Lag (video games)

In computers, lag is delay (latency) between the action of the user (input) and the reaction of the server supporting the task, which has to be sent back to the client. The player's ability to tolerate lag depends on the type of game being played. For instance, a strategy game or a turn-based game with a slow pace may have a high threshold or even be mostly unaffected by high lag. A game with twitch gameplay such as a first-person shooter or a fighting game with a considerably faster pace may require a significantly lower lag to provide satisfying gameplay. Ping time is the network delay for a round trip between a player's client and the game server as measured with the ping utility or equivalent. Ping time is an average time measured in milliseconds (ms). The lower one's ping is, the lower the latency is and the less lag the player will experience. High ping and low ping are commonly used terms in online gaming, where high ping refers to a ping that causes a severe amount of lag; while any level of ping may cause lag, severe lag is usually indicated by a ping of over 100 ms. This usage is a gaming cultural colloquialism and is not commonly found or used in professional computer networking circles. In games where timing is key, such as first-person shooter and real-time strategy games, a low ping is always desirable, as a low ping means smoother gameplay by allowing faster updates of game data between the players' clients and game server. High latency can cause lag. Game servers may disconnect a client if the latency is too high and may pose a detriment to other players' gameplay. Similarly, client software will often mandate disconnection if the latency is too high. High ping may also cause servers to crash due to instability. In some first-person shooter games, a high ping may cause the player to unintentionally gain unfair advantages, such as disappearing from one location and instantaneously reappearing in another, simulating the effect of teleportation, thus making it hard for other players to judge their character's position and subsequently making the player much more difficult to target.