"Lock frame rate to 30 fps" should be an available option in every PC game.

[GeneralOreo]

Why don't some games have this option!?


It's annoying for a game to be around 60fps at one part and 35 at another. If I can't have a constant ~60 then give me a constant 30 please.

 

[QueBert]

I second that, or at least have an option where it can run a stress test on the most graphically taxing level and whatever the lowest average is, use it. weather it be 30 or 40 or whatever. I've wondered about this myself and it seems like many more people then you and a bunch of developers would have wanted this in games it just makes sense to me.

 

[HopJokey]

The source engine games have a maxfps cvar.

 

[Fardringle]

Personally, I'd rather have the game run as fast as it can whenever it can so that I only have to be annoyed with it running slow at the few spots where the computer has trouble keeping up.

What you are suggesting is like having your car forced to a max of 30mph on the freeway just because you will eventually have to slow down to 30 when you get off the freeway and drive on the city streets.


It shouldn't be hard to add an option like this for people who like to go the same speed all the time, but I can't think of any reason why you would want to keep the game from giving you the best experience it can...

 

[legoman666]

just use vsync? If your monitor refresh is 60hz, your fps will always be a multiple of 60. Those are: 60, 30, 20, 15, 12, 10....

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: Fardringle
Personally, I'd rather have the game run as fast as it can whenever it can so that I only have to be annoyed with it running slow at the few spots where the computer has trouble keeping up.

What you are suggesting is like having your car forced to a max of 30mph on the freeway just because you will eventually have to slow down to 30 when you get off the freeway and drive on the city streets.


It shouldn't be hard to add an option like this for people who like to go the same speed all the time, but I can't think of any reason why you would want to keep the game from giving you the best experience it can...

however, there is a practical reason to limit FPS to 30 or 60 (60 preferably if the game won't dip below that, ever).. because then it's synced with the monitor (well, potentially, depending on refresh rate), and then means no screen tearing. I'll enable v-sync whenever possible so that the game appears ultra smooth to my eyes.

and what games do you have that do not have a v-sync option? and btw, v-sync is a frame-rate limiter, to specific fractions of the refresh rate. If your monitor is set to 60Hz, then your limits will be 60, 30, 15 (and others at lower fractions, however, very impractical). Unlike a limiter, you won't see framerate ever hit numbers like 27 or 26. It either has to be even with 30fps, or it will drop to 15fps, so it is always perfectly matched with the refresh rate in an even fraction. If your refresh rate is 75Hz, then your frame syncs will be 75, 37.5, and 18.75.

 

[stnicralisk]

Originally posted by: legoman666
just use vsync? If your monitor refresh is 60hz, your fps will always be a multiple of 60. Those are: 60, 30, 20, 15, 12, 10....

Sixth grade math vocabulary words:

Multiple!
Factor!

You sir have listed factors!

Your frame rate will always be a factor of 60 (although this is not necessarily a true statement not all monitors refresh at 60Hz in the first place)

 

[PingSpike]

You can't rob performance from the future for the right now when rendering a game. If there's a lot of shit on the screen and my hardware can't render it all at once, I'm going to take a performance hit at that moment. Cutting the frame rate when I'm in a box room with nothing to render 10 seconds or 10 nanoseconds from now won't do a damn thing to help the first scenario.

What you're saying would only be possible if the game code could some how predict the future. I suppose you could do some educated guesses like those used in network code, but there would be frequent fuck ups because of the unpredictable nature of the medium. Those screw ups would require extra resources to recover from gracefully. Its the same reason movies can get away with really low frame rates...because they know what the next frame rate is, they can use motion blurring to cheat the eye. Games don't really have that luxury...there's no script of what the player sees. At any instant camera (player) could decide to do a 360...or start staring at the floor.

Unless there's something I'm missing? There's just no way to predict the future in a game.

 

[CP5670]

Although I can see some value in a constant, steady framerate, I would take the fluctuations any day over a fixed framerate that low.

Unless there's something I'm missing? There's just no way to predict the future in a game.

He's talking about just capping the framerate so that the dips are not so noticeable.

 

[TheOtherRizzo]

Can't you just add a 30 Hz custom resolution to do the trick?

 

[bunnyfubbles]

wow, so there are people who want to willingly lower their frame rate...

the reason we have an option for vertical sync is to reduce tearing

If your game slows down to the 30s only in a few situations and can otherwise run at a steady 60, I'm going to assume you're insane to willingly chop it in half just because you want uniformity.

 

[CP5670]

Exactly. Cutting it down that low just to keep it steady makes no sense at all.

 

[BFG10K]

All Quake 3 engine games have this option through com_maxFPS.

Also some Doom 3 games like Quake 4 and Quake Wars have a similar variable.

Why anyone would want to set it to 30 though is beyond me.

 

[legoman666]

Originally posted by: stnicralisk

Originally posted by: legoman666
just use vsync? If your monitor refresh is 60hz, your fps will always be a multiple of 60. Those are: 60, 30, 20, 15, 12, 10....

Sixth grade math vocabulary words:

Multiple!
Factor!

You sir have listed factors!

Your frame rate will always be a factor of 60 (although this is not necessarily a true statement not all monitors refresh at 60Hz in the first place)

<--- see this? This is me giving a shit. I got my idea across, what else matters. Besides, you could argue that 30 is the 1/2 factor of 60, and that 15 is the 1/4th factor of 60. etc.

 

[Crizza]

I thought you could force it in drivers.

 

[Check]

30 frames per second plays like garbage. This is why they don't make that option available on all computer games.
Don't believe me? Play NCAA 08 on a PS3 and then play it on an Xbox 360.

 

[kylebisme]

.

 

[kylebisme]

The fractions of the refresh rate thing is only when you aren't using triple buffering, otherwise a GPU can render at any framerate up to it's refresh rate while maintaining vsync. It makes for much nicer transitions in framerate than the sudden framerate drop from 60 to 30, and then right to 20 which is what you get when using only double buffering.

 

[GeneralOreo]

Originally posted by: Fardringle
Personally, I'd rather have the game run as fast as it can whenever it can so that I only have to be annoyed with it running slow at the few spots where the computer has trouble keeping up.

What you are suggesting is like having your car forced to a max of 30mph on the freeway just because you will eventually have to slow down to 30 when you get off the freeway and drive on the city streets.


It shouldn't be hard to add an option like this for people who like to go the same speed all the time, but I can't think of any reason why you would want to keep the game from giving you the best experience it can...

It's more like enjoying a smooth ride in the back seat reading a book and then having to readjust every time the speed abruptly changes, going faster then slower and vice versa.

And yeah vsync is an option, but it's not ideal.

 

[ashishmishra]

Originally posted by: BFG10K
All Quake 3 engine games have this option through com_maxFPS.

Also some Doom 3 games like Quake 4 and Quake Wars have a similar variable.

Why anyone would want to set it to 30 though is beyond me.

I would have agreed with you if I had not played Need For Speed Prostreet with and without patch 1.1, before patch 1.1 the games framerate would swing back and forth like crazy, it was annoying frankly. After patch 1.1 the frame rate has been locked to 30, initially I was livid when I heard they locked frame rate like that. I gave it a chance though and I must say that the game feels extremely smooth, no hitches whatsoever, it could be 60 FPS for all I care. I play it with rig in sig at 1680 x 1050 4xAA 16xAF everything maxed out and it has been a great experience. I can now understand and relate to OP's argument.