Netcode has to be rewritten / need real dedicated Servers

[undeadbizkit]

Ok so start this of i don't know that much about how the netcode of Shootmania operates since i am only studying Web Development and i am not that much into back-end developing for pc games so i can only write about what my own experiences are.

I am currently on DSL light with about 384 kbps download and 64 kbps upload, this is really low considering that its a bout a 1/3 of a DSL 1000 connection, yet it makes for a perfect environment to test how well the netcode works.

Now normally when playing Shooters i get an average ping between 60 to 85 they use about 3/4 of my download and 1/2 of my upload and this connection stays stable no matter what, even when playing BF3 on a 64 players server the bandwidth usage doesn't vary.

When playing Shootmania though i get a pretty high ping of 150+ to begin with even though the servers i am connecting to should be located near me (Germany). But that's not all, my bandwidth usage increases the more players join the server, i am fine until the players on the server get above about 10 players. Also the bandwith usage increases when i get near one or more players.
I doubt that that Shootmania has more to sync then for example Battlefield 3 or Tribes Ascend.

That kinda gives me the impression of the game using peer to peer to stream the data between the players.
Now i understand that missing out on a couple players/customers like be with a low bandwidth won't be that of a big deal for Nadeo but since they seem to do aim for the players that have a rather competitive mindset and even if they don't do they should realize that that will be their main customer base since the game looks like the perfect e-sport title and that's why peer to peer is the wrong way to go, there is no e-sport worthy title out there that uses this technique and that has a reason. I am not going into how peer to peer works but lets just put it like this it won't make for a good competitiv environment.
This technique might have worked for Trackmania but it won't in a fast paced shooter like Shootmania where ping and a stable connection are key for a great gameplay.

I might be totally wrong on the whole subject and/or Nadeo is already working on this but for now that's how it looks.

tltr/bottom line: We need dedicated servers and not fake ones that actually use peer to peer.

[kalstrams]

System works very well on TrackMania. P2P-kind of system allows server to work on much more lower resources. Compare the hardware you'll need for 52 Battlefield 3 server, and for 50 people ShootMania server.

BF3 - you'll end up with Xeon 5k CPU, at least 8GB of RAM, RAID.
SM - Lol, P4 3 GHz, 2GB RAM.

Servers are dedicated. Look into what is transferred between clients, and what goes on client<=>server route.

[undeadbizkit]

System works very well on TrackMania. P2P-kind of system allows server to work on much more lower resources. Compare the hardware you'll need for 52 Battlefield 3 server, and for 50 people ShootMania server.

BF3 - you'll end up with Xeon 5k CPU, at least 8GB of RAM, RAID.
SM - Lol, P4 3 GHz, 2GB RAM.

Servers are dedicated. Look into what is transferred between clients, and what goes on client<=>server route.

Well yes it works with TrackMania because most of races are ghost races where without collision so it dosn't matter if you or anyone else is out of sync to anyone else (correct me if i am wrong here, haven't played TM that much).
But ShootMania is totally different case since it is a shooter where basically every split second counts.
I have no idea what data goes which route since i guess the data is encrypted like it should be with every modern shooter and i am not really willing to try to hack into that, i don't have the time and the knowledge for that.

And i guess you don't need that powerful machines for Shootmania since most of the competitive matches or sort of won't have more then 16 or 32 players.

[kalstrams]

P2P is used only for sharing custom models/maps/sounds/textures/avatars/younameit.
The rest should go the usual server<-> client rout.
I hope that they just missed to take out some TM net code part - so that they improve it easier.
Albeit I have everything perfect with ping and network, not a single lag ever.
I've heard that decent problem with ping is for USA guys. Also, bear in mind, that plenty of severs are hosted on old home PCs with owners playing, that can affect ping a lot.