Tracking Changes and Unnecessary Lag

[AskRyze]

So I don't think that I'm the only one who's noticed that the servers are really chugging lately. Like... in the last day or two, they're lagging way, way more than usual. And, they're lagging aggressively on servers that are traditionally low-pop, like Distant Shores. Hell, I've heard reports from people who went to the banquet in the Underdark that some players weren't able to open doors or enter buildings..

Now I have a theory and I'd like to have you hear it out. It's a simple one: What would happen if we had every player on Arelith drop an object into the world every 10 feet? An object that either A: doesn't expire over time, or B: has a script attached to it that tracks how long it's going to last (I don't know what goes on behind the curtain)... And we now had a script that checks every PC on the server, frequently, to see if each individual character moved at least ten feet to generate the little breadcrumb trail. My guess? A lot of lag. A lot of lag.

The usual culprit of lag and the usual scapegoat seems to be people heavily using buffs and Abj wards but I don't think that suddenly a bunch of skaljarders all started spamming Premonition and abjuration wards all over town to the point that Distant Shores is more unplayable than Surface's bad days, and that's saying something.

I adore the tracking change in principle and it's made me want to roll up a high Spot character to do tracking roleplay, the changes are compelling and comprehensive. But until we find a way to make it coexist with the rest of the game in a way that makes it tolerable to play, please, please revert the change.

Thank you.
Ryze

[Hazard]

I haven't noticed any more lag than usual, personally .. but the tracking change is amazing enough without the periodic dropping of tracks. If that went, I would still be very happy with all the changes and progress.

[Skibbles]

I haven't noticed any more lag than usual either and I've been bouncing around all the servers lately. On the other hand my hours aren't in the US timezones - when server pop is generally at its lowest point and when tracks would probably be at a minimum too.

However I wouldn't doubt for a moment that tracks could somehow contribute towards the overall heartbeat so maybe OP is onto something. Maybe it needs a little fine tuning, or maybe going back to just the transitions (if only temporarily just to see if it is indeed the problem) might be a good idea.

Otherwise, about the banquet reports, large numbers of people crammed into one area (I wasn't at the banquet but most events usually draws a ton of people and turns the whole UD into a bit of a slideshow for a while - which is a good thing all told) puts a great strain on the engine and causes a lot of lag. It's always been this way even after EE went miles in making it better.

I definitely recall a lot of times in the past where I could open a door, and it would time out and shut again, before the game recognized I wanted to transition - leaving my PC trapped in the area. Lag like that is not unheard of.

[Sincra]

I will give it a few more days before any changes, the tracks system is lighter than it used to be and the roaming tracks only went in within the last 24 hours, and within this period I played during high activity time zones and noticed no lag.

The past few days have had back to back events anyway.

[Definately Not A Mimic]

I've noticed excessive lag as well but I've felt most was on my side and not server side. We had tracks on transition before so not really sure that the new way they're done are adding to it significantly. My thought, if server wide, would be that we have added in 15 or so new dms and at least two have active events running which we all know slows everything down. Obviously not saying it is a bad thing just bringing it up as another option to consider what may be causing sudden spikes.

[Definately Not A Mimic]

Now after playing some today I think I may take back the thought. I didn't realize the tracks were showing up all across the map. Its the first I've noticed it and there really are quite a few now. Surprising they show so close together.

[ElvenEdibles]

I've noticed excessive lag as well.

[stoneheart-]

the only time I've noticed "excessive lag" was on days the server was up for a day plus, like the last few days. Lag is normal during those times.

Also I believe there are many dm events right now.

[Dreams]

Only noticing lag during DM event stuff, otherwise it's been normal.

[Drowboy]

stop putting -ward in highly trafficked areas you dweebs

In all seriousness: We had a new crop of dms who ran events at American prime time on a Friday night in at least one case. Give it a couple days. I know the instinct is to go new thing = lag but like, let's maybe wait for more evidence.

[Party in the forest at midnight]

There was a huge amount of lag in Guldorand yesterday night when only me and 1 other person were on the server. It only lasted a few minutes, but it stood out as weird.

[Tabby]

Make more server resets

[DM Chatsworth]

Moved to Feeback subforum.