MAW was designed to be used either as a SP game or as MP on line. Great care was taken to insure that aircraft mis-match would not be a problem and hours of on line testing were conducted to insure that the game would work without problems in MP. We have compiled the following notes that address most of the problems that can occur on line to assist you in planning your on-line sessions. Some, but not all are specific to MAW but can be an issue when flying CFS3 or OFF as well.

Host Requirements

The host should at minimum be using a cable connection. While it is possible to host on line using dial up or DSL the experience for those joining will in most cases not be satisfactory. If the decision to host using dial up or DSL is made, the host should limit players to no more than 4. While players can join using DSL, the load on the connection to the host simply cannot handle the data transfer load to the players with good result.

The host server must be strong, and the host should insure that no back ground programs are running that will slow their server down. A separate server for team speak is a good idea with more than 4 players and a normal cable connection. Even with a separate server for team speak the host must remember that team speak is using bandwidth and will slow the game for all. Even the most powerful servers have difficulty when more than 12 to 14 players are logged on to TS and are in the game.

Player Requirements

Players should have at minimum a good DSL connection, cable is preferred. Normally during any on line session DSL players will experience some problems that will include lag, freeze or loss of connection back to CFS 3 menu screen. Regardless of connection it is always a good idea for players to review their image detail sliders to insure that low FPS will not be a problem. Low FPS in SP will become worse while on-line. A good start for a strong server on a good cable connection is aircraft at “3", clouds at “3" and all others at “4". Many aircraft models have a lot of detail in them and settings above “3" may cause problems during a session when many aircraft are present at one time and are in view. Experience should provide the player with the knowledge to adjust their individual settings based on their equipment and connection. Lag and freeze ups will require lower settings even though the player has not had problems in SP. Weak video cards and or overheating can also be a problem during long sessions. Screen grabbers, sound and video recording should only be used by players with very strong servers and fast connections.

Building the Mission

The host should be aware that certain conditions and or items lower FPS and can create problems for players. These should be used with discretion.

1. Operations over major cities with lots of buildings present.

2. Heavy cloud cover

3. Artillery barrages and/or heavy flak concentrations

3. Mountainous terrain

4. Large numbers of aircraft present at one time.

5. Moving trains, vehicles and ships lower FPS.

6. Large bomber formations

7. Large highly detailed ships in large numbers

8. Barrage balloons

9. Effects like heavy fire, flares and smoke

Crash to Desk Top Issue

Sometimes players will experience a crash to desktop (CTD) during a game Contributing problems can include;

1. Host allowing aircraft to spawn not owned by the player

2. Facilities not owned by the player

3. Weak video cards during intense action

5. Poor connection

6. Player has background programs running.

7. Host band with exceeded

Inability to join session

During our on line testing with MAW we discovered that the number of aircraft selected by the host could cause a blank screen and inability to join session for some players. When hosting a mission the host only needs to select one aircraft from his menu in order to host the mission. It is not even necessary to enable all the aircraft included in the mission. While hosting dog fights it is highly recommended to limit aircraft selection to no more than 36 aircraft in total. The use of the private IP join option can improve latency for some players. Going thru the CFS 3 server is adding another connection to the process that is not needed.

Common issues for both host and players

1. It is always a good idea to go to your start button and clean and compress files before joining an on line session

2. Always run CFS 3/MAW config before joining

3. The host should always clean files before starting a new game after a lengthy session.

Summary

On-Line flying adds a new dimension to any sim and we hope these tips and suggestions will help you to get the most out of MAW and provide answers to many of the problems you may have experienced.

Good luck with your on-line sessions and feel free to post any additional questions
or issues you may have on our MAW forum.