An obsession with framerates

[Gare]

Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking, lolol pc gayming and stuff. But this applies to console gaming as well!

So how do you feel about frame rates in a game, and what's the lowest amount that you'd still consider playable and enjoyable? How much does it bother you when say, a console game locked at 30 FPS dips to the 20s or below? I hear Dark Souls was like this, and the new Thief experiences similar things on PS4 if I'm not mistaken.

[FlavaFlave]

Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking, lolol pc gayming and stuff. But this applies to console gaming as well!

So how do you feel about frame rates in a game, and what's the lowest amount that you'd still consider playable and enjoyable? How much does it bother you when say, a console game locked at 30 FPS dips to the 20s or below? I hear Dark Souls was like this, and the new Thief experiences similar things on PS4 if I'm not mistaken.

I'm kinda torn on this one.... on consoles I really don't care too much if things are locked at 30 and tend to dip. As long as the game is still playable I can tolerate it, but with that said if we're hitting single digits then you better believe I'm going to get mad. It also depends on the type of game too - if it's CoD which is locked at 60 and starts shitting during an online match, I have zero tolerance for that (Ghosts has horrendous frame rate dips on PS4 and Xbone) and there's no reason since it runs fine on the last gen consoles. Dark Souls on the other hand is more tolerable, although it was pretty rough in a few patches, but nothing that really truly wrecked the game.
I didn't have any issues with Thief other than the atrocious loading times, but I also didn't finish it so it's possible it could have had some issues late game. Inferno would probably know better.

But here's the other side of the coin - if I'm playing a PC game it better run damn smooth. I get anal about frame rates dipping on PC because I feel like it may be my machine (which in some cases it is, others it's not), and I end up spending far more time tweaking graphic options than I do playing the game. I think the reason I accept it on consoles is because that's just how it is.... there isn't really anything you can do about it

There's my 2 cents.

[Drageuth]

I personally never give a thought to framerate unless it starts to dip into the "unplayable" range. A tiny bit of lag is acceptable in my books, although definitely not ideal. I've run into this problem with a few games -- off the top of my head, I believe this happened to me in Fallout 3, Demon's Souls/Dark Souls, Kingdoms of Amalur, and probably a bunch more that I'm forgetting because they were minor inconveniences rather than a huge detriment to the game.

I'm not usually obsessed with framerate, and I usually only notice it when it dips below the 30FPS range. Otherwise, doesn't matter if it's 30 or 60, I barely notice it as long as it all feels smooth and natural. Yes, a higher framerate would be ideal, but I personally don't think it's mandatory like some other people (lol pc gaymer mustard racing), and it doesn't take away from the experience for me if it's only a measly 30FPS.

Spoiler warning:

Yes, I know that not every PC gamer is like that, but they are definitely out there, and if the stereotype fits...

[crusher]

I'm perfectly fine with 30-ish frames per second and I even thought SotC on PS2 was okay... Obviously though the more the better. The times I do play on ze computer I rather tweak the options to get a nice framerate than purdy graphics.

Oh and in before someone says something about the human eye only being able to see in 30 fps...

[Gare]

I do tend to obsess over framerate on PC, sort of. But I'm like Flava, since PC games give you the option to tweak graphical settings for a smoother framerate, it tends to work out for me quite well. This is why people get anal when a PC port is bad and settings are locked.

It depends on the game as well but I can find myself getting pissy about 40 FPS. 50 is where I start to get comfortable. Yeah I know, I'm beyond redemption...

You guys should play Earth Defense Force on PS2, the frame drop is HILARIOUS (and part of the EDF experience).

[Dave_Dave]

For me, I'm very lenient on frame rates. The absolute minimum that I will be willing to play a game at is 15 Frames a second, though saying that is probably being generous. I've played Microsoft Flight on frame rates lower than that (I think 10, but maybe less). As long as it's not anything too choppy, I'll let it slide.

Unless it's something where those extra frames mean the difference between "You Win!" and "Game Over", I have very relaxed restrictions on my frame rate preferences.

[Corey]

Personally frame rates don't matter to me. I actually prefer them around the 30 FPS range since it's what I'm most accustomed to. slowdowns just happened on SNES and PSX. It's nothing unusual for me. I find that 60 fps and, god forbid, 120 FPS is simply too much for me. I won't bitch about it because you get used to it, but I feel like it's TOO fluid at those rates.

I think the more stylistically designed games like Darksiders II benefit more from 60 FPS since it makes all those whoosh fwish movements look nicer, but aside from that, doesn't matter to me.

[Ace Ventura]

I could care less about frames as long as the game runs smoothly to be honest.

[Gare]

Personally frame rates don't matter to me. I actually prefer them around the 30 FPS range since it's what I'm most accustomed to. slowdowns just happened on SNES and PSX. It's nothing unusual for me. I find that 60 fps and, god forbid, 120 FPS is simply too much for me. I won't bitch about it because you get used to it, but I feel like it's TOO fluid at those rates.

I think the more stylistically designed games like Darksiders II benefit more from 60 FPS since it makes all those whoosh fwish movements look nicer, but aside from that, doesn't matter to me.

I kinda get what you mean, but you get used to it, really. And yeah, I played DS2 myself at 60 and the combat animations do look great at that speed.

[Iamerror]

I've played games that have slowed down, and it annoyed me.Sailor Moon RPG slows down a lot,especially when there are a lot of enemies on screen. I still play it though.Unless the slowdown rate makes the game unplayable, I'll deal with it.

[Pickles]

I could give a fuck. All I know for sure is games ran smoother on my Nes than they do on my ps3.

[Drageuth]

I could give a fuck. All I know for sure is games ran smoother on my Nes than they do on my ps3.

Overload an NES game with sprites and it'll annoy the fuck out of you more than you can possibly imagine. I've had more than my share of "WHAT THE FUCK" moments because I let too many enemies onto the screen at one time and starting a shooting animation at the same time. Most notably in Batman or various shmups, especially when the lag means the difference between moving out of the way of a shot now, or five frames from now.

[garrendesares]

I have never had the problem. If i did, i probly wouldnt care as long as it stille played nicely.

[Inferno.]

I think I fail at gaming. I only noticed any frame rate slow down at all in Thief (PS4) the once, towards the end. There were probably loads more occasions I completely missed it!

[Spose']

I usually don't stress over it since my Graphics Card is mediocre enough to handle Ultra on most games smoothly.

The only time it bothers me is when it looks like it's clipping but it's actually running smoothly at 60. This was the case with Far Cry 3. It completely ruined the game for me. Every frame rate monitoring software I used reported it at a steady 60, but it looked extremely choppy.