21 replies to this topic

[Appogee]

WTFast are a service that claim to be able to reduce the ping for a wide variety of games.

Is anyone here using it?

There's a thread in the Archive from 2014 where someone in SA said it improved his ping for most games ... except MWO.

But that was three years ago. Perhaps it works now...?

[El Bandito]

I tried it for one week. Didn't reduce ping for any of my games, MWO included. On the contrary it increased it.

[JediPanther]

I'd just guess that multitasking in general and running several online programs would increase ping. better pc hardware and/or isp is only thing i know of that would really reduce your ping unless you live really close to a major hub. I have to route through three states just to hit Denver.

[LordNothing]

no piece of software can make network packets travel faster than the speed of light.

[MOBAjobg]

I don't believe in such a crap.

[Metaccini Alfredo]

Back when I still played MWO I was using WTFast - I'm in SoCal now, and all my traffic gets routed through TWC/Spectrum through Los Angeles. Without WTFast my ping was 120-180ms, bouncing all over the place and dropping 1 of 10 matches. With WTFast, my ping was 90-120 - whatever it connects at, it stays at. The main benefit wasn't the decrease in ping, it was the reduction in jitter. I've used other VPN services for work purposes but the performance for gaming-centric use was poor, primarily because of the routing. WTFast did make a noticeable difference, but only if my traffic was going through LA. While travelling I tried it from other states and it usually didn't do much. I think you can do a free trial, or you can do a 3 day subscription to see if it helps. Pingzapper free used to work but not anymore, at least of the last time I played.

To be clear, I never tried it when I lived in Maui.

Edited by Metaccini Alfredo, 11 June 2017 - 06:56 PM.

[Anjian]

WTFast works like a private VPN. In effect it is.

[LittleGrim]

LordNothing, on 11 June 2017 - 06:38 PM, said:

no piece of software can make network packets travel faster than the speed of light.

No but they can force better routes and reduce packet loss. Stable ping is important for hit reg to work right, when it fluctuates is when HSR gets screwy.

[Athom83]

Get 40 ping average on the NA server. Don't really have a need to reduce it farther. Although, I have seen the very rare case of someone living in the server room with their single digit pings.

[nehebkau]

LordNothing, on 11 June 2017 - 06:38 PM, said:

no piece of software can make network packets travel faster than the speed of light.

And no piece of software sitting on your computer can force some ISP down the road to give your packet preferential treatment or routing.

Just expect it to get worse if you live in the USA or your packets transit the USA with the looming death of net neutrality.

Edited by nehebkau, 12 June 2017 - 08:45 AM.

[DAYLEET]

LordNothing, on 11 June 2017 - 06:38 PM, said:

no piece of software can make network packets travel faster than the speed of light.

but what if we put the hardware on a train going near the speed of light and heading to the server!

[Khalcruth]

DAYLEET, on 12 June 2017 - 09:16 AM, said:

but what if we put the hardware on a train going near the speed of light and heading to the server!

Well, I think this will pretty much answer that question. Well, except that you're multiplying the effect (trains are bigger than baseballs) by quite a bit.

https://what-if.xkcd.com/1/

[LordNothing]

DAYLEET, on 12 June 2017 - 09:16 AM, said:

but what if we put the hardware on a train going near the speed of light and heading to the server!

the result of that would be 100% packet loss as said train burns up in atmosphere before getting ejected into space. also if router manages to survive ordeal the ping will go up a lot. meanwhile earth would be a smoldering ruin.

ninja'd.

Edited by LordNothing, 12 June 2017 - 10:03 AM.

[LordNothing]

nehebkau, on 12 June 2017 - 08:44 AM, said:

And no piece of software sitting on your computer can force some ISP down the road to give your packet preferential treatment or routing.

Just expect it to get worse if you live in the USA or your packets transit the USA with the looming death of net neutrality.

if you pay the right bribes to the right isp, you might be able to pick up a few percentile points. because thats what this service is. ymmv depending on your isp and physical location and whatever deals these people made with owners of the various internet backbones. when these things line up it works. when they dont, you are throwing your money away.

Edited by LordNothing, 12 June 2017 - 10:09 AM.

[TKSax]

nehebkau, on 12 June 2017 - 08:44 AM, said:

And no piece of software sitting on your computer can force some ISP down the road to give your packet preferential treatment or routing.

Sure it can, you just described a VPN.

[PhoenixFire55]

A shortest route between you and your destination is a straight line. So unless WTF server is somewhere on that straight line your ping can only increase. There are specific cases when it can decrease ping, but that means that your routing to your target server is fubared for whatever reason. Regardless, free VPN services do the same thing better, have more uses and are ... well ... free.

[LordNothing]

vpns work at the same speed as the network it runs on. you actually loose some throughput in overhead as well. routers tend to open the shortest path anyway.

if this utility does anything its hack the timestamps on your packets so your ping times look shorter than they actually are when in fact its making your network slower. its just another brand of snake oil at best.

[LittleGrim]

LordNothing, on 13 June 2017 - 02:17 AM, said:

vpns work at the same speed as the network it runs on. you actually loose some throughput in overhead as well. routers tend to open the shortest path anyway.

if this utility does anything its hack the timestamps on your packets so your ping times look shorter than they actually are when in fact its making your network slower. its just another brand of snake oil at best.

Last time I used WTFast(BDO) I think my ping was actually a little higher than was reported without it. It did however give crisper response to my inputs. So rather than spamming a key to get something to go off I was able to play like a normal person. I have generally only used the tunnelling programs when the route is wonky and overly long, not looking for lower ping just network stability/reliability. Mostly have run into issues playing those Korean MMO's like ArcheAge and Black Desert, the networking doesn't seem to handle higher pings/dropped packets very well.

[TKSax]

LordNothing, on 13 June 2017 - 02:17 AM, said:

vpns work at the same speed as the network it runs on. you actually loose some throughput in overhead as well. routers tend to open the shortest path anyway.

if this utility does anything its hack the timestamps on your packets so your ping times look shorter than they actually are when in fact its making your network slower. its just another brand of snake oil at best.

I can tell you in the past I have improved my ping and latency to the MWO servers and other games using a VPN, however that was because I was able to get past a problem node in DC or NJ.

[nehebkau]

TKSax, on 12 June 2017 - 01:19 PM, said:

Sure it can, you just described a VPN.

Thats not how VPN works. The data lines the information pass through can be seen as roads, and the routers as on and off ramps, all VPN does is put your car inside a truck but it is still going down the same roads. Just because your communication is hidden inside the truck doesn't mean it gets its own special road to travel on.... so if you hit I95 and there is construction, your truck will slow down just like all the other cars....

Some may have toll roads or express lanes for your truck because they don't have to deal with what is inside but that isn't common... however you still have to unload your car from the truck on the other end.

LordNothing, on 13 June 2017 - 02:17 AM, said:

if this utility does anything its hack the timestamps on your packets so your ping times look shorter than they actually are when in fact its making your network slower. its just another brand of snake oil at best.

I've seen this before too -- marketing BS.... and don't get confused by the term: tunneling there are no worm holes on the internet.

Edited by nehebkau, 13 June 2017 - 04:47 PM.