How can 25fps be only "playable"?

[corvetteguy]

I have been playing the first unreal tournament for a while on my crappy p2 366mhz, and figured that on a good day(yes my comp has good days, even minutes, it then decides it doesn't want to go as fast) i was getting over 30fps on the game on full. Today i found an option, can't remeber what it was, but it came up with this fps meter during gameplay with an average and stuff. Turns out i have been playing, again this is a good day, at around 10fps, up to 15 and as low as 5, and thinking it was going over 30fps. Now obviously you can tell i've never played at 60fps, or i wouldn't be playing the game that slow, but i have beaten the whole game on godlike, and found that if it feels like it, the game is very playablw, with some choppieness occaisonally. So i thought, "If i can play well like this, how come people complaine about 20fps, or 45 etc. Please tell me YOUR definition of playable, cause if i got 25fps, i'd probably be uber happy. 8)

I guess i'll put a poll to show a range of your standards.

 

[dvdpiddy]

30 or higher is mine i play cod2 on near high with my xp 3200 and leadtek 6800 agp with over 30fps

 

[MadModMike]

Frames really only matter in Racing and Intense FPS's. I notice on UT2004, I'll get about 700 Frames per second w/ my SLI and it plays very good. If I turn on SLI 16x Anti-Aliasing, it drops me to 110 Frames Per Second but the game doesn't seem as smooth, even though it's double what the smoothest frame rate is supposed to be. I say anywhere from 20-40 on a slow paced game like Condemned: Criminal Origins (comin to PC soon! ) and 45-60 on faster games like CoD2, Racing, etc. is what I like.

~~Mad Mod Mike, pimpin' the world 1 rig at a time

 

[corvetteguy]

yeah but unreal is a fast paced game, especially the way i move, all eratic lol, and i can play it at 10fps and not have a problem. I'm not saying i can't tell the difference between 10 and 30, but lots of people say they just can't play a game under 50fps, wtf. :? :roll:

 

[Godiva]

Anything under 60 I don't like to play in, it's a noticable fps drop from my usual 100's, and bothers me while im trying to shoot people.

 

[corvetteguy]

did you vote, if not please do, cause i don't see a 45-60fps vote yet lol

 

[hergieburbur]

I said 30 to 45. The human eye CAN see more than 30FPS, however, most of us won't notice it, and don't have fast enough reflexes for it. I figure at around 45, you are safe enough that when you dip down, you don't hit a major snag.

 

[mpjesse]

I'm not really sure how you can stand 10fps...

I get all bothered when a game dips below 30fps. I like to be totally immersed in the game i'm playing. When a game dips below 40fps even it just reminds me I'm playing a game.

And b4 anyone tells me the human eye can't see more than 30fps- go play FEAR and set the constant frame rate at 30fps. In gaming, you CAN see a difference between 30fps and 60fps.

 

[MadModMike]

Well, your eye doesn't really SEE the frame difference, it just becomes much smoother in viewing, IMO.

~~Mad Mod Mike, pimpin' the world 1 rig at a time

 

[chocobocorey]

Well, your eye doesn't really SEE the frame difference, it just becomes much smoother in viewing, IMO.

well if it becomes smoother, that makes it noticeable to the eye..

 

[MadModMike]

Well, your eye doesn't really SEE the frame difference, it just becomes much smoother in viewing, IMO.

well if it becomes smoother, that makes it noticeable to the eye..

Noticing and Seeing are 2 different things (I know that sounds weird).

~~Mad Mod Mike, pimpin' the world 1 rig at a time

 

[hergieburbur]

You are right, but now you are talking about the brain more than the eye...

 

[enewmen]

I remember playing Ultima9 at 10fps. It seemed fine for that time and that kind of game. Then I think I got 60+ fps when I upgraded to a Geforce2.
For modern games, I find a frame limiter helps smooth things out - even when using a really over-powered graphic cards (like a GF 6800GT on San Andreas)

 

[fainis]

it depends of the game.....racing 25-30 will do, fast fps like fear 40-85 will do just fine........generaly i think 60 fps are perfect for any game
i must admit the question is a little tricky...playable to the lower limit I presume

 

[bront]

I'm picky, but I generaly don't have a problem turning down settings, as I'm more interested in the screen Res than things like AA or shadows. Now, they make a game all pretty and all, but I'm more interested in being playable.

Of course, I upgraded my system to play Dungeon Siege II (well, it was the example that set it in motion) at better framerates, only to find that the game is capped at 30 FPS regardless :?

 

[fainis]

need for speed most wanted ...you all know the story .. although there are only 40..50 fps (1028x1024 all settings high) it`s incredible playable

 

[hubbardt]

Good article on this subject here:

click me !

8)

 

[fainis]

congrats for your finding...i think it said it all

 

[Ycon]

For racing you need more fps. I could enable all options on NFS: MW but it was a little bit choppy and I couldnt drive comfortably so I disabled all options.

Usually 20-30 fps is allright for me. Thats the best fps I can get in BF2 with everything max. @ 1280x960 with my X300 SE :roll:

 

[mdd1963]

"Well, your eye doesn't really SEE the frame difference,"

Many people claim the human eye can't see anything over flashed before tehm below 1/60 th of a sec...

Bull....!

In aircrew physiologival training, we were flashed images of a common playing card on a large screen for 1/1000th of a sec....

You can see it, but not quite read it....

 

[pissclams]

There's more too it than just what your eye can see, movement in certain FPS games is influenced by your FPS as well - Quake 3 for example. The more FPS, the longer/higher you can jump.

 

[hubbardt]

There are certain "magic" FPS numbers in the Quake 3 engine that allow you to jump slightly higher and longer due to tiny numerical calculation errors in the code.

43, 76, 125, or 333

 

[sylvez]

it depends on how much quality i'm willing to sacrifice. ;p

if i tone down the graphics and realise that it looks crappy i'm willing to go as low as 20fps

:lol:

 

[hubbardt]

Agreed

It all depends on what looks good to the individual. I am constantly telling people at work to change their monitor refresh rate from the default 60Hz because it is blindingly obvious to me (faint flickering) and they are usually unaware.

An interesting point .... look at a 60Hz screen out of the corner of your eye. You will notice the flickering much more as the corner of your eye is more sensitive to flicker 8O

 

[Avadann_Kedeth]

It really depends on the game. RPG's 30 fps is fine with me, FPS it's gotta be 50-60 or I'll drop settings. The important thing to realize is: is 25 fps playable for you? If it is, you're a fortunate minority, if not, welcome to the world of wishes being horses.