Major Lag with MMORPGS - COH

mrtauntaun · Jun 14, 2006

Hey Guys. Im new to MMORPGs, COH is the first one I've paid for (other than free trials, I mean). They just put a new patch through, and now I get intollerable lag (disconnected from map server) and often get booted from the server. I think im getting packet loss to the server, but im unsure.
Are there any general troubleshooting tips for MMORPGs I should try? I did the usual, defrag, nothing running in background, etc.

Ghostwind · Jun 14, 2006

I've been having the same issues but the last time it happened, it took about a week and then things were back to normal. The other thing to factor in is that the servers are probably under a larger load now that everyone is on summer break.

mrtauntaun · Jun 14, 2006

I don't mind a little lag, but this is really bad. It happens once a minute, and i get disconnected 25 times an hour.

Rodrigo Istalindir · Jun 14, 2006

Dial-up or broadband?

mrtauntaun · Jun 14, 2006

Oh definately broadband

I couldn't imagine doing this over dialup.

SweeneyTodd · Jun 14, 2006

City of Villians, in particular, is just hosed up since the last patch (lag, loading times through the roof, crashes, etc.) COH doesn't seem to be having quite as many problems, but they're likely from the same cause.

I hate to say it, but you're probably best just not playing for a week or two in hopes that they hotfix it. I tried doing all matter of things to optimize my machine, and it's still running far far worse than it was the week before the I7 patch.

Cthulhudrew · Jun 14, 2006

The lag problems with CoV/CoH are defniitely due to the new issue that was just released. They even released a patch for the issue that they had to remove since it caused all of the servers to go offline most of a day this past weekend.

I suspect part of the problem is also due to high user interaction- I think a lot of people who hadn't played in a while logged back in to play the new issue.

It should get sorted out within a week or so. I've actually been impressed by how little lag there generally is with CoH/CoV.

Marius Delphus · Jun 15, 2006

mrtauntaun said:
Are there any general troubleshooting tips for MMORPGs I should try? I did the usual, defrag, nothing running in background, etc.

Might be your machine: Make sure all your drivers are up to date (esp graphics and sound cards). Make sure you're not running any in-game options that your machine only barely supports or doesn't support at all (disable advanced graphics if you have an older graphics card; disable physics engine to test). COH has a Safe Mode option that you can check on the updater/pre-loading window before getting into the game; try that and see if you notice a difference (other than graphical and audio). "Issue 7" appears to have introduced a small but steady memory leak; do you have 1 GB of RAM or more (pretty much required these days), and if you have less than 2 GB, do you have Virtual Memory set to system managed? (With 1 GB myself, I'm getting forcibly disconnected after about 4 hours logged in, and I have to manually kill the process through Task Manager thereafter.)

Might be your connection: Run a DOS command window and use ipconfig /flushdns command. Manually reset your cable modem (on some models, pull the power, wait 30-60 seconds, then re-plug power; on others there may be a physical switch). Manually reset your router if you have one (I don't have one so don't know how to do this, but this has helped in at least one case I'm privy to). Test while connected directly to the cable modem instead of the router. If you can, try opening the ports COH uses on your firewall (I don't have the list at hand, but I can dig it up if nothing else helps).

Might be a busy server: Try connecting at off-peak times if you can; use the East Coast servers (Freedom, Infinity, Liberty, Pinnacle, Victory, Triumph) after midnight Eastern and the West Coast servers (Champion, Guardian, Justice, Protector, Virtue, Training Room (Test Server)) before 5 pm Pacific, for example. Use the least busy server -- it's the one *second* in the list, generally (the first listed is the one you last logged into, regardless of population; the rest are listed in increasing order of current population).

Hope something in there is of help.

Simplicity · Jun 16, 2006

One more thing: wireless connections are LAGGY, if you're running on one. Even for MMORPGs they can be pretty bad sometimes.

Corsair · Jun 26, 2006

Everyone else has already addressed the CoH/CoV issue.

Make sure you have virus scan software turned off. This is very important. Also many firewalls will wreak havoc with gameplay, even if it doesn't actually prevent you from playing. If it is unplayable after the CoH issue is resolved, I suggest contacting your game's tech support. They can usually take help you optimize for your specific game.