Sending Maps to Clients

So far, I've mostly used FG as a client. However, it's occured to me what happens when I have to "upload" from my end via ADSL to other players.

Now ADSL is asynchronous, so uploads can be *much* slower than downloads. Your 6Mbit connection can be *painful* when it needs to uploads at say 512Kbits to clients.

We had this issue with maptools once and had to abandon the game. Then in the new version of maptool, they made it that you had a internet library location. The DM pre-uploaded the maps to a 3rd party. Then when users connect, they can *rapidly* download the maps they need at top speed, and without bogging down the DMs machine.

The whole map transfer system in FG2 is pretty opaq, I have no idea how it works. But I can suggest that this feature recently implemented in maptool is really good, it saves everyone a lot of time, and lagged connections.

For now I pre-connect to the DMs machine the day before, for 30 mins or so, but I have no idea if this helps or not in FG2.

It does not help unless the DM triggers the pre-cache command on a map after you are logged in.

We had a lot of issues with caching... and to be honest still do.

There is a technique where the DM can pre-generate a cache file on his local machine by running FG twice one as dm and the other as client. The client connects...the dm client displays all the maps to the local client. This generates a cache file on the local client in the cache directory... DM mails this to players who put file in their local cache directory.

There are several post on this subject

It also depends on the size of the map files. If the maps are small then you can probably just preload the map by right clicking on the image.