I noticed a while ago that DayZ's thin client aka launcher (the one used to discover and connect to servers) shows incorrect latency for some servers. I live in the west coast of US and while DayOne community servers I like to play are in the east coast of US (based on IP lookup) the latency typically is 100-130ms based on the client (which seems right and the client indeed shows such values), some of the nearest official servers to me (LAX*) look also alright - 40-60ms. However I constantly see servers in Germany (based on IP range lookup - KarmaCrew, Clash) and my client reports their latency as 17-20ms. There is no way west coast US to Germany would take that turnaround time. So when I go in-game on these servers I notice the real latency (slower bullet impacts, slower door opens etc etc) and if I run '!ping' command on such community servers these show proper 170-250ms latency which is more realistic. So what I am puzzled with is why DayZ shows unrealistically low latency for some servers? If as I suspect I am not the only one seeing the values - it can explain why some gamers join servers that are distant from them and then getting into disconnects/latency issues.
Description
Details
- Severity
- Minor
- Resolution
- Open
- Reproducibility
- Always
- Operating System
- Windows 11 x64
- Category
- Launcher
While in US west coast (LAX):
- Load DayZ thin client
- Search for Clash or KarmaKrew servers (Germany)
- Observe latency for these servers (below 50ms)
Expected to show realistic latency (170-250ms)
Event Timeline
Hello bhaal.
This is how Steam estimates the ping, it is not an issue with the launcher itself.
Regards,
Geez
Hey Geez, from tech POV i understand 'not an issue with the launcher', but we talk about player affecting bugs here. The case is clear - the ping is estimated incorrectly. Are you saying cause it 'is how Steam estimates ping' Bohemia's awesome engineers can't figure out how to circumvent that?
For example a) you could escalate to Steam tech support and at the least notice the issue for them (which I assume done/tracked somewhere), b) see if the client could bypass steam's ping/latency approach with custom etc.
The answer above sounds like "not my problem" answer and I am sure you did not mean that?
@bhaal Some servers use providers that proxy Steam query requests from AnyCast POPs all over the world, so the "latency" reported to your client will be that of the AnyCast POP closest to you.
They will claim it's for DDoS protection, but it's actually to make their server show at the top of the launcher list for player regardless of where they are from. It's not really Bohemia's problem unless they wish to crack down on servers that do this, which would require effort and would be difficult to enforce.