SWTOR and Bitraider

[Meander]

I recently found out that SWTOR installed bitraider some time ago.  Probably old new to a lot of you, but it is causing performance issues for some.  I went through the following process to uninstall it, and it worked.  I also am getting better performance now.  The big issue though:  YOU HAVE TO DO A COMPLETE RE-DOWNLOAD (25 GBish).  Here are the steps I found on the interwebz that worked.

 

To Disable either uninstall and redo the install from disks (if you have them), or do the below and it will install again as SSN. So open the launcher.settings file in the main SWTOR directory with notepad and reflect the below lines.

, "PatchingMode": "{ \"swtor\": \"SSN\"}"
, "bitraider_download_complete": { }
, "log_levels": "INFO,SSNFO,ERROR"
, "bitraider_disable": "true"

SAVE the changes.
Delete the BitRaider, Movie and Asset folders then start the launcher.
 

NOTE - This is a complete new game download

Edited November 3, 2015 by Meander

[Dreskoss]

Yes, this has been around for quite a while and it's a wonderful thing to have if your internet cannot handle the load this game can require.  Getting rid of the streaming client was a God send on my old mobile internet.  I haven't bothered with it since I upgraded to Cox 150 Mb/s.

[October]

I think when I tried to repair my launcher, it installed BitRaider, because I hadn't had it before then.

 

But then I just reinstalled the whole game from my CE discs and was good to go.

[Meander]

yea October, you can also reinstall from disc if you want.  That gets rid of it too.

[Dansker]

I did this a month or so ago as well and it helped tremendously. Thanks for posting this Meander!

 

And as a side question, how does your app?

[Phyreblade]

Wait, wait ... For the total software noobs here (and for those who don't want to have hubbies know we're software noobs, doh): exactly what do you mean by "reflect the below lines"???

[Meander]

That was the part I cut and pasted from someone else.  Not the word I would use.  What it wants you to do is open up the launcher.settings file in notepad. 

It is probably in C:\Program Files (x86)\Electronic Farts/Bio Unaware/SWTOR

 

copy the above lines into your clipboard (CTRL C).  Include the commas at the beginning of the lines.

 

Look for the lines starting with , "PatchingMode":

 

Highlight from the beginning of that line to the end of the line that says, , "bitraider_disable": "true"

 

paste the lines over the lines you highlighted (CTRL V)

 

Save the changes in notepad.

 

Then delete the folders according to the instructions above.  I think I oversimplified it, but there you go   I'm x army and like to do things by the numbers.

 

btw I'm typing this slow cuz I know you PvE

Edited November 3, 2015 by Meander

[Meander]

how does your app?

 

how does my app what?  if your asking about space bus, its released on android, but not ios yet.  I just paid the $99 fee for the IOS developer license.  So far I've made a whopping $6.30!  But as an educational game, I didnt think it would sell a lot.  I just wanted to get the process down with the first one.

 

Thanx for asking though.  You can click the Bus in my sig to view the free one in the google play store.

[Dansker]

wow, bad typo there, meant how goes your app, but you got that

 

That's great that its out there. Hopefully it will take off for you

[Dreskoss]

Wait, wait ... For the total software noobs here (and for those who don't want to have hubbies know we're software noobs, doh): exactly what do you mean by "reflect the below lines"???

 

Phyre, if you need a walk through on this, I can help you out.  It would probably help with your lag issues you've been having.  I think it might also help to "port forward" the ports needed in your router for SWTOR.  Don't ask me to explain it in the forums.  I'll get with you in Mumble.

Edited November 6, 2015 by Dreskoss

[Ryanplex]

I have done this myself, even though I have a fast connection, and it has helped my patch download times. The two links below include downloads that should attempt to help anyone with latency issues as well

 

Link 1

Link 2

[Dreskoss]

I have done this myself, even though I have a fast connection, and it has helped my patch download times. The two links below include downloads that should attempt to help anyone with latency issues as well

 

Link 1

Link 2

Are these two programs compatible with each other if using them at the same time?  Seems like they would both modify the same parts of the TCP settings in slightly different ways.

[Dreskoss]

Also, Meander, did you lose all your keybindings when you switched to the non-streaming client?  I can't remember if I lost mine the last time I did this, but I'm seriously considering it again since in game lag has become an issue even on my internet.

[Ryanplex]

Are these two programs compatible with each other if using them at the same time? Seems like they would both modify the same parts of the TCP settings in slightly different ways.

They are, you are correct that they both do overlap in what they modify though. The TCP optimizer is more of a general performance tweak while the latency fix is specifically designed for MMORPGs.

 

Since the latency fix only modifies 2 values I would recommend applying the TCP optimizer, restarting, then applying the latency fix and restarting again. Hope that clarifies things better!

 

Also, Meander, did you lose all your keybindings when you switched to the non-streaming client? I can't remember if I lost mine the last time I did this, but I'm seriously considering it again since in game lag has become an issue even on my internet.

You can save your keybindings since patch 4.0 now so I would assume that you wouldn't, granted if you saved them, even if it did reset your character's current keybindings; I don't believe it does though. If you are overly worried about them I am sure you could export them somehow to a saved folder manually; I think I remember seeing an export button in game for them now but don't quote me on that!

Edited November 6, 2015 by Ryanplex

[Dreskoss]

You can save your keybindings since patch 4.0 now so I would assume that you wouldn't, granted if you saved them, even if it did reset your character's current keybindings; I don't believe it does though. If you are overly worried about them I am sure you could export them somehow to a saved folder manually; I think I remember seeing an export button in game for them now but don't quote me on that!

 

I have saved a map of my keybindings.  The problem is, I don't know if they're stored locally as part of a .TOR file in the Assets folder or if they're saved server side.  My perusal of the SWTOR directory earlier today yielded no results, but that doesn't mean it's not buried in another file.

[Dreskoss]

So, after a little bit of research, it looks like Leatrix modifies TCPAckFrequency in the registry.  This is based on something called Nagle's algorithm.  Basically, what it does is causes the network to wait until it has a certain amount of data "packets" before it sends the information.  By disabling Nagel's algorithm, or disabling "nagling," you cause the network to send the data packets in smaller, but more frequent bursts.  This can slightly raise bandwidth use, but it should be negligible.  

 

Now that I've nerded out with almost useless information, I'll get to the point of this:  this can also be accomplished with SG TCP Optimizer inside the advanced settings.  It allows you to modify TcpAckFrequency, TcpNoDelay, and TcpDelAckTicks all at once to fully optimize the connection for gaming (should help with everything else too, as everything is based off of this packet sending frequency).

 

There are a couple of other Advanced Settings I'm going to look into tomorrow that could possibly help as well.  I'll post more here when I figure it out.

 

Update:

So, I've done two things now. 1) I switched back to the non-streaming client.  I saw approximately a 10% improvement in latency while just sitting in my stronghold.  That's not much when my average latency was already 60 - 80 ms, but it's quite a bit when you take into account that all I did was turn the streaming client off.  It took me approximately 45 minutes to completely redownload the game (oh, and I didn't lose any of  my game defaults; all keybindings and preference settings remained).  And 2) HOLY COW! SG TCP Optimizer is absolutely amazing!  I didn't use just the "Optimal" options when I set mine up though.  I clicked the Optimal settings button and then took notes on what all the settings are, then selected the Custom option, and then set all options the same with exception to the Gaming Tweak sections in the Advanced tab.  For those I followed along what was recommended on their website and boy has it made a difference!  While my "Latency" counter down by the minimap didn't change, I can definitely tell a difference.  I'm not dealing with the ever lurking "hang" when attempting to channel abilities too quickly.  The just activate and are received without a hitch.  It's insane how smooth the game is now.  Keep in mind though, that these are so far just initial findings.  I'll need at least a few days of heavy gaming to truly validate my experience so far.  If this truly pans out, I may do a full write-up/video on everything I did so everyone can enjoy this awesomeness.

Edited November 7, 2015 by Dreskoss

[PopsSciclex]

I have saved a map of my keybindings.  The problem is, I don't know if they're stored locally as part of a .TOR file in the Assets folder or if they're saved server side.  My perusal of the SWTOR directory earlier today yielded no results, but that doesn't mean it's not buried in another file.

They are saved locally, I moved mine over for my new computer a few weeks ago.  Computer > OS (C:) > Users > UserName > AppData > Local > SWTOR > swtor > settings > Keybindings

[Dreskoss]

They are saved locally, I moved mine over for my new computer a few weeks ago.  Computer > OS (C:) > Users > UserName > AppData > Local > SWTOR > swtor > settings > Keybindings

 

Nice!  Thank you!

[Ryanplex]

So, after a little bit of research, it looks like Leatrix modifies TCPAckFrequency in the registry.  This is based on something called Nagle's algorithm.  Basically, what it does is causes the network to wait until it has a certain amount of data "packets" before it sends the information.  By disabling Nagel's algorithm, or disabling "nagling," you cause the network to send the data packets in smaller, but more frequent bursts.  This can slightly raise bandwidth use, but it should be negligible.  

 

Now that I've nerded out with almost useless information, I'll get to the point of this:  this can also be accomplished with SG TCP Optimizer inside the advanced settings.  It allows you to modify TcpAckFrequency, TcpNoDelay, and TcpDelAckTicks all at once to fully optimize the connection for gaming (should help with everything else too, as everything is based off of this packet sending frequency).

 

There are a couple of other Advanced Settings I'm going to look into tomorrow that could possibly help as well.  I'll post more here when I figure it out.

 

Update:

So, I've done two things now. 1) I switched back to the non-streaming client.  I saw approximately a 10% improvement in latency while just sitting in my stronghold.  That's not much when my average latency was already 60 - 80 ms, but it's quite a bit when you take into account that all I did was turn the streaming client off.  It took me approximately 45 minutes to completely redownload the game (oh, and I didn't lose any of  my game defaults; all keybindings and preference settings remained).  And 2) HOLY COW! SG TCP Optimizer is absolutely amazing!  I didn't use just the "Optimal" options when I set mine up though.  I clicked the Optimal settings button and then took notes on what all the settings are, then selected the Custom option, and then set all options the same with exception to the Gaming Tweak sections in the Advanced tab.  For those I followed along what was recommended on their website and boy has it made a difference!  While my "Latency" counter down by the minimap didn't change, I can definitely tell a difference.  I'm not dealing with the ever lurking "hang" when attempting to channel abilities too quickly.  The just activate and are received without a hitch.  It's insane how smooth the game is now.  Keep in mind though, that these are so far just initial findings.  I'll need at least a few days of heavy gaming to truly validate my experience so far.  If this truly pans out, I may do a full write-up/video on everything I did so everyone can enjoy this awesomeness.

 

Exactly, although I did not know that those values represent Nagle's Algorithim so that was interesting! The first explanation I did was just the basic version since I didn't know yours, or others, technical knowledge at the time.

 

I also found it interesting that the optimizer can do the same thing within it's advanced menu, I didn't know that since I always just used the "optimal" settings and never bothered to look into the advanced options.

 

Thank you for the info, much appreciated!

 

Edit ~ Also, to save time from copying over the "optimal" values to the "custom" tab, you can select the "optimal" tab and apply it, restart, then select the "custom" tab and edit the values you desire to defer from and then restart again without messing up the other "optimal" settings; in this case the 5 gaming values in the advanced tab. It seems like the best gaming values for those 5, working from top to bottom, are "disabled:ffffff", "gaming: 0", "disabled: 1", "disabled: 0" and "disabled: 0". Also just as a note to remember, its always best practice to select the "Modify All Network Adapters" on the first page under the "Network Adapter Selection" section. Enjoy!

Edited November 7, 2015 by Ryanplex

[Ztuke]

Further information on BitRaider can be found here.