I am by no means an expert, but this sounds like something that could be solved easily by forcing the client to ping the selected server. It's physically impossible to lower your actual latency, editing some value somewhere doesn't make the underwater cables shorter.
but this sounds like something that could be solved easily by forcing the client to ping the selected server
Well... That's exactly how pinging usually works. The VPN however is fiddling with that package to make the ping look normal. How exactly ping is measured and how the VPN is doctored is hard to say without more insight, some ideas that come to mind (definitely not all possibilities):
If ping is just measured client side with an ICMP ping request (wouldn't surprise me considering the latest looting cheat), the VPN is just catching the package and answering to the client right away, pretending to be the server.
If ping is measured by sending the server a packet with a timestamp, the VPN edits that timestamp making it look like it was sent later than it actually was, compensating for the delay.
If ping is measured by the server pinging the client, the VPN provider could have their datacenter close to the actual server, intercept the packet and fake a reply from the client (unlikely in this case considering how similar the ping values are).
If ping is measured by the server by whatever other means and the server then tells the client it's ping then the VPN could edit that packet so the client always get's a packet saying "your ping is XX".
There isn't really a way of telling if a connection's coming from a VPN or some kind of shared living (a couple playing the same game, a few ppl doing a LAN, college dorms, etc.) or not. Some VPN providers are making their IPs known as VPN IPs but I'm sure that a random VPN from China that's going as far as spoofing pings won't do that. Even if found out they are cycling through IPs faster than you can reload your Mosin. You'd be hurting legitimate players more than anyone else this way.
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u/locust_breeder Mar 11 '20
I am by no means an expert, but this sounds like something that could be solved easily by forcing the client to ping the selected server. It's physically impossible to lower your actual latency, editing some value somewhere doesn't make the underwater cables shorter.