I'm having the same problem. My ping on local servers is excellent, 15-30, but it always spikes up to where iu cant even move. I have no clue as to what it can be.

The linux binaries have just come out. give it a few days until admins sort their shit out and it will be fine. And this isn't Quake3, it's a crapload more intensive so it will probably never feel as slick, but definitely better than what it is.

When its comes to server hosting its Linux ftw !

u geek :)

Yea true but it isn't half as bad as pk netcode when first released.

Might not be your problem, but will point it out for the math-imparied horde: if your "real" ping is 15ms and you get a solid 60FPS, you get 30 ping. If you drop to e.g. 5FPS for whatever reason (typically, going from a doorway out into an uncached bigbox, e.g. going up the LG stairs on the Edge) you'll spike to 200 ping.

God that's fucking bullshit. :\

My ping is also spiking from 60-200. When it spikes to 200 i cant move at all...it turns you into a sitting duck..never had this problem in doom3 or quake3. Anyone know of other q4 network settings besides rate?

yeah i'm constantly 999, and cant move. sometimes, ok until other people come on the screen.. very annoying,.. the lagometer is maxed out on yellow

theres no snaps / packets commands?... lowered the rate to no avail..

all other games are fine, and i have no firewalls enabled so it makes no sense whatsoever..

getting 60fps also..

Same problem here =/

I connect, my ping goes straight to 999, and my lagometer is nice and yellow as well.

Hope it's a bug.

Well its nice to see im not the only one with this problem. The thing is ive been talking to other people and they never ever have there pings shoot up like this. So im wondering if its hardware, q4 settings, or some software on the computer causing this to happen. Ive contacted activision support about this but its taking a while. I hope this is a bug in the game so ID can fix this with a patch. Also this is happening when im standing still with no one in the server. Im getting a constant 60fps the whole time. I do notice though it gets worse when im fighting someone.

Having same 999 problem here, come on guys, this is
a pretty interesting netcode problem, help us

i dont ever 999, my ping only goes up to about 230 but lagmeter is filled with yellow and character basically cant move.

I have the same problem. My ping is 20-50 on my best servers in any other fps including Fear. When I play doom3 or Quake4 most of the time my ping is fine but at random times I will just spike to 500+ and then back down to 30ish. There has to be a rate command, does anyone know what it is?

Thanks

i'd just finished a (overnight) quake4 network traffic
(dirty) test, you can find it at
http://img490.imageshack.us/img490/7218/trafico8et.jpg

It seems that we need to know how to have more
control on the client upstream bandwith rate, wich
floods our connection.

Nice job.

Shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that Q4 *is* so much worse on the netcode front: having Doom3 as the base meant a ton of useless shit was getting sent over the wire, and it looks like they haven't cleaned a lot of that out ("yet", hopefully, though I wouldn't bet on it).

The upload numbers are a lot more worrying, because upload is (a) tight, and (b) typically unchangeable (read: unfixable) by anyone except the engine devs. If you've seen any Q4 demos, you'll know that a chunk of that upload increase is for gimmicky bullshit like recording player zoom, but that's exactly the sort of thing most developers either don't notice because of the "it's fine on our LAN" mentality, or don't care about because "ooh, look what I did with zoom - it's so cool"... :(

Still, Q4's MP is so sad ATM I wouldn't even call it an alpha, so hopefully the first patch or two will add MP support "for real".

Now statistics for same server, but with a 384/128 ADSL in the client side. It resulted in a smooth 40ms experiencie, with the same settings that a 64k upstream connection resulted in a 999 nightmare. The numbers ...

Average total pkts/s = 80
25%download = 20pkts/s
75%upload = 60pkts/s

Average total Kb/s = 7
20%download = 1.4Kb/s
80%upload = 5.6 Kb/s

So if your connection can hanle [a bit more than] those rates you will at least be able to play tournament or 4 player games

The bad news is that those numbers are too high for a xxxk/64k connection. They simply fulls your uplink queue, killing latency (ping)
arQon said here that a "how it should be done" engine change is out of range at the moment so, now what? I dont want all my cheap-connection friends loosing interest in quake, in fact i would really hate this, and i also dont want to wait for a official solution just to realize that it's too late ...

The first "white-hat-cheat" that i see is forcing packet loss (yes im being serious here so please keep reading) If for example we drop 1 from every 6 TX packets we would reduce outgoing packets to 50 from 60, reducing as a side effect the number of Kbytes per second. By tweaking this numbers with correct net_clientUserCmdBackups values who knows, maybe it colud work. Doing this in *nix is rather simple, but only a few of my friends knows the "one true way", so we need an app in windows that can do this.

UPDATE 1: Running a 20% "simulated packet loss" causes nearly no difference in the online experience, and drops the outgoing packets/s from 65 to 50, and rate from 5.6 to 4.2 , numbers that are much more 64k-upstream friendly. Now i need to go to a 256/64 connection spot again to do a real-world test, but looks promising =) I cant understand why raven/id didn't provided a "q3 cl_maxpackets" clone ...

*If anyone knows a way to simulate packet loss in windows, no mather how, help*

ADSL / Cable / Wireless

seta net_clientUsercmdBackup "(See Table Below)"
256000 BPS Upstream: seta net_clientUsercmdBackup "5"
128000 BPS Upstream: seta net_clientUsercmdBackup "3"
64000 BPS Upstream: seta net_clientUsercmdBackup "2"

Is this what you are talking about?

anyways, the queue problem in linux I think that can be solved with a simple "ifconfig ppp0 txqueuelen 5"..

SyS64738.

Great theory man, no go try it and tell me what you find out ;)

READ THIS IF YOU HAVE LAG PROBLEMS IN QUAKE4

Ok, good news ...
I contacted Luigi Altervista, the hacker that created the last
patch for the quake3 engine network code, and he was kind
enough to not only answer me, but also provided an ALPHA
"windows packet loss simulator for UDP protocol" =D

The info que provided with the mail was
----------------------------------------------------------
Hey Eduardo

there are many ideas to try to make a packet loss tool but as far as I
know only one is enough simple and compatible.
Check the tool I have written just now here:

http://aluigi.altervista.org/mytoolz/lamepckloss.zip

(if the link doesn't work copy it in the browser's bar).
It is enough easy to use so let me know how and if it works since some
programs could not allow you to bind an already bound port.
It shows the amount of packets dropped so if it remains 0 means it
doesn't work with that specific program which binds the UDP port.
This number is refreshed each 3 seconds.


BYEZ


---
Luigi Auriemma
http://aluigi.altervista.org
------------------------------------------------------------

The first parameter of the tool is a bit not noob-friendly so
here it goes: do start [click], run[click], cmd [enter].
Then exec netstat -a and look at the UDP connections.
Dont close the windows, now connect with quake, go out
from full screen and exec another cmd repeating the netstat -a
and looking for a new UDP line not displayed in the first one.
Look at the number after the : like
UDP fraged:3186 *:*
This 3186 is the number i should put as the first parameter.
The other two are explained by running the tool and i really
dont have a clue as to which are ok right now =)

Try it, test it, tweak it, and let us know your parameters (if they work)

UPDATE: The tool is broken, it drops ougoing packets but also incoming ones which is not what we want. I'm waiting for news from Luigi ...

UPDATE2: Luigi is busy doing a real multiple purpose packet drop simulation tool so it want be ready soon. I've contacted a less skillful but more quake4 involved friend who will do he's best. Right now the only way to play quake4 online with a 64k upstream connection is in Linux or with a Linux firewall in the middle as i posted earlier, gl

UPDATE3: No luck, contacted many programmers, pro's and juniors, quakers and not quakers, nobody was able to do the right tool and too much time has passed, this was meant to be a dirty quick fix, but it cant be quick anymore so there's no reason for it to be dirty. Read comment #51 ...

Does Quake 4 have equivilant commands for:
snaps, maxpackets, etc?

So far:
known

q3 /rate = q4 net_clientMaxRate (maximum rate available for download in bytes)
q3 /cl_packetdup = q4 net_clientUserCmdBackup (number of backup updates from player action for interpolating in case of packet loss)
q3 sv_fps = q4 net_serverSnapshotDelay (no more in fps but miliseconds, between snapshots, from server to clients) lower value=higher cpu and upstream server load, smoother gameplay, higher value=lower cpu and upstream server load, jerkier gameplay)
q3 sv_maxrate = q4 net_serverMaxClientRate (maximum rate in bytes available to each client)
q3 sv_allowdownload = net_clientDownload (pk4 download policy 0=none 1=send to DL location 2=present client with available files)

NEEDED *q3 /cl_maxcpackets = q4 ?????????*

more info
http://ucguides.savagehelp.com/Quake4/connection.htm
http://www.quake3world.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12283

About net_serversnapshotdelay, tests seem to show that there is a hard limit of 32 packets per second sent by the server at least on the internet, even if you lower it to 10ms. Basically it's not much use going past 30/31 ms.
The default of 15 snaps is very low, my testing mate and I haven't found the right timing for 20 snaps yet, several numbers give 25 though.
As for maxpackets, it's not needed, some sniffing will show you that you seem to send a packet each frame (so, if you have a good machine, you'll send ~63 packets per second). Pretty much as in q1/2.

The sniffing shows that the packets sent to the server has no relation with the FPS, it always try to send those 60pkts/s, even playing at 15 FPS. If what you said here was true lowering the maxfps to 50 or 40 would resolve our flooded upload-modem-queue lag problem. Anyway it was a good idea, but it doesnt work ... i think it's because the ticrate of the game is always at 60fps.

Wtf!

Why is there a hard limit?

just a thought.. do you guys all have a cable modem?
i have one, and having the same problems

I have 1400/128 dsl and I have major problems with my connection. I changed rate and some other stuff and it doesnt help. I think i'm at a loss here. Anyone know any solutions yet?

Thanks.

As you probably read earlier (cause you'd read the full topic, dont you :?) It should be working with a 128k upstream connection So the problem is not quake, either it's your system or your ISP not doing their work right.

If you really want to do your part of the homework, google and install ethereal, RTFM, launch quake4, start capturing in ethereal, connect to server in quake, wait for 1 minute, quit quake, stop capturing, save capture file, zip it and send to the dir in the link above at post #13
Same goes to the cable guy ...

Lol its definatley quake 4. I'd go so far as to say its the doom 3 engine as i've only had this problem with doom 3 and quake 4. Every other fps i get 15-30 ping with no lag. Also I can play on some servers without spiking to 999 every second but others are unplayable and they say I get a 40-50 ping in the browser. This is the hardest part to figure out for me, its just not consistent enough. My system is one of the most powerful you can get right now. I have a Asus 7800Gtx top and no video chopping issues. I will do as you posted though. I've requested that verizon upgrade my speed or I will be forced to get cable just to play quake 4. Such a shame as dsl has been good to me in every other game.

I said "IF you have 128k upstream, THEN quake should be fine" at
least if you arent doing other things at the same time with your internet connection. For example no more listening to di.fm trance/chillout channel for me while playing quake4 (it needs all my bandwith), but seriously, with quake4 out, who needs music? 8)

I will do as you posted though.

Nice

Aus player every server i enter now is 999 i cant move it doesnt fix itself or change.

I can play other games fine except q4, any possible fixes as of yet? I have adsl 512/256, norton anti virus and my connection goes through my router(netgear)

I thought the problem would of been related to norton or my router but both of those scenarios seem wrong now.

Your uplink speed should be more than enough to play quake4 online. Maybe your connection has others problems like not supporting more than 50 packets per second. If you and the rest of the anonymous want help, do your homework, read post #20 for more info.

I actually could play the game alright for the first few days or so and have now only just noticed this problem, one of my friends had the same problem but just kept trying with servers until it apparently fixed itself which it did.

It took him over an hour though.

Thats why i cry! for BOTS!! :( they help a little.... :(

Same problem here. After connecting to a server i get ping 999. My mother's boyfriend, who has exactly the same pc/system/software running has non problems at all. Weird.
I hope this problem will be adressed by Raven soon. Sucks to not be able to play MP.

Same problem here. Lagometer turns yellow every 20 sec. and i got a huge lag. Ping goes up from 17ms to 999ms for a short time. Still cant move.

Tried everything with the netsettings...but no success.

-> IT REALLY SUX. Raven! Go and do somenthing, quick!!

I wont play this shitty game anymore before there is a decent patch and a good mod like osp. Back to q3.

so glad i'm not alone with this problem.
spectating is fine, soon as you move and send something upstream, ping rockets, and i just run on the spot.
Real lame.

has anyone managed to fix it or should i give up and just play quake3?
very disappointed raven/id.
Rabs

same prob here but shutting down the firewall has solved that prob on my comp.
not a perfect solution but still works for the moment but donīt know if it works for you

which firewall? xp firewall?

ZoneAlarm

Yup zonealarm does not work properly with q4 atm

Ive ran into that same thing on a system, oddly enough no amount of tweaking seems to fix it either

pleaz

hello, having the same problems, shutting down the firewall (ZoneAlarm) didn't work for me...

/ AimStaR

There's no fix right now. I did what i know (network stuff) to fix this problem, finding the bottleneck. I asked for help from various windows programmers but no working outgoing udp packet loss simulation tool yet. Worse, nobody ever sent me a ethereal capture file. So windows programmers are too lazy or too restricted to code a solution, and quake4 players with this problem are too lazy to do their homework and help a bit.

i think that now the best thing to do is to spam raven/id for a solution to this problem in the first patch

goodbye

OMG im so happy! im getting the same problems i conenct to any server local or non and my ping is instantly 999!

Same shit here... I always get 999 ping in any server I connect to, where I instantly become the sitting duck. This blows chunks. I have a cable modem connection.

Yeah we should press Raven/Id for a fix for this :(

q4max is going to add enhanced netcode ?

ping 120 very sux =/

Yeah, q4max will make your ping like 15, keep dreaming, keep dreaming...

in ut2k4 this is possible, so in q4 it will be possible too

and you get a 300% better aim than in LAN! why not using an aimbot?!?1

hahaha :-D

he means something like the UTCOMPīs enhanced netcode, or the "Zero Ping Mod" for q3. in big countries with few servers, playing with 100~ pings isnt that rare. but with enhanced netcode on ut2k4 and the zpm on q3 we could to train. not as good as ping 30, but at least we could to train. w/o that its impossible.

Guys sign up to these forums and spam away, we need to get Ravens attention to this otherwise we are all going to be up shit creek by the time the next patch comes out.

http://forums.ravensoft.com/ib/ikonboard.pl?s...ntry418663

Gstructor I would be pretty happy if you posted there because you seem like one of the only few that knows what is going on.

Cheers duders

Done, thanks.

-----------------------------------------------------------
ALL YOU GUYS THAT WHINE AND COMPLAIN BUT DONT DO ANYTHING

Go to the raven forums, register, go to the post about lag and do what you know best, whine and complain loudly in the correct place, leave this thread for productive people like "Anonymous (210.50.143.20)"

Maybe if enough people post we will be able to play quake4 online sooner than we think ...
-----------------------------------------------------------

Nobody is posting in the raven forums quake4 lag topic ...

Aprox 20 people posted here, only 2 or 3 from them have posted in raven forums >:[

try the cache and compression commands, most important:

image_useCache 1

if you got 256+ of video ram try these commands, especially helpful with low quality textures:

image_useCompression 0
image_useNormalCompression 0
image_usePrecompressedTextures 0

texture compression saves bandwidth and ram, but needs power to encrypt end decrypt.

if you got 128 megs or less video ram, go with caching and low detail compression:
image_useCompression 1
image_useNormalCompression 1 // 0=off, 1=low quality compression, 2=high quality compression
image_usePrecompressedTextures 1
image_cacheMegs 128 // set this to about 1/4 of your system ram. this will keep precompressed textures to save power for repeated compression
image_cacheMinK 2048 // Minimum KB of precompressed files to defer, tweak this!

hope this helps!

full cvar list @ http://ucguides.savagehelp.com/Quake4/fullcvarlist.htm

got no login here, am Alex B. of www.4cologne.de
have an nice day

Latest facts -> patch-wanabee 1.0.4.0 out but no netfix. Those fps tweaks are good to people with fps problems, but not for network probems. Raven forums are full of clueless fucktards and fanboys noobs, so, are we doomed?

Those that have explored the SDK, is it possible to change the quake4 network upload policy "the mod way" ? =F

I don't see many results here either. What does that make the persons who visit here?

take some english lessons please, then come back and ask me again so i can understand you, thanks. Just dont start spamming this thread like you did with te raven forums one, thanks again =/

Good luck.

I have no clue as to why my connection lags as hell playing quake 4.
I can play hours in a row of Quake 3 (or any game for that matter) with no Packet loss or ping issues and imediatly fire up quake 4 only to have it lag up to 999 or random packet loss to the point that my model can't move for some seconds, even though i can "ping -t" the game server for minuts with constante ping 50ms and no PL.

This makes no sense, it's not a FPS issue (i have a great comp), it's not an internet connection issue.. i dunno wtf is up with this game.

The worst about this is... no support whatsoever from Raven, i mean.. wtf, i see no help, no posts, nothing from the raven software division even in their own forums, why do those forums even exist ?

"why do those [raven] forums even exist ?"

To make people thinking they care about their customers, to not moderate them and let any lucky clueless fanboy with dual 7800gtx's and 2Mbit Inet connections confuse people spamming the site about how great their games are =/

We made a alpha tool for those with the upstream flooded issue...

https://esreality.com/?a=post&id=970865

by Rockn-Roll from Raven-forums:
<<Just a comment or two from me.

I believe what some of you are experiencing is not due to your connection speed, but rather the connection speed coupled with the CPU load on the server side. If you check out a server that is running dual Xeons for example you won't get the freezes that you are experiencing. The minimum you need is 512Mb/128Mb down/up for smooth playing, but it needs to be trouble free. Also, I've seen a lot of ISPs drop the bandwidth without notifying the users...my ISP did that to me, but I contacted them when i noticed it. Do yourself and this forum a favor and use one of the online web pages on the net which tests your bandwidth...do it several times and you may see why you are having problems.

Another thing is that Raven DID do some modification to the net code which makes a huge improvement over Doom3. For anyone that has played Doom3 will attest Quake4 is smooth as silk compared to it.

Also, it isn't just a bandwidth issue because if your graphics suck then it will slow everything down...Doom3 and of course Quake4 has everything tied together so that your experience is only as good as your weakest component.

Solution is to upgrade.>>

look at this:
For anyone that has played Doom3 will attest Quake4 is smooth as silk compared to it.

Solution is to upgrade.


GG Raven and q4

Fact: quake3 worked with 64k upstream
Fact: quake4 dont work with 64k upstream
Fact: In many countries (the world is not only america/europe) 64k upstream is normal
Fact: Many quakers were really upset because of this, because you can upgrade your vga, BUT YOU CANT GO AND UPGRADE YOUR ISP
Fact: This tool researched by me and programmed by Agustin lets those with this specific problem play online
Fact: Now all those quakers are happy
Fact: Your world is very small

No need to try to put every problem in a "upgrade" solution, thats good for people with money, dont forget there also exists people with *brain* and *creativity*. This thread is about a specific network problem and a specific solution THAT WORKS. The end

Fact: I was being sarcastic.

Fact: ouch! :)

I usually have at least 80 ping in duels, which renders fragging near impossible when your opponent has 20 ping. Occasionally it will spike up to 150-200 for extended periods of time where I can't move and he'll get like 5 frags on me. My rails don't hit online, my LG doesn't hit online...

I'm doomed.

Doesn't happen in any other games.

Piece of shit netcode.