PsychoScrum League Season 17: Season Mode

[get some]

asking everyone in the league to have multiple computers so that they can run skype independently is asking a bit much imo.

i just realized that i can run skype off my iPhone...woot!

[THE V]

Pingtest is kind of fun. Hadn't been on speedtest in a while.

[belikin]

^^
i think you have been talking with my wife because that is exactly what she says.
i realize that multiple computers will be a problem for most but it does shine some light on why some people have lag and some don't.

[Baba]

Skype does not affect my lag at all and I only hear complaints about skype when we are in PSL. 85% of the time when I play TS with all of you, I use skype and I never hear any issues pop up.

Its hard to say though isnt it, because there are times you complain about lag on servers that seem smooth to me, and we live miles apart. I really dont know either way.

[Baba]

Its good we are getting some more facts on the table.

I'm glad some who were able to use Skype enjoyed the benefits of better communication within the team, with apparent glowing results.

Therein lies the problem.

Up to this year we have struggled to try to maintain parity within teams (with varying success)
We have tried to select maps that minimize lag, while maximize fun and good competitive scrum.
We have made movement towards decentralizing locations of the servers in order to better serve more scrummers (Euro players notwithstanding).

It seems what I hear about skype is that the bar to play in PSL now has been raised to having two computers dedicated to playing Think Tanks.
To me this seems to further exclude and narrow the pool of effective players eligible to play.
Is that the direction we really want to go?

I know there are some who approach their teams and the games they play with the win at all cost approach. Having been on a series of loosing teams of late I can only gaze with envy at their success.
However I also think that the most fun I have in this game are the 14-13 games, not the 13-6 ones.
If we can elevate all players and all the teams by adding this apparent significant advantage to team communication and strategy then that is good for all and elevates the play of PSL.
If it serves to heighten differences, adds to more lopsided wins, then I question the benefit to all, the benefit to Psycho Scrum.
Again I am not trying to veto this addition to PSL, just am cautious about the effect of adding it.

(btw I use TeamSpeex on occasion when I play EVE online - though know little about its relative merits as compared to Skype or Vent)

[get some]

i move to put a hold on Skype usage until we can poll every player participating as to whether they are capable of running Skype independently during games.

captains can do this quickly via email. we need to see how this shakes out before randomly implementing it i think. then maybe we can have a captains meeting via Skype and make an informed decision. either way...i think week 1 should be played Skypeless.

i know my team is at least 3 outta 6 and maybe 4 outta 6 as capable of using Skype independantly.

i hope it works out...im very excited about the potential elevation of play via Skype. but i gotta be honest that im feeling sympathetic towards those who feel it will severely disrupt the parity between teams.

[The Professor]

While I very much want to use Skype, what getsome has suggested is a prudent course of action. I would hate to lose league members as a result of this issue.

[Cloud]

Up to this year we have struggled to try to maintain parity within teams (with varying success)
We have tried to select maps that minimize lag, while maximize fun and good competitive scrum.

The maps are there to maximize FPS and minimize the stress on the Grahpics card. Lag 'should' be the same on every map.

However I also think that the most fun I have in this game are the 14-13 games, not the 13-6 ones.

Lag not withstanding, there was a reason for this. Jay's team used skype therefore their team was much better organized and communication was at its best which crushed GS's team of oldtimers. That is a major reason Jay's team won.

i move to put a hold on Skype usage until we can poll every player participating as to whether they are capable of running Skype independently during games.

Who said you had to run skype? RX stated that "Voice-chat during league games is now allowed!"
You can run teamspeek, or any other application that uses voice. We just choose to use skype. Plus this has already been proven with the numerous times we have used skype in scrumbag, Roos scrum, DR server, dashbash with no effect what so ever on game play. It just so happens that people bring up this issue in PSL

Unfortunatly dash can not host servers becuase of his absence. We are all spoiled becuase of this. Its time to face the lag. We should be thanking the people who are hosting even if it involves some lag.

i know my team is at least 3 outta 6 and maybe 4 outta 6 as capable of using Skype independantly.

Having two people on skype during one game elevates the communication immensely. It would be a shame if this opportunity was to be destroyed.

but i gotta be honest that im feeling sympathetic towards those who feel it will severely disrupt the parity between teams.

I also feel sympathetic however I'm getting the feeling that its the only excuse people can find. Many new players are here because of the benefits of skype.

[Jay]

I'm not sure why we're discussing the possibilities that people may need two computers to play in this league...

Running skype on a different machine is only necessary if you have a crap computer to be honest. It's all down to processors, and as Cloud stated, RX mentioned 'voice-chat', not skype in particular. Even then it only affects yourself, and not the rest of the server.

In regards to the issue about it being an 'unfair' advantage, it all depends on how organised you are. For instance, in my very first email I sent out to my team, I asked for everyone to give me their skype names, and asked whether any of them had any problems running skype and TT at the same time. The results were that we had all arranged to use voice-chat during the preseason game, and organised ourselves accordingly. As I thought, it proved to be very significant. No offense to Getsome's team, but if they had arranged the same with their team, prior to the last 5 minutes of start time, I can bet that the results would have been allot closer. Same with all teams, if given the chance to play in Belikin's server.

The fact is we don't have the luxury of having dash's and roo's servers this year (Unless roo has the time/wants to help out?), and it has seemed to me that BC's connection has been rather unstable as of late, but the lag you all felt was probably nothing to do with skype, but the servers themselves. If you had all played in Belikins server, as we were lucky to do, then I can bet that all of this nonsense about skype lag would be non-existent.

The only issue that I can see that we need to sort out immediately, is the servers. If LGM thinks he's fixed his server, then lets go test it out, and then try to find a suitable replacement for BC's until he's all sorted. Ofcourse there may not be anyone else who can host, and if that's the case, we might have to look at more drastic measures to keep this league going. So lets all forget this 'skype lag' nonsense at the moment, and concentrate on the main issue.

[LGM]

OK then, let's talk servers some more.

Here's a link to a "SmokePing" test I've been running for 12 hours or so. It looks pretty good to me. There's an occasional blip in the data, but the connection seems strong. The test is run from three different servers, one in NY and two in CA.

http://www.dslreports.com/r3/smokeping. ... 512296350f

If you guys are willing, I'll try to pop in and drag some players over to my server, then we can see how the CPU is holding up. There were 3 of us in there this morning, and the peak usage was 5% (when the third player joined, it spiked up a bit) with the average being around 3%. I want to see what it is with 8-10 players in there.

Thanks.