PS3 Controller Lag

[Stefanzi]

It may be just me but it is really bothering me. After playing Zen Pinball 2 on Vita, Zen Pinball THD on Android and the WiiU version I started playing more on the PS3. Perhaps because I had played on other systems I was not used to it but I detect a tiny bit of lag when using the controller, a very, very slight delay when pushing a flipper and the flipper on screen responding. I have never noticed it before on another game but the combination of Bluetooth (an old, very slow network protocol, not exactly fast or state of the art) and the precision that Pinball requires it seems that on shots that I should be able to time perfectly, and have done on other systems, that I am noticing it. Perhaps players who have only been on one system are used to it.

When the PS3 (Dual Shock or Sixaxis) controller is plugged in it sends the signal info down the USB cable in order to charge faster. Again, it may be in my head but when I play plugged in it seems there is no lag. I was thinking that this was all in my head until last night when I was playing- plugged in usual (some may say I was indulging my paranoia) when I detected lag again. I thought, well it must all be in my head but at second glance the controller was plugged at the micro-USB end but the PS3 USB ports were bare. [Cue spooky music]

Needless to say this is frustrating, especially as it has the potential for me to lose my grip on reality but Bluetooth IS slow and when using the PS3 controller on Android the hint of lag is there as well. Bluetooth, as i said, is neither fast nor current, anyone who has tried to copy files from a phone to a laptop I am sure can agree with this.

Has anyone else experienced this? Is there a long time wireless-only player out there willing to plug in and see if they notice a difference?

With all that said there is nothing that Zen will be able to do about this- if it is working when plugged in it is definitely not a software problem.

PS- Please don't think this is an excuse to explain away crappy scores, I know I suck. Numbers don't lie.

[Rafie]

LOL I'm sure the score are decent. Well anyway, I do have to say that I haven't experienced any flipper lag at all. Fortunately for me the flippers are just fine. The only game that flipper lag is present in that I myself have experienced is The Pinball Arcade. I haven't heard anyone here experience this on any of the consoles. Well Sony and Microsoft consoles.

[RabidShark]

pinball arcade does have a little for me as well,, but ZEN does not have any lag for me at all its vary accurate

have you tried another controller maybe , also i don't know if PS3 can do any kind of defrag but i would imagine that in rare cases data could fragment just like any hard drive so maybe a re-install of zen2 and all the tables as a last resort might be a good idea too.

[surf1der]

It might be your television. If you have a "game mode" setting for your TV, turn it on. It might reduce the image quality but it should get rid of the input lag.

[shogun00]

pinball arcade does have a little for me as well,, but ZEN does not have any lag for me at all its vary accurate

This could be the resolution setting. ZP2 is anchored down at 720p, while Pinball Arcade supports both 720p and 1080p. I've been reading a lot of reports on flipper lag when playing TPA on 1080p.

[gselfish]

You may want to check these articles:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-lag-factor-article

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-vs-console-lag-round-two-article

Although they are not specifically about bluetooth vs. wired latency, in my opinion they overall show that wireless connection is not a major issue.

Nevertheless, your "blind experiment" sounds very interesting.

To be honest, I don't think that a constant latency should be much of an issue, provided that it sits below a certain threshold (one of the articles mentions 166 ms as the response time over which gamers start to notice lag, although that's probably too high for a pinball game).
In my opinion, the worst offender would be lag fluctuations. It may be that, when using a wireless controller, the lag in your system goes high and low, throwing off your timing. I wonder if this can be caused by interferences from other bluetooth devices sitting around. Not sure if that actually makes sense, however.

[RabidShark]

This could be the resolution setting. ZP2 is anchored down at 720p, while Pinball Arcade supports both 720p and 1080p. I've been reading a lot of reports on flipper lag when playing TPA on 1080p.

yes vary true i forgot to mention that playing in 720p is a bit better for TPA.

[ER777]

I've never experienced even the slightest bit of lag in Zen's games - heck sometimes it almost feels too responsive!

In TPA I have experienced varying degrees of input lag of course, but its not bad playing at 720p with game mode on - or on a CRT TV which brings it up to Zen levels of responsiveness.

However I have heard of a few people having issues with the wireless controller connections. Some people speculated that they were using the same frequency as another nearby device and were getting interference, its unclear if that was true or not. The only resolution they ever gave was playing with the controller plugged in like you said..

[Incriminified]

I sometimes get lag in Zen. Though, it is entirely an artifact of my hardware. Thankfully I found a way to correct it in my case, and can enjoy lag free play. Whenever I would start zen for the first time, I'll notice a very slight lag on the tables. This only happens sometimes. It is persistent, in that once it's there, it'll happen on all the tables for the duration of the zen session. Likewise, if it doesn't happen when zen is started, all the tables are fine and remain that way for the entire session. Thankfully, I found a way to stop the lag if it happens. Originally, my ps3 was hooked directly to my TV. First, I pause the the table. Then, by switching the TV's input selector on my remote control from PS3 to some other input, and then back to the PS3 input, it will clear up the problem 95% of the time on the first try. Repeating those steps in the rare times it doesn't work will ultimately fix the problem on the second try. I now have the PS3 hooked to a home theater amp, and I follow the same steps by changing from the PS3 input on the amp to something else, and then back to PS3. Not sure why it happens, or why that fixes it. My TV is configured for gaming mode already. If it weren't, lag would be even far worse and uncorrectable.

The usb cable does not provide a lower latency connection to the PS3, and only acts to recharge the controller.

As far as TPA, I really wish their engine would get an overhaul. I've tried many things, and nothing gets rid of the lag. Resolution does not make any difference. I think it is more of an issue with the quality of engine to be honest.

[shogun00]

I sometimes get lag in Zen. Though, it is entirely an artifact of my hardware. Thankfully I found a way to correct it in my case, and can enjoy lag free play. Whenever I would start zen for the first time, I'll notice a very slight lag on the tables. This only happens sometimes. It is persistent, in that once it's there, it'll happen on all the tables for the duration of the zen session. Likewise, if it doesn't happen when zen is started, all the tables are fine and remain that way for the entire session. Thankfully, I found a way to stop the lag if it happens. Originally, my ps3 was hooked directly to my TV. First, I pause the the table. Then, by switching the TV's input selector on my remote control from PS3 to some other input, and then back to the PS3 input, it will clear up the problem 95% of the time on the first try. Repeating those steps in the rare times it doesn't work will ultimately fix the problem on the second try. I now have the PS3 hooked to a home theater amp, and I follow the same steps by changing from the PS3 input on the amp to something else, and then back to PS3. Not sure why it happens, or why that fixes it. My TV is configured for gaming mode already. If it weren't, lag would be even far worse and uncorrectable.

It sounds like a problem with the HDMI hand shake to me. Have you tried using a different HDMI cable?

[Stefanzi]

Thanks Incrinified, that seems to have done the trick. Now I have to practice with more responsive controls.

[Incriminified]

It sounds like a problem with the HDMI hand shake to me. Have you tried using a different HDMI cable?

Yeah, I've tried other cables. Still does the same thing though. I'm cool with the issue, as long as I can get it working in the end

[Incriminified]

Thanks Incrinified, that seems to have done the trick. Now I have to practice with more responsive controls.

Sweet, glad that it seems to have helped.

[Walldude]

I saw in another thread that there is an adjustment

in the Operators menu for each table for flipper sensitivity, the lower the number the faster the response. I only seem to have delay problems when I play on my LG 3D TV.. Gonna try the operators menu...

[waleeed12]

I've tried other cables. Still does the same thing though. I'm cool with the issue, as long as I can get it working in the end