Should we have an Australian listserver?

[NovaStar]

Should we have an Australian listserver?
If the answer is yes, I'll gladly host it.

[Sonyk]

I am amused at the number of people who think that having a list server next door will let them connect to more *game* servers.

Just to clarify things: there are two sorts of servers used when playing JJ2 online. One sort are list servers. Think of a list server as a sort of telephone enquiries system. It has a list of all game servers, along with where the game servers are. You contact the list server, and ask it for a list of games. It then gives you a snapshot of it's list. It doesn't matter if this takes a while. A few hundred milliseconds is fine, even a whole second or two. All it's doing is giving you a list. With the number of JJ2 players, an old 486 on a 28.8k modem would probably be enough (no offence to Nimrod and his plans for world-wide list-server domination).

The other sort of server is the game server. This is the actual server you connect to when you're playing an online game of JJ2. Now, this server has to do a lot of things, like deal with everyone moving around in the level and tell other players where everyone is, who's taking pot-shots at who, and what's up with the blue flag that just got nicked. This server has to both a) send a lot more data, and b) send it in real-time (a delay of ~100ms gets annoying, and more than ~300ms is often unplayable). Think of it as a conference call with other people: if you're too far behind, then you won't be able to keep track of what's going on.

To get a list of servers, all you need is a list server somewhere you can access. To play online without too much lag, what you need is a game server somewhere relatively nearby (note that 'nearby' can be a few countries away, if the intermediate connection is good enough

Oh, and server bandwidth does *not* depend on the distance of the host. Bandwidth is how much data you can send per second, not how long it takes to get there. Think of your connection as a pipe: the bigger the pipe, the larger the bandwidth. A longer pipe means stuff takes more time to get from one end to the other.
You seem to have completely missed this post, so I'm brining it up here. Read it over seven or eight times, and when you understand what it means, I'm sure you'll realize that the answer you're going to get is NO.

[cooba]

No because it would be pointless.

Simple as that.

[NovaStar]

I actually did see that post, but it takes like 5 seconds until the list of games comes up. If there was an Australian listserver maybe that time will shorten.

[Sonyk]

You don't go around making petetions based on maybe. Until you know for certain, then maybe you might get some support.

[NovaStar]

Uhhmm, you just based your post on maybe. (maybe)

[Bobby aka Dizzy]

Going past 2 list servers becomes very difficult because mirroring ends up failing or breaking far more often.

[NovaStar]

Good point there too.
It's interesting to see everyone that voted 'No' isn't near Australia and everyone that voted 'yes' is near Australia.

[Odin]

No, and even if I lived in Australia, no. Very few members of the Jazz community live in Australia, and it would be a big waste to have a list server for two or three people.

[Monolith]

I'm interested in expanding the list server network, but right now it doesn't work too well.

[Fawriel]

...5 seconds isn't exactly a long time in my book.

[FQuist]

I wonder if the 5 seconds is actually because of Shadowrabbits' connection or really because the listserver is that far away.

[NovaStar]

I wonder if the 5 seconds is actually because of ShadowRabbits' connection or really because the listserver is that far away.
That's what I wonder too.

[Stijn]

It's interesting to see everyone that voted 'No' isn't near Australia and everyone that voted 'yes' is near Australia.
That's not interesting at all considering there are two people from Australia so far who have voted and one of them is you, and you yourself will obviously vote yes or you didn't have to start this poll.

[Trafton]

Connecting to even Israeli servers usually is under 1,000ms to me. Australia to the United States should not be as slow as you describe - your connection must have some sort of issue.

[FQuist]

That's what I wonder too.I wonder wether you really do, since basically the only way it can be so slow for you is that it's your own connection giving you trouble, not the listservers, if it's five seconds.

[MoonBlazE]

It takes me 20 seconds to connect to WoW. So clearly, I must have a login server next door to satisfy my personal needs.

Come on guys, let's go start a <pointless and retarded> PETETION!!!!!!!!!!

[Odin]

You know, it'd be really funny if we found out that ShadowRabbit has a 56k, and that's why his connection to the JJ2 list servers is so bad.

[Neobeo]

Just in case people were wondering who else actually voted "Yes (I live in or near Australia)"... I was one of them, but not for the same reasons as ShadowRabbit. Sure, it takes around 5 seconds to get the server list (even on my 1.5mbps), but that is hardly a setback. Even though I do not play online JJ2 much, this 5 seconds is actually a faster loading time than <strike>most</strike> many other games.

To clarify, my vote had completely nothing with loading time / bandwidth / distance / convenience / etc, but for the sheer thrill of seeing a new listserver open up. Meaning, I would probably have voted yes even if I wasn't living in Australia. Furthermore, starting a local listserver will put Australia on the JJ2 map. This *might* actually attract more Australian players <strike>which is good because there are too many Dutch people in this community</strike> or people living near Australia.

That said, it really doesn't matter whether you have a listserver next door, as the game servers are the actual "real servers" in the end.

[Odin]

Well, let's look at the pros and cons presented:

Pros:
Faster time for Australian people/people near Australia
3 list servers may attract people more
It's fun to watch a list server start up

Cons:
Who would host the list server?
More than two list servers gets hard to maintain
Expensive
Only slight differences in speed, if any

[Nimrod]

The thing is, its pointless asking for an Australian List Server.
I don’t live in Australia, neither does Monolith.

You should find a potential host before you request a new list server for the network. If you can find a host, please contact me or Monolith.


Oh and to be more on topic, I vote no because I personally think its pointless. You could get a decent speed to one of the two lists.

[FQuist]

(If you had read the thread you would see Shadowrabbit offered to host)

[R3ptile]

A list server for 3 people? Nah...

[MoonBlazE]

(If you had read the thread you would see Shadowrabbit offered to host)
(Which would be superb considering she has stated herself as a stupid 12 years old kid to escape any arguments against her and there's still a large possibility of its her connection being slow rather than the list server being distant.)

[cooba]

(If you had read the thread you would see Shadowrabbit offered to host)...wouldn't that make her lag on her own list then?

[Vegito]

(Which would be superb considering she has stated herself as a stupid 12 years old kid to escape any arguments against her and there's still a large possibility of its her connection being slow rather than the list server being distant.)

I dont think 5 seconds on 1 life matters a lot ;P
but I think moonblaze states what I think quite well ;P

[Odin]

(Which would be superb considering she has stated herself as a stupid 12 years old kid to escape any arguments against her and there's still a large possibility of its her connection being slow rather than the list server being distant.)

Zing!

[Nimrod]

(If you had read the thread you would see Shadowrabbit offered to host)

I would never consider an offer from a non-dedicated host. She would need to find a proper host which runs a reliable OS (Windows NT or Linux) and is actually online 24/7.

Plus to top it off, she wouldnt be able to use her own list is she hosted it. Hence destroying the entire reason she wants a list in Australia

[Puffie40]

I stated in a previous post that the bandwith depends on the LOCATION of the GAME server, not the location of the LIST server.


Shall I point it out in text diagram?

You start up jj2 and tell it to find some partymode games. so:


Your computer-> Thousands of kilometers of wire-> List server


The list server give you a list of games that are on currently. so:


List server-> Thousands of kilometers of wire-> Your computer


You choose a game ("UFS SERVER OF DOOM LOL") so, your computer sends out a connection request to the GAME SERVER. so:

Your computer -> Thousands of kilometers of wire -> Game server

Get it? The list server only detects games in progress. The reason we have to connect to them when we start a new game server is to let the list servers know the game is online.

[Torkell]

I stated in a previous post that the bandwith depends on the LOCATION of the GAME server, not the location of the LIST server.
Not quite. The *latency* depends on the location of the server. Bandwidth depends on the server connection, and your connection.