GT5 Online Hosting

[UMC 22]

I noticed a little discussion on hosting in one of the club threads, and thought I'd share some interesting info.

When you create an online game in GT5 your PS3 is not the actual host, and other players are not connecting to you directly. The game is in fact being hosted by PDs own servers. Your PS3 is merely 'in control' of the game and its settings, nothing more.

This is why your PS3 has to 'connect to server' in order to enter your own lobby, and why it 'requests regulation changes' when you change the settings. It's also how the host is able to leave their own lobby without everyone else being instantly disconnected, as they would in a PC game.

The long and short of it is that the ability to connect to a game and the performance you get is not based on who is hosting the game... its based on the quality of the connection between you and PDs servers, wherever they may be.

 

[Saul Boucher]

Very interesting info. I was wondering about just that.. due to like you say, "connecting to server".

Hopefully that translates to high quality racing, when our grid sizes increase.

 

[Tim Allardyce]

So why do we have different 'connection strength' bars on the far right between different rooms then?

Is that the host connection to the server, or is that our connection to the specific PD server they've hosted their room on? (assuming there are many servers internationally)

 

[UMC 22]

So why do we have different 'connection strength' bars on the far right between different rooms then?

Is that the host connection to the server, or is that our connection to the specific PD server they've hosted their room on? (assuming there are many servers internationally)

I would guess it's the latter. Unlike some games, there do not appear to be any international barriers in GT5. British can play Australians, Japanese can play Americans, Russians can play South Africans, etc etc. I would think the game is hosted on whichever PD server is closest to the person that creates the lobby.

 

[Stephen Robins]

That does really make sense. Why would the connection settings be based on your connection when the PD server is hosting it? Why can't PD servers host the bandwidth needed? Or have a "web" connection setup where each persons connection is shared to make it more stable. I know GT5p did that.

But as far as i'm aware of, isn't this the same for all P2P games? I'm sure with games such as Call of Duty, you all connect through a server but your PS3 hosts the game and donates the bandwidth. The server is basicly a middle man checking regulations.

It would help if GT5 wasn't so bandwidth hungry too, as the slightly flux in the connection results in serious connection issues. I have a very good and stable connection, but if GT5 isn't getting all my bandwidth, it will refuse to connect. Where as other games such as Call of Duty are fine. Also, the connection settings should be more clear and tell you how much bandwidth is needed for each setting. As sometimes it recommends high one day, but low the next day.

 

[UMC 22]

But as far as i'm aware of, isn't this the same for all P2P games? I'm sure with games such as Call of Duty, you all connect through a server but your PS3 hosts the game and donates the bandwidth. The server is basicly a middle man checking regulations.

With GT5 the server is hosting the game, not your PS3. Everything is processed there, and then sent to everyone that is connected to it, host included. That's why even the host can have lag, and why they can even be d/c'd from their own room. I don't know how it works in other games because I don't play many console games online. With PC games the host really is the host... ie, their PC is doing the hosting.

It would help if GT5 wasn't so bandwidth hungry too, as the slightly flux in the connection results in serious connection issues. I have a very good and stable connection, but if GT5 isn't getting all my bandwidth, it will refuse to connect. Where as other games such as Call of Duty are fine. Also, the connection settings should be more clear and tell you how much bandwidth is needed for each setting. As sometimes it recommends high one day, but low the next day.

I've heard the PS3 itself that can be a bandwidth hog. Even when playing nothing at all it can sometimes be using 2mb or more for whatever reason, though I have no way of verifying that myself. PDs servers have been a bit of an issue since release though. At first they grossly underestimated how many people would be trying to get online, which meant loads of people couldn't get on at all. They supposedly fixed that, but there are still people having various issues. Just today two people got booted at the exact same moment from the M3 event, for no apparent reason.

About the hosting settings, I'm not sure that it would be particularly useful for the game to tell you how much bandwidth is needed for each one. You could have 50mb broadband, but that doesn't necessarily mean that your connection to the PD servers will run at full speed. Its recommendation changes because its based on how good your connection is at the time, and how busy their servers are.