"cg_lagometer" - This is a very useful utility which lets you monitor your connection on-line. With this enabled while you are playing on-line you will see 2 bouncing lines. The first line displays the conjunction between your graphics card updating the frames in sync with the gameworld updates recieved from the server. Idealy, this should be a straight blue line. If it has bouncing yellow spikes then your display will stutter and be more difficult to view. To combat this, first ensure you have followed my tweaking techniques and then change your snaps setting. Usually, this means lowering it by until your screen is stable and you have a nice flowing blue line in your lagometer.

The second line shows if packets are being recieved from the server. This should be green. If it is yellow or red, try increasing your rate or try lowering your snaps. If this does not help, you may be on a bad server so try another. The height of the line is dependent on your current ping.

"cl_timenudge" - This interesting setting is identical to the pushlatency setting in Half-Life. This is very user determined and impossible to judge for every machine and every connection. I find this setting works well if you set the cl_timenudge setting to around -30 the ping you currently have with the server. If you don't like the way it affects your timing, then leave it at default (0). Use this command in conjunction with the lagometer for best results.

"rate" - This setting controls packets to ensure a good connection. If you have an ISDN modem (128K) then this can be set to around 8000. If you have a 56K modem then this should be around 3000-4500 depending on your connection speed. If you are on a LAN or have ADSL modem, then this can be around 24000 or perhaps even higher. Experimentation is required to find the optimal setting.

"snaps" - This is possibly the most important setting for getting a good connection. As everyone knows, in Quake 2, your gameworld updates depended on your current FPS so slower computers were at a disadvantage. Now, in Quake 3, your snaps setting determines how many updates you recieve from the server. 56K modems should have a setting of around 20. ISDN modems (128K) should be around 40 as should any other fast connection devices (LAN, T1 etc....). Remember to read my cg_lagometer section for tips on "snaps".

"cl_packetdups" - As the name suggests, this setting is used to send multiple packets to compensate for lost packet drops. This setting should be set at 1 unless you have a VERY good connection in which case set this to 0. Use the lagometer to decide on which setting to use.

"cl_maxPackets" - This setting puts a limit on the maximum amount of packets that can be sent to the server via the client. This setting is useful for people with slower modems. The default setting is 30 (comparable to a 56K modem), but lower this if you have a 33.6K modem or less, and higher this setting if you have an ISDN or higher modem.

"com_maxFPS" - This command limits your maximum FPS. Why you would want to do this? 2 reasons. Firstly, because it will help stop the server from having lag confusion when your frame rate has a sudden rise or fall. Run a timedemo, collect your average FPS and use that as the limit for when you play on-line.