Semantics (Destiny)

by Beorn , <End of Failed Timeline>, Wednesday, June 21, 2017, 12:56 (2746 days ago) @ narcogen

However, a good broadband wireless network with a good in-coverage-area signal won't have any more than a wired network will. It's not an unavoidable consequence of being wireless-- just an unavoidable consequence of other problems you can have-- bad coverage, interference, etc.

I’m going to have to disagree on this, at least in semantics (and I bet you know where I’m going with this already). Signal degradation due to various forms of interference (physical barriers, signal collision, environmental issues, etc.) is an intrinsic aspect of wireless networking, so much so that there are a large handful of specific and advanced technologies built into the very foundation of these systems to attempt to counteract such issues. I can’t even count the number of “wireless communication” patents I’ve worked on over the years. It’s kind of boggling.

Even a very solid wireless network will almost always have higher packet loss/retransmit than a wired network, just as a matter of physics. That said, the underlying signal tech is surprisingly robust and is getting better every day, so its less and less of an issue. And I do agree with you that a modern, well-configured Wi-Fi network should offer a clean enough connection for just about any online gaming purpose, and should be mostly indistinguishable from a wired connection.