Right, after experimenting over a few games with Tyma today, I can confirm that graphics settings can affect lag in a big way. I usually play at 1680x1050 with all settings on max which is great for single player, but online play quality is a lottery.

We both disabled Vsync in the settings, and I also turned off shadows and dropped AA settings etc down low. We went from a terrible slideshow to a very playable (and enjoyable) game - and then several very enjoyable games. If you regularly encounter lag, give it a go!

It's silly that local graphics settings that are fine for local play affect online play like this - there's no need to send graphics info back and forth, but somewhere along the programming it seems it does. My guess is that this stems from the game being designed for console users, who are playing on identical hardware and therefore identical optimised settings. I guess some info is being sent back and forth that becomes a problem when you have varying/higher settings.

There's a good chance that not many people have discovered this because it requires both players buying into it. So if you've tried and are still lagging - ask your opponent to try. Obviously there can be several other causes of connection problems, but this is a simple cure for what seems to be a big one. It explains why I can often have a playable game with a NZ'er, but then a terrible one with a guy 30 miles away from me.

Cheers,
Skunky