Server Tech Stuff [ Edited ]

[DoYaSeeMe]

Just stumbled upon a tech talk regarding server solutions for Titanfall 1/2. This is very relevant for Apex Legends, as this game was born as BR game mode for Titanfall 2, so it's practically built on the same frame. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p72GaGq-B_0&t=75s&ab_channel=Multiplay

There are a lot of interesting bits in the presentation, for example bare metal being cheaper than cloud servers, server fragmentation, economics, matchmaking, DDoS mitigation. I know most players don't care about stuff like this and just want the fixes & improvements. This topic is for those that are curious.

Credit goes to @Koochi-Q for lighting the path to this hidden thing through his topic https://answers.ea.com/t5/General-Discussion/The-wait/m-p/10240188#M149947

[Koochi-Q]

@DoYaSeeMe I WANT MY CREDIT for you finding this! Else! Plagiarism strike! xD

[apostolateofDOOM]

@DoYaSeeMe  I'm in the ''just want improvements and fixes'' camp but I'm already half way through now.

As Arnie would say...

[MandatoryIDtag]

@DoYaSeeMe  Now look what you've done...

You gave kooch an excuse to start yelling plagiarism. XD

[DoYaSeeMe]

@Koochi-Q This is 3 clicks away from your link :P

You linked the comments section, I had to click to see the actual article, from where I noticed Multiplay link (click 2) and from the case study I clicked the video. Credits only apply to 1-click distance :P

But thanks and will add you anyway :P

[Koochi-Q]

@MandatoryIDtagXD I like yelling... and like plagiarism... thats why I like whispering nonesense... yes not nonsense... nonesense XD.

@DoYaSeeMeTell that to Elisha Grey who got robbed out of being dubbed the inventor of the telephone! https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/2c224153-9e46-48f3-8786-5dd30e2fbf76

But you’re a class act & a scholar for involving me in the article so now my docile side comes out screaming “WHY AM I FEATURED IN A POST! I don’t like exposure and... https://youtu.be/LHpdgHTINik

[DoYaSeeMe]

@apostolateofDOOM It looks like even Dirty Bomb, which you loved, was hosted with the help of Multiplay.

[apostolateofDOOM]

@DoYaSeeMeYep but they had private servers, server selector, ping readout of everyone in match, ping limit and it also ran smooth as butter compared to Apex.

[DoYaSeeMe]

@apostolateofDOOM and it also "died" . Anyway, this is not about comparing the 2 games, it's about the fact that they had the same hosting, which gives points to Multiplay. Why does this matter? It helps proving that there's a lot of experience and attention put into the online part and that the technology behind is well beyond "potato" level. Also, it shifts the attention to other causes of the big issues that plague Apex, which people often ignore or dismiss.

[apostolateofDOOM]

@DoYaSeeMeIt didn't take off which is a shame as it was a good base for a shooter.

The overall netcode in the game must have been pretty good then (1 packet per snapshot, lower amount of players amongst other things?) and you would notice when a high/inconsistent ping player was in your match from gameplay and then be able to see who the cause was before they were kicked.  We don't have any of that info here making it harder for us to identify and that's probably intentional.

I'm open to suggestions as to what other issues are holding Apex back and one of the things i find strange is some of the delays are far beyond what you would expect in timeframe from milliseconds to full seconds like picking items up or shot through doors/cover ect but also how these problems get worse each update. This doesn't sound, to me anyway, like just a solely server or even user issue. Season 3 was when we started getting a ''running through sand'' feeling and the delays got much worse, same with hitreg, audio ect.. and that coincided with big changes to matchmaking and new map. Perhaps a coincidence? We also have the changes to hitreg in S4/5? which just made the problems worse and never got fully fixed.