes your swing meter stability.

• bearclaw27 553 Posts

  Tue, May 15 2012 1:07 AM

  YAP...this thread, and your comments are right on target.... Hope it doesn't fall on deaf ears...

• kjarvis001 25 Posts

  Tue, May 15 2012 1:51 PM

  First, you have a valid concern. But in my experience with games of this type, your complaints will fall on deaf ears. They probably have read your post, but choose not to respond. That is the way of some internet game production companies.

  The EULA, does appear to cover such situations as you  described.

  But you really should read them before playing, entering support tickets or posting in the forums.

  The subject of the stuttering meter has already been addressed by WGT.

  I wish you good luck in your venture YAP.

   

• tangesazen 24 Posts

  Tue, May 15 2012 7:15 PM

  If the entire swing meter was running on the client side, it would be trivial to hack. I would guess that there is very little data being sent back and forth for each shot.

  I think the real problem is the meter skipping and zooming, and occasionally teleporting to the far right? I get that too on occasion.

  What they should do, in my opinion, is cancel a shot if the meter misbehaves. I would guess that it happens if one or more network packets are lost during the swing, so it would be possible to just cancel that swing and let you get to swing again.

  I think right now they are doing some predictive stuff like they do in FPS's, and for this type of game there probably isn't a need to do that.

• YankeeAirPirate 124 Posts

  Tue, May 15 2012 9:53 PM

  kjarvis001:

  The subject of the stuttering meter has already been addressed by WGT.

  And that's it? WGT has "addressed" the stuttering swing meter -- which apparently didn't fix a damned thing -- and that's it? Move along. Nothing to see here. All it well.

  Sorry, but I'm not so easily persuaded that an acual fix to the swing meter problem is beyond WGT's technical or programming abilities, and I won't just get used to getting ripped off by a leaping swing meter that steals a $1.50 real money ball from me. My grandaddy used to raise sheep, but I wasn't one of them.

• YankeeAirPirate 124 Posts

  Tue, May 15 2012 10:07 PM

  tangesazen:

  If the entire swing meter was running on the client side, it would be trivial to hack. I would guess that there is very little data being sent back and forth for each shot.

  I think the real problem is the meter skipping and zooming, and occasionally teleporting to the far right? I get that too on occasion.

  What they should do, in my opinion, is cancel a shot if the meter misbehaves. I would guess that it happens if one or more network packets are lost during the swing, so it would be possible to just cancel that swing and let you get to swing again.

  I think right now they are doing some predictive stuff like they do in FPS's, and for this type of game there probably isn't a need to do that.

  Excellent suggestion, tangesazen. Especially if cancelling the shot would refund a lost ball in the process -- like the whole thing just never happened. I could live with that. And apparently my area (western West Virginia) is obliged to pass through more server hops than many others as I get that "skipping and zooming" on more than just the odd occasion. Try every shot to some extent, and that's even after my customary 2-4 practice swings to try to smooth it out.

  Still, I'm curious as to what is the resistance is to running a swing meter on the client side. Take a look at some of the top scoring out there on just about any tournament. Preposterously low scores. One might suggest "humanly" impossible. Even with the smoothest swing meter possible, there's still the factor of finger-mouse reflexes, figuring the right amount of target shift for wind, the right amout of fade or draw for wind, the right amount of top/back spin (if any). And then presume that the game isn't going to "duff" one of your shots despite it being mathematically correct, and it damnsure looks like there is a schidtleaude of people out there who are already juking the system. So what if a client side meter would be easy/easier to hack if it provided a stable platform for the other millions who are already getting waxed by the hackers anyway. Hell, I'd be willing to do a daily download of a new algorithm or password for a client side meter if that would discourage hacking it -- if it'd have to be re-hacked every day.

• tangesazen 24 Posts

  Wed, May 16 2012 9:41 AM

  Just from my own scoring experience, I don't think that the low scores are from using hacks.

  Most rounds I just don't have the rhythm and bumble around the course. But twice I have shot 28 for 9, and once I shot 59 for 18. Someone who was actually good at this game could easily shoot the low scores we see.

  Your own scoring history is like mine - a 28 for 9 and 59 for 18. So you know how with just a few more breaks you could have shot lower as well.

• AvatarLee 1,644 Posts

  Wed, May 16 2012 1:09 PM

  To the OP... do me a favor, while you are in a game and ready to hit the ball, unplug your ethernet cable or turn off your wireless, hit the ball, and observe what happens.  What I think you will see is pretty solid evidence that the "meter module" or the meter portion of the game is, in fact, run completely from your machine.  THEN... re-activate your internet connection.... Surprise!  You hit the ball!

  Bottom line, there is no relation between internet speed and the smoothness/roughness of the swing meter.  What does effect it is all the stuff happening in the background (and network interrupts are some of those) during the swing meter animation.  There is no easy solution, but it is a problem between the user's computer, WGT programmers and Adobe Flash.