So a week ago or so before forums went down, I posted a lengthy thread about Ping and how it affects you, but unfortunately, the forums went down and has restored a backup of a previous state in which the thread is now lost as if it never existed (layman's terms: Cinco used a time machine to travel to the past to save the forums)
I neither have the patience nor brain cells to remember what I said (5am deep marsh sessions starting to take its toll) so here's an entirely new remake. Take whatever info you may get from this as you will.
Test:
Note: Both videos are taken at the same time
Description: To show positional delay caused by ping difference. To make it clearer, we will look at it as Horn shield wears out for both players (We'll discuss why this may not be accurate later)
Phobik's Location: Philippines
Dagor's Location: NotPhilippines
As you may have noticed, there is a big delay on my end. Dagor stopped 2 seconds after he saw me stop and on my end, he stopped 4 seconds after I did. That means that there are 2 seconds of delay in between. A significant difference despite an average difference of over 100 ping.
Ben Dover: "So I am confusion >.< Whose video is accurate and how did you think it was you?"
Phobik, The Last Backbender: "Easy. Dagor's video was more accurate simply because of the ping difference. Ping is a measurement of how fast your device can send and receive data from the server, he merely received the information from the server faster than I did, he would've never stopped running until he retrieved the information that I've already stopped, my end was merely playing a playback of the routes and actions he took as I was retrieving all those information on a much later time (more on that later). How does that explain me being ahead of him on my video? That's because the player location you see on your screen is local to your device, at least, to a certain extent."
Arguments to prove this?
You can move around the map during a ping spike but it wouldn't reflect on others' screens.
(Yellow ping arguably needed, but unsure), Chest Splitter on a speed set will not hit the moment you see your character model and enemy model collide in your screen, you will have to wait for a second or so after just to have it execute the way you want it to. This is because your actual location coordinates on the server are not in sync with the location coordinates on your screen.
This is also why there are times a Skyward Smash/Gale will launch you backward instead of forward despite your character model facing forward.
This also explains a lot of the threads about why "Arrows are going through rocks in PvP". No they aren't. Your actual location registered on the server is still on the exposed part, you being behind the rock on your screen was not your device telling you "I'm here", it's your device telling the server "go here".
Not gonna lie, I didn't think there was that much difference before as I normally play on 350-500 ping and people still seem responsive.
Milo Selfies Team: "So why is that? How come everything feels so smooth and I don't notice the delays at all?"
Phobik, star of The Walk In Debt: That's because your every action is stored in the server. How much of it is stored, I don't know, but I'm pretty certain.
Arguments to prove this?
>Video above where Dagor is literally delayed on my end for 2 seconds. My end is merely playing the record of his actions in order. (Otherwise, why didn't he stop where I did?)
>Notice how when you recover from a huge ping spike, suddenly everyone starts moving again yet extremely fast as if its retrieving everything everyone did, playing it fast so that you can be in sync at the most latest time possible according to your ping
>It only makes sense because it gives the illusion of fluidity and realtime. If we're going by perfect accuracy, you'd probably see toons jump from point A to point B once they hit a ping spike and recover from it.
How does this affect you?
PVE:
> I imagine not much as I've never noticed it until we did the test unless...
> You're aiming for timed LB runs. This might explain the planar arena "cheating" rumors, for all we know it's just ping difference as it will affect:
>>> How fast UI will pop when you click an NPC
>>> How fast damage will reflect on boss/enemies once you attack
PVP:
Well first off, we[I] now have a really good reason as to why we[I] suck at PvP.
As you can imagine, half a second is already a lot in PvP. Much more so for 2 seconds, but I'll tell you which it might not be as bad as 2 seconds:
>There are skills like Skyward Smash/Axe, that has two parts to it. Pressing the button on Skyward Smash is local, but the part where it jumps and smashes is the part where it already retrieved the data necessary to execute the skill on the server. Same goes for Axe. The throw is local, but the pull is the part where you've received the necessary data. Now the question for you, do any of those skills actually gave you 2 seconds of delay? If yes then it is as bad as you figured, if not then it's not as bad. It's not uncommon to see the axe technically "miss" the enemy toon yet they still get pulled, because as we've stated before, what your toon does on screen is local. The 2 second delay is probably mostly tied to character model coordinates, as for skill delays, there likely is delay but probably only a second or half of it. Then again...
>That half a second-a second delay could be a big BIG difference in PvP. Especially in intense clashes where timing needs precision. Always remember that the ping will:
>>> Determine how fast you could see your team's HP drop
>>> Determine how fast you could react to a skill. It might look like it's on time for you, but it actually looks late for them.
>>> Determine how fast damage will reflect on your HP bar
>>> Determine if you've already escaped a combo vs you have not (as stated above with the Rogue behind the rocks example)
In my opinion, this is the more accurate version of the video above:
As text data is fairly small, I'd say it travels faster from one toon to another. The Horn delay imo is pretty realistic as you'd see it on your end first before the others will see it. Now depending of your ping, this may even be worse for you. Tbh this isn't even as accurate as I'd hope it would be since we only tested it once and outside of PvP. It would be nice if someone could test this on a PvP-LB PVE setup. Anyways, feel free to draw your own conclusion.
Sr. Test Tickles: "Does that mean if I have yellow ping, I don't have a chance on top 10 PvP LB at all?"
Phobik, Professional Foodmonger, Heavyweight Division: Not at all! Sure you may be at a disadvantage, but don't let your dreams be dreams! For all we know some of the Top 10 in PvP might actually be playing on 400 ping average. But I suggest you check out the youtube channels of your favorite AL PvP players. Check their ping, I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised. Do note that they're plenty skilled already, the ping just helps to even further their strength. Not gonna drag it here for fear it might cause drama, I didn't write a thread for 3 and a half hours just for it to be taken down.
That's pretty much all I have. Feel free to form your own conclusion, do your own tests even. The better we understand it, the more beneficial it will be for everyone.
