After all the connection problems we've been having I thought I'd post some of my thoughts on how things may be improved.
Now I know that whatever changes we can make to our own equipment wont effect the less than robust PD servers and game code, but anything that can be done should hopefully help a little.
Now this is the most important one. Even if you have the fastest fibre optic broadband
the PS3 should not really be wireless! (I'm especially looking at you Mr Cylinder) It should, if possible, have
a direct wired (network cable) connection to the modem/router. Even a slow Internet connection can be improved by a direct cable to the PS3.
Besides generally having less bandwidth, there are so many things that can affect a wireless link that it will cause problems at some time. Even someone walking by can have an impact. Wireless is fine for phones/tablets/laptops since if they miss the packets of information being sent by the router they just ask for them to be resent. This results in a web page loading more slowly or a video buffering - not really a problem.
For the most part the PS3 is the same. However when running a game like GT6 it requires, not necessarily a large amount of data, but a constant fast and reliable stream of information. If it doesn't get this it asks for the packets again and lagging will occur. I'm sure the "invisible" cars that happen sometimes are also caused by this.
Since the game code/servers are a bit fragile (more so than GT5) and can't seem to handle it correctly, if there is a "dodgy" connection in a room this also affects those with a solid connection causing disconnects and lock ups etc etc.
If the PS3 can't be wired directly (distance/cabling) I can recommend some Powerline Ethernet adapters. They use the electrical wiring in your house to transfer network information between themselves. You just buy a pair of these (ebay?) plug one into a power socket near to the router and the other near to the PS3. Connect to them with a couple of network cables and after the initial setup off they go. There can be some limitations (house wiring/distance/appliances etc.) but generally they give a much more reliable connection than wireless - I've previously used them myself.
If you must use wireless at least try changing the channel it uses. Most routers are left on the default auto setting for their wifi channel. However this usually means that your neighbours are using the same channel as you - which can cause cross talk and interference. You have to manually go into your router setup screen (via PC) and change the channel to a set number - Channel 11 is usually good. This may help a little - BUT WIRED IS BETTER.
And if you are using a wifi connection a wireless headset doesn't help. While they don't necessarily use the same frequency, even so (depending on the quality) some interference can occur. A wired connection and wireless headset = OK.
The GT6 manual has got some useful information about online connections. It states what it requires for optimal performance. There's some good tips on static IP address', UPnP and port forwarding. This helps, and I've done this, although it might be a little complex for some?
GT6 Connection information.
You can also add the PS3 to DMZ of the router (outside the firewall) although if the UPnP is working correctly this should not be required.
A couple of in game ideas. Microphone chat will increase the load on the connection. Maybe it's best if it remains disabled? To decrease the data amount the room quality could be set to "normal" instead of high?
I also think around the time of day that we race there are also a lot of other championships running which increases the load on the servers - they need to improve them. Maybe when GT5 online finishes....
Anyway sorry for the long post, but I'm quite keen on my GT online racing experience! The time it takes to prepare for the missed races is annoying.
I'm also sorry to hijack the thread Sick but I'm sure you'll agree things aint' good at the moment.
If anyone has got further ideas on ways to improve our gaming, or even disagrees with mine, please share them. Anything to make things better would be good.
- Here's a few pics from the last two races yesterday:
