ON-LINE complaints with VROC/SPYBOY/GPL

Firstly, i apologise to those of you who are already aware of the topics in this post, but there are a lot of new on-line drivers out there who might find something of interest here. There has been a lot of blame placed on GPL SpyBoy for poor connection problems, loss of connection, high pings etc. etc. These problems are NOT generated by SpyBoy or by VROC for that matter, but are simply becoming more wide spread now that SpyBoy has made on-line racing through VROC a much more common pastime. The number of new on-line racers has trebled in the last couple of weeks with the introduction of SpyBoy and this has caused a few overloading problems to VROC and the on-line *** community as a whole. Not through faulty software as some of you would like to believe, but simply through added popularity I am always seeing someone blame SpyBoy for their poor on-line *** connection and to be totally frank, you don't know what you are talking about. Sure, connections have not been as good lately as they have been in the past, but that is due mainly to Internet problems. The release of IE5 put a large load on the internet, with people world wide downloading it, and recently with all the hullaboo about the new Star Wars, (no pun intended to you Ymenard) :) , the Internet has simply been run raggard, then to top it all off, Larry Holbert goes and releases a brilliant little program called SpyBoy which has added to the already overtaxed Internet and lo and behold we wonder why we slowed down a bit. sheesh !!! Both VROC and SpyBoy are simply victims of excessive use. There are a lot of new names appearing on VROC and also on RAS that have not been here before and a lot of the problems that are being generated now are simply USER based, and are NOT in any way VROC/SPYBOY/GPL related, unless you class popularity as a major bug bear.. There are numerous FAQ's available for the new on-line sim racer to peruse over, but i will go through a few of the simple things to try on your own computer, before you decide to blame the software that brings on-line racing to us all. Alison, Nate and John brought us VROC to start with and we owe them a huge favour for the time and effort they have put into it. Recently Larry Holbert has given us SpyBoy, which simply speaking, is a user friendly front end to access the VROC data base, with added chat support, amongst other things. All these people have given their time and effort for FREE, just so we can enjoy the on-line racing experiences we now do, and what's more all this software is FREE.!! So let's try to sort out our own systems first for OPTIMAL on-line play. Most of us are not blessed with Cable etc. so we have to make the most of dial-up modem connections, so this is a brief idea on how to improve yours... and i mean brief. This is simply to give you some idea of where to begin and what to play with to try to improve your on-line *** connections. Firstly, the DUN you use for the Internet is NOT suitable for on-line ***. It most likely would be using Data Compression, Error Correction, Maximum FIFO Buffers and probably going as hard as your poor little modem can peddle, or harder if i believe half of the tales i hear about.... All of the above is VERY bad news for on-line ***. You should make up another DUN for on-line ***, with Data Compression and Error Correction turned OFF. Also if you don't intend hosting, and let's face it, it is hardly worth it with a dial-up connection anyway, turn down the maximum connect speed of your modem to 24000, 26400 or 28800 at a maximum. The quality of the lines in your area, will dictate the best speed for you. This can be done in the Modem Properties tab of your DUN for the designated Modem. Read the booklet that comes with your modem for the initialization strings you need. To make more than one DUN with different modem initialization strings, you will need to go to the MODEMS in the control panel and ADD another modem. This will not overwrite your present modem settings, but will add another modem to the modems you have listed in the modem list. As you add more modems to the list, Windows will simply add a #2 #3 #4 etc etc to the end of the modem name. That way you can set up as many DUN's as you have modem names, each one with different initialization strings. Once you have your on-line DUNS set up, you will actually find disconnections and high latency's will be greatly reduced. Note: the FIFO buffers should be set no higher than the 2nd mark from the left, unfortunately these are global settings, so if you set them at the 2nd setting from the left, that is where they will remain regardless of which DUN you are using. I have not noticed any lesser performance in surfing or downloading with the buffers set there anyway, so i just leave them there all the time. Make sure you turn off Error Correction, also turn off the Data Compression and select Hardware Flow Control in you modem's properties tab for the On-Line *** DUN. If you are a paranoid type, as i am, you could also add those commands to the extra settings in the modem initialization string, just in case you don't trust windows to carry out your wishes and let's face it, who trusts windows to do anything right when it comes to *** anyway.. I have included the following line for my US Robotics 33.6k in my On-Line *** DUN.. &F1&K0&M0&U10&N13 &F1 Resets modem to standard, in case windows messed it up. &K0 Disables Data Compression, in case windows forgot. &M0 Disables Error Correction, as per above scenario.. &U10 Sets the floor connect speed to 19200. &N13 Sets the ceiling connect speed to 26400. The above is an example for the US Robotics modem, different modems will vary slightly in the initialization strings, so read your manual for further details to achieve similiar results. Secondly.. WIndows in it's infinite wisdom sets up the Port settings on the extra conservative side by default. This needs to be changed manually. To do this: Go to the Control Panel, go to System, go to Device Manager, go to Ports (com & lpt). Select Com1 , go to Port Settings, and adjust the following to read as follows: Bits per second 115200 Data 8 Parity none Stop Bits 1 Flow Control Hardware Go to Advanced and adjust the FIFO Buffers so they are 1 mark from the left side. Do the same for Com Port 2. Get out and save it all... and go and have a beer, or a diet coke. Finally, why do people insist on having to run at 1024x768 with all the eye candy on for on-line racing. Frame rates DO matter as far as warping and good on-line play go. If you are not seeing 36fps in on-line play, then your CPU is being taxed. Give your CPU a rest and turn down the resolution a bit, turn off some eye candy untill you are seeing 36 fps or as close to it as you can. You might be surprised at the difference it makes. Amother thing to keep in mind as well is to not have back ground programs running when you intend to play on-line. Just to finish this novel off, Windows 98 is superior to Windows 95 when it comes to Networking, Serial Control, Internet functionability DUN protocols and on-line ***, so if all else fails, consider that much dreaded upgrade. It may just make that final difference to having a good connection or a so so connection.. If all of the above fails, i don't want to know about it. :) I'm going to bed, goodnight. <G> Cheers, Ron

A hearty second to all Ron's comments! I would add only the following. Definitely read and act on the advice and directions for new racers on VROC, primarily with respect to the core.ini file and making graphic adjustments to ensure you're getting 36FPS. Also, check your latency when you first join a race. If it's over .400, you should probably look for another race, as the warping will just make you a hazard to everyone else in the race. At the least, inform the host and compare it to the others'. If everyone agrees to sub-par conditions, fine. But don't impose them unilaterally. Online's far from perfect, but if we all play by the "rules", it's quite liveable. Happy racing, Steve B. remove "edy" from address for email

Yes I have to say that you guys w/ bad connections are making it horrible for those of us who pay for decent connections.. I think some of us have to realize it is impossible to pass a car or be passed by a car which is warping left to right by almost double the width the car. Doesnt make racing online very fun.. Just another point, at the start of a race expect that those infront of you are going to brake early so that they dont rearend those infront.. If someone else is willing to loose a position why wouldnt you? Finishing a race is definetly more important that winning, especially if your a rookie. You can always make it up if your fast enough.. Respect your fellow drivers. Charles Buscher Guru_Hans Team Guru NROS Racing sponsored by Guru *** Systems. [link lost in import: /***.com] [link lost in import] [link lost in import] [link lost in import]

Hi Ron! I thought my recent post was long :-)) Maybe we should take turns reposting this stuff on a weekly basis, brain-washing works like that, I think! :-) with a dial-up >connection anyway Only point I'm not sure you're right: I have a ISDN-internal using DUN and no problems with ppl getting disco'd, as long as they obbey the technical rules you are decribing and I don't invite more than 5 players to join. Keep it up! Markus

Ron Thanks for the informative post on Spyboy. However I'm still not convinced as to Spyboys stability. I've only been online racing GPL since about February but I have had VERY few disconnects in that time - maybe one in every 6 hours racing (lucky me!), but when I downloaded SPyboy I now get disconnected about 3 times a night. I've tried and tried with Spyboy because its a wonderful program and I love it but it just isn't stable enough for me to use. I would like to believe that it is caused by general loading on the internet but if this is the case then why do i not get the same level of disconnects with netscape/VROC?? Spyboy is also causing other problems -*** GPL when it tries to start it etc. I'm sure this is down to some weird incompatibility with some driver or application i have installed on my PC, but i have a VERY clean install of Win95. I think i'll shortly be going to Win98/Directx6 so maybe this will help. Thanks for producing the great program anyway, i'm still using it for the chat - i'm just closing it down and using netscape when i want to join a race - hey it works for me! but what do i know? I "don't know what i'm talking about" ;) -- Mike Buckley Cotswold Pig Development Co Ltd Tel: +44 (0)1472 371591 Fax: +44 (0)1472 371208

On Tue, 20 Apr 1999 15:47:50 +0100, Mike Buckley >Thanks for the informative post on Spyboy. However I'm still not >convinced as to Spyboys stability. I've only been online racing GPL >since about February but I have had VERY few disconnects in that time - >maybe one in every 6 hours racing (lucky me!), but when I downloaded >SPyboy I now get disconnected about 3 times a night. Well GSB isn't even loaded while your logged on to VROC but if you still want to blame GSB for your disconnects from VROC have at it. Mick

Hi Mike, i'm not saying your not having problems on your specific computer, but i do know that SpyBoy is not causing your disconnection problems through on-line *** and VROC. By all means, believe what you would like to believe, but as Mickey basically said, SpyBoy does nothing on your computer when you attempt to join a race, or are even in a race.. It is simply a front end program to launch GPL, nothing more, nothing less. Do you know what a dos batch file is ? The easiest way to think of what SpyBoy does for you is to think of it as a batch file, which when run, starts GPL and when GPL finishes it resumes it's intended program loop. This does not effect connections and promote disconnections in any way possible. If you take the time to stop and think about it a bit, you will realise Netscape puts a lot more load on your computer than a batch file, which is basically what SpyBoy is. Regards Win98, i think you will find that it will be a more stable platform for your on-line *** needs, as long as you take a few minutes to fine tune your DUN connections and serial/modem configurations like i suggested in my previous post. My connections have been degraded a bit as well since a lot more people have had access to VROC, but i know what is causing my problems, and that is probably the very same thing that is causing yours. These problems are caused by three major things. 1: Popularity, which had created a lot more sim drivers trying to get on-line, resulting in occasional band flooding. 2: Lack of understanding regarding what is needed/necessary for on-line *** regarding DUNS, serial setups etc. This has created a new set of on-line gamers whose previous experience with on-line *** may have been an occasional modem hook-up with a friend. They are the cause of most of our problems regarding disconnections, and untill we can educate them on the basics of on-line tuning, our problems will continue whenever one of these individuals try joining a race through VROC. 3: Too many people are trying to join races at one time. This of course depends on the host's link to the net and his/her available bandwidth specifications. This problem will be alleviated with the release of GPL 1.1 as it has the ability for the host to limit the number of clients to join his/her race. Some people i have spoken to in chat, do not even know what a core.ini file is, not to mention where it should go and then turn around and complain about clock smashes, disconnections and how bad GPL on-line is. The simple truth of the matter regarding successful on-line *** is education. I hope you have success with Win98, as there is nothing wrong with the batch file you are using to join GPL on-line... :) Cheers, Ron > Thanks for the informative post on Spyboy. However I'm still not > convinced as to Spyboys stability. I've only been online racing GPL > since about February but I have had VERY few disconnects in that time - > maybe one in every 6 hours racing (lucky me!), but when I downloaded > SPyboy I now get disconnected about 3 times a night. I've tried and > tried with Spyboy because its a wonderful program and I love it but it > just isn't stable enough for me to use. I would like to believe that it > is caused by general loading on the internet but if this is the case > then why do i not get the same level of disconnects with netscape/VROC?? > Spyboy is also causing other problems -*** GPL when it tries to > start it etc. I'm sure this is down to some weird incompatibility with > some driver or application i have installed on my PC, but i have a VERY > clean install of Win95. > I think i'll shortly be going to Win98/Directx6 so maybe this will help.

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> Thanks for producing the great program anyway, i'm still using it for > the chat - i'm just closing it down and using netscape when i want to > join a race - hey it works for me! > but what do i know? I "don't know what i'm talking about" ;) > -- > Mike Buckley > Cotswold Pig Development Co Ltd > Tel: +44 (0)1472 371591 Fax: +44 (0)1472 371208

fx:bangs head against brick wall I accept that SpyBoy is not loaded in memory when it launches GPL, but I still don't accept that its not causing some problems with my setup. When I run SpyBoy my PC is much more prone to crashes/hangups then when I don't run it. Put simply: Run with SpyBoy - more crashes, frequent disco's Run with VROC/Netscape - no crashes, odd disco's ok ok it may not be SpyBoy causing the problem but I'm getting such a consistent pattern I don't know what else it can be. Maybe SpyBoy is causing some instability in my system that only becomes apparent when I'm running GPL after SpyBoy has unloaded itself? I'm guessing here! I am familiar with DOS batch files (unfortunately) and I was aware (having read various bits on the website) how SpyBoy operates, pity it just doesn't work for me. As my ISP is fond of saying 'it must be your setup' ;) And as no one else has chipped in here saying they're having similar problems to me I guess it MUST be my setup!! (Yes, I've tuned DUN/core.ini etc) Thanks for the posts anyway and I hope my move to Win 98 will cure it -- Mike Buckley Cotswold Pig Development Co Ltd Tel: +44 (0)1472 371591 Fax: +44 (0)1472 371208 http://www.toastyhamster.freeserve.co.uk

>Thanks for the informative post on Spyboy. However I'm still not >convinced as to Spyboys stability. I've only been online racing GPL >since about February but I have had VERY few disconnects in that time - >maybe one in every 6 hours racing (lucky me!), but when I downloaded >SPyboy I now get disconnected about 3 times a night Just to add my $.02, I have been having disco problems since last December. I haven't completed many online races since then because of a 90% disconnect rate. Since running GSB, I haven't discoed AT ALL. While it may seem to be causing problems for you, I tend to doubt your claims of the program's instability. If it weren't for GSB, I wouldn't be finishing any races at all. I actually run GSB even when I am not connecting to a VROC server for the added stability. It may sound strange but GSB has totally cured my disco problem! J.

hahaha might have known!! good on ya! -- Mike Buckley Cotswold Pig Development Co Ltd Tel: +44 (0)1472 371591 Fax: +44 (0)1472 371208 http://www.toastyhamster.freeserve.co.uk