How to use the new Connection Stats window

Discussion in 'Connection Support' started by ARCHIVED-Rothgar, Feb 19, 2008.

  1. ARCHIVED-Rothgar Guest

    The connection stats window that was added with GU42 provides some information that might be helpful for troubleshooting performance issues with EQ2.


    How do I use the Connection Stats window?
    By default, the F11 key will toggle the window opened and closed. If this key doesn't work for you, check your settings under Options to be sure that a key is assigned to this window. If you're using a custom UI and still cannot get the window to show, you might have to contact the author of the UI for help.

    The window has the ability to display a 30 second history for each of the 4 statistics. If you don't wish to see this graph, you can click the arrow icon on the right side of the window to close the graph. To re-open the graph, click any of the 4 statistic labels.


    What do the statistics mean?

    Ping
    - The ping value is the total amount of time in milliseconds that it takes for a packet to be sent to the server, and an acknowledgment received by your client. So in essence this is a round-trip value, not a one-way value. With ping, the lower the better. Your ping value will be different depending on where you are located in relationship to the server you play on. The further away the server, the higher your ping will be. The ping value may also go up during times of lag, either server or client lag, because more time is taken to process an incoming packet.

    Sometimes you may also notice that your ping actually goes up when you're standing still, not doing anything, and then drops when you begin moving. This is because we update the ping value whenever a new packet of data is sent. During times of inactivity, your ping value is not being updated as often, and won't be as accurate.

    Packet Loss - The term packet loss refers to a packet of data that was not received by either the client or server within a specified frame of time. It could be that the packet is not lost, maybe its just late. In any case, if the packet isn't received within a specific amount of time, we count it as lost and resend it. You should not be worried about an occasional lost packet, this could be normal. However, if you see constant lost packets, this could indicate a problem with the connection between you and the server. When there is a break in the network connection, you will see the packet loss number grow steadily as no packets are making it through. When the network connection is restored, the number should drop back down to zero.

    If you're experiencing packet loss, it could be for a number of reasons. First you should try eliminating issues in your home. Try connecting your PC directly to your internet connection and eliminate your routers or firewalls. If this fixes the problem, you have a hardware issue. If you have multiple computers and only one of them is experiencing the packet loss, it could be a problem with the computer hardware. Of all computers are experiencing the same packet loss, and you've eliminated local hardware, it could be a problem with your service provider and one of the pieces of hardware between you and the SOE data center. In this case, hopefully the problem is corrected within a few days. If not, you may need to contact your service provider for support.

    Bytes per second - Bytes per second or BPS is the amount of data both sent and received by your computer during the previous second. During times of inactivity this will generally be a very low number, maybe even zero. During combat or running through densely populated zones, this number will spike very high. There are no published numbers on what this value should be. If you are on a broadband connection, you should be able to handle much more data than is ever sent by EQ2. If you are on a modem connection, this number might indicate the reason for lag if you are currently sending/receiving lots of data.

    Frames per second - FPS indicates the number of 'frames' processed by your client per second. A frame is a complete loop through the game cycle. This includes receiving/sending network messages, processing game data and drawing what you see on the screen. The higher the number the better. Your FPS is affected mostly by your graphic quality settings and the speed of your computer hardware. Setting the graphics to lower settings should improve your frame rate. Specifically, the settings that seem to have the biggest affect on frame rate are shadows, and particle effects. EQ2 is a very cpu-intensive game, more so than the graphics card. So if you're looking for ideas to improve your hardware, upgrading your CPU will probably give you the biggest increase in performance over purchasing a very expensive video card.


    Hopefully this information will be somewhat helpful for troubleshooting connection issues.
  2. ARCHIVED-Agaxix Guest

    Thanks for the detailed post!

    My only problem is that 90% of the time, I don't want to see it, and even after F11 it always comes back when I zone or log.

    How can we get it to go off and stay off until we hit F11?

    agressiv
  3. ARCHIVED-Rothgar Guest

    I've heard someone else mention that issue as well. It should be remembering your last setting, so it sounds like a bug. I'll look into it.
  4. ARCHIVED-BigChiefJJ Guest

    Rothgar wrote:
    I'm seeing that same problem - every time I log in that field is active even though I toggle it off.
  5. ARCHIVED-Warpax Guest

    same thing here
  6. ARCHIVED-Rothgar Guest

    Ok, its fixed. Should go live with GU43.

    Until then, you can use the command /save_uisettings to force a save of your settings after you've opened or closed the window.
  7. ARCHIVED-tkia Guest

    My problem is slightly different. I turned it on after mapping the key and it stays on fine but moves every time I relog. I put it where I want it up the top of the screen, lock the window and when I next log that character on the window has moved about an inch to the left of where I left it but the window is still locked.

    I'm running it with the graph portion turned off and it almost looks as though it is trying to position the non displayed graph portion in the area that I left the text portion.

    Will the fix take care of that too or does that require another fix?
  8. ARCHIVED-Thmy Guest

    I like this and I really like that you can select which parameter to display on the moving bar graph
    by clicking on the data (ping,packet loss , BPS, FPS )you want to display.
  9. ARCHIVED-AratornCalahn Guest

    I've played a lot of online games and have seen a lot of FPS/ping meters, this one is by far the best I've ever seen.
  10. ARCHIVED-Rothgar Guest

    Hmm, sounds like a different but similar problem. I guess I was pretty sloppy when adding my hooks to save the window because I missed a save when it opens and closes and must have missed a save when you move it.

    Try putting it where you want, then using the /save_uisettings command to force a save.

    I'll look into this issue tomorrow.

    Thanks!
  11. ARCHIVED-Jida Guest

    My Monitor slowly inches to the left. If i log out and in frequently it keeps moving more and more left.
  12. ARCHIVED-billchivers Guest

    Just one question.... which number is which?
  13. ARCHIVED-billchivers Guest

    Perhaps I should expand...
    I see a big green number. I presume that's the Frames Per Second.
    I see small blue, red and yellow numbers. I presume the red number is packet loss, because that is usually 0 or a small number. But what about the other 2? Both are big numbers (as in 400-2000) and as I'm having laggy connection it would possibly help to know which is which.
  14. ARCHIVED-TSR-DanielH Guest

    Kimmble@Antonia Bayle wrote:
    Here's the list of what the different colors mean:
    Green - Frames Per Second
    Blue - Ping
    Red - Packet Loss
    Yellow - Bytes sent
    Please let us know if you have any further questions.
  15. ARCHIVED-mardious Guest

    so with my amd64 4000+ 2.41ghz cpu and geforce 8800 gt graphics card im pretty much not going to get any improved fps ?
  16. ARCHIVED-TSR-DanielH Guest

    Jedediah@Permafrost wrote:
    Improved over what? I don't think I understand the question.
  17. ARCHIVED-TBLancer Guest

    Mine also moves itself to the left after logging in/out, not every time though. Even if i give it alot of room surrounding the window (seen with the F10 option) it'll still shift left pushing itself under other windows. I then have to unlock the window on top of it, move, then unlock and put everything back in place and relock.
  18. ARCHIVED-Gladiolus Guest

    It seems that if you use the window in its abbreviated mode, it redraws at full size when you log in with the right-hand line in the place that it was before. When it shrinks to get rid of the graph, it keeps the left edge still and moves the right-hand one, so with successive logins, it moves in caterpillar fashion across your screen.
  19. ARCHIVED-TBLancer Guest

    I noticed that also so I started leaving it in the fully extended mode, it helped it a lot but i still sometimes find it shifted well the to left.
  20. ARCHIVED-Reltok Guest

    Can you tell me which part of the connectivity window shows ping, etc.?