Mori Zennousha
07-04-2003, 10:25
Konnichiwa, all...
during the past few days i've experienced some difficulty in setting up and/or playing MP games... after several "drop-outs", i often found out that one person or another had other programs running, or had pop-up adds "poppoing up", or had some sheduled task suddenly start up during a battle... therefore, i though i'd post some relatively common, yet often over-lookd configs/settings that should improve MP performance:
1) first and foremost, when playing STW WE/MI onlne, all other applications should be closed except Explorer, the system tray (win9x for certain.... not sure about 2000 or XP), and of course, STW WE/MI... this means no media player playing tunes in the background, no IM, no downloads, etc...
2) an exception to 1) above, Antivirus software *should*be able to run without issues (i have heard of exceptions to this), but if you have an "auto-updater" such as Norton's LiveUpdate, you should disable this feature while playing online (a sudden update program *could* revert you back to the desktop, and *may*even crash the game) .. if nothing else, a program like LiveUpdate will slow gameplay 'til it's done; disable it for MP games...
3) another exception to 1) would be firewall software... in a nutshell, the best case scenario would be to re-configure the firewall to accept STW communication, both in and out, and from that point on, not having any problems.... the next best would be to lower your firewall protection to the next lowest level (from high to med, or from med to low), and then having everything work like it's supposed to... last resort, disable the firewall altogether, but don't advertize it....
4) if you do have a software firewall, see if it includes an "ad blocker"... if it does, enable it this *should* prevent pop-ups during battle, and help the MP experience to run more smoothly for everyone in the battle...
5) toggling the mini-map and the formation controls OFF (f5 and f6 in the game) can also help reduce lag... also, shrinking the screen (f3), disabling flora/fauna and smoke, and turning off the sound (all in game options) are all things that can reduce lag and improve performance...
6) a reminder: it is considered very bad manners to drop from a game, either in battle or while preparing for one, without providing some sort of explanation... "g2g" doesn'y really cover it (if you knew you had to go, why join in the first place?) most people have a limitted ammount of time in which to play STW online, and no one wants to waste it on people that find it amusing to drop just because they've "g2g" or, more likely, are afraid of losing... here's a suggestion: even if it looks like you will lose, finish the game... you will gain the respect of your opponents, and if you watch closely, will learn how they beat you... your knowledge will grow, and you'll be better prepared each time you take to the battlfield...
7) all of the above is even more important if you plan to host games.....
ok, that's all for now...hope this was helpful in one way or another... please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments.....
*bows*
Z
during the past few days i've experienced some difficulty in setting up and/or playing MP games... after several "drop-outs", i often found out that one person or another had other programs running, or had pop-up adds "poppoing up", or had some sheduled task suddenly start up during a battle... therefore, i though i'd post some relatively common, yet often over-lookd configs/settings that should improve MP performance:
1) first and foremost, when playing STW WE/MI onlne, all other applications should be closed except Explorer, the system tray (win9x for certain.... not sure about 2000 or XP), and of course, STW WE/MI... this means no media player playing tunes in the background, no IM, no downloads, etc...
2) an exception to 1) above, Antivirus software *should*be able to run without issues (i have heard of exceptions to this), but if you have an "auto-updater" such as Norton's LiveUpdate, you should disable this feature while playing online (a sudden update program *could* revert you back to the desktop, and *may*even crash the game) .. if nothing else, a program like LiveUpdate will slow gameplay 'til it's done; disable it for MP games...
3) another exception to 1) would be firewall software... in a nutshell, the best case scenario would be to re-configure the firewall to accept STW communication, both in and out, and from that point on, not having any problems.... the next best would be to lower your firewall protection to the next lowest level (from high to med, or from med to low), and then having everything work like it's supposed to... last resort, disable the firewall altogether, but don't advertize it....
4) if you do have a software firewall, see if it includes an "ad blocker"... if it does, enable it this *should* prevent pop-ups during battle, and help the MP experience to run more smoothly for everyone in the battle...
5) toggling the mini-map and the formation controls OFF (f5 and f6 in the game) can also help reduce lag... also, shrinking the screen (f3), disabling flora/fauna and smoke, and turning off the sound (all in game options) are all things that can reduce lag and improve performance...
6) a reminder: it is considered very bad manners to drop from a game, either in battle or while preparing for one, without providing some sort of explanation... "g2g" doesn'y really cover it (if you knew you had to go, why join in the first place?) most people have a limitted ammount of time in which to play STW online, and no one wants to waste it on people that find it amusing to drop just because they've "g2g" or, more likely, are afraid of losing... here's a suggestion: even if it looks like you will lose, finish the game... you will gain the respect of your opponents, and if you watch closely, will learn how they beat you... your knowledge will grow, and you'll be better prepared each time you take to the battlfield...
7) all of the above is even more important if you plan to host games.....
ok, that's all for now...hope this was helpful in one way or another... please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments.....
*bows*
Z