"Failed to connect"

[Quick]

Hi Snow,

I'm tired of this efin bug, when i'm playing with friends, when we started match few minutes later i minimized game (alt+tab) after i came back to play, game just kicked me out of it with this stupid message "Failed to connect". Also another thing few days ago i played with one friend he hosted game and made it public later joined one dude, after he died then quit, one minute later he joined back again played for some minutes the he decided to quit and what is this later on he joined again. Whats up with that? How come i cannot join back to my friends when i was kicked out by game but other people can do that while playing in public? This just sickens me. Please fix this issue. If you dont believe please try that by yourself start multiplayer game then wait for other people or invite friend to test, then minimize game and come back you will see that host isn't possible to kick but players instead.

Thanks.

[SnowBrigade]

Originally Posted by Quick

Hi Snow,

I'm tired of this efin bug, when i'm playing with friends, when we started match few minutes later i minimized game (alt+tab) after i came back to play, game just kicked me out of it with this stupid message "Failed to connect".

Hello Quick,

The Friends' issue (sometimes you cannot rejoin a friends game) is a glitch in Steamworks, I cannot fix that. Other Steamworks games can have the same issue, for example L4D2:

http://forums.steampowered.com/forum....php?t=2631472

The other issue you mentioned:

If you minimize or give focus to another program during an in-game multiplayer game, the game will currently kick you after some time.

Otherwise someone could join a game, minimize it, do something else and expect to be alive when you come back, even 2, 10 or 30 minutes later. Is this what you mean?

[Quick]

Originally Posted by SnowBrigade

Hello Quick,

If you minimize or give focus to another program during an in-game multiplayer game, the game will currently kick you after some time.

Otherwise someone could join a game, minimize it, do something else and expect to be alive when you come back, even 2, 10 or 30 minutes later. Is this what you mean?

oh, you find that normal? I find that very annoying. This is the only game which i can't minimize that is so irritating, how can i answer skype call if i cant minimize game. Thats stupid. And no, game also kicks me if i minimize it for few seconds. Come on Snow that is very bad thing treating players like this add kick option instead for hosts only. Oh and another thing how come if host minimize game other players are kicked? This ain't right at all.
Snow why it's bothering you that others might minimize game? All games can be minimized and there is no problem with that.

[SnowBrigade]

Hello Quick,

This is simply how the game is currently working - you can minimize the game at any time in SP; but during an on-line coop game, it's currently as I mentioned above.

I am not saying it cannot be changed, of course that's possible.

It's just that hasn't been reported as a major issue. I think at most this has been raised a few times over the last two years (you are probably one of those people since you've had the game for a few years now), so it's never been flagged as a major issue.

I'll look into changing this, but it needs to be done so that it doesn't open up ways to cheat by being able to leave games, come back into them, etc. or affect the other players.

I'll check what option there is to modify this

[Quick]

Yes while playing SP there is no problem minimizing game, i know that, but i would really appreciate if you could something about it. I also never noticed this so called issue because back then there wasn't such online coop and my friends didn't had this game, now this happens for me very often.

[SnowBrigade]

Hello Quick,

Don't worry, I'm going to look at it over the next few days. If it's possible to change and work well in a coop game (meaning people minimizing and dropping out of the game for a while), I will include this in the next update.

[Quick]

Hi, Snow how is progress on this issue?

[SnowBrigade]

Hello Quick,

Two issues you mentioned in this thread:

The first issue you mentioned (not always being able to rejoin Friends games after you are disconnected/left the lobby) is a glitch that can happen in any Steamworks games, so I cannot do anything about that; only Valve can fix that code.

You can find other games including L4D2 which have the same glitch, i.e. you cannot always rejoin a friends game once you have left the lobby or were disconnected.

An example:

http://forums.steampowered.com/forum....php?t=2631472

The second issue (minimizing a game while in multiplayer for a while and then getting back into the game), that I am working on now.

But it needs to be secure, i.e. not allow players to minimize a multiplayer game for say, 10 minutes and then expect the player to be alive and just resume playing. That's the only concern I have there, that it won't be used for cheating.

The player should probably be temporarily removed from the game (but remain in the lobby) and then automatically rejoin when the game window is maximized. That can work.

[Quick]

Originally Posted by SnowBrigade

Hello Quick,

Two issues you mentioned in this thread:

The first issue you mentioned (not always being able to rejoin Friends games after you are disconnected/left the lobby) is a glitch that can happen in any Steamworks games, so I cannot do anything about that; only Valve can fix that code.

You can find other games including L4D2 which have the same glitch, i.e. you cannot always rejoin a friends game once you have left the lobby or were disconnected.

An example:

http://forums.steampowered.com/forum....php?t=2631472

I haven't encountered such issue in other games.

Originally Posted by SnowBrigade

The second issue (minimizing a game while in multiplayer for a while and then getting back into the game), that I am working on now.

But it needs to be secure, i.e. not allow players to minimize a multiplayer game for say, 10 minutes and then expect the player to be alive and just resume playing. That's the only concern I have there, that it won't be used for cheating.

The player should probably be temporarily removed from the game (but remain in the lobby) and then automatically rejoin when the game window is maximized. That can work.

Why not IF player still can reconnect to play. And how about if player is kicked out of match there should be also warning message or note: You have been inactive for [xx:xx] of [xx:xx]
minutes therefore you are kicked out of game, but still can reconnect to continue.

Then it's alright.

[jsmucha]

-I am a bit confused. How can minimizing be abused for cheating? Can anyone elaborate on this?

-I too find that the ability to minimize disconnects me from online games as I do many multi tasking. Especially when I am playing with friends, I say "hey guys, be right back, I just got an email I have to check, protect me please" then when I get back in game I am kicked out and cannot rejoin. =/

[Quick]

Originally Posted by jsmucha

-I am a bit confused. How can minimizing be abused for cheating? Can anyone elaborate on this?

-I too find that the ability to minimize disconnects me from online games as I do many multi tasking. Especially when I am playing with friends, I say "hey guys, be right back, I just got an email I have to check, protect me please" then when I get back in game I am kicked out and cannot rejoin. =/

i want to ask you something, does this first issue which Snow replied to me above also happens in other games for you?
Because i find this confusing, as i said before this is only game where i can't reconnect or just join.

[maddima]

Originally Posted by SnowBrigade

The Friends' issue (sometimes you cannot rejoin a friends game) is a glitch in Steamworks, I cannot fix that. Other Steamworks games can have the same issue, for example L4D2:

http://forums.steampowered.com/forum....php?t=2631472

we tried nearly 1 hour with different joining constelations and we couldn't play a single game together -.-
in l4d2 we never get this problem