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[Game] s' Engines' MP capped at 64 players. Why is this?

Faneca

Grizzled Veteran
Sep 16, 2010
1,150
778
Portugal
Why is there preety much every single shooter game that has a multiplayer part is capped at a maximum of 64 players?
Games like Red Orchestra series would benefit extremely from a higher player count.
MAG has a 256 player multiplayer and it runs on an outdated hardware.

Why haven't developers pushed their engines so bigger experiences could be provided to the players?

Spoiler!
 
Probably because most games turn out awful with such high player counts. Examples are BF3 - far too many people for the map. Or 64 players in Danzig. More players doesn't = better gameplay.

Now, if the maps are made appropriate then it would be fine. But I've yet to see many FPS games with such maps.
 
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There have been some games that have pushed the envelope. Joint Ops comes to mind. However, I think it's to do with the fact that most people (myself included, although I do enjoy the occasional hardcore session) really don't have the time/don't want to devote enough time to play larger maps w/ larger playercounts. A good example of this in the RO sphere would be Kriegstadt, a monster of a map that had a playtime of 1 and a half hour - probably the reason why it never really caught on with the mainstream RO audience.
 
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A good example of this in the RO sphere would be Kriegstadt, a monster of a map that had a playtime of 1 and a half hour - probably the reason why it never really caught on with the mainstream RO audience.

Oh bananas I checked out the map and it's huuuuuuge.
It reminds me a lot of Dier Spree au Reichstag another stupidly gigantic map. It once took me a solid 5 minutes to get to the front lines inside a Universal Carrier.
While I understand that long wating times to get to the battlegrounds is boring a larger scaled battle on a huge but not too huge map would be awesome.

Most rounds (not matches) in RO2 (at least in the servers I play in) take 20min and most of the times end up in a bloody stalemate for the final objective (a good example of this is Fallen Fighters because the Germans can quickly cut off the advance of the Soviets coming from the Park, only having the infantry that moves up the street right by the buildings surviving and managing to enter the Univermag).

Oh boy how I remember the battles in RO Ostfront in Smolensk and Kryukovo and such maps but the one that really pushed me was Red God of War. That map (along with Kryukovo) resulted in such intense battles that I could actually feel the cold in my bones as I crawled trough ditches and trenches with a 91/30 with a rusty bayonet. Man I missed those days but after starting to play RO2 a lot I somehow can't go back to Ostfront, well at least I havent.
 
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The cost and availability of public servers as well as the development cost of making maps suitable for multiple player counts is a big issue. A lot of servers for BF2 and RO2 seem really underpowered aleady. Then of course the large budget games are focused on the console market where 24-32 in the max.

Keep on eye on planetside 2 it may be what you are looking for.
 
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Honestly, I actually wonder why developers even allow 64 players. I have yet to encounter a game that has an net code efficient enough to allow for a lag free 64 player match.

In combination with the high hardware demand of the newer games like RO2 and BF3 and most servers being severly underpowered, I tend to stay away from them as far as possible.

Also, technical reasons aside, I personally think that more players actually make the gameplay worse. Clans can never dream of reaching those high numbers, and on public, it's just a huge cluster**** with random death everywhere. And unlike 16 or 32 players, it doesn't suffice for a handfull of players to coordinate to overcome the enemy, so most people don't even try to cooperate. It's just "spawn, rush, kill a guy or two, get killed, repeat".

Also, even in games which strongly advertise their 64 player games, maps are not suited for those player numbers. they're too small, too cramped and "choke point" driven (how I miss the days when RO didn't try to funnel players into certain ares for "thrilling" firefights in setpieces...) for 64 players to be enjoyable, as they don't allow for strategic decisions.

Honestly, right now, I'd rather play a tight 4on4 tom 8on8 than the cluster**** lagfest 32on32 is nowadays.
 
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Part of the fun is getting to know people too. Figuring out who plays how, who's how good, who to be careful around, who's a goofball who'll do melee duels with you etc.
None of that takes place with such high player numbers. Might as well be playing against bots.

6 players ffa and 4vs4 in team games is about as high as I care to go.
8vs8 or something as insanely high as 16vs16 needs the game-mode to be tailormade for teamplay or it's worthless.

I haven't played a game with even more players where I felt the higher number of players contributed to the fun in any way.
 
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Well, I look fondly to the days of 16v16 pubs in Ostfront, to me it was a count that felt right; on most maps anyways. Not too small so that you have to seek enemies in nooks and crannies all the time and not too large so that you have huge amounts of random/BS deaths. Oh the good days of Kriegstadt, Berezina, Tractorworks, Leningrad... :'(
 
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