Very serious problems with the LAN mode ... :(

[VV]

Yesterday night, like each month, with Pricer and some other friends, we held a GT party near Paris to play some races on a local network.
It was the first time with GT4 : six PS2 with six games (3 japanese and 3 chinese).
The different versions of the game are compatible in the LAN mode, it's a good point.

With three players (or less) in a LAN race, it works perfectly.
But with four players, the game loses in graphic quality : permanent "vibrations" appear on the screen with frame rate problems (a kind of judder effect).
And with five or six players, the lag is permanent during all the race : it's not really playable.

The problem don't come from the network equipement. We have made two IP subnetworks (3 players for each) on the same physical LAN, and no lag appears when the two races are running in the same time.

So to have good conditions in a LAN race, the number of players should not exceed .. three.
I don't understand how PD and Sony can distribute an unfinished and untested game like GT4.
I hope that it could be corrected for the US ans EU releases, but I don't think so, it's probably too late.

Shame on you Yamauchi San. 👎

 

[eSPy]

hmm

very interesting. doesnt realy matter to me since i never play lan, but that realy sucks!

 

[srkillalott]

sounds like it might ithere be you'r connection or the fact that you'r using 2 diffrent versons of the game

 

[213101]

that must be the problem they are having online.

 

[Silvia95]

sounds like it might ithere be you'r connection or the fact that you'r using 2 diffrent versons of the game

I hope it is something that simple. You think these problems accure in XLink too???

 

[srkillalott]

I hope it is something that simple. You think these problems accure in XLink too???

no clue

 

[evolution]

Shame on you Yamauchi San. 👎

A little cynical? GT4 is a good game. I wouldn't blame them for a little fault here and there, it's not like you could do any better. Run away, the Germans are coming!

 

[granturismoman]

Is it possible to play LAN with a NTSC and a PAL GT4 ?

 

[RedOak]

Well so far, it seems that the 'decision' to drop the 'multiplayer' element from GT4 really took a hardturn on the game. Every single Multiplayer option in the game seems to be buggy, incomplete or simply non-existant... Sadly, this could really hurt GT4 in term of sells and "points" for review, as including non-working multiplayer options on a final game sure ain't a good idea for the average user. Not without considering that a few new concurents are on the race to beat gran Turismo, one of the key elements to modern-day racing games is its ability to go Multiplayer.

Hopefully, PAL and North American versions will have some fix to the problem, else this could really hurt the racing community and leave a door wide open for Forza and enthusia. Only time will tell.

 

[Eric.]

Well so far, it seems that the 'decision' to drop the 'multiplayer' element from GT4 really took a hardturn on the game. Every single Multiplayer option in the game seems to be buggy, incomplete or simply non-existant... Sadly, this could really hurt GT4 in term of sells and "points" for review, as including non-working multiplayer options on a final game sure ain't a good idea for the average user. Not without considering that a few new concurents are on the race to beat gran Turismo, one of the key elements to modern-day racing games is its ability to go Multiplayer.

Hopefully, PAL and North American versions will have some fix to the problem, else this could really hurt the racing community and leave a door wide open for Forza and enthusia. Only time will tell.

This could possibly be why the US/NTSC and PAL version have been delayed longer...Which is negative for me. I don't know anyone that likes GT.

 

[Omnis]

if they are indeed fixing these problems.....god knows when it will be released. i still love gtp, but enthusia is growing on me every single day. i'd buy both games anyways...but i'd rather prioritize gt4.

Gran Turismo 4 - Release Date: Second coming of Christ.

 

[spawn9999999]

But there wasn't any lag in GT3 I-Link, was there??? (I have never tried I-Link before, so I don't know how it is.) If there was no lag in GT3, it doesn't make any sense why there would be such lag in GT4 when it is a more advanced game and PD had time to improve on the multiplayer section of the game. I surely hope that it was just the connection that you had, not the game.

 

[JA]

I also experienced LAN screen shudder with only two players. Machines were linked via cat6 crossover cable. Lapdog advised he solved the problem connecting machines via a modem router.

I am also very disappointed with reliability of Xlink so far. I wish I could use my dependable Ilink hub and cables which are now gathering dust.

 

[franz]

I tried GT3 I-link ... very very smooth
and I can race tuned-up F1 with my friend, fast and smooth
all I can say is GT4 graphics hitting the ps2 limit
or saying the graphic engine is not optimized

maybe someone should explain why some replay and rolling-start screen got "vibration"
sometimes I got minor vibration during rally race
I am not surprise the LAN mode got graphical problem
because the single player mode already have issues

 

[Quick_Nick]

Can you have AI bots in multiplayer?

 

[SaintKamus]

A little cynical? GT4 is a good game. I wouldn't blame them for a little fault here and there, it's not like you could do any better. Run away, the Germans are coming!

cynical? was the game free? no, he paid for it, and the game CLEARLY states support for 6 players on LAN, stop being such a useless fanboy, you don't contribute anything to this debate.

 

[VV]

A little cynical? GT4 is a good game. I wouldn't blame them for a little fault here and there, it's not like you could do any better. Run away, the Germans are coming!

I was disappointed and irritated when I wrote the first post.
I think that the Lan mode of GT4 is bugged, but maybe I'm wrong. I hope I'm wrong.
Perhaps a version problem or a parameter problem, but probably not a equipment problem.

I know that some dutch and german guys will test the Lan mode in the next days.
I hope they will not have these kind of troubles, or they will find a solution.

Anyway, yes, GT4 is a good game. Nice cars and nice tracks ... to get gold in the Licence Center and to run hot laps in Time Trial mode.

 

[SaintKamus]

Well, VV, hearing about this goes to show that indeed multiplayer was never given the development time it needed, and is probably the strongest reason behind no online support, hopefully the problem will be solved, but all i think PD is doing is adding more cars and finishing the translation... i for one don't care to have more than 200 cars if it means sacrificing quality.

i was looking froward to 6 player battles... a LOT, but now it seems i'll be limited to 3 at best...

i wish you guys all had the same versions of the game just to be 100% sure it wasn't that (but i doubt it.).
i don't doubt for a minute that your LAN was properly setup, but i would still like to hear reports from other people trying 6 player LAN. very lame news indeed.

 

[code_kev]

it's not like you could do any better

Shut up. I hate it when people say crap like that. They are a team of expert game devs, I expect better, especially from a game as heavily delayed as GT4.

 

[dJomp]

Out of interest, what sort of options do you have for the LAN races? I was hoping to set up a multiplayer 24-heurs-de-mans style race (when we eventually get the game), would like to know if that's at all possible...

 

[VV]

The Lan races use the two players battle settings.

 

[the Interceptor]

Shut up. I hate it when people say crap like that. They are a team of expert game devs, I expect better, especially from a game as heavily delayed as GT4.

For me it looks like the Polyphony guys were trying to fix all problems at the same time, so they had to make compromises everywhere to prevent more delays.

 

[SaintKamus]

The Lan races use the two players battle settings.

VV, since no one ever cares to answer my question... i'll ask you.

does LAN play allows you to save the replays?

 

[dJomp]

The Lan races use the two players battle settings.

Thanks. Does anyone know the maximum number of laps the race can be set to, then?

 

[VV]

does LAN play allows you to save the replays?

No. And you can see a lan replay only one time, immediately after the race. It starts automatically after the finish line, no pause is available, and when it's finished (or if you press "Start" during the replay), the game comes back to the tracks selection screen for the next Lan race.

Very convenient, isn't it ?

 

[granturismoman]

Is it possible to play LAN with a NTSC and a PAL GT4 ?

 

[the Interceptor]

Is it possible to play LAN with a NTSC and a PAL GT4 ?

Nobody will know that until the PAL version of GT4 will be released.

 

[Bonsai]

My guess on that would be a big No! NTSC runs with 60Hz (30FPS) and PAL runs with 50Hz (25FPS). How should that be sychronized ?

 

[Minnesota01R6]

My guess on that would be a big No! NTSC runs with 60Hz (30FPS) and PAL runs with 50Hz (25FPS). How should that be sychronized ?

it's been done with other games, so I don't see why it couldn't be done with GT4. The games reporting back and forth to eachother where they are on track isn't bound by the framerate of the game.

 

[SaintKamus]

No. And you can see a lan replay only one time, immediately after the race. It starts automatically after the finish line, no pause is available, and when it's finished (or if you press "Start" during the replay), the game comes back to the tracks selection screen for the next Lan race.

Very convenient, isn't it ?

man, this is one feature i'll never understand why they don't implement. it's allready there for god's sake. all they need to do is put it there.

looks like a capture card will be needed on a "spectator" (we would need a "spectator" ps2, cause who would want to wait for the replay to play again?) PS2 to get "replays" wich truly sucks. photomode would've been awsome in LAN replays.

very convinient indeed... nobody would ever take the time to watch the replays in the middle of a LAN battle, people would be to eager for the next race.. specially if there are people waiting in line. replays are cool to examine AFTER the races in the confort of your own home.