User talk:Toad442

When an driver operates a new automobile, they will intuitively adjust the mirrors, the steering wheel, the seat, and the radio station to better fit their comfort and driving experience. The average gamer will download a new game, complete the tutorial and not adjust a setting. This gamer will now complain and blame the game developers on the lack of comfort and poor gaming experience. Be better than the average gamer.

— Toad442

Ping Explained

Ping is the time taken for data to travel from your PC/Mobile Device, to a MS server (or another player’s PC/Mobile Device and then back to your PC/Mobile Device. That measurement is known as latency – sometimes also called lag – between the PC/Mobile Device and the MS server. Ping is measured in milliseconds (ms).

Toggling on "Game Performance" in Advanced Settings will show ping among other performance statistics. Ping helps players understand how fast their PC/Mobile Device is communicating with a MS server or another online player. The terms ‘low ping’ or ‘high ping’ are used in the context of ping speed. Low ping is preferred, as graphics render smoothly, cannon rounds and missiles hit opponents, and a player can judge timing for flaring. Players with a high ping will experience delays or lag in-game. Graphics will jitter. Weapon lock will take longer. Cannon rounds and missiles may fail to hit opponents. A player will have reduced effectiveness of flares. Ping will certainly affect the matches' outcome.

To toggle on Game Performance, tap on the menu icon on the top right:

• Tap on Settings
• Tap on Advanced
• Scroll down to Game Performance and toggle the slider to "On".
• Return to game.

The Game Performance will show pertinent game performance stats in realtime. The most important of these is frames per second (FPS) and ping. This two data statistics will give you an idea, in realtime, of how well the game is running and offer feedback if issues arise during game play.

With ping directly related to In-game performance, it is helpful to understand what makes a good ping speed for optimal game performance.

A really good ping would be around 40ms-60ms or lower. A ping lower than 150ms is considered fast. A speed of over 150ms shows a noticeable delay, A ping between 150ms and 250ms is considered tolerable, but the player will see will start seeing negative effects. A ping higher than 250ms is considered unacceptable, and players can experience loss of all control of the aircraft. A ping higher than 300ms the game can reject your connection to the server entirely. Less than 30ms would be ideal for gaming, with clear visuals, quick actions, and no lags during gameplay. Every additional 50ms can be a disadvantage.

Since a high ping causes debilitating lag, Metalstorm will display a red warning overlay on the tile of lobby members who have a ping of 250ms or higher:

Why is my ping so high?

High ping in Metalstorm can be caused by several factors. Here are some common reasons:

• Distance to Game Server: The farther you are from the game server, the longer it takes for data to travel between your PC/Mobile Device and the server. This increases ping.

• Internet Connection: Issues with your Internet Service Provider (ISP), such as slow or unstable connection speeds, can result in higher ping.

• Network Congestion: During peak hours or in areas with heavy internet traffic, network congestion can slow down data transmission, leading to higher ping.

• Wi-Fi Interference: If you're using Wi-Fi, interference from other devices or physical barriers between your device and the router can degrade your connection quality and increase ping.

• Number of Devices on Network: (ie. PCs, Laptops, Cellular Phones, Tablets Smart Televisions, Gaming Consoles, WiFi Appliances, Doorbell and Security Cameras) connected to your router which are in active use.

• Hardware Issues: Outdated network drivers, malfunctioning network adapters, lack of vailable RAM, weak Graphics Processor Unit, and weak Processor Chip Set speeds can also contribute to high ping.

• Background Processes: Other applications or devices using your network bandwidth (like downloads or streaming) can increase ping by prioritizing their data over your game data.

• Game Settings: In Metalstorm certain in-game settings (like high graphic settings or high frame rate) can increase ping due to increased data demands, hardware limitations, or inefficient routing.

• Server Issues: Occasionally, the game server itself may experience issues or overload, causing high ping for all players connected to it.

• ISP Routing: Poor routing by your ISP can lead to longer travel times for your data packets, resulting in higher ping times.

• Firewall or Antivirus Settings: Overly restrictive firewall or antivirus settings can sometimes interfere with game connections, causing higher ping or even disconnections.

• Filled Caches: Caches on your modem or router may be full.

Identifying which of these factors is contributing to your high ping can help you troubleshoot and potentially improve your gaming experience.

How to Reduce Ping

If you want to know how to improve ping to optimize your gaming experience, here are some steps you can take:

• Close programs or processes that occur in the background. Some of these applications can take up memory or initiate processes that need to access the internet, slowing down your gameplay.
• Turn off updates or schedule updates for when you are not using your PC. Updates that occur while you are playing Metalstorm can compete for bandwidth or try to download files at inconvenient times.
• Check if anyone else in your household is using a bandwidth-intensive service, such as downloading large files, streaming media, or playing a video game console. The more devices you have connected and actively using your internet connection, the higher ping you will experience.
• Check the wires between your router and the wall box. Make sure they are all fully plugged in – cable connections can become loose over time, which means they might need to be tightened.
• Consider moving your PC/Mobile Device closer your WiFi router or connecting your PC directly to the router using an Ethernet cable. You can obtain a stronger and faster connection by using an ethernet cable.
• Place your router in an open space. Walls and objects can obstruct our wireless internet connections. Review whether your router is in a clear and open space and whether it is set up correctly.
• Update your router’s firmware. PC/Mobile Device(s) can slow down when software or security updates are necessary, and the same applies to routers, so make sure your router’s firmware is up to date.
• Turn your router off and turn it back on again. Unplug the power cable from your router and wait for a minute before plugging it back in again. If your setup comprises a separate router and modem, make sure you turn both off and not just the router. This clears your router’s cache. A full internet cache can slow down your PC/Mobile Device.
• Wireless connections suffer packet loss from encryption technologies (VPN) and servicing multiple devices at once. There is no advantage in running Metalstorm through a VPN. Consider removing unused devices from your WiFi network.
• Consider buying a new router. If you are using the default router supplied by your internet service provider (ISP), you may not be making the most of your connection. ISPs can increase internet speeds within their infrastructure or offer you faster speeds. You may have a router that is not capable of handling the increased speeds. Upgrading to a better router might help you get improved connection speeds and improve your Wi-Fi coverage too.
• Consider a higher-bandwidth internet plan. Contact your internet service provider if you have followed the above steps and are still dissatisfied with your ping. Your ISP will usually be able to detect and fix any potential issues remotely and should improve speeds. If there are no faults with your connection, it could be time to consider switching to another provider. A higher-bandwidth internet plan can maybe be the best thing you can do to improve your overall gaming performance.
• Consider a higher-bandwidth cellular plan. Contact your cellular service provider if you have followed the above steps and are still dissatisfied with your ping. A cellular data plan may offer higher-bandwidth depending on your geographical location.

Ping - Mobile Device Considerations

• If using a Mobile Device, consider downloading a Internet Speed Test App, and run a scan on your WiFi network and also on your Cellular Network separately. The WiFi indicator on your Mobile Device may indicate that it has strong connection to the router. This is just the connection to the router alone. That WiFi indicator will not tell you if there is poor internet connectivity feeding the router. A Speed Test will show you any issues with connectivity to both the ISP and Cellular Provider. Depending on geographical location, a player may find better higher-bandwidth to Metalstorm through Cellular rather than wired internet.
• Consider the amount of Random Access Memory (RAM) on your Mobile Device. At the absolute lowest, 2G of RAM is just enough to run Metalstorm. What in-game performance you will see with only 2G of RAM is poor at best. Older devices just cannot run Metalstorm effectively. RAM figures are an indication of how well the Mobile Device's chip set can process computing functions like loading and playing Metalstorm. If you do not have enough available RAM, Metalstorm will put excessive stress on your processor chipset. Ping will suffer. Your Mobile Device battery will suffer.
• Many of us use Discord in conjunction with Metalstorm. Understand that you are streaming audio through Discord, and playing the game on the same device. This puts stress on the processor chipset. Ping will suffer. Cosider running Discord on a separate device.
• Consider Bluetooth peripherals (eg. headphones, earbuds, gaming controllers) vs wired peripherals. Bluetooth puts stress on the processor chipset as the device now needs to create a micro-network and pass data to and from the Bluetooth peripherals(s). Ping can suffer. Your device's battery will surly suffer. Using wired peripherals removes the processor chipset from the operation. No ping loss, no stress on the battery, and with wire, there is no latency (lag) associated with your inputs running through the [Bluetooth] processor to interact with Metalstorm.

Frame Rate Explained (PC and Mobile Device)

What is Frame Rate?

Frame rate is the frequency in which a consecutive series of frames or images can appear on a PC/Mobile Device display panel. This frequency is usually measured by Frames Per Second (FPS). For example, at 30 FPS, 30 distinct images would appear in succession within one second. This shows motion in-game. If the FPS is too low, in-game motion will appear to jitter. If the FPS is too high, synchronization errors occur, which will put stress on your PC's Graphics Processor Unit (GPU), or your Mobile Device's processor chipset. Again, in-game motion will appear to jitter and screen tearing may occur.

Importance of Frame Rate.

• Smooth Gameplay: Higher frame rates result in smoother and more fluid movement on-screen, which is crucial for fast-paced games where quick reactions are required.
• Responsiveness: A higher frame rate reduces input lag, making the game feel more responsive to player actions.
• Visual Clarity: More frames per second make animations and transitions appear smoother, enhancing overall visual clarity and realism.
• Competitive Advantage: In multiplayer games, a higher frame rate can give players a competitive edge by providing faster updates on screen changes and opponent movements.

The Relationship of Frame Rate with Ping.

Again, Ping is the time taken for data to travel from your PC/Mobile Device, to a Metalstorm server (or another player’s PC/Mobile Device and then back to your PC/Mobile Device). Frame rate and ping are largely independent but can indirectly affect each other:

• Resource Allocation: Higher frame rates require more computational resources (GPU, and Processor Chip Sets).
• Network Priority: When your RAM, GPU, and Processor Chip Sets are heavily tasked with rendering high frame rates, they may prioritize processing graphics over handling network data.
• Delayed Network Updates: In some cases, this can delay the processing of network packets related to your game's position, actions, or updates, leading to higher ping.

Network and Rendering Interplay:

• Shared Resources: Both rendering frames and processing network data share resources within your device (RAM, GPU, and Processor Chip Sets).
• Bursts of Data: High frame rates can cause bursts of network data (refresh of network traffic updates to Metalstorm servers or receiving data) to be delayed or processed less frequently.

In summary, frame rate is crucial for a smooth and responsive gaming experience, affecting visual quality and gameplay feel. It can be adjusted through in-game settings and hardware configurations. While frame rate itself does not directly cause ping to increase, the strain it places on your PC/Mobile Device hardware can impact how efficiently network data is processed, potentially leading to higher ping times during gameplay.

Graphics Explained

To adjust Graphics settings, tap on the menu icon on the top right:

• Tap on Settings
• Tap on Graphics
• Scroll down to individual setting, make adjustments.
• Return to game

On PC

Max FPS: This determines your Frame Rate. Your choices are Unlimited FPS, 30, 60, 120, 144, 240 FPS. Ideally for the average offering PC you want to keep this at 30 FPS or 60 FPS. The main limiter of FPS is your monitor. The standard offering monitor only handles 60 FPS. Going above 60 FPS will cause screen tearing and overload your GPU. You will get poor video performance and run the chance of raising your Ping due to your PC trying to force 144 FPS or 240 FPS to a monitor that cannot handle the load. If you have a dedicated gaming monitor, you can handle 144 FPS or 240 FPS, but this must be within reason. At some point the standard PC GPU cannot handle that high of a frame rate. It will stress the GPU and rest of the PC hardware, leading to high Ping. You can upgrade your PC GPU to a dedicated gaming GPU, and run it in conjunction with a dedicated gaming monitor and achieve stable 144 FPS or 240 FPS without stressing the hardware. If you try for Unlimited FPS, a serious investment in dedicated gaming hardware is needed. For those that have the standard offering PC, choose 30 FPS or 60 FPS. 60 FPS will make game play look and feel better, but remember, you still have to worry about your network connection being able to maintain 60 FPS of game play.

Vertical Sync: Vertical Sync[ronization] is described in detail below. On a standard offering PC with a standard offering monitor, you want the settings to be "Off" or "1". For those with a dedicated gaming setup or ultra wide monitors, the setting can be changed to "2" or "3". No all monitors and GPU are created equal. You will have to play with this setting to determine what is the best for your hardware. It is suggested to load up a custom map, manipulate VSync settings and find out what is the best setting for you.

Visual Quality: Visual quality is really just map detail. Cracks in rocks, sand on shore lines, vegetation detail on the ground. The higher the visual quality, the higher the amount of pixels on the map. The pixels must refresh to show movement. The more pixels that are on the screen, the more stress to the GPU. More stress, more ping, more of a chance for lag. It is suggested to lower the visual quality to a lesser value than Ultra. Higher visual quality offers nothing more than additional movement, and it offers nothing to game play other than ascetics.

Resolution Scale: This determines the physical size of the pixel rendered in every frame. The lower the resolution, the larger the pixel. The higher the resolution, the smaller the pixel. With high resolution, more pixels are on the screen. The pixels must refresh to show movement. The more pixels that are on the screen, the more stress to the GPU. More stress, more ping, more of a chance for lag. It is suggested to lower the resolution scale to a lesser value to where you can still see opponents aircraft in the distance.

Texture Quality: Texture quality directly impacts shadow effects in-game. The more shadowing that renders, the more stress on the GPU. A stressed GPU can give you lag or ping issues. It is suggested that you turn down the texture quality to the lowest level that you can effective fly through terrain and still determine where rocks and tunnels are rendered clearly.

Water Reflections: The water graphics in-game can be set to Static or Realtime. Static will show minimal waves an water effects. Realtime will show off the fine details of the water modeling in-game with additional movement from the water modeling. If for any reason you point your aircraft in a direction that water renders on the screen, the water movement can stress the GPU. It is suggested to place the water refection setting to static to reduce the additional movement as it offers nothing to game play other than ascetics.

Vertical Sync Explained (PC only)

Vertical Synchronization (VSync) is a display setting that is designed to keep your computer monitor running in sync with your computer’s Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). VSync is designed to sync the game’s frame rate with the refresh rate of a computer monitor. This setting is present to address the issue of screen tearing, which can occur when your screen simultaneously presents portions of multiple frames. Screen tearing arises when the monitor’s refresh rate (the frequency at which it updates per second) is not synchronized with the FPS being produced by the GPU.

Screen tearing can occur at any time, though it is most prevalent during fast visual game play, particularly when a game runs at a higher frame rate than the monitor can handle, or when the FPS changes dramatically and the monitor cannot keep up. It is particularly noticeable during games with multiple aircraft, firing multiple weapons, with terrain detail seen in your view. When this happens, the frames can not line up correctly, and cause screen jittering. VSync does a few things to help mitigate this. It limits the frame rate output by the GPU to the monitor’s refresh rate (which is generally 60Hz, [60 FPS], unless you have a dedicated, gaming, high refresh rate monitor), making it easier to avoid higher FPS than the monitor can handle.

VSync settings limit the GPU from doing anything to the display memory until the monitor has concluded its current refresh cycle — effectively not feeding it any more information until it’s ready for it. VSync synchronizes the rendering of frames onto the monitor only when it has finished a refresh cycle. By forcing frames to be entirely rendered before being displayed, your FPS can suffer, and at best, your FPS is limited to the refresh rate of your monitor. In-game, higher FPS can lead to reduced input lag, it can cause cannon rounds and missiles to appear to miss, and flare performace to appear out of time with an opponent's missile. This ultimately affects your competitive performance. By adjusting your VSync settings to match your specific laptop/PC/monitor/television setup so you can mitigate screen tearing. VSync only helps with screen tearing, and it only really does that by limiting FPS when necessary. If your monitor cannot keep up with the FPS of the game, then VSync can make a big difference. It is suggested to run a custom match by yourself, and adjust the VSync settings until you find an optimal setting for your hardware setup. If you have a relatively standard laptop or PC, a VSync setting of "Off" or "1" would be ideal. If you are running a dedicated gaming laptop or PC, with a high performance GPU and high performance monitor or television, a VSync setting of "2" or "3" may be ideal. There is a area of diminishing returns. Over applying VSync is hard on the RAM which will cause a drop in FPS and possibly a raise in Ping figures. It is really up to the player to determine the best setting for their hardware.

On Mobile Device

Max FPS: This determines your Frame Rate. Your choices are 30 FPS and 60 FPS. Ideally for the average modern Mobile Device you want to keep this at 30 FPS. The main limiter of FPS is your processor chip set. At 60 FPS you are stressing your Mobile Device's processor chip set. This processor chip set needs to handle audio, visual, player inputs, and network connection. If you do one thing to stress any of those functions, you stress the entire Mobile Device and you will see ping and lag issues. Also, stressing the processor chip set greatly diminishes battery life. For those that have the newest and best Mobile Device with a high performing WiFi, 60 FPS will make game play look and feel better, but remember, you still have to worry about your network connection being able to maintain 60 FPS of game play.

Visual Quality: Visual quality is really just map detail. Cracks in rocks, sand on shore lines, vegetation detail on the ground. The higher the visual quality, the higher the amount of pixels on the map. The pixels must refresh to show movement. The more pixels that are on the screen, the more stress to the GPU. More stress, more ping, more of a chance for lag. It is suggested to lower the visual quality to a lesser value than Ultra. Higher visual quality offers nothing more than additional movement, and it offers nothing to game play other than ascetics.

Resolution Scale: This determines the physical size of the pixel rendered in every frame. The lower the resolution, the larger the pixel. The higher the resolution, the smaller the pixel. With high resolution, more pixels are on the screen. The pixels must refresh to show movement. The more pixels that are on the screen, the more stress to the processor chip set. More stress, more ping, more of a chance for lag, and a diminishing battery. It is suggested to lower the resolution scale to a lesser value to where you can still see opponents aircraft in the distance.

Texture Quality: Texture quality directly impacts shadow effects in-game. The more shadowing that renders, the more stress on the the processor chip set. A stressed the processor chip set can give you lag or ping issues. It is suggested that you turn down the texture quality to the lowest level that you can effective fly through terrain and still determine where rocks and tunnels are rendered clearly.

Water Reflections: The water graphics in-game can be set to Static or Realtime. Static will show minimal waves an water effects. Realtime will show off the fine details of the water modeling in-game with additional movement from the water modeling. If for any reason you point your aircraft in a direction that water renders on the screen, the water movement can stress the the processor chip set. It is suggested to place the water refection setting to static to reduce the additional movement as it offers nothing to game play other than ascetics.

Other Considerations

Every form of visual media, be it Television or Movies/Motion Picture is recorded and played at 24 FPS. You have been watching your favorite shows in 24 FPS for years. 24 FPS is more than capable of showing clear movement. 30 FPS is slightly better. Yes, 60 FPS is better than 30 FPS. Ask yourself; do you really need to go beyond 30 FPS and risk lag, ping, and battery depletion issues?

Any Blue Tooth peripheral (eg, game controller, earbuds, link to a Television, or a sound bar) requires the device you are playing on to become essentially its own router to transmit and receive data to that peripheral. No only will you have to run the game on the PC/Mobile Device, now you have to add additional stress to the processor chip set as you are using the internal WiFi module to run that peripheral. This stress can add to ping and lag issues. Where ever you can, utilize corded peripherals to take the strain off of your hardware internals and save some battery life in the process.

Avoid using external memory storage on Mobile Device(s) to run Metalstorm. When you save any game data to an external SD card, the processor chip set has to work twice as hard to run the game. The internal memory storage will require processor chip set to access the externalized data on the SD card to run the game. This effective cuts your RAM in half as the processor chip set has to look to two storage areas to retrieve all data to operate the game. Save all game date to internal storage. If you ran out of internal storage, consider deleting other apps and saved media to make room for Metalstorm. Consider upgrading your Mobile Device.

On Mobile Device, it is suggested to have at least 2G of available RAM to run the game. At this low of RAM capacity, all graphic settings will have to ran an near the lowest settings to gain performance from the game. You Mobile Device may be too old to run Metalstorm and maintain a competitive advantage in-game. Questionable Mobile Devices include and are not limited to iPhone 6, 7, 8, X, XR, SE. iPad Air 2, iPad Pro (9.7 inch). Samsung A/S 5, S6, S7, S8, S10. Galaxy Tab 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, S, S2, S3, S5. Galaxy Note 8, 10. Amazon Fire 7, 8, 9. Third party, club, and retail offerings included. It is suggested that you play Metalstorm on a Mobile Device that is better than a Truckstop, Gas Station, or Cyber Monday offering device.

Suggested Settings for Optimizing Gameplay

In-game, if it is on the screen and it moves, it can lag.

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Obviously, read and understand the content above. This is where you will get the majority of your performance gains.

Adjust your Graphic Settings

See above for more information. Again, to adjust Graphics settings, tap on the menu icon on the top right:

• Tap on Settings
• Tap on Graphics
• Scroll down to individual setting, make adjustments.
• Return to game

Manipulating these setting is the easiest way to immediately improve game performance. You can do this right now and eliminate many ping and lag issues.

Adjust your HUD Settings

To adjust HUD Settings, tap on the menu icon on the top right:

• Tap on Settings
• Tap on Advanced
• Scroll down to individual settings in Instruments, make adjustments.
• Return to game

While you are in this menu, adjust your Speed Unit, Altitude Unit, and Distance Unit to your preferred unit of measurement. It is suggested to only toggle on Altitude. You will need Altitude to determine optimal altitude for aircraft equipped with the Cruising Altitude Trait. Any other setting applied to the HUD is just more pixels that need to be refreshed with frame rate. Avoid unnecessary graphics to avoid unnecessary lag.

Adjust your Audio Settings

To adjust Audio Settings, tap on the menu icon on the top right:

• Tap on Settings
• Tap on Audio
• Scroll down to individual audio settings, make adjustments.
• Return to game

It is suggested to mute the music volume from game play. Music is just one more item that has to render during game play.

For more information regarding optimizing matchmaking, see the following link:

Template:The Matchmaker