What is Desync? (A thorough explanation)

"

TheAnuhart wrote:

"

TheAnuhart wrote:

This thread makes me sad. :(

Thanks, OP, for explaining things. But all I can take from the post, and from the thread (thanks also deteego) is that..

1) HC will never be an option for me.

2) Doing any content that is itself challenging and rewarding in ilvl gear progression, will be done remaining at or around 0% XP.

3) Any character lvl progression can only be done in content so low that it has the absolute minimal chance of killing me, which means -20+ lvls, which becomes a face roll for the majority of play, but results in such slow progression that even 20-30 hours of /played can still be wiped out by a 'ported into room full of mobs' desync/erroneous resync.

And this...can not and will not ever change.

/sadface.

Oh dear.

I've just taken the time to assess the situation I am in personally, as far as progression and the affects of desync. I'm currently playing a lvl 83 character on default, HC is completely out of the question, sync is so out for me.

I've hit the point now where XP gains v probability of death from desync/resync error/porting into sure death, has tipped into the realm of impossible.

As an example, if we take Docks as a 'safest you can get' area.

83-84 XP req = 1,189,918,242
Single full Docks clear = 158,501
# of Docks clears for 83-84 = 7507
# of Docks clears for 15% of 83-84 = 1126

Now, even though Docks is relatively safe, the probability of a death to lmp voidbearers due to sync issues (for me with the sync issues I have) in 1126 runs is pretty big, thus the XP net gain would likely be negative. (not that it would even be considered to lvl this way).

When it comes to maps, while I haven't done the math (as it is very subjective and variable) lvl 66 maps are relatively safe while not augmented but still produce XP at a rate which is below what is required to 'outdo' the probability of death from sync issues.

I've only managed to get maps as high as lvl 73, while the XP gain in these maps was comparably massive compared to, say, a lvl 66 map, the probability of surviving a desync port-to-a-room-full-of-mobs which happens more than once per 15% of a lvl even at lvl 73 map XP gains, makes it doubtful that any net gain would be possible.

What really makes the point, however, is that in order to maintain a stock of maps, so as to be able to continue progression, the maps simply must be augmented, at least to 2 prop magic.
Any doubt that progression is not possible in white maps is gone with the need to maintain map stock and thus run magic/rare maps.

Please note, this is with the sync issues I (and i'm sure many others) have, those who don't have these sync issues as bad can obviously progress.

I'm really sad to say, I can't carry on with this game. Love it as much as I do.

Thanks for an (almost) awesome game, GGG.
Such a shame this legacy issue/problem, design decision, whatever, will forever be the thorn in the side of PoE. :(

"

Toudi_Ogr wrote:

So basically, GGG made a game that is unplayable from a certain point, because trying to push through content with 15% XP penalty for every death is just too frustrating to even bother yourself with this game, having this much of desync around all the time.

Was fun though. Thanks for taking few years of your lives to do a game that is pointless to play at the end. Good job.

Better luck next time though.

"

Raapys wrote:

Eh, you don't need to decrypt the communication, you just hijack the game process and change the variables containing the amount of damage dealt before encryption is even done... Only good way to combat those kinds of hacks is by running something like Blizzard's Warden, and that's invasive and still not foolproof.

"

Nyruami wrote:

This would only work if the server is set to believe everything the client tells, if there are probability checks, even to an amount as in checking if not only the damage done is doable by the weapon equipped but also if the amount of critical hits over the past x amount of time fits the critrate you have, it could be countered with very little effort serversided.

Basically it´s a question about who has to deal with annoyance. It´s way more effort to make such a system as foolproof as possible server-sided, so the programmers would have to deal with annoyance. But you also can go the easy way, let the server calculate everything and the client be nothing but a graphical frontend, well, then your users will be annoyed by desyncs.

"

soranamae wrote:

Your explanation on how it works is right, but the comparison to D3 is bullshit
Many areas in PoE are pretty open, even more so than D3, and you still desync all the time
(Such as getting charged by a Rhoa in Mud Flats)

D3 has charging mobs too, it has indoor environments with narrow corridors, where you can funnel mobs through doors, such as Act 3 Keep, it has extremely fast moving mobs, skills that hit while moving (har har Whirlwind), and where is the desync? Nowhere, it works flawlessly

So this whole idea that PoE desyncs because PoE has more "obstacles" and GGG wants to have a more tactical game is a bad excuse

Ill be the first to criticize D3 for being a failure of a sequel, but in this regard, it is miles ahead of PoE, and GGG is obviously doing something wrong

"

Nyruami wrote:

There are literally hundreds of ways to reduce desync to as minimum or even to get rid of it completely...

"

tpapp157 wrote:

Let me begin by saying that absolutely every game that is played online has to deal with desync. Every single game without exception.

"

To combat desyncs, some games choose to use a game architecture that rigidly forces every game state to stay synchronized at all times.