Lag Busting

Understanding Lag

There are generally three different types of lag:

Latency

This is caused by network congestion or connection issues.

Symptoms of latency include:

• falling through the world when first joining or teleporting to another region (your client isn't loading the world quickly enough).
• unexplained kicks to another server (this happens when our proxy detects that your connection is failing and tries to "keep it alive" by reconnecting you to the next available server).
• significant delays in command or chat execution.
• "rubber banding", or snapping back to a previous location due to de-sync between the server and your client.
• complete disconnection from the network.

Measuring Latency

One of the measures of latency includes your ping, which is how long it takes a packet of information to travel from your computer to the server and back again, measured in milliseconds. A visual representation of your ping on BadWolfMC is available for Java clients in the tab list. It can also be measured more precisely by using the /ping command. A ping in the double digits is generally considered good, but the lower this number is the better.

Another great measure of latency is a tool called WinMTR, which runs a traceroute while also detailing any packet loss along the way.

A basic traceroute can also help, although by itself isn't as useful for diagnosing issues. This tool is built into your computer, though, so it doesn't require additional downloads:

On Windows: Open the Command Prompt by pressing the Windows key + R, typing "cmd", and pressing Enter. Then, type "tracert" followed by a space and the destination's IP address or web address. For example, to trace your connection to our game servers, you would type "tracert play.badwolfmc.com".

On Mac: Open the Network Utility by opening Spotlight (Left Cmd + Spacebar or Click the Magnifying Glass on the right of the Menu Bar) and typing "Network Utility". Then, choose Traceroute, enter a destination, and click Trace.

Graphics Lag

Also referred to as FPS lag, this occurs when the player's machine does not have enough processing power for the demands being put on it. Symptoms include FPS drops, frame stuttering, longer resource pack loading, and game crashes.

Server Lag

Measured by a server's Ticks Per Second (TPS) on a scale of 1-20, this is how long it takes the server to execute the functions of the game. A perfect TPS will be 20, meaning everything is running on time, while anything below 16 may indicate that some processes are taking too long and players may experience noticeable lag.

It should be noted that TPS is measured both on the server and the client (client TPS is viewable in your F3 screen), but they are separate and largely unrelated. Client TPS is mostly only useful as a metric in single-player mode.

Thanks to our dedicated setup and significant optimization, server lag is rare on BadWolfMC. It is usually only experienced during "update seasons" when significant changes are being made to the core game and plugins, and bugs are being ironed out.

Troubleshooting Latency Issues

One of the quickest things that can help overall is using OptiFine. It's a well-known optimization mod that helps your computer process and load the world a bit easier. While it won't help with network issues, it can help mitigate some of the effects of a poor connection.

The following steps can also be taken to help solve latency issues. Generally speaking, checking your setup and clearing DNS cache should be attempted first.

Check Your Setup

• Close any other open programs on your computer that may be using resources.
• Restart your computer (yes, we know, but "turning it off and on again" is a solution to many problems)
• Prefer a wired connection if possible, since these will always be more stable than Wi-Fi.
• Restart your modem and router. Unplug the power connections from the back, wait at least one minute, plug it back in, then wait for your internet to reconnect.
• Check other devices that may be using your network, disabling any unnecessary connections. These can crowd your network and take up precious bandwidth.
• If using a VPN try switching routes to something with more bandwidth available and/or an exit point near Chicago, IL (the physical location of our sever).

Clear Your DNS Cache

On Windows:

Open Command Prompt as Administrator - in the Windows search bar type "Command" until you see Command Prompt in the suggestions. Right click that suggestion and select "Run as Administrator".

Type the following commands in order, hitting enter after each, and waiting for each to complete before moving on:

1. ipconfig/flushdns
2. ipconfig/registerdns
3. ipconfig/release
4. ipconfig/renew
5. netsh (by itself, it will go to a new line)
6. winsock reset (not a typo)

It will prompt you to restart your computer at this point, which you should do.

On Mac:

1. Open Terminal
2. Type sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
3. Press Enter
4. Enter your administrator password when prompted
5. Press Enter again
6. Quit Terminal

Switch DNS Servers (Advanced)

If you consistently have DNS issues (clearing the cache may help for a bit but you find yourself having to do it frequently), you might want to consider switching DNS providers.

We've had several players, especially international players, have luck by switching their DNS servers to the public Cloudflare DNS or Google DNS.

Troubleshooting FPS Issues

Again, using OptiFine will significantly help optimize your client, specifically targeting FPS problems. It provides several settings that can help to fine-tune visuals to better suit the capabilities of your machine, including reducing "nice to have" things while favoring performance, or vice versa if your machine can handle it.

The following steps can also be taken to help solve frame issues:

Download More RAM

We're kidding about the download, but it might help to allocate more RAM to your Minecraft instance if you have RAM to spare. To do this:

Check How Much RAM Is Available

Each program requires a set amount of RAM to run. Allocating more memory than what you have available can be damaging to your PC, which is why the very first step is to actually make sure how much RAM is installed on the computer. To do this, click on your Start Menu, and search for "Device Specifications". Select the item matching Systems Settings to pull up your PC's information. You should see the amount of "Installed RAM" on the right side of the window, usually a couple rows from the top.

Edit Your Minecraft Installations

Open your Minecraft Launcher, but don't hit Play just yet. Instead, look for the "Installations" tab along the top row. Click on this, then select the profile you typically play the most. This might be named something like "Latest Release" or "OptiFine". Once you've determined your profile, hover over it and click on the three dots that appear, then click "Edit".

Expand the "More Options" arrow at the bottom of the edit screen and look for the "JVM Arguments" option. There might already be some text written here. Ignore everything else but look for the argument that looks like "-Xmx2G." In this example, the number "2" indicates the amount of RAM that the computer is allowed to use to run the game. This is the number that needs to be edited, and only this number. Don't touch anything else!

Keeping in mind how much RAM was available, type in the desired amount you wish to allocate. If you have at least 16GB total available RAM, entering 4 or 6 here should be plenty. Even if you have 4 times that amount of total RAM, anything over 8 is unnecessary and may even start to have a negative impact. The flag should now look something like "-Xmx6G" but again, it's important not to allocate too much RAM, so try to keep in mind the limits of your PC. Generally, one or two more won't hurt, but everyone's PC is different. Once edited, save the installation, then click play. You'll very likely notice a difference right away.

Reduce Entities

Entities (including tile entities), redstone, blocks with transparencies, and particles are some of the worst FPS offenders. Reducing these in your area will significantly improve your FPS performance.

The worst entities include all types of mobs (animals, monsters, villagers, etc.), item frames, armor stands, chests, and signs.

Resource Packs & Shaders

Unfortunately your second favorite resource pack (since the first is obviously the BadWolfMC Resource Pack) can significantly impact your FPS. The BadWolfMC Resource Pack itself is heavily optimized and should not impact performance with the exception of some of the more complex models. One of the more common offenders is the popular "Vanilla Tweaks" resource pack, especially any 3D tweaks. You can rule out your resource pack as a factor by temporarily disabling it in your Minecraft client options.

Similarly, any shaders you may be using, while quite lovely, are often very resource heavy and should only be used on more robust systems.

Dynamic Lights

A very cool feature of OptiFine is the Dynamic Lights which is found in the Menu under "Video Settings...", but it may be another culprit. If you are experiencing significant FPS problems, you may want to try disabling this feature (some players have found this to be a problem particularly around the Alpha spawn Mall).

Video Settings

There are several video settings that can help reduce FPS issues, and we recommend trying out different settings to find a combination that works for you. Reducing render distance and setting any options to "fast" instead of "fancy" can help to reduce frame lag. OptiFine also adds additional settings here that can further tweak performance, including reducing the number of particles and changing the way some transparent blocks are handled.