New features - client network replication
We've introduced a new feature that allows you to adjust your network replication speed. We always recommend that the person who creates the lobby has the best internet and PC possible to avoid issues however there is a new option that is the frequency at which you ask the host/lobby creator for updates.
To be clear; it does not matter what setting the host has this set to, it is for clients to specify how often. You will notice quite a difference between the slowest and fastest updates if you want to see the effect of this setting. To confirm, the default value prior to this update was in the middle (balanced).
If you're experiencing disconnects, you may want to lower this setting.
New features - network update rework
In line with the above, we have also adjusted the network packet frequency so that we now only send 1/3 of the packets we used to, albeit the packets are now slightly larger. This should make the network a lot more reliable.
We've also added de-jitter to the network stack so that if any packets are dropped it should provide a much smoother experience!
Bug fixes
In this update we've managed to fix some very old issues whereby towers could be placed inside each other or in the actual lanes themselves. If for any reason these events happen, we've placed in some logic that will refund players with the coins and remove the disallowed tower.
Another fix that we've done is that we've made it so that clients now see the recently added path markers at the start of the game.
Closing thoughts
We've achieved some great things in this update which will hopefully give you more control in regards to your PC's and connections and ultimately make your games more stable. We've had games in this update whereby players couldn't even stream a video online but they still remained in the game, so our testing has been really positive.
There's more updates coming soon, we've got some great ideas!