Is it just me?  

Elaborate?

• Is the entire app freezing, or is it just the main game screen?
• What device are you using?
• How long have you had the device?
• Does it freeze randomly or does it only freeze when certain conditions are met? (E.x. When you're around a lot of players)

 

I believe the OP is referring to the 2-3 second freeze bug that has been an issue for a number of players for a while now.

No, it's not just you. I also thought it was just me at first.

Some people brought it up in the bug reporting thread (in the future improvements sub-forum). I'll bring up my post:

Posted by Narcosis

It could very well be my imagination, but it almost seems as though it's getting worse. I've experienced this a lot lately and I've definitely noticed certain times when it happens. Someone mentioned that the freeze seems to occur when a new character (or characters) appear on your screen. I think there's a lot of validity to this. For example, when I'm bee farming in the spot to the right of Brothers soccer shop; The only time I ever experience the 2 second freeze is when someone new walks onto the screen. It never happens when I'm alone or even when there's other people standing around. This seems to be the one consistent factor in this bug. For whatever reason, when the game loads new characters on the screen, it'll sometimes freeze everything for 2 to 3 seconds. As has been pointed out, this is a client-side issue. And it hasn't always happened. I can't say when it started because I quit Graal for 2 years or so and this bug has been occurring since I started playing again 2 months back. Please, please look further into this issue. I know I don't just speak for myself when I say this severely gets in the way of me fully enjoying my Graal Classic experience.

My specs:

iPhone 4S
IOS 7.1
Latest version of Graal

I'd like to add one more thing. Lately I've been bee farming in the area above swamptown with all the bushes. The 3 sec freeze has been happening a lot in this area. Like, a ridiculous amount of times (more so during peak hours). And this is a high-traffic area (in terms of people walking by). Whereas, when I'm fighting the giant blob, and there's maybe 30+ people on the screen, it actually happens considerably less. I just wanted to point that out.

I think this problem is big enough to warrant its own thread. And I think players who are encountering this freeze problem should use this thread to give as much info as possible (in regards to when it happens, when it started happening, how often it happens, and what device they're using) to try and help the devs figure out the source of this issue.

One more thing: I referred to it as a "2-3 second freeze", but lately I've noticed it's in fact closer to 3-4 seconds.  

It's happening to everyone and it's ****ing annoying it's been around for ages and it's getting worse and worse.  

I always seem to get stuck with the lag freeze when Im running for my life to avoid dying.




Off-topic:

Posted by Narcosis

Lately I've been bee farming in the area above swamptown with all the bushes. The 3 sec freeze has been happening a lot in this area.

try doing it in the bush areas inside castle. Less people around and theres a trick using the wall that allows you to catch them easier.  

I've heard that re-installing Graal solves the issue (at least temporarily). Can anyone confirm this? I don't want to go through the trouble unless I'm sure it'll help.

Posted by GOAT

try doing it in the bush areas inside castle. Less people around and theres a trick using the wall that allows you to catch them easier.

I appreciate the advice, but I'm not really looking for new spots to farm bees. I have my preferred spots. I'd much rather see this freeze problem fixed once and for all. (Besides, there's always noobs occupying that spot anyway)  

its so annoying  

Posted by Narcosis

I've heard that re-installing Graal solves the issue (at least temporarily). Can anyone confirm this? I don't want to go through the trouble unless I'm sure it'll help.



I appreciate the advice, but I'm not really looking for new spots to farm bees. I have my preferred spots. I'd much rather see this freeze problem fixed once and for all. (Besides, there's always noobs occupying that spot anyway)

If you erase Graal then from what I know, you will lose all the cached files that your iDevice has saved (which would be from all the custom shields, heads, and other graphics that your device has recognized and stored). This is so next time you see that image, Graal doesn't have to load it from scratch, it just has to load the file already saved on your device. This is also what makes the Graal file space continuously grow larger

So if you delete Graal, the file size will start back small again and you will lose these files. Losing these files means your device will have to store them all again, which would probably only hurt you with your lag issue.

There are some other tips to reduce lag that is caused from your devices loading capabilities. As in, disabling nicknames, disabling animations, disabling in-game text, turning off sound and music, playing zoomed in (not the large full screen), and especially avoiding crowded areas.

Posted by Dino

its so annoying

These young people will never know what it was like to have to use dial-up internet connections.

I think the speed I can connect to thousands of people immersed in a virtual world on my handheld touchscreen high-resoultion smartphone nearly wherever or whenever I want to, is something I would think twice about complaining about.

Lag fixes are always nice but I never see them affect Graal in a way that causes gameplay to hinder (any more so than expected).  

Yes  

I thought this was natural occurring lag spike...because it usually happens to me when there's a lot of people around me.  

Posted by Kendama

If you erase Graal then from what I know, you will lose all the cached files that your iDevice has saved (which would be from all the custom shields, heads, and other graphics that your device has recognized and stored). This is so next time you see that image, Graal doesn't have to load it from scratch, it just has to load the file already saved on your device. This is also what makes the Graal file space continuously grow larger

So if you delete Graal, the file size will start back small again and you will lose these files. Losing these files means your device will have to store them all again, which would probably only hurt you with your lag issue.

There are some other tips to reduce lag that is caused from your devices loading capabilities. As in, disabling nicknames, disabling animations, disabling in-game text, turning off sound and music, playing zoomed in (not the large full screen), and especially avoiding crowded areas.



These young people will never know what it was like to have to use dial-up internet connections.

I think the speed I can connect to thousands of people immersed in a virtual world on my handheld touchscreen high-resoultion smartphone nearly wherever or whenever I want to, is something I would think twice about complaining about.

Lag fixes are always nice but I never see them affect Graal in a way that causes gameplay to hinder (any more so than expected).

But it's not lag. The game runs perfectly, otherwise. It's a client-side issue that's not a result of my hardware. I can guarantee you that.

And I was born in '88. I grew up with dial-up. Until a few months ago I only had an iPod touch version 2. I'm actually behind when it comes to smartphones, as this (my iPhone 4S) is my first one (and I don't even have a SIM card in it, so I can still only connect via wi-fi).

I know what server lag is. I know what client-side slowdown is. I know what I'm talking about. And I know this freeze issue is not caused by lag or my device's limitations. It is a bug, and it's affecting a lot of people (including pretty much everyone I know, in-game).

I just wish more people would speak up.

Edit - (I know that "young people" comment was directed at someone else. But I just wanted to make this all clear anyway)

Edit #2 - There's a handful of posts (starting on page 31) in the bug reporting thread about this issue. I suggest reading them if you're not convinced:

http://www.graalians.com/forums/show...t=7835&page=31  

It is being investigated by Unix and Stefan.  

Posted by Dusty

It is being investigated by Unix and Stefan.

Thank God because it's getting extremely annoying x.x  

I lost my mantis because of that.  

It's mostly depend on what device your using,Server lag,Area...,I usually get that alot because of the device.