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Is Runescape properly prioritised? sir Lagalot.

Gorvul
Grafter
Posts: 161
Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Is Runescape properly prioritised? sir Lagalot.

This is mainly a question really for PN staff.  I play Runescape, and I lag a lot there, to the point where I've thougth of changing my name to Sir Lagalot. 
Anyway, I really want to know if
1 - Am I correctly set up on Pro package.
2 - Does Runescape come under Gaming or Browsing when traffic is being managed/prioritised?
3 - Are the correct ports listed and open at PN's end - 443, 43594 and 43595 are the ports that Runescape uses.  Are they open?  There are 3 ports, and on my firewall (Comodo), I am only getting some traffic coming through port 443, nothing from the other 2 ports, suggesting that only 443 is open.
4 - Is the broadband firewall on the Connection Settings page at plusnet website https://portal.plus.net/my.html?action=firewall ; the same as the firewall in my router?
Or is it a  separate firewall between my router and somewhere else?  If I disable this firewall via the PN website, am I in effect disabling my own firewall on my router?

Basically, I'm trying to get to the root of why I lag so much playing runescape.  My pings are great btw - but my gameplay is so sluggish even on lowest game settings.
  There were recent changes in the game that make it worse, but my gameplay has not been smooth for a  long time.  It could be a problem at Jagex's end (they make rnescape), or it could be  my PC - I just want to cover all bases.
5 REPLIES 5
Kelly
Hero
Posts: 5,497
Thanks: 380
Fixes: 9
Registered: ‎04-04-2007

Re: Is Runescape properly prioritised? sir Lagalot.

If you are a pro package, or have the pro add on, it shouldn't matter if we've got it prioritised properly or not.  I'll nudge Dave to have a look to see what's going on here.
Kelly Dorset
Ex-Broadband Service Manager
jojopillo
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Plusnet Alumni (retired)
Posts: 9,786
Registered: ‎16-06-2010

Re: Is Runescape properly prioritised? sir Lagalot.

Hi Gorvul,
The website firewall will not affect your router firewall. I see you've set it to low but I would recommend setting it to off. You will need to reboot your router for that to take effect once you've done it. As for the ports, we don't block any, and as Kelly said with you being on pro you should see any prioritisation issues.
Jojo Smiley
Gorvul
Grafter
Posts: 161
Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: Is Runescape properly prioritised? sir Lagalot.

Thank you for getting back to me with this information.  I will turn the website firewall Off soon then.  I notice I can't change the firewall settings in my thomson router at 192 168 etc... config page, which is why I wondered if they were the same firewall.
I don't like to turn my router off too often as BT then thinks I'm having problems and lowers my line profile speed, and at 3Mbps I don't want it going down again.  I have rebooted my router a couple of times within the last week, so I am cautious to reboot it straight away, though hopefully BT won't mess it up when I do.
I was given some information on the ticket I have open too.  Thanks for that too PN.
I'm not the only one  suffering lag at the moment in Runescape, but I wanted to try to cover all bases.  Jagex just won a court action so hopefully they'll use that money or some of it to make the game run a bit better too.
Thanks again for the help - I imagine the problem is a mixture of my computer being old-ish, and the game itself being problematic.  Perhaps there are some other issues too.
dave
Plusnet Help Team
Plusnet Help Team
Posts: 12,257
Thanks: 306
Fixes: 4
Registered: ‎04-04-2007

Re: Is Runescape properly prioritised? sir Lagalot.

Hi,
I've just checked the config for this game in the traffic management database and the 2 game ports 43594 and 43595 are correctly defined for this game and get prioritised as titanium for this game while 443 is defined for HTTPS but would still get prioritised as gold.
If you run a wireshark you can check yourself to see if the game is being identified correctly or not. Details of how to do that are available here:
http://community.plus.net/library/faults/using-wireshark-for-data-capture/
Does the lag happen at any time of day or specific times? Do you notice problems with anything else? For example, if you see it lagging try stopping the game for a minute and run a speedtest and see if the speed of that is slower than normal. If the traffic is correctly being identified but the lag happens all the then it's more likely something local like your PC or the game as you say but if it's just certain times and the speedtest is lower (during business hours or just in the evening for example) then it's more likely congestion somewhere between you and us. Just helps narrow things down so we know where to look.
Dave Tomlinson
Enterprise Architect - Network & OSS
Plusnet Technology
Gorvul
Grafter
Posts: 161
Registered: ‎01-08-2007

Re: Is Runescape properly prioritised? sir Lagalot.

I might even be describing it incorrectly as lag - I use that term to describe the sluggish gameplay,   My pings are excellent by the way, but I've been doing more investigating today, and my CPU usage rockets over 90% when I play, so that would suggest it's at my end too.  Also, as I said above, there have been other players of the game who are experiencing very low fps, even though their computer specs should really be getting much higher fps.  
So, I'm actually more convinced at this point that my PC and the game makers themselves (who are working to make the game run faster currently too), are the main culprits.
Thank you for verifying "the 2 game ports 43594 and 43595 are correctly defined for this game and get prioritised".   443 being prioritised as Gold - I assume that is still very good.

Quote from: dave
Does the lag happen at any time of day or specific times? Do you notice problems with anything else? For example, if you see it lagging try stopping the game for a minute and run a speedtest and see if the speed of that is slower than normal. If the traffic is correctly being identified but the lag happens all the then it's more likely something local like your PC or the game as you say but if it's just certain times and the speedtest is lower (during business hours or just in the evening for example) then it's more likely congestion somewhere between you and us. Just helps narrow things down so we know where to look.

The lag happens pretty much most of the time.  Perhaps it is time for me to look at a new PC.  Though this one is fine really apart from being able  to play Runescape properly - I have put a bid in on ebay for a faster CPU, but I won't put a  second bid in, as I don't like to pay too much for what are obsolete parts.
My spec is - ahtlon xp 2200 CPU, ati radeon x1650 pro (512MB) card, 2GB RAM, 7200 speed HDD, and a 430W Antec PSU.  I'd have thought  that was good enough, but maybe it isn't.  I play the game on virtually its minimum settings.   I've tried all sorts of other things like trying different system drivers, changing java memory settings (the game is a java browser based game, though I play using the official RS Client).
A few months ago I did a clean re-install of Win XP and drivers etc too to try to help.
I think I need to just let some time pass while Jagex hopefully improve the speed issues at their end.  Perhaps I'll spend some  money on a newer PC too.
Thanks for all the help in this thread.   If anyone has further suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them.