High ping from an unknown cause?

[ORL]

I have asked many experts on quake to try and find a solution to this problem, and their all stumped.

Whenever I connect to FVF (fvf.servequake.com) in glpro, glquake, winquake, or wqpro, my ping shoots up to 10000 and stays there. However, if I go to any other server with said engines, my ping is completely fine. Any other person at fvf using the said engines say their ping is also normal. Why is this happening to only me, and nobody else? The only engine that will actually work at fvf for me is darkplaces.

I have tried doing a fresh install of quake to get rid of any settings, and im still lagged. I have done a system restore, with still no luck. Ive tried virtually everything to see if this mysetious lag will go away, and it hasnt. It just came up right out of the blue one day, and hasnt gone away since.
Why is this only affecting me? Why can I still play at other servers with no problem? Why isnt anyone else experiencing this lag? What can i do to stop it?

Any feedback is appreciated.

[Baker]

I have asked many experts on quake to try and find a solution to this problem, and their all stumped.

Whenever I connect to FVF (fvf.servequake.com) in glpro, glquake, winquake, or wqpro, my ping shoots up to 10000 and stays there. However, if I go to any other server with said engines, my ping is completely fine. Any other person at fvf using the said engines say their ping is also normal. Why is this happening to only me, and nobody else? The only engine that will actually work at fvf for me is darkplaces.

What engines did you try. It sounds like you have uncapped FPS to me.

Try cl_maxfps 200 or cl_maxfps 72

Setting maxfps like cl_maxfps 999 can cause your client to choke and your ping to spike. Yugo2Heck had a great explanation of how and why this is true once on Quakeboard.net, if I can find it then I'll post it.

If this isn't the problem and doesn't fix it, post back.

[ORL]

My max fps was always at 85, before and after the problem started. I tried 72 and 200, and neither didnt work. So this isnt the cause.

[Baker]

Let me do some checking on this.

[IEEE 802.11]

It sounds like it's more related to your network connection. Sounds almost like a routing issue.

To prove this point you will need access to another ISP. Have any friends with broadband and a different ISP?

Troubleshooting ideas:
1. An isolated issue?: Try to connect to that server on a friend's computer. Does he have the same problem? (If no go to 2) Does he have the same ISP? If he has the same ISP and has the same issue, we now know it's the ISP that has the problem go to #4.

2. Is it your computer or ISP?: Hook up your computer to his internet. Do you still have the same problem? If yes, and your friend's computer didn't have the problem, then it's your computer; go to #3. If no, then it's your ISP's fault; go to #4.

3. It's your computer:
-Have you rebooted in awhile? Some people leave their PCs on all the time and this can lead to problems like this.
-Have you reset your modem and router recently? Because it's good troubleshooting.
-If you create another Windows profile, does it have the same issue? It's possible to resolve weird issues by recreating profiles sometimes.
-Do you have a software firewall? Try to disable it for a quick test.
-Do you know how to reinstall the TCP/IP protocol stack? Because I'm not going to tell you.
-Do you know how to do a trace route to the host? Because I'm not going to tell you. Don't even think about pinging.

4. It's your ISP's problem: Call them up and tell them you think there's a screwy route table somewhere on their end.
-Do they respond to you? They'll most likely be like "What the hell are you talking about?" and say no other customers are complaining about connecting to fvf.servequake.com, because you're the only one, so they aren't going to care about you. Go to #5.

5. Find another ISP.

[Baker]

Here are some thoughts on this:

1. If it not affecting DarkPlaces but is affecting other clients, it could (with the emphasis on could) be a video card driver issue.

This doesn't make a lot of sense if it doesn't happen on other servers, though.

2. It could be a firewall or router setting. If you use Norton or ZoneAlarm the odds of this increase greatly (Norton is known to be a flakey firewall product) and several people have complained about Zone Alarm acting weird or messing with their computer (weird issues like the icon disappears, or it blocks all traffic for reason, stays on if it is off).

3. It is possible it is a router issue. If you haven't changed router settings, it is unlikely to have anything to do with your router unless you have opened the DMZ or set port forwarding.

4. Based on what you have said, the problem it sounds most like is max FPS lag. Make triple sure you do pq_maxfps 120 and pq_drawfps 1 to triple verify this isn't the issue. I've heard the "I get lag for no reason" problem at least 15 times and most times it was an fps capping issue.

[Baker]

It sounds like it's more related to your network connection. Sounds almost like a routing issue.

Why would DarkPlaces not also be affected by a routing issue? He said DarkPlaces works fine.

I don't see how it could be a routing issue if DP works fine for him on fvf.servequake.com.

[IEEE 802.11]

Why would DarkPlaces not also be affected by a routing issue? He said DarkPlaces works fine.

I don't see how it could be a routing issue if DP works fine for him on fvf.servequake.com.

Because I don't believe him when he says that. :d

The only way that it can be true is if something unknown exists.

He's the only one that has issues with this server. He's fine on all other servers, but yet when he uses the DP client the issue goes away. But does the issue really go away?

Maybe DP does something different than the other clients? Or does the server do something different than other servers?

Why would one server work fine with one client only?

Quake uses UPD which can explain his high ping if the packets are being lost, which to me could be because a routing table is leaving his state, going to Canada, down to Mexico then to the server. Maybe DP handles ping differently.

If it's his computer then why do other servers work fine? I'm sure he's using the exact same setup for each server. Using one particular client and saying it works doesn't match up with everything.

If it's not his computer or the ISP then that leaves the client and the server, which is where you're troubleshooting. If it were the server you'd expect the problem to be more widespread. If it were the client then you'd hear people complaining about the same issues. If it's some setting in his client or his computer then why are the other servers working fine?

[joao93]

Heh,it's really strange. Everytime ORL connects to the FvF server,his ping is at least 4000... Hope he fix that.

[ORL]

I can assure you its not a network issue. I do reboot my PC daily. I have reset my modem. Another Windows profile does have the same problem. I do have Norton, and have disabled it when connecting, with still no luck. Basically, i did everything you said with no results.

And i can most assure you it is NOT an issue with max fps. I have changed it many times and this does not resolve it. Why am i able to connect to other servers with a normal ping just fine in glpro, but not on FVF? And why is it that other people who do use glpro dont have the same problem as me when they connect to FVF? Why is darkplaces the only engine im able to use to play at FVF? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!

[IEEE 802.11]

I just went to fvf.servequake.com and noticed that it said "ORL is your host"

ORL, who is hosting your server? One theory I just thought of is "What if he's hosting his own server on the same network he plays on?" That can explain everything, especially if DP is more local game aware.

[Baker]

It is a very strange combination of problems. I connected to fvf.servequake.com as well with GLPRO to see if I could get it.

Are you ABSOLUTELY sure DarkPlaces does NOT get the issue? If you are 10000% certain it is not an FPS issue, it sure sounds like an ISP route issue as IEEE had suggested.

[Canadian*Sniper]

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!

same thing was happening to me a few weeks ago. Turned out my glpro was corrupt and I had to redownload it. Funny how my ping only acted up A LOT when I was at FvF. Other servers it only happened once so often.

Too many dogs....

[ORL]

Ok, technically i am not the host. My computer doesnt host it, my dads does. But since he is rather not very familiar with computers, i manage all the updates and stuff. And besides, he has broadband that he doesnt use much. It should be put to good use, like a server.

But anyway, back to the issue. I am ABSOLUTELY sure darkplaces does not have the problem. And i am sure its not a maxfps problem. Its something else.... something we cant see.....

[IEEE 802.11]

Ok, technically i am not the host. My computer doesnt host it, my dads does. But since he is rather not very familiar with computers, i manage all the updates and stuff. And besides, he has broadband that he doesnt use much. It should be put to good use, like a server.

Are you in the same building where the Quake server is hosted? If so... is your computer plugged into the same network as the the Quake server? If so... do they share the same pipe?