Smolensk .76 - General observations Options

[ScrapyardBob]

At the peak last night, we had 13v13 players online (with 1 or 2 in spectator mode). While we didn't have a server crash at all last night, a few people complained about periodic lag spikes. Now, I also experienced lag spikes last night, but I suspect it was because XFire was downloading an update in the background. The previous night on 12v12, we didn't suffer from any lag spikes.

A few people have trouble with high pings on this map. We may need to do some digging into old CoD:UO tuning threads to give some additional suggestions. Because it's a larger map, some people may need to adjust various settings (quality, resolution, hunkmegs, datarate, etc.).

At a minimum, before complaining about ping / lag, please turn on both your FPS display and your lag meter. You can enable these by entering the following commands in the console.

/cg_lagometer 1
/cg_drawFPS 1

Useful COD Settings FAQ
http://www.mobclan.com/forums/upload/index...?showtopic=7047

You should also refer to this thread, which explains some basic performance tuning and also covers how to read the lagometer.


This post has been edited by ScrapyardBob: 02/17/06 11:11am

[ScrapyardBob]

There are some hidden server-side variables that are listed in the BAS code. There are the ones that most admins know about (these are my test server settings, I don't know what Smolensk runs with):

// Base Assault Settings (bas)
set scr_bas_scorelimit "6"
set scr_bas_timelimit "75"
set scr_bas_roundlimit "3"
set scr_bas_roundlength "45"
set scr_bas_respawn_wave_time "15"
set scr_bas_startrounddelay "30"
set scr_bas_endrounddelay "15"
set scr_bas_clearscoreeachround "0"

But there are also some additional ones that can probably be set in the server config (no clue whether they actually work as advertised, the code looks like they're hooked up properly):

scr_bas_planttime - default 15 seconds
scr_bas_defusetime - default 10 seconds
scr_bas_bombtime - default 60 seconds
scr_bas_announcer - default 15
scr_bas_basehealth - default 24500 (35 tank shells @ 700 damage)

I dunno what a bomb time of more then 60 seconds will do. It might be better to set plant time to 30 seconds, put respawn at 5-10 seconds. The stopwatch is hard-coded with a 60 second hand, and I'm not sure it can handle times over 60 seconds.

Maybe increase the base health by 50% (or even 100%).

scr_bas_announcer - is how frequently it calls out "our base is under attack" messages.

Suggestions for Smolensk:

1. Increase the plant timer from 15 sec to 30 sec. That slows down the plant cycle a bit, making life more difficult for "lone bombers". OTOH, it gives the defenders 15 more seconds to get to a bomb, *if* they react as soon as they see the base being planted. If the defenders don't react, they'll only get the standard 1 minute warning that the announcer gives once the bomb is actually planted.

2. Change the respawn down to 5 or 10 seconds, max. Smolensk is so large, that larger respawn values aren't needed to avoid the endless respawn waves (so common on the Foy maps, or on Barbarossa at Russian #3). We used to run a server with a 25 sec respawn to avoid the Foy issue.

3. Experiment with longer bomb timers. Requires testing...

4. Experiment with more health on each base to make them stand up to more shelling before they fail. The downside is more repetitive shelling required, but it also gives forces more time to chase down a base that's under attack.

[M@ster of Dis@ster]

There are some hidden server-side

Suggestions for Smolensk:

1. Increase the plant timer from 15 sec to 30 sec. That slows down the plant cycle a bit, making life more difficult for "lone bombers". OTOH, it gives the defenders 15 more seconds to get to a bomb, *if* they react as soon as they see the base being planted. If the defenders don't react, they'll only get the standard 1 minute warning that the announcer gives once the bomb is actually planted.

2. Change the respawn down to 5 or 10 seconds, max. Smolensk is so large, that larger respawn values aren't needed to avoid the endless respawn waves (so common on the Foy maps, or on Barbarossa at Russian #3). We used to run a server with a 25 sec respawn to avoid the Foy issue.

3. Experiment with longer bomb timers. Requires testing...

4. Experiment with more health on each base to make them stand up to more shelling before they fail. The downside is more repetitive shelling required, but it also gives forces more time to chase down a base that's under attack.

I like all these ideas except 4. I said before that I find getting back near impossible especially for the Russians, even with a suicide (if no jeep is available). Although I often manage to pull off the "lone bomber" trick, I accept it is a way to balance the map so you don't quickly lose bases because a one stragler got thru the defences. As long as spawn points aren't going to be changed to be nearer the key bases (which I also would have liked), I like shorter spawn time and longer fuse settings. However, an overall longer bomb timer would be best if possible. A lone bomber or a couple could have a great time trying to defend a one-and-a-half to 2 minute bomb! Imagine the tension as the timer ticked closer to the "point of no return" after having to defend for so long! So my preferences in order are 2 definately, then 3 if possible, then 2, or a combo of 3 and 2. The only one I don't like is increasing health of base. That's boring enough as it is IMO.

As a note, I also like the CNQ map. Is it possible to perhaps run 2 round matches with one as CNQ and one as BA? Probably not, but I would have liked that.

MoD