mkg335:Don't know why you think this is a discussion for another thread, nor why you continue to waffle on the existence of problems, e.g. "if" and "whether there are or there aren't."
PhiEaglesFan: Therefore, the conclusion is that if there is a problem (a discussion for another thread) then the multiplayer code running on them is responsible.
This was intended to be generalized, not directed specifically at an existing issue. I should have said "if, in general...". My apologies for that.
"Discussion for another thread" is intended as a metaphor for, "It's not necessary to get into those details here in order to make this point about servers vs multiplayer code." No need to open up a new can of worms when there are plenty of cans already open. My post isn't focusing on the if. It's focusing on the why. I was attempting to keep the conversation along that track.
mkg335: [I] am puzzled by your seeming indifference bordering on denial of the disconnection and (!) screens of death that are being experienced by so many users across various platforms.
No denials. I've never said these things aren't happening. They are. Everyone hasn't suddenly gone mental. Where I catch the most heat is when I say why it's most likely happening.
There are others, besides myself, who have said, "I don't have those problems." Therefore, by knowing only that it means the problems are not systemic. Code cannot arbitrarily run itself as it sees fit. It's not intelligent. It follows a logical flow and runs the same, but it certainly gets interfered with differently. That's where our systems come in, and those are the unknown variables. Windows Blue Screen of Death? You probably caused that with any one or any number of actions you took. Perhaps an important system file was corrupted by a virus, or you deleted something you weren't supposed to. If the problem is not systemic, you immediately look to the user.
Any number of issues can exist on the user's end, from hardware issues, outdated drivers/software, garbage browser toolbars, malware, adware, viruses, bad/bloated registry information and any of the other various bad things and programs that exist on the internet.
Not everyone's an expert and that's fine. However, the majority of folks probably have at least one or more the aforementioned problems going on at any given time. They either don't know it, or don't know how to get rid of it. They don't advertise PC cleaning tools on TV because no one needs them.
Here's one last example. There are times (albeit few) when I can PING (not IM) WGT's game servers and I won't get a response. When I then trace the data packet's route, I often discover that somewhere in between myself and WGT is where the problem originates. If this should happen during my game, poof, I'm disconnected. Not my fault, not my ISP's fault, not WGT's fault. Third party's fault. The in-game example of this is the "ding and wait" where you hit your shot, send your data packet, and WGT doesn't immediately see it or it just gets lost along the way. Meanwhile, you're stuck in your backswing waiting. So you send off another packet, and another one, until one finally makes the roundtrip from WGT and back to you. Your guy swings and you're on your way once again.
andyson:
Did not know that. I wonder if that's still the case. I was under the impression it was in-house based on what I had experienced, but perhaps I got the wrong impression. The article does aid somewhat in supporting my point though. If everything multiplayer is served by this Neutron entity, and they are present across multiple games, they should be out of business by now for poor service. All of those other games would have dropped their service as soon as their contract was expired. That, again, points back to us users and to a much lesser extent, WGT. The WGT portion could be something like installation and/or API problems, but those wouldn't last more than 2, maybe 3 days. Typically when a contract like this is undertaken someone (or someones) at Neutron would've been assigned to WGT to help them work through the initial setup issues. They would remain on-call if something in the future malfunctioned with any piece of WGT code that interacts with Neutron's API layer and WGT can't figure out where the problem is.
AndreasHelke: wonder if they ever heard of object oriented programming.
Who's down with OOP? Yeah, you know me.