Board Thread:Game Discussion/@comment-50.185.18.160-20161010112220/@comment-2405:204:B30E:BF31:49FA:1312:B86C:36B7-20180324084001

Before proclaiming that RR3 OMP is full of cheaters & marching through the streets burning figurines, the players themselves have to understand how OMP games work in the real world and that expecting a racing experience similar to a Career based race is not only hopeless its downright impossible. I am not denying there are cheaters on RR3 OMP (infact they are in every OMP that exists) but just because Racer Xs car teleported to the next chicane before Speed Racer, it doesn't mean that he/she is cheating.

Read an explanation some time ago, from a guy who actually codes them, about why many OMP games (notice the pluralize form) suck for players (can't find the damn link to refer when you need to!). Its quite a long thesis which covers the entire spectrum of bottlenecks (client device spec, network types & connections across hops, server location etc.) which prohibits a seamless gaming experience but helps understand the limitations of an OMP thereby allowing the player to either accept them & continue playing or leave.

I'll try to summarise & concise what he explained as best as I can.

1. The client devices connected to the OMP server(s) are of varied specs (in terms of both s/w & h/w) so will interpret & process data (as and when available) at varying speeds.

2. Even if 2 client devices are of exact same specs, the network they are using to connect to the OMP server(s) will vary in terms of speed, bandwidth & hops not to mention the actual hardware & internet service in place across the entire connection (routers/modems, broadband/leased/cellular, WiFi/CAT5/STP/UTP/coaxial/fibre etc) which has their own limitations in transmission & receiving. This creates an uneven connection throughout an in-progress OMP session involving multiple players across geographical locations.

3. Location of the OMP server(s) as in the actual distance between the client device & the server. Nearer the server, lesser the hops.

4. Actual hardware of the OMP server(s). However, I feel this point is redundant in 2018 as the hardware available now are very powerful.

5. The most prevalent issue with OMP is lag & not cheat codes/hackers. The game engine translates the lag onto other players & not on self. That is the reason why you can't go through a wall whereas all other seems to make it through wherein actually none of the players actually went through the wall but they saw the all others going through.

Scenario:

Player A (in 1st place) takes the most legally wide run on the "Esses" which helps in making "Tertre Rouge" cleanly allowing a good setup for a high speed run on the 1st straight on Le Mans. Player B (mere milliseconds behind A) makes a good run on the "Esses" & approaching the "Tertre Rouge". Due to the inconsistencies in the OMP connections (due to the factors above), there is a lag in when Player A & B's devices transmits the data to the OMP server, OMP server processes the data & relays back the updated info to both, Player A & B's devices receiving, processing & displaying the data onto the screen.

Player A is ahead and thereby cannot view the lag issue in rendering Player B's car unless he/she switches to the rear view camera (you'll actually see other cars flickering through the entire race & not smoothly running across the track as in a Career race). For Player B, it may seem that Player A just cut across the "Esses" & approached "Tertre Rouge" which must be penalised but they are not. Hell if the lag is bad, then the car might just teleport from the "Esses" to "Tertre Rouge".

This is when Player B declares Player A as a cheater.

In some cases the lag compensated by the client devices may appear as players are driving through walls, hopping on the track, abrupt stopping from many hundred miles an hour to 0 in 1 second or worse flying through the air bypassing 2 opponents and landing in 1st position (I encountered it on Mt. Panorama while speeding through "Skyline" in 2nd position when suddenly an M5 flies overhead and lands on the "Esses" while continuing. I could see the entire underbody, which had no intricate details except a grey slab, with flames spitting out of the exhaust & making a perfect landing. Le' Fast & Furious.)

RR3 has cheating issues related to ghosting, borrowed upgrades & unlimited speed/grip by replacing car profiles. Most of it has been addressed in the new releases and has quite dramatically reduced the occurrences of ghosting & car profile replacements in an OMP race. As far as I know borrowed upgrades are no longer applicable in the game. Correct me if I am wrong.

Creating an even playground in OMPs is a call made by every player across the planet & I get it. Its just that some developers level the playground earlier & better than others. OMP is not a deal breaker for FM from where I see it. There will be no mass exodus of players if it stays the way it is. So basically, if the current OMP doesn't suit your ability to compromise, better leave it & enjoy the SEs, LTSs, WTTTs, TEs & Career. I on the other hand consider OMP as a "Demolition Derby" event and enjoy it the same way if & when I play it.

"The winner ain't the one with the fastest car, son. It's just the one who refuses to lose." ~ Ralph Earnhardt