City of Heroes: Live Forum Archive

Horrible Rubberbanding

Mandu

By Mandu,
Posted on: 2009-04-30 05:39 in ALL ACCESS Gameplay Technical Issues Bugs

 

Posted

Ok, so I just got a new computer, amazing graphics, everything runs smoothly amd phenom quad, 4 gigs/ram... asus mobo... 9600 nvidia.. nice...

my ONLY issue is when i play on the wireless... I I RUBBERBAND HORRIBLY.. meaning atleast 4-5 times per minute...

i'll be running through the city with super speed and bounce back to a previous location...

everything else is completely smooth, and it doesn't do this on ethernet cable connection


Is there anything I can do to get rid of this or would anyone recommend a pci (or usb if it works as well) wireless LAN card that eliminates this problem?

Specs on wired LAN :

Rosewill RNX-G300LX IEEE 802.11b/g PCI Wireless Card Up to 54Mbps Data Rates 64/128-Bit WEP, 802.1x, WPA, WPA2, AES, TKIP with 2 dBi Antenna

Link:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833166021

 

Posted

Network lag. Your wireless connection obviously isn't strong enough. You won't really notice it when downloading things or cruising websites because packets lost just wind up being retransmitted. However since the server and your end of the game don't doublecheck themselves constantly but only at intervals or when some event occurs you are going to get rubberbanding.

My advice. Buy an external antenna for the card and the router. I'm 100 ft away from my router and have two walls in between. Before the antennas I wasn't even able to see the router, now I get great signal strength.

Don't count your weasels before they pop dink!

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
my ONLY issue is when i play on the wireless... I I RUBBERBAND HORRIBLY.. meaning atleast 4-5 times per minute...

everything else is completely smooth, and it doesn't do this on ethernet cable connection

[/ QUOTE ]

This may not be a hardware problem (although better hardware may help, depending). Disclaimer: while the basic theory in this post is generic, some of the details assume US devices / regulations; if you live elsewhere YMMV.

WiFi is a shared medium. Even in the simplest of cases, the available bandwidth is divided amongst the various well-behaved users. Two people on a channel will get at best half the performance each. For sporadic loads such as web browsing this isn't that noticeable, as the odds both users click on another page at *exactly* the same time aren't that high; but for gaming or large file downloads, it's noticeable.

If there are multiple access points on the same or adjacent channels, it's even worse; the other computers and access points are effectively jammers from your standpoint, and vice versa.

Then there are all the other devices that also use the ~2.45 GHz ISM band. Microwave ovens are the classic culprit, and one of the original reasons why the band exists for small-scale use and isn't controlled by a megacorp; no one wanted to deal with the interference. But wireless video senders, cordless phones, Bluetooth devices, car alarms, baby monitors, and all sorts of other things operate in the same general band as WiFi, and can cause varying levels of problems.

There are also structural issues. Metal fire-stops in walls, metal pipes, and so on can degrade a signal far faster than ordinary walls, which are themselves considerably more opaque than open air. ~2.45 GHz is well-absorbed by water and fat, one reason it's used for microwave ovens; people in the way can make a surprising difference in signal strength. Mounting the access point high up near the ceiling may help performance if there are likely to be wandering absorbers in your setting (roommates, friends, family, pets, etc.).

If you are using the default channel for your access point, the second thing you should do is change the channel. (The *first* thing you should do is activate the security and give it a secure password. Having a neighbor using your unsecured WiFi to BitTorrent will kill your gaming even if they're not malicious.) Most access points default to channel 6, and it's in the middle of various other things; it's by far the most likely to be interfered with. Note that while there are channels 1-11, there's a fair amount of "bleed" between channels. Classically, you used to consider that there were only three "effective" channels that were far enough apart to count as isolated: 1, 6, and 11.

However, in a modern setting with a lot of access points (such as an apartment building where everyone has their own, non-cooperating access point), three isn't enough. You may find that you'll get better results on a less-standard channel like 3 or 9 if the main ones are full.

Better access points have the option to install upgraded antennas. This can improve things a bit, but will rarely by itself make a significant difference; in conjunction with moving to an otherwise unoccupied channel it can be significant. If your primary problem is distance or wall penetration it will make a larger difference than if it is interference.

Some newer access points use MIMO techniques as part of the 802.11 draft-N, with (typically) 3 antennas. I've been pleased with the performance of the D-Link DIR-655 access point even in fairly dense radio environments, for instance.

Miuramir, Windchime, Sariel the Golden, Scarlet Antinomist...
Casino Extortion #4031: Neutral, Council+Custom [SFMA/MLMA/SLMA/FHMA/CFMA]
Bad Candy #87938: Neutral, Custom [SFMA/MLMA/SLMA/FHMA/HFMA]
CoH Helper * HijackThis

 

Posted

Is this on XP or Vista?
And are the rubberbanding periodic? You can check that with /netgraph 1 (0 to switch off).

 

Posted

the rubberbanding is 4-5 times per minute everytime i play on my wireless, they aren't necessarily horrible enough to get me killed or anything in game, but its very annoying...

I use XP...

also currently my router is right next to my computer, the only other things that access it is my xbox 360 and my laptop when it happens to be on.


please explain in simpler terms about this antennae?

 

Posted

My suspection was that it could be related to the automatic search for new wireless networks (Windows Zero Configuration), but that only activates once each minute, so it seems you must look elsewhere for a solution.

 

Posted

[ QUOTE ]
the rubberbanding is 4-5 times per minute everytime i play on my wireless, they aren't necessarily horrible enough to get me killed or anything in game, but its very annoying...

I use XP...

also currently my router is right next to my computer, the only other things that access it is my xbox 360 and my laptop when it happens to be on.

[/ QUOTE ]

Is the Xbox 360 on much of the time? We found an earlier problem where the "media search" on a PS3 was killing someone's connection on a regular basis, it's possible the 360 has something similar going on.

If your router is that close, a better antenna is unlikely to help (it's more for situations where you've got the router in one room and the computer in another). Have you checked the channel options? Do you live someplace that is likely to have other wireless users nearby, or possibly neighbors with 2.4 GHz phones or the like? It sounds like something is interfering with the wireless on a regular basis.

Miuramir, Windchime, Sariel the Golden, Scarlet Antinomist...
Casino Extortion #4031: Neutral, Council+Custom [SFMA/MLMA/SLMA/FHMA/CFMA]
Bad Candy #87938: Neutral, Custom [SFMA/MLMA/SLMA/FHMA/HFMA]
CoH Helper * HijackThis