Review [Issue 73] Testimonies of a "Lagger"

[marc.jp_44 20,837]

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are many, many, common misconceptions regarding our mutual best friend: lag. As a self-proclaimed "lagger," I can certainly vouch for the fact that lag is mostly uncontrollable and almost entirely a disadvantage.

 

 

My Scenario

 

Living in Australia has many perks but holds one very fatal flaw for playing Tanki Online. Even with a really good quality Internet, the best I can and will ever achieve is a lowest of 155 PING (in Tanki). Generally speaking, my PING stays somewhere between 160 and 175, rarely dipping to 155 and having occasional peaks of 190+ under normal circumstances. Unfortunately, this is completely out of my control. I have played in places with horrible internet, places with brilliant internet, in several different suburbs but still, haven't experienced any major change in the PING. Basically, lag is a concoction of two primary factors: distance from Tanki servers and quality/stability of your gaming platform. The former mostly affects PING whilst the latter mostly affects FPS. I can run Tanki with a steady 58-60 FPS but can never seem to break lower than the 150 PING threshold. This severely affects my gameplay in ways that prove to be unimaginable for one who has never witnessed a PING that steadily remains above 120. 

 

---

 

Lag is a two-way street

 

Somehow, many believe that I strategically elevate my PING in order to gain an advantage in battles. A PING ranging between 100 and 300 is considered to be minor lag which predominantly affects the user, not enemies. Whereas on the other hand, a PING of 400+ causes heavy disruption, meaning that the disadvantage can potentially be mutual. Whilst lag affects every single form of gameplay, XP/BP is probably the hardest to play with minor/major lags. There are two fundamental forms of lag: FPS and PING lag.

 

FPS-Related Problems

 

FPS issues can be frustrating to many who do not have a good PC, but it is possible to improve FPS, unlike PING. FPS is the frame rate that the computer is displaying your game at. The more powerful the computer (in terms of your graphics cards, RAM, Processor Speed), the more frames it can render per second. Lower display settings (mip-mapping, shadows, lighting) all make it easier for the computer to render the frames, so the rate goes up.

 

Server problems can cause you to move from one frame where a Railgun is facing you and in the next frame, they've already shot you. Another common example is the Twins/Ricochet projectile "glitch" caused when you suddenly jump from one frame to a later frame, causing half a dozen projectiles to hit you in a few seconds.

 

Sometimes, when Tanki itself is witnessing heavy traffic, players' FPS may be normal but the game experiences server problems commonly seen with low FPS. An example of low FPS affecting gameplay is shown below:

 

Excuse the different filters, this was taken from an old edited video of mine

 

As you can imagine, when these things happen in important moments, it can be extremely difficult to pull off a shot as you do not see the enemy moving normally. What you are witnessing is an unrealistic delay in between events, where frames are missing, so you don't get to see the entire picture. This could be compared to looking at a semi-complete jigsaw puzzle with pieces missing and trying to put it together. FPS is affected by a number of variables, including the graphics enabled, additional programs running in the background on your device and the computer's processing power.

 

To run Tanki smoothly, you need to know how to balance your needs and wants with practicality. You may need to cut back on certain aspects such as graphics, Mip-Mapping and Skyboxes in order to make gameplay smoother. Yes, this can cause the game to look ugly, very ugly in fact, but you need to make sacrifices according to the limitations of your platform. Some computers can easily run several programs at a time, without any kind of issues. This is because of RAM (Random Access Memory). If you have a high amount of RAM installed in your computer, you can run several programs in the background without affecting the speed in which your computer processes actions. However, if your computer's RAM is inadequate when compared to the tasks you are forcing it to run, it will simply fail. It is like asking a person whose maximum workload is 100 kilograms to lift more than 100 kilograms -- it just will not work. Finally, the computer's Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) is another critical factor that affects FPS. If your computer's GPU is insufficient, you will not be able to have uninterrupted play. A good way indicator as to how your computer is handling playing Tanki is to check your FPS count at the bottom right hand of your screen. The FPS spectrum ranges from dark red to light green. Dark red shows that your FPS is critically low, whilst dark green shows that you're in the clear.

 

---

 

PING-Related Problems

 

PING issues are very different, however. PING lag is different to that of FPS lag. FPS lag only affects the user witnessing the problems whilst PING can be mutual. A PING in between 100 and 300 is notable, but minor. Minor PING lags mostly affect the user experiencing the lag, as people with a low to medium PING have a massive advantage over them. 

 

XP/BP frequently disadvantages players with a PING of 100 - 300. In almost every single battle I play, I am shot through walls, in a location half a second prior to where I actually am, can only deliver flags a few seconds after actually passing the flag, unable to knock off enemies' aim, unable to flip enemies, get shot by enemies first (despite having actually shot first, myself), et cetera. 

 

If you just read the list of frustrating situations I mentioned above and thought "hey, that isn't sooo bad, those noob high-ping players should stop complaining," well, hate to disappoint you, but that was just XP/BP battles. All the aforementioned points also happen in non-format battles and many more. I am not even joking when I say this: every single turret can hit me behind a wall. Yes, even Striker and Magnum (though it's much harder with a Magnum). Below are just two examples of me being hit by turrets whilst being "safely" hidden behind a wall (or so I thought):

 

Yes, those shots did do damage and no, it isn't photoshopped.

 

As I mentioned, those are just two examples. Shaft is arguably the most annoying, due to the huge amounts of damage it does. Elaborating on the points above, as you can see in the previous image, I sometimes take damage from a location that I was some time ago. Even though it's maybe a 0.2 - 0.5 second delay, it's a huge difference that has accounted for thousands of my deaths. This may seem rather confusing, so if you still don't understand, refer to this fantastic GIF for a great explanation (not my GIF, I don't take credit for it). Additionally, due to my distance from the servers, even small things such as capturing/returning flags is delayed by a fractional, but crucial few seconds. I've slowed the GIF below down for you to see how long it takes the capture to actually register. 

 

Note the fact that I am nearly past the flag when the capture registers.

 

Yes, it is just a few seconds of a delay but that is more than enough time to change the course of a game in leaps and bounds. It could decide the match-winning (or losing) capture, you get the point. Of course, this not only applies to flags but even Gold Boxes, the Rugby ball, other tanks... and so on.

 

To conclude, I'd like to acknowledge that some people do intentionally do things to hike their PING in order to gain an advantage but that doesn't mean that every single person with a PING higher than 100 is doing it intentionally or trying to gain an advantage. I hope this article successfully managed to debunk any myths and misconceptions about lag or laggers.

 

 

I hope this article clarified and shed some new light on the controversial topic of lag. I hoped you enjoyed this piece, and, as always... later, mults!

 

[saurabhmann 509]

Now that's a lovely read! Noice!

[lukey0 27,543]

Very informative article, it explains it well. :)

[kaisdf 3,320]

Lag? Excuses, excuses  -_- 

[Commander_Rose 327]

 

Cool ^^

[X-Toxical 174]

In Garder CTF on a really bad ping day, I can get halfway to the other side of the base when the enemy flag is registered as a capture :S

[dkchamp 384]

finally, someone with my same problem.. i used to suck at xp/bp .. i shoot first ..with m3 but a m2 shooting later hits me first and makes my shoots miss .this has been my long problem , the reason i lose 1 v 1 xp bp battles. ! so i just quit playing xp/bp i thought initially ; .. my fps was 40-50 so i lag .. I brought additional 2 gb ram (total 4 gb ).. now the problem was fixed i got 50-60 fps.. i thought now i can play xp/bp like pro.. but still m2 shooting late after me hits me ! i was broken , i got ram for xp/bp but the problem was still persistent , i had ( still have ) a ping of 120 -180 (looks green so I thought its best ).. and i later found out it was all the ping ... i tried my best to reduce it .. but all in vain. I got more lags whenever i tried to reduce ping ( by wierd ways ) 

 

.

but finally adapted the way it is.. from last 3 years but still hate xp/bp .. that's what we humans are special at ( adaptations )

[gokuMI6 1,290]

So i was not alone :)

What a relif

any ideas for improvement of my game play :rolleyes:

Edited March 4, 2018 by Marc
removed profanity

[r_super1310 0]

i have the same issue,SO FRUSTRATING!!!

[CabbageRoll 3,018]

we can say internet speed doesnt even affect tanki. it is even playable on dial up (and those standard pings are 100)! just wait few weeks to download whole cache and you are ready to play

[MJROCKS05 428]

I suddenly started having really bad FPS even though my internet speed, laptop is the same. Any reasons why this might be happening/ ways to fix it?

 

Btw, nice article.

[Bowty57 10]

Well put mate, even  I can understand it now  :-)

[Stamina 143]

I'm from India and I get an average ping of 90-120 which isn't bad.

But sometimes it rises high & causes severe lag in this game while playing others games I don't experience this cos other games have servers for Asia so my ping is generally stable.

I would suggest tanki to add Asian servers in this game, there are many players from Asia who will be benefited by adding new servers & maybe more players will join.

Edited March 5, 2018 by Stamina

[marc.jp_44 20,837]

I suddenly started having really bad FPS even though my internet speed, laptop is the same. Any reasons why this might be happening/ ways to fix it?

 

Btw, nice article.

https://en.tankiwiki.com/FPS

I’m no expert but I’d recommend you check out that link. ^

[rus0806 265]

Hi I live in Australia Too.

The Internet connections in Melbourne is not that bad, since we just switched to broadband. Btw which city do you live in? I live in Melbourne

[marc.jp_44 20,837]

Hi I live in Australia Too.

The Internet connections in Melbourne is not that bad, since we just switched to broadband. Btw which city do you live in? I live in Melbourne

Same :D

Yes, the internet itself is super-fast, but its distance from the Tanki servers gives you a high Ping, unfortunately. 

[GrandExecutioner 1,403]

Lagger nub

 

Enjoyed this! :D

[r_Munchy5 0]

I am very sad. I see complaints of 30-40 FPS and I think, WOW!

 

I have a very old computer, and no way of making it better (I have no money) so I get an average of 7-12 FPS in medium-sized battles and maps. If there's more than 10 total players in a match, or if the map is super big, then I tend to stay around 5 FPS. As you would expect, gameplay is extremely challenging, and 90% of my deaths are because I miss most of my shots (It is nearly impossible to aim and hit a target while it and you are jumping around everywhere). My PING tends to stay in the yellow numbers, while my FPS only has left the red once or twice in all the 4 years I've played this game.

 

I'm not sure if my extreme FPS lag and moderate PING lag affects the players I play with. It certainly affects my play, I am so jealous of those tankers who have 30+ FPS and have no problem hitting their target if they aim right. Any suggestions on how to make this game slightly more playable? By the way, I always close all other programs on my computer, play in fullscreen, and have no fancy graphics settings.

[gokuMI6 1,290]

 

 

I am very sad. I see complaints of 30-40 FPS and I think, WOW!

 

I have a very old computer, and no way of making it better (I have no money) so I get an average of 7-12 FPS in medium-sized battles and maps. If there's more than 10 total players in a match, or if the map is super big, then I tend to stay around 5 FPS. As you would expect, gameplay is extremely challenging, and 90% of my deaths are because I miss most of my shots (It is nearly impossible to aim and hit a target while it and you are jumping around everywhere). My PING tends to stay in the yellow numbers, while my FPS only has left the red once or twice in all the 4 years I've played this game.

 

I'm not sure if my extreme FPS lag and moderate PING lag affects the players I play with. It certainly affects my play, I am so jealous of those tankers who have 30+ FPS and have no problem hitting their target if they aim right. Any suggestions on how to make this game slightly more playable? By the way, I always close all other programs on my computer, play in fullscreen, and have no fancy graphics settings.

 

 

We are the pros 

i am from India and i have 20-35 FPS & my ping is like a radio tuner at  a time i have a good ping and 

the instant that i turn my turret and shoot i have missed and i find that my ping suddenly increased after the war this is now  so common for me .

Even with this i manage to top the leader board and get k/s above 1.5 :rolleyes:

and if any one have any idea to reduce ping

It is becoming so hard to even load the garage