Warp Detector

[Carwash]

I know this sound like part of a wish list for a Star Trek game.

I'm sure this has happend to all AH players:  You saddle up on some guys 6, draw within guns range, and his plane starts dancing all over the screen.  Seems to me that if all was fair, that guy should be dead immediately.  I don't know how they do it, but there are guys that seem to be able to warp at will.  If someone starts warping in close proximity to enemy aircraft, they should be shot down by the system.  OK, this would lead to the occasional mistaken kill of someone who has a bad connection, but it would stop the cheating.

Don't know how or if it can be done.  Just an idea.

[Spatula]

Ive seen noticibly more warps over the last tour or so. However, here's my take on why you see warps when you close in on someone as you explain. I dont think its cheating, if you can come up with a cheat to do that then you may as well do a more effective one than just a little dance around. People think its someone pulling the plug, but that would just end up with them appearing to fly in a perfectly straight line until the eventually vanish and disco. The warping all over the screen IMO are UDP packets arriving out of order from which they were sent due to the nature of IP and UDP and network congestition/time-outs etc or other reasons.
As you get closer to another aircraft i suspect their computer (AH application) starts sending more packets to attempt to improve the fidelity of movement that you see. This is an optimisation made by HTC so that you dont have to always send the high-fidelity data for every aircraft you see (some will be well out of guns range). Eg at a distance you can get away with sending fewer updates to keep everyone in sync, but as an aircraft gets closer their computer starts sending the full complement of data so that you get better and smoother movement and more accurate position data.
Now let us suppose that either you or the other players computer has some network issues and some packets are lost, some get out of order etc. At the very point when your closing into guns range, you are also recieving a flood of UDP data from the players computer you are close to. Now with this flood of packets all scrambing across the internet (at the most critical of moments), its not a suprise that in some conditions some of them arrive out of order or just get lost - espcially if theres a dodgy connection or congestion. This would explain the pattern you see when you close into guns range they start warpin all over the show.
My point is, in short, that if someone is going to warp due to dodgey network etc, its more than likely going manifest itself when you are very close. This is due to, in my opinion, on optimisations the game makes (smoothing code) and has nothing to do with the opponent cheating or inducing warps on demand.

[Bronk]

Originally posted by Spatula
Ive seen noticibly more warps over the last tour or so. However, here's my take on why you see warps when you close in on someone as you explain. I dont think its cheating, if you can come up with a cheat to do that then you may as well do a more effective one than just a little dance around. People think its someone pulling the plug, but that would just end up with them appearing to fly in a perfectly straight line until the eventually vanish and disco. The warping all over the screen IMO are UDP packets arriving out of order from which they were sent due to the nature of IP and UDP and network congestition/time-outs etc or other reasons.
As you get closer to another aircraft i suspect their computer (AH application) starts sending more packets to attempt to improve the fidelity of movement that you see. This is an optimisation made by HTC so that you dont have to always send the high-fidelity data for every aircraft you see (some will be well out of guns range). Eg at a distance you can get away with sending fewer updates to keep everyone in sync, but as an aircraft gets closer their computer starts sending the full complement of data so that you get better and smoother movement and more accurate position data.
Now let us suppose that either you or the other players computer has some network issues and some packets are lost, some get out of order etc. At the very point when your closing into guns range, you are also recieving a flood of UDP data from the players computer you are close to. Now with this flood of packets all scrambing across the internet (at the most critical of moments), its not a suprise that in some conditions some of them arrive out of order or just get lost - espcially if theres a dodgy connection or congestion. This would explain the pattern you see when you close into guns range they start warpin all over the show.
My point is, in short, that if someone is going to warp due to dodgey network etc, its more than likely going manifest itself when you are very close. This is due to, in my opinion, on optimisations the game makes (smoothing code) and has nothing to do with the opponent cheating or inducing warps on demand.

That and with the influx of squeakers, that probably have every chat program and mucho spyware infection(all running in the background). I'd bet their system is already stressed sending info. So when you start multiple close quarter ACMs it pushes an already overloaded system over the edge.

Bronk

[RAIDER14]

a warp drive was added to every plane in the last update you just need to enter the correct code to start it

[Carwash]

Originally posted by Spatula

As you get closer to another aircraft i suspect their computer (AH application) starts sending more packets to attempt to improve the fidelity of movement that you see. This is an optimisation made by HTC so that you dont have to always send the high-fidelity data for every aircraft you see (some will be well out of guns range). Eg at a distance you can get away with sending fewer updates to keep everyone in sync, but as an aircraft gets closer their computer starts sending the full complement of data so that you get better and smoother movement and more accurate position data.
Now let us suppose that either you or the other players computer has some network issues and some packets are lost, some get out of order etc. At the very point when your closing into guns range, you are also recieving a flood of UDP data from the players computer you are close to. Now with this flood of packets all scrambing across the internet (at the most critical of moments), its not a suprise that in some conditions some of them arrive out of order or just get lost - espcially if theres a dodgy connection or congestion. This would explain the pattern you see when you close into guns range they start warpin all over the show.
My point is, in short, that if someone is going to warp due to dodgey network etc, its more than likely going manifest itself when you are very close. This is due to, in my opinion, on optimisations the game makes (smoothing code) and has nothing to do with the opponent cheating or inducing warps on demand.

I appreciate this explanation, but I don't know.  I have never seen someone doing this kind of warping when he was on my 6.  That is what leads me to believe it is intentional.   I understand they can't just "pull the cable".  If I was going to try an intentional warp, I would have some kind of bandwidth intensive application ready to go, like a download.  Just start downloading when you need a goofy warp.  Do you think that might work?

[Spikes]

I think it would, just get like5 Americas Army downloads on the screen, lol

[Benny Moore]

Actually, how they typically do it is download some sort of program made by cheaters, for cheaters.  At the press of a hotkey, this program starts sending loads of packets to the cheater's computer at sporadic intervals.

You're right that a lot of the warping seen must be deliberate, because as you said it only happens when you're behind them.  Once you've stopped tracking them because you missed your shot, they stop warping and start flying smoothly.  Other times, they wait until then they're behind you before shutting off the cheat program.  I guarantee you won't find many people warping when they're behind you.

How I deal with it is if someone's consistently warping, I ask him politely to leave, apologizing and explaining that it ruins the game for everyone else.  If he only consistently warps when he's in front of someone, however, I just kick him out of hand.

[Wes14]

yea with my subwoofer to my room's stereo system next to my cable modem thingy..amost once a month i have to retighten the wires or i eventually loose connection/loose a crapload of packets.

it would be cool for a system to tell u if your warping.cause i can appear to warp to other ppl but everything looks fine on my end:confused:

[Benny Moore]

Originally posted by Wes14
it would be cool for a system to tell u if your warping.cause i can appear to warp to other ppl but everything looks fine on my end:confused:

The only way I can see that happening is if, on your front end, you are very far away from the enemy and on his front end you are very close.  Since you're far away from him, you won't notice the warping, but since he sees you up close he sees relativistic effects.

[Wes14]

yea..bad placement of my subwoofer help with that problem:mad:

but anywhere else it would either 1)A: overheat 2)B: cause horrendous interference to SOMETHING on my room:furious

and i hate ppl that occuses u of cheating when u warp (in my case a ocassonal loose wire or bad connection to HTC)

[Bronk]

Benny I'd remove that description on how they might do it quick.   If you still can.

HT PNGed people for similar thing.


Bronk

[B@tfinkV]

There ARE people in AcesHigh that dont play fair with some kind of intentional warping device.


fact.


period.

[Benny Moore]

Originally posted by Bronk
Benny I'd remove that description on how they might do it quick.   If you still can.

HT PNGed people for similar thing.

Oops!  Thanks for the warning, I never thought about that.  Unfortunately, I can't edit it anymore.  Although I have a pretty good guess what it is, what does "PNG" mean?

[skycaptn]

Ill agree with benny.. some planes magically become warpy at 400 off.. esp after the first rounds hit them...

[Bronk]

Persona Non Grata =Booted from the boards.


Bronk