Video shows shocking Call of Duty: Black Ops host advantage, reinforces value of dedicated servers

A Call of Duty: Black Ops player has made a video showing the huge advantage that hosting players have in Call of Duty: Black Ops. He and a friend face each other on a server and open fire at the same time using the in game clock. The hosting player wins. Every time.

[Letros]

No point in b!tching about it when there is a platform available with dedicated servers.

[Grin]

Why is this not a reason to bitch about it? All the PS3 and 360 players just have to STFU because they aren't on a PC??

[Kazu0 Hirai]

Thats right Grin. If you choose an inferior platform, expect an inferior product.

@below: yes there are games with acceptable connections on console but it will never be perfect. dedicated servers is always the better way to go.

[Dannehkins]

How does that make sense when there are games out there which have perfectly accetable online connections? It's not the platform that's the problem, but we have all known that for some years now.

[dragon82]

MAG runs on dedicated servers and can support up to 256 players at a time without lag so don't give me that inferior platform bullshit. The reason the game runs like ass is because of Activision and their lack of dedicated servers not the PS3 or Xbox 360.

Take your PC Elitest crap somewhere else because that shit won't fly around here. We all know the truth.

[BX81]

@Dannehkins I agree! PC trolls... you gotta love them!

[Dannehkins]

Thanks BX. I was beginning to think I didn't get my point across clearly.

@Fanboi, a perfectly good example to back up my case.

The fact of the matter is, the COD way of doing online gaming isn't generally the one which yields the best results for you connection and I should know, it keeps me putting me in Spanish servers despite beign set on Local.

[Bolts]

I don't see your point. Killzone 2 and other PS3 exclusives have dedicated servers.

[MUHAHAHAHAAHAHA]

WTF this always happens to me since cod 4

[DelbertGrady]

That's why I only spent less than 2 days on the multiplayer. As soon as I noticed that other players see me before I see them on the killcam I saw no reason to continue playing it.

It's amazing that a bug like this is in the game after all this time they've had developing the MP aspect of the Call of Duty series. Embarrassing.

[Shackdaddy836]

I spent 2 days too on the multiplayer. But I stopped cus I got bored of it after awhile. Its just a repetitive game imo.

[HK6]

It's Black Ops. What did you expect?

[BeaArthur]

It happens in any game without dedicated servers. It's more noticeable in some games more than others.

[soundslike]

The lower the health on players in a game, the less people will notice, but the more it matters. Its the same in any game with a host, but if the game sports higher health amounts, you at least have the time to react and make it somewhat even.

[killalot100]

Man Im hurting for Killzone 3!!

[TheGameFoxJTV]

Do KZ3 have dedicated servers?

[skip2mylou]

yea all killzone games have had dedicated servers, a lot of ps3 exclusives do

[killalot100]

Yes killzone 2 has dedicated servers but it also has that aim long that the devs put in. Killzone 3 doesnt have that and still keeps the servers ftw. Warhawk has servers and they are crazy good. I get 10 ping on a couple of their servers and its crazy awesome how fast the sniper registers a kill.

[TooTall19]

KZ2 and KZ3 do NOT have dedicated servers. There is a host advantage, but it was less noticeable in KZ2 due to the amount of damage it takes to kill someone and the lack of a kill cam.

[Bolts]

WTF are you talking about Killzone 2 DO have dedicated servers. Almost all PS3 exclusives have it except for Uncharted 2.

Killzone 2, Warhawk, Socom, Resistance 1-2, are all dedicated server games. Once you get used to playing games on dedicated servers it's hard to go back to peer to peer crap like BlackOPs.

[killalot100]

@TooTall19 Killzone 2 does have dedicated servers. You can even assign your ps3 to be a server like in warhawk. Their will always be someone that has a faster connection to the server then you but they are not host.

[TheGameFoxJTV]

Then nice. Funny that PSN is free and its titles actually have Dedicated Servers while ive never seen a 360 game other than Section 8 have them.

[BeaArthur]

I exit any room where I don't have full bars.

[lugia 4000]

This aint new. Happens with all cods.

[sehnsucht]

I get murdered any time I host on PS3. It's like the game tries to calculate the lag to average it, but always gives me the disadvantage. It's very hard not to leave the game every time...but I hate to give everyone on both teams a loss because it's annoying for me.

[Chnswdchldrn]

didn't like dealin with this shit so i got a PC

superior

[visualb]

didn't like dealin with this shit so I didn't buy this POS

even more superior

[gcolley]

CoD doesn't seem like it would appeal to PC gamers. to arcadey for the "hard core" PC community out there. i figured it was the casual console gamer that this would appeal to. the sort that buys the big franchises and nothing else.

your superior machine is still playing the same crap games as console by the sound if it.

[Bolts]

Nobody and I mean nobody buy a PC for Call of Duty. Trolling for the lose.

[GoldPS3]

COD is a shit game

[Ve3tro]

The joys of being host. *points at self*

[AllroundGamer]

they fixed this host advantage on the PS3 version, cause if you are host, the PS3 just freezes :D man i hope the idiots at Treyarch figured out the freezing problem and it will be fixed in the next patch... but since LBP2 and KZ3 is around the corner, i won't probably touch BlackOps in a looong time :p

[plb]

I was just playing this game on PS3 for about half an hour and got disconnected 3 times during that span. You know the one where connection timed out during game then migrating hosts then game lobby closed..ya that one. I know ps3 owners are familiar with this crap.

[AnonUser5555]

Ive got the ps3 version, and my brother has 360. This happens the same amount on both versions. Stop spewing crap.

[MidnytRain]

Just because he has observed different results doesn't mean he's "spewing crap". If you and I were to individually test how long it took for a 1 cm3 block of ice to melt, you may get 1 hour 5 minutes. If I tell you mine melted in 1 hour 15 minutes, does that make me full of crap? There are many factors concerning connection quality in multiplayer games. Nobody will get the same results.

[AnonUser5555]

He's implying only ps3 owners deal with connection issues, which any semi-intelligent person knows is not the case.

Your ice melting example does not apply to this situation at all. If anything, his implication that only ps3 owners have issues is like the person saying theres no difference in the amount of time ice takes to melt. But either way, silly example that does not make sense in this context.

[MidnytRain]

The thing is, you're assuming he was comparing it to the 360 version, when in fact, he didn't mention it at all! You assume because he points out a negative aspect of the PS3 Black Ops, that he is praising the Xbox version. He just made a statement of a personal experience with the PS3, man.

[JeffGUNZ]

BigKurz8, you're lying. I have the 360 version and NEVER lose connection unless host leaves and by some miracle the game doesn't migrate. Dude, the PS3 is great, but Black Ops perfoms much better on the 360. That's not the PS3's fault, the game should be on dedicated servers for both platforms.

Have you not read all the articles stating all the issues with the PS3 version? I mean come on man, take a breather, no one is dissing the PS3.

[AnonUser5555]

That doesnt make me a liar; that means we've had different experiences (Isnt that what people have been getting on me about?)

I played the 360 version with my brother for the better part of a week when i was home for christmas, and had just as many problems with dropped connections as ive had with my ps3 version. Why is my personal experience any less meaningful than yours?

[JeffGUNZ]

eh, then I take back liar. Usually on this site you run into a lot of people who say they have played the 360 version but have never and only want to trash talk the 360. does your brother have a decent GB connection. I have cable modem 10GB connection and rarely lag or enter rooms with noticable lag.

[MidnytRain]

@BigKurz8
Now you're contradicting yourself! Above, you say he is spewing crap for saying that he personally has had connection issues with the PS3 version. Now you defend yourself from being called a liar by claiming that you yourself have had a different experience with connection problems. That was the entire point of my first post!

[AnonUser5555]

No, I didnt contradict myself. I said he was spewing crap because he implied that only ps3 owners were dealing with connection issues. I didnt say he was spewing crap for saying he had issues with the ps3; in fact, ive already admitted to problems myself.

I took the phrase "I know ps3 owners are familiar with this" as to imply that 360 owners did not deal with it. If that implication is wrong, then fine. But i dont think it is. By saying that specifically ps3 owners are familiar with connection problems, it suggests that the opposite is true for 360 owners.

Yes, I did "assume" he was comparing it to the 360, because thats what he was likely doing.

This whole argument is ridiculous...and since im now out of bubbles im sure youll have some "witty and clever" (though not actually) response.

[peeps]

dedicated servers cost money to run though so it's unsurprising they're rare on consoles

[DarkFantasy]

I'm sure activision could afford it tho they make millions on COD.

[peeps]

yeh but look how many people bought cod knowing it doesn't have dedicated servers on consoles...

[AnonUser5555]

lol. i dont think all that many regular (Read: Those who dont spend a lot of time on websites like N4G) really "know" there aren't dedicated servers. We're a very specific group here.

[Ducky]

The video is just network latency for dummies.
What's the fuss about? O.o

You'll get an advantage even if there were dedicated servers. The guy who lives closest to the server will always have the upper hand in a twitch-based shooter.

It's just that the killcam makes it glaringly obvious when you have the lower hand. Otherwise, people wouldn't complain much if they didn't see the killcam after every death.
The low amount of bullets needed to take someone down just makes it more problematic.

[Redempteur]

Well that's why people wanted dedicated servers from the start

[Raven_Nomad]

I'm not a huge fan of dedicated servers. I play a lot competitively with Gamebattles.com and games with dedicated servers usually are difficult to do Gamebattles on, you need to be able to host servers and invite people in ect...

Sometimes there can be lag or a bit of BS but that just comes with every game, I've played in plenty of "Dedicated servers" that had lag. I used to rent one and play Star Wars Battlefront 2 on the PS2 on it and it had lag and unregistered shots as well.

[distorted_reality]

You play competitively and you don't like dedicated servers?????

Wow.

[Raven_Nomad]

Yes, for the reasons I stated, the competition is really limited in games with dedicated servers.
Check the GB teams for Black Ops which has around 12 thousand teams signed up on the Xbox 360 ladders, while games with servers have hardly any teams, Battlefield Bad Company 2 would be a prime example, less then 100 teams signed up.

You look at any game that uses dedicated servers and it'll be a ghost town.

[distorted_reality]

Maybe for consoles, but that's only because console players don't know any better and the netcode/infrastructure isn't up to scratch.

Look at any competitive PC FPS from the past 10 years - if it doesn't have dedi's, it isn't competitive, and it isn't successful. MW2 was a HUGE flop in this regard.

I wouldn't even consider playing a competitive match on a user hosted server. Way too many problems for that to be a viable solution. It's easy enough to get a dedicated server for scrims/wars (without paying if you don't want to go down that route) that any other option is just silly.

Just goes to show that some devs obviously don't see consoles as real competitive gaming platforms.

[Szarky]

Vietnam!!!!!

...get B:BC2 + DLC and forget all your troubles in life!

[WiIIiam]

I didn't really notice this too much in the other CoD games. Does anyone know if it's a more prominent issue in Black Ops, or was I just not paying close enough attention this whole time?

[distorted_reality]

Don't know about consoles, but the PC version had massive net code issues when released. Has gotten better over time though.

[sickbird]

yea this happens all the time, Its 10000x worse on Black ops than other CODs.

[JeffGUNZ]

eh, COD4 is when I really began to notice it. MW2 was obvious, I think I am just use to it now haha.