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Welcome to CS101: NetGraph. In the past we have covered a variety of subjects. From the most basic of topics in HLTV and Demos. To the slightly more advanced Mouse 101. Today, however, we will be looking at a little more misunderstood subject; net_graph.

Authors Note: This article is basically just a backup to Jon Mellin's GotFrag article, but I'll be telling you how to get a correct ex_interp and cl_updaterate without knowing the servers maxrates and correcting the cl_cmdrate command.

What is net_graph?
Net_Graph is a feature built into the Half-Life Client (Half-Life being the hierarchy of Counter-Strike). It is a rather unique tool provided to help one understand and optimize their in-game performance. By opening your console and entering "net_graph 1, 2 or 3", you can turn on and customize your net_graph settings.

By Steampowered's own admission, it is also a wonderful tool to help diagnose connection problems and distinguish if they are Network related, Client related or Server related.

Why is net_graph important?

Net graph can be used to determine important fallacies in your current network settings. As well, net_graph is also an important tool used by many leagues to determine whether or not a screenshot was taken during a live match or during a demo recording of the events.

User Comments

<3 these 101 articles. nice read

power level 9000 #pl9k

good read, well done

#gotfrag

i love these articles, very informative keep up the good work.

Great article. First one that I have learned something from. =D

Two Inches From A Main Artery

im a bit confused about the updaterate part. when i check out most peoples cfg they all have it set to like 100 or 101. when all along it could of been 30?
whats a good rate to set cable modem connect for and what about that command we have about "fps_modem" hows that affect our gameplay.

Most pro's rates are 101 because the servers they use are usually set up properly with a sv_maxupdaterate 101. This means that their cl_updaterate is matching the servers sv_maxupdaterate therefore making their ex_interp correct. Remember, you have to match the servers updaterate, which makes peoples updaterate different. In the case of this article, it was done on an Australian public server with a sv_maxupdaterate of 30. So 30 is correct in this situation. Hope that explained it.

-c4mz.

if we own a server , how do we see the sv_maxupdaterate? just type sv_maxupdaterate into console and it will show what it is set to ? Not at home or I would experiment :p

"I never thought I'd see hacker get bent over the table on d2, but I think it just happened" -jESUIT

#7 rcon sv_maxupdaterate

[b]-[/b]

#7 edit your servers config that way its always there :]

nice

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I learned this from Alchemist, set cl_cmdbackup to 1 (cl_cmdbackuprate maybe). Since its just backup packets, and if you have a good enough computer, you only need one. Lans should have this at 0

ok i set my server to sv_maxupdaterate 100 and sv_maxrate 25000 but im getting alot of miliseconds and that's bad right? is it ok to lower my updaterate to 35 or smth?

How can you find out a servers max updaterate if you dont own it and are just playing on it?

good article

rawr

nice article, good job.

Nice.

Quality article bro.
I'll check for that.

very clear explanations, A+

Good stuff. Now I know [b]exactly[/b] what cmdrate and updaterate are.

I'm curious as the article didn't state, do you fix your updaterate as soon as you join the server? On some servers, I set the updaterate accordingly, and all the orange/yellow dots disappear, but as soon as I get in a gunfight or I see more people I start getting Orange/yellow dots, does this mean I should turn my updaterate down?

ant187 - Get domed

great write up

#1UP

#13 just continue to lower your updaterate in whatever server until you get the least amount of yellow/orange dots on your net_graph 1. If the server doesnt have it at 101 it's usually at 30 by default.

nice :D everyone just usually sets everything to 101 now u can acctually fix it yr self

[b]#UNIQ[/b]

good information.

As for cl_smoothtime, setting it to "0" merely puts it to the smallest value possible.. which is 0.01... which means that the prediction errors will be smoothed every 0.01 seconds(more than default which is .1). To turn cl_smoothtime off, you have to set cl_smooth to 0.. don't even touch smoothtime. HOWEVER, cl_smooth 1 is effective for source.. the prediction system for source used to be messed up until recently.. when they finally fixed it :)

Rise or Relinquish - #teamRR

not matter how high my "rate" is, I still got around 50~100 choke. How to solve this?

This comment was edited at 11/01/2005 1:38 AM

lower your updaterate #27. That will also change your ex_interp but it will give u less/no choke.

E6600@3.2\\Asus 650i\\2GB Ballistix 400Mhz\\2x74GB Raptor\\eVGA 8800GT SC OC'd\\PCP&C 610W

If I could get authors, or anyone intelligent for that matter, answer on #20 I'd appreciate it.

Very informative. However, please spell-check your article next time. If it's a finished product, might as well not have any errors in it. :P

#wat?

This might explain why many people experience choppiness when they try to use ex_interp 0. Their cl_updaterate is probably incorrect.

Excellent article.

Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind. -Einstein

good read

thx for the article ;)

[b]Wonderful article.[/b]

VERY NICE article !!!

Nice stuff.

Eat Psilocybes. Read Howard Bloom. Listen to Godspeed You! Black Emperor. CAUTION: sarcasm

#20 - Most public servers have their sv_maxupdaterate to defualt which is 30, while most 'pro' servers are setup properly with sv_maxupdaterate 100 or 101. So it's mainly gonna be one of those, but if you do come across one with a non-standard sv_maxupdaterate then just look if your graph is getting the dots, then just keep lowering by 5 until you lose the dots. If you still get dots on 30, then it might be other factors affecting it.

http://home.swfla.rr.com/titter/netgraph.html

explains the same as mine does, just mines been out longer.

keek!

#37 I wrote mine June 02, 2005 and posted it June 06, 2005 in the forums. You should have posted yours publicly, because I'v searched high and low for explaination into it, which is why I started to research and write it.

nice article mate! =D

Mmmmhm.

so in net_graph 1 is it good if there are no dots and you just get a solid purplish line instead of a separated red/blue or is this bad? when I set rate 12000, ex_interp .1, cl_cmdrate 101, cl_updaterate 101 i get a very low on the graph solid line 0 choke 0 loss, when i change ex_interp to .01 it becomes 2 spiky lines, red and blue separated, which is better?

Edit: actually they become red and blue dots not lines, and theyre higher up than with ex_interp .1

This comment was edited at 11/01/2005 6:02 AM

very nice read
to bad this wasn't posted ages ago :(

#pandemic

good article - enjoyed very much by myself

Good article.

I�ll send it to my all teammates.

very informative :)

#.eP :: extreme Perfection :: cal-main ::

I have everything in my config default other then sensitivity, and iv never experienced choke/lag on servers that have good ping. How would changing these settings improve anything?

[b]Mixing up some Lmaonade![/b]

Another good thing about net_graph is that you can look at the "in" value and tell when enemies are approaching your location because the server has to send you more info when more players are in your general vicinity. It's not perfect enough to spam people through walls with but it can definately let you know when enemies are coming your way.

Nice article c4mz, appreciate the research. :)

[i]You'll always miss 100% of the shots you don't take[/i]

that was great, nice job using the graphs, i never knew about that

Finish the Fight 2007

Lots of good stuff, def helps people understand things more and especially introduce everything towards the newer players. Keep up the good work.

"The directions say 'Cook and Chill'. And that's what I do, I cook, and then I chill!"

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Counter-Strike: CS101: NetGraph

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