Im running a PIII 1Ghz
512 Mb RAM
128 Mb nVidia Dual vid card
I connect to the internet via cable. My pings are generaly around 150 to 220 while everyone else on the server is running in 30’s to 80’s WHY?
Cheers :drink:
-Savage
How can I help my ping?
SavageHenry
(SavageHenry)
#1
Sauron_EFG
(Sauron|EFG)
#2
And what is your ping to that same server if you ping it in a command prompt?
evilsock
(evilsock)
#3
I sympathise with your situation m8 - I’m on dial-up and until very recently could still use my Jolt account - it’s dead now and I’ve fallen back on my BT dial-up which makes ET unplayable (with or without PB enabled tbh) - do you have an IP address for your favourite server? If your a windows guy, break out into a dos shell and run a tracert for your server IP and keep an eye open for the response times for each router hop. I noticed that for BT, the third hop has a 450ms response time on a particular route to my ‘normal’ ET server (some BT router in Ealing I believe) - as far as I can see, this is the cause of my problem and so it may be the cause of yours. Use tracert for a variety of servers, not just ones local to you and get a feel for what’s happening. If it does turn out to be a router issue, you might be able to get your ISP to put pressure on the guilty party and have the routing sorted - don’t hold 'yer breath though.
HTH
nUllSkillZ
(nUllSkillZ)
#4
The ping is influenced by downloadings during gaming.
And also by the distance between the server and the client.
next_ghost
(next_ghost)
#5
Someone should review the Q3 based engines’ netcode. In all Jedi Outcast, Jedi Academy, Enemy Territory and others, I get about 50 on any average empty server but when the server fills up (about 20 players), I get high over 400 while other players get around 30 at any player count. In original Q3A, I don’t get past 120 with 20 players. I play over 64k ISDN.
BTW, what idiot has made the “rate will be changed upon restarting” limit in patch 1.02?! Rate is supposed to be changed DURING game because I must know what effects it has on my ping immediately after changing it to get the best possible performance with my connection!
Homer_J
(Homer J)
#6
next_ghost
Do you have your connection type set as ISDN?
Your ping will increase with more players but you shouldn’t be getting into the 400 mark, that suggests you have your rate set too high.
Another thing to note is that low framerates will affect your ping (and a high ping seems to affect framerates too) If you can keep your framrate capped to a steady figure that can help.
And I agree with you about the “rate will be changed upon restarting” thing, it’s really usefull for people on low bandwidth connections to be able to alter the rate, especially if they have voice comms running as well. The reason behind it is that broadband users were throttling down their connections to induce lag and make themselves invincible at key moments.
pgh
(pgh)
#7
Cant believe like 5 replies yet you dont actually know any information regarding his internet connection apart from its ‘cable’.
M8… give us more details please.
Obviously I can see your in US so, which server(s) are you trying to connect to?
If its a UK/EU server ofc your gonna ping pretty high, even on Cable.
What is the speed of your cable? Up/Down?
Whats your current config settings for Rate, Maxpackets and Snaps?
Are you Downloading or Uploading when you connect?
Are you sharing your connection?
Are you behind a Firewall/Router/Network?
‘Lag’ or High Ping can be caused by nearly anything. From some kiddie ‘trying’ to hax you to some random system fucking up in a NetHouse somewhere… it can also, and majority’d, be down to simple user fucked up settings… 
SavageHenry
(SavageHenry)
#9
OK folks
My cable is at 2.5 mps
I’m behind a linksys router
No other PC’s hooked up at this time, and no downloads or uploads while I play
Maxpackets=30
Rate=5000
Snaps=20
Anyone?
p.s. thanx for the help so far.
pgh
(pgh)
#10
Ok… Those settings are not for your connection - there for 56k. Instead try these:
cl_maxpackets 100 (Maybe too high for some peeps, best try either 60 or 100 and see which is better)
rate 15000 (5000 = 5kb/s = 56k. 7000/10000 = 10kb/s = ISDN/Dual 64k. 15000/25000 = Cable/ADSL/T3. (Depends what server allows, usually 15000))
snaps 30/40 (Server depenedant again)
Another good help can be: cl_lagometer 1 / cg_lagometer 1 (Cant remember which one it is :)) and when your on the server have a looky at the bar and tell us how it looks. Eg, Top half all green/yellow, bottom half red spikes or such. This can normally help finding if its client or server probs.
Salteh
(Salteh)
#11
Server(s) you are trying to connect to?
You can set your rate to about… 10000-15000 iirc…
Most servers will have a max rate of 10.000 :o
SavageHenry
(SavageHenry)
#13
ok well im closer than b4, after making th changes i was running 50 to 80 ping time. the game felt better and over all i did better. So thank you.
ETplayer
(ETplayer)
#14
u could also try and update the firmware of the router if u havent tryed that… other then that a 50-80 ping’s not that bad
SavageHenry
(SavageHenry)
#15
Yea eveyone else on the server was in the mid hundreds. SCORE!
Did still see some lagging in fire fights, but no where near what it was.
Thanx all for your help.
pgh
(pgh)
#16
Yep. What happens in lower spec systems.
Try tweaking your Setup > System Options to fastest @ 640x480. After that and ingame, mess around with the r_gamma (between 1/1.3/1.6/2) to find a suitable brightness and a decent cg_fov (90 default - 120). Then, do a cg_DrawFps 1. Basically, with FPS = Higher = Better. You’ll notice in fire fights itll decrease, usually dramatically, esp. on maps such as Radar and Railgun… this is whats the lag, but its Graphics Lag and not Net Lag.
If this is heavy try, as Ice suggested, updating your GFX Drivers, Direct X (If your card supports Higher versions, use Higher versions) and a Defrag of your HD can show to help a bit. Check which Drivers are stable tho and which may cause crashes first…
next_ghost
(next_ghost)
#17
I changed rate to 5150 before it required restart and got about 40ms lower ping in full server. BTW, the server I play on has no lags (perfectly clean connection, it just takes ages before my packet reaches the server and I get response) and I can’t do anything about my framerate (I get absolutely the same framerate in 64048016 lowest possible detail VSYNC off as in 1600120032 at highest possible details VSYNC off). Framerate problems already have different topic.
