Way to reduce/fix 'fight loading screen' bug
JackDiamond
Member Posts: 133 ★
Our team (and others) seem to be getting more bugs where we click to start an AQ or AW fight, we get the loading screen, and then nothing happens ("loading screen crash"). As you all know, that loses us 50% of the current health.
It started again/has got worse since two maintenances ago (not the one on the 19th, the one before); then it seems to have got worse again on the maintenance on the 19th.
Assuming that you cannot or will not fix whatever it is that leads to this problem (I'd guess a server problem, but whatever), perhaps it is time to re-evaluate how/when you handle it.
First off, perhaps revisit the code and - and this is a bit radical - do some error-handling? I mean, surely we can agree that if, say, it's taken 2 minutes to successfully load a level (and I'm talking about the basics of internet data connections, ie send data, acknowledge) then you should either return to the level map without punishment, or try to load it again, or at least offer the user a choice of actions, rather than just punishing them? And if not 2 minutes, then how about 1 minute? Or 5 minutes? You choose.
Alternatively you could look at when/how you flag a fight starting, and instead of flagging it as starting BEFORE the loading screen you move it later in the fight loading process? I mean, I'm going to assume that you can't or won't put it right before the fight starting because of anti-piracy (though really, how many people use cracked versions of the game and so distort the results, vs how many decent non-cheating people are getting this bug regularly and so distorting the results?). But it must be possible to move it later in the process. Maybe load ALL of the fight data EXCEPT a tiny crucial bit, and THEN set the flag, and so reduce the chance of the bug. Or can you go later, and flag after the loading but before you show anything on screen?
This current behaviour, this crash that has probably cost every single regular player at least a few fights (or a lot?), cost some players units or potions, maybe cost some teams AW wins or AQ completion, this behaviour smacks of an old choice made long ago that has never been revisited and re-evaluated, probably because it was quick and easy to do so, and maybe you figured you'd get around to fixing it some time. So since it's still not been fixed years later, why not revisit and re-evaluate it instead?
It started again/has got worse since two maintenances ago (not the one on the 19th, the one before); then it seems to have got worse again on the maintenance on the 19th.
Assuming that you cannot or will not fix whatever it is that leads to this problem (I'd guess a server problem, but whatever), perhaps it is time to re-evaluate how/when you handle it.
First off, perhaps revisit the code and - and this is a bit radical - do some error-handling? I mean, surely we can agree that if, say, it's taken 2 minutes to successfully load a level (and I'm talking about the basics of internet data connections, ie send data, acknowledge) then you should either return to the level map without punishment, or try to load it again, or at least offer the user a choice of actions, rather than just punishing them? And if not 2 minutes, then how about 1 minute? Or 5 minutes? You choose.
Alternatively you could look at when/how you flag a fight starting, and instead of flagging it as starting BEFORE the loading screen you move it later in the fight loading process? I mean, I'm going to assume that you can't or won't put it right before the fight starting because of anti-piracy (though really, how many people use cracked versions of the game and so distort the results, vs how many decent non-cheating people are getting this bug regularly and so distorting the results?). But it must be possible to move it later in the process. Maybe load ALL of the fight data EXCEPT a tiny crucial bit, and THEN set the flag, and so reduce the chance of the bug. Or can you go later, and flag after the loading but before you show anything on screen?
This current behaviour, this crash that has probably cost every single regular player at least a few fights (or a lot?), cost some players units or potions, maybe cost some teams AW wins or AQ completion, this behaviour smacks of an old choice made long ago that has never been revisited and re-evaluated, probably because it was quick and easy to do so, and maybe you figured you'd get around to fixing it some time. So since it's still not been fixed years later, why not revisit and re-evaluate it instead?
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