How Does Internet Performance Affect Online Gaming?
What does slow internet mean? Is lag really caused by the internet, or is it other computer issues that have nothing to do with your network?
Whether you're a professional gamer who needs powerful internet to compete, a streamer who needs to upload to Twitch.tv, Mixer.com, or YouTube.com quickly, or someone who just plays games for fun, figuring out how the internet affects your performance can cut down on a lot of frustration and technical support call time.
Here are a few details about how the internet works with online games to get a better grasp on what to do when problems strike.
How Do Online Games Connect To You?
Connecting to an online game is a standard server-client relationship. The complicated part involves the different ways to make your connection efficient and why those techniques are necessary.
Your computer is the client, and the game company's servers are the server. Your "server," "realm," or "shard" on a game is usually a series of machines networked together behind a mask that looks like a single unit to your computer. It's like an apartment complex; the units are individual households, but they're all at one address as far as your computer is concerned.
Your computer client isn't actually processing what goes on in the game. Unlike single player games that handle everything about how the game acts and reactions, your game client has pre-programmed reactions based on the buttons your press and the responses from the server. The server responses are basically button pressing commands sent over the internet.
The game world is all happening at the game company's server. The game company doesn't have some big monitor with a grand world running inside; to be truly efficient, the game world is nothing more than lines of code without graphics. As cool as seeing the entire world like some sort of puppet master would be, that would take up too many resources.
A Typical Online Game Session
When you connect to a game, you send a signal to the server across the internet. The game server checks your info, then either allows you in, tells you that your info is wrong, or tells you that the servers are having issues.
When you cast a spell, swing a sword, shoot a gun, or chat in-game, you're sending a request to the ever-changing game server world where other players are doing the same thing. The game is constantly sending you information about what is happening in your immediate, viewable area and will send you a response about how the buttons you press affect the world.
Even if you're just moving things around in your in-game bag, your character is actually on the server, and any changes must be requested. These back and forth exchanges are constantly happening to give a feel of a real-time environment.
When the internet is too slow, the message to and/or from the server will be delayed. This means that your request to cast a spell might take too long to actually happen, or you may miss that enemy jumping out of the bushes and attacking you until the server updates you.
It's not much different from being drunk, or suffering one of many mental conditions. Just as your body's senses are communicating back and forth with your brain, the server has to react in time with you, other players, and its own in-game actions.
If your internet is slow, it's like having frostbitten fingers that can't move well. Contact an internet provider to discuss better service or fixes for these network ailments.