Sometimes 60 FPS actually isn’t enough.

Counter to this post, you’ll often find that in online games you need more than 60 FPS. Of course, if you’re running an LCD monitor at 60 Hz, you won’t see more than 60 FPS, but that doesn’t mean the experience isn’t a little better. Whether or not it has a measurable effect isn’t necessarily relevant; the feel, placebo effect or not, is often enough.

But sometimes there are instances where 60 FPS is provably and truly not enough. CoD4 provides us with such an example. Being built on some version of the Quake engine, CoD4 has some interesting (and old) relics to show us. One of these is the following, and it has a relatively large effect on gameplay:

At 125 FPS you can jump higher and further than at any other framerate.

Theoretically; I haven’t tested what happens at, say, 250. But isn’t the premise ridiculous? This mess stems from old Quake (3?) code in which a client’s physics simulation is in some part affected by his framerate. Why this ever happened I don’t know, but it still exists in CoD4 a year after release and seven patches later.

In short, those not running the game at 125 FPS simply can’t do some of the movements they could otherwise. If you’re one to use jumping as a tactical way to engage enemies instead of camping corners and whining about “hoppers” (i.e., if you’re decent and not terrible at the game), it’s in your best interest to run 125 FPS if possible.

It’s easy enough to accomplish this (with a suitable computer) by editing your config file. Pop that sucker (config_mp.cfg) open, find com_maxfps, and set it to 125. Before saving, though, find cl_maxpackets and set that to 63. Don’t bother asking me about the last one; I’ve merely heard on multiple occasions that this is what you’re supposed to do. Apparently 125/63 is a smoother experience than otherwise.

Another popular configuration is to set both the above variables to 100. The idea there is that matching these means updates are sent to the server at the same rate as frames are being displayed, so it’s feels more accurate or something. Again, I don’t actually know the ins and outs of it, and it seems not to make a difference, especially since my monitor can do only 75 Hz. I’ve run both setups and other combinations of values but I never felt much of a difference. Aside from the fact, of course, that at 100 FPS my character felt decidedly less limber. Feeling gimped isn’t cool, so I went back to 125 almost immediately.

The best and simplest way I know to demonstrate the difference between 100 and 125 FPS is to load up Crash. There’s a wall by the three-story building that can be mantled but only when running the higher framerate. Below is a shot of where it is (it’s the one in the crosshairs and shot up). Stand next to the wall, look straight up, and jump and hold the key. At 125 you’ll latch onto the top and hoist yourself over; at 100 you’ll slide back down the wall in abject failure.

Forgive me, as I completely forgot how to take screenshots without all the HUD and gun. But no matter. With this post I’ve let you in on a little secret (maybe it’s not that secret, but still), so go forth and experiment. Feel the true power of the MP5 when you can outmaneuver anyone and everyone… but only at 125 FPS.