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This guide has been sourced from many different sites, FAQ's and word of mouth. Thank
you to everyone that helped. To avoid Plagarised material it has been rewritten and some of my own experiences added. If you
have any questions relating to the copyrighting of this material, please visit the 'contact us' page displayed on the Navigation
bar.
Introduction
1. What is lag?
Lag has no proper dictionary definition or any measure to determine how bad it is, yet everyone
knows what it is. Generally speaking lag takes the fun out of a game, whether it be Runescape or a first person shooter, like
Halo or Counterstrike.
Lag causes frustration and annoyance in a game, especially when you get it at a crucial point in
the game, whereby you are maybe making an important trade or just as you run into a big clan in the wilderness which
you know you are no match for. No matter what type of computer you have or what online game you play you will have suffered
from lag once before.
This guide is solely aimed at the depreciation your lag sufferance, and if you follow closely
by, this guide could eliminate lag not caused by your computer type or your internet connection
2. The symptoms of Lag
Below is a chart compiled of various symptoms of Lag experienced in Runescape and almost all other
online games.
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Nothing at all on the screen in moving, common during lost connection
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The game is moving, but very slowly
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Where you just warp to another place (the screen suddenly changes)
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Yourself or others seem to ‘snap’ back to where you just were
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Where you and others appear to vanish from the screen (not very common in Runescape)
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When it takes longer to do things, such as opening your bank in Runescape
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Connection is lost and it needs to re-establish. Common in Runescape
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Erradic screen movements. Can be slight or crazy movements that you cannot control
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Your game freezes or moves slowly, then an extemely fast action follows to catch up. Very common
in Runescape
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Something you thought was there wasn't
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Actions are repeated over again, such as repeated walking up and down in Runescape. Very common.
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Delayed action
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You have to wait for something to appear. eg. waiting for 'use bank quickly' to be highlighted before
using.
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First Steps
1. Run fewer programmes
Everything that you do on your computer, whether it be listen to music or talking on msn or
windows messenger uses RAM. RAM is random access memory, and it is basically what makes your computer
run at the speed its at. If there are more programmes using your RAM then you will possibly suffer from more lag.
RAM comes in different sizes depending on your computer. Each upgrade is double the last. It comes
in 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024 etc...
To reduce lag it would be a good idea to close all unimportant and unused programmes, including music
and video, because if these programmes are open your computer will devote CPU to it, and we don't want that.
Of course there are programmes that will not make you lag as much, and there are some that make you
lag more. Instant messengers, microsoft programmes, and small games such as solitaire, and other programmes that do not have
sound will cause little or no lag.
Whereas other programmes that use more RAM, such as internet pages that require activex, videos,
music and any programmes that you bought for over £5.00 in PC World will cause more lag.
Also, if your lag is getting very bad then switch to low detail if you are not already on it, it
uses less RAM
2. Turn of Anti-Virus
This way will help reduce your lag, but only do it if you are not running an internet explorer window,
or any other device that is connected to the internet, and of course as soon as you are finished gaming turn them back on
again.
Certain Anti-Viruses, will run constant auto updates and scans such as Avast anti-vir, which is an incredibly good programme, but can cause you some lag, turn it off if you know you will not receive
a virus while gaming.
3. Regular Scans
Do periodic Virus and Spyware scans. Spyware and viruses can significantly cause a huge amount of
lag, so get them removed. I have previously mentioned Avast, as a good free virus scanner, or you could use another subscribtion programme such as McAffee Security. Also a programmes
called Ad-aware by Lavasoft is an incredibly good scanner to remove adware and spies. It's a must.
Remember to scan your computer regularly. I advise once every 2 computing days for spyware and adware,
and once a week for viruses.
4. Pop up blocker
Pop-ups can install spyware and adware, so make sure you have a decent pop up blocker. If you have
windows XP you can turn on your pop-up blocker if it is not already turned on by:
-Tools in the internet browser
- Internet options
- Privacy tab
- Check box Pop-up blocker
5. Get a faster connection speed
If your connection speed is the minmum or just above the minimum you need to play the game,
it may not be good enough to play without lag. Get a faster internet connection to counter this.
Conclusion
That about covers my best known methods on reducing lag. If you have done all these and you still
suffer from lag, it could be your low spec computer causing it, or possibly one of the game servers.
Written by: Richi. A
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