Why Online Games Suffer Lag
If you’ve played online games for any length of time, you’ve likely seen a few curious things happen, at some point. For example, one of the other players may have jolted about, teleported from location to location, or seemed to run on the spot for several seconds. These are signs that you, or the other player, are suffering from the online gaming curse of lag.
It is often extremely frustrating, and can ruin an online gaming experience. After all, being the loser of an online game due to your own skills is bearable, but losing because your opponent is teleporting about, and impossible to hit, is just plain unfair. As such, gamers are often understandably upset when lag occurs.
But, it often helps to keep in mind why lag occurs, exactly, and understand that it is sometimes impossible to avoid.
Why Does Lag Occur?
Lag is a result of players falling out of sync with one another. Or, to be more precise, computers or consoles falling out of sync with one another. Synchronisation loss occurs due to enormous amounts of information having to be sent back and forth, often across enormous distances, and unexpected hiccups forming in that information exchange. Since online multiplayer allows users to play with one another in different countries, the connection can be extremely unstable, and information hiccups occur all too often.
It is, of course, not the fault of the user that these hiccups occur, and expressing frustration to the player will in no way fix the problem. Staying civil during online games with strangers should be at the top of everyone’s list.
Solutions For Lag Problems
There is often no permanent, all in one solution for problems revolving around lag. Since the factors that cause lag are often completely out of people’s control, sometimes it simply has to be endured until the connection between players improves.
One key aspect to keep in mind with online gameplay is that the shorter the distance between players, the less likely lag is to occur. Hence, a person should always attempt to engage with players in their own region. Many online games offer the player an option of which region they would like to look for players in. If it is possible, a player should stick to their local region. This is not always possible, however, given that players of the same game may well not be nearby. If you can play with players all within the same region you’ve basically discovered the gamers equivalent of a no deposit bonus casino, as you’ll enjoy enriching gameplay with little to no interference.
Manage Your Internet Connection
Another factor to keep in mind is that information transfer on the Internet should be carefully managed. If playing an online game, no other programmes that use the Internet should be running in the background. All webpages should be closed, in order for the game to be allowed as much bandwidth as possible.
If the game still suffers unacceptable lag, it sadly means that the game may not be playable online in your region. There are, however, likely other games that will operate better in the area, and have less of a focus on a flawless connection being required. Rather look into these games, which will offer a better playing experience.
Editorial Staff