Server lagging

[Gamers]

Guys im fairly new here but ive noticed that when the server has around 250+ players on it starts to lag a lot for many people, me being one of them.I dont know whats the reason for it and im sure its not my internet.I looked at the hardware specs of the server and i dont see a reason for the lag so can anyone fill me in on whats up? thanks

[Genesis]

New York, U.S.A. Okay 26.2 26.5 26.9

San Francisco, U.S.A. Okay 58.3 58.6 58.8

Florida, U.S.A. Okay 74.5 74.7 75.1

Vancouver, Canada Okay 93.7 94.0 94.2

Austin, U.S.A. Okay 75.2 75.5 75.9

Austin2, U.S.A. Okay 75.3 75.6 76.1

Amsterdam2, Netherlands Okay 99.2 99.3 99.5

Lille, France Okay 108.2 108.5 109.2

Cologne, Germany Okay 115.3 115.9 116.6

London, United Kingdom Okay 92.1 92.7 92.8

Amsterdam, Netherlands Okay 103.5 103.7 103.9

Amsterdam3, Netherlands Okay 98.8 98.9 99.0

Copenhagen, Denmark Okay 125.2 125.4 125.6

Munchen, Germany Okay 116.9 117.4 118.4

Paris, France Okay 99.5 99.6 99.6

Cagliari, Italy Okay 134.6 135.0 135.3

Madrid, Spain Okay 115.5 116.0 116.4

Krakow, Poland Okay 129.7 132.1 139.4

Hong Kong, China Okay 213.8 222.9 228.8

Sydney, Australia Okay 250.2 252.6 256.2

Melbourne, Australia Okay 233.4 234.1 236.0

Porto Alegre, Brazil Okay 193.0 210.6 222.2

Stockholm, Sweden Okay 126.8 128.6 129.9

Singapore, Singapore Okay 312.6 313.1 315.0

Shanghai, China Okay 281.9 282.3 283.0

Thats a global ping of the server. Anything below 130 = no lag ( or very little), the server is hosted in Chicago ( US).

Do the following:

1. Go to "Start"

2. Click on "Run..."

3. Type "cmd" on the box that opens.

4. You will see a command prompt window ( black screen) type "ping forsakenserver.net" ( no quotation marks). Copy/Paste the result here.

[Gamers]

Thanks for the info Gen and i did what you said and got a ping of 465 ms. I know thats high but there are times when i would not lag at all and i did bandwidth tests on my net and it was working fine so what could be causing it? because ive noticed that its only when the server has 250+ people or around that then many people start to get lag.

[Zeitgeist]

Thanks for the info Gen and i did what you said and got a ping of 465 ms. I know thats high but there are times when i would not lag at all and i did bandwidth tests on my net and it was working fine so what could be causing it? because ive noticed that its only when the server has 250+ people or around that then many people start to get lag.

Maybe at 250+ people the connection reaches a point where it cannot sustain the connection with your IP. However, I doubt it's our servers since you'd experience more and more lag with each players that logs onto our net.

[Genesis]

Let me explain what a ping is, ping is nothing more than a way of measuring how long it takes you from your current location/speed to interact with the server and receive a reply; the "ms" in that reply is milliseconds; if for example you have 50 ms that means it takes you 50 milliseconds to send/receive a reply from the server, the higher the ping the longer it takes for this interaction to happen thus you experience lagged gameplay. Here are a few things you can do to reduce the lag:

1. Reboot your modem/router. (This will most likely give you a new IP on a new DNS server depending on your ISP)

2. Do not play in an Internet Cafe. ( Internet Cafes have large amounts of users using the same internet connection.)

3. When ingame, turn off all effects. ( Less information to send/receive from the server the faster it gets transported.)

If all else fails you might want to contact your ISP and verify with them; they might be blocking/curtailing your connection. I hope this helps.

Wizardry your reply is both incorrect and illiterate, its physically impossible to offer lagless gameplay to everyone around the world simply because of the fact that there are geographical features that hinder the flow. That is something we cannot he held responsible for, yes American/Canadian players lag the least simply because they are closer to the server, and the majority of our players do not lag.

[Genesis]

Asian/European Hosts have different regulations/Laws that could cause problems; even Large Games such as World of Warcraft are aware of the restrictions when hosting a game server; that is why they offer dozens of servers that are hosted all around the world ( separate servers). This is one of the largest MMORPGs are we talking about and a multi billion dollar corporation; something we cannot compete with. Our current host is fine, as you can see from the ping low the majority of European/American countries do not have a problem with lag.

[Zeitgeist]

That's right , low because a lot of people left the game because of that lagg , that's why there is only low majority of european people.

What would you expect us to do regarding the issue?

It has already been explained that we cannot set another server near your location. There's a reason there's iRO, pRO, kRO and so on. Everyone knows a server can't be used at its best worldwide. We have the best systems and connections there are to obtain for a server, if that doesn't help your case then there's nothing left for us to do but to apologize.

[Final]

The server host is located in Chicago, I don't know if it's a rental server or Zeitgeist's own server but it's in Chicago so deal with it.

[Genesis]

The Majority of our population is American, we host is Chicago simply because it is 1 of the most prominent server hosting locations in the United States. A datacenter is a huge location that provides the space/conditions/connections for you to host a box. The majority of hosting companies use datacenters because its much cheaper to pay for a slot with a datacenter than it is to have a huge fiberline in your home. Not only is it cheaper its much more secure, from burglary or any natural disaster. You contact a hosting company explain to them what you need order/make the hardware box then add it to the location and you are online, its as worthwhile hosting companies do it. If you are not sure how it works you shouldn't be criticizing Wizardry.

[Zeitgeist]

and I'm not the server owner. That would be Relinquish and/or Genesis.

[Zeitgeist]

Alright got it , You guys know you get tones of money thanks to a lot of people who donate a lot , Therefore you can sure afford yourself another hosting server somewhere not in America , And I know you will get less pocket money for yourself but that will bring more people to fro , then more Donations , then you can get again pocket money for yourself.

A neat theory of you.

However, we don't get "tons of money." Frankly, donations have gone down ever since we added the elite quest along with the elite set. We knew they'd go down, but balance between donators and non-donators is something people have always striven for and something we wanted to offer. The server expenses (server, site, forums) go to a rough of $1200 per month. fRO roughly receives that via donations each month. There are cases when they don't even reach that much and Genesis is forced to cover the remaining expenses from his pocket. If there's the case when the donations do go above the server expenses, they remain unmoved from the Paypal account for it is a possibility that the next month, donations might not cover the month's expenses. Noone in the team has ever made a penny out of fRO; it has never been fRO's intention. fRO is hosted by RO-lovers for RO-lovers. Simple as that.

[Zeitgeist]

Ye so I want to help you , There are host sites who can host you the forum and site for 5$ per month or even for free. I don't think that hosting the server is 1195$ , right? I can find it for you if you want , less to pay that way.

You are correct, there are sites who would host our forums for $5 a month, but they wouldn't be even near the bandwidth, data storage and upload capacity we have as of now. Simply not plausible.

[Zeitgeist]

So? It will take a bit longer to upload and to load stuff but that's huge save of money.

And a huge bother for players. Plus, I said "upload capacity," which means all the signatures, avatars and images would have to go if we hired that $5 forum.

[Genesis]

Hosting isn't based on download its based mainly on Upload, because you are accessing that box and receiving information you are downloading ( the box is uploading). If you lower our hosting plan it will overpass the bandwidth limit and we will have to pay a fee not only that but the website as a whole will load slowly. Its not going to happen, if you feel so worried about our hosting costs you can contribute by voting/reviewing us on ratemyserver as well as other authorized locations.

[Gamers]

@Gen to your recommendations the following:

1. I have rebooted my router several times in an attempt to solve the problem. It has not worked.

2. I do not play in an internet cafe. I play at home on my PC.

3. I do not play with effects.

As for the last thing you said i believe this may be the problem so i will be contacting them soon in an attempt to resolve the issue.Also i would just like to say that im not far from America and normally my pings on American servers are fine so that is not the issue.I believe that it is my isp causing the problem and i will have to deal with that.

@Wizardry there was no need for your posts here they werent helpful in anyway and you should think about what your posting before you do. It is quite clear to see Genesis and the Gms here work hard and do a damn good job hence the reason the server is doing well. There was really no need for what you said and a little appreciation for what you have now is better than always wanting something better that you may never have.

Thanks.

[MTF Amadeus]

A neat theory of you.

However, we don't get "tons of money." Frankly, donations have gone down ever since we added the elite quest along with the elite set. We knew they'd go down, but balance between donators and non-donators is something people have always striven for and something we wanted to offer. The server expenses (server, site, forums) go to a rough of $1200 per month. fRO roughly receives that via donations each month. There are cases when they don't even reach that much and Genesis is forced to cover the remaining expenses from his pocket. If there's the case when the donations do go above the server expenses, they remain unmoved from the Paypal account for it is a possibility that the next month, donations might not cover the month's expenses. Noone in the team has ever made a penny out of fRO; it has never been fRO's intention. fRO is hosted by RO-lovers for RO-lovers. Simple as that.

@ RRO the donate/non-donate scale was way off balance. so of the 4K people who played 3K had donates. it was crazy.

[Gamers]

Dude I am playing here for 9 months already , I know the GMs well unlike you and besides when I ask them something , they usually avoid from answering , so this time they did answer some stuff , for a change.

Your posts still werent relavent/useful.

[Zeitgeist]

Going to quote Wizardry's post in parts, since there's too many bits I'd like to respond to, I deem this to be the most organized way to do so.

Because No matter what you tell them , They won't ever do it

Link to the PK discussion. (Which is highly monitored by GMs)

Link to the GTB change topic/poll.

Might I remark that the new GTB effect (50% of magic damage reduction) was already done, tested and ready to go. However, people didn't want the change. Hence, it wasn't done. How are we exactly not doing what the players ask of us?

sking it for 3 months , every 2 weeks I remind him that , but he won't do a thing

Was your "fix" of great importance to the server or just another of your pet-peeves? Referring back to the PK topic, you only pointed out that your main concern was getting killed when MvPing, whereas you gave no input to how this affected the community. Unless you specify what exactly was the "fix" you so complained about Genesis about, I'll believe it was nothing but a caprice.

This game has only 300 players? and the game is 11 months old , I saw servers who are 10 months old and have 1250 players

Screenshot or didn't happen. You've also got to remember that RO communities are diminishing in General. The server is even listed as one of the top servers, our RMS reviews are almost impeccable and the daily player feedback we get is almost always perfect. People who play here often stay here.

Moscovia (No buggs , to Genesis and Zeitgeist) , they have Satan Morroc , shorter to say they have the 12 Episode already in their RO , Here You gotta wait a 1-2 months until you get an update which usually is , fix some little bugs and adding 1 pair of wings

The one bit made me grin. We already have moscovia's map as a city. NPCs and monsters are still not released simply because there is not stable eA version of them. Bug free, highly unlikely. You could go onto the forums of servers who say they're the first ones to offer "bugless" updates, what do you do? You log onto their forums and see miles of topics complaining about bugs. These server owners simply do not realize that, unless they run a debug on the entire game (or close to, something eA devs do). We simply have much more to offer than some half-worked updates of new cities/monsters. Updates on fRO come, more or less, monthly. Which, might I add, is a good pace considering GMing/Developing is not our job.

But the real fun updates never come , that's why less people come to the server , Because the game isn't updating almost at all, If you would get these KRO updates which is the most fun , I am pretty sure , more players would join

It's always nice to talk with someone who speaks for millions of players worldwide. I could state that players love to get hacked and abused by the GMs and that that's the reason they stay on a server, and, you know? It'd hold the same weight as the statement I'm quoting; none. Unless you've got charts and an investigation, don't come here and tell us what people look for in a server.

he needs to change exactly one little number on scripting of something , which is so simple

This statement right here sets the base as to what your coding experience is; none. Now since I know you'll just love to talk back at me on this one, I'll make it simple for you. Imagine, for the sake of the argument, that the whole RO program looks like this:

http://img67859.pictiger.com/images/15958279/

This is nothing alike RO nor the complex system it is, but for the sake of the argument, bear with me.

Now, let's assume your "number change" belonged to the B1 function. Good, that's done, but wait. Since the C1 and C2 functions are derived from the B1 function, then we need to check if that numerical change doesn't affect the variables inside C1 and C2 functions. It is highly probable that variables used in the B1 function are to be used in the derived functions, namely the C1 and C2 functions. Any numerical change that affects the gameplay are on variables. Which means that the C1 and C2 variables could very be changed without notice and thus, errors occur. Not only that but almost all functions in the RO program is made to return a value to the function they're derived of. Which means we've got to check to check all of the parent functions as well. The A function could very be the derived function of another function, which means we'd need to check that one too. Finally, there could be the instance that the C3 function also happens to use a variable in the B1 function, which means we'd have to check any derived and parent function of the C3 function as well. Finally, functions in the RO code are normally about this size in lines of code, there are also almost no comments.

All that just for a number change. Simple, isn't it? Now getting back to reality, RO's code is much more complex than this, you can only imagine the hassle we take to make even the smallest of changes. Even if you say you didn't understand what I previously wrote, it just proves my point further; any half-knowledgeable programmer can understand the latter paragraph.

So my final say is this: You're entitled to your opinion about how we work and, as biased as it can be, you're entitled to share it. However, when you want to throw in facts, be sure they are right because you'd best not look like an imbecile while throwing fake facts. Let me be the one who drops the line for you: You are not going to tell Genesis or I about updating, coding or pleasing players in general.

[MTF Amadeus]

so what's this topic about again?