LAG

This is the number one problem of online HardWar. The main cause of lag lies in the game itself. A patch is desperately needed. Software Refinery has mentioned that the ongoing upgrades will aid in the lag situation. Until the patch is available here are some other things to keep in mind:

Test run your game before hosting or joining. Run a quick game of HardWar to see if it is running smoothly. If a fragmented drive or other local problem is making it lag offline, don't expect much from online play. This test is really important if you plan to run other programs in the background like listening to MP3s or something. Hosts, get your game named and started before going online to make sure everything's running okay on your machine.

Shut everything down and open HardWar all by itself first. This seems to allow HardWar to get the RAM it needs. It's really sped up my games. It seems that if you go online and get other things running first, HardWar doesn't claim the RAM it needs to run smoothly. Open HardWar first, start the game offline, shut down, and keep the Main Launch screen open while getting online and setting up. This seems to fix the low RAM problem.

Check your connection by surfing a little while you're posting the game to the bulletin board. You should be surfing smoothly before you host a game. This gives you a rough indication of your overall speed and bandwidth. If you can surf okay, your connection probably won't be a problem.

Optimize your throughput. This is easily accomplished by freeware like iSpeed or the like. Windows optimizes throughput for computers connected to a LAN and not an ISP like so many users have. Many programs are available to reset Windows Registery settings to optimize these TCP/IP connections.

Play during your ISP server's slow times. Playing during a time when everyone in your area is on the 'Net will kill your bandwidth and slow down your game. This goes for both hosts and joining pilots.

I have previously stated on the site that you can optimize the online game by restricting options like Moth-hopping and restricting the game to Alpha Crater. Experimentation has proven this false. There's almost no difference in lag between fully featured games and limited ones. I lean toward the fully featured ones now.

The more pilots that join a game, the slower that game goes. Most good connections will carry four pilots total before the lag gets bad. Two pilots make no real difference at all. Again, the better the overall connection, the more pilots can join before serious lag sets in.

Most lag problems originate in all of the servers and routers that must be connected and the lack of bandwidth caused by overall heavy traffic. Sometimes no matter what you do, you'll still have a laggy game. Just try, try again.