PoE 1 PC servers are restarting in: .
They should be back up in approximately .PoE 1 Xbox servers are restarting in: .
They should be back up in approximately .PoE 1 Sony servers are restarting in: .
They should be back up in approximately .Thoughts on Lag, Desync, and Disconnect
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I was recently playing PoE in a new location and was dismayed to find that I was constantly desyncing and disconnecting. I could literally not play for more than 15 minutes at a time without being disconnected (often much less) and that time would be filled with desyncs. I had no idea what was going on. After 'playing' for a while hoping the problem would go away on its own I had enough and started troubleshooting the connection.
I knew my internet connection was good with very low latency to the servers. I knew that wasn't the issue. I obviously knew the issue wasn't on GGG's end because I normal experience absolutely no desyncs or disconnects. So the problem was somewhere on my end. I knew it wasn't my computer or internet card which work flawlessly. That left only a single option: the router and modem. But the little icon in the corner was saying I had a perfect connection with max strength so what's the problem? The problem is that good connection strength is only half the story. You can have a great connection to your router but still have a really shitty throughput and that was the problem I was experiencing. Despite the fact that I never dropped the perfect connection to the router, there were often periods of time that could last for almost a minute where absolutely no data was being transmitted between my computer and the router. Even when data was being transmitted, the throughput was choppy and inconsistent. The throughput would max out for one fraction of a second and completely shut down the next resulting in unreliable packet transfer and many dropped packets. When it donned on me what was going on, I quickly replaced the crappy router and modem that I was connected to with the much nicer router and modem that I own. Just like that, my flawless PoE gameplay was back. No desyncs. No disconnects. Awesome latency. The key thing to remember is that there are many links to the chain that stretches between your computer and GGG's (or anyone else's) servers. A bottleneck anywhere along the line can hamper your experience even when your connection tells you that everything is perfectly fine. In my case I was using the extremely crappy that router and modem that are given by the internet provider (an obvious mistake). As an absolute rule, the hardware that any internet provider gives you is worse than crap. This particular router couldn't even maintain proper throughput with only a single client to route to. That's the sign of an ultra shitty router. Many cheap routers can maintain good throughput with one or two clients at once but fail miserably when more devices try to connect through it or when there are other routers in the same area trying to communicate across the same wavelength. A decent router from a reputable company will not only give you better signal strength across a greater distance and through more obstacles but it will also guarantee maximum data throughput even when multiple devices are all trying to send and receive data at once. So if you're experiencing a lot of desyncs or disconnects then take a look at your router and modem. If it's something that your internet provider gave you or it's something that you bought under $50 from some company that no one has ever heard of then that's your problem right there. That's like trying to drive your car without tires. A decent router and modem should cost you under $150 with more expensive ones offering more features but not usually better connections. Again, if your router is from your internet provider then you're probably paying them ~$10 per month to rent that piece of crap. Buying a nice router would pay for itself in savings in about a year and you'd an internet connection that's orders of magnitude better. I know this may seem obvious to a lot of the more tech savvy people here. I facepalmed pretty hard that it took me a few hours to realize what the issue was. The majority of people, however, simply assume that all routers are essentially the same. Maybe it's because all routers are about the same size or maybe it's because they assume a company wouldn't scam them with such shitty hardware. I don't know. TLDR: If you have a good internet connection but a shitty router then you have have a shitty internet connection. Forum Sheriff
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Sorry but my router/modem work fine on other ARPG's online /shrug. Im usually pretty positive about POE but its getting pretty much unplayable lately :( This Desync thing goes way back to April when I first started playing and hasnt went away and has even progressively gotten ALOT worse now. I think honestly if there was anything they could do about it they would have done it along time ago when the issues came up in alpha/beta.
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Yeah. I just wanted to bring this up because it's something that often gets overlooked. Many people assume that just because they bought the nicest data package from their internet provider with the highest uplink and downlink numbers that everything should be fine. They assume that their internet provider will give them hardware that can support that data throughput (they don't) or that the router they got in a bargain bin can handle it just fine (it can't).
Forum Sheriff
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I have literally no clue why you put "desync" in the thread title...
Considering everything you said, has not one iota to with desyncs and how they relate to THIS game. Lag and disconnects... Sure, go for it. "Did you plug your power cord in?" Those posts always winners. Anyhoo... I don't know if you're trying to alleviate the plethora of desync posts, hoping your title will magically calm the masses with flawed logic or not. Just pointing that out for ya... I know throwing "Desync" in a thread title is all the rage these days, and for good reason, it's a HUGE issue, but "Did you plug your power cord in" posts, don't work especially when people are attempting to placate people who actually know why the game actually does desync. Last edited by StinkFinger#4623 on Feb 19, 2013, 10:54:42 PM
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" To be fair, the "people that actually know why the game actually does desync" have done little more than read the infamous starlight quote. It's funny that people are saying herrr duuurr why pick "netcode 2" when it's been stated that the design goals of the game ultimately required them to code things the way they did. |
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" Why precisely does the game go out of sync? |
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Desync by definition is when the game state on the server and the client do not match. This can happen for a wide variety of reasons including momentary loss of communication between the client and the server. If the data throughput in your shitty router bottoms out (even for a very small amount of time), key information from the client may see a significant delay in reaching the server. This is a desync by definition because the server has continued to run the the game situation under false assumptions without that key information. That seed of a desync can escalate very quickly as it ripples through the dozen enemies packed together in a given room. A second or two later, the server realizes just how out of sync it is and it triggers a hard resync with the client which causes the rubberbanding that people see. Please don't try to lecture me about things that I obviously know more about than you.
I never claimed this was the cause of everyone's connection issues. I imagine it may only be the cause for a small minority. Still, I felt it was worth posting because router throughput is not something that the average person knows about let alone would be able to diagnose. Forum Sheriff
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Sure funny that mobs that are in front of me (a good distance in front of me) and are suddenly behind me in less time then that mob could have possibly traveled that distance. Oh and they take 0 dmg from abilities during this time, even though mana is being spent.
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" WE FOUND HIM GUYS... THE SOLUTION TO THE DESYNC PROBLEMS. DESYNC JESUS!!! Crowd of Desync Sufferers - "Please oh great one... Tell us what to do, the thousands of us are suffering from rampant desyncs." Desync Jesus - "Did you plug your power cord in?" Crowd of Desync Sufferers - "Yes, oh great one". Desync Jesus - "You have a shitty router." Crowd of Desync Sufferers - "We're hardwired, oh knowledgeable one." Desync Jesus - "You have a shitty internet provider." Derp.... Last edited by StinkFinger#4623 on Feb 19, 2013, 11:22:30 PM
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" You might not have noticed but you've just repeated yourself with no additional input or argument. You're welcome. |
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