I'd like to gather people experience with lag on the Zone and maybe find some points we should do to reduce it. Let me list what I've heard or experienced already:
1 - Zone pings aren't accurate. I've already took part in many games with red ping and had little lag. I mean, sometimes my ping is really red but it acts as some other times when it's yellow.
2 - Games in crowded rooms are more likely to lag or to have drops.
Those two points make me consider that Zone server keep sending you all that trash EVEN WHEN YOUR GAME HAS ALREADY BEGUN. I guess the server pings EVERYBODY in the room and send the trash to you, although your game room window is frozen. It leads to a conclusion:
3 - Close the game room window to have less lag.
4 - 1.5 speed lags less than 1.0. I don't think it's just an impression, as sometimes the game is almost unplayable at 1.0 and can go with little lag at 1.5. I believe AoE has a lower packet loss acceptancy at 1.0 than at 1.5. IOW, at 1.5 the slower connection will accept more packets loss and maintain synchronized than at 1.0.
5 - More people playing, more lag and drops. I don't know if it's because you have to deal with less bad connections or if it's a result of bigger maps and pop. This is a subject to be tested and I'd like to meet someone willing to try with me.
Well, what are your thoughts? ------------------
May your weapons be sharp and your ping be green