Game stops and "catches up"

[Kalandros]

Got a bit of a weird technical problem that I can't identify the source of.

At some point during gameplay, everything stops moving, stops acting, etc - I can still cast spells, can still move around.

Chat works fine, I still see anything someone said at the time they said it.

And then after a few seconds, the game "catches up" to everything that occured since the "freeze" (the graphics never stop, the 'idle' animations are still going, just no movement from monsters and other players, only I can act).

So basically, I'm fighting T8 - freeze occurs, ballistic missile is cast during the freeze, after the freeze I see everything happen in a "fast forward" fashion and I'm dead or alive depending on how others reacted to my non-reaction.

This happens anywhere in the game, at random intervals.

I really wonder whats going on and how I can fix this.

The chat works fine during the freeze, so its very odd.

Is this CPU related? As in my processor stops handling everything and then everything goes through at once to catch up?
Is this GPU related? Task Manager and other windows things to analyze CPU usage show no drop in CPU performance or sudden 'maxed out' status, so is it my graphics card?
Is this internet related? I never get logged out during those "episodes", but im not sure if I have a disconnect icon next to my name, ill have to ask if it happens when I can communicate with someone.



Whats going on~~

[BebeJuice]

I was wondering if we had the same ISP. I have Time Warner Cable.

[Nutz]

That's definitely ISP related. You probably do have the 'disconnecting' icon next to your name for the duration of the freeze. Basically animations and such are stored client side, so your PC still plays them, but it's not receiving movement or action data from anyone but you (since your input is local). While you can act, you're probably also not sending information to the server properly either so your movements and actions may not take effect. Combos generally will not build, especially apparent on MNK, procs do not trigger or get used up, etc.

From a technical standpoint I can't really say what causes this other than it's a problem with your ISP, possibly with the routing from your PC to SE's servers. I get this sometimes with TWC as well, but usually it's either happening all the time or not at all.

[Kalandros]

Hmm, I'll have to check, its odd as it never happened before, its a sudden change ]:
Plus the fact that I live so close to the servers (15 minutes by car and I'm in Montréal) if they're still there.
I've had it good for a long time but this is really annoying!

O:

Hope I can resolve the issue soon, T9 is gonna be a nightmare otherwise.
I'll check my side of things before calling my ISP.

[BebeJuice]

It's the same for me. I have been playing since beta with Twc and I have not had this issue before until yesterday and today so far. I know someone who is having the same issue with his att but not as severe. I updated drivers and updated router firmware and still have the same issue my speed test comes up with 32 mbs down and 3.4 mbs up with a 10ms ping. Streaming movies is no problem either. Sorry to hear about your issue especially with t9 coming up.

[Velox]

While I am not using TWC, this issue has cropped up for me with the implementation of patch 2.35. Prior to the patch my connection was flawless except for minor hiccups Tuesdays (which were attributed to sudden increases in server population). I contacted my ISP and so far no issue seems to be on their end. Tracking packet information shows they aren't getting hung up until they are within SE's network.

Given all this, I'm more inclined to believe the problem stems from changes made with 2.35 and not ISP related.

[Kalandros]

Yea, 2.3 was fine until about 2.35 indeed.

And we'll probably never hear about this from Square-enix
]:

Stuck forever with this issue, not sure I'll endure for much longer....
Also, not on TWC either.

[Kalandros]

Yea just did some T9 with this issue.

Its unplayable. Never know when its gonna do it next and screw everyone up.

Square-Enix, please look into this. Its unbearable.

[MogaMan]

It's probably a packet loss issue. It can either be caused by the distance your data has to travel through the world (thanks for putting ALL datacenters in Canada, SE), your own ISP or possibly by interference with your Wi-Fi signal if you're using a wireless connection.

If you use Wi-Fi, try changing the broadcasting channel on your router to one that has less noise. Or switch to a wired connection if you can.

Otherwise you could try using a VPN program like WTFast or Pingzapper to streamline the flow of data to the server, though those require a subscription.

[Kalandros]

Cabled connection. Updated Firmware.
I live right next to the datacenter.

This only started occurring after they messed around with the problems of patch 2.35.

Also seems I do not ever get a DC icon next to my name when this happens and I have clear Teamspeak communication during these 'episodes'.


Ugh.