Curse

Lagg · Jan 25, 2006, 01:15 PM // 13:15

I've submitted the problem to ArenaNet. I'll keep you updated.

vazel · Jan 25, 2006, 04:29 PM // 16:29

i have this problem as well. guild wars tech support told me to disable dual view but that didn't help.

oh and btw, some of you seem to mix up this issue with lag. if you get object warping in the game it's due to lag. but if the entire screen freezes for moments it's either just the way the game engine is or an issue the game is having with your system configuration.

boxterduke · Jan 25, 2006, 06:23 PM // 18:23

I have the same problem on both computers.
One is an amd 1700+ with 1gig ram and ATI 9800Pro
The other is P4 2.6 with 1gig ram and Nvidia 6800GT

The "pause" I think people are talking about happens for a second or less every minute or so.

The annoying thing is that you notice it more if you are running or trying to interrupt skills.

You will notice it in while hunting Ettins, sometimes it will pause and healing signet will be almost done casting making it impossible to interrupt sometimes.

Mustache Mayhem · Jan 25, 2006, 07:02 PM // 19:02

I run a radeon on a a64 though.. no problems like this though (not using onboard sound though- just an old yamaha pci soundcard).. used to run on an older comp too that as below min specs to play and it ran fine..

things you could try-

* shutting down all apps (ctrl alt del for taskmanager and shutting down anything under your user name except explorer.exe) then run guildwars.. if that works it's one of those apps causing it

* go into your bios and reset it to default- run guildwars.. this may fix your problem if you have irq conflicts

* make sure you have your motherboards chipset drivers installed.. if your running via http://viaarena.com .. nforce chipsets nvidia etc..

hope it helps..

Lagg · Jan 25, 2006, 08:32 PM // 20:32

Thanks for your feedback. We need to make ArenaNet aware that this issue is real and out there. I've pointed them towards this thread, so here's me hoping they'll read it.

The problem isn't really life threatening, but it's annoying at best and sometimes nefarious to gameplay at worst (as boxterdude pointed out).

In the meantime I've been trying a few more things to no avail:

- Updated my mainboard drivers and BIOS
- Been messing about with Aperture size, RAM timings, Hyper-Threading, almost every imaginable combination
- Physically removed my soundcard and cleaned its drivers
- Shamanic incantations

I'll update as soon as I get a reply from ArenaNet.

Lagg · Jan 26, 2006, 02:47 PM // 14:47

I have received a response from ArenaNet.

(I hope they don't mind me showing this to you)

------------------------------------------

Hello Lagg,

Thanks for contacting the Guild Wars customer support team and sending us the results of the DxDiag test. I would recommend updating your system's video card drivers by downloading the latest Catalyst package from ATI website at www.ati.com . Be sure to uninstall the old video card drivers before installing the latest Catalyst Package in order to avoid any potential conflicts.

You can uninstall your current ATI driver by using Driver Cleaner. Please download Driver Cleaner at http://www.drivercleaner.net/ . Install and launch the program. In the drop-down menu select ATI and then click on the clean button. Be sure to also look for any other manufacturers names that you may have had installed on this system at one time in the past. Reboot your computer and continue to install the latest drivers from www.ati.com .

I would also recommend increasing the size of your Page File, in Windows. You can do this by following these steps:

- Right-click on your "My Computer" icon and select "Properties".
- Choose the "Advanced" tab, then click the "Settings" button in the "Performance" section.
- Click the "Advanced" tab here, before selecting "Change" in the "Virtual Memory" section.
- Select the "Custom Size" radial and increase the Initial Size to 1536, and the Maximum size to 2986.
- Click the "Set" button and Windows should prompt you to restart your PC. If it does not, then please do so.
- Ensure that you have enough free space on your system partition to support your pagefile

This should resolve the issues you are encountering. If it does not, please let us know and we will work with you further to resolve the issue.

Kind regards,

GM Trent

NCsoft Europe
Guild Wars Customer Support
http://www.guildwars.com

------------------------------------------

Unfortunately, this didn't resolve the issue.

In the meantime, I've also updated my BIOS and chipset drivers. I also physically removed my soundcard (an Audigy 2 ZS). All to no avail.

I'll keep you updated as soon as I get another reply from ArenaNet.

P.S. I've also directed them towards this thread, so don't hesitate to post in here if you have the same issue.

Lagg · Jan 26, 2006, 04:10 PM // 16:10

ArenaNet's final word:

------------------------------------------

Hello Lagg,

Thank you for contacting the Guild Wars customer support team. Thank you for the example you sent. This type of issue is unfortunately normal in this style of game. Such issues, are part of the ingame net code. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused.

Please feel free to contact the support team again if you encounter any other problems.

Kind regards,

GM Trent

NCsoft Europe
Guild Wars Customer Support
http://www.guildwars.com

------------------------------------------

This confirms my initial thoughts that this slowdown is due to game mechanics and is not a bug per se.

It still leaves me perplexed as to how some people with inferior hardware and perhaps less stable connections don't seem to be getting the problem.

This said, on all computers I've seen Guild Wars run on (five in total, running very different hardware and internet connections), I've witnessed this issue firsthand, leading me to believe that almost everyone has this "problem" but that most people simply don't notice it. There might still be a hidden factor somewhere that either causes you to get it or not, but I'm not sure we'll ever find out.

Case closed, I suppose.

Mustache Mayhem · Jan 26, 2006, 11:31 PM // 23:31

ah that sucks.. I don't get the studder though- never have.. are you on broadband? they mentioned the netcode- I've never played on a 56k connection

Lagg · Jan 28, 2006, 07:10 PM // 19:10

No, I'm on ADSL, 4mbit/s up, 512kbit/s down.

Not having any issues with other games. Weird.

Gorebrex · Jan 28, 2006, 07:35 PM // 19:35

The only thing enjoyable about this is the differance in the length of the replies Lagg got from ANet.

BTW, theres a few threads that seem to be along the same lines, maybe add subsections to tech forum? Video, Sound, Connectivity, Installing/Starting GW, General Lag-Based Issues, ect.

vazel · Jan 29, 2006, 05:50 PM // 17:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lagg

It still leaves me perplexed as to how some people with inferior hardware and perhaps less stable connections don't seem to be getting the problem.

yea, it's a tad annoying when you invest so much into a gaming pc only to have problems like this come up. but with such a complicated platform as the pc problems like this do happen unfortunately...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mustache Mayhem

ah that sucks.. I don't get the studder though- never have.. are you on broadband? they mentioned the netcode- I've never played on a 56k connection

i have a 3mbs down, 384kbs up connection. if it were a bandwidth/ping issue we'd get object warping. this is the kind of stuttering where the entire screen freezes momentarily.

Divinus Stella · Jan 29, 2006, 06:55 PM // 18:55

I get the same problem as this, can play smoothly for 2-3 minutes then il get s jumpy period, im on 10mbit/s internet and the PC im running GW in on more than capable of lag free play, i think its just down to poor coding on anets behalf.

Numa Pompilius · Jan 29, 2006, 08:00 PM // 20:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Divinus Stella

I get the same problem as this, can play smoothly for 2-3 minutes then il get s jumpy period

The stuttering the OP is talking about occurs when objects enter the world - new monsters appear, drops etc - but if your game gets continually choppy after 2-3 minutes of playing, you've probably got some onther program stealing bandwidth. One common cause of chop is anti-virus software deciding that the computer is idle when you're playing (because the AV software monitors clicks/keys in Explorer), and either starts to scan files, or download updates. Any program which accesses the net, e.g. filesharing software, will also cause stuttering.
Another cause of stuttering which used to be common but which I've not seen in a while, was that graphics-intensive screensavers would activate while playing (for the same reason the AV does).

D3solator x · Jan 29, 2006, 09:33 PM // 21:33

I've had the stuttering issue in Battlefield 2 as well (it would stutter if turn around alot). The way I fixed the stuttering in GW and BF2 was to set my AGP Aperature to 512 MB (I have a GeForce 6800 Vanilla). BF2 ran perfectly after this, and there was a significant improvent in GW, GW no longer stuttered when I turned the camera around and was smooth for the most part except minor lag spikes which were prob related to the connection.

Old Dood · Jan 30, 2006, 12:21 AM // 00:21

I have noticed more "studder" since the last few updates. I turned off my AA and then it went away. *sigh* One weakness with my Dell is that the BIOs is pretty darn nerfed. Not much you can do to "tweak" it. I would like to set my Aperature to 512Mb, but, I do not think it is available for me to do so.

Omega X · Jan 30, 2006, 01:22 AM // 01:22

This thread makes my recent problem a whole lot more common that I originally thought. I guess that eventually, ANET will have to actually look into this and NOT give automated responses.

TaintedSoul · Feb 01, 2006, 03:03 AM // 03:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lagg

I have received a response from ArenaNet.

(I hope they don't mind me showing this to you)

------------------------------------------

Hello Lagg,

Thanks for contacting the Guild Wars customer support team and sending us the results of the DxDiag test. I would recommend updating your system's video card drivers by downloading the latest Catalyst package from ATI website at www.ati.com . Be sure to uninstall the old video card drivers before installing the latest Catalyst Package in order to avoid any potential conflicts.

You can uninstall your current ATI driver by using Driver Cleaner. Please download Driver Cleaner at http://www.drivercleaner.net/ . Install and launch the program. In the drop-down menu select ATI and then click on the clean button. Be sure to also look for any other manufacturers names that you may have had installed on this system at one time in the past. Reboot your computer and continue to install the latest drivers from www.ati.com .

I would also recommend increasing the size of your Page File, in Windows. You can do this by following these steps:

- Right-click on your "My Computer" icon and select "Properties".
- Choose the "Advanced" tab, then click the "Settings" button in the "Performance" section.
- Click the "Advanced" tab here, before selecting "Change" in the "Virtual Memory" section.
- Select the "Custom Size" radial and increase the Initial Size to 1536, and the Maximum size to 2986.
- Click the "Set" button and Windows should prompt you to restart your PC. If it does not, then please do so.
- Ensure that you have enough free space on your system partition to support your pagefile

This should resolve the issues you are encountering. If it does not, please let us know and we will work with you further to resolve the issue.

Kind regards,

GM Trent

NCsoft Europe
Guild Wars Customer Support
http://www.guildwars.com

------------------------------------------

Unfortunately, this didn't resolve the issue.

In the meantime, I've also updated my BIOS and chipset drivers. I also physically removed my soundcard (an Audigy 2 ZS). All to no avail.

I'll keep you updated as soon as I get another reply from ArenaNet.

P.S. I've also directed them towards this thread, so don't hesitate to post in here if you have the same issue.

This reply is so generic it makes me ill to see it again. Every issue I've ever contacted them with they send a reply telling me to go here and there but it never fixes the issue. I then point this out and get told to post it on the forum (of which they gave me no address, I had to ask and then be told any of the fan sites since they have no official one) because if enough people complain they will look into it. IMO their tech support is very lacking. And I too have these same issues, of which are unresolved.

Ju_Smurph · Feb 01, 2006, 03:19 AM // 03:19

So is this a thread about complaining about tech support or are we seeking ideas of the forum members to resolve the issue. Because Guild Wars Tech support is exactly that, for Guild Wars. There are so many variables that May be found only when using Guild Wars and yet has nothing to do with Anet or the Game itself. For instances a dodge connection (hop) path. A resource has been corrupted, blah blah blah.

So many things it could be, and most of the times such generic things are the fix. If it is a wide spread problem, atleast they have laid a good broad base and we all have to start some where.

Numa Pompilius · Feb 01, 2006, 02:24 PM // 14:24

Perhaps I wasn't clear... the momentary 'freezing' when new objects appear in the gameworld is no doubt known to ANet. I'd say that fixing it would be at the expense of performance in general, and so unlikely to be fixed before everyone's got fast computers & connections (ie never).

Rubberbanding & outright lag issues, on the other hand, is a completely different kettle of fish.

WRT ANets tech support, I've found them fast or even very fast to respond to my reports, but the only feedback I've got (except for the bugs disappearing) are these automated replies.

sn0w1337 · Feb 02, 2006, 12:49 AM // 00:49

I have the same damn problem, and it just recently started up. Its a very short studder but its annoying when your a monk.