Server Lag

[ogron]

This new server has been awful from the get-go, and it's been absolutely putrid lately.

Half the zone couldn't stay in games today.

Whatever resurgence this game is having is being jeopardized by this lag.

qan is anything being done about this? never seen it this bad before

[paradise!]

Most important point I think is that it's actually getting noticeably worse since this year started. Can we get a straight answer on exactly how much money we have, and how much money a better server would cost?

[Zeebu]

did we change servers for cost reasons?

[qan]

Will be looking at this one soon. It may either be related to Microsoft's absolute trash-tier idea of a "server", or to particular net issues.

Server was changed because our old provider closed up shop and Priit decided he didn't want to continue running it. Priit's server worked well despite being ancient because 1) it ran on a version of Windows that wasn't based on the design specs for a washing machine; and 2) he didn't update it for more than a decade. He's also a net god and had that option, was able to do that safely.

Newer, more complex software is full of vulnerabilities that are constantly being patched. It's possible that maybe we could get an image of Priit's old server setup, put it on a box and then just pay for physical hosting of that. But I doubt he'd want to provide that, and it'd be quite a hassle to set up.

So at the moment we're left with finding ways to make this modern "server" software behave properly. We're also looking at moving to ASSS on Linux, though that requires making sure bots are stable.

It could also be a general net issue related to the host, but from what I've seen it has more to do with Windows Server itself. Potentially we might also be able to just throw money at the problem. For example, we could look at running on a physical/non-virtualized server with the same specs, which might alleviate the issue. Or we could buy the use of 2 more CPU cores and 8GB more RAM. (One issue has to do with CPU usage hitting 100%.) That would cost about $40 more a month, but it might be worth it. Priit was paying more than $300/mo for the old server, which was top of the line back in the day.

[Vys]

I'm sure with the current hardcore player base, we could all donate a small amount each month via standing order. If it's just 10 dollars (which I'm pretty certain most active players would pay) it would generate a lot of money to get a decent server and also bank some money.

Kind of like a 3 month subscription to anyone who wishes to partake in.

[Rab]

All sorts of stuff is creaking atm coz world + dog is working from home.
ASSS should be our next move.

[Unlimited]

I have an idea.. and really think this would be very successful. Like Vys said, do a subscription kind of thing and as an incentive and reward for doing so, you get pub bux and some downloads for graphics/sounds. DLC is the craze right now with a lot of games like fort nite / cod warzone, subscribers have different ships and on top of that so others see they are subscribers you can change their ship color like you did in elim.

This is the time to capitalize on all the people who are staying home atm due to the virus, and at the same time get donations for new server or other things the zone would need.

[Rab]

Are we calling off TWDT this weekend?
It's gonna be a shit-show with everyone lagging out. Played a few BDs last night and it was crap.
I currently have C2S: -97.-5% QUICK MAFFS

Oh and next time I report someone who's lagging and a staffer looks at their lag number and says "they aren't lagging".. FU... this game does not measure lag correctly and never did.

[qan]

All sorts of stuff is creaking atm coz world + dog is working from home.
ASSS should be our next move.

This. Take a look at the news in the last day or two. This is a big problem for many online services, not just us. The networks are strained. People are staying at home, and they're streaming movies and music, playing games, etc.

This likely means we can expect to see certain paths to the server clogged and giving increased packetloss and/or lag. It's not universal lag, so that means you can find a different route.

To try and fix the problem, players can try tethering to their phone (via Bluetooth/Wifi hotspot). They can also try a free VPN such as Windscribe, and change their location until they can find a clean path to the server. (Some routes to the server will be clogged more than others as networking equipment of various providers along the way are pushed to the limit. Imagine certain roads meant for low traffic and slow speeds suddenly being jammed with cars trying to move quickly.)

In all likelihood, the issue is outside our control, but we will continue to investigate and do whatever we can to fix it. We might want to look at temporarily raising lag limits to allow more people to play, as many people will want to enjoy TW while they have nothing else to do. Thoughts on that?

We should also seriously consider postponing, agreed. I'll mention to the league ops.

[Nipple Nibbler]

qan if we are going to continue to play with this sort of lag can we temporary disable basebirds for BD? They are a nightmare to kill with their insanely high regen to begin with, you throw server lag on top of it and its honestly just a joke.

Somehow I doubt it's a hardware thing, this game is 20 years old it was being hosted on toasters, more money at the problem in my uneducated opinion wont help. It really does feel like a software problem.

[Rab]

We might want to look at temporarily raising lag limits to allow more people to play, as many people will want to enjoy TW while they have nothing else to do. Thoughts on that?

Lag limits should be completely removed until us/eu are back at work.
Raising isn't enough when the game is calculating things like -97.-5% packetloss, the game's lag measuring cannot be trusted.
Currently people are lagging out a lot when really their lag doesn't look that bad, so it's the lag limits causing the problem rather than the lag.
The risk is that people start lag cheating, nothing we can do about that.
The scope should ideally be every arena (re-use the res limit remover thing?), the re-application of lag limits later is an opportunity to set the same lag limit for every arena.
If that's a problem, reduced scope should be: pub, elim, wbduel, twbd 1+2, twdd 1+2, twjd 1+2, twdt arenas if it's not cancelled.

[Heaven]

if twdt is postponed on sunday, its a pretty short notice and feel like a lot of people are still going to log on.................

host a mini basing tourny on sunday @ 3pm or 4pm EST. even with the lag, since people are still gonna log in and if theres no twdt there will be twbds, tourny style hits different..

[Heaven]

nvm i just tried pub 0 and lag is unplayable

[qan]

Going to make a new thread to gather reports.

[qan]

Will also be making some temporary changes to lag limits for crucial arenas. Have gathered some actionable info but would love to see more to develop a pattern. If you know of anyone experiencing issues, please ask them to post here:

http://forums.trenchwars.com/forum/s...h-wars/1334567