Gaming online

[hairyian]

Thanks for all the help guys, i'm thinking switching my ISP may be the only solution, if that is a solution:(

 

Does anybody on here have the same problem? Are you with BT if you are? If your not experiencing the same problem then who's your ISP?

 

Thanks

 

What is this '4 bar connection' ? Speed? Latency? Both ?

 

Maybe do a speedtester.net test to a server located somewhere near where your game is hosted, so we have some idea of what the problem is.

 

If you have a line issue, it will still be there if you change ISP.

[JordanKZ]

^

When it comes to online console gaming they don't show ping timings and instead the bars (which the amount obviously changes per game) is latency. The more the better. Kinda like mobile phones.

[shetlandpeat]

Thanks Twerto, I'll give that a go tomorrow

 

It is called the "Gain"

[hairyian]

^

When it comes to online console gaming they don't show ping timings and instead the bars (which the amount obviously changes per game) is latency. The more the better. Kinda like mobile phones.

 

You may need to borrow a more flexible device.

 

Ping is usually measured in ms - a measurement of time, not signal strength.

[Nigel Bridgman-Elliot]

http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/interleaving.htm

 

> BT state that interleaving can increase latency by an additional 20-40ms.

 

> Interleaving is set to "auto" by default and interleaving is then controlled

> by the DLM process, turning it on if needed. It is possible to arrange to

> have interleaving set to permanently "on" or "off" via your ISP. Some ISPs

> may make a charge for doing this.

 

Turning it off might help, but might make things worse

 

And then getting them to turn it back on again might take a while.. (Just took my ISP a month and a day or two to fix my problems.)

 

 

Moving closer to the server can help, is one of the reasons I moved to London!

 

Though now there are far more reasons to move away..

[nederlander]

Anyone have a failsafe way of changing my NAT type from 'strict' to open?

[Piddly]

Anyone have a failsafe way of changing my NAT type from 'strict' to open?

 

Check youtube, plenty of tutorials on there.

 

I really only play black ops, searched youtube for a fix yesterday and took the easy option. I load up MW2 first and go into multiplayer, where my NAT type will read 'Open', then i load up Black Ops and, heh presto, my NAT type now reads 'Open' where it was 'Strict' before. Some people think thats a bit of a hassle but it only tyakes a coupke of minutes.

[Zog]

Going right back to the 1st post there is an other factor in the equation and that is human reaction time. The average human reaction time is approximately 215 ms. A good online game player will have a reaction time considerably less than this.

I play online on American servers a fair bit where the ping is arround 150ms - 200ms. I normally dont' bother with servers that have a ping higer than 175ms.

It goes like this - you see something happen on screen and react to it +215ms add half your ping +75ms your reaction registers on the server then +75ms to see the result of you initial reaction. Thats 1/3 of a second. The default frame rate of the game I play is 300fps ( and I can exceed this) so if you see a moving target and shoot at it and miss the target is 100 frames away before you find out if you made the kill.

If you are playing against a player with a reaction time of 100ms and a ping of 30 you are dead before you know it has happened. = ownage.

 

Here are a few tips -

 

1) Wireless internet connections introduce a small but quantifiable ammount of lag and at best and are still prone to interference which will introduce lag spikes.

Solution - use a wired internet connection.

2) Same applies to wireless mice and keyboards.

Solution - use a wired mouse and keyboard.

3) If you are a serious player arrange to play when you have exclusive use of the internet connection. ( remember people can piggy back on your wireless connection without your knowledge.)

4) If you have to let others use the connection at the same time, limit their download bandwidth. If they are using the likes of uTorrent forget even playing.

Solution - kick them offline.

5) Try to avoid heavy internet use periods like 1700-1900hrs. After 2100 tends to be better especially during the week.

6) If you can, try to use a server that that evens out everybodys ping.

7) Don't go for the highest graphics setting unless you graphics card can cope with it. You are far better with lower resolution and a higher frame rate. Turning off the eye candy like shadow detail and lowering the render detail will boost frame rates considerably. Try varing the settings in you video options and find a compromise between quality and frame rate.

 

In game tips for high ping -

 

1) Pick you targets. If they are far away and moving across you field of vision all you do is waste ammo. Best is moving direct to or away from you. ie the narrower the angle the better. Position yourself where you know that targets will come at you in this manner but don't camp the spot. Thats bad etiquite.

2) Familiarise youself with the map. Learn the power up/ammo/weapon points and where the cover is. Your opponets will go there. One again don't camp. They will always arrive at the same place and normally slow down at that point.

3) If you have the option get practice in on a low gravity map. It pays dividends whe you go back to normal speed.

4) In open play, try to anticipate where you opponent is going to be in 1/2 a second. The higher your ping the harder this is.

 

My appologise to experienced gamers for this noob's guide.