Fifa 20 - Gameplay Wired v Wifi

[TheAspergerGamer]

Hi guys,

I have been playing FIFA for about 3 years and I have always struggled with input delay. I have done extensive research and testing, and I understand that the netcode is broken. I rarely have decent gameplay.

However, out of all the tests I have made the best way is to play on mobile 4G low latency or wireless 2G (broadband router). Though, on both you can struggle with huge lag spikes and 4G is not as reliable as a home broadband. The best option for me would be 2G band.

I have an Xbox One X and the XR500. They are both in the same room. Archer VR600 is in bridge mode and the XR500 is upstairs, on PPPoE. All wires/cables/routers are good and working. I tested latency and iPerfed them all.

There are three issues with the game:

- classic lag - which is caused by the opponent's jittery connection

- input delay - this occurs when the opponent has constant very high latency with some jitter and it is unplayable

- speed up lag - this is a matter of packet loss (the game freezes and fast forwards after a couple of seconds); the packet loss, I believe, causes frame drops (maybe due to interpolation buffer not receiving data from the server and when the loss is gone it floods the buffer).

Playing wired gives a combination of lag and input delay depending on the opponents connection. However, playing on WiFi seems to fix these two issues, but the speed up lag issue occurs a couple of times per game and it's game breaking. I have tested both 2G and 5G and the 2G band is the best option for me.

I have tried different settings, but with everything I have tried so far I get this packet loss issue. I was hoping someone could help me figure out why the gameplay is better on Wifi and find some settings to ensure there is no packet loss while playing wireless. I have a wifi network analyser on my phone and I always switch to one non-overlapping channel (1,6,11) and one that's the least congested, but with no success.

Would really appreciate any help!

Many thanks!

 

[Netduma Fraser]

What I would first suggest you do is take the Archer out of bridge mode so it handles PPPoE instead of the XR500. Put the XR500 in the DMZ of the Archer and remove the PPPoE information. That should allow QoS to work more efficiently. Also disable WiFi on the Archer as well. Then to optimize QoS for your particular connection follow this guide while doing heavy downloads on a PC and change your Anti-Bufferbloat percentages (while using Always) until you find what lowers the ping/keeps it most stable. Once you've done that play and see if it is improved.

http://support.netduma.com/en/support/solutions/articles/16000074717-how-to-test-your-internet-ping

[TheAspergerGamer]

On 5/7/2020 at 6:31 PM, Netduma Fraser said:

What I would first suggest you do is take the Archer out of bridge mode so it handles PPPoE instead of the XR500. Put the XR500 in the DMZ of the Archer and remove the PPPoE information. That should allow QoS to work more efficiently. Also disable WiFi on the Archer as well. Then to optimize QoS for your particular connection follow this guide while doing heavy downloads on a PC and change your Anti-Bufferbloat percentages (while using Always) until you find what lowers the ping/keeps it most stable. Once you've done that play and see if it is improved.

http://support.netduma.com/en/support/solutions/articles/16000074717-how-to-test-your-internet-ping

Hi, I tried everything the way you advised me. It's only me using the connection and I do not do any downloads. I tried 2G (channels 6 and 11) and 5G (100+) and in both instances I had this packet loss issue. I tried the console 2-3m away or next to the XR500 and still happened. I had some matches without it, but it still happened half of the matches. Any other suggestions?

[Netduma Fraser]

Did you notice any packet loss on the PingPlotter plots in the graph area? They show as red bars. If you didn't get this then it is likely the game itself. If that's the case then it may be beneficial to have a look at this site that has some different lag suggestions for FIFA specifically, one of our users owns the site so there may be specific settings they suggest: https://fifaaddiction.com/fifa-issues/ if that doesn't help come back and let us know and we can try some other things.

[TheAspergerGamer]

11 hours ago, Netduma Fraser said:

Did you notice any packet loss on the PingPlotter plots in the graph area? They show as red bars. If you didn't get this then it is likely the game itself. If that's the case then it may be beneficial to have a look at this site that has some different lag suggestions for FIFA specifically, one of our users owns the site so there may be specific settings they suggest: https://fifaaddiction.com/fifa-issues/ if that doesn't help come back and let us know and we can try some other things.

I know the website. I have been investigating these issues with FIFA for over 3 years. I have not done any PingPlotter tests, as this uses only ICMP, not UDP. There is a UDP packet loss issue. How do I know this? Multiple tests and things I noticed when playing.

About two years ago, during one evening, the ISP I was with had an outage and this is what happened. I was playing wired. Just before the outage I set up a thinkbroadband test and when the outage happened the game froze, then sped up forward and then disconnected from the servers entirely. When I looked at the thinkbroadband graph I saw: latency, packet loss (small red line), short latency period and then a big chunk of packet loss. This explained the speed up lag I had that evening while playing wired. The connection dropped, came back up for a couple of seconds and then dropped entirely. Using the XR500 you can fiddle with the settings which will result in a no loss glitch and for that reason I will not give any details (both wired and WiFi). Bottom line, this packet loss issue, over the WiFi, is down to UDP packet loss.

Initially, I thought there could be issues with the internet adapters from the consoles. But I have changed 2 PS4s and 3 Xboxs. All of them manufactured in different batches and years. There has to be a way to setup the WiFi channels/settings, so there is as little interference as possible.

 

[Netduma Fraser]

Have you done these tests direct to the ISP hub and confirmed they're not an issue there? Does playing via WiFi make a difference at all? 

With WiFi changing to the least congested channels can make a difference, have you changed any of the advanced WiFi settings? 

Are you using Traffic Prioritization as that should really put gaming ahead of the queue and eliminate any possible loss.

[TheAspergerGamer]

19 hours ago, Netduma Fraser said:

Have you done these tests direct to the ISP hub and confirmed they're not an issue there? Does playing via WiFi make a difference at all? 

With WiFi changing to the least congested channels can make a difference, have you changed any of the advanced WiFi settings? 

Are you using Traffic Prioritization as that should really put gaming ahead of the queue and eliminate any possible loss.

1. I have my own router that I use: Archer VR600. No problem with all the routers/modems (iPerfed them all).

2. Same experience on WiFi on any of the routers.

3. Yes, I use Traffic Prioritization.

4. I have not changed any of the advanced WiFi settings.

5. From my last test with Wireshark, by the looks of it, it is the incoming packets that get delayed due to the router's settings, which will bombard the console once they go through, when this speed up lag happens. This will explain why there is input delay in the game.

[Netduma Fraser]

How is the XR setup with that - is it in the DMZ? What Traffic Prioritization settings are you using? You could try disabling Traffic Prio if you think it is receiving packets too quickly and see if that helps.