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Messages - GangstaRas

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16
Denied Applications / Re: Application - vito
« on: November 11, 2021, 07:56:28 pm »
This caught my eye for a lil while now and I see no query about it so let me address the elephant in the room. Forgive my ignorance but this application is actually legit?

17
VC:MP General / Re: IMPORTANT - sync lag cause of every server
« on: April 20, 2021, 10:20:49 am »
Another optimization I forgot to mention was the use of this SetTexture command on client-side scripts. Basically, don't use it.

I'm not a scripter so I'm not too sure of its true purpose but remember how that initial Freeze all we do at round end, just before the GUI would come up would temporarily stutter all KoTH clients for a second or three? That command was the sole sole problem. Displaying a GUI the regular way absolutely nuked that lag.

DecUI uses it as a public tool that's out there for everyone to adopt. We honestly didn't know it was the problem because there's another property to that SetTexture command for GUI that makes its usage subpar. From a 3D modeler perspective, I believe that command changes the GUI into something of a 2D object trying to react to the 3D world. I can be wrong but when you use that to load a GUI sprite versus the regular way to display it, you will notice side by side that the SetTexture version is darker than your original image, making me infer that if there was a light source nearby when this GUI displays, it may probably react to it to brighten itself, that's my theory.

Our team discussed with NewK on these issues and I believe he patched it out once we showed him what was up. But let's say RTV is using DecUI as a base to design their GUI, if it was on the earlier versions, then they are probably subject to this problem we noticed. If that timer GUI is all the GUI RTV has and its causing so much sync issues then I suspect there lies the problem.

In KoTH, that SetTexture was on everything that was a sprite. The timer, the scoreboard above the map (that use to be black in appearance even though I didn't design it that way), the notifications aren't sprites so no lag there, but the medals too, everything you can imagine. It was the design flaw we saw that made do a massive purging of that command, not the hidden performance implications it had but that's even more info for you guys out there. Don't use SetTexture

18
VC:MP General / Re: IMPORTANT - sync lag cause of every server
« on: April 19, 2021, 02:05:49 pm »
Did some fresher testing of my own as well today and noticed a few things:

Frame Cap OFF

This is me just running VC:MP like anyone else would



As you can see, my system is holding 60 FPS but my frame time (the green line) is all over the place. This is normal with any game you play to be honest so not a point to fuss on, just note the amplitude of those spikes. I'd spike anywhere from about 14 to 20 ms, averaging the 60 FPS.

When in-game, you can see and feel the jitteriness to it, or at least I can. It's okay if you've never experienced jitter free gameplay before but its noticeable once you have.



Different map but take my word for it, same result really; this is how it looks when you disable the border. Frame capping is still off, and as you can see, the frame time looks much more relaxed than the first one. This graph is a typical VC:MP vanilla experience, but it still can be improved upon.


Frame Cap ON




This is with frame cap on in the same game of the first image. As you can see, it smooths out all that jitter and provides a much cleaner experience. Do note however those momentary spikes. I wasn't able to see it but I can say that the game didn't feel like my specs were overkill, more felt like when you run a game max detail and all is good but not perfect. It just felt right, not pristine.


Then you have the fourth experience, frame cap on with border disabled. Didn't bother to take a pic cuz its nearly the same as the 3rd image you see, the only difference was that those momentary spikes you see in the third image were significantly reduced. I didn't see a difference but I definitely felt a difference and would attribute it to less input lag (but I have no real way to measure that atm). I will not lie, I definitely noticed it. Border off was what felt like my system was overkill and pristine as it should.



Now I might know how to cap my framerate to deliver a smooth experience but the typical VC:MP player just hops in and does his thing. This is how my end respond but other systems might be doing much worse than what I'm capable of so I see the point.

Again I ask to try KoTH with border disabled and tell me if you get the same experience like I'm expressing, but from what you showed of the RTV video, I would say that an optimization that could be made in general of GUIs is not to have translucent designs and avoid sprites if you can, but if you have to use it, use very minimal amounts.

Another thing that you have to and must avoid is font resizing. We were going to animate the countdown to 1 in KoTH, like a pulse effect, but that brought every system to its knees, the VC:MP code around it is not good. It made wep selection lag severely so we had to scrap that idea

19
VC:MP General / Re: IMPORTANT - sync lag cause of every server
« on: April 19, 2021, 08:54:50 am »
it DOESN'T matter on how good your PC is.. when you code something wrong, it's gonna lag either way, on some PCs more than on others, just like the teargas weapon in the game.. since it's badly coded, even the GTX owners can feel a little stutter when passing through it.. the same with GUI, the problem i'm not certain if it's FPS lag, but i'm certain that the sync doesn't feel good overall, because i am used to playing in classic servers, and when i switched to the nowadays TDM servers, i was shocked...

Try disabling the border and tell me what you think. You should have an uplift cuz everything else onscreen as GUI is very negligible, even the medal transitions (which surprized me personally) didnt have a perceivable impact at 25% full CPU speed.

I'd imagine other people living in other countries also encounter this problem, and it is keeping the VC:MP playercount down.

Oh no its just you Charley lol. Can download 1 GB worth of game but cant get server files. Let's talk there and get some input from the devs at that one ;D

The GUI is made native to 4K, yes, but the file sizes arent big at all. The actual GUI files, you'll see some 444x444 and lower resolution elements that just take up mere kilobytes. It is just that that 444x444 size matches exactly how we would want things to look at 100% scaling on a 4K screen should the playerbase be having 4K monitors running on, so the GUI will always look good. Only the big full screen backgrounds and so on are a full fat 4K image and thats just 3 of them. So thats the other careful consideration. KoTH size comes mainly from the audio files.

20
VC:MP General / Re: IMPORTANT - sync lag cause of every server
« on: April 18, 2021, 07:53:12 pm »
The servers just need smart use of the GUI. Sync issue you're describing could be frame pacing issues.

We did test KoTH during development and it takes a lot of CPU if you just throw the GUI out there. What would take 25% of my full CPU speed to hit 30 FPS in VC:MP now takes around 62.5% of full speed to get 30 FPS in KOTH (Intel Core i3 3240 @ stock). In noting this during development, we deliberately designed the game in a fashion where combat uses very minimal GUI to work around this fact.

The killer in GUI is drawing images and 3D sprites. If whatever is being added can be a GUI box element, we do that instead. All the heavy sprite stuff are accessible only when the you are not an active participant of the round in some way.

  • Scoreboard/Awards/Wep Select only when you're dead / round not started
  • Some major flashy sprite transitions and GUI effects only when you're frozen from an ended match
  • Pre-loading all GUI sprites so that there's no stutter to draw them when requested (that's why it takes so long to join the server, it was either do that, or have a 1 second stutter everytime you drew the Scoreboard etc.)

These optimizations provide a very vanilla experience during combat where it matters most, all EXCEPT for that one GUI element....the zone border.

That has optimizations of its own but it definitely the performance dropper of the server currently. Before, the border you saw was made up of individual squares in an array going across the land. We immediately saw how shit of a method that was when we created that Hunter base. We then created a rather complicated algorithm to switch between using a stretched rectangle to create the boundaries of the border when things were straight, it would resort back to the square tile method when creating curved borders. This is far better than to have 10,000 tiles create a straight line.

Just like that, a near vanilla experience but we acknowledged that not even that was enough for the truly weaker end systems and so we provide the command /disableborder to hide the border if your system is absolute shit.

So its just for servers to make those optimizations. The sprite elements in KoTH were designed towards the native resolution of 4K, not even 1080p, we use algos to shrink it accordingly to the player's resolution.

21
Denied Applications / Re: Application - Vedder/Calhoun
« on: March 26, 2021, 12:50:39 pm »
You know I saw the name Vedder around and didn't give it much attention to know it was you Calhoun, thought you left the community. It's good you're around.

As I left an input on BanJack's application, I feel the need to give my perspective here as well.

The story you see detailed in the application is the truth and his words are sincere. How do I know that?

December 23rd, 2019, Calhoun just randomly messaged me through VC:MP Forums. I don't remember if he was banned here or something as to why he chose there but he did and he was basically seeing me off since I retired and also explained some personal development that occurred throughout that period.

Quote
Your retirement
Sent to: GangstaRas on December 23rd, 2019, 11:57 PM
« 2 responses to this message were sent. »
Hi GangstaRas,

I am writing from my phone, so sorry if I don't find the right words. It's quite annoying, and not comfortable.

I did not want this moment to arrive, but it did. You are finally taking a rest and your input on VCMP's day by day improvement will not get updated and that is a very big lost.

I cannot get what it feels like. I have grown up in this game too, just as you since 2011, since I was a little kid. I met a lot of people here. English knowledge. Interest for 80s music which inserted me into rock and roll and guitar classes. But I never left the community, I simply wasn't able to - it's a part of my life and always will.

True to that, VCMP taught me some real life shit manners, ways-of-acting, discipline, respect, tolerance - not the way I'd have liked to, because I had to face everyone's hate to finally get it. VCMP was an example of what I shouldn't have done on my real life. Even when I did.

Going to my point, you were a very important part for my improvement and I owe you a lot, GangstaRas.

VCMP people cannot notice it. And it will never be the same, but even if you don't believe on me, good things started to happen when I hit a wall and figured out what I was failing at.

Some days ago,

[probably a lil too personal here so I redacted this portion, gist is, gave up some very toxic shit in real life, realized his mistakes, changed his approach and found new people that he cherishes]

... And the best part: Can you believe that my classmates recognized me as the best classmate? A recognizement only made for the best kind of people. And I could not avoid crying.

All of this is something I need to tell you, because your input was the first start, the kick on my ass that I needed.

I got some more things to tell, but I am so happy and full of energy, and I will be always thankful to you.

Happy retirement, Gangsta. Hope to see you around.

I replied to that message the Christmas Eve of that year and that was the last time we ever spoke since on a personal level. If he wanted to kiss ass in applying he could've done it back when that message was sent, he could've done it last year where he apparently applied in June (missed me completely, I had to search the Denied Apps to verify), and he could've done it today.

Unlike BanJack who I picked up the difference in vibe from a personal message in tandem with the time of his application, Calhoun has a standing record from that far out. We acknowledged BanJack's 180, let's acknowledge Calhoun's. I vote trainee.

22
Debating Board / Re: BitCoins - Currency of the future?
« on: February 19, 2021, 03:47:16 pm »
Short term 50+% profit in a day: Binance Coin

No argument.

How long it will last though, no clue

23
Accepted Applications / Re: Application - BanJack
« on: February 01, 2021, 05:33:17 pm »
I'm very inactive where in-game is concerned so I'm not a good judge on your development but from the few words we exchanged as it regards reminding me of the ban, seem like quite the new leaf.

When you left, you took the ban on a indignant note to prove me wrong once the year was over. Didn't get any of that vibe the other day. As I replied to you in PM, what you wrote was a gentle reminder which I appreciated. I'm neutral till I hear the perspective of others as it regards in-game activity, other forums etc. etc but I had to ensure I replied with my perspective

24
Player Discussion / Re: Dream Team
« on: October 02, 2020, 03:20:21 pm »
No love for the cannon fodder? The decoy?

Ok  :(

I made all them VU careers!!  One needless death at a time!! >:(

25
Completed Matches / Re: [VU]GangstaRas vs [SD]MixeR.
« on: September 13, 2020, 06:30:40 am »
I've been trying to contact you since last week about the event discord

Huh? I dont see anything of the sort. Was it PM?

I should be around today starting from 13 GMT but most definitely by 15 GMT if u dont see me that early

26
Completed Matches / [VU]GangstaRas vs [SD]MixeR.
« on: September 12, 2020, 06:17:13 pm »
Well I'm available at the moment until around another 5 hours or so (0 GMT). If not today, can definitely do it tomorrow starting from as early as 13 GMT. Hit me up on Discord when you can

My Discord: GangstaRas#4180

27
VC:MP General / Re: VCMP Racing Tournament
« on: September 06, 2020, 11:11:20 pm »
gangstaras once said he's developing one, but there are no news yet.

you may collaborate with him.

Map yes, server no, but long story short, I'm out of time nowadays

28
VC:MP General / Re: Petition to allow game-improving mods. ( mod support )
« on: September 04, 2020, 08:38:34 pm »
The good suffer due to the bad apples, an unfortunate reality of this mod.

I get where you're coming from and think you do have a point, but opening the floodgates carelessly isn't the answer. So, what can really be done?

UID checks are almost worthless now, how to stop a ban evader? Some linkage of the in-game account to another platform we can manage with a bit more freedom, forums accounts. It was a private suggestion, and if I'm recalling correctly only RTV aggressively implemented it to control hackers coming in. Something like that however, wasn't done very intuitively. It's a system that sacrifices some compliancy of the newcomers, they'll easily get confused and lost and that's not what you want. How to circumvent this? Instead of having persons manually flying out of game to copy this link from chat that they don't even know how to potentially, setup the GUI to be able to make a forum account right then and there in-game, your forum, your server, simple 1-2-3 I'd think.

With the burden of dealing with hackers taken away from VC:MP's capabilities itself, you would have the freedom to keep them out a lot easier I would presume. More forum attacks now, yes, but I'd assume the freedom to prevent damage against such is more than that VC:MP has to offer in preventing the same correct?

So that's keeping them out.....permabans are gonna be real fun then  8). Jokes aside, next comes the actual detection. From what I'm told, hackers are exploiting the fact that VC:MP developers can't legally dig too far into source code to create a PunkBuster of sorts then to easily end this topic of conversation. Something of that sort if it makes sense. Either way, what can you do? Just keep being creative with how to detect certain things. Every single hack has an endpoint, and that endpoint is what action the player carries out, so you just have to watch that to the best of the script's ability.

Best case scenario, servers implement this forum account integration to rid ban evaders and detection systems are robust enough to bust hackers, congratulations the server overtime becomes "hacker-free" more or less, now you actually need to focus on making more creative servers. Giving that ASI loading capability back to the players is still not the best move, but the implementations of some well needed features was a good start. Problem is developers aren't active enough to carry it through.

There are some other little things that I've suggested to be implemented like the fact that the scripts can't load objects with any form of physics applied to them, physics I want to use to create destructive environments and make the experience in-game that much more unique and immersive. It's something readily available to creatively do right now, just not implemented yet. That aside, other things can be done with what we have now to appease to the other genres of games possible through this mod, but widespread knowledge is needed as the knowledgeable may not be interested in your fresh ideas. So the servers we call boring, can we actually make one?

29
Available today, you can hit me up on Discord GangstaRas#4180

30
VC:MP General / Re: Best CW/Match/VCDC/Vicewar you have seen or played
« on: August 06, 2020, 11:08:35 am »
Why am I not remembering VCCT lol, I think back then I just didn't pay attention too much, just hopped in and played. I remember all the names just not the events lol

But Vice War 2, maybe because of nostalgia but its still my fav Vice War. It made me appreciate chaos. I was at the Junkyard and man the mayhem at that localized spot. For some reason I don't remember nades, but I do remember Sea Sparrow and RPG. And Junkyard just has that dynamic terrain that made it all balance itself out idk. RPG spamming the interior, Sea Sparrow spraying the place, duck and cover to fight people on the ground and Sea Sparrow in the air it was exhilarating. It was my first Vice War and it got me so hooked I stayed up all night playing it. I remember raging when my game crashed cuz back then it was just 48 player slots and it was always full. If back then had the 100 slots of now, I know that Vice War would've had a much higher player count that would rival these latter Vice Wars.

I tried emulating it and bringing it back with Vice War 8, bringing aerial warfare back to the table was so refreshing, infact I want it back in the next Vice War whoever's doing it, but the weakness was the map, I don't think my map design captured what I got out of Vice War 2. That kinda thing takes a lot more terrain detail. Vice War 2, only people 100 ms or less in ping could use Sea Sparrow, i.e. only Europeans could use Sea Sparrow. Didn't like that one bit but Vice War 8 set the precedent on how to handle that and can still be improved upon. Vice War 7 the thrill was there, knowing you just eliminated one wave of enemies but another team was in the distance watching, waiting to make their own move on you, or even already were, sniping from a distance before they swoop in, no time to truly relax as it would be if it was just two teams fighting but Vice War 7 should've had Vice War 8's spawn protection system for one and the idea of more than 2 teams fighting it out should've come in an earlier Vice War, say Vice War 4 where all the clans of VC:MP had an equal body and presence.

Clan wars, I more have bad memories than good ones lol

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