GT5 Online Multiplayer - servers, latency, bandwidth etc

[Vuduegg]

Hi, I couldn't find any answers to my few questions through the search function here, so am thinking this may not have yet been discussed.

Being in Australia, I am concerned about latency (ping) in online multiplayer racing. Having played a couple of other games online, I have seen how high ping (slower response) can severely disadvantage a player when in a match/game/arena with players who are experiencing much lower ping, because they are in the same country as the servers.

1. Where will the GT servers be located, and what sort of latency will we expect in Australia? I experience roughly 300-500ms when playing Age of Conan connecting to US servers,same for Uncharted 2, and I get about 250-350ms when playing Eve Online (connnecting to EU servers).

2. How will higher GT5 code deal with higher ping, and not disadvantage slower connections when racing against faster connections?

3. What would be the minimum internet download/upload speeds required for trouble-free online play, where movement information is not hindered by slow connection?

4. What would be the bandwidth estimate for being connected to online racing? These days, monthly quotas are something to bear in mind as more and more entertainment activities require being connected to the net. How much data transfer is GT5 going to add to our monthly internet download quotas?

I have a 50GB/month ADSL2+ broadband plan, so I don't forsee much of a disadvantage my way in terms of quotas, however, latency IS a major concern of mine.

I gather there is probably not much information regarding these issues yet, but perhaps we could use this thread to start enquiring/discussing it?

cheers,

Vuduegg

 

[Dravonic]

I live in Brazil and I've raced a lot in GT5P with american players. I can assure you the ping is not a problem at all in this game. The position of your car is handled by your own PS3. There is no "send info to the host, get it back, then do the action". It works in the "do the action, send info to the host" way. You won't have the slightest lag.

However, the other cars around you will be the problem. Depending on the host, and on each person's connection, cars around you may behave erratically, jumping around the track. When racing in organized events I rarely get this phenomenon but on random races it happens more than I would like it to. If your connection is slow, you will be jumping around the track in other people's consoles, while you're driving perfectly on your console.

So the only kind of problem you will see in GT5P is erratic opponents occasionally. It may change with GT5, we will see.

 

[gemonic]

for best results you are better off playing with other players located locally

i know with GT5P if we were able to get a full race with just aussies..... it was awesome..... little to no lag

 

[Seismica]

I thought that one of the players was assigned as a host, who would be the 'server' for the race.

Just hope you get in a race with an australian host.

 

[H20HYBRID_GT]

Well from my own experience I can say bandwith and latency are very important.
I used to have a crap 2MB DSL connection ( around 50-100ms ) and now I have 20MB cable with around 20-40ms ( in my region ).
With the old connection I had lots of lag, it was horrible sometimes... now I host most of the races and thus have almost no lag and I feel more competitive too. 👍

So if you have the chance try getting fasted internet you can.

 

[Vuduegg]

I thought that one of the players was assigned as a host, who would be the 'server' for the race.

now I host most of the races and thus have almost no lag

This is very interesting....this implies that there is no dedicated server to host any and/or all games, but that the users, once they collect together, form a localised host between their own machines.

Is that how it really works? Because that sounds quite revolutionary...

Surely, as I seem to recall in the News and Info thread, there is some sort of matchmaking going on, which would be controlled by centralised process somewhere.

 

[Seismica]

This is very interesting....this implies that there is no dedicated server to host any and/or all games, but that the users, once they collect together, form a localised host between their own machines.

Is that how it really works? Because that sounds quite revolutionary...

Surely, as I seem to recall in the News and Info thread, there is some sort of matchmaking going on, which would be controlled by centralised process somewhere.

Well yes there is a central server that deals with the matchmaking, but once a match as started, i believe the users communicate through the host user as there is no dedicated servers for racing. Its like this with just about every console game (which is why if i had a 360 i would refuse to pay for live, its a ripoff). Dedicated servers are expensive to run.

I may be wrong though.

 

[dbarrade]

GT5p has some very sophisticated networking code, and tries both mesh and star topologies from memory, if someone could link to the manual pages online, it's well worth a read...

Vuduegg, I'm looking forward to racing with local Brissie folk when GT5 comes out...

 

[Vuduegg]

GT5p has some very sophisticated networking code, and tries both mesh and star topologies from memory, if someone could link to the manual pages online, it's well worth a read...

Vuduegg, I'm looking forward to racing with local Brissie folk when GT5 comes out...

I'm with ya there, man.

I'll be interested in forming/joining a Brisbane club actually.

 

[dbarrade]

In the online play for Gran Turismo 5 Prologue™, two types of network models are used in order to match multiple players in online racing.


1. Star Type Network Model
In the star type network model, a single host player is selected, and that player hosts a maximum of 15 other players. As long as a connection between the host and individual players is established, online play becomes possible, so this model is affected less by the internet connection environments and network devices of individual players, (i.e., There will only be a compatibility issue between the single host and player, rather than between every player as in the Integrated Network Model).
However, this requires the host to have a large bandwidth network connection, and consequently the number of players that can host successfully will be limited. For example if a player with a low bandwidth internet connection is selected as the host, it may cause problems such as cars flickering and not moving smoothly on the track.
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue™ tracks information of players who are able to become successful hosts, so as time passes after the start of the service, the possibility of a good host being selected will increase.


2. Full Mesh Type Network Model
In a full mesh type network setup, a maximum of 16 players communicate equally with each other to perform online gaming. In a full mesh type network, it is necessary for all players to connect with other players. In comparison to the star type model, there is less possibility of a delay in communication to occur, so a high quality racing experience is gained. However, compatibility between the internet connection environments and network devices of each player will become an issue, and there will be a higher chance that matching will not occur properly.
In Gran Turismo 5 Prologue™, the usage of the star type and full mesh type network models are selected according to the connection conditions. Please note that it is not possible for the player to view or select the type of connection being used.


I couldn't find the images, but this diagram should give you the gist of a Star or Full Mesh (shown as Fully Connected not Mesh in this diagram):

 

[Vuduegg]

I gather the PSN and GT matchmaking/rank recording system's connection fits in as one of those green dots as well?

 

[Obli]

Use a 0.5Mb connection and I can say that online performance is good for me. Notice some slight latency with the World Events.