Oh Valve!

[gameboy5817]

This post only concerns xbox users.

Dear Valve,

Ever since you announced Cold Streams release date L4D2's servers for xbox have gone to the crapper. I mean 50% of the time we are returned to the lobby due to 'lost connection to server.' The lobby leader will have three bars while everyone else has one, not to mention if the lobby leader leaves during any point in the game we get returned to the lobby. I don't know what happened or why the servers are crap, but if it is related to Cold Stream you better have it fixed before July 24th.

-All xbox players (who have to pay for DLC)

[Kerb]

+1, I hate locally hosted servers and I've been having server issues for much longer (since last august).

[TocFanKe4]

I don't see any "bars" when I join a lobby. But I only play on campaign. Maybe they are only on verses games or maybe I don't know how to turn them on.

I have noticed something odd. I'll create a new campaign lobby, set it to public, and then wait a while for folks to join. After about 10 minutes of waiting, nobody has joined. Then I noticed that the room permission has set to "friends only". I set it back to public, and I waited for another 5 minutes. Then I noticed it revert back to "friends only" again. What the heck is going on?

[zencats]

Originally Posted by TocFanKe4

I don't see any "bars" when I join a lobby. But I only play on campaign. Maybe they are only on verses games or maybe I don't know how to turn them on.

I have noticed something odd. I'll create a new campaign lobby, set it to public, and then wait a while for folks to join. After about 10 minutes of waiting, nobody has joined. Then I noticed that the room permission has set to "friends only". I set it back to public, and I waited for another 5 minutes. Then I noticed it revert back to "friends only" again. What the heck is going on?

The 'bars' are the ones found in-game by holding the 'back' button on your controller. The signify your ping to the server, 3&green is excellent (nice and close to it), 2&orange is fair, 1&red means it'll be a really laggy game and you're quite far away from the server. (I'm sure it would be great for xbox users to actually have a numerical ping, so other people can see just how bad some connections are on there! Want to add that in with the DLC please, Valve?! lol)

If you're waiting in a lobby, it will automatically switch to friends-only after a few minutes of inactivity. It's to stop people from making public lobbies and going AFK, and people who have joined waiting for ages for the lobby leader to get back or whatever.

Are you in Europe at all? I found that when hosting a lobby (I'm in the UK), no one but my friends would join. It seemed like European lobbies were not 'viewable' from the search for games option...

Hopefully this will all be fixed with the release of the DLC (24th July), but issues have been persisting since August last year.

[TocFanKe4]

Thanks for the info. I remember seeing bars on a verses game I tried one day, but couldn't figure out how to find them again.

I'm actually in Iowa in the US. I usually play at 3 am local time on sunday morning, which I think is like 9 am UK time. Might be why I didn't find anyone. Last weekend I was also playing through my phone's wifi hotspot since I was visiting my parents who don't have internet access on the farm. The phone ping is higher, so it must keep me from hosting a game. Makes sense.

I was able to join a few games after waiting to start from the lobby. After a few beers, though, I had to quit as my aim was getting bad.

thanks again for your help

[L_A]

Originally Posted by gameboy5817

The lobby leader will have three bars while everyone else has one, not to mention if the lobby leader leaves during any point in the game we get returned to the lobby.

If only the lobby leader got good ping, and if his leaving made everyone return to lobby, that means the lobby set itself to a Local game, and didn't connect to a Best Dedicated Server. At least, the symptoms match.

Maybe it didn't find any server, so it went local instead. It has happened quite a few times on PC.

[Coach McGuirk]

Probably just me, but ever since that,

has anyone else been hearing the loud Hard Rain sound effects being played randomly in EVERY. SINGLE. MAP.


I join a game of Dark Carnival Scavenge and all I hear is
WHOOOSSVVHHHS*CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!WOOOOOSHHHHHhhhhhshsuhro

[Jewbacca478]

Originally Posted by Coach McGuirk

Probably just me, but ever since that,

has anyone else been hearing the loud Hard Rain sound effects being played randomly in EVERY. SINGLE. MAP.


I join a game of Dark Carnival Scavenge and all I hear is
WHOOOSSVVHHHS*CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!WOOOOOSHHHHHhhhhhshsuhro

I've been hearing the same thing whenever I play versus with my friends...it'll sound like a friggin' tornado on the first map of any campaign except for the DLC stuff...drives me nuts

[Shad0WeN]

Originally Posted by zencats

If you're waiting in a lobby, it will automatically switch to friends-only after a few minutes of inactivity. It's to stop people from making public lobbies and going AFK, and people who have joined waiting for ages for the lobby leader to get back or whatever.

I wish the PC version had this! You don't see it that often but lobby idlers are annoying.