JennoKoala
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How many times have you heard the phrase “Omg, fix the lag”? Far too often, in my opinion. It’s as though some people do not realise that such complaints are unproductive and, in some cases, not outright correct. Yet, on occasions it can be the fault of your internet provider and being on at peak times in your respected areas. Nonetheless, MCGamer and it’s database take responsibility for any server lag related issues you may experience.
This PSA will be focusing on how you can deal with lag related issues and how to go about dealing with this ever so common problem. Our European players were experiencing a lot issues with the lag spikes: Our community was generating a lot of traffic through our ISP’s, so the data centre was throttling our quality, as we are a gaming community (we are apparently not as important as other non-gaming networks, so they prioritize those “more important” networks). We recently moved our European servers to another data centre due to this problem - more information can be found HERE. This new datacentre also caters for servers like ourselves, and this change should prevent the majority of these lag-related issues. Nonetheless, if you are still encountering any lag-related difficulties, please consult with the points below.
List of lag-related issues:
- Lagging back is when you are trying to walk or sprint, and then the server forces you to return to a position that you had just been in, repeatedly. This is often noticed in chases, combat, and even just generally moving around the map.
- CAUSE: This is caused by the anti-cheat/anti-hack plugin being overly sensitive, and detecting that you are moving in an usual manner or speed. This is not an MCSG-exclusive issue, but rather happens with most, if not all, anti-cheat plugins. The anti-cheat plugin detects that you moved from Point A to Point B, with no signal of any sort that tells the server that you moved naturally through the space between. The anti-cheat plugin detects this, and says “Woah there, buddy! Let’s try this again, in a slower manner.” It can also be caused by a DDoS or server failure causing random breaks in the quality of the connection, which would result in many lag-related issues.
- SOLUTION: As this is caused by anti-cheat/anti-hack plugins, and only minorly affected by the servers, there is no definite prevention, and changing the server hosts will not prove to be a major improvement. If you are experiencing this issue, you can block with your sword for a split-second, sneak for a few moments, or break a block.
- Ghosting is characterized by your avatar or player being stuck in one place, while your camera continues to move around. This results in other players being able to attack and kill you, while you are stuck wondering what’s hitting you. You are also unable to attack other players and interact with chests or anything else while ghosted, unless you are within range of where your avatar is stuck.
- CAUSE: This is simply a Minecraft bug that we are working on to prevent, we may or may not find a set in stone solution but there are many temporary ways it can be prevented. This happens on many Minecraft servers, and is not only an MCSG issue.
- SOLUTION: Ghosting can be temporarily solved by typing in “/ghostfix” (Or “/gf” for a shorter command), but if it happens once, it could happen multiple times. It can also be solved by re-logging, but that is an impractical way to solve it on MCSG, as once you log out you cannot come back into the game.
- Timing Out/Disconnecting is often blamed on the servers, but often it can be your own internet, or a third party DDoSing the MCSG servers. Sometimes your internet provider may have a hiccup, your own internet router or modem crashed, glitched, or disconnected, MCSG’s servers are having issues, or your Minecraft client or computer force-disconnected.
- CAUSE: This could be either your own lag, or MCSG’s data center having issues. Once there has been no connection between the server and client for 15 seconds, your Minecraft client will automatically disconnect.
- SOLUTION: If you are having issues with this, contact your internet provider, and check to make sure that you are receiving the internet quality that you pay for. You can also connect your computer and router using a physical wire, often called an ethernet cable, which would speed up your internet connection, and give a more stable internet connection. Furthermore, always be sure to check on the forums for any planned outages or ongoing maintenances. If you aren’t the only one experiencing the outage, then you know it’s a server outage, and not something wrong with your computer.
- DDoS, or Distributed Denial of Service, is an attempt to make a machine/network (Such as a game server or internet network) unavailable to its users. This is illegal, and the motives for doing so can vary. This will affect your own gameplay by giving you connection issues (And most likely everyone else in the game) You might have delay hitting people, interacting with chests, lagging back, and other problems that would cause potentially game-changing issues. Depending on the severity of the DDoS attack, there is a chance that you may even time out or disconnect randomly.
- CAUSE: A DDoS is caused by someone or some group/organization, when they send repeated signals, such as communication requests, that keep the servers too busy to respond to regular communication requests, like someone moving around in-game, opening a chest, hitting someone, or typing in chat.
- SOLUTION: Unfortunately, there little to no few ways that a player can solve it if MCSG is being DDoSed, as it is a server-side issue, in a sense. In addition, DDoSing can occur at any moment in time but it will eventually cease and your playing experience should return back to normal. Always remember to check the forums for any updates concerning issues with the servers, if you are unsure of the cause.
The occurrence of lag on our servers causes users to complain towards the staff about their frustration and distress. However, in most cases these complaints are not very productive therefore not much help to our staff and our developers. So what can you do to get your point across? To notify staff about your lag experiences, it’s best to post a productive thread. An example of a good lag report thread will be placed below.It’s best to try and supply (preferably moderators) a sufficient amount of information by poking them on TeamSpeak or messaging them in game, they may be able to bring the problem to a higher up rank and get it solved faster. If it’s a client-side issue, hopefully it will just blow over. If it doesn't, hopefully one of the solutions mentioned here will help you. Just allow the staff to report any severe lag and put your trust in our staff team that are always trying their best to prevent lag and give you the best gaming experience possible.
So rather than making a useless thread to complain about lag, message a moderator privately and they will do as much as they can to resolve the issue.
Example of a good lag report
Why this is a good lag report
- Situated in the correct section, ‘General Support’
- Gives clear information about what the user is experiencing
- Gives clear information about when the lag occurred
- Gives clear information about where the lag occurred.
Why this is a bad lag report
- Gives no information about what the user is experiencing.
- Situated in the incorrect position.
- Produced a pole that has a immature answer response.
- Doesn't include that (s)he is experiencing the problem on any other servers. Meaning that it could be the fault of their internet provider.
- Respect that, as staff, we’re putting our best effort into solving any lag issues.
- Follow all the solutions that are listed above as this will give you temporary solutions to your problem for your various lag related issues.
- Check that it isn’t your internet provider that’s causing the problems you’re having.
- Produce threads that contain abuse or threats to move to another server due to the lag.
- Write comments like “Laaag.” This causes even more lag and doesn't help the situation at all.
- Get angry and yell at any staff member in game, on the forums, or on TeamSpeak to fix lag related issues.
A Ping is a tool used to check if a server is reachable from your device, such as a computer or laptop. Latency is the time it takes for a signal to be sent between your computer and the server, and is usually measured in milliseconds. This is often also called the ping, and they are often used as synonyms.If you “ping” a server, you see if it’s reachable from your network, and also measure the latency. Within Minecraft, you can ping servers on the Multiplayer screen. A good ping is anywhere from 0-150 ms (milliseconds), as Minecraft does not need to be very specific. The lower the number, the better your “ping”. It is not drastically affected by internet download/upload speed, but rather your location relevant to the server that you are pinging. If you were in South America and pinged a Minecraft server in, say, China, your ping would probably be much higher, up to as much as few thousand milliseconds. Other games like League of Legends, however, recommend a ping below 150, and are more demanding in terms of connection speed.
This is an example of bad ping.
This is an example of good ping.
How to solve FPS lag (Frames Per Second):
You know you’re experiencing FPS lag when Minecraft is running slowly. FPS lag may consist of the game freezing or running less smoothly. It is a common problem with many players. There are a few solutions to FPS lag which will be covered in this section of the PSA.
If you press F3 while in a Minecraft world (on a server or in singleplayer) you will be able to see your Frames Per Second in the top left corner of the screen. Generally, you want this number to be higher rather than lower.
Your FPS is not affected by the server that you are on, but rather the Minecraft Client and your own computer. However, some maps and gamemodes with special features are more resource-intensive on your computer, and come with an increased risk of lower FPS, particularly ones with more entities (Item frames, mobs, players, and the likes.) This is not generally related to server lag.
The most popular solution to FPS lag (also the cheapest, because this solution is free) is to change your settings so that you are getting the maximum amount of FPS your computer is capable of. Follow this (slightly outdated) guide to optimize your Minecraft settings:
http://www.minecraftsurvivalgames.com/threads/speed-optimization.4381
If you’re at the best settings possible and you’re still experiencing lag, it is probably just because your computer is not powerful enough for Minecraft. The only solution to that is to upgrade aspects of your computer, such as getting a better graphics card or some more RAM. It may be expensive to upgrade your computer, so this solution is not recommended unless you are confident that this is the issue and you believe the problem is big enough to spend money on a new system.
If you believe that your issue is a more complicated situation, feel free to create a thread in the General Support section, where other people can try and help you. Please make sure to include details, as well as any error logs you come across and computer/network specifications.
Final Words
Just like every other server, lag will occur and continue too occur. However, if you consult with all the information above, it should assist you in finding out your problems. If not, always stay up to date with connectivity issues via our forums front or minor announcements page.
Also, just a thank you to all those people who contributed in helping to suggest topics and who wrote a minimal amount of information on the PSA:
RC_4777, billyguy1, Beardy, TheRealAussie, duckluv321, Giggity69Goo, Leon|TheBluemeerkat, iMightTroll, Matt_The Dreamer, xWriterx and 4non
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