Multiplayer How To?

[Bob Familton 14]

I have just started trying to use Multiplayer. I have read all the Help in the Learning Center and a lot of other multiplayer tutorials. I have seen comments that it does not support complex aircraft like the Level-D or MAAM or RCS planes. I have read comments like if you have SP1 you can't connect with SP2 or Acceleration users online. I can connect to Game Spy. I have entered a session but get kicked out. Is there any step by step tutorial that explains the use of the multiplayer in detail once you are connected? Are the above comments true? Thanks and best regards, Bob.

[Highmike 68]

Hi Bob,1) My experience has been that you may fly your complex aircraft in a multiplayer session, but you may find your connection difficult to maintain when connecting to the Gamespy server.2) Unfortunately SP1 users may not connect with SP2 and Acceleration users of the Gamespy server.3) I've found that when I try to connect to sessions which have green connection bars or low connection values I am not often kicked off the server, although I've found that Gamespy connections are inherently unreliable.4) I've never seen a tutorial other than the one listed in the Learning Centre. There's not much hidden from view as you navigate around the different options on the Gamespy Multiplayer connection page, so I doubt that one is necessary anyway.5) Multiplayer on Gamespy has been problematic from the beginning. There have been numerous complaints about its reliability many of which you will find posted on this forum, and unfortunately a lot of what you've heard is true.Gamespy is not the only way to connect to a multiplayer server. There is a free utility which you can use to either host your own session or search for others who host sessions which you can join. It is called FSHost and you can find it here. I'm a member of the RTW Race team. We use FSHost services during the race, and we never have any trouble with our sessions provided that the host server has been proven to be reliable.I hope this helps.

[Bob Familton 14]

Hi Bob,1) My experience has been that you may fly your complex aircraft in a multiplayer session, but you may find your connection difficult to maintain when connecting to the Gamespy server.2) Unfortunately SP1 users may not connect with SP2 and Acceleration users of the Gamespy server.3) I've found that when I try to connect to sessions which have green connection bars or low connection values I am not often kicked off the server, although I've found that Gamespy connections are inherently unreliable.4) I've never seen a tutorial other than the one listed in the Learning Centre. There's not much hidden from view as you navigate around the different options on the Gamespy Multiplayer connection page, so I doubt that one is necessary anyway.5) Multiplayer on Gamespy has been problematic from the beginning. There have been numerous complaints about its reliability many of which you will find posted on this forum, and unfortunately a lot of what you've heard is true.Gamespy is not the only way to connect to a multiplayer server. There is a free utility which you can use to either host your own session or search for others who host sessions which you can join. It is called FSHost and you can find it here. I'm a member of the RTW Race team. We use FSHost services during the race, and we never have any trouble with our sessions provided that the host server has been proven to be reliable.I hope this helps.

Hi Mike. Thanks. I appreciate the help. I'll try FSHost. Best regards, Bob.

[Guest PPSFA]

I have just started trying to use Multiplayer. I have read all the Help in the Learning Center and a lot of other multiplayer tutorials. I have seen comments that it does not support complex aircraft like the Level-D or MAAM or RCS planes. I have read comments like if you have SP1 you can't connect with SP2 or Acceleration users online. I can connect to Game Spy. I have entered a session but get kicked out. Is there any step by step tutorial that explains the use of the multiplayer in detail once you are connected? Are the above comments true? Thanks and best regards, Bob.

I've been flying in MP since about day 1, so lets see if I can help you a bit. First MP does support complex planes, for the most part it's the developers who refuse to address this part of FSX. Having said that, even though they don't specifically support it, depending on the plane you will find that most if not all systems work fine. The place you run into problems is using the 'shared cockpit' option. Some work, some don't, some partially work, you need to experiment. All default planes work perfectly.As far as SP1, you really should be using SP2, as most planes being developed are specifically for SP2 now, and I imagine will continue to be. Some developers are even stopping production for FS9 now, as FSX SP2 is the platform for the foreseeable future.Now for the rest, getting dumped from a session. There are a few things you should do to ensure that doesn't happen, or at least it doesn't happen for a reason outside your control. Some 'hosts' will kick you from their sessions and there is nothing you can do about that except find one that won't. I fly with the same group, so we all know each other and that doesnt happen.The first thing you should do is get out of the main lobby and go to another one. Find a session that has a good connection, as the hosts connection is imperative to you staying connected. If you or them don't have broadband, you are pretty much screwed from the gitgo. Look at the bars and be sure they have 4 green and a low MS. Under 150 is ok, the lower the better.You should also try to find a session where the host is located close to you. Users are from all over the world, and some of those have very poor internet. If they lose connection, you lose connection and thats the end of your session.Another problem that some have is using the built-in voice comms. That will suck the bandwidth out of a lot of machines and contribute to losing your connection. We use a program called TeamSpeak and connect externally from FSX for comms. I also have a second computer that I only use for comms, so voice is completely seperate from my FSX machine. It's not imperative to do that but it sure helps.Another issue is antivirus. Some AV programs are so intrusive that they ping every packet and if they see something they dont like, poof you are disconnected. I use AVG free version and have never had that particular problem but others have. If you have broadband and a reliable ISP, and you get 'kicked out' of a session, my guess is the host of the session may be kicking you, or they have a very poor internet connection. If you would like to try flying with our group, send me a private message through Avsim, install the client version of Teamspeak, ( need a mic as well), and I will help you to narrrow down your problem, nut I suspect that flying in one of our sessions you will have 0 problems.BTW, I used to use FSHost, as another mentioned, in FS9, but we tried it with FSX and there is too much lag for us, the planes are jumpy even while just taxi'ng. your milage may vary.Hope this helps, MP is absolutely the best FS feature to come along in years, even with it's current problems.

[Bob Familton 14]

Hi Jay. Thanks for the excellent info. That was what I was looking for. I really do appreciate the help. Maybe I'll join you at a lter date after I tone up my skills at MP. Best regards, Bob.

[Guest PPSFA]

Hi Jay. Thanks for the excellent info. That was what I was looking for. I really do appreciate the help. Maybe I'll join you at a lter date after I tone up my skills at MP. Best regards, Bob.

Glad to assist, btw the only skill ya need for MP is getting Teanspeak to work right, it's not fond of Vista if you use that :-)