Optimizing
Quake 2
The Quake 2 network code has improved dramatically
since the game's release through the various patches that have been
released by id, the code is now so good that it is considered one
of the smoothest on-line games in existence. Because the code has
improved so much there is really very little in game tweaking
necessary but there are still a couple of things that can help.
Patching
It Up Real Nice
The first thing you must do is make sure you're
running the latest version of Quake 2 (if you're not it's unlikely
that you'll be able to play on the internet at all). To check which
version you're running load the game and press ` (or ~ depending on
your keyboard), it's the key to the left of 1. The console will
come down, in the bottom right of the console there will be a
number, select the upgrade below that corresponds to your
number.
Once you've downloaded the patch and installed it to
your 'Quake2' directory you can now add the necessary lines to your
config (see the config section for how to create configs).
There are really only three settings that govern how good your
connection will be.
|
Command |
Description |
| rate |
This is
the maximum number of bytes that will be allowed across the
connection every second, setting this too low will prevent the game
from making full use of your connection but setting it too high
will result in packets being sent that your connection can't handle
causing packet loss. |
|
cl_maxfps |
This
command will limit the maximum number of frames your monitor
displays each second. At low settings some people may notice
flickering but because of the way Quake 2 handles the connection a
lower setting can improve connection. |
|
cl_predict |
This
allows the client to make small predictions on the motion of
objects without waiting for the server to tell it (eg. the
direction of a bullet). |
To apply these commands to your game you must create
a line in one of your config files (system.cfg if you follow my
guide in the config section) with the following in it:
set rate "XXXX"
Where XXXX is the value you need. To choose the value
that's best for you I recommend that you start from one of the
values on the table below and play with it a bit until you find one
that suits you.
| Connection
Type |
Recommended
Rate Setting |
| 33.6kbps
Modem or lower |
3000 |
| 56kbps
Modem |
5000 |
| 64kbps
ISDN |
8000 |
| 128kbps
Dual ISDN |
10000 |
| LAN or
equivalent speed |
45000 |
Once the rate is done you should create another line
containing:
set cl_maxfps "XX"
Where XX is the value you want as your maximum frame
rate. As a rough guideline your this should be set to approximately
your rate divided by 100 (ie. if your rate is 5000, your cl_maxfps
will be 5000/100=50). It should be noted that setting this too low
may annoy you with flickering so by all means set it as high as you
can get before your connection goes to pot, also there's no point
in setting the cl_maxfps to a setting higher than your graphics
card can handle as the command will simply have no effect.
Finally, make the line:
set cl_predict "1"
There's no reason not to turn this on since on a slow
connection it's helpful and on a fast connection it's pretty much
irrelevant.
|
