The Al`kabor Project (EQMac) - PoP 1/5

pharmakos · Sep 8, 2015

Torrid_sl said:
We're aware desyncs can happen, but they tend to be rare and happen most often in large raids as far as we know.

The problem we have is that nobody reports them. We can only assume that it's a rare phenomena when people don't bring the issue up. Reports are important to distinguish between user error and server bugs, because often issues people have are on the user's end-- if a dozen people have the same issue however, then it indicates a server problem. Also reports help narrow down where the problem is. Desyncs resulting from throwing weapons was brought up recently and promptly fixed. I haven't seen a desync since January, personally.

yeah, i really hope that post of mine didn't discourage anyone from playing. i'm aware that the desyncs are an issue that only affect some people. i'm really not sure what to include in a report. been out of town for the last week and a half, but when i get back home i'm going to dive back into TAKP (and the forums) and try to figure out my connection issues.

i seriously do think this project is the #1 hope for an awesome classic EQ experience. i do follow your updates somewhat, and it seems you've done an inhuman amount of number crunching. if i had classic logs to contribute i would. thanks again for all your hard work.

yamikazo · Sep 9, 2015

#WaitingForPoP

I might log in for the GM festivities to say hi to old friens, but EQ is a slow game and I've little desire to play Classic or especially Luclin raiding.

Torrid · Sep 9, 2015

pharmakos_sl said:
yeah, i really hope that post of mine didn't discourage anyone from playing. i'm aware that the desyncs are an issue that only affect some people. i'm really not sure what to include in a report. been out of town for the last week and a half, but when i get back home i'm going to dive back into TAKP (and the forums) and try to figure out my connection issues.

Haynar keeps tinkering with things, so I'm hopeful he'll figure out how to make the client more stable. He recommends using a wired connection (as opposed to wi-fi) and ensuring the connection is uncongested. Apparently even p99 has desyncs in zones with 200+ players in them and wired connections reduce the likelihood of desyncs there as well.

The problem is nowhere near as bad as it was in January right after launch, and guilds are raiding zones with 30+ characters nowadays. To those who gave up on us 9 months ago, I would encourage you to try again.

axeman_sl · Sep 10, 2015

What's the technical reason that the PC client can't be used? I just couldn't deal with shit like having to manually stand up before every action.

Lenas · Sep 10, 2015

PC users do have a PC client, you just don't like what year it's from.

Secrets · Sep 10, 2015

axeman_sl said:
What's the technical reason that the PC client can't be used? I just couldn't deal with shit like having to manually stand up before every action.

Wait... you mean that's not on P99 already? I'll have to get on that...

pharmakos · Sep 11, 2015

found the time to play for a bit today. will be on more later tonight.

last time i played was back in April. i tried many things back then to get my connection working better, to no avail. this time i tried something simple i just neglected trying before -- turning off my Windows Firewall. played for like 2 hours, had a single disconnect on zoning on a single one of my three boxes, and otherwise experienced no issues.

also, my level 30 paladin seems to be taking a much more reasonable amount of combat damage than she was taking back in April. can't remember if Tor(rid/ven)'s work on melee got pushed live to TAKP yet, but i don't think its just my imagination.

Kharza-kzad_sl · Sep 11, 2015

I remember looking at the code and thinking they didn't properly handle truncated packets. Sometimes tcp packets get chopped into pieces and you have to be able to handle that and re-assemble them. I didn't actually step into it to confirm though was just reading it.

pharmakos · Sep 11, 2015

^ seems like i remember Haynar mentioning and addressing/fixing that issue

Torrid · Sep 12, 2015

pharmakos_sl said:
can't remember if Tor(rid/ven)'s work on melee got pushed live to TAKP yet, but i don't think its just my imagination.

Haynar put in new melee mitigation code months ago. I'm still collecting data for a final revamp, but because it takes multi-hour logs for each data point, it's taking months. (I've generated about 1 gig of logs so far)

Harnar's code is actually mitigating too much, but the hit rate of NPCs is too high, so they sort of cancel out. I need to get some tweaks in before Kunark because PC melee DPS is too good right now.

pharmakos · Sep 12, 2015

my 30 paladin is still using a Polished Granite Tomahawk, so i couldn't tell about PC melee DPS haha

axeman_sl · Sep 14, 2015

Why on Earth would they not choose to disable stuff like focus effects, PoP-era cultural gear, etc. when they're still in pre-Kunark content?

pharmakos · Sep 14, 2015

they're recreating PoP era EQ, but one chunk at a time. with the end goal of PoP, taking time to make it era appropriate for each chunk would be a waste. they didn't have to take the time to make every single little patch note change have a flag like P99 did. that's why they're able to release Kunark 10 months after server launch. and idk how long it will take them to release Velious, but i guarantee it will be a lot quicker than P99 did it. not because the P99 staff is less capable, but just because the amount of extra work it takes to do a true progression like P99 has.

the original Al`Kabor server had PoP out from day one. when the TAKP team finishes their project, everyone will be able to download the opensource database/code and start their own Al`Kabor clone with PoP from day one. its gonna be awesome.

Alexzander · Sep 14, 2015

It actually makes for kinda a neat take on progression too. It's not just the same old progression server we've all played on.

I still can't 3 box though. That switcher program just gives me an error message when I run it. Can 2box np though.

pharmakos · Sep 14, 2015

did you try right clicking > Run As Administrator when you open the switcher program?

Alexzander · Sep 14, 2015

Pretty sure, yeah. I'll double check later.

Lenas · Sep 14, 2015

axeman_sl said:
Why on Earth would they not choose to disable stuff like focus effects, PoP-era cultural gear, etc. when they're still in pre-Kunark content?

Devs hardly have enough time to do all this stuff as it is. It would make the project take much longer if they had to implement one version of zones/items/mobs and then update it down the line. It's not a progression server, they are just releasing content as they develop it.

Torrid · Sep 14, 2015

axeman_sl said:
Why on Earth would they not choose to disable stuff like focus effects, PoP-era cultural gear, etc. when they're still in pre-Kunark content?

We do disable some items. Kithicor Dark Elf drops were disabled for example. The crafted armor added in late Luclin were disabled. I'm disabling a few of the revamped Chardok loot as I do those tables. I certainly don't want weapons as good or better than VP ones dropping from Chardok named. We're disabling the worst offenders and not everything because as Pharmakos says, we're an incomplete PoP server and not a classic progression one. (plus the dev time required)

axeman_sl · Sep 14, 2015

Considering the fact that the server is currently pre-Kunark and appears to release new content at a rate that would have PoP several years away, I see no reason not to invest the little time it takes to toggle focus effects off and remove craftables from several expansions down the line. Having this in the game completely assrapes balance and trivializes the content.

Lenas · Sep 14, 2015

Do you play on TAKP? Who are you?

The Al`kabor Project (EQMac) - PoP 1/5

soʞɐɯɹɐɥd

Trakanon Raider

Molten Core Raider

shitlord

Trump's Staff

ResetEra Staff Member

soʞɐɯɹɐɥd

shitlord

soʞɐɯɹɐɥd

Molten Core Raider

soʞɐɯɹɐɥd

shitlord

soʞɐɯɹɐɥd

Golden Knight of the Realm

soʞɐɯɹɐɥd

Golden Knight of the Realm

Trump's Staff

Molten Core Raider

shitlord

Trump's Staff