Game lag on Spark

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Lemming

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Master Geek
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Topic # 221409 9-Aug-2017 21:24

Hi All

Just moved from Vodafone fibre 30/10 to Spark fibre 100/20. I had some advice the Vodafone HG659 router would work fine, so have kept it and not bothered to pay the $15 to get a Spark branded one couriered to me. Setup and working ok from a raw throughput perspective, but the lag when gaming is crazy (as opposed to none perceivable with Vodafone..)

Couple of queries, Is lag generally an issue on Spark fibre ?? and is the Vodafone router potentially causing a problem ?

Cheers Chris

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Reply # 1843103 9-Aug-2017 22:11

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You need to provide more information.

Lag as you state it means nothing. It can mean a connection issue to your router or many other variables. It could also be a problem to the gaming server you're using.

1) Is your PC wired to the router via Ethernet (not WiFi).
2) What game is this.
3) Where is your gaming server located.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
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Reply # 1843121 9-Aug-2017 22:41

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Lemming: ... Is lag generally an issue on Spark fibre ?? and is the Vodafone router potentially causing a problem ??

Read the monthly Truenet.co.nz reports. From memory, Vodafone had more slow down during busy periods than Spark.

hio77

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Reply # 1843132 9-Aug-2017 23:32

Lag is a very broad term, please clarify.

the HG659 will work fine (i recall the VF firmware having subpar wifi or something at some point), however is not the fully 'supported' modem.

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Lemming

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Reply # 1843148 10-Aug-2017 06:58

Thanks for the replies, good to know Spark doesn't have a bad rep I wasn't aware of..

By lag I mean I click the mouse for action X to occur, and action X happens (insert random hundered ms later here). Ended up dead a lot (more..) last night

PC connection internally is same as with VF as ISP, copper to router..

Game is D3

No clue as to where the server lives..

If the connection should be fine, and the router is compatible.. maybe the config needs a tweak ?? This is how the Wan is setup..

Thanks

Lemming

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Master Geek
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Reply # 1843149 10-Aug-2017 07:00

Note.. am focused on the issue being something to do with the swap to Spark based on all the same other than being with Spark.. 0 issues with perceived lag prior with VF..

Could have been something random @ the D3 server end, but in a group game the other 3 players were having no issue..They were based in Aus though..

michaelmurfy

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Reply # 1843164 10-Aug-2017 08:03

Well you don't know this - you're jumping to conclusions.

You need to get the game servers IP address to do more testing. For all we know it is a game server based in a basement in a house in Russia on a dialup connection so the "lag" will be justified. You've also got to understand, Spark have many many customers and are indeed a good ISP. If this was an actual problem then they would have many more complaints from gamers.

Get the game servers IP and location, post it here, run a traceroute and do some general testing. I bet you changing providers will not help in your case.

Lemming

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Reply # 1843167 10-Aug-2017 08:07

michaelmurfy:

Well you don't know this - you're jumping to conclusions.

Very possibly.. basing observations on what has changed around the performance difference.. wasnt so much worried about Spark, more how I had configured the router to live on Spark..

michaelmurfy:

You need to get the game servers IP address to do more testing. For all we know it is a game server based in a basement in a house in Russia on a dialup connection so the "lag" will be justified. You've also got to understand, Spark have many many customers and are indeed a good ISP. If this was an actual problem then they would have many more complaints from gamers.

I'll look into.. Is a Blizzard server, so should be able to find some info..

michaelmurfy:

Get the game servers IP and location, post it here, run a traceroute and do some general testing. I bet you changing providers will not help in your case.

I'll have another play tonight..

Behodar

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Reply # 1843168 10-Aug-2017 08:13

Blizz recommends that you traceroute to 24.105.30.129 (assuming that you're on a US server, otherwise see this page).

Lemming

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Reply # 1843169 10-Aug-2017 08:14

Behodar:

Blizz recommends that you traceroute to 24.105.30.129 (assuming that you're on a US server, otherwise see this page).

Thanks, Will check tonight

michaelmurfy

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Reply # 1843172 10-Aug-2017 08:23

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Something else is you've got to remember that Blizzard often has multiple game servers in the same location. So, if D3 was affected then so would Overwatch. I don't see a massive swarm of Overwatch players complaining :)

Lemming

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Reply # 1843175 10-Aug-2017 08:27

michaelmurfy:

Something else is you've got to remember that Blizzard often has multiple game servers in the same location. So, if D3 was affected then so would Overwatch. I don't see a massive swarm of Overwatch players complaining :)

That sort of indicates isn't a Blizzard server issue.. which corresponds to other players all happy last night.. I'll play later, and if still no good follow the error checking guide linked by Behodar

Can anyone confirm the WAN settings are correct ?

plas

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Ultimate Geek
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Reply # 1843176 10-Aug-2017 08:27

D3 has a latency bar onscreen. From memory it goes green > orange > red, hover the mouse over it show your ping. Also set your game to use the AU servers.

michaelmurfy

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Reply # 1843178 10-Aug-2017 08:28

If you're using a Spark router and you're online then nothing is wrong with your router.

Lemming

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Reply # 1843179 10-Aug-2017 08:30

plas:

D3 has a latency bar onscreen. From memory it goes green > orange > red, hover the mouse over it show your ping. Also set your game to use the AU servers.

I actually had a look through the game options to see if a ping value could be displayed... wasn't obvious, ill look again tonight.. I'll look into where my server is configured to..

Same as previous comment, was all good until ISP swap though..

michaelmurfy

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Reply # 1843203 10-Aug-2017 08:36

The ping value from the game doesn't mean much. Most games have been not displaying this since it is a pure placebo and instead for troubleshooting providing some IP addresses to test to. That Blizzard guide is pretty good.

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