Turn end lag

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Molean
Posts: 157
Joined: July 25th, 2009, 7:11 pm

Turn end lag

Post by Molean »

Last two games I have played today have had a this issue:

Someone ends their turn, the other person doesn't see the turn has switched over to them, it can be a few minutes before they see the turn has changed on their screen. One time this happened, I ended my turn, I see my opponents turn has started, but I also see that the poison on a couple of my opponents units hasn't kicked in for damage. I guess things like poison damage doesn't kick in till the turn actually starts. We can talk to each other fine during this time, no apparent lag there.
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norbert
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Re: Turn end lag

Post by norbert »

Molean wrote:Someone ends their turn, the other person doesn't see the turn has switched over to them, it can be a few minutes before they see the turn has changed on their screen.
If the host has Accelerated Speed on 16 (in the General Preferences), has Skip AI Moves on (same), and has Show Combat on "no" (in the Advanced Preferences), the computer players' turns will be super fast. If one of the players uses the opposite of aforementioned settings, (s)he will be looking at all the (recruit, move, attack, die, level, and so on) animations. So, on that person's computer the turn has not yet been switched over to them. In scenarios with lots of AI units (like Colosseum), if the host uses accelerated speed, you can clearly tell who else has accelerated speed on and who does not.

Another possibility is that you witnessed a case of lag in multiplayer gaming.
Molean
Posts: 157
Joined: July 25th, 2009, 7:11 pm

Re: Turn end lag

Post by Molean »

Well, it was 1vrs1, no AI, both games. But since then there hasn't been a issue like that.
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ancestral
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Re: Turn end lag

Post by ancestral »

Actually, this is something that has frustrated me for quite some time as the cue that it's your turn is not very good. The only visual cue is a small flag in the corner, and the only other cue is an alert sound; not particularly usable if you have the audio turned off or is the player is deaf.

I think it would be fantastic if we had a few options:
  1. When audio is turned off, flash the screen. (This is an option on many OS when there's an alert.)
  2. Allow an option to display a dialog box when it's a player's turn whoops, yeah, we have that already
  3. Provide some additional visual cue on the screen, whether it's UI or unit lighting, or something. Or even text on the screen if a player's been idle for a certain amount of time.
Last edited by ancestral on August 19th, 2010, 11:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Captain_Wrathbow
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Re: Turn end lag

Post by Captain_Wrathbow »

ancestral wrote:2. Allow an option to display a dialog box when it's a player's turn
Uhh... that's already in the game, exactly as you described it. In the preferences, check the "Turn dialog" box, and you will get a message indicating the beginning of your turn. :wink:


IMHO, extra turn notification stuff would be overkill. The current turn bell sound effect and optional dialog is enough.
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ancestral
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Re: Turn end lag

Post by ancestral »

You're right on number 2, but that's not going to help for the majority of people who have that setting turned off.

Maybe the issue isn't knowing when your turn starts, but instead clearly identifying when it's your turn, during the turn. Some kind of additional visual cue, though I'm not sure exactly what.

Just brainstorming a little… has anyone ever suggested animated, rotating ellipses for units? I know we're starting to get idle animations for more units, but some kind of active visual would certainly help evoke that the player's turn is also active.
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Captain_Wrathbow
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Re: Turn end lag

Post by Captain_Wrathbow »

ancestral wrote:Maybe the issue isn't knowing when your turn starts, but instead clearly identifying when it's your turn, during the turn. Some kind of additional visual cue, though I'm not sure exactly what.
Well there's the flag next to the turn number that changes to your color...

IMO, if a player is paying attention, it's not hard to figure out that it's your turn, and I don't think we need to add extra features just to help people who don't pay attention. You snooze, you lose. (of course, that is IMO, remember.)
ancestral wrote:Just brainstorming a little… has anyone ever suggested animated, rotating ellipses for units? I know we're starting to get idle animations for more units, but some kind of active visual would certainly help evoke that the player's turn is also active.
I think any extra "active visual" that is obvious enough to make any difference in the said issue would also be annoying. Yes, it could be made an optional setting in preferences, but then, as you said:
ancestral wrote:that's not going to help for the majority of people who have that setting turned off.
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