BasketDudes

While playing BasketDudes, some connection problems may occur. Some players may experience lag due to different reasons. Other players can even lose connection while playing a game. These problems are due to a high latency between your computer and BasketDudes servers.

Latency (also called lag) is the delay in online communication that prevents such communication from running appropriately. In other words, it is the time it takes for a game command (such as a steal or a block...) to reach our game servers. When playing BasketDudes, it is important to experience a low Lag to play fluently. It can be affected by many factors, including limited bandwidth, packet loss and network congestion.

Lag can also be caused by heavy load on our servers. If other players in your game are experiencing the same spikes and latency, then the servers are likely under heavy load. You can display your latency in-game by pressing F9.

You need to follow the instructions below to make sure your latency is at its best, not only for playing BasketDudes but also to optimize your experience with other online services you may be using.

Symptoms of High Latency:

• Icon warning of high latency. Whenever your connection is experiencing a high latency problem, a red, blinking globe will be visible next to the scoreboard.
• High ping revealed after pressing F9
• Delay on input (moving, shooting, typing)
• Unable to move your players while the other game features are working
• Game does not update, then everything moves very quickly
• Frequent disconnects
• Message warning of high latency

Not latency problems:

• Low FPS (Frames per second)
• Sudden game crashes
• Firewall/antivirus errors
• Long load times

#1 Solution- Use an Ethernet cable instead of a Wireless connection

Wireless network traffic is literally sent through the air. It bounces around and goes through walls. Occasionally this causes it become lost. When this happens your computer has to resend the information which causes a substantial delay.

Strengthening your wireless signal can help reduce this problem. However, all wireless signals will have this problem to some degree. An Ethernet cable is the cheapest and most effective solution toward improving your connection. Make sure you disable your wireless adapter when moving to a wired connection.

Steps for disabling your wireless adapter:

1. Access Control Panel through the Windows start menu
2. Click on Network and Sharing Center
3. Select Change adapter settings on the right
4. Right-click on your wireless adapter and select Disable

#2 Solution- Close any bandwidth intensive programs.

All network connections have limited bandwidth. This is usually what you pay for when selecting a plan from your Internet Service Provider (ISP). As an example, a typical DSL connection is 7Megabits per second (Mb/s). When you use more than your maximum bandwidth your latency will drop. If your network is shared anyone running these programs on your network will affect your performance:

• BitTorrent programs: BitTorrent, uTorrent or Azure
• Voice over IP programs: Mumble, Skype, Ventrilo or Teamspeak
• Video Streams: YouTube, Instant Messenger Video Chat, LiveStreams (own3d, xsplit, etc)
• Steam Game or Patch Downloads

Many players that play on organizations experience lag. If that is your case, we may be able to provide your network administrators with special instructions to help them improve BasketDudes on your network. First get permission from your IT department and we can contact them via e-mail to help them setup your network for the optimal BasketDudes experience.

Some Common Bandwidth Intensive Programs:

• P2P Programs, BitTorrent: BitTorrent, uTorrent or Azure
• Voice over IP programs: Skype, Teamspeak
• Video Streams: YouTube, Instant Messenger Video Chat, LiveStreams (own3d, xsplit, etc)
• Steam Game or Patch Downloads

Like your computer, network hardware will get sluggish if it has not been rebooted in a long time. It usually takes some weeks or months before a reboot of your router is required, but some routers or modems need to be rebooted more frequently. Reboot your modem first and let it load before starting your router. It is also a good idea to reboot your machine after following these steps.

Sometimes lag or disconnects can be caused by faulty network hardware. To eliminate this as a cause it is a good idea to try temporarily bypassing hardware that is not required. For instance, many home networks utilize routers, switches or hubs. If you can bypass these and connect directly to your modem via an Ethernet cable you may be able to identify an error in a piece of hardware.

Firewalls work by filtering all incoming and outgoing network traffic. This filtering process takes time. Usually this is not a problem, but some firewalls that become misconfigured or corrupted can add significantly to your latency. Having multiple firewalls on a system can also lead to latency problems as the firewalls will "fight" over the connection and cause lag.

If problems persist after completing these common fixes, you may need to contact your ISP. Many times there are problems with connections that require a technician. You can easily identify an ISP issue in the following ways:

1. Run a speed test
   1. Visit ICSI Netalyzr
   2. Select a server close to you.
   3. Compare the reported speed to the plan you are paying for.
   4. If the speed test reports a lower speed than what you are paying for, call your ISP and tell them they are not providing you with the correct speed.
2. Check for packet loss
   1. Press [Windows Key] + R.
   2. Type cmd into the run box and hit OK. You should now have an open command prompt that is a black screen with white lettering.
   3. Type: ping www.google.com –t
   4. Hit Enter
   5. The window will now start giving you updates based on packets it sends to Google's servers. Wait for a few minutes and notice if you experience any lost packets: Request timed out.
   6. Press CTRL + C and you will get a summary of the data. The average time should reflect the time from your speed test. Packet loss should be 0% for a wired connection and below 1% for a wireless connection.
   7. If your packet loss is not 0% then contact your ISP and inform them that your connection is dropping packets.

Please contact our Support department (support@bitoon.com), we will be glad to help you. In order for us to provide the quickest and most accurate solution to your problem, please include the following information in your ticket:

• An explanation of all your network hardware (i.e. Are you connected to a router? ¿Are you connected to an organization or institution network?)
• Information about your computer (processor, video card)
• Router brand and model
• Modem brand and model

Many routers have a special setting that will allow you to prioritize certain network traffic. This setting is usually not required to play BasketDudes, but if you don't configure the appropriate QoS settings, the game may not run properly. A few examples of situations where QoS may help are; you are on a shared connection, you have very low bandwidth or you have multiple computers attempting to play BasketDudes at the same time. However, discussing how to set up QoS is outside the scope of this article. You will need to find a more detailed guide, such as this one.

Please remember that a high latency will not only ruin your own game experience, but everyone else's, too.