Overwatch Issues

RDCorporation · 21 Dec 2017 at 20:06

Hi all

Hope you all doing great in preparation for the holidays!

Recently I was searching for a game I can get in for an hour or so of fun and get out whenever, not spending too much time like it can be on games such as PUBG.

So I found Overwatch and it sounded like an enjoyable quick game, considering I enjoyed playing TF2.

Joined the game and before I started to enjoy it I started experiencing erratic movement of the character.
As well as small glitches during movement. I would hold down "run forward" button and while running the character would stutter and stop slightly then carry on.

After searching through the net I found few people with similar issues but no solution whatsoever.
Someone suggested looking at a "net graph" while playing and look out for Orange Blocks when the issues happen.

And indeed they were right, I had orange blocks appear at the time of stutter and as far as I understand it means the connection to the server at those points get lost or delayed for a small time.
Such issue unfortunately makes the game very unenjoyable (is that a word?

) and at most points unplayable.

Now, my PC is more than capable to run Overwatch, packing Ryzen 1600 and 1080GTX.
Non of the other games experience same issues and everything runs smoothly, although I am connected to 5GHz Wifi.

Maybe someone here experienced similar issues in this game or knows possible solutions I can try to fix this? Because I am not sure if it's the games servers or it's my PC causing the issue.

Thanks in advance! :cool:

Steampunk · 21 Dec 2017 at 21:32

Try it with a network cable direct to your router. That will determine if it's your wireless or your internet. Also, what ISP are you using?

RDCorporation · 22 Dec 2017 at 06:49

Problem is, the router is far downstairs and not really reachable for my PC.

We are on highest BT package I believe with promised speeds of 76mb/s but usually doing a speed test shows 20-40mb/s.

Thanks

Steampunk · 22 Dec 2017 at 07:34

RDCorporation said:
Problem is, the router is far downstairs and not really reachable for my PC.

We are on highest BT package I believe with promised speeds of 76mb/s but usually doing a speed test shows 20-40mb/s.

Thanks

Then move your PC temporarily to test or get a long bit of cable. Wireless is very variable depending on distance and what it has to go through. It might be the cause of your problems, but until you connect directly with a cable, you won't know.

Malevolence · 22 Dec 2017 at 07:50

If you can't move the PC then invest in a pair of home-plugs which can be had for around £25. I picked a set up not too long back because the wifi signal to my smart TV was pathetic (router is in the upstairs back bedroom and the TV in the downstairs front room in an old house with thick double brick walls) and the difference is like night and day.

olivier renault · 22 Dec 2017 at 16:20

Sounds like a network issue, mainly packet loss, and I would suspect, something to do with WIFI, or a congested network.

The character movement is typical of upstream packet loss. Your client will be told by the server to rewind back your character movement, due to very high packet loss on your end. It's the 'client-side prediction' part of the code if you want to know

it's also worth seeing how congested your network is. i.e. if anyone else is using it, or downloading something like windows or game updates. Resource Monitor, with the network tab, can tell you what's using the bandwidth on your machine, and the router should have some diagnostic tools to measure the bandwidth usage at the source. When under heavy traffic, your ping will shoot up.

Typically, upstream bandwidth (when you send packets to the server) is much more limited than downstream bandwidth (when you download stuff) on home connections, like ADSL. If you're on fibre, it's unlikely your traffic is getting congested, but who knows.

Overwatch is UDP. maybe your WIFI router does some QOS prioritisation. I would also try 2.4GHz (5GHz is more sensitive to bad WIFI signal), then I would try bringing the PC downstairs, and connecting through cable, then WIFI. Should take about one hour.

Homeplugs / repeater might help, if it is indeed a problem with your WIFI / home setup.

RDCorporation · 23 Dec 2017 at 00:21

Massive thanks to everyone for help and detailed explanations! Reason I am a daily member of this forum!

Had a game of Overwatch and after it pagging badly decided to go Tesco (only place open at 11pm

) and get home plug.

Found one starte kit from TP Link and decided to bite the bullet, although to be honest was very skeptical!

Came home, plugged both of them in and although they are both connected to socket extensions the paired themselves straight away without even a press of a button!

Checked my internet speeds and they doubled to what I was getting through wifi...although I do have a good WiFi card. If i remember roght its a TP Link Archer or something :rolleyes:

Had few games of overwatch and not a single lag!
Had few games of PUBG and now what I though used to be a game lag can be confirmed as my Internet connection lag!

Massive thanks to everyone, I am truly impressed by these littlw gadgets!