[joe]

I've searched the forums but didn't find this particular problem. I bought Quake2 and Quake 3 have been playing both in single player mode for quite some time. More recently, I've played Quake3 online via Game Ranger and it works great. The problem?

Any time I try to play Quake2 online, I get these long pauses. It's not ping time since I get about 120-140ms. What happens is that I enter the game and can move for fine for a few seconds. Then I can't move and the controls don't respond. I can hear whats going on but am locked. This happens regardless if I'm on a Mac-only server or PC. I can quit and startup a Quake3 game online and no problem on any server. I've read the Q2 docs and can't find any mention of this problem. I did get Q2 working on a LAN once. But otherwise, only Single player mode seems to work. Here's my setup:

500MHz iMacDV SE (summer 2K)
OS9.04
256MB RAM (CAS2)
256Kbps net access 1-way (56K modem send) via ethernet

Any help appreciated..........joe

[Macfreak7]

its all packet loss, probably shows you the plug all the time?
try changing your maxfps/rate
first u should check your framerate. for that go to the console, type 'timerefresh' check the frame rate. lets say you get 32.309. you then type cl_maxfps to 30 and rate to 3500. type cl_maxfps or rate ONLY to check the defualt.


another tip : type netgraph 1 to show u a graph of your connection to the server. it should all be green. red/yellow shows packet loss. the height of the graph is directly proportional to your ping.

[MoBius]

Your getting packetloss on join or the server is hanging you up as in they dont respond to you. Or your just lagging even though you get a good ping you can lag from server sending to others etc.

------------------

[joe]

MacFreak 7:

What plug? (sorry, I'm kind of new to online Q2 networking)
Here's the result of those commands:
timerefresh 78.1fps (640*480), 51.5fps (800*600)
cl_maxfps 90
rate 25000
netgraph1 - allways green

I just tried netgraph 1 on a Mac server via Gameranger. My ping was 190-210ms. And I started out fine (as usual) with the graph line showing green to the very top! However, when my video stopped moving and lost control, I noticed that even though the graph was still green, the line had dropped to half height and stayed there. Also, this map had water on it. And even though my video appeared locked, I could hear that I had fallen into the water. Pushing space allowed me to surface. And I could hear the other players but my view showed me still on the cliff???

So the game is running online and I can move, yet it seems like my 'view' just stops Does this have anything to do with my asymetrical net connection (256Kbps receive / 56Kbps send)? Also, this test was done with a clean install from my Quake2 CD followed by the Q2 v1.03 update from VersionTracker.com. Thanx very much for your help. Hope we can sort this out so I can get fraggin with Q2 online


MoBius:

If the server is hanging me up, is there anything I can do? It seems like my video is the problem as I can hear the game still running as well as my movements. This happens on both PC and Mac servers. Also, is 190ms a good ping for Q2? Thanx very much for your time..........joe

[Macfreak7]

whenever your game locks up, does it show u a small (phone) plug in the top left corner?

have you tried different servers at different times?

150-250 is very playable.
i ping about 450 and manage to finish first on a few maps, so dont worry about your ping.

for 640x480
set cl_maxfps 75
rate 80000

for 800x600
set cl_maxfps 45
rate 50000

about the graph... did u say it shows green upto the top?? cause if thats the case, then your ping reading is incorrect, and your connection is very bad.

the lower your graph line, lower is your ping, better is your connection, and vice-versa.

i dont have quake2 for my mac, but the commands probably work the same way(since you already tried them) so it should help.

[joe]

Originally posted by Macfreak7:

whenever your game locks up, does it show u a small (phone) plug in the top left corner?

joe: yes.

have you tried different servers at different times?

joe: yes - just tried both a Mac and PC server via gameranger a few minutes ago. Same results on both.

150-250 is very playable.
i ping about 450 and manage to finish first on a few maps, so dont worry about your ping.

joe: Yeah - that seems reasonable since my Q3 online matches are fine.

for 640x480
set cl_maxfps 75
rate 80000

joe: done. BTW, I just checked on the PC server (online) and got 125fps the 1st time and 90fps the 2nd. This seems to vary depending on where you're located in the map. My original 78fps timerefresh was from starting a single player game and then immediately typing timerefresh before moving.

about the graph... did u say it shows green upto the top??

joe: yes, but only at 1st. Then it drops down to the bottom and modulates between very low and half way (max). Also, I noticed on the PC server that I had a one or two red spikes in the graph by the time it reached the end. Previously, I'd only seen green for the entire graph.

cause if thats the case, then your ping reading is incorrect, and your connection is very bad.

joe: I'm not sure. If my ping readings (via gameranger) are incorrect, then why do all my Q3 online matches work so well? I've actually won a few matches online with Q3 - even against LPBs with 1/3 my ping Maybe it's something to do with Q2 TCP/IP settings? Or maybe Q2 has a tough time because my ISP is asymetical (256 downstream / 56K upstream). Actually, the phone lines here are so bad that it's more like 256K downstream / 24K upstream.

i dont have quake2 for my mac, but the commands probably work the same way(since you already tried them) so it should help.

joe: I tried the settings above for 640*480res. But the results are the same. Most of the time the video is frozen even though I hear what's going on in the match. However, now I see that the phone plug in the upper left appears the entire time I'm locked up (which is almost all the time). So it seems to be related to my Q2 network settings. Since I also own Q3 and it works excellent on the same computer/ISP, I have to wonder if there's some hidden network setting in Q2 that I need to adjust. Since my connection speed is 10x faster for receive than send, I wonder if maybe that has something to do with it? I have the very latest Q2 upgrade (v1.03) and started with a clean install of Q2 from my original CD. I wish there was some reference for Q2 and TCP/IP settings.......joe

[Macfreak7]

Originally posted by joe:

>>>joe: I'm not sure. If my ping readings (via gameranger) are incorrect, then why do all my Q3 online matches work so well? I've actually won a few matches online with Q3 - even against LPBs with 1/3 my ping Maybe it's something to do with Q2 TCP/IP settings? Or maybe Q2 has a tough time because my ISP is asymetical (256 downstream / 56K upstream). Actually, the phone lines here are so bad that it's more like 256K downstream / 24K upstream.

>>>>>I wish there was some reference for Q2 and TCP/IP settings.......joe[/B]

err..... via gameranger??? i believe thats something like gamespy?
so are you telling me, your ping readings are not real time?? dont you check your ping WHILE you are connected to the server by pressing F1 or tab or whatever?

your phone line could be a major factor.
but then you said q3 works fine, so again it brings in more confusion.

try www.tweak3d.net
it is NOT a Mac site, but you might get some tips like the maxfps settings, timerefresh, etc.

or try planetquake.com

do u know where i can get the demo of q2 for the Mac?

[joe]

Originally posted by Macfreak7:
err..... via gameranger??? i believe thats something like gamespy?
so are you telling me, your ping readings are not real time?? dont you check your ping WHILE you are connected to the server by pressing F1 or tab or whatever?

your phone line could be a major factor.
but then you said q3 works fine, so again it brings in more confusion.

try www.tweak3d.net
it is NOT a Mac site, but you might get some tips like the maxfps settings, timerefresh, etc.

or try planetquake.com

do u know where i can get the demo of q2 for the Mac?

Yeah, GameRanger is to Mac what GameSpy is to PC. It gives real time pings on Mac servers and allows refreshable pings for PC and Linux servers. I didn't look up the ping command for Q2 except to notice /ping (Q1 command) didn't seem to work from the console.

Maybe Quake3 handles the different upstream / downstream speeds better than Quake2? I get 256Kbps down but only 24Kbps up. I checked the Q2 multiplayer menuy, but there doesn't seem to be many options to calibrate TCP/IP settings.

Tweak3D has some great info on Deus-Ex, Fakk2 and other recent Mac games. But I didn't find anything on Q2. Maybe because of how old Q2 is? I've had planetquake bookmarked for quite some time. I didn't see any Mac specific networking info. I suppose I could try joining one of the mailing lists or discussion groups. But i was hoping that some Mac Q2 owner would know the solution. Seems like it's a problem that would have been solved long ago.

AFAIK, there never was a demo for Mac Q2. There are demos at Macgamefiles.com for Mac Q1, Q3, and Q3 Team Arena. Since I just bought Q1 and Q2 earlier this year, they were on sale for only $10 or $20 each. Seemed pretty reasonable given how old they are. As far as online games I'd say go for the Q3A demo - it works excellent with my net access..........joe

[Macfreak7]

dude, sorry but i dont think i can help from here. it seems to be like one of those problems where you have to play around with settings,try different combinations and figure it out yourself.

check your ping while you are connected to the game server
its all a matter of packet loss i think, and im not sure how to cope with that. i usually have to check my phone line when that happens, or its my ISP. but your case is really weird. or maybe someone else knows better.

as for the q3a demo, i have the full version, but its not much fun playing with a trackpad. i was looking for q2, its still my fav. and the only reason why i still use a pc