Any ideas on fixing "Ghost Walking"?

[TimberWolfz 1]

So for thoes of you who put some hours into the Mod your probally fully aware what Ghost walking is and for thoes of you who are new i'll explain. Ghost walking a term used for when a player logs out of his current position and logs into another server moves his postion and logs back into the server he was previously on.

So you may be thinking.. Sure i cant see a problem with that. Now i'll put it into a scenario for you.

Last night me and my friend pretty much ran around the entire map up the debug feilds and back down, we were heading down Vybor way where the small millitary base is. Off in the distant tree line we spotted 5 players huthutting it into the compound. So we waited and waited and waited and it didnt seem like they were leaving so my friend got  to a high point on a  near by hill and i went to check out the suitation.

Turns out all 5 of them had ran into the 'cammo building' with the jail at the entrance of it. just as i was about to open the door a couple of m4 bullets slammed into the door looks like the guy misjudged when i was acutally going to open the door. So from this point we knew for a fact they were hostile and just waiting for some poor souls to go looting in the compound so they can kill them.

We decided to take action and see what we could do about it, Me and my friend position our selfs either side of the door and opend it.. sure enough m4 rounds started flying out of the building left right and center. between us in the first 2 minuets of the brawl we managed to kill 2 of the players and seriously injure one of them. we seen the retreting upstairs (thanks to the wall clipping bug).

we knew for a fact going into the building to clean them out would of been pure scuicide so we decided to wait it out. about 5 minuets had past and there was still no movement we knew they were in there and they knew we were outside. Then all of a sudden one of the guys started shooting at the wall for no apparant reason. next thing we know we got killed.

Basically what happened is one of the guys in the building logged out and switched to another server moved his positon out of the building and behind us then logged back in to kill us and his friend was just shooting at the wall to distract us.

now because of the length of time that this fight was going on 'anti combat logging' wouldnt of solved this beacuase there was too much down time between gunfire.

Can you guys think of any solution to this to fix it, Or do you guys think its fair game tatic!

[semipr0 402]

Uh fixing ghosting is as simple as understanding SQL.

 

So given that the entire point of DayZ has been that its persistence was based in Rocket hammering Arma 2 into a SQL database....I think the answer should come to him eventually. All the data he needs to actually make it impossible...he already has, so its not exactly "Rocket" science at this point....bahaha, I made a funny.

[HIHBGaming 14]

It's a well known issue and will be fixed. Also been covered in multiple threads along with server hopping, search function is your friend.  ;)

[applejaxc 2500]

That's called ghosting, not ghost walking...

 

...anyway, coming in an update sometime (hopefully soon) as well as getting rid of combat logging and server hopping.

[Greenjellie 4]

I'm wondering how it will be fixed? Glad it will be, but how? For combat logging it's not that hard (a timer) but I personally don't see how you would handle these cases?

[chrithu 59]

Hmm maybe the solution to ghosting in combat is to save positions specific to certain servers, and only allow a newer position to overwrite an older if the old position is more than X hours old.

 

So if you log out of Server A change your position on Server B and go back to Server A you get back into the game at the same position where you left Server A. But if you go back to Server B you log in at the newer position on B and so on. But if the required offtime has passed you log in at the newest position record found on all servers. This shouldn't affect normal server change situations (crashes, friends there), but will effectively prevent situation as described in the OP.

 

As for server hopping for loot: That should solve itself once loot respawn is patched in server side.

Remains server hopping for prey: That is a tough one. I see no solutions that would not in any way affect "clean gameplay".

Edited December 29, 2013 by 31R0Y

[Lancer 2-2 14]

Hmm maybe the solution to ghosting in combat is to save positions specific to certain servers, and only allow a newer position to overwrite an older if the old position is more than X hours old.

 

So if you log out of Server A change your position on Server B and go back to Server A you get back into the game at the same position where you left Server A. But if you go back to Server B you log in at the newer position on B and so on. But if the required offtime has passed you log in at the newest position record found on all servers. This shouldn't affect normal server change situations (crashes, friends there), but will effectively prevent situation as described in the OP.

 

As for server hopping for loot: That should solve itself once loot respawn is patched in server side.

Remains server hopping for prey: That is a tough one. I see no solutions that would not in any way affect "clean gameplay".

Wouldn't this create two or more entries into the master hive for every player that did this depending how many servers they hop into and what if you die in Server A and then log into Server B, your alive again...

 

Say your on server A, you disconnect from server A, you can reconnect straight way.

If you disconnect from Server A, and connect to server B, you cannot then connect to Server A again (after disconnecting from server B) for something like 30 minutes to an hour... by which point most combat is over I'm guessing.

[TimberWolfz 1]

That's called ghosting, not ghost walking...

 

...anyway, coming in an update sometime (hopefully soon) as well as getting rid of combat logging and server hopping.

i used the term Ghost walking to broaden it out a bit, theres a lot of new players on this game. Ghosting means something differnt in other games. can you blame a man for trying to make it easier to understand?

[chrithu 59]

Wouldn't this create two or more entries into the master hive for every player that did this depending how many servers they hop into and what if you die in Server A and then log into Server B, your alive again...

 

Say your on server A, you disconnect from server A, you can reconnect straight way.

If you disconnect from Server A, and connect to server B, you cannot then connect to Server A again (after disconnecting from server B) for something like 30 minutes to an hour... by which point most combat is over I'm guessing.

 

As someone already said: The "Master Hive" isn't really much more than a SQL database and multiple position entries per player aren't very costly if you do it right. ALSO: I am talking EXCLUSIVELY about position. NOT gear and healthstate. You can acquire gear on the other server or die and it will carry over back to the "older" server. But if you log back within the time frame you will be at the position where you left it (exception for death is as much as an additional if then condition in the code).

 

Being blocked from a server isn't a good solution in my view. It could affect legit gameplay situations (like going through all your gear stashes that are in same position but on different servers) so it's a no no.

Edited December 29, 2013 by 31R0Y

[weedmasta 784]

That is one hell of an assumption. What makes you think it wasn't just another of their m8s catching up? Or perhaps someone totally unrelated to the group who decided to check the compound out?

[smoq2 221]

I've had 5 situations already where server-hoppers spawned literally 2m away from me. One time 5 guys spawned at the same time in one room near me - plainly ridiculous.

 

I don't think any of those situations was used for ghosting me, just loot hopping I guess. Anyway, this leads to a situation, where all the military bases are almost completely cleaned and the rest of the map has no players at all.

 

I'm afraid that DayZ is going in the same direction as WarZ, where there are a couple of places which respawns military loot where players server-hop constantly, and then they go to "PVP towns" when fully geared (like Cherno now). This completely killed the survival aspect of the game.

 

Call me radical, but I would prefer sending people back to the coast every time they change servers. I don't care if I had to walk through the whole map to get back to my friends, a survival game should not be convenient.

[SubSt8 35]

A private hive works. Or make it so you can't rejoin the same server within 15 minutes.

[TimberWolfz 1]

That is one hell of an assumption. What makes you think it wasn't just another of their m8s catching up? Or perhaps someone totally unrelated to the group who decided to check the compound out?

Definately wasnt one of there mates catching up that much is obvoius. 100% wasnt someone unrelated as the remaining 2 guys left were looting our bodies together. why would the other one in the building unleash 60 bullets into a wall without any other reason other than to distract.

[wisper 61]

Imo the best solution may be the simplest 1. If u want to log off and back on later at the same server and the same position, u need to prepare a "hiding hole" out in the countryside, (can't dig concrete.) Then u come up exacly where u were when u last logged off. Any other movement in another server should start from the coast, any logging to different server should instantly erase all previous positions (hiding hole"). Disconnected? Tough luck, change provider.

Voila! All problems solved in 1 go... correct me if I am wrong :)

[phoboss 224]

Most simple solution to ghosting is, you can leave and reenter your server as often as you want, but if you switch server inbetween, your banned from your last server for a given time (15 minutes). This way you can go take a pipi/poo/food/sexytime break when ever you want, and come back to play with your buddies. But if you switch the server, you cant go back.

 

More detail about my solution can be found under the link in my sig.

[applejaxc 2500]

-snip-

Ghosting is the accepted DayZ community name for the action; you're doing nothing but confusing new players who will see your "Ghost walking" here and "Ghosting" somewhere else and look like an idiot when they don't understand.

Edited December 29, 2013 by Applejaxc

[Zascha-Geriko 6]

Well, while I am completely 100% in favor of doing something about Ghosting, I think all it's going to do is illustrate another really bad problem about the game.

 

I'm not sure if you guys have noticed or not, but there are quite a few very frequently visited areas and buildings that only have one way in or one way out.  So basically, it creates a choke point where the whole thing is just a stale mate.  There's no way to exit without being killed, and there's no way to enter without being killed.  Since there aren't things like grenades or flashbangs... there aren't many options.  It boils down to poor level design.

 

You should always have more than one entrance/exit.  This is especially the case for Barracks and Prisons, but also for some of the houses, hospitals, firestations... pretty much everything.  If there were other tactical options available, I would think that Ghosting wouldn't be as bad as it actually is now.  Even still... people will exploit anything they can to gain an advantage.

 

That being said - fix the Ghosting and similar issues.  And after that - be prepared to do a pathing and level design on a large portion of the buildings.

[Bakercompany86 347]

Ghosting sucks big time.  So does server hopping, and combat logging.  

 

 

But I do believe that the community is unanimous in our outcry to fix this, and I believe BI has stated they are working on a solution.

 

 

Once these things are fixed, the game will get a lot more enjoyable.

[Ineedscoffee 464]

One shot, One kill.

Did you see Barry Pepper missing any shots in Saving private Ryan? Nope.

[Bakercompany86 347]

One shot, One kill.

Did you see Barry Pepper missing any shots in Saving private Ryan? Nope.

 

He did miss *one* shot :)  But only one.

[Ineedscoffee 464]

He did miss *one* shot :)  But only one.

Lol besides that one

[Shadyfizzle 80]

Very similar thing happened to me in a police station. Two guys were inside and knew i was somewhere outside. One of them ghosted out, but i heard the reload when they logged back in and i shot the fool

[BelMarduk 169]

combat timer, logout timer, AND residual avatar that sticks around for >30 seconds if a player, combat, or zed is/happens within x number of meters from the player fixes combat loggers

That takes care of that issue

Throw in a server specific 'location' timer, as mentioned 100 times on these forums and you fix ghosting... 

I don't like the idea of 'send 'em to the coast' if you log out. I for one don't want to spend 3-4 hours making my way up north, log to go to bed, and have to start in Kemenka the next evening.

[InflatedLyric 39]

I had the same basic idea as stated above 100 other times:

 

The last log out position on a server should be saved temporarily, 5-10 mins, and a player is reverted to that point if they try to log back, shortly after logging out, in an alternate position.  Of course with the exception of if they have died, then they can spawn normally on the coast.  It does not completely solve the issue, but if you stand in one place for 5-10 minutes, even for a "stand off", you can expect to die anyway so it does buy a little time to avoid the cheating.  Plus if you are out of the fight for 5-10 mins if you log, I am sure fewer groups would be eager to lose the extra gun; however, I am sure the cowards of the group would still be just as quick to volunteer.

 

 

combat timer, logout timer, AND residual avatar that sticks around for >30 seconds if a player, combat, or zed is/happens within x number of meters from the player fixes combat loggers

That takes care of that issue

Throw in a server specific 'location' timer, as mentioned 100 times on these forums and you fix ghosting... 

I don't like the idea of 'send 'em to the coast' if you log out. I for one don't want to spend 3-4 hours making my way up north, log to go to bed, and have to start in Kemenka the next evening.

 

 

I agree with the "residual avatar" idea in theory, but I feel like if you want to log out, you should have to watch a timer (like in other games, for ex. FFXI iirc) and any action or damage taken during the 30 secs cancels the action.  When you have only the 30 sec residual avatar, at some point the combat logger is still going to vanish.  However, in cases where they try to avoid the log out timer using drastic measures such as (but not limited to): completely close the program, pull their internet connection, or smash their computer to bits; then yeah leave the avatar standing still in game for 30 seconds.

Edited December 29, 2013 by InflatedLyric

[azunai 32]

join cooldown per server

join once every 10 min

when logging out, leave character in place for 1 min

-> no scared combatlogginh -> have to find save spot to log out

Edited December 29, 2013 by azunai