[Torpidheart]

Hey guys. Ever since I heard about gamepath and lowerping i've been wondering if they were really too good to be true. I've since signed up to gamepath and the short version of everything that follows in this post is I will never play an mmo without gamepath again.

After they did all the fixes on the beta servers a couple days ago I was finally able to play with a stable connection, but I was still suffering massive lag because I am connecting all the way from Newman in Western Australia. The best connection available here is 20 mbit down / 1mbit up, and distance from the exchange means that works out to be more like 12 / 0.9 for most of my town.

The main test I used to compare the before and after was a simple ping test in-game. I simply did a /ping every 10 seconds over 2 minutes, recorded the 12 results, and noted the lowest, highest, and average ping for those 12 numbers.

The conditions for my test were as constant as I was able to make them, meaning there was no different software other than those programs necessary to use gamepath running during the before and after tests.

As stated my connection is from Newman, WA. My path to the US has to be routed through Sydney, which is on the other side of Australia, so most oceanic players should get better results than me. From what I understand all of the NA aion servers are in Washington, I did my testing on the Siel server.

A quick note before the results. Gamepath offers dozens of servers for you to route through in the US, malaysia and singapore. The servers are individually identified as gates with specific numbers, and gates in the same physical location are organized into groups. I tested a gate from every group of servers gamepath currently has in the US:

BEFORE (Standard connection, no gamepath software installed yet)
Lowest ping - 606
Highest ping - 756
Average ping - 680

AFTER (Using Widecap and Putty to connect through various gamepath gates)
Gate 0 (Los Angeles)
Lowest - 338
Highest - 406
Average - 362

Gate 1 (Los Angeles)
Lowest - 331
Highest - 384
Average - 349

Gate 2 (Los Angeles)
Lowest - 391
Highest - 450
Average - 419

Gate 31 (Los Angeles)
Lowest - 388
Highest - 556
Average - 440

Gate 4 (Los Angeles)
Lowest - 381
Highest - 487
Average - 414

Gate 5 (Los Angeles)
Lowest - 334
Highest - 406
Average - 359

Gate 6 (Los Angeles)
Lowest - 362
Highest - 444
Average - 401

Gate 8 (Los Angeles)
Lowest - 328
Highest - 387
Average - 352

Gate 1011 (Dallas)
Lowest - 331
Highest - 384
Average - 353

Gate 103 (Boston)
Lowest - 428
Highest - 491
Average - 439

Gate 10 (Seattle)
Lowest - 400
Highest - 522
Average - 434

Gate 1002 (Atlanta)
Lowest - 322
Highest - 344
Average - 328

Gate 1021 (Atlanta)
Lowest - 331
Highest - 347
Average - 334

I am now using Gate 1002 in Atlanta and experiencing gameplay easily 3 or 4 times more enjoyable than before. The results are not just in numbers, I of course tested gamepath in many aspects of the game, including combat, flight, gathering nodes and travel. I find I can now easily pull off chain spells without diificulty and can fit in twice as many attacks in the same period of time as before. I no longer experience rubber banding and it even takes me less time to log in.

I'm spreading the word of my own accord because of how blown away I am by this service. I quite honestly can say i've never spend $6 a month on something better. I haven't been offered anything to post this here, I just seriously believe any aussie willing to spend the money on this should at least try it (I found out after signing up theres a free test you can use to try it out for free).

If you wanna see my original testimonials (with replies from the gamepath forum admin) you can go here. My first post is the last post on page 2, but somebody quotes it at the start of page 3 so you can see it all there.

Edit: I've been asked to add a note about the subjectivity of my results. Just because I got the best ping via the atlanta gates doesn't mean you will too. It actually says on the gamepath website that most Oceanic players getting a better connection to Washington by routing through the Seattle and Los Angeles servers. That's why the first test I performed was just a comparison of standard Aion and playing via the Seattle gate. I suggest you take the time to at least try one gate from each city, or at least a couple from the west and east coasts respectively, using the free trial.

This post has been edited by Torpidheart: 09 September 2009 - 02:04 PM
Reason for edit: Clarification request

[Elusive]

All though I dont suffer from massive MS, it`s pretty variable. I thought it was just the nature of Beta, but if it continues after the launch, I might as well give this a shot. Thank you for the information!

[Linked713]

Do NOT use gamepath on windows 7 as it is really instable and you can screw up your internet connection. I tried it, could ping and resolve names but no programs could use the net. had to system restore before the installations. Worked well on vista, but then again had some connection issues appearing after.

Lag is fixed anyway. no use for gamepath.

[Paniac]

Linked713 said:

Lag is fixed anyway. no use for gamepath.

His post was aimed mostly for Oceanic players, not for those of us (like yourself) here in NA. The distance from Aus/NZ/etc to the US remains just as far as it did a week ago and I don't see it being moved closer any time soon :)

[Linked713]

Paniac said:

His post was aimed mostly for Oceanic players, not for those of us (like yourself) here in NA. The distance from Aus/NZ/etc to the US remains just as far as it did a week ago and I don't see it being moved closer any time soon :)

Thanks for the input I was not aware of the EU situation as I guessed that Lag issue was fixed for both locations.

[Thr33]

All I have to say to the OP is "YOU HAVE A LOT OF PATIENCE"!!!

Damn you logged in with each and every gate of Gamepath almost and pinged 10 times in game ? Seriously it takes a lot of patience,especially when people are having soo many issues trying to just get into the login server,lol.

I've been using Gamepath since OB started and I'm really impressed with their service.(Was using Lowerping to play WoW for years,they are good too)

Originally W/o any proxy to Aion servers they gave me around 600-800 MS.
With Gamepath to Aion servers I get 250-350 MS and its more consistent.

Really helps those not in and around NA.Give it a try at your own RISK !!!

This post has been edited by Thr33: 09 September 2009 - 10:45 AM

[Torpidheart]

Haha yes, I am patient. I would not have been able to perform this test on the first day of beta, as I said I only tried it after they fixed the worst of the lag.

Quote

Lag is fixed anyway. no use for gamepath.

This is true, but i'd like to offer you a snippit from the gamepath forums from a guy called Eugene, he seems to be the main admin there.

Quote

We would like to stress that Gamepath isn't just for avoiding routing issue and lag, we actually CAN and WILL lower your ping. Meaning that if NCSoft fixes their servers, you will enjoy even lower ping with Gamepath than without. There has been a misconception that Gamepath is just a simple fix, but we are more than just that!

I have seen US players posting testimonials about gamepath with claims that they play at lower ms than normal even after the lag fixes were put in place.

Also, sorry it didn't work on windows 7 :( I'm using it on Vista ultimate 64 bit, via the widecap program.

Quote

His post was aimed mostly for Oceanic players, not for those of us (like yourself) here in NA. The distance from Aus/NZ/etc to the US remains just as far as it did a week ago and I don't see it being moved closer any time soon

I remember being told in school years ago the the Australian mainland is actually floating 0.02m (yes 2 centimeters) north every year. So maybe not soon, but eventually we will escape Tasmania and New Zealand and have supar intarnetz :p.

[MugiMugi]

Linked713 said:

Do NOT use gamepath on windows 7 as it is really instable and you can screw up your internet connection. I tried it, could ping and resolve names but no programs could use the net. had to system restore before the installations. Worked well on vista, but then again had some connection issues appearing after.

Lag is fixed anyway. no use for gamepath.

I say the opposite, had no problems with gamepath beside an incompatibility between it and OpenVPN. There may be more incompatibility's but thats kind of to be expected with an application like that.

[Tsujigiri]

I'm currently playing from Argentina (though American) and Gamepath lowered my ping from 500 to 210.

EDIT: Vista 64 here too

[Organic]

Unfortunately, GamePath didn't help my connection much.

However, the Leatrix Latency Fix dropped my pings by more than half (from 350-450 down to 150-200) and has done the same for many of my legionmates, including those from outside the US (Australia, UK, etc.). It's also a free, very simple registry fix to modify how packets are acknowledged. It works for any game.

Leatrix Latency Fix : WoWInterface Downloads : WoW Tools & Utilities

This post has been edited by Organic: 15 September 2009 - 02:02 PM

[Torpidheart]

Organic said:

Unfortunately, GamePath didn't help my connection much.

However, the Leatrix Latency Fix dropped my pings by more than half (from 350-450 down to 150-200) and has done the same for many of my legionmates, including those from outside the US (Australia, UK, etc.). It's also a free, very simple registry fix to modify how packets are acknowledged. It works for any game.

Leatrix Latency Fix : WoWInterface Downloads : WoW Tools & Utilities

The TCPAckFrequency fix (as it was known before somebody put it into a .reg file and attached their name to it) is very effective yes, but it is not an alternative to using a proxy service like Gamepath, the two work completely differently to each other and complement each other for an even greater combined effect. I recommend trying both to any laggy player.

[one_each]

The big problem with using these services is a large number of people will seem to have the same IP address as far as NCSoft can see. If someone does something unacceptable (say, gold farming) then every account that uses that IP may be banned. You might be able to talk NCSoft into releasing your account but expect it to take sometime.

[Torpidheart]

Quote

sorry it didn't work on windows 7 :( I'm using it on Vista ultimate 64 bit, via the widecap program.

I am now using Proxifier instead of Widecap as there seems to be a problem with Widecap that prevents you from joining the region chat channel when you move from one zone to another.

Other than that, didn't have a single problem with Gamepath during beta (and to be fair that wasn't Gamepath's fault, Widecap is a freeware 3rd party application).

[Sshatiza]

I have been using it on windows 7 with no issues at all.

[Lord Conqueror]

Linked713 said:

Do NOT use gamepath on windows 7 as it is really instable and you can screw up your internet connection. I tried it, could ping and resolve names but no programs could use the net. had to system restore before the installations. Worked well on vista, but then again had some connection issues appearing after.

Lag is fixed anyway. no use for gamepath.

No you just f***ed up, works fine for me.

[Mungyun]

one_each said:

The big problem with using these services is a large number of people will seem to have the same IP address as far as NCSoft can see. If someone does something unacceptable (say, gold farming) then every account that uses that IP may be banned. You might be able to talk NCSoft into releasing your account but expect it to take sometime.

Yep. Ive seen several posts about this here (cant remember where tho) but one had an NCSoft person say about the same thing. However I think they just ban the account and not the IP because IP addresses can change and they wouldnt want to ban the wrong person.

[Torpidheart]

IP bans are the most inefficient form of ban possible you can use to stem misconduct and abuse, because of all the identifying characteristics used to ban a player, IP is the most easily masked / changed (whatever you wanna call it). I'm sure if a Gamepath customer is banned they will use an Account or client (hardware ID) ban.

I will eat my own face if one person manages to get every player on a Gamepath server kicked off the game for his individual actions.

[Vulcan]

I couldn't imagine playing with pings over half a second.

[Torpidheart]

Vulcan said:

I couldn't imagine playing with pings over half a second.

Sure you could... imagine this:

You're Aussie, Aion is a river, and you are racing an American from one end of the river to the other. The American is in a speed boat and you are swimming with lead weights in your clothing.

Half way down the river you find a raft with a paddle (Gamepath). You'll never catch up to the American but at least you wont be tired and wet at the end of the race.

[Maigraith]

Torpidheart said:

Haha yes, I am patient. I would not have been able to perform this test on the first day of beta, as I said I only tried it after they fixed the worst of the lag.



This is true, but i'd like to offer you a snippit from the gamepath forums from a guy called Eugene, he seems to be the main admin there.



I have seen US players posting testimonials about gamepath with claims that they play at lower ms than normal even after the lag fixes were put in place.

Also, sorry it didn't work on windows 7 :( I'm using it on Vista ultimate 64 bit, via the widecap program.



I remember being told in school years ago the the Australian mainland is actually floating 0.02m (yes 2 centimeters) north every year. So maybe not soon, but eventually we will escape Tasmania and New Zealand and have supar intarnetz :p.

it does work on windows 7, im using windows 7 RTM and putty/proxifier via gamepath all work absolutely fine, game pings lowered a lot and other online apps dont suffer any adverse effects