OK, concerning Vista..
Some things I have documented so far.
1. Networking is different from XP is that Vista auto adjusts your connection on the fly as you are playing. XP auto adjusts when you connect and then remains static. Vista auto configures to give best through put for online, however it starts slow, then throttles up to gain maximum speed. In a way it is superior to XP for web use and DLing things, but for gaming on something like the Dynaverse server that only sends out updates after a battle is done or when the news generates, Vista shows lag on its end.
The problem that this poses is that on a server with few players, Vista will sometimes move fast, then other times crawl.. I have not tested it yet on a full server to see how networking works.
Microsoft does have a method to turn of "Auto Tuning" to allow you to somewhat manually set Netshell in Command Prompt to increase Upload and DL capabilities in Vista.. however I have not found the reversion commands to reset it back to auto, but that is'nt really necessary if you are getting good through put.
2. Vista has a tripple (maybe quadruple) level firewall built in. Windows Firewall in XP is only Single layer.. in Vista, there are 3 adjustable firewalls that you can manage on different levels.. more levels if you have multiple user accounts.. I recommend turning off all Windows Firewall levels in Vista and use a router or a 3rd party firewall to save headaches. I have found that turning off the Firewall Service only disables 1 firewall in Vista, but does not effect the other 2 main levels, this may cause some issues with online play.
3. User Accounts. By default Vista comes with User Account Management enabled. It is considered a security feature, however games hate it tremendously. Basically your OS creates a shadow account and over lays it on your current account.. any changes you do to a game takes place in the Shadow layer and not the main layer, thus causing games to corrupt on launch, improper settings, unable to change settings via 3rd party software, etc.
Turning off User Accounts in the control panel does not mean that you remove different user accounts, what it does is shut off the auto shadow of the account and allows you to work on your main layer directly without the shadow layer hindering you.
4. Direct X. Direct X in XP will not increase past Direct X 9.0LE and will not get the capabilities of Vista's Direct X 10.1. Vista is now able to take advantage of the newest Direct X (10.1) in the Vista SP 1 Beta. XP is still waiting for Direct X 9.0 LE, which is supposedly able to make Direct X compatible between the 2 systems. However XP is still running Direct X 9.0c and there may be a direct Play issue, not with other players, but with the server itself. PVP using Vista, I have had no issues with lag or anything else.. in fact it has seemed more stable. I have only had 1 CTD in a PVP with Razaal on the Boneyard, but it was when the Directory server went down.. so I'm not sure what to attribute the CTD with.
on GSA and in TCP/IP games, I have not had any games CTD or drop. Some games I hosted, some games I just ride along.. but out of over 60 games PVP on GSA. TCP/IP, and Dynaverse, I have only had 1 CTD. this leaves a possibility of a Direct Play issure between the server and Vista based OP client. It seems more of a problem outlined in #1.
4. Compatibility Mode. on XP SFC OP will work natively without changing compatibility mode.. with some video cards, you may have to disable Visual Themes. In Vista, you have an enhanced desktop layer to make your main programs look better, sort of a psuedo HD upgrade. OP suffers random CTD when you do not disable Desktop Composition. with the newer Vid Cards and drivers for Vista, Visual Themes does not seem to hinder OP's performance, but I think it is best to disable it as well just to be safe. In Vista, Compatibility Mode actually works the way it is suppose to. As such on Vista, OP should be set to Win 2K compatibility (the platform in which it was built). game operates just fine in this mode.. in XPSP 2 mode and Vista Native modes, OP will operate, but will not shut down properly.
5. Going back to Networking. I would suggest that Vista users use the Release Candidate for the Service Pack 1. Networking is much improved, however the server lagging is still present. but you can get on the Dyna Servers fairly quickly... You can actually participate in a campaign, however I would limit Vista players to limited PVP due to lagging of the client on the server.. I would assign Vista users to mainly Hex Flipping or set a rule of 1 min 30 seconds wait time to move after a battle is complete.. this will give Vista enough time to re-sync with the server.
I am still working on getting Vista compatible with the Dyna servers.. this campaign will give me more research into the networking issue and allow me to make a Tweak CSS file for the netshell to be added for Vista players in the OP Enhancement Package and in a single download format. I need to make 2 CSS rules for netshell, OP compatibility and Normal.. this way you can reset Vista back to it's native mode, which is naturally very fast for browsing. The Tweak may have the advantage of setting your Networking to have faster throughput for Dling and Uploading, which will also increase browsing speed, however there may be applications coming out that will utilize Vista's Auto Tweaking in the future that will be invaluable to gaming on newer titles (I have seem marked performance increase using Vista in EVE in the networking under the Auto Adjust mode)..
Anyhow I hope that this sheds some light on Vista Players..
I will attempt some PVP on this server to check the networking of Vista to Server connections when the server is loaded.. hopefully the new network settings will help with the Server Lag seen in the Vista client.
hope this helps.
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