gilman10:
1) The server tells your computer where the ball is, and transmits some data AKA loading time.
2) Your computer draws it
3) You aim your shot, and set parameters such as club type, shot type, spin etc.
4) You execute your shot at which time your computer runs the swing meter
5) You either ding it or hit early or late.
6) Your computer calculates the ball flight based on pre-programmed formulas and you swing meter result and plays it on your screen.
7) Your computer transmits the results to the server, repeat from step 1.
Im not a programer, nor do I work at WGT. But, I with some thought you should realize this is about right. You see WGT does not have, nor want to spend the money on, enough computing power to run the game on the server side. Imagine having to calculate all these things and run everyones swing meter on their own hardware. And do it all for just the cost of golf balls and some advertisements. They would be locked into upgrading hardware as user base expanded etc etc. It is a much better business model to allow your customers computers to bear this load, and only deal with the minimal computing power and bandwidth needed to transmit and receive.
This being the case you see, the swing meter issues are due to software or hardware glitches on your own computer.
Ask yourselves this: Why would WGT want an issue out there infuriating players and potentially losing them customers? For the price of a few lost balls? No. Surely they would make more money in the long run if everyone was happy and kept staying in the game buying more golf balls. Wouldnt they fix this if they could? I mean the #1 issue making people upset?
Please do not take this as an attack, or start telling me that I dont know how this game works. I agree, I do not have intimate knowledge, but neither do you. So what you need to ask is "what is more likely".
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. As it is, I have downloaded NOTHING onto my computer that would do such complex calculations. I merely login to WGT and their server recognizes me, all my attributes, my equipment, skill and experience levels, etc. My own computer knows nothing about WGT until I login to WGT.
As such, "what is more likely" in my opinion is that WGT is, indeed, running server-side. If it was already running off of our own box, Internet speed would be irrelevant. The meter would be smooth and any delay in the return signal that would be specifying the swing meter results would be after-the-fact and inconsequential to game play.
If nothing else, how could you explain the noticeable increase of swing meter balks over the weekends, when WGT's servers are under the crunch? My computer doesn't know or care what day it is, and all other CPU horesepower claims have been shut down and a game booster has killed even more unnecessary background processes that might compete with the incoming signal from WGT. Still not good enough.
And man, I'd suggest that you and I both would be schickled tittless if we were to be awarded even 0.01% of the monthly revenue WGT makes off of "golf balls and some advertisements." WGT is a friggin' gold mine based on selling balls, clubs, attire, accessories, taking a rake on all "money" games, oh, and selling some advertising.
Why they choose not to fix the swing meter problem is truly a mystery, but it might be the way they are raking it in now, even with things NOT at all joyous in Mudville. They might have come to the conclusion that it really doesn't matter whether they fix the swing meter or not.
Happy or pissed, there's a schidtleaude of us who are willing to keep buying balls and putting up with that damned balky swing meter, hoping perhaps against hope that the CEO or COO will suddenly find a "white hat" lying around at WGT and will make things right, whether it bolsters their bottom line or not. Hope springs internal.