A Server Rant
Written by Kole   
Monday, 29 March 2010 22:21
I am so excited to share the next generation of amazing innovation in online gaming server technology – match making. This system, employed most recently by Infinity Ward in Modern Warfare 2 is heaped full of false promises and a healthy side of bullshit. Match making has worked, and I use the term worked loosely, on console systems. More often than not this system seems to lead PC users to disconnection, disappointment and dismay. Frankly it pisses me right off. Giving some anonymous asshole the ability to host a game on the same computer he is playing on, and then lag the shit out of the game or better yet disconnect from the internet if he is losing is just such a fantastic idea. Sarcasm aside I have some serious issues with the direction that modern games are headed online.

I was hoping that Bad Company 2 would be the redemption of war based games online, EA decided to release the dedicated server option to a small group of select server hosts, this just seems unfair, how about some price competition? Having designed slim servers on the valve platform (think a 32 slot 500 FPS TF2 server running in Windows Server 2008 with 512 MB of RAM and 1/8th of the processing power given to a 2.4 ghz P4 with 34 connected hosts, an average latency of 8 ms and no game play latency for players) I was sorely disappointed to see the shit performance offered by so many servers when Bad Company 2 released. I have heard that performance has improved, and hell the game is nearly fun, but I have yet to gag back the near vomit and try again, my bullshit stick still needs to dry. With these games coming out back to back, each company sure they have found the ultimate answer to online game hosting (42?), and both companies missing the mark by miles.

I am left to seriously wonder if we'll ever see something as simple as the CS 1.6/CS:S/TF2 option again in the future or if we're left to the mercy of game-free executives trying to find a “cost-effective” way to provide shit service for what could have been great games.

Kole