Common Issues Related to Poor Network Connection

Ensuring participants and facilitators all have a stable, good quality network connection is essential for Jenson8 applications to run smoothly. This article provides detail on different aspects of networking and the common issues you may face as a result of poor connection.

Download/Upload Speed

Suitable download and upload speeds are important for ensuring that all VR and desktop clients can effectively communicate with Jenson8 servers. We recommend at least 20 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload per-device, as this is sufficient for transferring data between users and our servers. However, the higher these speeds are, the smoother the experience will be.

Additionally, higher speeds will decrease the possibility of bandwidth bottlenecks (which could be caused by other users using significant bandwidth), as well as latency.

Latency and Jitter

Low latency and jitter are essential for ensuring a smooth experience in VR/Jenson8 applications; high latency will create a greater delay between users and the server, and high jitter will create a "jittery" experience for the user, as a result of information (packets) being delivered out of order.

We recommend that any network being used for Jenson8 experiences has minimal latency (50ms max.) and minimal jitter.

When using networks with higher latency and jitter figures, you may find a presence of packet loss (information being lost in communication between the user and the server) and you can expect the experience to be negatively effected in a number of ways: delay in transition periods, unnatural player movements, freezing and client disconnections.

VPN and corporate laptop security

Corporate laptops often have a VPN installed as a way of working within the corporate network infrastructure within being in the office. This often has an adverse effect on the quality of the device's network connection; restricting speeds and significantly increasing latency/jitter to a level which is not compatible with use of Jenson8 products.

Ensure that any VPN or other security which has this type of impact on the devices connection is disabled before participating in a Jenson8 session. If it cannot be disabled, then an alternative device may have to be used.

Apollo: Common symptoms of a Poor Connection

In Apollo, an active game can be effected in a few ways as a result of one or more poor connection. Here are a few examples:

Transition periods are either delayed or do not progress: There are points in the game where the Apollo server requires a response from all clients before continuing; such as teleporting to the training room and the timer starting in the cave (even when skipping as a facilitator). If one or more participants have poor or lost connection, they will not be communicating with the server effectively, so the game will not continue.
Client timeout and client timeout: If a user is reporting a timeout or disconnection, this is likely a result of their connection being insufficient, or their device briefly disconnecting from the network. However, this could also be caused by the user stepping outside of their guardian boundary or putting the headset to sleep, as this makes the headset inactive in the game.
VoIP issues: You will likely notice people having a "choppy" audio in voice chat, or potentially not being heard.
(Note there are multiple reasons you may not be able to hear a participants, for example if they are in a private chat, their headset microphone is muted, or microphone permissions are not enabled on the headset. Please see Voice Chat Troubleshooting for more details.)
Unusual User Effects: Users may experience delays in buttons and functions working or intermittently lose the ability to use these functions altogether. You may also notice users losing headset tracking (head staying still but hands still moving), particularly is they have left and re-entered their boundary.

Boomerang: Common Symptoms of a Poor Connection

Transition periods are either delayed or do not progress: There are points in the game where the Apollo server requires a response from all clients before continuing; such as the avatar selection room or the end of the tutorial. If someone has disconnected at these point or cannot continue through the game due to a poor connection, you may find that the game will not progress until the server has had a response from each player (even when attempting to skip as facilitator).
Client timeout and client disconnect: If a user is reporting a timeout or disconnection, this is likely a result of their connection being insufficient, or their device briefly disconnecting from the network. However, this could also be caused by the user stepping outside of their guardian boundary or putting the headset to sleep, as this makes the headset inactive in the game.
VoIP issues: You will likely notice people having a "choppy" audio in voice chat (particularly when teleporting), having a robotic sounding voice, or potentially not being heard.
(Note there are multiple reasons you may not be able to hear a participants, for example if they are in a private chat, their headset microphone is muted, or microphone permissions are not enabled on the headset. Please see Voice Chat Troubleshooting for more details.)
Unusual User Effects: Users may experience delays when using buttons and teleporting or intermittently lose the ability to use these functions altogether.