Online Gaming For The Least Fortunate : How To Get The Best Gaming Performance From Your Slow Internet Speed

This represents my first how-to article.

All of us Bangladeshis have known it and longed to try it out, that is, online gaming – the major step forward for video games. But every Bangladeshi knows that to attempt such a feat is a complete suicide, with net speeds in the mere single digit kilobytes per second and webpages that take forever to load, online gaming is nothing but a luxury to behold. But we’ve known it and seen it – the likes of World of Warcraft with over seven million subscribers, many of us have dreamed to divulge in this far-away treasure.

But take heart people! It seems that online gaming is not so far away from our grasp. Today, I will give you some advice on how to play online games even on slow net connections, right now, right here! I’ve had my own experiences as a successful online gamer in Bangladesh and here is what I’ve learned to get you up and running.

1. Turn off bandwidth zapping programs: You would be surprised at the increase in your net speeds. Turn off windows automatic updates, your antivirus/firewall updates, etc. during the time of your online play. Look for background apps that require an internet connection and give them the boot – you want to squeeze out the last drop out of your bandwidth. Just remember to turn you updates back on again!

2. Do a spyware/adware scan: No, this isn’t your routine security maintenance. All of these notorious programs call back to its creator at the expense of your bandwidth. So, eliminate them!

3. Choose a server closest to you and with the least ping: While inside a game lobby, choose a server that is closest to your location. This reduces the time that it takes for the data to travel and, ultimately, reduces lag. Most games automatically clalculate the time required and displays it as “ping”. So choose the game server with the lowest ping.

4. Don’t play shooter/action games: Try games, such as racing and strategy, which are still playable under lag. I personally don’t recommend playing fps games as lag will constantly get you fragged and pwned – no matter how good you are.

5. Play at off-peak hours: Usually this time is after midnight when more people are sleeping than surfing. So less people are on your ISP’s network and, therefore, you will gain a lot of increase in speed. In a couple of times playing online at off-peak hours, lag was virtually eliminated!

6. Switch to a better ISP: It is a common fact that different ISPs provide different speeds at the same price (see my post “The Search for a better ISP” at http://www.gamersworldbd.com/2006/08/search-for-good-isp-fed-up-with-worst.html). So you could get an increase in your net speed by just switching your ISP and you will still be paying the same. One ISP that I particularly recommend is Sirius Broadband. Not only do they have a dedicated gaming server for local play, but they also offer a meaty 128 kbps connection at an affordable price. Note: I was NOT paid by Sirius Broadband to write this post.

If you take care to follow these guidlines that I have mentioned, I’m sure that you will be gaming online in no time. But that also means you gotta own legal copies of your favourite games (sorry, pirated games do not work online). A good and immensely popular online game that I recommend is Savage. It is an interesting blend between strategy, action and roleplaying, so check it out at http://www.s2games.com/savage/downloads.php. And it’s only 150 MB in size!

I hope this helps. Just leave a comment below to let me know how it turned out. You can also share your own tip. If you have a 360 and do make it online, then make sure to invite me to yout game. My gamercard is TUSHAR451. And happy online gaming everyone!