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Starbase Defense 20 person mission lag just completely unacceptable...

dark4blooddark4blood Member Posts: 1,192 Arc User
How old is the Starbase Defense mission? I ask this question because I did one today, and with all the smaller beams, and reduced special effects and increase server room without the Foundry the mission seemed to have more lag than when 5 years ago. The mission was almost unplayable and many times I couldn't even register damage because the text and animation were upwards of 4-5 seconds behind. I don't think this mission will be a priority for Cryptic to fix, but I understand why this game does not compete on the major MMO level if you can't even handle a 20 person/9 year old mission without insane lag.
Post edited by baddmoonrizin on

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  • edited October 2019
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  • gaevsmangaevsman Member Posts: 3,190 Arc User
    > @reyan01 said:
    > Honestly? Am surprised you even got into an instance of this! I haven't played it in literally years as no-one ever seemed to queue for it.

    I do, it rarelly kick in, but i do..
    The forces of darkness are upon us!
  • darkbladejkdarkbladejk Member Posts: 3,883 Community Moderator
    dark4blood wrote: »
    How old is the Starbase Defense mission? I ask this question because I did one today, and with all the smaller beams, and reduced special effects and increase server room without the Foundry the mission seemed to have more lag than when 5 years ago. The mission was almost unplayable and many times I couldn't even register damage because the text and animation were upwards of 4-5 seconds behind. I don't think this mission will be a priority for Cryptic to fix, but I understand why this game does not compete on the major MMO level if you can't even handle a 20 person/9 year old mission without insane lag.

    I should blank your post, but instead I think you need to understand how some of the behind the scenes stuff on the internet works.

    First off, there is a ton of issues that can effect lag, many of which are beyond the control of yourself and Cryptic. If your rig is not powerful enough it can cause lag, and if the servers are not powerful enough it can cause lag. I don't know what you have for a computer so I can't speak to that on your part without knowing your specs. I do know however most servers aren't cheap. With that said, if a server is just getting hammered due to the sheer amount of data it's having to process, that can also cause lag. In STO there are a ton of calculations that go on behind the scenes in the average combat situation with complex formulas going on. If you get 20 players, that's roughly 160 weapons on just the player ships that game must track assuming a standard 4/4 layout. This also does not count the potential NPC weapons you may be coming against. The average groups in there were 7-9 ships that I remember for a total of 28-36 additional NPC ships on the map, each with their own weapons and effects. Each weapon and effect takes processing power to calculate, with effects taking quite a bit of power compared to just the damage calculations. Assuming each player is just firing weapons that's 32 shots minimum per firing cycle assuming a 4/4 layout at one shot per second per weapon. That's the minimum, and if you're like me and have alot of firing cycle haste, that's potentially going to go to multiple shots per weapon per second. If someone doubles their haste, which is easy to do, that's 64 shots per firing cycle per ship. I could keep going but I think you see how fast the numbers can add up. All of this doesn't even take into account how demanding visual effects can be on a rig, especially if a rig doesn't have alot of graphical processing power to start with.

    With all of that said, it's 100% possible for your rig to be fine, and for their servers to be fine. Even with more and more wireless technology being introduced, the internet itself is still largely wired. It's also not a straight shot from your rig to the servers. Each time you press a key to move your ship or such, your rig sends a signal to the cryptic servers to move your ship in the direction you indicated. That signal is relayed among several data centers before it gets to cryptic's servers and back to you. It's like a digitized version of the snail mail we have in real life now. If there is an issue at one of those data centers along the route your rig is taking, that can also cause lag. There are also hundreds and even thousands of miles of cable between your rig and the servers generally as well. If something happens to one of those lines, such as theft of the line, a storm knocks the line down, the line just up and craps out, or anything along those lines, you will experience issues. We've gotten alot of great technologies today but by the power of Q is it finicky at times. Then lastly there's also your internet speed package you're paying for. If you're only paying for dial up, then you will only get dial up speeds, and it won't matter how fast your computer is or their servers are, you will be limited by the speed you're paying for. I don't know what speed you have, but you get the idea.

    None of us like lag, including the devs. Dealing with computers and code isn't as simple as flipping switches as much as we all wish it were. In regards to the lag finally, I've noticed some issues myself lately. I can tell you that I have been collecting different tracerts and other bits for Ambassador Kael as have the other mods. Issues like this typically aren't fixed overnight, especially if you want it fixed right. Voicing frustrations is fine, but bashing Cryptic isn't, nor is it going to help matters.
    "Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives. I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment, because it will never come again." - Jean Luc Picard in Star Trek Generations

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