The lagg issues and where it comes from

posted on May 13th, 2011, 8:44 pm

Can anyone give a little info how the lag in games is caused and what can be done to reduce it?

Obersvations:
I had so many games with ppl from all around the world and the lags where not clearly predictable...
Sometimes it seems that Europe and US have issues. 3EU ppl + 1US several times meant lag. Other times when US, UK + other EU played the lag was not there or at least not as heavy.
I know that the devs said it depends on the hosts connection to the rest as well.

posted on May 15th, 2011, 12:35 am

Connection, PC Specs, the amount of players in-game amd sometimes even interfearence like a storm can do it. Unfortunately it's a part of online gaming life, no matter what you do you'll get a little lag now and then. 

posted on May 15th, 2011, 4:22 am

I only have one bit of advice, for slow computers not slow connections.

If your computer has trouble handling large fights, you can minimize the game and use ctrl-alt-delete to access the task manager.  Go to the processes tab and find the Armada II process, then right-click on it and set it to high priority.  I usually put the 2 Tunngle processes on high as well, but I'm not sure that makes a difference.

Also, as an observer I have found that I slow down the game significantly when more than 2 borg explosions are on my screen, since the textures are all moving and junk.  Since I don't want to be a jerk, I scroll away whenever I see a borg ship about to blow.  I swear I'll get a new computer sometime soon.

I don't know anything about connection lag, usually it's beyond peoples' control but distance is definitely a factor.

posted on May 15th, 2011, 6:47 am

As far as distance goes, the lower limit of lag is more or less the speed of light over the connection distance

posted on May 15th, 2011, 9:51 am

If your computer has trouble handling large fights, you can minimize the game and use ctrl-alt-delete to access the task manager.  Go to the processes tab and find the Armada II process, then right-click on it and set it to high priority.  I usually put the 2 Tunngle processes on high as well, but I'm not sure that makes a difference.

What this does is give the processes (they're essentially thread groups) higher priority in the scheduling. That means that they will get moar CPU time. Might help with slow computers, yes. but since most of the graphics are handled by the GPU, it's probably not that much. Still, it's worth a try.
(Note: if you want to learn moar about scheduling, go to your nearest university and attend an 'Operating Systems' lecture. )

posted on May 15th, 2011, 10:49 am

[align=center]"Lag is BAD, and MUST be avoided!"
                                        - CABAL[/align]

Before I play any online game, I restart my 'puter. This flushes both the RAM and the VRAM so they have nothing in them. If you have not yet done so upgrade your connection to a broadband one. This is good advice but it may not always be feasible for money reasons or location. Something else which will help reduce lag is reducing the number and type of processes and applications running in the background. More things going on in the background means fewer system and internet resources available for your game, so lag will be worse. You can use the msconfig command to see what is running on your computer in addition to an online game. The more things running in the background, the more time and space needed for your computer to send to and receive updates from the other players in the game. If the process is not required for what you are about to do, then stop it. Leave the Windows stuff and the graphics apps alone. But all those neat little icons in the System Tray and on the Taskbar are using part of the RAM and VRAM you need for the game, so stop them. Check out what loads up to your system at Start up. You'll be shocked at just how many things are running in the background. Again leave the Windows stuff and anything graphics related alone. If you are unsure what a particular process is doing, Google it prior to stopping it. Msconfig also allows you the option of saving the modified start up list. These are things you can do for yourself and believe me when I say the other people you play with will be very appreciative.

posted on May 15th, 2011, 11:38 am

msconfig (the system configuration utility) doesnt show whats running in the background currently, it shows some of whats configured to start with the computer. usually these things will continue running, but sometimes they quit after a while on their own.

it also doesnt show everything. autoruns is your best bet for finding everything that is set to start with your computer.

to see what's currently running use task manager (or your favourite equivalent like process explorer etc).

posted on May 15th, 2011, 2:06 pm

in general, if your single player runs nice and smooth, then multiplayer lag is not caused by your PC configuration, but by your connection to the other game participants

posted on May 15th, 2011, 2:37 pm

Msconfig doesn't show what is running in the background currently, true. I should have been clearer and more precise. I will be in the future. So Restart then MSconfig then modified Startup, then restart.  Now I can run Task Manger and reduce some of those pesky WIN things.

posted on May 23rd, 2011, 5:22 pm

As far as distance goes, the lower limit of lag is more or less the speed of light over the connection distance

Actually, the light in fiber-optic cables reflects back and forth along the sides, and is absorbed and reemitted by the air in the cables, effectively making it slower.

posted on May 23rd, 2011, 5:36 pm

I just want to put it out there that very often the lag isn't the fault of the player. I've had games where other players griped continuously about lag; there's only so many things you can shut off or do to "fix" it, and quite often the causes are beyond the player's control, i.e., a result of the connection, the service provider, a storm etc. I doubt most players would willfully keep doing things to produce lag. Being uncivil isn't going to change the lag. 

posted on May 23rd, 2011, 8:40 pm

Game Booster should help this some.