# Why is COD multiplayer setup so crappy? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 19, 2009, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cod-multiplayer-setup-so-crappy/493599 "2009-04-19T06:58:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cod-multiplayer-setup-so-crappy/493599/1 "2009-04-19T06:58:21Z")
Referring to COD 4, and WAW on Xbox 360. If a host leaves the game, all players are returned the game lobby. Why not have a dedicated server, instead of relying on a player as the host? ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cod-multiplayer-setup-so-crappy/493599/2 "2009-04-19T14:05:26Z")
For the whining that Treyarch gets from Infinity Ward and fanboys, hands down, the best host switching in any multiplayer game is from Call of Duty 3. It froze the game for literally one second, swapped hosts, and then you kept on going. Call of Duty and Gears of War handle host switching the worst (they do the same thing). Halo puts you in a black screen and swaps it over, but that’s much MUCH preferable to stopping the game and booting you back to the party completely. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cod-multiplayer-setup-so-crappy/493599/3 "2009-04-19T14:38:38Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > For the whining that Treyarch gets from Infinity Ward and fanboys, hands down, the best host switching in any multiplayer game is from Call of Duty 3. It froze the game for literally one second, swapped hosts, and then you kept on going. Call of Duty and Gears of War handle host switching the worst (they do the same thing). Halo puts you in a black screen and swaps it over, but that’s much MUCH preferable to stopping the game and booting you back to the party completely. You play too many games. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cod-multiplayer-setup-so-crappy/493599/4 "2009-04-19T14:42:58Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > You play too many games. You don’t play enough games. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Captain\_C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_C)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cod-multiplayer-setup-so-crappy/493599/5 "2009-04-19T14:57:56Z")
For the PC version of CoD 4 I can agree. I mean, single player and multiplayer have completely different clients. Why is this necessary? What is so integral about the 2 client system that they couldn’t integrate it into an in-game menu system? Now I have to have two icons on my desktop for the same game, and for some reason this bothers me more than it should. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cod-multiplayer-setup-so-crappy/493599/6 "2009-04-19T15:37:39Z")
> [@Captain\_C](#): > > For the PC version of CoD 4 I can agree. I mean, single player and multiplayer have completely different clients. Why is this necessary? What is so integral about the 2 client system that they couldn’t integrate it into an in-game menu system? Now I have to have two icons on my desktop for the same game, and for some reason this bothers me more than it should. I agree. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cod-multiplayer-setup-so-crappy/493599/7 "2009-04-19T18:32:59Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > You don’t play enough games. Oh, burn! ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cod-multiplayer-setup-so-crappy/493599/8 "2009-04-19T18:36:21Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > Oh, burn! That’s right. In your face..um…dad. ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cod-multiplayer-setup-so-crappy/493599/9 "2009-04-19T18:47:17Z")
> [@Captain\_C](#): > > For the PC version of CoD 4 I can agree. I mean, single player and multiplayer have completely different clients. Why is this necessary? What is so integral about the 2 client system that they couldn’t integrate it into an in-game menu system? Now I have to have two icons on my desktop for the same game, and for some reason this bothers me more than it should. The multiplayer client doesn’t have a DVD-check like the singleplayer client. It’s a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Captain\_C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_C)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-cod-multiplayer-setup-so-crappy/493599/10 "2009-04-20T04:09:14Z")
> [@Palooka](#): > > The multiplayer client doesn’t have a DVD-check like the singleplayer client. It’s a good thing. Oh, I had no idea that was the case. I usually just throw in a no-CD crack after installation and forget about it. This reasoning makes sense then. Carry on.