How the game populates lobbies

[StormerBoy]

This isn't an issue, just merely curious why the game sometimes stops adding players to your session.

 

So generally speaking, let's say you join a session with 10-20 players in it, every couple of mins a player leaves, so a couple of mins later the game adds a player or two. Balanced.

 

What explains these:

 

1. The above example has been true, but for the last half hour, as players have left, they have not been replaced. Eventually you are the only player in the session. why did the game stop adding players?

 

2. You finish a job, everyone leaves the voting screen and you on your own vote for another job, you then leave before starting the job and (sometimes) this put you in a session of your own. Okay, it just glitched or something, BUT why don't players get added to the session as time goes on? It seems once you are on your own, the game will only add friends to your session.

 

Naturally your poor connection can sometimes be the answer to this, but not always, I'm sure.

[Spadge]

All of this stuff is very interesting to me. I'd like to know too how it works exactly.

[Sanches]

Maybe each session are connected to a certain server. So server works 24/7 with some restarts. To make players not suffer restarts, the server just stops allowing players to join, but still lets players which are already playing on the server to keep playing. So it will go on restart when everyone will exit.
Hope, i put it right.

Edited August 7, 2017 by Sanches

[FlacidJack]

You can watch a live feed of the matchmaking servers in action...

 

LIVE ●

[Fugitive69]

Id like to add something from my experiences.

 

When grinding i usually lag out by unplugging the internet cable for 5 seconds. If im messing around or go afk, no player ever joins, but if im sitting in my warehouse waiting for the sale timer to finish, and when it's finished, 1 or 2 players join the lobby instanly sometimes, if not then - sometimes when i start exporting vehicles (probably when customizing the car). Now as i said, if im just standing around, cruising or messing around, or sitting at my bunker and waiting for research to complete, no one joins ever. As soon as i start exporting, someone likely will join.

Edited August 7, 2017 by Fugitive69

[Sanches]

Id like to add something from my experiences.

 

When grinding i usually lag out by unplugging the internet cable for 5 seconds. If im messing around or go afk, no player ever joins, but if im sitting in my warehouse waiting for the sale timer to finish, and when it's finished, 1 or 2 players join the lobby instanly sometimes, if not then - sometimes when i start exporting vehicles (probably when customizing the car). Now as i said, if im just standing around, cruising or messing around, or sitting at my bunker and waiting for research to complete, no one joins ever. As soon as i start exporting, someone likely will join.

 

What if these "empty" servers are getting prioritized for BS players?

 

 

 

 

 

[chadmoder]

Id like to add something from my experiences.

 

When grinding i usually lag out by unplugging the internet cable for 5 seconds. If im messing around or go afk, no player ever joins, but if im sitting in my warehouse waiting for the sale timer to finish, and when it's finished, 1 or 2 players join the lobby instanly sometimes, if not then - sometimes when i start exporting vehicles (probably when customizing the car). Now as i said, if im just standing around, cruising or messing around, or sitting at my bunker and waiting for research to complete, no one joins ever. As soon as i start exporting, someone likely will join.

Uh don't you know that if you sell cars in a populated lobby, those BS npcs won't spawn?

[MayoChiki]

You can watch a live feed of the matchmaking servers in action...

 

LIVE ●

 

Bullsh*t. That monkey knows how to count.

[Fugitive69]

 

Id like to add something from my experiences.

 

When grinding i usually lag out by unplugging the internet cable for 5 seconds. If im messing around or go afk, no player ever joins, but if im sitting in my warehouse waiting for the sale timer to finish, and when it's finished, 1 or 2 players join the lobby instanly sometimes, if not then - sometimes when i start exporting vehicles (probably when customizing the car). Now as i said, if im just standing around, cruising or messing around, or sitting at my bunker and waiting for research to complete, no one joins ever. As soon as i start exporting, someone likely will join.

Uh don't you know that if you sell cars in a populated lobby, those BS npcs won't spawn?

Yes, i know. But those sultans are better than having the risk of players stealing/exploding me.

[Pedinhuh]

I want to raise another question:

 

When we are on the voting screen, it says that the players will start the job they voted for until the count down ends, regardless of others.

But that is not what happens, usually the next job is the one voted by the majority.

Why does that happens? To avoid plotting the player base?

[Furry_Monkey]

Like most of the failures in this game, it is apparently inconsistent. (I say "apparently" as it's obviously not. Computers do what they're told - the end. It just appears random as it's affected by so many things beyond our awareness).

 

One day you'll not see anyone and another day you'll have 30 player sessions for hours. Other days you'll end up alone and then stay that way, and then sometimes you'll end up on your own, start doing CEO work and then suddenly, a couple of hours later, you realise you're in a full session again. I have experienced all these things.

 

I bet even Rockstar would love to know how it works.

Edited August 7, 2017 by Furry_Monkey

[Xiled]

http://wayback.archive.org/web/20150510151325/https://www.reddit.com/r/gtaonline/comments/21yqew/gta_online_servers_explained/

[Quinn_flower]

Lol proper lobby population in gta online? Hahahah

Edited August 7, 2017 by Quinn_flower

[III-Ari-III]

Maybe each session are connected to a certain server. So server works 24/7 with some restarts. To make players not suffer restarts, the server just stops allowing players to join, but still lets players which are already playing on the server to keep playing. So it will go on restart when everyone will exit.

Hope, i put it right.

 

Gta online works through p2p, with only 1 server managing the user data and validation, so it's with an algorithm i presume.