Info for Multiplayer Newbies

[studebacher 0]

Hi,

I have been playing OFP since it's demo was first released. However, I have never really gotten into online multiplayer on it or any other game. Now I have ARMA, I am really interested in taking it up. Anyway, this topic is for people to ask basic questions about online play.

Here are my questions

What is an acceptable ping for playing Arma?

Am I able to join any game that isn't locked? or are most games private?

Thanks, looking forward to ArmA online!

[maddogx 13]

Quote[/b] ]What is an acceptable ping for playing ArmA?

Generally a ping of 60 or lower will allow you to play without any visible lag, and you won't be laggy for others. With a ping between 60 and 100 you may experience some very slight warping and other people may see you warping very slightly aswell. Anything above that will continually increase lag and warping to the point where the game is no longer playable.

I tried hosting a game on my connection (768 down, 160 up) and two of my friends joined. They had pings of 150 to 180 and were warping around a bit, but it was still playable.

Quote[/b] ]Am I able to join any game that isn't locked? or are most games private?

I would say you'll find most games are open, unless someone decides to lock the server for whatever reason. If I host a game on my comp I usually lock it when my friends have joined to avoid unnecessary lag caused by other people joining. Dedicated servers will usually be open though.

[december 0]

That is basically crap. I have been playin online OFP, VBS1 and now ArmA for 4 years.

I live in Japan but play mainly in the UK. If you have a good connection a ping upto 300 is fine. You will notice no lag.

My friend has been hosting in London, my ping is 270 and every thing is good, no lag no warping.

I play at SES they have a 100MB connection, no lag, no warping.

I have a 100MB connection but I think with a 2 or 3 MB connection you will have no problem.

I play only coop, if you play PvP you may have a slight disadvantage with a ping over 100.

[studebacher 0]

Hey thanks for the replies. I'm lucky enough to have a 1Mb/1Mb connection, which is amazing for country Australia. It looks like I can get a ping of around 200-300 for servers in the US and some in Europe. Maybe I should try hosting a game to see how many Aussies are playing. Also do you really have a 100 MB connection?, that sounds incredible.

[X-Rolando 0]

It's called politicians without their heads up their behinds

[mr2 0]

in OFP CTI-Team Torunament we learned that Ping is relative. If Players from Europe with good connections go on NA Servers they usually will have a ~200 ping and vice versa - that isn't really a problem.

Connection from East Asia (China/Japan) to Europe are often problematic. The connection from Asia to NA is much better. We didn't have a clan from Australia, but i guess it could be same as east Asia.

When we assume that players have the standard 1MB/256KB DSL Connection or better, the most important faktor is the capability of the hosting server.

On the other hand your personal connection to the servers plays a role too: Once i (Hamburg, Germany 2MB DSL) tried to play a match on a chinese server with someone from Gothenburg, Sweden, who has a much better connection (100MB or something). He had lag and finally lost connection, while i could play pretty well.

Any arguments on connection quality and stability which are purely based on ping are ignorant of the reality.

In OFP we had the Bandwidth stat in the "p" menu - i haven't found that in ArmA yet. BW is by far more important than Ping. If the BW is <20 someone will most probably lag.

[december 0]

I agree, bandwidth and a stable connection are most important. If you can get about 100BW you will have no problem. Go to a server that has a lot of BW, SES is 100MB server, I never lose connection. I often have the ability to ready up before players who are much nearer the server that me.

Yes I have 100MB connection, it is usual here. Don't think anyone has less than 12MB. You are getting screwed LOL.

[SirKillAlot 0]

I agree, bandwidth and a stable connection are most important. If you can get about 100BW you will have no problem. Go to a server that has a lot of BW, SES is 100MB server, I never lose connection. I often have the ability to ready up before players who are much nearer the server that me.

Yes I have 100MB connection, it is usual here. Don't think anyone has less than 12MB. You are getting screwed LOL.

While you may have 100Mbit connection, this is more than likely shared between your neighbors or local area. Also, its unlikely you'll fully push 100Mbit on an international level.

The ability to ready up before other players has little to do with bandwidth but more to do with your computer speed. Most of this is waiting for the server to load the map and then your computer.

Anyway, I can play on my 1.2Gbit connection if I goto London

SirKillAlot

[Crankep 0]

You can get 100MBit connection if you live in cities here. Not shared by anyone else that you and the people who might live in your house / apartment. At some places you can even get 1Gbit. I have a 24Mbit connection which gives me 1.8MB down and 260KB up.