Server vs client performance

marsvin

For a while now I've been noticing that getting close to any sort of defensive structures usually drops my fps by a significant margin. Even a few hydras would often crash my fps from about 50 to sub-20. Since I have a GTX560 I was assuming it was a cpu bottleneck issue especially since tweaks in the nVidia controlpanel raise my fps overall but not in that area.

But then I noticed when the server is about to go down, pings spike and my fps (right before the server hangs completely) also goes to hell. Also I started noticing that on some servers I don't get the fps drops around hydras and sentries.

So my question: is it possible for server performance to affect client fps? I've never noticed this in any other online game. I've seen rubberbanding and other issues from bad latency or server performance but I've never seen it drop client-side fps.

fanatic

Yes. Client performance is intricately linked to server performance. Currently there are only three, maybe four, servers that have anything close to satisfactory performance.

NS2 doesn't really "care" about your GFX card, the single core clock speed of your CPU is mother and God. Even with an OCed i5-2500k @ 4.7 GHz client performance is far below satisfactory though. That's just where we're at in the development cycle. Hopefully things will improve with optimizations.

marsvin

<!--quoteo(post=1898983:date=Feb 3 2012, 12:38 AM:name=fanatic)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (fanatic @ Feb 3 2012, 12:38 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1898983"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Yes. Client performance is intricately linked to server performance. Currently there are only three, maybe four, servers that have anything close to satisfactory performance.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I realize there are performance issues, but what I was asking is if specifically the render rate of the client, the frequency at which it poops out frames, is directly linked to an under-performing server?

Or could it be other circumstances that are causing too much load on my own CPU when a lot of defenses are nearby, but not always?

I've seen framerate drops from under performing CPU/GPU in other games, but never from networking issues.

Just trying to pinpoint the source of the graphics lag and wondering if others share this specific issue (not just performance issues in general.)

fanatic

<!--quoteo(post=1898986:date=Feb 2 2012, 11:54 PM:name=marsvin)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (marsvin @ Feb 2 2012, 11:54 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1898986"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I realize there are performance issues, but what I was asking is if specifically the render rate of the client, the frequency at which it poops out frames, is directly linked to an under-performing server?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
When I said yes, yes was what I meant. Having a high ping also causes lower fps due to the prediction code.

IronHorse

use net_stats 1 in the console to monitor the network usesage and more importantly the server tickrate of the server you are on. staying in the mid 20s - 30 provides smooth gameplay. anything less than 10 is jittery and rubber bands players. server code most definitely needs to be optimized. hopefully its next up on their list, as player counts, servers, and community are growing.

douchebagatron

the reason the client performance is linked to server is because when server performance goes down, the client needs to predict more.

the goal server rate is 30 ticks per second, when the server drops below that the the client prediction kicks in to smooth things out. the lower the server tickrate, the more the client needs to work to predict the missing ticks. This can be a pretty intense process and causes client slowdown.