GT5's Game-Breaking Online Flaw (OP Updated: 11 Feb)

[Hydro]

Any of you who are interested in participating in a test of the bug/lag of the system since the last few updates please visit this thread and sign up.

Online Bug: Test Race

Looking to run a test on March 17 at 22:00 GMT. We need drivers who are willing to follow instructions and participate so we can evaluate lag, grip and general race conditions with various options.

The numer of drivers signed up for the online test this weekend is only 9 so far.
This test is being held for the benfit of all GTPlanet drivers and race series, so if any more drivers are able to sign up and participate it would be very much appreciated.

If less than 14 drivers register, the test will be called off.

 

[nealcropper]

I'll participate, add me on psn user is nealcropper.

 

[Hydro]

I'll participate, add me on psn user is nealcropper.

Much Appreciated 👍

Can you have a look at this thread and add your details along with your PSN ID?
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=247206
We just need to know what your setup (wheel or DS3 / mic - no mic, etc.), and DL/UL speeds are.

 

[DA__dogg]

I signed up for the test race.

 

[Hydro]

I signed up for the test race.

Just saw your post, thanks 👍
See you Saturday!

 

[ErikAndre71]

You guys still have problems online, that strange. We run with 14-15 players ever weekend with no online bug in ICGTC.
We have some cars that lag around a bit, but no clock bug.

We disabled the mics though, and since we have someone with low bandwidth internet we went for a fixed room ownership.
Thing is, that even with fixed room ownership, the mic bandwidth isn't a fixed host so the bandwidth this use will destroy the play ability for people with low bandwidth.
As a example I started a TeamSpeak server witch use about the same bandwidth as the voice on the ps3 and it uses about 50kbit pr user. If this is over a mesh system like the playstation is using you can calculate 50x16 users and you have 800kbit upload. Yes you can get it to work with no problem, but if you get one guy in the room with a ADSL with 500kbit upload the room will start to lag and make bug show it selfs.

I have no idea how much the game itself is using from every client but I know that the more guys in a none fixed room ownership the more bandwidth is needed from everyone in the lounge. We made it work with a fixed ownership room and so far we had to re-race one race because my router had a problem and disconnected.

In a fixed room ownership everyone will have to download the same amount as in a none fixed room ownership, but they will only upload their data to the host. And as most connection have more download speed than upload speed this doesn't seem to ruin the race experience.

This is the basics of the online part of the game and it's mostly all covered in the game manual. So everyone should be able to know this

The only online flaw in this game is that there isn't any available server mode for windows or linux so we could have a dedicated server located on a rental game server some where. Or even host some servers if we had the connection to do it. Because the game today doesn't use servers, it uses everyone (none fixed ownership) as a server and then it comes down to what connection everyone have. And thats a cheap way of doing things.

You go ahead and test, we race tomorrow with no problems as usual

 

[WRP001]

Not every series has a host with a 50/50 Gbps fiber connection to be that fixed host nor are they willing to put everyone's race on the line. The host DC's and the room is done. It's a solution, but not one we're in a position in our series to adopt.

Also not every series has a host that can set up a teamspeak server or alternative voip system. Glad your able to continue your series and you've found a solution, but there is still value for us in more information about what has changed with the recent updates.

 

[ErikAndre71]

I can host rooms on our teamspeak server for a few more championships for no cost, but it doesn't cost that much to rent from from the teamspeak.net site.

And we used a 7mbit upload connection last weekend, and it seemed to be enough. Since we doesn't have bandwidth problems we are not going to play with how low we can go on the host. We have a championship to run.

But the thing about fixed ownership is that every championship needs one with a good upload speed. with a none fixed ownership every championship need to have everyone with a good upload speed. Traffic is the same, but only one need to handle most of it.

And since this game doesn't have a dedicated server. Maybe GTPlanet should demand you have a good enough connection to host a championship. It's a bit more to it than a good idea and I worked around the clock to try understand this system.

 

[nealcropper]

Will have to pull out of the test race guys unavailable Saturday night

 

[watermelon punch]

OP states:

Races using standard model cars (like shuffle races) seem to be slightly less affected

Shuffle races have both standard and premium cars.
??

Lap times made in free-run mode seem to be consistent no matter how many users are within the gaming lobby

This is contrary to what I've had reported. I've had people tell me they got much better lap times in another lounge (their own or a friend's with witness proof) that they could NOT reproduce in our club lounge... at the same time of reporting "grip issues" - where the car is not gripping the same way at corners as it did when they were practicing (in another lounge).

In another thread I was told that the "online bug" being investigated involving Mics on or disabled and "race quality" settings, had nothing to do with the invisible car problem nor the "jumping flying cars" problem or synch issues... that those are caused by individual's internet connections & set-ups...

However, most of those problems ONLY happen when mics are enabled AND there's more than 2-3 people in the lounge.

The very same people might have NO problems with 5 cars in a race with standard cars, visible damage off, mics disabled. But have these problems, and more, and everyone winds up having problems of some type, when mics are enabled and there's more than 10 cars in the lounge.

So are these related issues, or totally unrelated?

And how to know the difference?



I mean I rarely have problems other than the occasional bout of disconnects (usually during high usage times like the weekends).
So it's hard for me to even figure out why some people in my races have problems with incompatibility or invisible to each other, or complain that they didn't have the same experience in our club lounge as they had in their own lounge. *sigh*

All I know is that it definitely doesn't always have a lot to do with mic usage. Because there are times when there's 8 people in the lounge, and people from various continents are using mics with no problems at all. None. No reports of loss of grip, no invisible cars, and no lag issues nor disconnects.

Seems like it's more a time of day thing actually, to be honest. Most of the problems seem to happen on weekends & late afternoon to early evening US Eastern Time.

And since most of the races I participate in use standard cars only, I really can only say that it doesn't necessarily seem to me to be negated by avoiding premium cars.

 

[Ealirendur]

The bug being described isn't just lag (in any of its incarnations), or perceived loss of grip, though those were often present, too - but in sufficiently bad conditions, the lap times were longer no matter what - even if you were just tooling around an oval (which we saw in the first test) and there was a measurable difference between the timings in the replays and real time - but it would not affect all racers equally.

The worst part was that while you can usually spot lag, the 'clock' bug would just up and silently kill race results; you literally could just not go as fast, and your speedo might not say so, and the suddenly faster less-affected racers could not be sure they were winning fair and square.

That part of it seems to be gone so far as we have been able to tell, which is not to say that lag or network problems can't affect anyone's race.

 

[watermelon punch]

Well, one time last week, there were 2 of us, NO MICS, having a race with s800s (unmodified) on comfort medium tires, on a toscana custom track (RMC Toscana which is 6 miles long).

I closely followed the other car the entire twisty track, right behind him. I was never able to put in a pass, but I was in his draft the entire time. Never saw any lag or anything that looked unusual.

Getting onto the straight, I was still right behind him. I watched his car cross the finish line in front of me - I was completely behind him, not side.

WHen the results appeared. It said *I* had won the race in 1st.


Now what is that problem?

 

[carracerptp]

Well, one time last week, there were 2 of us, NO MICS, having a race with s800s (unmodified) on comfort medium tires, on a toscana custom track (RMC Toscana which is 6 miles long).

I closely followed the other car the entire twisty track, right behind him. I was never able to put in a pass, but I was in his draft the entire time. Never saw any lag or anything that looked unusual.

Getting onto the straight, I was still right behind him. I watched his car cross the finish line in front of me - I was completely behind him, not side.

WHen the results appeared. It said *I* had won the race in 1st.


Now what is that problem?

That sound like what happened in the ORCA race at Monza.
I have heard only bad things about racing at Toscana tracks longer than 3 miles.

 

[Cote Dazur]

The whole online experience is frustrating because of all the issues. Anyone trying to say there is no inconsistance in trying to compete is in serious denial.
It is a ton of fun to participate to online event, but it is just a game, no more. Definitely not simulation of driving, even less racing.
When online matches offline in game experience, then we will be in different place. Until that happen, taking the online experience seriously is madness.

 

[nealcropper]

How's it madness? If forza can be online and cope, then there is no reason to argue that GT5 can't.

 

[JDMKING13]

I feel bad for you guys I barely have any issues with GT5 online, once in a while it might act up but other than that perfect. While you guys blame it on pd servers I think it has to do with the gamers connection. Anytime we had trouble online it was because somebody connection was bad. Once they leave the room back to perfect.

 

[Niop]

I feel bad for you guys I barely have any issues with GT5 online, once in a while it might act up but other than that perfect. While you guys blame it on pd servers I think it has to do with the gamers connection. Anytime we had trouble online it was because somebody connection was bad. Once they leave the room back to perfect.

Someone with a bad connection, wish we would have tough of that...

 

[Cote Dazur]

How's it madness? If forza can be online and cope, then there is no reason to argue that GT5 can't.

Can't speak about Forza, never played that game. Only reffering to serious racing GT5 online in the present state of unpredactibilty of what it is going to be from one moment to the next moment.

 

[nealcropper]

I actually agree with what your saying, GT5's online section was garbage before last update, an it's only marginally better now, but at least the clock isn't all messed up.

 

[Spagetti69]

IAnytime we had trouble online it was because somebody connection was bad.

What you've never experienced problems when connections are good.
I think your onto something there.

 

[TheDabbinDave]

I don't recall GT5P having inconsistent handling from offline to online. The only noticeable drop in handling was with rubberbanding in intermediate and beginner events for cars up front. So why is the full game screwed up?

 

[TheRealPhattyJ]

OK, lets clarify a few things:

- Boost is 'Off' and Grip is 'Real'
- This has nothing to do with tyre wear.
- Only users playing with FFB wheels are affected.
- This is not a recent. This glitch has been a problem for some time now, well before spec 2.0.

The wheel (hardware) itself is not causing the problem. But there's no doubt of a link between using a FF wheel and the glitch. At this stage I have more than enough sample data to be sure of that.

My most recent example was couple of evenings ago. We ran several one-make races using the Toyota 86 GT '12 with Sports hard tyres & tuning prohibited. Was running 1:55's in qualifying but couldn't break 2:00 in the race. Every wheel user reported the same 5+ second lack of pace. The three dual shock users all managed the same lap times as qualifying.

So what is the cause exactly?

Poor Netcode almost certainly plays a role as the bug will not show itself until the lobby has grown large. But not the sole reason as this only affects FFB wheel users.

The amount of data sent to the PS3 from either the dual shock or wheel is likely to be very similar. However the console is probably working harder calculating FF values for the steering wheel and this may be a contributing factor. That coupled with a notable drop in frame rate would suggest the PS3 is having a hard time keeping up.

Whatever the reason I was hoping that others had experienced the same problem and found a work-around for it.

You're wrong about the "only FFB wheel users" part, everytime I get into a room with more than 8 people and voice chat set to standard or higher this happens to me, and I use a DS3, with no headset.