Please. Stop fixing anything else untill I and everyone I know gets the 50 ping he gets in normal HL. Just a question, how can you possibly ruin the netcode?
Wow, you've got to be the smartest person i've seen on these forums. Listen, the netcode in NS is better then ANY half-life mod EVER made. I guess your shallowmind can't comprehend that the game is 100x more complex then any mod out there, thus making the CPU utilization lower, and thats why your 'pinging high'. Please, get a brain before you post things like this that are insulting to the people who made you this mod.
If you don't like it, don't complain, and don't play the game. If you feel the need to **obscenity** about something, learn about it before you do it, your only making yourself look worse. I'm honestly sick of you people complaining, its doing no good at all, and its making the dev's and most of the community angry.
I'm sorry if i came off a bit angry, but you really need to stop complaining, ALL OF YOU.
CPU utilization si NOT netcode, NS's netcode is superb, better then most retail games. since NS runs a ton of ents at a time, optimization is hard. Calling me a fan-boy and someone who knows jack about that proves that your just an ignorant fool. Please, think before you speak.
Absent, you my friend are *willfully* ignorant and now you're parading it around the forums for all to see. Brings to mind a certain childs' tale about an emperor and some clothes.
Natural Selection "pings" (really the reported latency, not ping) are high because the SERVER utilization is so high. Let me try to explain this on your level. The server (the computer running the game that you are connected to) gets so busy running the game that it doesn't have time left to communicate quickly with YOUR computer. Because of this, many messages between the two computers are late or missed (sort of like YOU missing what people have been telling you). This makes the game hard to play and the missed messages are interpreted by Half-life as being extremely slow so the scoreboard shows a higher "latency" number. (A note for the not-blissful-in-their-ignorance, if you use net_stat 1 you can see your actual ping. If your actual ping is close to your reported latency, packet loss is low.) If this is too hard to understand, let me know and I'll simplify more. However, I suspect it's more likely you simply won't bother to read it.
pls stop whining this mod is for free and its still beta. also i usually have a ping about 70-120ms ingame but sometimes it is around 200 but i suppose that`s because of bad servers that cannot handle all the information fast enough
Yes, you are obviously beyond your mental capacities absent, please don't stress anymore, i will explain it in plain english.
The NS netcode is better than even the HL netcode, this is a fact. Flayra only made inprovements to the netcode, he didn't rewrite it with bugs.
The CPU power required to run an NS server is far higher than any other HL mod (with all the resourse management and such). Thus, there are many people who are running an NS server at the same capacity they ran a CS server on. This results in massive lag as a PIII 600 can't handle 14 players in NS.
It is NOT the fault of the team or the mod. They did EVERYTHING they could to optimize the netcode (and succeeded) and they did everything they could to optimize the CPU utilization. They succeeded to some degree, but the game is still very CPU dependant.
It IS the fault of server admins setting their Max_player too high. If server admins would actually PLAY on their servers insted of setting it up and leaving it, pings would be normal.
Edit: athnteis is correct about the ping issues as well. Many times that 200 is a falsly reported and your actual gaming experience is at a 50 ping while the server reports 200. Has it ever *felt* laggy? That's the real question. use net_graph 1 to see your real ping.
A big problem is with servers with a slow computer. This mod demands a lot more from the CPU of the server then other mods do, and because other mods dont require as much CPU, the CPU for most servers is generally rather slow, which slows down the game for NS. You could prolly run a dedicated server on a 400Mhz (with, of course, a good internet connection for low pings) just fine for most mods, except in NS. As for your ping problem, worst I get is 200-250'ish and I have to say I dont suffer from it.....
As far as your flaming about the IQ is concerned, you dont have much of a clue either it seems absent. Sure UT might have higher graphics, but it is also has a better engine, and most likely faster servers running it. (because UT requirements are a lot higher then HL is) I think the NS team did a pretty damn good job using the HL engine. (which is old, but this game proves it's still a very good engine)
One more thing Absent, have you ever done modding at all? And if so have you done modding in HL? And have you done a mod as complicated and good as this one? So do you really know what you're talking about when you whine about netcode? Didnt think so. Let the dev's do their job, they know a lot more about the code then any of us do, so they will know the limitations, and they will know the problems, and promised to fix them. Right now the game is very playable (and extremely popular), and they will (hopefully) improve it even more.
[Edit: Typo's, that's what happens when you type during class with a teacher BSing at the same time =p]
I don't know about you, but when I check my ping using "net_graph 3" in the game, it usually says my ping is about 60-80, the same ping that it shows in all seeing eye. Try using that in game to see what your ping is. <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
an excellent point anthies. Bloody noobs. i know your ping reads at about 400 or more in some servers, so does mine, in fact, so does everyones in the game. See if you looked you would notice. Now I know it's not really lag i just posted this in another thread but it's that the server might just be a slow machine. I was in where the was only a 400 and the admin was trying to see how many people could be in it before the ping was to high...at about 16 it was still around 300. Well, not really ping but...you should be able to figure it out. Now stop insulting the play teasters because you might as well be insulting the devs when you do that.
To whoever tried to put it to "my level": I have probably played games before you were pulled out of your mothers womb, so shut up. Youre all just a bunch of fanboys raving how this mod is the greatest thing since sliced bread and anything cant POSSIBLY be wrong with it. I mean thats just IMPOSSIBLE! The mod CANNOT have any bugs or overlooked problems. Yes, it is all servers and its hardwares/softwares fault if the game refuses to run like other games do.
As I was coding for the bot, I had to catch several netwrok messages so the bots can see whats happening, although I guess I noticed a lot (perhaps too many net messages being sent, mostly the same things sequentially)
Perhaps trying to decrease the amount of net messages being sent will hopefully decrease lag? for example I noticed more than one message being sent with "SetOrder" but they were all sending the same thing, is there any way to reduce this but keep it to only one message? Of course then that would mean I'd need to alter the bot code to intercept the Order messages which might trouble me <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin--absent+Nov 13 2002, 06:53 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (absent @ Nov 13 2002, 06:53 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->To whoever tried to put it to "my level": I have probably played games before you were pulled out of your mothers womb, so shut up. Youre all just a bunch of fanboys raving how this mod is the greatest thing since sliced bread and anything cant POSSIBLY be wrong with it. I mean thats just IMPOSSIBLE! The mod CANNOT have any bugs or overlooked problems. Yes, it is all servers and its hardwares/softwares fault if the game refuses to run like other games do.
God, youre a bunch of retards, honestly. Read your own posts.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> If your going to be offensive, go away, this isn't the place.
For a BETA NO 1 the ping is good
Please leave us alone if your going to be offensive
Since when, I get good pings all the time, and anyway I don't look at ping, I go by how much the game pauses that short second<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> If it pauses at all, it means its lagging pretty badly.
Absent, if you're gonna flame, please back your comments up with facts. You say the netcode sucks, a bunch of us proved you wrong.... So if the netcode truly sucks, prove us wrong instead of calling us fanboys...
Oh wait, that's right, you cant prove us wrong coz we're right and your IQ for 16 aint gonna do it. So stfu and go play CS were you belong with the rest of the whiners. (I'm not calling every CS player a whiner, I played CS myself for a long time, but CS sure has a lot of whiners, lets hope NS wont be the same)
I honestly don't know why you all bother with retards like Absent. If he doesn't like the pings he can go back to playing his UT. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
Oh, and the been playing games since we were still in our mother's womb comment.... Well I for one can say if you played games then, it had to be pong at best. (If that even existed then) And games have evolved so much and so fast that arguement doesnt mean anything. Games have evolved so much. You say that b/c you've played games (supposedly) so much longer then us, you know it better, so do you compare this to Wolfenstein 3D (the old one, not RTCW) or something? It doesnt matter how long you played games, only recent games started having good netcode to begin with, hell only recent games (well fairly recent) play over the internet at all. The people talking here however know something about computers, and maybe modding, so they can speak from a lot more experience then you can with your "long gaming experience".
You could critisize a game (It's gameplay, graphics, sound, ect) base on a long gaming experience having played a ton of games of that kind, you cannot critisize the code of a game with gaming experience. You can critisize the code if you have programming/modding experience.
Aaronvroom vroom der party startahJoin Date: 2002-11-05Member: 7020Members
<!--QuoteBegin--absent+Nov 13 2002, 01:53 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (absent @ Nov 13 2002, 01:53 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->To whoever tried to put it to "my level": I have probably played games before you were pulled out of your mothers womb, so shut up. Youre all just a bunch of fanboys raving how this mod is the greatest thing since sliced bread and anything cant POSSIBLY be wrong with it. I mean thats just IMPOSSIBLE! The mod CANNOT have any bugs or overlooked problems. Yes, it is all servers and its hardwares/softwares fault if the game refuses to run like other games do.
God, youre a bunch of retards, honestly. Read your own posts.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> People wouldn't have taken as much offense if you didn't state it like this:
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Please. Stop fixing anything else untill I and everyone I know gets the 50 ping he gets in normal HL. Just a question, how can you possibly ruin the netcode?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
translation:
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I am more important than anybody else. I DESERVE a better ping. It's all your FAULT! Something somebody has spent OVER A YEAR developing to GIVE AWAY TO ME FOR FREE for MY ENJOYMENT is a piece of crap.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
First of all nobody owes you anything. The code may or may not be as good as you want it to be, but you are just plain rude to demand that somebody do something to please you alone. Saying they "ruined" the netcode, is an insult to developers who put so much time and energy into providing you a free game.
Next time try to use some netiquette. How about this:
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I usually get @50 ping in normal HalfLife...can the developers please concentrate on reducing effective pings? I think that is the most serious issue. Thanks.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I tend to find that high pings work better when I'm alien anyway. Movement isn't interrupted, so I can fly all over the place as a skulk and bite them, but they can't hit me because I'm warping and stuff. Its great!
(Pretends he never heard anything but the statement dealing with fixing the netcode)
1.01 helped latency problems and I saw a 1.02 beta thread say latency got even better with that patch. So apparently the whole issue is on their to-do and doing list.
<!--QuoteBegin--Cheeseh+Nov 12 2002, 11:56 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Cheeseh @ Nov 12 2002, 11:56 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->As I was coding for the bot, I had to catch several netwrok messages so the bots can see whats happening, although I guess I noticed a lot (perhaps too many net messages being sent, mostly the same things sequentially)
Perhaps trying to decrease the amount of net messages being sent will hopefully decrease lag? for example I noticed more than one message being sent with "SetOrder" but they were all sending the same thing, is there any way to reduce this but keep it to only one message? Of course then that would mean I'd need to alter the bot code to intercept the Order messages which might trouble me <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo--><!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> Why can't everyone be as polite as you?
WOW there's an amazing amount of hate in the world and these poor socially inept computer junkies are carrying more then their fair share all bundled up inside. I recommend you get a punching bag and let the red mist of anger out. Seriously its not healthy.
<!--QuoteBegin--Rice-Rocketeer+Nov 13 2002, 07:16 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Rice-Rocketeer @ Nov 13 2002, 07:16 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Why can't everyone be as polite as you?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> hehe I think Mr. absent started on the wrong foot by talking about "ruining" the netcode... I agree that I get an unusually higher ping while playing NS (although I do have smelly 56k <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->) than CS for example, but I think that's just because of the amount of things that have to be sent from Server -> Client and back, for example all the buildings that have been built etc. I think that the ping can be optimised futher so that less things are needed to be checked through the network as often as they are just now, which I am sure it can be done.
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I would have to say, that UT2K3 utilizes about 10230+3812479% more computer than ANYTHING created on the Half-Life engine ever WILL<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Sure. On the <b><i>client</i> side</b>. Just because an engine is more advanced graphically doesn't necessarily mean that there's a comparable increase in the server load.
(I'm sure there <i>is</i>, but it's <b>not</b> because of all the pretty pictures that your computer draws when you play it)
KungFuSquirrelBasher of MuttonsJoin Date: 2002-01-26Member: 103Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
I ping 30-40 on most servers.
And for the record, I've seen graphs from at least 3-4 servers (pre-patch, even, within a couple days of release) that show total network usage dropping as low as half that of CS and DoD, even with all the extra bits and pieces thrown in. That, to me, would imply the most solid netcode in HL.
Comments
If you don't like it, don't complain, and don't play the game. If you feel the need to **obscenity** about something, learn about it before you do it, your only making yourself look worse. I'm honestly sick of you people complaining, its doing no good at all, and its making the dev's and most of the community angry.
I'm sorry if i came off a bit angry, but you really need to stop complaining, ALL OF YOU.
NS does things the HL engine was never made for. The netcode is fine, it's just the hlds.exe takes up a lot of cpu power, and the pings raise.
Natural Selection "pings" (really the reported latency, not ping) are high because the SERVER utilization is so high. Let me try to explain this on your level. The server (the computer running the game that you are connected to) gets so busy running the game that it doesn't have time left to communicate quickly with YOUR computer. Because of this, many messages between the two computers are late or missed (sort of like YOU missing what people have been telling you). This makes the game hard to play and the missed messages are interpreted by Half-life as being extremely slow so the scoreboard shows a higher "latency" number. (A note for the not-blissful-in-their-ignorance, if you use net_stat 1 you can see your actual ping. If your actual ping is close to your reported latency, packet loss is low.) If this is too hard to understand, let me know and I'll simplify more. However, I suspect it's more likely you simply won't bother to read it.
The NS netcode is better than even the HL netcode, this is a fact. Flayra only made inprovements to the netcode, he didn't rewrite it with bugs.
The CPU power required to run an NS server is far higher than any other HL mod (with all the resourse management and such). Thus, there are many people who are running an NS server at the same capacity they ran a CS server on. This results in massive lag as a PIII 600 can't handle 14 players in NS.
It is NOT the fault of the team or the mod. They did EVERYTHING they could to optimize the netcode (and succeeded) and they did everything they could to optimize the CPU utilization. They succeeded to some degree, but the game is still very CPU dependant.
It IS the fault of server admins setting their Max_player too high. If server admins would actually PLAY on their servers insted of setting it up and leaving it, pings would be normal.
Edit: athnteis is correct about the ping issues as well. Many times that 200 is a falsly reported and your actual gaming experience is at a 50 ping while the server reports 200. Has it ever *felt* laggy? That's the real question. use net_graph 1 to see your real ping.
As far as your flaming about the IQ is concerned, you dont have much of a clue either it seems absent. Sure UT might have higher graphics, but it is also has a better engine, and most likely faster servers running it. (because UT requirements are a lot higher then HL is) I think the NS team did a pretty damn good job using the HL engine. (which is old, but this game proves it's still a very good engine)
One more thing Absent, have you ever done modding at all? And if so have you done modding in HL? And have you done a mod as complicated and good as this one? So do you really know what you're talking about when you whine about netcode? Didnt think so. Let the dev's do their job, they know a lot more about the code then any of us do, so they will know the limitations, and they will know the problems, and promised to fix them. Right now the game is very playable (and extremely popular), and they will (hopefully) improve it even more.
[Edit: Typo's, that's what happens when you type during class with a teacher BSing at the same time =p]
"HEY ALL! Stop doing what ever you are doing and concentrate on me! And stop breathing because I need all the air in the world!"
<!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='confused.gif'><!--endemo-->
Oh btw, yesterday my ASE showed that latency in one server was around 1800, when I joined it was around 70. And it did this on EVERY server.
Since when, I get good pings all the time, and anyway I don't look at ping, I go by how much the game pauses that short second
Youre all just a bunch of fanboys raving how this mod is the greatest thing since sliced bread and anything cant POSSIBLY be wrong with it. I mean thats just IMPOSSIBLE! The mod CANNOT have any bugs or overlooked problems. Yes, it is all servers and its hardwares/softwares fault if the game refuses to run like other games do.
** Flame deleted **
Perhaps trying to decrease the amount of net messages being sent will hopefully decrease lag? for example I noticed more than one message being sent with "SetOrder" but they were all sending the same thing, is there any way to reduce this but keep it to only one message? Of course then that would mean I'd need to alter the bot code to intercept the Order messages which might trouble me <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
Youre all just a bunch of fanboys raving how this mod is the greatest thing since sliced bread and anything cant POSSIBLY be wrong with it. I mean thats just IMPOSSIBLE! The mod CANNOT have any bugs or overlooked problems. Yes, it is all servers and its hardwares/softwares fault if the game refuses to run like other games do.
God, youre a bunch of retards, honestly. Read your own posts.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
If your going to be offensive, go away, this isn't the place.
For a BETA NO 1 the ping is good
Please leave us alone if your going to be offensive
Since when, I get good pings all the time, and anyway I don't look at ping, I go by how much the game pauses that short second<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
If it pauses at all, it means its lagging pretty badly.
Oh wait, that's right, you cant prove us wrong coz we're right and your IQ for 16 aint gonna do it. So stfu and go play CS were you belong with the rest of the whiners. (I'm not calling every CS player a whiner, I played CS myself for a long time, but CS sure has a lot of whiners, lets hope NS wont be the same)
Oh, and the been playing games since we were still in our mother's womb comment.... Well I for one can say if you played games then, it had to be pong at best. (If that even existed then) And games have evolved so much and so fast that arguement doesnt mean anything. Games have evolved so much. You say that b/c you've played games (supposedly) so much longer then us, you know it better, so do you compare this to Wolfenstein 3D (the old one, not RTCW) or something? It doesnt matter how long you played games, only recent games started having good netcode to begin with, hell only recent games (well fairly recent) play over the internet at all. The people talking here however know something about computers, and maybe modding, so they can speak from a lot more experience then you can with your "long gaming experience".
You could critisize a game (It's gameplay, graphics, sound, ect) base on a long gaming experience having played a ton of games of that kind, you cannot critisize the code of a game with gaming experience. You can critisize the code if you have programming/modding experience.
Youre all just a bunch of fanboys raving how this mod is the greatest thing since sliced bread and anything cant POSSIBLY be wrong with it. I mean thats just IMPOSSIBLE! The mod CANNOT have any bugs or overlooked problems. Yes, it is all servers and its hardwares/softwares fault if the game refuses to run like other games do.
God, youre a bunch of retards, honestly. Read your own posts.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
People wouldn't have taken as much offense if you didn't state it like this:
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Please. Stop fixing anything else untill I and everyone I know gets the 50 ping he gets in normal HL. Just a question, how can you possibly ruin the netcode?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
translation:
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I am more important than anybody else. I DESERVE a better ping. It's all your FAULT! Something somebody has spent OVER A YEAR developing to GIVE AWAY TO ME FOR FREE for MY ENJOYMENT is a piece of crap.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
First of all nobody owes you anything. The code may or may not be as good as you want it to be, but you are just plain rude to demand that somebody do something to please you alone. Saying they "ruined" the netcode, is an insult to developers who put so much time and energy into providing you a free game.
Next time try to use some netiquette. How about this:
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I usually get @50 ping in normal HalfLife...can the developers please concentrate on reducing effective pings? I think that is the most serious issue. Thanks.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
In fact, they are <i>already doing so</i>.
1.01 helped latency problems and I saw a 1.02 beta thread say latency got even better with that patch. So apparently the whole issue is on their to-do and doing list.
Perhaps trying to decrease the amount of net messages being sent will hopefully decrease lag? for example I noticed more than one message being sent with "SetOrder" but they were all sending the same thing, is there any way to reduce this but keep it to only one message? Of course then that would mean I'd need to alter the bot code to intercept the Order messages which might trouble me <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo--><!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Why can't everyone be as polite as you?
hehe I think Mr. absent started on the wrong foot by talking about "ruining" the netcode... I agree that I get an unusually higher ping while playing NS (although I do have smelly 56k <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->) than CS for example, but I think that's just because of the amount of things that have to be sent from Server -> Client and back, for example all the buildings that have been built etc. I think that the ping can be optimised futher so that less things are needed to be checked through the network as often as they are just now, which I am sure it can be done.
Sure. On the <b><i>client</i> side</b>. Just because an engine is more advanced graphically doesn't necessarily mean that there's a comparable increase in the server load.
(I'm sure there <i>is</i>, but it's <b>not</b> because of all the pretty pictures that your computer draws when you play it)
And for the record, I've seen graphs from at least 3-4 servers (pre-patch, even, within a couple days of release) that show total network usage dropping as low as half that of CS and DoD, even with all the extra bits and pieces thrown in. That, to me, would imply the most solid netcode in HL.
Amazing what that CPU can hold back, eh?