u/Exposure_Point

I remember a time when I felt intense pain (V2K and DEWs), to the point of being totally overwhelmed. Something digging through my brain at the same time that I felt unimaginable pain coming from somewhere.

At the time, it seemed like it was designed to crush me. And it worked. I begged, pleaded on my knees, for it to lessen or stop.

But I keep coming back to the same question...

Why does it show us mercy?

I've been aware of targeting for 6 years. I always wonder, why doesn't it hurt me as bad as it did when it started?

It always reminds me that it's here. I wake up every day dreading the conflict that I'll have to endure. I wake up everyday ready for what's coming... But I don't feel the intense pain with the overwhelming loudness of the V2K. It's just enough to let me know that it's here, but not so much that I beg a non-existent God for reprieve.

The GitHub Repo. Basically, I want convert it to a dual-line status bar. The first line of the status bar should show a color coded representation of the last ping, using ANSI colors, and the second line represent the total packet loss, which I've already got working. I know you C# guys like a challenge, but this one shouldn't really register as a complex solution.

https://ibb.co/Kcsnr8m6

How would you recommend adding that to my DrawStatusBar method?

I wrote a console app in C# that simply displays a ping log that's color coded by the return delay. Good, Warning, Error, and Critical. Good is Green, Warning is DarkYellow, Critical and Error are Red.

https://preview.redd.it/6x1q2uyudx8h1.png?width=1919&format=png&auto=webp&s=88422e7150c40c2815eb4600ab46656ad050f464

I use this as my Network Monitor on my left-most screen for system metrics.

Here's the GitHub Source and even compiled releases for Windows and Linux.

It's simple, not overly complicated, and serves a singular purpose.

However, I'd like to add a status bar at the bottom with packet loss and even an interesting title-type intro for running the app. Like this...

https://preview.redd.it/2bxjewfqex8h1.png?width=461&format=png&auto=webp&s=94ae8c7d87ae40af828c3d4409f793f65a256926

The issues that I'm running into is that the console output is different for all the various console hosts. Native CMD.exe (Doesn't work) . We also have Windows Terminal (Works), PowerShell (Works),

https://preview.redd.it/878tyuc8qx8h1.png?width=965&format=png&auto=webp&s=e77a9eb17b52a230d00164546c73f7396b08d32e

Ubuntu Terminal (Doesn't work with borders).

https://preview.redd.it/z6sv7grqfx8h1.png?width=788&format=png&auto=webp&s=04076663eb5cd666d8432f21c16aff9daf99cf2e

So the base questions is that; Does anyone have any recommendations for solid cross-terminal experiences?

Is that the answer, or can I change encoding to make it display properly in all console hosts?

I have three monitors and I use my left monitor to display system metrics.

I run ping on loop to see network jitter and latency. I run ThrottleStop to monitor system thermals and provides an easy option to quickly disable my system auto-overclocking feature, if thermals are too high. And I run TaskMgr in Performance view.

Here's a screenshot

All my system data, at a glance.

If you'll notice, my Ping is color coded, and that's what I come here today to share.

Here's another screenshot of its functionality...

I created a GitHub repo PingColors and synced my source.

There's two points to this post, one to provide something I believe is unique to Network Admins, and secondly I'd like feedback on how I handled the development.

Honestly, I'm not satisfied and I'm thinking about re-writing it from scratch. When it comes to handling the CLI, it works and the logic is solid, but the code is what I'd consider to be a bit messy. The actual CLI is the part that needs review, although it works. I used Visual Studio 2026 - Insiders Community Addition to write this app.

Usage: PingColors [options] [host]
Options:
  -w, --warning <ms>    Set the warning threshold in milliseconds (default: 80)
  -c, --critical <ms>   Set the critical threshold in milliseconds (default: 200)
  -t, --timeout <ms>    Set the timeout for ping in milliseconds (default: 5000)
  -s, --speedmode       Super fast ping rate (default: false)
  -h, --help            Show this help message

Traditionally, since a VPN is an extra layer, it shouldn't really create stability from instability. If you have an issue at the ISP level, adding an additional layer shouldn't resolve that issue. To prove I'm not trying to promote a specific VPN, I'll refrain from mentioning it.

I have a triple monitor setup and my left monitor is dedicated to system metrics. CPU/GPU Usage, network stability and thermals. I'll keep it short and get to the screenshots.

No-VPN (No, I'm not sure what's causing this.)

https://preview.redd.it/6izu8pd3wj2h1.png?width=1919&format=png&auto=webp&s=a0f9ed96baf6f4b43001bfa711b285437ffae9d6

With VPN enabled.

https://preview.redd.it/nv37i0howj2h1.png?width=1919&format=png&auto=webp&s=872a33ee9a710c44f52e6ed9589ab3ddf7bda382

Any ideas or feedback would be awesome. Also, it doesn't matter which IP I choose for the ping, the result is the same. Butter smooth with VPN, and unstable without. The same thing happens on my Phone, if I use my VPN internet access and pings are stable.