Why does online gameplay stutter?

By Anna Taylor
August 2018

Online gaming has become an enormous industry, with hundreds of thousands of gamers logging in to servers on a daily basis. In fact, online gaming has become so big, and so popular, that ESports is predicted as becoming the next big thing.

Maybe you're into online gaming yourself or enjoy a bit of the Bingo Canada has to offer, but have been wondering why you don't always seem to get the online experience you expected. Online players seem to jump around randomly, as if teleporting, and something enemies are killing you that don't even seem to have taken a shot. It can be frustrating, and immensely disorientating, all but ruining the experience entirely.

This is likely the result of poor online connectivity, and is a very common problem around the world. The question is; why does it happen? And more to the point; how can it be resolved? Let's take a closer look.

Ping Is King

Many popular online games are transferring a huge amount of information long distances, and this is no small technological marvel, especially when you consider how many of us spend time online. Furthermore, this information transfer is happening basically instantaneously, or at least it should be for the best possible online play.

Information is being sent from a playing platform, received by the server, and information being sent back. This round trip of information is what allows online play to occur seamlessly, and is referred to as the ping. If the ping is low, it means that the round trip of information is happening very quickly. If the ping is high, it means that the round trips is taking longer, and can result in problems.

In general, a ping of lower than about 200 is deemed as acceptable, but some will even insist on a ping of below 100, or even 50. In most cases 200, or slightly above is enough for the average person. A ping above 250 is going to start being problematic.

Factors Involved In Ping

The most obvious factor involved in ping is how far the information has to travel in order to make the round trip. It is not necessary to have the fastest Internet available if the trip is short. Or, in other words, if the information is not being relayed overseas. This means that local servers are best used for online gameplay. Sadly, however, not all regions have local servers, and so are forced to play on overseas servers, resulting in sometimes-unstable play. It should always be kept in mind, however, that these people have very little choice in the matter, and should not be ostracised for the situation.

Other factors to keep in mind are that Internet connectivity is shared between all programs requiring information relay. If an online game is being played, no Internet browsers, music streamers, or downloads should be running at the same time. This will affect the ping of the game in a drastically negative way.

Unfortunately, if being forced to use an overseas server, and not getting a good ping with a dedicated connection, a faster Internet connection is the only option available to improve the experience. Be sure to always look for a local server option when playing a game, however, before resorting to overseas connections.

 

 

Note: The content of articles contributed by external sources is not necessarily endorsed by the owners of The Holdem Lounge.

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