UO Trace

UO Trace  will allow you to find out exactly where any problems in your Internet connection may be occurring. If you are online, click here to get the program. Click once on the link, and save it to your computer's desktop. 

  1. Double-click on the uotrace.exe to run it.
  2. You will be asked if you wish to download the server list. Answer No to the question. (this option is no longer available)
  3. Click on the Options menu then select Advanced.
  4. Enter in the name of the server you are trying to connect to. This can either be an IP address or a web address without the www (ea.com for example)
  5. Click on the Trace Route button. A succession of host names will begin to appear in the main window. These are the computers your data passes through on its way to the UO Server. Once the function is complete, a message that says Traceroute successful will appear in the lower left corner of the window.
  6. To the left of each host name there is a shield icon. These should be green, indicating no problems.
  7. Select the Poll button.  This tells the program to send packets of data through the route to the final host. As the data is being sent, look at the "pkts r/s" column. Let it send about 40 packets then select Stop Poll.

 

How to interpret the results:

 

A high ping will cause your client to not be able to communicate fast enough with the server for the game to maintain fluid motion. This will result in your game's movements appearing jerky and you will notice that the players around you seem to be able to move much faster than you can. This is due to the fact that the other players are most likely taking a different route to the server and are not being affected by the problem. 

 

If you consistently notice high ping times, contact your ISP and discuss the problem with them. Be sure to have a list of the problem hosts or to actually be running UOtrace while you are speaking with them. 

There will be some routers that your data will pass through that are independent companies and your ISP may not have any influence over them. In this case you can use the nifty Who is? feature of UOtrace.

  1. Simply right-click on a host name
  2. Select Who is?
  3. You will be given information about that hop, usually including an email address and telephone numbers which you can use to contact them yourself.

 

Most packet loss issues are generally resolved quickly by the hosts (a matter of minutes), although some may take several days to resolve. If you consistently notice packet loss, you should contact your provider to discuss possible solutions. You may also consider trying a different ISP.