Multiplayer: Is it just me....?

[Mork 34]

Hey guys, i was just wondering if it's just me, because i don't really read much about this issue (well, it is to me):

 

I love Flight and now with Alaska it has got even better, but it also makes my issue a little more obvious and more annoying. I'm talking about the difficulty of finding a good room with a good number of fellow pilots in the same region.

 

When i press Quick game i have about 50% chance i do find one. Could be less. The other 50% or more i have to press the Leave game-button, because unlike what the game seems to be thinking, i haven't actually entered a room.

 

The times that i do enter a room, it's mostly just 1 or 2 ppl there. And now with both Alaska and Hawaii available, the group could be devided into both regions or maybe clutted in the same area that i don't wish to fly in. Is it just me? Is my firewall blocking traffic or something like that? I really don't think that's the problem though.

 

I'm really happy if i find a room with 5 or more ppl (9 ppl/room is most i've seen) that aren't all hovering Hilo or Kona. Now it's hard to find with ppl flying in Alaska.

Flight could really use a 'Serverbrowser' where you get a list of active 'servers/rooms' so you can sort it by ping and playercount.

(and maybe display the weathertheme OR give us an option to filter out "Clear skies in summer" B) )

 

Btw, I am aware of the subforum here where you can find fellow pilots, but this is specifically about the ingame option to find a room that suits you!

[adwt0125 0]

I agree, I think this would also make the lack of AI air traffic less of a bother.

[RWFeldman 159]

And what do you do when you find other piolts. Stair at each other? Crash into them. I, as in the RW without ATC, prfer not to have aircraft around me!

[Mork 34]

No i don't crash into ppl, although it is fun to get in a RV-6 and put on the Police livery to scare the sh.t out of ppl doing a clandestine mission :P

But that's harmless fun.

 

No, i like MP because of the immersion mostly, it feels more real to see other aircraft (ofcourse, the namelabels are a killer for that). And for some odd reason i like a succesful landing more when other ppl are around the same airport.

Last time i met a guy and he joined me 15 NM out of my destination-airport for the mission is was doing. There were severe crosswinds and when i was performing an ILS-landing. This time i put a little more effort in it. The other guy was just behind me, and maybe then it starts turning into a bit of a 'competition' for performing the best landing in these conditions.

 

I was flying in my -with kittens overloaded- Maule, but my crab-approach worked out perfectly! I could align myself right on the center line. Just the fact it was being witnessed by a real person instead of just the green check next to the cargo icon made me more satisfied.

 

I like playing alone aswell, but when you are doing a flight of 40NM's or more, reaching the destination can be a bit of a drag. The scenery isn't always very entertaining, it's basicaly too empty for that.

Just the feeling that people are around, not necessarely in direct sight, but other aircraft that could be encountered later does make it a little better. Maybe if they add a typical screechy click-and-microphone-voice-sound and when you talk to eachother on a chosen frequency over the radio, it would make it even more 'real'.

 

khggh - Over and out - kgghg....

[Simmo W 24]

Agree. Now Alaska is out, its much less likely that you'll come across other fliers.a plain. Plus their matching must be pretty conservative, there has to be more players online.

[AkulaR32 0]

The name labels are really unfortunate for trying to take screenshots in MP, especially if you're in formation.

 

It really a lot more fun when people are flying into and out of the same airport and coordinating approaches. I've had this happen a few times, most likely to happen at Hilo.

[Oracle427 45]

Make friends with someone, add them to your friends list and then join their games or invite them to yours. Before you know it you'll have a regular group.

[RichLP 32]

The multiplayer interface is pretty lame... You have to randomly click join and leave over and over to find a group you want to join, meanwhile you run the risk of annoying those in a group you DON'T want to join, because you're forced to click in and out several times while searching...

 

How hard (I admit, I have no idea) would it have been to make the groups a little more 'searchable'?

[LuisFelizTirado 33]

There have been numerous requests for changes to Multiplayer ever since the beginning. I am sure that this must be on the devs' list of things to do. But, it is probably a very large list since we have asked for a lot of changes, and they can't do everything at once. So, they most likely have to set priorities (i.e. TrackIR, toe brakes, etc.) and make the changes as they get to them.

 

We all need to continue showing them a little patience.

 

Best regards.

Luis

[FrankFasi 0]

I think someone a few weeks ago left a link to a site where you could effectively say "I'm going to be in multiplayer at 9 PM this evening". I wish I had bookmarked it. I'm not sure if it has caught on, but if it has, then it's a good option.

 

In the early days I tried getting people interested in hangar races, but that went over like a lead zeppelin (thank you, Keith Moon).

[RoboRay 126]

This site?

 

http://msflights.net/

[samtx 1]

Flight could really use a 'Serverbrowser' where you get a list of active 'servers/rooms' so you can sort it by ping and playercount.

 

Absolutely agreed. I don't know why they didn't launch with this basic feature that's been common in PC gaming forever. Joining and quitting multiple times just to see what games are out there seems prehistoric.

 

I enjoy the company, seeing other plane models, hearing tips and watching techniques of more experienced pilots.

[Halcyonskys 0]

I found it very odd that we went from the horrible multiplayer system of FSX's defualt, to this.

FSX at least could be run in a dedicated mode, host more players than this, be connected by ip, be selected on a list, and be passworded.

I admit i expected better than what we have at the moment here (and notice i said the previous one was horrible and had many unmentioned issues as well), I really hope they change this, but im sure is going to take a bit of an overhaul.

 

 

I think someone a few weeks ago left a link to a site where you could effectively say "I'm going to be in multiplayer at 9 PM this evening". I wish I had bookmarked it. I'm not sure if it has caught on, but if it has, then it's a good option.

 

In the early days I tried getting people interested in hangar races, but that went over like a lead zeppelin (thank you, Keith Moon).

The name of Led Zeppelin was chosen after a newspaper article said the "The New Yardbirds" would "go down like a lead zeppelin". It is merely a legend that Keith Moon and John Entwistle, members of The Who, had said that. Either way, "lead zeppelin", from the phrasing of the article, was changed to Led Zeppelin because the members were afraid that Americans would pronounce "lead" as "leed".

 

I had remember this from the biography too, but just thought id mention it. hehe

[Mork 34]

Make friends with someone, add them to your friends list and then join their games or invite them to yours. Before you know it you'll have a regular group.

Sure, that's a workaround, but even if you have a group of let's say 6 fellow pilots, what are the odds that you are all online at the same time? Sometimes i come home early from work (ok, almost never, but you know what i mean) and i just want to enter a room full of people.

 

A serverbrowser isn't that big of a change i think, so i hope they will do something with it soon.

[Pville211 0]

Server browser is a great idea. In the interim, perhaps there is a way to provide session descriptions? Fast-movers may not want a rookie Icon blocking runway touch-and-go fun, and casual flyers who are putt-putting around may not want aggressive warbirds buzzing them.

 

When I start a public session it would be nice to have a short text field where I could enter a few words describing the session. People who are surfing can quickly determine which session is right for them, and hosts will feel more free to eject people who are unclear on the concept for that session.

 

Example of session description: Chase and evade, no crashing, 0.5nm min separation