I just want it to be known that the **best way **to reduce lag is to PICK the Training Stage map. I’m not saying it’ll help the connection between two players, but some of us have weaker computers than others and things will compromise better if both players have a map that’s easier to handle on the computer. Inputs will surely be smoother and it’ll make the game more even for both players.
Too often have I played against other players online and my downfall was purely the lag caused by the map choice so I started asking people to pick the Training Stage map and things were a LOT better onwards. I just want this to become a habit for all of us PC users so we can fight as fair and square as possible.
That works when your computer sucks, but if your opponents computer sucks then it will affect your gameplay also, which is pretty retarded. Personally, I just turn my video settings way down so I can record my matches with FRAPS.
I have got an ATI Radeon HD 4890 (http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?psn=000101&pid=263).
If I put my settings on the highest possible, does it affect the other side?
Or is that variable, like when they put everything on lowest with a mediocre computer for Street Fighter IV,
is it all good then?
I can constantly use fourteen mb/s of the twenty mb/s of my internet connection.
Should I tell people to turn the background off instead and enjoy my video-card?
Your video settings will only affect the other person if your computer can’t handle it. Basically if it runs smoothly on your side it won’t affect the other player. If your computer can’t run the game at 60 fps with the settings then the other player will be affected. So, as long as everything is fine on your side it won’t affect other people online.
Setting it to fixed only helps to an extent. Some people think that because they have decent PC specs they can run any game on ultra high settings and this is a common misconception.
Setting it to fixed will help greatly versus the slow-mo effect but it doesn’t automatically rule out bad framerate, input lag and hiccups. Picking the training map is a really good suggestion but my suggestion would be to set up your PC right.
Some things that one can do to minimize the bad performance are…
- Run the game in your native resolution. (I’ve heard this can help with input lag) - Turn down stupid effects like shadows, ink, watercolor, and posterized effects, and turn down character detail. (You can also turn down stage quality but I just changed the maps that were laggy for me into the training stage.) - Turn off v-sync. - If you are running windows 7 or vista, change your theme from aero to classic and kill all the special window and menu effects associated with it. - Don’t have firefox or whatever browser you are using running in the background. - If you have a router with it’s firewall enabled then turn off windows firewall (optional but in my opinion windows firewall is useless.) - If you are using an arcade stick then go into control settings and change the control type from controller to arcade stick to reduce input lag. (Now I’m not convinced this one works BUT I’ve heard about this tip from 2 other people so take it with a grain of salt + if it works then great! if not then nothing bad came from it anyways. So try it and post up some results! can’t hurt.) - Directly plug in your controller or arcade stick to the usb ports, don’t use usb hubs or extension cable ports.
**=FOR MORE ADVANCED USERS, WINDOWS 7/VISTA=
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Disable IPv6 protocol, if you are experiencing bad fps performance and lag like bad slowdowns and hiccups then this could be the root of your problem. Some torrent programs like to enable this protocol (default is IPv4).
When I reformatted and installed SF 4 on my PC again it enabled this protocol automatically so when I would host games it would cause so much bad performance. So I went into my router settings under the portforwarding page and saw that SF 4 has enabled IPv6 tunneling. I quickly disabled that shit in the router and in windows 7 settings (google is your friend) and have had no problems since.
Hope this helps, the very last tip I posted helped me greatly when I was experiencing bad performance. If you have IPv6 enabled then shut that shit off and your performance will improve I guarantee.
I wouldn’t bother with usb rates. Standard is 125hz, which should result in 2 inputs per frame. Also higher frequency rates could harm your usb devices, and with the quality of madcatz pcbs…
it shouldn’t harm any usb devices but maybe the pci card itself.
i know that the ps3 usb hubs are definitly not 125hz poled, they are higher. and therefore the te stick for the ps3 must handle higher frequencies
I have noticed that the laboratory and jungle stages seem to be the ones that slows the game down the most when playing people with slower computers. I usually pick the lava stage when hosting since that level seems to require little power to run well.
Training stage gives you less input lag and just makes the game feel A LOT cleaner and more like the arcade. It’s funny because I have a decent computer and I still get constant 60 fps on the other maps but whenever it’s training stage it feels a lot more crisp and precise.
People have told me to set my backround to low because it supposedly “makes all maps like training stage”. This is false I can still tell a difference between the training stage and the others even while my backround is on low ( and I’m getting constant 60 frames regardless )
I host games because if I play someone from overseas the lag is crazy. I host games always and sometimes people complain. Gonna try this stuff out and post the results. I disabled ipv6 and turned v sync off. Great post.
