I get rates of apx 1 FPS (if not .5 FPS) and, levels take 135 seconds to load (yes I counted)
Something is terribly wrong here. I find it hard to believe my computer and connection can offer me an acceptable lag rate without steam, but with it, I get that.
I surpass all the minimum requirements. 2GB speed, and 2 GB ram.
...Is there any way I can make my game run faster?
I'm having this same issue. My computer's got ample space and RAM to run SK, and I've been on at least 3 different networks with the same lag. I'd like to see what's going on here too.
Steam actually has an awesome characteristic: redirect everything.
Play with the non-steam launcher an you will probably notice a difference.
A little scheme for who don't understand allready:
With steam:
You ---> Steam busy server ---> SK server ---> Steam busy server ---> You
Witout steam:
You --> SK server --> You
Actually you're a bit wrong there. It's
You > SK Server > You
and
SK Server > Steam Server
and
You > Steam Server
simultaneously.
Your client-to-server connection does not rout through steam other than through the logging in to the server. After that, the SK server talks to the steam server and validates all of the information on a steam account. It's pretty easy to tell this, because if it was dependent on you always being connected to the Steam servers, then I wouldn't be able to use the little "Facebook connect" button to get into my steam account without even launching steam.
That and I wouldn't be able to continue playing after ending the steam process, if I so chose to.
low FPS? long load time? Thats not network lag.
Either your CPU/RAM dont have much free space to host steam and the game at the same time or the steam installation is too fragmented so it takes longer to read the harddrive.