OK @carsono311 ,
I pulled out some supporting data from UK technical report last year on the mobile networks...
Trust you see here that 3G is with a terrible high latency as baseline for any case of FPS gaming.
Next both 3G and 4G have terrible high levels of jitter. (Latency variation) Which is actually much worse than high latency on its own, as the server has to reset the connection speeds to the client non stop and then again and again... Its the jitter that is an intricate part of the technology and their data protocols. And reason why they are still not good enough for our realtime FPS gaming.
Last but not least, look at the average packet loss.
Absolutely not acceptable for FPS gaming.
@CyberDymeSince you are focusing on cellular data networks (CDMA, LTE, etc.) here, I will agree with you.
I do not recommend playing any game requiring a broadband connection over a cellular data network through a hotspot. For all the reasons you listed.
Since @2042onthemove did not specify what kind of wireless will be in use, your concerns are justified. I was merely pointing out the possibility and feasibility of using wireless internet, not what is most optimal or not.
Yes all agreed @carsono311 ,
And I am thanking you also for a great fact based debate. Mutual respect is great to experience despite we may not always agree on everything, then I still enjoy all your many valid points! 👍
The worst combo in setup we experience in recent years when running BF servers are the desperate hopefuls that connect via 3G on their mobile handsets, and then use them as WiFi hotspots for their consoles to connect to. Like a double whammy of two weak foundations on top of each other. And obviously the cellular network is by far the weakest of the two...
At least the local WiFi setup and signal quality is more direct within our own control and authority. We can try and see if we can find some good detailed tech reports on this from recent years, as just 4-6 years ago, the norm of acceptable packet loss was approx 2% and not until above 4-5% was it considered as bad. But here again, if its our own, we can throw a bit more money into it and typically get something decent out of it.
As you mention for the cellular networks (where the providers run them cheap), same effect here if the infrastructure is not properly dimensioned, then congestion will happen and packet loss result as the protocol and buffers can not compensate against that.
Though still not ideal, we have often helped the WiFi sufferers with instead getting them a powerline adapter instead. As if having a bit too many walls or floor levels between their gaming rig and the modem/wifi AP, then the powerline adapter will be a better way to go.
Aka this type of gear:
https://www.techradar.com/news/the-best-powerline-adaptors
If buying a decent pair of these I would probably think that you always will get a better quality line for your FPS gaming no matter your WiFi alternative.
I've been gaming wirelessly the past year and a half. I dedicate one of the 5G bands to gaming, while the other is for streaming. Probably the single best thing to do to reduce latency is to survey the band you are on and ensure you are not utilizing an over provisioned channel that your neighbors are using. Just pick a channel that isn't heavily used and you'll be good to go.
