Same problem here, latency is the same but sever is "overloaded" with just 1-2 players. Either something to do with survival servers or a result of the most recent update to the game.
Currently running Los Angles server and connecting from Australia so I can play with friends outside of OCE. I am seeing Latency of 260 which is same as Dallas. In other games I normally get <200 which makes games like Enshrouded playable. Is anyone else experiencing very high ping connecting to LA Servers? I'd host Singapore but it is non-selectable in the dropdown.