Possible lag fix?! YouTube link, technical opinions needed. Please read.

[Bent 00]

Hey guys, Bent 00 here. I've been plagued by lag on SSBB's online lately, so I've been looking for solutions for it. Haven't found much yet, but I did find this vid on YouTube:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=gyVX4ARBMkM

The comments left on this at YouTube were rather polarized --- many said it reduced their lag by much, while others said it only caused problems.This trick was originally for WoW, but I think it might work on SSBB's online as well, if one used a LAN adapter linked to an internet-sharing computer with the modifications mentioned in the vid. Then again, I'm no computer expert --- That's why I'm asking for your help!

I'm posting this here hoping that some technical-minded players will read it and leave some feedback. Will this trick reduce SSBB's online lag? Someone who knows what they're doing should try it, and post whether they experienced improved latency online.

However, to anyone who tries this out: Be sure to follow the vid's instructions carefully! I read somewhere that making even a minor mistake working on your registry can cause serious (even irreversible) problems with your computer.

BTW, the technical-minded will already know this, but to test your latency, click Start > Run > then type "cmd /k ping google.com" (or any website), or you can use speedtest.net. This is "pinging," and it will tell you your average "ping time," or latency. A latency of less than 17 ms is ideal for SSBB online, but most of us probably have much higher latencies (with latency / ping time, lower = better).

Please leave comments and / or suggestions. Help me find out how to fix this darn lag!

Other useful links:

Minimizing Your Lag When Playing Brawl Online
http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=117317

Lag Alleviation Thread: EVERYTHING you can do to reduce lag!
http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=155378

 

[Dubz]

Well I'm no expert on this, but some people on youtube are saying that it just increases the rate at which your computer pings or something so you see the lower latency number while your actual lag stays the same. IMO this makes more sense to me, I'm not really sure what changing the registry is supposed to do but I don't really understand how you could change a simple number and have your machine actually respond quicker.

But who knows, maybe it does and I'm wrong ( I hope I am lol my wifi sucks too).

 

[Zankoku]

Yeah, AckFrequency just means Acknowledge Frequency, so it'll ping a lot more frequently, but the actual latency is still the same. This might actually make things run worse, depending on if your bandwidth can't handle the additional load.

 

[Seventh Sword]

Don't mess with stuff that isn't meant to be messed with. It's not worth losing your PC for something like this...is it? o.o;

 

[Bent 00]

Aww... Well, how else can I reduce the lag? When I ping google, I get ping times ranging from 80s to over 100s. How does one lower their ping time?! I've tried most (if not all) of the obvious fixes... >_<

 

[Bent 00]

The first positive results are in!

I did it. It seemed safe enough and I know how to reverse it if it wasn't safe.

However, I tried it and I just had a completely lag-free (both input and image) match. ^_^

It might just be who I was facing and where they were located, but I've never had an input-lag-free match even when they live right down the street.

It made me happy that I was able to ukemi(sp? "tech" if you will) effectively multiple times without air-dodging by trying to time it right.

Then again, it could still be coincidence. However, I think it works. But that's just me, isn't it?

 

[Miamisportsfan45]

Wait, what's this? There's a way to reduce lag!? I'm interested.

 

[Bent 00]

Moar answers

Here's more answers from our first tester, Sylus2015:

Did you have much lag before trying this?
Not much when it came to 1-on-1's. However, the input lag was a bit of a pain. About a half-second to a full second input lag made things a bit hard. However, I've had 2 successful lag-free matches. ^_^
I'm so happy.

<text omitted>

What's your ping time to google?
Same if not faster. I think it moved faster, but only slightly.

Have you tried downloading anything?
Yes, and all I have to say is "Uneffected". The download speed actually seemed completely uneffected by this change. I was getting the same download time for when I had this lag-fix on and when I had it off. ^_^

Well since I'm planning on trying this could you tell me how I can switch back to my old registry when I'm done? (someone else asked this one)
Since you don't really change anything else, I would assume simply deleting the TcpAckFrequency DWORD and disabling and enabling your connection would set it back to the way it was.

More testers needed! All you need is a Wii, SSBB, a LAN adapter, and an online computer.

 

[ZeonStar]

OK so I did as the directions said...Ill need to do some testing to see if I get any lag free matches. Do i need to play with other people that have done the trick and have a LAN adapter or can I just try it against anyone?

 

[Bent 00]

Try it against random people for now, since not too many Brawlers have tried this yet. Only two other people (that I know of) have tried this so far: Sylus2015 and Gh3ttoNinja from GameFAQs SSBB Online. Once you've got things set up, try a few matches with one of them. Here's a link:

http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=2000399&topic=43437815

Oh, and for this to work, I think you're supposed to have your Wii linked to an internet-sharing computer (with the Registry mod) via a LAN adapter. The internet-sharing computer might be connected to the internet via a wireless router or a second EtherNet cable... I think. Again, I'm no technical expert, I'm just gathering test data.

BTW, to anyone looking for a cheap LAN adapter, there's a good one made by PLANEX available at amazon.com for only $15.00. I ordered mine today, along with a $11.00 2 GB SD card to get free shipping.

 

[Bent 00]

*bump*

GameFAQs thread:
http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=2000399&topic=43437815

 

[Bent 00]

Clarification

*bump*

So far, two people have misunderstood the proper setup method.

INCORRECT SETUP:

Internet source
^
^
^
Router < < < LAN Adapter < < < Wii
^
^
^
Computer with Registry Edit

If this is how you've got it, I doubt that the Registry mod is getting a chance to affect the Wii's connection. See the arrows? In this scenario, the Wii's connection goes straight to the router via the LAN adapter to access the internet, completely bypassing the Computer with the Registry mod.

CORRECT SETUP:

Internet source
^
^
^
Wireless Router
^
^
^
Computer with Registry Edit < < < LAN Adapter < < < Wii

Try setting it up like this and see if you get better results.

Remember, I'm no technical expert... I'm just experimenting here...

 

[Dubz]

Er... So right now I got a wireless router, obviously theres a hardwired computer to that with my laptop wired and the wii wired from the router. You telling me to put my laptop on wireless and plug the wii lan adapter into my laptop's ethernet port and then to the wii instead of from the router to the wii? Does that even work lol?

Edit: At the moment, my internet pings at an average of 40ms to google. No change made yet.

 

[ZeonStar]

Alright...Ive directly connected the Wii Lan adapter from my wii to my computer and my computer has a Wireless connection going to my router. But my Wii isnt getting any internet.

Is there some setting I need to change to get my computer to send internet to my ethernet port?

 

[ZeonStar]

We may have hit a brick wall D:

 

[Bent 00]

D'oh, an obstacle.

Alright...Ive directly connected the Wii Lan adapter from my wii to my computer and my computer has a Wireless connection going to my router. But my Wii isnt getting any internet.

I was afraid this would happen... >_<

Is there some setting I need to change to get my computer to send internet to my ethernet port?

I think there's some way to get your computer to share its internet connection, but I don't know how to yet. Sylus over at GameFAQs might know more about it...?

I'll look into this further ASAP. I know there's a way to get internet through your computer.

I hope this isn't a futile effort... But even if it is, thanks to everyone who helped / helps test the settings.

 

[Zodiac]

Just an idea here but, there this thing called the WIFI Buffalo http://gear.ign.com/articles/834/834255p1.html

and if you used a wii lan adapter hooked directly into that what would teh results be, apparently its an amazing router, meaning, using that as wifi in place of the wii's wifi would give you a much stronger connection. ,(Of course this is for those who cant plug their wii's directly into the wall.