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For me, everything was fine in the last siege until the boats came into range. Then I froze & crashed.

Having programmed some state machines before, the sudden need to update a large amount of information out to the clients is the problem.

That little "load lag" you feel when another player comes into your range is the update you are getting. Player's position, vector, equipment, etc.

When a whole group comes in, that is amplified by the number of people in the group X the number of clients requiring the update.

Now think of a boat or two entering your range, with a couple groups on board & a pile of groups needing the updated information all at once ... that is the programming challenge.

You need the packets of info small enough to send & the client's buffer large enough to receive it and then process it.

Then the client(s) and the state machine on the server(s) have to continuously update the information (vector, equipment, engagement, etc.).

A tough nut to crack as to where the bottleneck is ... server(s), bandwidth, client buffer & processing. Blows to pinpoint the problem & even if you do, figuring out a solution may be a total nightmare.