EA: PLEASE Improve H2H Play
The opportunity to play actual games (not just simulated attacks like VSA) against actual opponents ought to be the BEST part of any football app. Alas, it’s the most routinely frustrating (if not ou...
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Thanks for the acknowledgment. I'm an old-school gamer who transitioned into working as a network engineer in telecommunications long ago, so I’ve got a pretty solid understanding of networks and the Internet. Furthermore, I also used to host and run servers for FPS games like Quake or EA's Battlefield 1942 DC back in the day, when IT resources were much more limited compared to what we have now with virtual machines and cloud computing so likewise, I know a thing or two about server running/hosting. In a sense, I was doing e-sports before the term even existed, haha.
I’ll try to explain things in simple terms so non-tech-savvy players can follow along and understand where to troubleshoot or what issues typically occur and to answer your question: if you're seeing any fluctuation in your ping before you even start an H2H match, the issue is likely on your end or with your service provider (it might be EA servers but higher chances that its your end - so then I'd check EAFC24 Discord server in real-time if there is a problem with EA servers in general, the moaning escalates there).
However, what I cant help you with is the exact telling you what is wrong without being at your location and running diagnostics. What I can do is explain what you should watch for and why.
When it comes to network issues, people typically break things down into two main areas:
1) Your home network and an Internet connection (fiber, mobile, xDSL, Starlink, etc.)
2) The destination server or service you're trying to connect to, whether that’s a game server, streaming service, etc.
A big misconception is that if the internet seems to work fine, then there's no problem, and when there’s lag on the end server (the website, game server, etc.), people often blame the provider of that server, ignoring the fact that there are numerous interconnected networks routing your data before it gets to the final destination.
Here’s what a very high-level connection looks like when you're playing online:
Your device <-> Wifi/Mobile network <-> Internet Service Provider <-> Routing/Peering over various Telcos <-> EA servers
When you play H2H, a dedicated virtual tunnel is created between you and your opponent via EA's servers, so it looks more like this:
Your device <-> Wifi/Mobile <-> ISP <-> Routing/Links <-> EA servers <-> Routing/Links <-> Opponent ISP <-> Opponent Wifi/Mobile <-> Opponent's device
Whether you’re playing against someone in your household or across the world, the game will still create the same "virtual tunnel" between you both. Your ping (latency) is determined by the distance your data travels to EA's servers, and your opponent’s ping follows the same general logic but as mentioned earlier, the longer the distances the higher the ping will be so you playing someone in your city the ping will be expected to be the same and no lag (if both ISPs have no congestion).
If you are in Europe and play vs me (Live in the Oceania region so connecting to Australian servers), then we both will have 300+ms ping and the game will be unplayable. This will not be EA fault, nor yours, not mine - just the distance where the speed of light isn't fast enough).
So keep in mind, the networks are very fluid and conditions change a lot, just like with the weather.
For players struggling with latency (ping), here's what you should focus on:
Check your home network first, then reach out to your service provider if needed.
What type of modem and access points are you using? Where are those located? How are you connecting the access points to the modem—via Ethernet or Wifi backhaul? Also, what connection speeds are you paying for? Make sure both the modem and access point support the same Wifi standards and are fully compatible. Are you using a 2.4GHz or 5GHz network? While 5GHz is generally faster, 2.4GHz offers better range. If you're on a mobile network, is it 3G (which is quite outdated), LTE, or 5G? And are you in a "black spot" where your coverage is poor?
Look for interference in your home/apartment. You’ll need a Wifi analyzer to check the channels in use and make sure your Wifi access points are on the least crowded channels. This is crucial, especially for older 2.4GHz networks, which can be heavily affected by interference from things like microwave ovens (they run at 2.45GHz). If you live in an apartment building, you’ll likely have a lot of interference from neighbors and their devices/Wifi/appliances. 5GHZ or higher, typically work over shorter distance given that they have more bandwidth
Keep your access points away from sources of electromagnetic interference or Faraday cage-like cabinets. Access points or modems with built-in antennas should be placed in open areas, not near microwaves, speakers, closets, comms cabinets, ceilings, or other random spots far from where users are. The materials used in your building, like drywall versus brick walls, can also weaken the signal. Additionally, devices like microwave ovens, speakers, or subwoofers can interfere with the signal and cause disruptions.
Run a speed test during both peak and off-peak hours to see how your connection holds up. If you notice slowdowns during peak times, it’s a sign your service provider might be dealing with congestion, and you should contact them about it.
By following these basic tips, you can often pinpoint where the issue lies, whether it's in your home network or further along the line. If you're seeing ping fluctuations on the opponent's end, they need to check their network as well. Once both sides have ruled out issues with their own networks, the next step is to check with your ISPs about their routing, peering, and upstream links. If everything on your end seems fine, you can then reach out to EA for further investigation. Like any server host, EA will have systems in place to monitor capacity, and if they're doing it right, they’ll spot any issues. If there’s a bottleneck, their IT and network staff will likely scramble to address it, as I’ve seen with various vendors and providers I’ve worked with over the years.
Good luck. If you need more help, DM me and I will send you my discord server details as doing the details over the forums will take forever.
Lastly, regarding your point about EA staff not explaining all of the above: I'm not criticizing them or telling them how to do their job. However, I wouldn’t expect the EA forum moderator to fully understand the complexities of IT or telecommunications unless it’s something they’re personally passionate about. Their role here is to moderate the forum within their guidelines, not manage infrastructure or server networks. So, it might be a good idea to cut them some slack when it comes to more in-depth technical details.
If you are in Europe and play vs me (Live in the Oceania region so connecting to Australian servers), then we both will have 300+ms ping and the game will be unplayable.
Actually the person who plays at home stadium gets the ping advantage....I know because I have experienced it numerous times during tournaments (home and away format). I play someone from a far away region at his home stadium, my ping turns red and his green, we then play at my home stadium, my ping turns green while his red.
Heh, you didn’t quite get it. What you're describing is the in-game experience related to who "hosts" the match. Essentially, when you're "hosting" the game (or more accurately, when your server is), you're less affected by latency, while your opponent experiences it more. Conversely, when your opponent is hosting (or their server is), the situation reverses—your opponent experiences less latency while you experience more. This all boils down to how EA manages the overall experience. The removal of regions has reintroduced some of the past latency issues, though they do seem to be handled a bit better now.
However, all of that has nothing to do with what I’m addressing: the engineering standards, underlying network infrastructure, or how traffic is exchanged between you, EA’s servers (which are scattered around the world), and your opponent. The main focus is troubleshooting to rule out your end, which is the primary driver behind the unjustified "EA’s servers are terrible" bandwagon (yes, they can always do better but it's not the point here).
Ultimately, latency is still primarily influenced by the distance between you and EA’s servers, whether it’s between your location and the EA server in your region, your opponent’s location and their server, or the distance between both of your regional EA servers.
Suppose you and your opponent are on opposite sides of the world. In that case, the packet exchange will take roughly 300 milliseconds between both of the users if you had a true point-to-point connection between both of you that you could see on the screen — this is the physical and physics limitation that cannot be changed as we understand the physics limits (unless you figure out how to deploy sub-space communications from Star Trek in real life).
You don't see the 300+ ms because the ping shown on your device reflects the latency from your device to the server you're connecting to. It also appears that the ping indicator displayed for your opponents corresponds to their latency to your server. When they are the host, you could see anywhere from 30ms to 300ms, depending on where their server is located.
This is the extreme scenario where a small number of available players are ready for the H2H game in your region. In most cases, you are being matched with people connected to your server.How exactly EA handles this on their end remains unclear, as it depends on the location of EA servers, their routing & peering and their global infrastructure in general —all of which they haven’t made public, for obvious security reasons.
Thanks. That’s a really helpful explanation. And I’ll repeat what I said earlier insofar as it says a lot about EA that they leave it to other users to provide explanations like this rather than doing so themselves. In the end, bad user/custmer experience is always going to reflect poorly on them so you’d think they’d make more of an effort communicate and provide transparency,
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