Multiplayer unplayable throught USB-tethering

[Xyronos]

Hello,

Recently i've been trying to play Stellaris throught USB-tethering internet. Connection is stable 100/100 Mpbs, ping about 30-50.

Multiplayer lags really hard and constantly stops, even for multiple minutes. That is even if joining a game works before it times out.

This issue only happens with Stellaris and any other Paradox title that uses that uses the Clausewitz engine. EU4 and CK2. Exact same issues on those games, but those i usually play on singeplayer.

Every other multiplayer title works perfectly fine.

Playing Stellaris on usb-tethering using usb rndis 5.0 driver was 100% unplayable, i upgraded to Windows 10 and updated to usb rndis 6.0 driver. The new driver slightly improves the situation.

Next thing i will try which will hopefully fix this issue is bying a router with usb dongle support, and using my connection through that.

Is there any other way to make Stellaris mp playable? And hopefully there will be a fix for this across all clausewitz engine games...

Cheers.

 

[Xyronos]

This thread probably belongs in the support section but can't access it . Synching games doesn't work

 

[The Founder]

Recently i've been trying to play Stellaris throught USB-tethering internet. Connection is stable 100/100 Mpbs, ping about 30-50.

2 digit pings for a LAN is absolutely abysmal. I have <20 ms to my local google server. Within my local LAN, 2-3 ms is the norm.
So from ping prespective, that connecton is about as good as a game over the internet. USB Thethering is not exactly a good technique (I had practically forgotten it even used to exist).

That being said, Stellaries does even have some issues with games over that 2 ms local LAN. It appears that 100% of all calculations - inlcuding processing commands - has to be done on the server. And while the server is busy pocessing that, every client will become unresponsive. One of the worst things you can do is trying to fire the order again and again. Only results in more stuff piling up in the queues.

 

[Coffee Fox]

2 digit pings for a LAN is absolutely abysmal. I have <20 ms to my local google server. Within my local LAN, 2-3 ms is the norm.
So from ping prespective, that connecton is about as good as a game over the internet. USB Thethering is not exactly a good technique (I had practically forgotten it even used to exist).

That being said, Stellaries does even have some issues with games over that 2 ms local LAN. It appears that 100% of all calculations - inlcuding processing commands - has to be done on the server. And while the server is busy pocessing that, every client will become unresponsive. One of the worst things you can do is trying to fire the order again and again. Only results in more stuff piling up in the queues.

What's USB tethering? I've never heard of that before. Is it similar to how people would link PCs with an Ethernet cable in order to play together?

 

[Xyronos]

What's USB tethering? I've never heard of that before. Is it similar to how people would link PCs with an Ethernet cable in order to play together?

Sharing your phones connection to your PC, and using that connection in this case to play Stellaris online multiplayer.

 

[Xyronos]

The problem is not the connection itself but that Paradox/clausewitz engine games and only these games go nuts when there isn't router/NAT in between. So i would assume at least.

 

[Xyronos]

Why this only happens in these game is beyond me, i would assume a problem in the engine itself. As the engine was made way before usb tethering was implemeted in to smartphones. Even when clausewitz was updated to 2.5 perhaps they overlooked some stability/compatibily in this regard.

Even though windows handles the connection and the drivers itself. These problems only happen when using usb tethering and playing Stellaris online etc.

 

[Coffee Fox]

Sharing your phones connection to your PC, and using that connection in this case to play Stellaris online multiplayer.

That sounds really impractical and inefficient. Does it effect your speeds, and wouldn't using an actual router be a lot better?

 

[jdrou]

That sounds really impractical and inefficient. Does it effect your speeds, and wouldn't using an actual router be a lot better?

Presumably you only do this when you don't have landline internet available. The alternative would be tethering/hotspot with wifi but wifi is generally worse for gaming than a USB tether since it can get interference from microwave ovens and drop connection until it stops.

 

[richtern]

This thread probably belongs in the support section but can't access it . Synching games doesn't work

I would encourage you to register the game. Please check the following you you use Steam.

https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...lease-link-your-paradox-account-to-steam.945/

You may find solutions to this problem among others.

As another user mentioned a moderate double digit pin isn't the best for this game. I would agree. There is a lot of synchronization going on in this game that is absent from others. As such I would encourage you to get a hardline connection or performance cell modem at the very least.

As great as tethered internet is phones are *not* designed to be routers. As such performance will suffer.

I hope that helps! Welcome to the forum!

 

[richtern]

Presumably you only do this when you don't have landline internet available. The alternative would be tethering/hotspot with wifi but wifi is generally worse for gaming than a USB tether since it can get interference from microwave ovens and drop connection until it stops.

I disagree, when done properly multiband WiFi has equivalent ping and compatible bandwidth to hard lines. Hard lines are ideal but WiFi is much better than it was 8 years ago...

 

[jdrou]

I disagree, when done properly multiband WiFi has equivalent ping and compatible bandwidth to hard lines. Hard lines are ideal but WiFi is much better than it was 8 years ago...

Ping and bandwidth isn't the problem. I used a 4G connection for several years as my home internet and it was generally fine even for FPS games but if I used it through wifi rather than USB there would be times the connection dropped/lagged just long enough to knock me out of the game. I've also been disconnected many times in the past when someone used a microwave 20-30 feet away from me. The actual 4G connection seems to be more stable than the wifi part.

 

[The Founder]

What's USB tethering? I've never heard of that before. Is it similar to how people would link PCs with an Ethernet cable in order to play together?

One of the many ways we humans invented to connect two computers, if we got no proper Router with DHCP on one end and Internet on the other to make the network for us.
Like Null-Modem, Crossover Cat Cable, Add-Hoc Wireless Hotspots while setting your IP settings manually (even as a Network Admin I do not do that anymore).
I still remember the times when routers were not as common. Many games (inlcuding classics like Star Craft and Age of Empires 2) had 4-5 different ways to connect to other players. But let us just say Telephone Booths were still common at that time

The problem is not the connection itself but that Paradox/clausewitz engine games and only these games go nuts when there isn't router/NAT in between. So i would assume at least.

No network application ever would behave worse because there is no NAT in the path. That would be like being better at juggling because you lacked a hand
For Network code it does not mater if the other end is on the same Computer, the same Switch or the Voyager 2 Probe. As long as we got NAT traversal, it works.

However I agree that the Engine is clearly not optimised for networked games. So even minor weaknesses in quality of connection could have serious repercussions.

 

[Xyronos]

Seems like game sync has been fixed Could this thread be moved to under Stellaris support?

 

[Kat Tsun]

One of the many ways we humans invented to connect two computers, if we got no proper Router with DHCP on one end and Internet on the other to make the network for us.
Like Null-Modem, Crossover Cat Cable, Add-Hoc Wireless Hotspots while setting your IP settings manually (even as a Network Admin I do not do that anymore).
I still remember the times when routers were not as common. Many games (inlcuding classics like Star Craft and Age of Empires 2) had 4-5 different ways to connect to other players. But let us just say Telephone Booths were still common at that time


No network application ever would behave worse because there is no NAT in the path. That would be like being better at juggling because you lacked a hand
For Network code it does not mater if the other end is on the same Computer, the same Switch or the Voyager 2 Probe. As long as we got NAT traversal, it works.

However I agree that the Engine is clearly not optimised for networked games. So even minor weaknesses in quality of connection could have serious repercussions.

The halcyon days of seeing both "IPX" and "TCP/IP" in the Multiplayer screen. Somehow "simpler time" doesn't seem quite right, though.