Lag is a gradual response from a laptop. It can describe any device that responds slower than anticipated, although it’s most frequently utilized in on-line gaming.
Video sport lag is usually brought on by considered one of two components:
- A gradual laptop
- A gradual Internet connection
If you’re taking part in an internet multiplayer sport and your laptop can not course of the incoming information in realtime, it could gradual the sport down for everybody. If your Internet connection is gradual or inconsistent (which regularly occurs with shared wi-fi connections), your system might not ship and obtain information rapidly sufficient to maintain up with different gamers. The lag might end in uneven body charges and trigger a delay between your enter and what occurs on the display screen.
In a perfect world, all on-line avid gamers would have quick computer systems and Internet connections. In actuality, gamers have a variety of laptop techniques and Internet connection speeds. Therefore, sport builders should account for lag in multiplayer video games. One methodology is to make use of a central sport server that makes positive one participant’s lag solely impacts the person with the gradual laptop or Internet connection. It prevents gamers with high-quality gaming setups from being negatively affected by customers with gradual techniques.
In some instances, a participant with a excessive lag might be booted from a multiplayer sport. For instance, in StarCraft 2, if a participant’s system isn’t responding, a message will seem on the participant’s display screen that claims, “Waiting for Server.” Other gamers within the sport will see a message that claims “Waiting for player: [player name].” If the lag is simply too excessive, the server will ultimately boot the lagging participant from the sport.
Lag vs Latency
The phrases “lag” and “latency” are typically interchangeable since they typically confer with the identical factor. However, latency is a more technical time period, normally quantified by a certain quantity. For instance, the latency of a participant’s network connection could also be equal to the ping response time between his laptop and the server. High latency (over 120 ms, for instance) can produce noticeable lag.
NOTE: “Lag” may also be used as a verb. For instance, a participant that’s “lagging” could also be slowing down the sport.
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