Some players have reported lag in Factorio for several years. Lag has always seemed fair to me because of the vast, complex bases you can build in the game, but the latest patch might make things better. Version 1.1.46, released this Saturday, makes some changes to reduce multiplayer lag.
There are a lot of fixes in the full change table, but the lag tweaks are the big ones:
- Reduced multiplayer latency on very good connections up to 66ms (4 ticks).
- Changed multiplayer delay calculation to be smoother. This should reduce stuttering for multiplayer on poor connections.
- Changed the default network sending rate from 30 to 60 packets per second and added an option to configure the speed in server-settings.json.
The top is the most interesting. Patch notes link to this post on the Factorio forums from 2019. One player noticed unusually high latency even on particularly good connections; even, in fact, when two versions of the game are running on the same computer.
At the time, the developers of Factorio said, “[latency] could be downgraded a bit and we could provide an option to send packets per tick, but solving this is not a big priority right now, as we have hidden latency and Other problems.
“Someday, we might try to look at that.”
Yes, now they have. One developer updated the thread in October to say, “The issue is pretty basic with how the game syncs game updates, network updates, and how things are cached. Hornwitser looked at many issues that cause unnecessary delays. In Version 1.1 .43, you’ll see latency as low as 2 ticks (33ms) on the LAN.”
So, if you’ve been struggling for years to play Factorio with a friend, even if you both already have a great relationship, give it a try now. It is possible.
In addition to continuing to update the base game, Factorio’s developers seem to be Also working on a major expansion.
