Info: How I Fixed the Lag

Xen

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Xendar Xen Xal
I noticed that most or all of the people experiencing The Lag (the specific type of lag we've had for a few months) were further away from the servers. Since I can't move to the Netherlands (I think that's where the servers are located) I thought maybe I could pretend to be close and that might help.

So, in short:

1. I subscribed to a paid VPN service.

2. I connected to a server in the Netherlands.

3. I logged into EU.

Result: No lag! No :censored: lag at all! :woot:

No lag every 30 seconds or so for 3-5 seconds where nothing happens. No tool/weapon switching lag. No spawning way above the ground when entering a MM instance. No auction lag!
It was glorious! :yay:

I've tested it for about 6 hours in MM FFA instances, no lag ever, no stutter (up to 93 attacks/minute weapon), no disconnects. My in game ping didn't really change. I can't guarantee it will work as well for everyone or solve all issues but it definitely works for me.

The Details:

After some research I decided to try IPVanish VPN service. It costs $10 per month, or 25% off ($7.50) if you go to https://www.cnet.com/best-vpn-services-directory/ and click on the IPVanish link (it's the first review), then on the IPVanish page click on the c|net 25% off banner near the top. They have a 7-day money-back guarantee. They even take Bitcoin (don't know if refund is possible with that). If you decide to try this method I don't know if other VPN services would work as well, I've only used this one. I do know that the free VPN services are always crap. Don't try it with a free service and come back here and say it doesn't work please.

Once you download the software, install and run and you will see this:

ipvanish.jpg


Don't use Quick Connect. On the left select the Server List tab as shown, then select Netherlands. That's it, log in.

If you try it please post your results here in this thread.

-----

If some from MA reads this, this should be a big clue for fixing the problem.

(Disclaimer: I am not affiliated at all with c|net or IPVanish, just trying to help.)
 
Try sweden when not in instance, you get better loot :)
 
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good job testing this.

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I got a PM that said just reconnect until lag is gone and you can play lag free. This was suggested before and I've tried this many times and I've never been able to be lag free, no matter where I log in, in fact it doesn't help me at all, the lag is always there. Using a VPN is the only thing that has helped me.
 
I got a PM that said just reconnect until lag is gone and you can play lag free. This was suggested before and I've tried this many times and I've never been able to be lag free, no matter where I log in, in fact it doesn't help me at all, the lag is always there. Using a VPN is the only thing that has helped me.

I send you that msg & to be clear, it takes me like 5 relogs ~ to get there..
I do have an old laptop to play on so I don't try this every time... I just want to log in & play.

PS, If it helps, I log in from Belgium true telenet via cable

Edit : from what I saw, I either am lag free, or it's totla shit (lag every 2 minutes, if it lasts that long)
 

Some things Mindark have no control over. :xwink:
 
The VPN kinda scares me in the event that MA does block an account for using it.

Sad that it's a potential fix action...but your faced with the question of if it's worth getting potential banned over?
 
The VPN kinda scares me in the event that MA does block an account for using it.

Sad that it's a potential fix action...but your faced with the question of if it's worth getting potential banned over?

For all thinking about this; your best route is to notify support that you will be using a VPN. If you have a static VPN server, you can notify them of the IP (or IP range) to expect on your account.

I've used these guys for years (https://www.goldenfrog.com/vyprvpn) without issue. FYI - I still get lag while using the VPN, but it may help someone else.
 
So the lag is caused by the intermediary servers like I always been saying, not by MA's.
And you've just skipped them all.

well_done_sir.gif
 
So the lag is caused by the intermediary servers like I always been saying, not by MA's.
And you've just skipped them all.

well_done_sir.gif

I am not a network engineer, but I think it could still be caused by a problem with one of their hosting facility routers, perhaps. People from different areas could be taking different routes into their servers.

It's night and day for me, lots of lag without using a VPN, with VPN it's great.
 
Not sure if this is the issue since I am based in the USA and have never experienced the lag everyone talks about. Not a single time in these last months and I am not using a vpn or anything else to connect
 
I noticed that most or all of the people experiencing The Lag (the specific type of lag we've had for a few months) were further away from the servers. Since I can't move to the Netherlands (I think that's where the servers are located) I thought maybe I could pretend to be close and that might help.

So, in short:

1. I subscribed to a paid VPN service.

2. I connected to a server in the Netherlands.

3. I logged into EU.

Result: No lag! No :censored: lag at all! :woot:

No lag every 30 seconds or so for 3-5 seconds where nothing happens. No tool/weapon switching lag. No spawning way above the ground when entering a MM instance. No auction lag!
It was glorious! :yay:

I've tested it for about 6 hours in MM FFA instances, no lag ever, no stutter (up to 93 attacks/minute weapon), no disconnects. My in game ping didn't really change. I can't guarantee it will work as well for everyone or solve all issues but it definitely works for me.

The Details:

After some research I decided to try IPVanish VPN service. It costs $10 per month, or 25% off ($7.50) if you go to https://www.cnet.com/best-vpn-services-directory/ and click on the IPVanish link (it's the first review), then on the IPVanish page click on the c|net 25% off banner near the top. They have a 7-day money-back guarantee. They even take Bitcoin (don't know if refund is possible with that). If you decide to try this method I don't know if other VPN services would work as well, I've only used this one. I do know that the free VPN services are always crap. Don't try it with a free service and come back here and say it doesn't work please.

Once you download the software, install and run and you will see this:

ipvanish.jpg


Don't use Quick Connect. On the left select the Server List tab as shown, then select Netherlands. That's it, log in.

If you try it please post your results here in this thread.

-----

If some from MA reads this, this should be a big clue for fixing the problem.

(Disclaimer: I am not affiliated at all with c|net or IPVanish, just trying to help.)

yo da real mvp, u just helped ma get some more peds outta me, was about to call it quits till this fix this crap.
 
As I'm Dutch, in response to this thread, even we sometime experience lagg..

I did notice my avatar jumping very shortly/quickly without my input when there is lag in FFA. So I do think MA tries hard to solve this problem, but not sure its entirely on there end.
 
As I'm Dutch, in response to this thread, even we sometime experience lagg..

I did notice my avatar jumping very shortly/quickly without my input when there is lag in FFA. So I do think MA tries hard to solve this problem, but not sure its entirely on there end.

Key word: “sometime” not 3-5 seconds every 30 seconds all the time.
 
if this solve the problem you would think MA would have tried a bit more to fix it before

or suggest to try diffrent ways to fix it

i dont see any list or step solution how to go by to fix it by ma
 
The lag is horrible but I really would discourage using this, it isn't worth losing your account. And it won't help drive any lasting change from MA.
 
The lag is horrible but I really would discourage using this, it isn't worth losing your account. And it won't help drive any lasting change from MA.

It's the same as changing your ISP or having dynamic dns (ip changes). What route someone chooses to have their packets reach MA servers is really none of their business, and I doubt they would care. This is not "third party software" in the sense that it is some kind of hack that would give someone an unfair advantage.

But if people want to be paranoid and suffer that's their choice.
 
So the problem must be that some servers are overloaded and players gets connected to different servers, some are lucky and gets a "good" server and others are unlucky getting a "slow" server? or can it depend on which ISP you have?
 
So the problem must be that some servers are overloaded and players gets connected to different servers, some are lucky and gets a "good" server and others are unlucky getting a "slow" server? or can it depend on which ISP you have?

Never forget that MA is not Blizzard, they don't run anything nearly as complex. I remember a photo of their rig from 10 years ago, it was 6U-8U sized at most. It most likely has grown since then by not by far. There are no rows of servers like people imagine it. Everyone enters through the same authentication server and ends up on same area servers as everyone else (right now I'm in a FFA instance with 4 other guys, I have no lag and they barely can shoot and swear a lot).

So it's all about routing between your ISP and the ISP that hosts MA's rig. I know an Amsterdamer living just a dozen km away from them and lagging badly, and his traceroute, amazingly, is 2 times longer than mine and jumps all over the Europe. Meanwhile there is barely any routing between me and the servers, me being thousands kilometers from them:

tracert.jpg


The 5 servers I blurred out belong to my ISP and are located in my city, the 6th hop covers the whole distance, and all the remaining servers belong to GTT's network that holds MA servers. It helps that my ISP is largest in my country and controls most of the outbound networks, and GTT is one of the largest in the world and essentially is one of the Tier 1 backbone providers of the Internet. I don't doubt that's the reason I don't lag. And Xen did pretty much the same (and got lucky with the exit point, as my NL friend's example shows that just being in NL is not enough).

As for the risks of using VPN - whole countries use them, how do you think all the Chinese players get to Entropia? Certainly not directly through all the restrictions of their great firewall. And no one bans them.
 
It's the same as changing your ISP or having dynamic dns (ip changes). What route someone chooses to have their packets reach MA servers is really none of their business, and I doubt they would care. This is not "third party software" in the sense that it is some kind of hack that would give someone an unfair advantage.

But if people want to be paranoid and suffer that's their choice.

You can justify it and I may absolutely agree with your justification, but MA makes the final decision.
 
the reality is the support guy/girl answering just had no clue about networking. you can use a vpn without installing a 3rd party tool on your pc...
You can justify it and I may absolutely agree with your justification, but MA makes the final decision.
 
the reality is the support guy/girl answering just had no clue about networking. you can use a vpn without installing a 3rd party tool on your pc...

Perhaps and they likely don't have the time or resources to review every SW requested and so it was a blanket statement. Nevertheless, if they say no, the risk is there. You can still use whatever you want.
 

the reality is the support guy/girl answering just had no clue about networking. you can use a vpn without installing a 3rd party tool on your pc...

Perhaps and they likely don't have the time or resources to review every SW requested and so it was a blanket statement. Nevertheless, if they say no, the risk is there. You can still use whatever you want.

Are y’all sure? I’m a little hesitant to try.
Support told me no.
https://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/...ts-about-lag&p=3612633&viewfull=1#post3612633
 
So the problem must be that some servers are overloaded and players gets connected to different servers, some are lucky and gets a "good" server and others are unlucky getting a "slow" server? or can it depend on which ISP you have?

That is exactly the issue ! Relog until you hit a "good" server and lag is gone.
Ofcource you also can have local issues, like ISP, Firewall, Computer etc.

But if they are all green it's related to your logon server somehow.

Although this might take 6-7 relogs sometimes to hit a good server, and also i might need to stay logged off a few minutes until i try a logon to hit a good server.
 
as far I see they did not even tell you it is not allowed, just that they don't promote 3rd party services - the answer was clumsy as usual
again VPN does not even require a third party tool, support for some more common protocols is built into OS
so there is no way they can prohibit to use a VPN to anyone, it is part of the network stack
Are y’all sure? I’m a little hesitant to try.
Support told me no.
https://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/...ts-about-lag&p=3612633&viewfull=1#post3612633
 
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