Hi all.
Out of nowhere wanted to see how the top skill gameplay looks like, so I looked up the Forged Alliance Forever youtube channel to find some quality tournament casts, and I did.
My attention got caught by the 2023 Spring Invitational Finals, and I started watching that.
Chisato Vs. EspiranTo-
Quality action, but there is a problem.
Game 1, Game 2, Game 3, Game 4, Game 5 and stop.
In Game 5 huge lag is easily noticeable, the kind of lag which makes the game unplayable, the lag where roughly each 3 seconds there is a micro freeze for 0.5 - 1 second. And this is not some Dual Gap 1000+ match, this is a Tournament Finals match.
Some clarification on the adverse effect of this kind of lag: in my opinion this kind of lag is one of (if not) the worst lag there is. This lag constantly breaks the plan flow inside player's head, and looks something like this:
Enemy action -> Your original idea of reaction - > Micro freeze (empty time, concentration break, you name it) -> Your different (influenced by the lag) reaction
instead of
Enemy action -> Your original idea of reaction - > Your original reaction
What happens during this micro freeze? Your original flow of thoughts, ideas, plans breaks, thought "f*cking lag" is constantly inserted into your "build order". The game becomes not what it should be, what it must be: players, map, units, skill - no room for lag.
I do get it, how can one control his parents using up all the WIFI, the tree falling on the power lines (this is how internet works), shark killing the submarine cables, players living on opposite side of the Moon? - it's totally uncontrollable and people want to play, indeed, but again, this is not some 3 v 3 TMM on map gen we're talking about, we're talking about the Tournament Finals.
Now I don't want to come across as some random hater, but seriously, lag in the finals?
Okay, for the sake of it I won't point fingers, but the lag man...
Now how did that came to be? "Well, sometimes I lag, sometimes I don't" - you might hear the answer - legit reason? Legit reason for your opponent not only dealing with huge stress (the finals...) but he also must suffer through this constant micro freezing? I think not.
Now, the idea of "lag on purpose" is totally irrelevant here, and I doubt that some one employs this kind of tactic to pursue his sick ambitions of getting that rank. But does this lag in the same way influences the laGGer himself? Or the lager is immune to the effects of his own lag? - We shall never know.
So now, let's get back to the message behind this topic...
The lag tolerance?
The cure for the lag?
No.
The hate for the lag, not for the lager, the player who just simply wants to play, but for the lag itself.
But how can one kill the lags? The lag itself can't be killed, it's just part of the nature.
But we as the intellectual beings can do what about it?
Prevent lagers from playing?
How? Will it solve the issue?
Developing some application that before starting the game measures the lag potential between players and decides who plays and who doesn't?
Something must be done.
The War On Lag must be waged.
And now back to the Game 6 of the finals (this topic is about finals, remember?).
Well, Game 6 ended in a draw, and the Game 6 rematch was plagued with micro freezing, which made it not unplayable, but unwatchable (!).
But who won in the end? - The lag wins again.
