Network buffering, inconsistent netcode, Valorant

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skkiNN
Posts: 87
Joined: 07 Feb 2021, 14:20

Re: Network buffering, inconsistent netcode, Valorant

Post by skkiNN » 07 Sep 2022, 19:52

kokkatc wrote:
07 Sep 2022, 15:08
13n47 wrote:
07 Sep 2022, 11:04
Bobo wrote:
07 Sep 2022, 10:55
I used that to actually remove the minimum limit on buffers, because for me it didn't let it go lower than 32. That doesn't actually matter as much, as the difference between 0 and 32 is minimal.
I truly hope you still don't do this and it's not clear you fully understand how receive/transmit buffers work. Receive/transmit buffers create allotted buffer sizes in system memory to be used specifically for receiving/transmitting packets. Setting transmit or receive buffers below 128 will likely result in massive packet loss and cripple your connection. You actually want to RAISE these buffers for improved performance/latency so there's enough memory allotted for sending/receiving packets. The general rule is to have your transmit buffer size 2x your receive buffer. For example, if your receive buffer is 512, you want your transmit buffer to be 1024. Typically, the higher you set these, the faster your connection is going to be. You just have to be sure you have enough system memory. 16GB+ should be plenty.

Setting your receive buffer to 32 damn near guarantees you're going to have a bad time in any online game.
And man if i have 32gb of ram whats the best values for sending and receveing? Like 1024 and 2048? Higher?

assombrosso
Posts: 279
Joined: 29 Nov 2021, 10:34

Re: Network buffering, inconsistent netcode, Valorant

Post by assombrosso » 07 Sep 2022, 19:56

I don’t agree with this netcode mumbojumbo, back when I lived in a not too bad of a location, I used to reinstall windows using a specific version and then disable all services/updates and it made me game /any game on any platform smooth as hell for 10-15 rounds where I used to destroy ppl everytime, I used to use phone net/wifi/ wired, it worked on any type of connection and I played faceit on a low ping/high ping connecting to Australian servers from nz. Then issue starts and I do badly. I think major issue is indeed electricity

Shade7
Posts: 222
Joined: 25 May 2022, 18:44

Re: Network buffering, inconsistent netcode, Valorant

Post by Shade7 » 09 Sep 2022, 16:08

kokkatc wrote:
07 Sep 2022, 15:08
13n47 wrote:
07 Sep 2022, 11:04
Bobo wrote:
07 Sep 2022, 10:55
I used that to actually remove the minimum limit on buffers, because for me it didn't let it go lower than 32. That doesn't actually matter as much, as the difference between 0 and 32 is minimal.
I truly hope you still don't do this and it's not clear you fully understand how receive/transmit buffers work. Receive/transmit buffers create allotted buffer sizes in system memory to be used specifically for receiving/transmitting packets. Setting transmit or receive buffers below 128 will likely result in massive packet loss and cripple your connection. You actually want to RAISE these buffers for improved performance/latency so there's enough memory allotted for sending/receiving packets. The general rule is to have your transmit buffer size 2x your receive buffer. For example, if your receive buffer is 512, you want your transmit buffer to be 1024. Typically, the higher you set these, the faster your connection is going to be. You just have to be sure you have enough system memory. 16GB+ should be plenty.

Setting your receive buffer to 32 damn near guarantees you're going to have a bad time in any online game.
Just curious- where did this idea of having your transmit buffer be 2x the receive buffer value come from. Is that even a thing? I've tried looking it up earlier this year, and the only source I can find is some random "how to optimize network adapter settings to gaming" type article that recommends doing that. I've tried a few network adapters, and none of them have their buffers set to that ratio. I'm pretty sure all of them were either set to maximum value or equal values for both transmit/receive.

If you have some articles/videos on optimizing network adapter settings, please drop them here as I'm interested in finding out more.

I'm not even sure how much network adapter advanced settings can make considering the newer PC hardware most of us are running in our rigs & with current internet speeds (gig+, fiber, etc.).

Valorant in particular is very strange when it comes to netcode/engine, since it seems to run a lot differently than most standard fps games with its "simulated" gameplay with more prediction/corrections that other games.

TBH, I would prefer they just let peekers advantage loose, even allowing rubber-banding (for those without sufficient network conditions) if that's what it takes to get more consistent hit-reg and unmanipulated gameplay than all the buffering/corrections built in to make the game "appear" to run smoothly on the user's end.

To Op:
interesting information. My experience with the game has felt exactly how you have described it. Something is off. Glad someone is looking into it. At this point, I think keeping the conversations on forums is the best move, see if it can gather a little attention from those who might be more well-versed in networking and could look into this issue from a more experienced perspective. The devs may be looking into it behind the scenes, but from their latest update posts on this issue (a few months back I think), it seems as if they are currently satisfied with what they have found. They made minor changes to the buffering system, but overall are not going to overhaul the system or rebuilt it.

Issues in the netcode that will be overlooked (not easily noticeable or perceivable) by most of the "casual" playerbase is not something the devs are probably interested in spending effort on especially when it's probably quite a large task.

IMHO, the only way this issue will gain traction & get the attention of players and more importantly the devs is if people find a way to exploit this system to give a noticeable competitive advantage. Exploit might be the wrong word here; I'm more referring to changing certain settings or conditions to make gameplay in the buffered/predicted environment as optimized as possible, but in a way that those uninformed will be missing out on and suffering in their gameplay as a result.

Only something like this would gain enough traction to warrant the devs stepping in and making changes to the game's netcode and networking situation.

some199
Posts: 1
Joined: 12 Oct 2022, 17:33

Re: Network buffering, inconsistent netcode, Valorant

Post by some199 » 12 Oct 2022, 17:42

I have the same problem and I tried a lot of fixies I tried to change everything none of them worked for me and now I see someone who understands the problem that I'm facing for along time but i am still searching for the solution for this problem, did you or anyone found a solution for this?

13n47
Posts: 17
Joined: 07 Sep 2022, 05:42

Re: Network buffering, inconsistent netcode, Valorant

Post by 13n47 » 17 Oct 2022, 12:19

some199 wrote:
12 Oct 2022, 17:42
I have the same problem and I tried a lot of fixies I tried to change everything none of them worked for me and now I see someone who understands the problem that I'm facing for along time but i am still searching for the solution for this problem, did you or anyone found a solution for this?
It's a problem with the netcode. I found out there's an optimal ping for each lobby(i'm honestly not sure if it's related to network buffering at this point but I know for a fact there's an optimal ping after thoroughly testing). Anything below or above that "random" ping causes slight issues with hit registry and timings when someone peeks or counter strafes. It's best to already have a low ping to a server and then use a third party tool(like clumsy) or a vpn(i don't recommend) to slightly keep increasing ping in increments of 5ms to find out the sweet spot. This is a tedious process, requires you to feel out the round and is time consuming. So it's honestly not worth it.

The reason I don't recommend vpn is because this seems to be mostly related to outbound latency. When you use clumsy, you can use it to only increase your outbound latency. The latency from server to game client has no effect, all it does it handicap you with late information. What matters is latency from game client to server.

I think the netcode somewhere is acting up like when it was with League of Legends when they introduced artificial latency for remote competitors. This post explains it really well and is worth reading.

It's up to the developers to fix, they're the only ones who can figure out what's really happening behind their netcode. As for us, we can only guess and hope they find the problem.

MSIfanboy
Posts: 31
Joined: 15 Apr 2022, 13:51

Re: Network buffering, inconsistent netcode, Valorant

Post by MSIfanboy » 17 Oct 2022, 21:59

try turning OFF low latency mode in NVIDIA control panel (pre rendered frames)

readtext
Posts: 24
Joined: 28 Dec 2020, 00:57

Re: Network buffering, inconsistent netcode, Valorant

Post by readtext » 19 Oct 2022, 15:03

Bobo wrote:
07 Sep 2022, 12:30
you could also up the numberr of rssqueues to 4

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4d36e972-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\0000\Ndi\Params\*NumRssQueues\Enum

add new string, rename it to 4, open it and in "value data" type 4 Queues
with get-netadapterRSS in powershell you can check in powershell if the value is taken at all

TN_fun
Posts: 138
Joined: 26 Jun 2019, 11:09

Re: Network buffering, inconsistent netcode, Valorant

Post by TN_fun » 22 Oct 2022, 13:40

13n47 wrote:
07 Sep 2022, 11:04
Bobo wrote:
07 Sep 2022, 10:55
what exactly did you modify in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4d36e972-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\0001 ???
I used that to actually remove the minimum limit on buffers, because for me it didn't let it go lower than 32. That doesn't actually matter as much, as the difference between 0 and 32 is minimal.
Hey man, are the values in these screenshots up to actual? Are these the best values for you? Or you did not pick up good values and all this is placebo?

dannyoceanic
Posts: 24
Joined: 22 Aug 2022, 08:42

Re: Network buffering, inconsistent netcode, Valorant

Post by dannyoceanic » 24 Jan 2023, 14:54

So did anyone figure out how to make the game smoother ? Capping the fps at 128 helped out a little and the game feels more consistent but it still feels like a coin flip depending on what server you are connected

Shade7
Posts: 222
Joined: 25 May 2022, 18:44

Re: Network buffering, inconsistent netcode, Valorant

Post by Shade7 » 21 Feb 2023, 17:34

Trippy from Compready (pretty well known PC optimizers in Val scene) claims he's found some issues that might be related to network issues, tickrate fluctuation, and mouse lag in Valorant. Sadly, he isn't making the fix public and it's going to be included as part of their paid optimization package. The tweets are pretty vague (on purpose, I guess).

What do yall think about this?

https://twitter.com/TrippyN2L/status/16 ... 1579853824
Last edited by Shade7 on 01 Mar 2023, 17:47, edited 1 time in total.

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