Ashwin Hary
Edward 1
Lag, Glitchers and Cheaters in Online Gaming
October 5th 2006 09:14
Each new 'next generation' console is going to enable players to play online against other people. Each manufacturer, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, is investing massively in this component of gaming, as it represents the future of the industry. The rewards to the gamer will be great. Microsoft's Xbox Live service is a shining example of this, but it is only the beginning. Downloadable game episodes, video chat, internet fuctionality, are just glimpses of the future.
However, there are a number of aspects of the online gaming space that are in dire need of attention. Recenlty, I have been playing Volition's Saints Row on the Xbox 360 (the game is coming to the PS3 next year too, for all you future PS3 owners). The single player experience is quality stuff, and to an extent so is the multiplayer. In theory, it's a relatively original and thoroughly enjoyable slice of online gaming. It is being hampered though, by three things I have termed 'The Great Dangers of Online Gaming'.
Firstly, the game lags, and it lags badly. Whilst some games seem to be fine, others aren't. When you join a game on your own, randomly matched against other players, on most occasions you won't have any issues. When you team up with friends and attempt to join a game together though, things can get seriously frustating. Sometimes there is a bit of delay lag, when characters and objects can't keep up with the pace of the online connection required. Other times you won't be able to do certain things, such as shoot someone or pick up an object. Then there are the other times, when your spirit is able to run around the level, but your actual body does not move. Don't ask me how that happens!!! This lag can quickly ruin the experience, and is happening all too often in games over Xbox Live.
Since the dawn of gaming players have tried to find ways to make the game do what it is not suppsed to. It's nothing new. 'Gltiching' can mean anything from getting outside of a level by pressing against a wall a certain way, or finding a combination of buttons which allow you to switch weapons faster, or even jumping on something in a certain way which allows you to fly over vast distances. Whilst all of this is simple, good fun whilst playing in the offline space, taken online it can, and often does, ruin a perfectly enjoyable experience. If one player is able to manipulate the playing environment in ways others cannot, that's a pretty unfair advantage to have.
People who practise this kind of stuff online are often referred to as glitchers, but also as cheaters. Cheaters often do more than find ways to get around certain coding within the game though. They often manipulate their network connections also, giving themselves advantages in games. If their machine is acting as host, then they will not experience lag themselves. If their online connection is not fast enought to facilitate the other player's connections though, everyone else will. This is called 'bridging for host'. Alternatively, a cheater who is host of a game might find a way to stop everyone else's network connections intermittently, whilst theirs runs smoothly. This is called 'standbying', because it is achieved by using the standby button on the player's modem.
Lag, cheaters and glitchers are ruining the online experience for many of us. Stay tuned, for my thoughts on what needs to be done about it.
However, there are a number of aspects of the online gaming space that are in dire need of attention. Recenlty, I have been playing Volition's Saints Row on the Xbox 360 (the game is coming to the PS3 next year too, for all you future PS3 owners). The single player experience is quality stuff, and to an extent so is the multiplayer. In theory, it's a relatively original and thoroughly enjoyable slice of online gaming. It is being hampered though, by three things I have termed 'The Great Dangers of Online Gaming'.
Firstly, the game lags, and it lags badly. Whilst some games seem to be fine, others aren't. When you join a game on your own, randomly matched against other players, on most occasions you won't have any issues. When you team up with friends and attempt to join a game together though, things can get seriously frustating. Sometimes there is a bit of delay lag, when characters and objects can't keep up with the pace of the online connection required. Other times you won't be able to do certain things, such as shoot someone or pick up an object. Then there are the other times, when your spirit is able to run around the level, but your actual body does not move. Don't ask me how that happens!!! This lag can quickly ruin the experience, and is happening all too often in games over Xbox Live.
Since the dawn of gaming players have tried to find ways to make the game do what it is not suppsed to. It's nothing new. 'Gltiching' can mean anything from getting outside of a level by pressing against a wall a certain way, or finding a combination of buttons which allow you to switch weapons faster, or even jumping on something in a certain way which allows you to fly over vast distances. Whilst all of this is simple, good fun whilst playing in the offline space, taken online it can, and often does, ruin a perfectly enjoyable experience. If one player is able to manipulate the playing environment in ways others cannot, that's a pretty unfair advantage to have.
People who practise this kind of stuff online are often referred to as glitchers, but also as cheaters. Cheaters often do more than find ways to get around certain coding within the game though. They often manipulate their network connections also, giving themselves advantages in games. If their machine is acting as host, then they will not experience lag themselves. If their online connection is not fast enought to facilitate the other player's connections though, everyone else will. This is called 'bridging for host'. Alternatively, a cheater who is host of a game might find a way to stop everyone else's network connections intermittently, whilst theirs runs smoothly. This is called 'standbying', because it is achieved by using the standby button on the player's modem.
Lag, cheaters and glitchers are ruining the online experience for many of us. Stay tuned, for my thoughts on what needs to be done about it.
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