Forum Thread

aesthetocyst
aesthetocyst Posts: 538 Critical Contributor
edited May 2018 in MPQ General Discussion
Forum post.

Comments

  • CNash
    CNash Posts: 952 Critical Contributor
    aesthetocyst wrote:
    The "crash penalty" simply needs TO GO.
    Come on. Matches execute on the user's device. Have the game write match status locally after every so many moves. Erase the file when the match concludes. When an account logs on, if the server shows that account as having been involved in a match (and we know the server tracks this, since it already knows when to "retreat" on the player's behalf), have the app check for a match progress file and resume if found. If no file, then retreat the match..

    This is a good idea and I wholeheartedly support it. It eliminates player frustration while also making it impossible to "cheat" by quitting the app if things aren't going your way. The match progress file would need to be encrypted, naturally, to prevent industrious players with jailbroken devices from editing it. And you'd need to come up with a solution for players who use more than one device.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    I agree Aes




    *bump*
    aesthetocyst wrote:
    The "crash penalty" simply needs TO GO.

    Neither the user nor the developer can possibly control all variables, prevent all crashes.

    Proactively penalizing all players in the name of preventing potential cheating is morally bankrupt.

    When an OS updates, or an update from D3 conflicts with a particular OS/platform, players are arbitrarily hurt and D3 looks inept if not malicious.

    A basic function in developing any application, and particularly mobile apps, is instituting crash recovery.

    MPQ's only crash "recovery" is to assume any match in progress was terminated intentionally by the player, and to treat it as a retreat.

    Come on. Matches execute on the user's device. Have the game write match status locally after every so many moves. Erase the file when the match concludes. When an account logs on, if the server shows that account as having been involved in a match (and we know the server tracks this, since it already knows when to "retreat" on the player's behalf), have the app check for a match progress file and resume if found. If no file, then retreat the match.

    Get it done.

    Make it happen.

    Stop ripping off innocent players.

    Thanks.
  • darkmagearcanis
    darkmagearcanis Posts: 401
    I do agree with this as there have been many times that the game has crashed mid match only for me to come back and be penalized for no fault of my own. I will mention that PAD has a great recovery format to prevent things like this. If the app closed suddenly it would start off where I left off when playing.
  • dider152
    dider152 Posts: 263
    Thank you. This is a great suggestion. Now, it doesn't even need a crash. If the phone rings in the middle of a play session and you are on mobile, if you take the call and talk for too long, you may be kicked out, registering as a retreat. If you press the home key to access the dashboard and click on another application, the game might kick you out. This game really needs to implement this suggestion.
  • Xeonic-Ice
    Xeonic-Ice Posts: 176
    This is routinely my #1 frustration with the game. I play on Android mostly and it's extremely irritating to crash on load for a match. Zero input by the player and treated as a force quit. Hell, I'd be happy if it only saved my state for a minute so I could at least relaunch the app and get back to my game.

    Crash on load happens to me at least once per day now. By not having any system in place regarding crashes is either ineptitude or laziness.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Well, on the plus side, it helps with the sale of health packs, so we've got that going for us...

    /raging cynicysm

    DBC

    P.S. Bonus geek-tron points to the person who names the quote source...
  • SnowcaTT
    SnowcaTT Posts: 3,486 Chairperson of the Boards
    Steam crashes on me at least once a week as soon as LR's open. I really wish they'd just make characters have full life after matches (hey, they've claimed they sell almost no health packs) - this would solve crash issue, and also let people play the events on their own timeframe.
  • Linkster79
    Linkster79 Posts: 1,037 Chairperson of the Boards
    Sounds great in theory and I am fully behind this but for one small thing......This game is already a massive drain on mobile data allowances and it seems to my ludite brain that this would just add to that.

    Like others have been saying ever since True Healing came into force, fully heal after each battle to further allow for a more flexible and enjoyable experience.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    To be fair you guys aren't exactly innocent, you're supporting Apple icon_twisted.gif
  • Dauthi
    Dauthi Posts: 995 Critical Contributor
    aesthetocyst wrote:
    CNash wrote:
    aesthetocyst wrote:
    The "crash penalty" simply needs TO GO.
    Come on. Matches execute on the user's device. Have the game write match status locally after every so many moves. Erase the file when the match concludes. When an account logs on, if the server shows that account as having been involved in a match (and we know the server tracks this, since it already knows when to "retreat" on the player's behalf), have the app check for a match progress file and resume if found. If no file, then retreat the match..

    This is a good idea and I wholeheartedly support it. It eliminates player frustration while also making it impossible to "cheat" by quitting the app if things aren't going your way. The match progress file would need to be encrypted, naturally, to prevent industrious players with jailbroken devices from editing it. And you'd need to come up with a solution for players who use more than one device.

    Thanks for the response. I'd take the risk of people fiddling with the file over what we currently have now, which is being dinged hard every time hardware or software hiccups.

    Further, think about it. The most important element in this game is usually time. Are you going to bail out on purpose, edit a file, and relaunch into a match .... in the middle of a shield hop or a PVE grind? no. Whatever advantage you gain would be erased many times over by the time lost and hits taken.

    Typically programs are created to do all this for you in less than a minute with a simple to use GUI. Giving local control to the user is asking for hacks, and that can ruin a game very fast.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Dauthi wrote:
    aesthetocyst wrote:
    CNash wrote:
    aesthetocyst wrote:
    The "crash penalty" simply needs TO GO.
    Come on. Matches execute on the user's device. Have the game write match status locally after every so many moves. Erase the file when the match concludes. When an account logs on, if the server shows that account as having been involved in a match (and we know the server tracks this, since it already knows when to "retreat" on the player's behalf), have the app check for a match progress file and resume if found. If no file, then retreat the match..

    This is a good idea and I wholeheartedly support it. It eliminates player frustration while also making it impossible to "cheat" by quitting the app if things aren't going your way. The match progress file would need to be encrypted, naturally, to prevent industrious players with jailbroken devices from editing it. And you'd need to come up with a solution for players who use more than one device.

    Thanks for the response. I'd take the risk of people fiddling with the file over what we currently have now, which is being dinged hard every time hardware or software hiccups.

    Further, think about it. The most important element in this game is usually time. Are you going to bail out on purpose, edit a file, and relaunch into a match .... in the middle of a shield hop or a PVE grind? no. Whatever advantage you gain would be erased many times over by the time lost and hits taken.

    Typically programs are created to do all this for you in less than a minute with a simple to use GUI. Giving local control to the user is asking for hacks, and that can ruin a game very fast.
    I mean, you can already tinker with the ingame store and give yourself a bunch of resources. You just get sandboxed if you're caught. I can't think of a hack that would do something much better than that.
  • Dauthi
    Dauthi Posts: 995 Critical Contributor
    ArkPrime wrote:
    I mean, you can already tinker with the ingame store and give yourself a bunch of resources. You just get sandboxed if you're caught. I can't think of a hack that would do something much better than that.

    That is easily caught, how would they catch this? There is no history or evidence, they would have to assume you are up to no good because you crash often.
  • _RiO_
    _RiO_ Posts: 1,047 Chairperson of the Boards
    Dauthi wrote:
    ArkPrime wrote:
    I mean, you can already tinker with the ingame store and give yourself a bunch of resources. You just get sandboxed if you're caught. I can't think of a hack that would do something much better than that.

    That is easily caught, how would they catch this?

    In exactly the same way. The user may hack the failover data, reload the match and finish it. But when the match finishes, that still communicates state with the server backend. And that still allows the developer and publisher to notice any discrepancies.
  • Pylgrim
    Pylgrim Posts: 2,328 Chairperson of the Boards
    I completely sympathise with your sentiment, but even your well-thought method is ripe for abuse and you don't even need tinkering or hacking. Just a way to figure how often the game saves a "state". Then if the AI gets a bad cascade or happens into that last few AP they needed for their nuke or whatever, you quit the app and reload from the previous state and do things differently.

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