Call of Duty: Black Ops

[shnelson]

The more I'm looking into this, the more it is coming down to NAT settings for all players. You guys are spot on with your shot detection complaints, connection to the host is a BIG factor. If you want to get a quick idea on how bad to expect your shot detection to be, watch the scoreboard for 30 seconds for the connections to fluctuate. The host will always be full bars & green, while the rest of the players will fluctuate from time to time almost in synchronous. If you are seeing a lot of movement, expect your game play to be degraded.

NAT also appears to be the culprit of players dropping while joining as a group. The host isn't the only one that needs to have an open NAT, but all players in the group need to be able to communicate with the party host in order to get carried into the game lobby properly. It is no wonder the online play is so horrible when they expect the entire population to know how to change their router settings for optimal performance. Not all routers are created equal, so most players communicate just fine with each other - but the more players you try to throw together the more complex the communication gets and thus NAT dependencies increase.

I had written a full blog article on World At War when it came out with instructions to optimize your connection. I can paste it up here if it is beneficial to anyone; but to keep it short you need to assign a static IP address to your xbox and either throw it in the DMZ or make sure the following ports are forwarded to it:

- TCP 80

- UDP 88

- UDP 3074

- TCP 3074

- UDP 53

- TCP 53

Network ports used by Xbox LIVE - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/908874

Error: Your NAT type is set to strict (or moderate) - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/979000

[LMITOUT]

Just because we all have good connections, doesn't mean that there isn't something hosed up in how BOPS is matching us all up.

That's exactly what I'm getting at.

It feels very similar to WaW, another Treyarch masterpiece of #*!@. Something tells me that they didn't fix it then so we're hosed this time too.

I don't mind the game overall and they've added some neat touches to the franchise, but it would be much more enjoyable if this lag issue was resolved. Afterall, it is the meat of the game and the rest is just fluff.

Do a google search on "Black Ops Hit Detection" or "Black Ops Shot Detection". Definitely a hot topic.

[LMITOUT]

shnelson - Do you have any thoughts as to why this is an issue with BOps when it wasn't with MW2? Does Treyarch handle matchmaking that much different than Infinity Ward?

[pureinsanity]

Everyone should have an open nat type. makes joining stuff easy! It is easy to do on a dlink or linksys router with a cable connection.

DSL wireless modems are a problem. They suck to port forward and you usually need to have the ISP do something on their end

[shnelson]

Treyarch took the IW 4.0 (COD4) engine as their base platform for both WaW and BOps. Whatever modifications or enhancements they claim were made from that engine seem to be at fault. It seems they try to do a lot more (interactive) with the multiplayer side of it, public player stats being one of them. In both MW and MW2, you could not view the KD ratio of someone in the lobby if they weren't your friend. In WaW & Bops this feature was opened up, along with many other trivial items.

Infinity Ward obviously has the upper hand with their own in house developed engine. COD4 had its connectivity issues, but I would almost consider it flawless compared to what we faced with World at War and now Black Ops (and they were quick to rectify and issues). I can't say that I ever had consistent problems with MW2 either, 99% of the time, it works every time .

I dropped WaW like a bad habit because they never corrected the issues, I hope the same isn't going to be true for Black Ops but we will soon find out. As dtro has mentioned, their forums have been hopping with hotfixes and known issues so it seems promising.

[Shack]

I actually think it is more of a connection thing (ping speed or latency) than hit detection. When I watch the kill cams on suspect instances, a lot of times I see a different fire fight than what I saw in real time and the enemy is getting their shots in first.

Ding, Ding, Ding! Yes this makes the game. Look at my postings and my view towards the game prior and then after.

The guy at Live said most the issues with the game are actually caused by non-Live issues. You have a massive amount of people running things the wrong way, jammin' the round load through a square hole is going to block the system. To answer LIMITs question, BO is run on a diffrent gaming engine. Even though the graphics look funny, they will look better after you config your router and jive up, BO has more in it tech wise that MW2. Thus you could fly straight with half a load on multiple player MW2, but with out changing things and running things as Nelson and I have stated, well you have a crappy game. The tech. rep at Live told me this same exact thing and he said over 60%+ of the BO, MP gamers are "not" running their systems the way they should. They get the 20mbps service and figure this is enough. He referred back to prior to WaW and how gamers used to keep up with this. He actually said gamers have gotten lazy (IMO you pay more, but compared to upgrading a PC evry year, maybe wash) and just want things to work to mesh as they want with Live, their ISP, Router, & the game. That is three different sources, which combine to make your gaming experience. Should they all cook you breakfast in the morning also?

IMO it's like buying a cool new car. You have to tune it up to make it run better or as how it was designed. Not talking about adding horse power related junk, just making sure you use the right gas, oil, plugs, filter, ect., & are doing the best you can to get what you paid for. If you just sit back and feel that you paid a pretty penny for this car and that I am just going to drive it, then you can not complain when you get spanked at a stoplight drag/race.

Originally Posted By: Dtro

I do know this, the guys that had a high K/D ratio in previous COD’s are still right up there and stand out from the rest, (just like always), so it can’t be that bad.

Dtro, maybe the reason they are doing the same is because they have done this already. I brought it up to share, but not everyone will do this out of the competition factor. You want to stay on top would you give out your protocol? Just a hunch. I have seen a huge improvement and figured I did my part and was going to let it go. Cant force anyone to do anything they do not care for and I figure why push it?

[DTro]

Don't forget the Theater option now too.

I'm guessing they dumbed down the online fluff a bit to incorperate the saving, editing and uploading of your actual game videos.

[DTro]

Dtro, maybe the reason they are doing the same is because they have done this already.

So what's your excuse?

[Shack]

No excuse. Just playing IMO a much better game and trying' my arse off. Some day I will be able to throw down like old Tackmeister does. Since I did the change on Friday, one in about 20 matches I can now even pull one ahead of him. Just learning and watching da MasterGamer.

[pureinsanity]

Here is a list of live fixes and ones they are working on.

LIVE FIXES

11/5

* - Villa: User can clip into rock at west edge of grid zone B2 and see through to the other side

* - Crisis: User can clip into LVT between grid zone A3 and B3 and see through to the other side

* - User can get an infinite number of 'Sam Turret', 'Care Package' and 'Sentry Gun' killstreaks (commonly referred to as the “care package glitch”)

11/9

* - Radar sweep when there are only 2 players left in One in the Chamber will stop functioning if the 2 players have multiple lives when the sweep starts

* - Crash when viewing content (films, clips, etc) in the Community & Recent Games menu

11/10

* - Users’ rank and stats can get wiped under very specific conditions

11/11

* - Online number counts were not updating properly; these are now reporting exact online numbers

* - Parties getting disbanded when host did not find a match quickly

11/12

* - Launch: User could access a small platform outside of the intended play space below the rocket gantry by jumping to a very specific location; now blocked from access

* - Launch: User could access a small area inside geometry at vents near Dom flag A by going prone and moving around in a very specific location; now blocked from access

* - Some users reported that weapon attachment challenges were not resetting after prestige; now all are guaranteed to clear as soon as selecting the prestige option

IN PROGRESS

* - Improved matchmaking to find matches faster

* - Improved match and host selection; will result in much better networking conditions for all games (a.k.a., decreased lag)

* - Weekly and Monthly leaderboards stats reporting incorrectly for kills, deaths and assists (All Time leaderboard not affected by this)

* - Additional improvements to party system

[Shack]

I do also have to give props to Dtro & LFC. They have given out a great example to better the game for me. It's cool as heck to play with our group when we file in on Thursdays or other days, but you have to admit winning makes even just a little more funer. Plus I hate being the guy who gives up the deaths and causes a loss. Want to do my part when we play. Rather camp and lower the deaths than go kamakzi trying for the kill streak. Lowering deaths is a better way to win than having double digit kills I have found. Just gotta get myself to do this more.

[shnelson]

I am normally run and gun, but have been finding it easier to sit back in a corner when i'm trying to rack up my 9 kills for the chopper gunner

[Larry FlatCaster]

I do also have to give props to Dtro & LFC. They have given out a great example to better the game for me. It's cool as heck to play with our group when we file in on Thursdays or other days, but you have to admit winning makes even just a little more funer. Plus I hate being the guy who gives up the deaths and causes a loss. Want to do my part when we play. Rather camp and lower the deaths than go kamakzi trying for the kill streak. Lowering deaths is a better way to win than having double digit kills I have found. Just gotta get myself to do this more.

Not sure what I'm getting props for... Shack you and I started playing these games right around the same time.... thanks though.

I will admit I'm a little bent out of shape after my Nephew and his buddy came over for a visit on Friday and played BO live... his buddy was a complete newb and was logged into my profile... Managed to seriously tank my KD ratio... not that it was anything stellar prior to that.... I really don't need any help flushing it down the toilet... I can do that myself easy enough...

[pureinsanity]

Lag is due to the stats. Since the stats are constantly updating and telling you who completed what, who unlocked what, and who completed a contract. It's constantly sending data back and forth to the servers. If you want the lag to stop. delete your friends list and you will see lag free game play. Weed out the people you do not play with and you should see some better performance.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Now you all got me paranoid that I am doing the router thing wrong.. I have no clue!!! I plugged it in.. it worked.. Not even sure if it could be faster..

I do know this..

Last night while playing, my wife was upstairs and decided she wanted to watch a movie.. so she was streaming a movie via Netflix from the same wireless router that I have the PS3 running.. I can tell you this = very choppy play and deitz dieing a lot.

I die a lot no matter what.. but this was More so.

So, can my router be hooked up better?

[TurnUpTheFishing]

I too have noticed a slightly smaller hit detection on BO as opposed to MW2. I notice it more when trying to snipe than with any other type of gun. That said I dont know how to put this but sometimes Ive found that MW2 had too big of a hit detection. I saw plenty of instances in MW2 where shots were off target but still got kills.

In all games the hit detection works the same way for all players. If its harder to kill them its harder for them to kill you. If you can shoot someone in the back and they can turn around and kill you, you can do it to them, too.

I play on a wireless 1.5mbps connection so I know my connection speed is nothing compared to lots of the guys I go up against but I still manage to do decent.

Im not having any problems adapting to this game if anything Im putting up a better KDR than I did on MW2 even with the overpowered, stacking killstreaks they offered.

The spawn system on this game is a little goofy and the absolute worst, most hated map for this is Nuketown. I understand its a small map but the enemy spawning literally 10 feet next to me in the same backyard is bogus!

[pureinsanity]

DD as stated don't worry about your router. Typically its not it. If your privacy setting says open. You are fine.

If you have a wireless modem/router which frontier commonly does its a PITA to get it working and you have to call tech support to get things set right.

If you just have a modem than cat5 going to a wireless router, than you can mess with router game settings aka DMZ

[pureinsanity]

Thunder I do not agree with you, I have unloaded a clip from the famas into someones back. Granted less than half of them hit him, he turned around and shot me and I died instantly. I only heard three hit markers.

no doubt things are goofy and no doubt there will be an update fixing it.

[pureinsanity]

Ive had 16 people consistently online lately and I will say that caused lag as I never had lag before.

I use to have lag on MW2 when I booted my system.

Now on black ops it lags every time I go on the network. Make sense to me as to how and why it would lag. I am going to clean up my ps3 list tonight and see if that makes a big difference.

[tsande00]

Thunder I do not agree with you, I have unloaded a clip from the famas into someones back. Granted less than half of them hit him, he turned around and shot me and I died instantly. I only heard three hit markers.

no doubt things are goofy and no doubt there will be an update fixing it.

I have also noticed this...and not just with the FAMAS, the M16 as well...those are the 2 guns I mainly use.

One time I unloaded an entire clip from the M16 into a guy (each three round burst making contact.) Didn't kill him. He then pulled the trigger and dropped me dead in a split second.

The game is always rigged for the enemy and never in my favor.

[DTro]

Haha....me too

[TurnUpTheFishing]

We've all had those doubleU Tee F! moments, that's just what Im getting at. We have all had them. That means you've killed people that have gotten the jump on you whether you realise it or not. I dont know if it will ever truly go away, Ive had it happen in every FPS Ive ever played.

Bullets do different damage on different areas of the body, different guns do different damage values and that decreases over range and depending on attachments (silencers). Example, the UMP45 in MW2 was so widely used because the damage stats on it were beastly. It had high damage value to start, damage shooting across a level only decreased by 5 and apparently was uneffected by silencer weakening damage over range.

You might shoot a guy in the "back" with a weaker gun to start he quick whips around and fires a few higher damage rounds into high chest and this leaves you with your W. T. F.! moment.

[pureinsanity]

Guess thats is why I like Sticks and stones.

Gun game is pretty fun. I wish you could use the tomahawk to reset the player back to the start! That would be fun!

[shnelson]

So, can my router be hooked up better?

Possibly, but being you are running a PS3 it changes the circumstances. The PS3 network might handle match making different than the xbox and not require a fully open NAT. You should expect your connection to deteriorate if someone is streaming media to another device, unless you're running a 20mpbs connection.

If you want to get serious about your bandwidth prioritization, dlink makes a gaming router that intelligently routes packets. I've seen great performance out of these, especially when it comes to sharing your connection with the wife and kids when they hit youtube.

I don't think you live far from me, i'd be happy to configure your router in exchange for some hot walleye action come hardwaters .

[Loose]

Thunder I do not agree with you, I have unloaded a magazinefrom the famas into someones back. Granted less than half of them hit him, he turned around and shot me and I died instantly. I only heard three hit markers.

no doubt things are goofy and no doubt there will be an update fixing it.