Preventing server hopping to get better loot

[unclegus 21]

While you are playing, the server keeps track of all loot piles you have interacted with in the last 15 minutes (arbitrary time limit). When you log out, this information, along with the IP address of the server you have been playing on is saved in the Hive along with all the other player information it tracks. When you log in to any different server and all this information is passed back to the server, all of these loot piles are locked to you for 15 minutes.

[nicraM 137]

This is bugging badly. I just finally found primary weapons on Cherno, after the desync chain popped up.

GG

And, I haven't been server hopping. This is hours after I logged on to the server I play at exclusively.

Edited July 22, 2012 by nicraM

[velyger@gmail.com 17]

I would change it to track last, lets say, 62 piles you have interacted with.

variables:

you could have an array of 62 pile ID's and use it as a circular queue.

then you would have last_server_ID and last_server_time

mechanics:

now mechanics would be that every time you interact with a pile you update the queue of interacted piles and the last_server_time.

last_server_ID would need to be updated only once, when connecting to a server.

that's for updating variables.

now checking the server hopping:

first, when you connect to a server you check if you logged into a different server than previous. you would do this by comparing last_server_ID with current server ID.

it is possible to change server without penalty if there is sufficient time between last_server_time and the time of connecting. (you are not hopping when you stop playing and then after an hour you connect to a different server)

then, just for the first 15 minutes on a new server (to prevent unnecessary computing later in the game) every time the client attempts to spawn a pile, it checks the whole 62 item array whether you already had interacted with it on a previous server by comparing their ID's. if so, it won't spawn or if it already spawned it would be cleaned up (possible abuse, read below). i don't know if it is possible to lock a pile, i don't think so.

however it could be abused in this way: server hopper interacts with some loot piles in a populated area. now everytime he switch servers he removes the piles, so he would become a loot cleaner hopper. the loot would disappear under the hands of the other players.

storage consumption:

4B integer per variable, that's 64 x 4B = 256B per player stored locally on clients, for one million unique users that would be around 250 MB of additional space requirement for the central database (hive)

computing demands:

all the computing is negligible and would occur only on the clients. maybe increased cleaning of loot piles

network traffic demands:

256B for initial downloading of these additional variables from hive when connecting to a server. currently there is 200k players in the last 24h, if they connect 10 times per day in average, that would be 200 000 x 10 x 256 = approximately 500MB of download traffic.

updating player info to the hive would occur as usual with additional 256B. I don't know the actual numbers how often the hive updates the player info and how many times.

conclusion:

maybe it is too complicated and easier would be to easily restrict number of different servers that you can connect during the last 5-15 minutes.

corrections and critique are welcome

EDIT: addition:

instead of storing 62 pile IDs you could store only last player position and when spawning a pile, first 15 minutes you would spawn it only 100 meters from the previous position on the previous server

Edited July 22, 2012 by Osiris

[thatcommiekid 57]

Your conculsion makes sense. Your sig is mean... sniffle*

[ivan keska 39]

or do my idea which is if you change server you spawn on the shore, which means you got a lot of running to do to get to the good areas.

[velyger@gmail.com 17]

that is abuseable as a free teleport

[unclegus 21]

And it also punishes people for swapping servers for legitimate reasons.

[grimsonfart 49]

And it also punishes people for swapping servers for legitimate reasons.

excactly, feks if server gets hacked

[Hairy_Maclary 0]

I reckon you should spawn on the coast.... It can be abused but its worse then where you probably are right now. (Looting) And I think it's better then bugging up the loot.