Dark-Orbit

After doing some searching i got some very helpful information from my ISP and also searching the internet that i felt that i might as well share with everyone to benefit from and hopefully sort your lag problems out.

I have seen on here that people have been having problems with virgins isp and there DNS servers and other problems that have been causing problems with internet browsing game play and other problems to do with internet.

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Some of you might know this already and would advise to do and to see if you can get your ping response changed down to 8ms or 16ms from 32ms.

Most ISP's have a number of ping response settings that they can change to others will have one or 2 depending on the ISP and some cant change.

Myself am on sky broadband and they have 3 different configuration's for ping response they have 8ms 16ms and 32ms 32ms been default and 16ms 8ms both for gaming and other stuff.

I was on 32ms and they changed it down to 8ms for me to see if they is any different for me on games.

When you speak you your ISP Internet Service Provider Ask them to put you through tech support.

Once you have got through to them just advise them you are having problems playing online games and would like you ping response changing to one of 16ms or 8ms.

Ask to change it 16ms and if its still the same move down to the 8ms if they have it.

You will lose some of your download speed but not much only a few kbs take a note of you internet connection speed b4 they change stuff on it and see how much different it is as different ISP will have different settings and different stuff to change.

I have also asked them about changing the DNS server addresses they have said you can change the DNS servers to a different one but they didn't provide the information on what ones to change to.

The ones i have moved over to are Open DNS you can goto there site by searching Open DNS or by reading below how to change your DNS servers.

1. Select Control Panel from the Start menu.
2. Click Network Connections from the Control Panel choices.
3. Choose your connection from the Network Connections window.
4. Click Properties button.
5. Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click Properties.
6. Click the radio button Use the following DNS server addresses and type in OpenDNS addresses in the Preferred DNS server and Alternate DNS server fields.

Please write down your current DNS settings before switching to OpenDNS, in case you want to return to your old settings for any reason. Preferred DNS server address for Open DNS is:

• 208.67.222.222

Alternate DNS server address for Open DNS is:

• 208.67.220.220

So after a good hour or so on to my ISP and also searching on the internet to find better DNS servers seems Open DNS are good to change to.

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Vista & Windows 7 Users could also work with xp.



You can temporary stop this proses using a program called game booster

You can get this from the site here by going into TuneUp System & Speed Section of the site

Once installed clcik on the big bold part that says switch to game mode once in this you will get a list of items ticked and some untied.

Untick your anti virus depending on now much ram its using 9/10 it will idl there doing nothing so no need to stop this process just skip it and move on.

once you are in gaming mode you will see you screen flash and your gfx and tool bar go a different color or to default setting as it takes all the effects off and takes all the glass effects off so it maximizes performances.

Yes i know it might look a little bit ugly but getting rid of lag and stuttering in game ply less problems for yourself and less work for admins and staff have to look into stuff when there more important things to fixed..

Am sure everyone would love a lag free game and system all the updates and stuff and more hardware meant to of fixed that or is in the process of fixing it..

The only time you are not going to fix lag is when you have lots and lost of ships around you attacking stuff but it can be cut down more. The more the better and sometime in the mere future i will have probs found everything that causes lag in game play and cut out say erm some 70% of it if not even more...

Myself so far from other things i have posted and found led me been lag free for a while then it came back so done some more research on the matter and found this lot out..

The one main proses it will stop on a temp basis is.

Desktop Windows Manager Session Manager this i have found to cause in game lag and some what stuttering of the game.

Desktop Window Manager Session Manager

Windows Vista Service Details

Description:

This is the main fancy processor for Aero fancy bits. It is one of the heavier background services, and pretty consistantly uses CPU power.



Expect several % of CPU power to be used at all times. Some may find it worth the resources.

Service Description:

Provides Desktop Window Manager startup and maintenance services.


Service Information

Service Name: UxSms
Process Name:dwm.exe
Memory Usage(MB)2:10-17.3
CPU Usage(%)3:1-8

Running Type:Constant

2: denotes typical memory usage.
It may not be indicative of what usage you will see, but it should give you a rough idea.
Make a comment below if you see otherwise.


3: denotes typical CPU usage when process is actually active.

Many processes are not actively doing anything most of the time. Check running type for more details. All machines are different, so this number may not be indicative of what you will actually see.




Consequences of Stopping:

Will free up system resources, but you will lose prettiness.
All services listed in 'Required For' will be unable to function


It tuck me a while to go through all my things on it and found that was the only one to cause stuttering on in game play.

You know when you are in gaming mode as it says gaming mode and will also tell you how much ram has been freed up and also de-fraged

Am sure the vista players are going to like this little guide and am sure some of the xp users can use the program to free up some resources and ram on there xp systems...

If you get stuck with anything head over to conatct and support section fill out the info and i will get back to you asap

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1. What is Flash Player and why do I need it?

The Flash Player is an add-on program (plug-in) used in order to run cross-platform content such as graphics, computer animations and games on different browsers (e.g. Firefox, Internet Explorer) or operating systems (Windows XP, Vista, Linux, MacOS). The Flash Player creates an interface between the Flash program and the computer system being used and ensures that a program is capable of running on all systems with the Flash Player.

The latest version of the Flash Player can be downloaded and installed for free from the producer, Adobe.
Please follow the Adobe installation instructions specific to your system.

After successfully installing the Flash Player, you can view web content which uses the Flash Player in your Internet browser.

Download the Flash Player and you’re all set: Your Internet browser is now ready for [game name]!



2. Set up the Flash Player for optimum performance

So that [game name] can run as smoothly as possible, you first have to configure the Flash Player for the game.
To do this, log into the game and open the star chart. Make sure that you are at a jump portal in a “No attack zone” (NAZ) or at the starbase!

Now click on the star chart with the right mouse button. A drop-down menu will open in which you can select the entry “Settings”.
Afterwards, a setup assistant with several different symbols will be displayed.

The symbol which the setup assistant opens at the start can vary for each player, so please click on the first symbol on the bottom with the left mouse button.
Please make sure the box “Activate hardware acceleration” has been checked.
Hardware acceleration allows the Flash Player to work directly with your graphics card so that images and movements will be shown more quickly and smoothly.

Afterwards select the symbol with the “Folder”.

This is where you set up the “local memory” which can be used by the Flash application on your computer.

Drag the controller button on the regulator bar to unlimited. This ensures that all the necessary information for [game name] can be saved quickly onto your computer. If your memory is set too low, there is a risk that the data transfer rate may be slowed down.

The other settings do not apply to the game since they pertain to options for cameras and microphones which are not used in [game name].

Now confirm by clicking on “Close” and the settings will be saved on your computer.

From time to time you should check to see if these options are still set correctly.




3. Delete the Flash Player’s saved data

Flash Player doesn’t only save data in your browser’s cache but it also saves some information on your hard drive. You should also delete this information on a regular basis to ensure that you are always using the latest version of [game name].

3.1. Instructions for Windows XP

The hidden files in Windows Explorer first have to be set to visible. This can be completed as follows:

Open Windows Explorer --> Extras --> Folder options --> Select the “View” tab and “Show all files and folders” and then click on “OK”.

Afterwards, proceed as follows:

Please open this folder:

C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application data\Macromedia\Flash Player\

Attention: Your username is your Windows username!

The easiest way to do this is to open up “My Computer” and enter the path as shown above into the browser’s address bar. You will only have to replace the word “Username” with your Windows username.

Once you are in this index, you need to select the folder “#SharedObjects”. This folder contains another folder with an interesting name like QWHAJ7FR or something similar. The information in this folder has to be deleted completely!

Now go back to this folder again:

C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application data\Macromedia\Flash Player\

Now access the folder “sys” over the folders “macromedia.com”, “support” and “flashplayer”. Delete almost everything – except for the file “settings”!

After rebooting the computer, the process will be complete.

3.2. Instructions for Vista

The hidden files in Windows Explorer first have to be set to visible. This can be completed as follows:

Open Windows Explorer --> Extras --> Folder options --> Select the “View” tab and “Show all files and folders” and then click on “OK”.

Afterwards, proceed as follows:

Please open this file:

C:\Users\ Username\AppData\Roaming\Macromedia\Flash Player\

Attention: Your username is your Windows username!


The easiest way to do this is to open up “My Computer” and enter the path as shown above into the browser’s address bar. You will only have to replace the word “Username” with your Windows username.

Once you are in this index, you need to select the folder “#SharedObjects”. This folder contains another folder with an interesting name like QWHAJ7FR or similar. The information in this folder has to be deleted completely!



Now go back to this folder again:

C:\Users\ Username\AppData\Roaming\Macromedia\Flash Player\

Now access the folder “sys” over the folders “macromedia.com”, “support” and “flashplayer”. Delete almost everything here – except for the file “Settings”!


After rebooting the computer, the process will be complete.

4. Dual core and quad core CPUs

Although the Flash Player usually runs on computers with dual core and quad core CPUs, it only ever uses one CPU core.

For this reason, it doesn’t really matter how many CPU cores the computer using the Flash Player has. And since it only runs on one core, only the performance of one core is available. The core is also used by other programs and the operating system in addition to the Flash Player. For this reason, the performance of the computer can easily be overestimated.

Adobe recommends using at least a Pentium 4 with 2.33 GHz for a resolution of 852x420.

5. Optimize Dark Orbit settings

If Dark Orbit isn’t running the way it should be on your computer, just optimize the following settings:

On the star chart, you’ll find the button “Set” on the top left. If you click on this button, a menu to configure your personal settings will appear.

- Automatic weapons upgrade by activating the lab CPU
=> This menu item must be up set up as needed. To activate this item, a NC-AWB CPU which is built into the ship is required.

- Show damage bar
=> If you remove this checkmark, the bar for your opponent’s shield and hit points won’t be shown anymore => In general, this should stay switched on; however, you won’t need it for the GALAXY GATES. You can turn it off here.

- Show all lasers
=> If you deactivate this item, only one single laser beam will be shown; if there is an attack => deactivation is recommended.

- Show explosions
=> Your opponent will explode after being shot, but without the explosion animation – somewhat unspectacular, but fewer calculations for your computer to perform => Deactivation is recommended.

- Show player names
=> No explanation is needed; however, you need to be able to tell the difference between friends and enemies, so for this reason => This should stay switched on, but you won’t need it for the GALAXY GATES.

- Show company icon
=> In general, the same applies here as for the player names => This should stay switched on; however, it isn’t needed for the GALAXY GATES, so make sure to turn it off before jumping into the unknown.

- Show a transparent background
=> If this has been checked, the star chart will appear as if it is covered by fog just for the sake of increasing performance => Deactivation is recommended above all for the GALAXY GATES.

- Show resources
=> If this menu item is switched off, the raw materials which are on the map won’t be shown anymore. Since every rock shown requires processor resources, it is definitely recommended to deactivate this after completing the quest to collect raw materials!

- Show bonus boxes
=> No explanation is needed here either. Almost everybody knows the boxes and collects them; thus => This should be switched on. It is not needed for the GALAXY GATES, therefore please deactivate it beforehand.

- Show NPCs/enemies
=> Any kind of explanation is unnecessary => This should stay switched on.

- Show jump portals
=> If this checkmark is removed, the portal will only be represented by a white square. In addition, the opening of the portal will not be animated anymore. With performance problems => Deactivation is definitely recommended!

- Show increasing hit count
=> Whoever can pass on using this should switch off this menu item, because this “hit-count display” also requires processor resources in order to be displayed. However, without this hit-count display it is hard to determine the damage caused by an enemy in battle. For the sake of performance: => Deactivation is recommended, because otherwise too much memory is wasted in the GALAXY GATES.

- Show message status
=> If this item is switched off, messages displayed in red about attacks or shootings will no longer appear in the upper left-hand side of the game window. The messages shown here are useful, thus => This should remain switched on, but not for the GALAXY GATES.

- Show chat
=> If this checkmark is removed, you can open the chat window but there won’t be anything written there and you can’t write anything yourself, either => The decision to deactivate/activate depends on the style of play; you won’t need it for the GALAXY GATES, so please deactivate it during this time.

- Play music
=> No explanation is needed here, either. For this item => Deactivation is definitely recommended.

- Play sound effects
=> If you decided not to have the sound effects, laser shots will no longer be accompanied by sound. Explosions will also go off without a bang. To improve the flow of the game => Deactivation is definitely recommended.

- Show ammunition/hit points/shields with numbers
=> Since the figures shown in the display are much more accurate than those with a status bar => This should remain switched on (However, this can be changed again by clicking on the bar/figures regardless of the setting).

- Show drones
=> If this menu item is activated, the ship’s drones surrounding this ship will be displayed and will be shown according to their respective level. If you remove this checkmark, the drones there will be shown by small rectangles below the player’s name; however, the drone models Iris and Flax will be displayed in different colors. => Deactivation is definitely recommended.