My concern for this game
This game is without a doubt a great one. The combat feels personal, fluid, and the full customization of the move decks makes every fight different. You have to adapt and strategize for every player fighter you face. The key to victory is being able to read and timely react to your opponent.
This is why it is of utmost importance to make sure the game runs smoothly; free of any input lag. There are so many moments where one dodge/parry/absorb/block can decide the outcome of the duel, and if there is any delay in timing of the dodge/parry/absorb/block, not only is it unfair to the player with the lag, it is also extremely frustrating in a game like this.
My opinion is that it was a mistake to use p2p connection for this game. I'm not sure how things are in NA and EU servers (they seem to be fine from the streams that I watched), but Oceanic and Asian players (myself included) still seem to experience a lot of lag. In these cases, the host has full advantage. Some games we get are great - when there is no lag, we get epic adrenaline fueled duels where both players are dodging/parrying/absorbing/blocking every other move and successfully attacking and pressuring. However, most games we face go with one player suffering from low levels (but still enough) to extreme levels of lag. When the lag is small but evident, you can feel your character being sluggish to your input. You see the opponent's attack, you react and either your character will stay still and get hit or do the animation of dodging/parrying/absorbing but still get hit. In an extreme case, you see them teleporting, and when you block a hit you see yourself teleporting back and forth. There is no strategy, no adaptation here. All you can do is either block or attack and hope for the best, or leave the game and hope for a better matchup in terms of ping. This of course is very problematic to say the least, and I wonder how many duels I easily won were simply because of lag my opponent suffered, and not because I deserved it.
The game needs dedicated servers. I sincerely hope Devolver Digital and Sloclap do not decide that they are content with how US and EU state of the gameplays are, and do continue to resolve the issue on OCE and AS. I reiterate: p2p is a mistake. One of the many reasons that For Honor failed in keeping their player base was because people got frustrated with lag and connectivity issues (granted, balancing issues were probably the main cause), and I would hate to see another great fighting game lose a lot of their players because of lag and connectivity issues, originating from p2p connections. I once again urge the game to employ a more reliable connection solution.
TL;DR - p2p lag is ruining another great game. Please learn from For Honor's many mistakes and get dedicated servers!
This is why it is of utmost importance to make sure the game runs smoothly; free of any input lag. There are so many moments where one dodge/parry/absorb/block can decide the outcome of the duel, and if there is any delay in timing of the dodge/parry/absorb/block, not only is it unfair to the player with the lag, it is also extremely frustrating in a game like this.
My opinion is that it was a mistake to use p2p connection for this game. I'm not sure how things are in NA and EU servers (they seem to be fine from the streams that I watched), but Oceanic and Asian players (myself included) still seem to experience a lot of lag. In these cases, the host has full advantage. Some games we get are great - when there is no lag, we get epic adrenaline fueled duels where both players are dodging/parrying/absorbing/blocking every other move and successfully attacking and pressuring. However, most games we face go with one player suffering from low levels (but still enough) to extreme levels of lag. When the lag is small but evident, you can feel your character being sluggish to your input. You see the opponent's attack, you react and either your character will stay still and get hit or do the animation of dodging/parrying/absorbing but still get hit. In an extreme case, you see them teleporting, and when you block a hit you see yourself teleporting back and forth. There is no strategy, no adaptation here. All you can do is either block or attack and hope for the best, or leave the game and hope for a better matchup in terms of ping. This of course is very problematic to say the least, and I wonder how many duels I easily won were simply because of lag my opponent suffered, and not because I deserved it.
The game needs dedicated servers. I sincerely hope Devolver Digital and Sloclap do not decide that they are content with how US and EU state of the gameplays are, and do continue to resolve the issue on OCE and AS. I reiterate: p2p is a mistake. One of the many reasons that For Honor failed in keeping their player base was because people got frustrated with lag and connectivity issues (granted, balancing issues were probably the main cause), and I would hate to see another great fighting game lose a lot of their players because of lag and connectivity issues, originating from p2p connections. I once again urge the game to employ a more reliable connection solution.
TL;DR - p2p lag is ruining another great game. Please learn from For Honor's many mistakes and get dedicated servers!