Network settings
The game window has no network page in its settings yet. This page explains what is chosen for you, what the server limits, and what is on the way, so you know which knob to reach for when a game feels wrong. For the symptoms, read Why is my game laggy?.
Transport: how the game reaches the server
The official server speaks the same game over several roads:
| Road | Used for | Good at |
|---|---|---|
| TCP | The default and the fallback | Works almost everywhere. One lost packet briefly stalls everything behind it. |
| TCP with TLS | The same, encrypted | Required where the server asks for it (the official one). |
| QUIC (UDP) | Where the game and the server both support it | Copes much better with packet loss; a Wi-Fi blip does not freeze the picture. |
| WebSocket | Watching in the browser (/spectate) |
Spectators only. |
The game picks the road itself: it tries the one that worked last time for that server first, and falls back to the other one if it cannot connect in a few seconds. There is nothing to choose. If your network blocks UDP (some offices and schools), QUIC fails and the game uses TCP; that is normal and not an error.
Bandwidth
A game is light. With the compact format the server sends a client at most 250 000 bytes per second (about 2 Mbit/s) by default, and an ordinary game uses a small fraction of that, because only what changed on your screen is sent and units out of view are not sent at all. If the line is too slow for that, the server sends changes less often, and your own units are always first.
What you can change today: nothing in the window. What is planned:
- Low-bandwidth mode, switched on by hand or by the game when it measures a slow line: fewer pictures a second and a smaller byte budget (60 000 bytes per second).
- Connection-quality indicator and a ping number in the corner, so you can see which part is slow.
- A transport override for the rare network where the automatic choice is wrong.
What the server decides
Whoever runs the server sets, with flags on w4-dedicated (see Host a server): the byte budget per player, how many players and spectators fit, how many connections one address may open, and how long a seat is kept for a player who lost the line. These are not your settings: if a game says the server is busy, wait a moment and try again.
What never depends on settings
The result of a game is decided on the server. Changing a setting on your side cannot make you faster or slower than the others, and a slow line costs you only the freshness of your picture, never your orders: they are sent as they happen and the server applies them in order.