Player Logging is REALLY killing gameplay

[crypticsilence 7]

Before reading, this has been addressed by the lead Dev., this thread is simply to show community level of interest in what needs fixing the most.

 

 

Did not find this doing a simple forum search. After I did a bit of digging I found this from Rocket: http://forums.dayzga...n-known-issues/

 

Game Exploits

* Combat logging protection not working

Currently many of our features such as queued loading, combat logging timeout, etc... have been disabled as there is the possibility that they will cause additional strain on the central server. Once we know that we can handle the load we will begin implementing these. We do expect this will be a long process, and we'll be working with the community to identify effective ways to deal with this. In the meantime, it is going to be 

 

 

 

 

This thread is now old, please check the following updated thread!: http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/159811-ideas-for-solving-the-battle-logging-issue/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey all,

I've been a huge fan of DayZ mod for a while, but gave up on the mod due to game affecting bugs, such as glitchy zombies and frustrating inventory bugs.

 

So far, stand alone has been a great experience, I love the character interactions and the mechanics (Minus some bugs due to alpha), but there is one main concern I have...

 

Battle logging. It is quite possibly the most immersion breaking thing this game has to offer. If you have not encountered this or do not believe it to be a serious issue, let me explain an instance this affected me personally:

 

I spawned in Chernogorsk, ran through a bunch of towns on my way to the military base north of Kamenka, and hit balota airfield on the way. I was held up twice (I did not battle log, in fact I wanted to test it during the first interaction, but figured that would ruin both my experience and the guys holding me up). I ran back through the towns I had once passed with my own m4, fully equipped with supressor and prestine equipment, but no magazine, and held up a few people. I came across another person with a gun, I held them up and told them with a single round chambered in my gun, and told them to drop their backpack, so I can check it. He immediately battle logs. Now, this wouldn't be so bad if he just left, however he ended up logging back in behind me, so I spun around and fired a single shot from afar at him and hit him, but he ended up escaping. I pulled out my axe and chased him (Which brings up the issue with using melee inside a building, but this does not bother me anywhere near how much battle logging does) into a building where he pulled out his pistol and proceeded to dump lead into my now lifeless body. 

 

I lost about 6 hours worth of gear that I had kept safe, because this guy has the ability to instantly quit and rejoin the game.

 

I would like this to be heard by the devs and taken care of. I hope there are other players who agree and if you do, please speak up!

 

Side Note: I understand this is in Alpha and am enjoying this game thoroughly, so please let's keep the tone light and looking to the future, not just complaining about bugs. Do remember this is in the "player discussion" section.

Edited December 29, 2013 by Breezy368

[blondie 6]

Hell yeah man I fully agree. It's really obnoxious when players' first reaction is to log out when being shot at. But, I guess it's just their pussy-nature to do so.

For the combat loggers reading this, I feel sorry for you, because doing what your doing ruins the game more for you than the person shooting at you, because it's no fun.

[austinamjz 10]

I agree with you man but I believe there is a bug right now.. After you die and push respawn it gives you the "Please Wait" black screen and it just stays there and doesn't go away for some reason, only way to fix this is to exit the game causing your body to disappear from the spot where you died. I tested this with my buddy and yea, it sucks. So basically everyone you shoot is going to exit the game because the "Please Wait" black screen won't go away.

[NoobAnon 27]

Although I agree completely, I don't think this is necessarily the biggest issue to fix.  I think it should be fixed sooner rather than later, just not what I would call a top priority.  We need a quality system in place to stop this.  I don't want to see some quickly thrown up combat logging system that has issues and ways to exploit it.  It is highly annoying when people combat log, just like server hopping for loot is highly annoying.  I think there needs to be a combination system in place to stop both.  

 

Personally I think the best fix for both would be something along the lines of...

Initially when logging out, you have a countdown timer that shows on your screen and you are locked out of your controls.  However you can cancel it, incase a zombie storms up to you or you see a player somewhere near that may kill you before your timer runs out.  And Logging in should stay like it is, atleast at your first login.

 

If you logout/login more than twice in say 15 minutes, your logout timer should increase.  And you should have a login delay, so you character appears in game a good 10-15 seconds before you can do anything.  Swapping servers should also apply the same penalty, again, within a certain short time frame.

 

I also think the logout/login delays should increase the more you login/logout within a certain time  frame.  So potentially, if you are server hoping, you end up having your character in game atleast a solid minute before you can even do anything, again, provide a timer showing time until you can play, and time until your "delay" is gone so those not wanting to exploit the system aren't punished simply because they thought they could logout and take a leak and jump back in.  

 

Of course this system would need balancing and testing to find the sweet spot that isn't too punishing on people just logging out and logging in, and punishing enough to discourage those attempting to exploit the system.

 

One last note, your "time to cancel logout" would not change even if your character stays in game longer.  So if you logged out the first time, you would be able to cancel that logout up until your character was actually gone.  However, if you logout again, shortly after the first logout, you still can only cancel that logout for the same time you could on your first logout, but your character actually stays in the world longer without the ability to cancel.

 

Hopefully that makes sense, but I think finding the balance on a system like that would be beneficial in more than one way without being to punishing or too complicated to implement.  No need for range finding on other players, or whether you are "in combat" or not.  Just a traditional MMO style logout/login system with a twist since there are multiple servers you can hop onto and an always PvP enabled world.

[crypticsilence 7]

I agree with you man but I believe there is a bug right now.. After you die and push respawn it gives you the "Please Wait" black screen and it just stays there and doesn't go away for some reason, only way to fix this is to exit the game causing your body to disappear from the spot where you died. I tested this with my buddy and yea, it sucks. So basically everyone you shoot is going to exit the game because the "Please Wait" black screen won't go away.

 

 

That is correct, and not what I'm talking about. I am actually not mad about NOT getting loot. I am mad because this person logged out, THEN BACK IN, both instant on his end, which ended up getting HIM the kill, when I worked hard to keep a dominant position. I don't mind losing out on loot, I generally don't even kill people unless they are shooting at me first.

[crypticsilence 7]

Although I agree completely, I don't think this is necessarily the biggest issue to fix.  I think it should be fixed sooner rather than later, just not what I would call a top priority.  We need a quality system in place to stop this.  I don't want to see some quickly thrown up combat logging system that has issues and ways to exploit it.  It is highly annoying when people combat log, just like server hopping for loot is highly annoying.  I think there needs to be a combination system in place to stop both.  

 

Personally I think the best fix for both would be something along the lines of...

Initially when logging out, you have a countdown timer that shows on your screen and you are locked out of your controls.  However you can cancel it, incase a zombie storms up to you or you see a player somewhere near that may kill you before your timer runs out.  And Logging in should stay like it is, atleast at your first login.

 

I agree with this^ :D

 

 

If you logout/login more than twice in say 15 minutes, your logout timer should increase.  And you should have a login delay, so you character appears in game a good 10-15 seconds before you can do anything.  Swapping servers should also apply the same penalty, again, within a certain short time frame.

 

This as well!! :D

 

I also think the logout/login delays should increase the more you login/logout within a certain time  frame.  So potentially, if you are server hoping, you end up having your character in game atleast a solid minute before you can even do anything, again, provide a timer showing time until you can play, and time until your "delay" is gone so those not wanting to exploit the system aren't punished simply because they thought they could logout and take a leak and jump back in.  

 

This is pushing it... instead of waiting before you come in... it would be better if it just spawned you else where, which might cause you to rethink server hopping in busy places.

 

Of course this system would need balancing and testing to find the sweet spot that isn't too punishing on people just logging out and logging in, and punishing enough to discourage those attempting to exploit the system.

 

One last note, your "time to cancel logout" would not change even if your character stays in game longer.  So if you logged out the first time, you would be able to cancel that logout up until your character was actually gone.  However, if you logout again, shortly after the first logout, you still can only cancel that logout for the same time you could on your first logout, but your character actually stays in the world longer without the ability to cancel.

 

Hopefully that makes sense, but I think finding the balance on a system like that would be beneficial in more than one way without being to punishing or too complicated to implement.  No need for range finding on other players, or whether you are "in combat" or not.  Just a traditional MMO style logout/login system with a twist since there are multiple servers you can hop onto and an always PvP enabled world.

 

 

I like some of what your saying, but I think not being able to move while logging in for more than 5 seconds is a bit ridiculous. Only since you could have had connection issues, computer issues, or something else uncontrollable.

 

I simply want them to slap on a 6-10 second log out delay for the time being. It shouldn't be too hard to code it in, so that's why I want to push them to do it. I trust these devs to take care of it, it's just that I believe this could have a quick fix implemented, which would make the game FREAKING amazing to me, and would make me much happier! :D

[ClassifyLP 61]

[...] And Logging in should stay like it is, atleast at your first login.

 

If you logout/login more than twice in say 15 minutes, your logout timer should increase.  And you should have a login delay, so you character appears in game a good 10-15 seconds before you can do anything.  Swapping servers should also apply the same penalty, again, within a certain short time frame. [...]

There already is a delay when loggin in. It's over 10s and your character is standing up, not moving while you have a black screen. If you are not in the middle of nowhere you are an easy target.

The problem that might happen with log in delaying is that you cannot do anything for many seconds. You cannot move and you cannot log out, so if "danger" is close you are potentially dead.

A log out delay might be okay, but a log in delay seems too dangerous, if the position you logged out in is not safed (as in being prone while logging out and then suddenly standing when logging back in).

 

Another problem is the problem with server hopping due to the wrong time zones the servers are in right now, but I bet that will be fixed sooner or later.

 

EDIT: Yet another problem are connection issues and game crashes and how to handle them. Since there is no way in telling wether or not a disconnect/crash was legitemate or not, that can easily be abused. And a log out delay for someone who legitemately lost connection/who's game crashed seems unfair.

Edited December 25, 2013 by ClassifyLP

[crypticsilence 7]

There already is a delay when loggin in. It's over 10s and your character is standing up, not moving while you have a black screen. If you are not in the middle of nowhere you are an easy target.

The problem that might happen with log in delaying is that you cannot do anything for many seconds. You cannot move and you cannot log out, so if "danger" is close you are potentially dead.

A log out delay might be okay, but a log in delay seems too dangerous, if the position you logged out in is not safed (as in being prone while logging out and then suddenly standing when logging back in).

 

I have video that proves otherwise on the already instated log in delay, but I am rendering the episode before the footage that it's on. At least in my case the person popped in and right away started running after maybe a second or two.

 

Another problem is the problem with server hopping due to the wrong time zones the servers are in right now, but I bet that will be fixed sooner or later.

 

EDIT: Yet another problem are connection issues and game crashes and how to handle them. Since there is no way in telling wether or not a disconnect/crash was legitemate or not, that can easily be abused. And a log out delay for someone who legitemately lost connection/who's game crashed seems unfair.

 

I agree that the above mentioned time was too long, but the log in delay time should be balanced so that you won't be mauled by a zombie before you can do anything simply logging in for the first time. I definitely see the point with log in timers not being the best idea, but I wouldn't mind them being instated, but definitely log out timers are needed.

[LouisK 85]

During an alpha you're expected to test, not to play as if it were a full released game. Yes, you can find bugs by playing around with the current mechanics but that's also called testing.

 

You can stop testing and come back a time later when this has been fixed or alone when the game has been released.

 

And yes, it's annoying, but I don't care, I just keep playing hoping to find more bugs.

Edited December 25, 2013 by LouisK

[crypticsilence 7]

During an alpha you're expected to test, not to play as if it were a full released game. Yes, you can find bugs by playing around with the current mechanics but that's also called testing.

 

You can stop testing and come back a time later when this has been fixed or alone when the game has been released.

 

And yes, it's annoying, but I don't care, I just keep playing hoping to find more bugs.

 

That is correct we are testing the game. I don't understand your tone very well, but part of testing is telling the devs what you want to see with the game, to help them lay out what needs to be done first. So, my goal is to try and let them know that the log out greatly affects game play (Even though they are already aware of this), and to maybe talk about ways of fixing these game breaking flaws. I in no way am bashing DayZ Standalone, I absolutely love the game.

Edited December 25, 2013 by Breezy368

[crypticsilence 7]

Did not find this doing a simple forum search. Did a bit of digging: http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/153994-early-access-important-information-known-issues/

 

And then the quote I'm talking about here:

 

Game Exploits

* Combat logging protection not working

Currently many of our features such as queued loading, combat logging timeout, etc... have been disabled as there is the possibility that they will cause additional strain on the central server. Once we know that we can handle the load we will begin implementing these. We do expect this will be a long process, and we'll be working with the community to identify effective ways to deal with this. In the meantime, it is going to be 

[hogscraper 328]

Hell yeah man I fully agree. It's really obnoxious when players' first reaction is to log out when being shot at. But, I guess it's just their pussy-nature to do so.

For the combat loggers reading this, I feel sorry for you, because doing what your doing ruins the game more for you than the person shooting at you, because it's no fun.

Meh, you failed and deserve nothing for your wasted bullets. I don't pick fights, I have never combat logged and am 5 deaths, 33 kills and around 10 battleloggers against loser assholes trying to take me out over the last week. The worst part about players like you is aiming and killing someone with a few bullets is pretty damn easy. Crying about it just exposes your inability to kill people without spraying bullets everywhere. When I meet fresh spawns and give them some supplies to stay alive I try to find out what they think about kos. If they seem like they just want to explore I always tell them to log out, if they can, when someone starts shooting at them. Screw losers just shooting on site because they can. Hopefully they don't bother to fix this issue until they start adding in tons more zombies. Right now there isn't an environmental reason not to fire every bullet you can at other players and most losers choose to do that. 

[teufel937 49]

I think if you leave a server, you cannot rejoin it within 'x' amount of time, that'd be an easy way to solve it

[MystoganXIX 78]

Logging out needs a delay even if it's from a game crash. It needs to be there regardless.

 

If this feature does not apply to crashes, then I'm fairly certain some kid is gonna figure out sooner or later one of the many easy methods to make a program crash, then ask for help or maybe do some research on how to make a macro/hotkey that will crash DayZ.

 

It may be unfortunate for those who legitimately crash, but it needs to be all or nothing.

[OrLoK 16185]

This thread is now old, please check the following updated thread!:  See OP

 

Rgds

 

L