Star Wars Problems, EA Servers & Features Without Sufficient Documentation..

[BassboxBen]

I mostly play Star Wars Battlefront on PC, I have trouble joining my friends games, get booted from lobbies and get "Can't Connect to EA Servers" messages fairly often unless I turn the Geo-filter off. Or unless I set it to almost the entire united states (obviously defeating the object of it and the main selling point of the router). I believe this may have something to do with EA credentials being checked on EA servers prior to being able to join any games. Is there a way to manually white-list the server I believe it is contacting and still leave the filter at my chosen 1000km setting?

** I think I may have inadvertently discovered how to do this. After selecting naming and updating the server if I move its quality percentage until it's in the green I presume it should still connect despite being outside the Geo-filter?! I've only just found this so it's yet to be tested (If this is correct, achieving  this is not very well described in the support articles!)**

 

How long after settings in the Geo-filter are changed do they take to come into effect? Is there a delay or are they instant.

 

How do I remove devices and associated games from the Select Games / Services option at the top of the Host filtering page? There is no delete option.

 

Why do I get no statistics other than the current ping on servers even when I name and update them? There is never anything in the Host Analysis page.

 

What does the Ping Assist actually do, and what should it be set to? (No information is provided in any of the help documents as far as I could see?)

 

Does Hyper-Traffic ignore any Device Prioritisation congestion settings and allocate maximum bandwidth to the selected machine, or does it just try to get the packets from a selected machine to the front of the queue more often?

 

Why is there no way to update Profiles after loading and changing the settings of them? I have to keep deleting them and re-saving them.

 

The reason I bought this router was more to try to help eliminate the phantom "Lag Compensation", I have a fairly fast 70mb down/5mb up virgin connection, but am constantly plagued by behind cover deaths and bizarre instances of people seeming to be targeting me where I was, but me still taking damage even though I'm no longer there. Is there anything this router can do to help me?

 

I've had this router for about 2 weeks now, and to be honest I'm not really sure it's of much use if it doesn't work with my preferred game and these problems cannot be resolved. I hope some of these questions can be answered and I can start to get some benefit from it!

[Netduma Fraser]

Hey, welcome to the forum!

 

You can whitelist it that way but that isn't what it's meant for, it's meant for allowing/denying players. If that does work please provide me with the ID of that server and I can add it to the cloud.

 

1. Instant

2. You can't unless the device itself is no longer connected to the router and removed from device manager

3. Host Analysis is for a select number of games Battlefront on PC isn't one of them currently.

4. Ping assist allows you to connect to games outside of your radius which are under your ping limit. This means you never miss the opportunity for a good game. It also helps with identifying any incorrectly located servers. http://support.netduma.com/support/solutions/articles/16000024116-ping-assist

5. Hyper traffic ensures that your device sends and receives packets first, this means you experience very little spikes/jitter.

6. No way to edit per se, but if you have loaded a profile and then changed settings just save it as a new profile. Really you shouldn't be needing to change your settings as much as it sounds like you are.

7. We guarantee the best possible connection, by ensuring a low ping that means you will always be at an advantage over higher ping players.

 

Battlefront hasn't specifically been tested on PC but make sure you're using the Xbox Live service for it to try it out, if you provide me with that ID that we can try to support it as much as possible.

 

You will also need to add your friends to your allow list if you haven't already (assuming you can use the Geo-filter to Battlefront. Though as it's a PC game are you not able to choose the specific server you play on or at least the region?

[BassboxBen]

Yes, it didn't seem to work, I had to set the radius back to the entire world and try many times over about 15 minuets to get back into a game (with EA account disconnected messages constantly coming up)..
I can't say that I've ever seen players locations come up on the map?! I know where several of the friends I play with live, and they never appear.. Also is it likely to be picking up the location of the Discord server we use for chat while in game? (I guess not it as it seems relatively unaffected)..

 

1. OK, it doesn't seem to be, but maybe something else is causing the log off and lobby boot issue..

2. OK, I put something in as a test, I'd like to remove it for neatness sake, but it's not a problem for it to be there I guess..

3. Great, wish I'd known that before purchase. Please add it!! SWBF2 is not that far off!!!

4. OK, I may try adjusting that a little, my base ping is usually around 8-12ms..

5. OK, pretty much as I thought.

6. If the unit worked 100% straight out the box I wouldn't need to adjust anything. The settings are made for adjusting and experimenting so an easier profile update would be useful..

7. I'm not sure that is the case when lag comp is thrown into the mix, I've had some great games on UK servers but people connecting from further out with high pings seem to cause more frustrating issues..

 

These are, as far as I can work out from a quick, check the ID's for EA's SWBF log on servers and possibly game servers.

ID: b19fa6713c509499 USA     ______These two seem to be what my EA ID is checked against and are in the same place on the US West Coast..

ID: b19fae793c509499 USA 2  _l

 

ID: 25a25e293fc4f9fe UK

 

(Ones that show up but don't seem to be used)

ID: 3e6ddca70addc3c8 Japan

ID: b9af703b4c58282d Australia

ID: c9b903ce56682d32 South America

There are more as I been connected to one in France and one in possibly Berlin, Germany, will update if I see them next time I'm playing..

 

I don't have any way to add friends to my allow list, as I say, their locations don't seem to show on the map and neither does any other player in game, I can't even be very sure which one is the server I'm connected to as the map can be a bit vague with it's information..

 

SWBF only offers the option to set your region to a continent (Aus, Asia, EU, South Ame, US East, US West, or Automatic, I've tried both EU and Automatic but it still seems to want to validate me with the US, so no games unless the Geo-filter is practically off!

There is also no way to pick a server to play on, you select the mode, the game finds a server, no server information is provided (very frustrating and pretty terrible in this day & age!)..

I guess they wanted to make it A) more console/kid friendly (Stupid decision for a FPS) and try to hide the player numbers maybe (They were on the decline from day one which is a shame for such a great game, but they had a fair boost recently with it being free on EA Access)..

One of the other main reasons I got this router was to enable me to tell our friends if we were playing on a server further away, so we could leave, or not expect a very responsive game, the fact that the map is so vague has not helped much..

Thanks for your help so far..

[BassboxBen]

ID: b233c18cd051faff France

ID: b29f45103c519499 Another USA credential checking server

[BassboxBen]

ID: b19f98633c509499 Another West Coast EA Credential server

ID: b19fb07b3c509499 East US (Chicago kinda area)

ID: 25a25d283fc4f9fe UK Server

ID: 469b2ffa38e58085 Poland

[ColonicBoom]

I'm not sure that is the case when lag comp is thrown into the mix

 

I don't have any way to add friends to my allow list

 

The easiest way to find your friends is to turn off the geo filter, set up a private match, invite your friends, then whitelist them all.

 

Lag compensation is necessary for these games to function, without it we would rarely hit the other player unless they were standing still. If they're running, you would literally have to guess at where the server thinks they are.

 

It looks unfair in killcams but killcams are far from accurate representations of what the server 'saw'.

 

It doesn't stop it being annoying when you get killed round a corner but in reality you got killed before you went round the corner. The exact same thing happens to your enemy when you clip them with a kill-shot just as they were going through a doorway into cover, on their screen they were through the door by a couple of steps.

[BassboxBen]

Ok, I'll try that and see what shows up! Thanks..

 

Yeah I understand the concept behind lag comp, but there seems to be an extra element of the net code that penalizes faster connections over slower ones, not to the extent that having a slower connection is better, but there is some discrepancy that causes annoying results. (There are no kill cams in SWBF fortunately!).

 

More experimentation is needed I guess.

[Netduma Fraser]

Yes, it didn't seem to work, I had to set the radius back to the entire world and try many times over about 15 minuets to get back into a game (with EA account disconnected messages constantly coming up)..

I can't say that I've ever seen players locations come up on the map?! I know where several of the friends I play with live, and they never appear.. Also is it likely to be picking up the location of the Discord server we use for chat while in game? (I guess not it as it seems relatively unaffected)..

 

1. OK, it doesn't seem to be, but maybe something else is causing the log off and lobby boot issue..

2. OK, I put something in as a test, I'd like to remove it for neatness sake, but it's not a problem for it to be there I guess..

3. Great, wish I'd known that before purchase. Please add it!! SWBF2 is not that far off!!!

4. OK, I may try adjusting that a little, my base ping is usually around 8-12ms..

5. OK, pretty much as I thought.

6. If the unit worked 100% straight out the box I wouldn't need to adjust anything. The settings are made for adjusting and experimenting so an easier profile update would be useful..

7. I'm not sure that is the case when lag comp is thrown into the mix, I've had some great games on UK servers but people connecting from further out with high pings seem to cause more frustrating issues..

 

These are, as far as I can work out from a quick, check the ID's for EA's SWBF log on servers and possibly game servers.

ID: b19fa6713c509499 USA     ______These two seem to be what my EA ID is checked against and are in the same place on the US West Coast..

ID: b19fae793c509499 USA 2  _l

 

ID: 25a25e293fc4f9fe UK

 

(Ones that show up but don't seem to be used)

ID: 3e6ddca70addc3c8 Japan

ID: b9af703b4c58282d Australia

ID: c9b903ce56682d32 South America

There are more as I been connected to one in France and one in possibly Berlin, Germany, will update if I see them next time I'm playing..

 

I don't have any way to add friends to my allow list, as I say, their locations don't seem to show on the map and neither does any other player in game, I can't even be very sure which one is the server I'm connected to as the map can be a bit vague with it's information..

 

SWBF only offers the option to set your region to a continent (Aus, Asia, EU, South Ame, US East, US West, or Automatic, I've tried both EU and Automatic but it still seems to want to validate me with the US, so no games unless the Geo-filter is practically off!

There is also no way to pick a server to play on, you select the mode, the game finds a server, no server information is provided (very frustrating and pretty terrible in this day & age!)..

I guess they wanted to make it A) more console/kid friendly (Stupid decision for a FPS) and try to hide the player numbers maybe (They were on the decline from day one which is a shame for such a great game, but they had a fair boost recently with it being free on EA Access)..

One of the other main reasons I got this router was to enable me to tell our friends if we were playing on a server further away, so we could leave, or not expect a very responsive game, the fact that the map is so vague has not helped much..

Thanks for your help so far..

 

Are you zoomed out on the map? It is possible they are showing elsewhere if mis located. Possibly yes.

 

1. You may be experiencing anti-cheat but that doesn't really apply to settings specifically: http://support.netduma.com/support/solutions/articles/16000024118-anti-cheat

2. Should be able to do this in DumaOS

3. Once DumaOS is released we can definitely look into adding more support for Host Analysis!

4. Let us know how you get on.

5. - 

6. If you followed through the beginning tour then you should set it up as it recommended

 

Thanks for all these IDs, that is very helpful. When I get some time next week I'll try to make a test cloud for you to try out.

 

Please see my first sentence. The biggest circle on the map is the server. It will be more clear in DumaOS.

 

Okay interesting thanks for the info! You mention it's vague, what do you mean by this/what would you want to see? 

[BassboxBen]

Are you zoomed out on the map? It is possible they are showing elsewhere if mis located. Possibly yes.

 

1. You may be experiencing anti-cheat but that doesn't really apply to settings specifically: http://support.netduma.com/support/solutions/articles/16000024118-anti-cheat

2. Should be able to do this in DumaOS

3. Once DumaOS is released we can definitely look into adding more support for Host Analysis!

4. Let us know how you get on.

5. - 

6. If you followed through the beginning tour then you should set it up as it recommended

 

Thanks for all these IDs, that is very helpful. When I get some time next week I'll try to make a test cloud for you to try out.

 

Please see my first sentence. The biggest circle on the map is the server. It will be more clear in DumaOS.

 

Okay interesting thanks for the info! You mention it's vague, what do you mean by this/what would you want to see? 

 

Yeah I've zoomed in and out, the only uk location I see is near the south coast, two of my friends live more up north way and several around London and home counties. I've never seen any locations on the map near any of them.

 

I'll add any more ID's as I find them.. EA didn't put as much effort into SWBF as they have for BF1 obviously, so servers seem to be sporadic at best!

 

I would expect the biggest circle to be the server, but honestly, while I'm in game it can very often be EA's credential servers in the US that show up as the largest. I can be sure I'm not connected to them for a game server as I might be getting 25-30ms ping which I would guess to be UK or France.

 

If there was a colour system for servers and players different to the current one it might help. For example, Green - the currently connected game server, Blue - other players, Red - non-active servers, and have those reflected in the deny allow section maybe. I understand that currently the colours reflect the devices at the top, but I'd imagine most of us are only using one device for gaming at a time so maybe they could be numbered instead.

Getting the map, the server info, ping info and Deny Allow section into a smaller space would be good, I have to do a lot of scrolling up and down, sometimes it's not easy to see what's been selected and it can jump from something selected to something else, I'm not sure why. I get temp ban instead of update sometimes when I'm trying to tag a server that has been found, I guess it's switching my selection back to the currently active server or something.

 

Maybe these things will all be resolved in DumaOS. Sounds like you've got a lot of work on at the moment!

 

Thanks again for the help so far..

[Netduma Fraser]

Those things you mentioned won't be an issue in DumaOS. I will try and do a cloud this week but as you say I am quite busy so may not be able to. If I can't I'll test out the game on the weekend for you.

[BassboxBen]

That would be great thanks..

 

I'm starting to see some progress at least in knowing when I'm on a UK server and things are good, and when to leave due to distance!

[ColonicBoom]

here seems to be an extra element of the net code that penalizes faster connections over slower ones

 

That would be a pretty stupid thing for a game developer to put into the code.

 

Lobbies occasionally get out of sync, and some lobbies you'll find the ping compensation is off a bit (because of wobbly internet) but overall it's pretty accurate.

 

They don't penalise people with more bandwidth though.

[BassboxBen]

You would think so wouldn't you, but maybe it's just a side affect.. I notice the faster my connection has got (20mb, then 50mb, then 70mb) the worse my game experience has got in subtle ways.. I can't say I know why, but the affects of the most recent jump from 50mb to 70mb was noticeable for sure.. Other wise I wouldn't have even thought to bother with this hardware..

[Netduma Jack]

It's worth noting that games usually only use less than 1mb of bandwidth - if you've got your console in hyper traffic then you shouldn't really be noticing differences between having more or less bandwidth. Anti-flood and congestion control should make sure of that; make sure you've got Anti-flood set to 70/70 and reset device prio to be sure.

[BassboxBen]

Yeah I did watch and read a fair few explanations (some better than others) of what goes into making online games possible, and I understand the games bandwidth is fairly minimal.. Seems odd that a 70mb connection would have any problems, and very strange that there would be more than when it was a 20mb connection.. I play on PC, but yes it is in the hyper traffic selection and the other settings are as you suggested (although I still mess with things just to see what results I get)..

[Netduma Fraser]

Yeah I did watch and read a fair few explanations (some better than others) of what goes into making online games possible, and I understand the games bandwidth is fairly minimal.. Seems odd that a 70mb connection would have any problems, and very strange that there would be more than when it was a 20mb connection.. I play on PC, but yes it is in the hyper traffic selection and the other settings are as you suggested (although I still mess with things just to see what results I get)..

 

When it comes to gaming it's all about ping. Increasing your internet speed won't necessarily lower your base ping. In fact it could get higher or be unstable. Thats why the phrase "get better internet" is a myth as most people are referring to speeds when it doesn't make a difference.