5 ms·

Still maybe interesting point: in the past it was feature that your game kept running after your disconnect and you were able to continue on reconnect. Now if

by nicce 3y ago

Still maybe interesting point: in the past it was feature that your game kept running after your disconnect and you were able to continue on reconnect. Now if you disconnect in Diablo 4, dungeons reset and everything related to your character in the world resets. Probably, because they dynamically assign you to some world instance. And do not want to add load to servers if someone is not logging back.

derefr 3y ago
No, it's because they don't trust your game client to be authoritative on the physics of the game, even in a single-player instanced dungeon. Your game client is synchronized to a server that is also running the physics, and the server's version of reality wins. This prevents cheating/modding. Which they care about, because anything you can cheat to give yourself, they can't sell you through microtransactions.
- nicce 3y ago
  But what is preventing forcing of physics synchronization to the client on reconnect? It should be possible.
  - chongli 3y ago
    The synchronization is one way only. The server sends the authoritative world state to your client. Your client only sends your inputs to the server, not the results of those inputs, and the server validates your inputs by running them through the game engine. Modifying your local copy of the simulation will just desynchronize you from the server, forcing a resync.
    - nicce 3y ago
      Yes, my point was indeed that why client cannot load server world again? E.g. state of the dropped items, killed monsters etc. As it just provides input for the world, this should not be a technical challenge, or is it?
      - chongli 3y ago
        Not input for the world. Keyboard and mouse (or controller) input. This is an impossible challenge without gaining control over the server directly.
        BlueTemplar 3y ago
        Hmm, yet D4 is way too fast and responsive-feeling of a game to run the way you suggest it does ?
solardev 3y ago
I don't think this is some insurmountable technical challenge, just a design decision. Many MMOs have persistent mobs and dungeons even if a player disconnects. PoE will keep your instances open for at least 15 min of inactivity, for example, so you can leave and come back if you need to. Keeping an extra instance open for a few more minutes isn't a big deal. Even in D4, the world doesn't reset if you disconnect (like if and you a bunch of strangers are doing a world boss or world event). Maybe solo dungeons would, not sure. But in general it's not a big deal for a game like D4. If it resets you just go back in. Not like they take more than 10-20 min anyway. If you die you just respawn (unless you're in hardcore). It's probably not a resource constraint, just a missing quality of life feature in D4 like so many other little details they neglects. For a game that took a decade to release, it sure feels incomplete and rushed.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- nicce 3y ago
  > But in general it's not a big deal for a game like D4. If it resets you just go back in. Not like they take more than 10-20 min anyway. If you die you just respawn (unless you're in hardcore). It is a big deal because D4 is bringing PoE like maps with Nightmare dungeons. If you disconnect, it disappears. Dungeons can have rolls and high level ones are somewhat expensive.
  - solardev 3y ago
    Ah, I didn't know that. Hope they add reconnect recovery then. And a lot of other QoL things.
iLoveOncall 3y ago
And Diablo 2 was riddled with cheaters and duplicated items, which ruined the online game for all. It's just not a viable option in 2023, with modern expectations from players. Escape from Tarkov was put in the spotlight a few months ago because some Youtuber investigated rampant cheating, and it literally killed the game pretty much instantly. In a day and age where internet is considered as a basic commodity, there's no reason to open the door to cheaters for rarely needed convenience.
- BlueTemplar 3y ago
  Sounds like an issue only for extremely popular games, and maybe some genres attracting the worst kind of players ? The wasted potential for when D3,4 (and even D2R) servers shut down, and even shortly after release because of no modding is just sad.

by nicce 3y ago

derefr 3y ago

No, it's because they don't trust your game client to be authoritative on the physics of the game, even in a single-player instanced dungeon. Your game client is synchronized to a server that is also running the physics, and the server's version of reality wins. This prevents cheating/modding. Which they care about, because anything you can cheat to give yourself, they can't sell you through microtransactions.

nicce 3y ago
But what is preventing forcing of physics synchronization to the client on reconnect? It should be possible.
- chongli 3y ago
  The synchronization is one way only. The server sends the authoritative world state to your client. Your client only sends your inputs to the server, not the results of those inputs, and the server validates your inputs by running them through the game engine. Modifying your local copy of the simulation will just desynchronize you from the server, forcing a resync.
  - nicce 3y ago
    Yes, my point was indeed that why client cannot load server world again? E.g. state of the dropped items, killed monsters etc. As it just provides input for the world, this should not be a technical challenge, or is it?
    - chongli 3y ago
      Not input for the world. Keyboard and mouse (or controller) input. This is an impossible challenge without gaining control over the server directly.
      - BlueTemplar 3y ago
        Hmm, yet D4 is way too fast and responsive-feeling of a game to run the way you suggest it does ?

solardev 3y ago

I don't think this is some insurmountable technical challenge, just a design decision. Many MMOs have persistent mobs and dungeons even if a player disconnects. PoE will keep your instances open for at least 15 min of inactivity, for example, so you can leave and come back if you need to. Keeping an extra instance open for a few more minutes isn't a big deal. Even in D4, the world doesn't reset if you disconnect (like if and you a bunch of strangers are doing a world boss or world event). Maybe solo dungeons would, not sure. But in general it's not a big deal for a game like D4. If it resets you just go back in. Not like they take more than 10-20 min anyway. If you die you just respawn (unless you're in hardcore). It's probably not a resource constraint, just a missing quality of life feature in D4 like so many other little details they neglects. For a game that took a decade to release, it sure feels incomplete and rushed.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
nicce 3y ago
> But in general it's not a big deal for a game like D4. If it resets you just go back in. Not like they take more than 10-20 min anyway. If you die you just respawn (unless you're in hardcore). It is a big deal because D4 is bringing PoE like maps with Nightmare dungeons. If you disconnect, it disappears. Dungeons can have rolls and high level ones are somewhat expensive.
- solardev 3y ago
  Ah, I didn't know that. Hope they add reconnect recovery then. And a lot of other QoL things.

iLoveOncall 3y ago

And Diablo 2 was riddled with cheaters and duplicated items, which ruined the online game for all. It's just not a viable option in 2023, with modern expectations from players. Escape from Tarkov was put in the spotlight a few months ago because some Youtuber investigated rampant cheating, and it literally killed the game pretty much instantly. In a day and age where internet is considered as a basic commodity, there's no reason to open the door to cheaters for rarely needed convenience.

BlueTemplar 3y ago
Sounds like an issue only for extremely popular games, and maybe some genres attracting the worst kind of players ? The wasted potential for when D3,4 (and even D2R) servers shut down, and even shortly after release because of no modding is just sad.