HALL OF SHAME: List of games with locked frame rates (60fps)

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HALL OF SHAME: List of games with locked frame rates (60fps)

Post by Chief Blur Buster » 15 Feb 2014, 11:16

The Blur Busters Hall of Shame:
Games That Runs Locked To 60fps

We have a lot of game developers who read Blur Busters, including visitors from Valve Software, Ubisoft, DICE, etc. This thread aims to list all games that run at locked frame rates such as 60fps, and are thus, 120Hz-unfriendly, 144Hz-unfriendly or GSYNC-unfriendly. The purpose of this thread is to make sure game developers realize the importance of the "Better Than 60Hz" market, and modify their games early enough during development, before it's too late.

  1. Assassin's Creed IV (Nov 2013, limited to 60fps)
  2. Need For Speed Most Wanted (Oct 2013, limited to 60fps)
  3. Lost Planet 3 (Aug 2013, limited to 60fps)
  4. Skyrim (Nov 2011, limited to 60fps)


Please add games by replying to this thread. Games will be removed from this list when a game is confirmed to be flawlessly running (with no glitches) at 120Hz and 144Hz.

A real Blur Busters webpage will be created once this list is sufficiently populated.
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Re: HALL OF SHAME: List of games with locked frame rates (60

Post by Haste » 15 Feb 2014, 12:30

Need For Speed Rivals

- Date: November 15, 2013 (North America)
- Details: Capped at 30hz; no real fix. It can be re-capped to 60hz, but causes slo-mo glitches when frames drop to 59 or less. To see it uncapped at 120hz, click Link 1.
-Link 1: un-capped MAYHEM!
-Link 2: BlurBusters thread discussing the 30fps cap
-Link 3: Game-Debate
Information provided by trey31


Skyrim

- Date: November 11, 2011
- Details: Engine is tied to 60fps; running the game at higher refresh rates provokes severe physic glitches as shown in Link 1.
-Link 1: 'Skyrim FPS Physics Glitch' (youtube)
-Link 2: Steam forum
-Link 3: 'Skyrim flying objects' (Stack Exchange)
-Link 4: Skyrim on 120hz monitor' (Overclock.net)
Information provided by Haste


L.A. Noire

- Date: 2011
- Details: Engine is tied to 30fps; running the game at higher refresh rates provoke severe glitches: vehicle braking and "game time" are affected. See video in Link 1.
-Link 1: 'LA Noire FPS Cap Removal Issues' (youtube)
-Link 2: Steam forum
-Link 3: Overclock.net
Information provided by Haste
007 Legends (60)
Amazing Spiderman (62)
Assassins Creed 2 (60)
Bastion (60)
Binary Domain (60)
Burnout Paradise (60)
Braid (60)
Doom 3 (60)
Flyn (43)
F1 Race Stars (60)
Hotline Miami (60)
Iron Brigade (30)
LA. NOIR (30)
Limbo (60)
Need For Speed Most Wanted (60) [October 2012]
Rage (60)
Rayman Origins (60)
Saints Row 2 (100)
Splinter Cell Conviction (60)
Sonic and All Stars Racing Transformed (60)
Star Wars - The Force Un 1 (30)
Star Wars - The Force Un 2 (30)
Trine 2 (100)
Transformers (30)
Transformers Fall Of Cybertron (60)
Vessel (60)
Spelunky HD (30)
Terraria (60)
Lost Planet 3 (62)
source: http://120hz.net/showthread.php?3258-Ne ... mes-Report
Last edited by Haste on 27 Feb 2014, 06:08, edited 4 times in total.
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Haste
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Re: HALL OF SHAME: List of games with locked frame rates (60

Post by Haste » 15 Feb 2014, 12:46

Age of Wonders
Airport Simulator 2014
Alien Hallway
Alien Shooter: Revisited
Amerzone: The Explorer's Legacy
Anodyne
Assassin's Creed II
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
Bastion
Ben There, Dan That!
Binary Domain
Bit.Trip Presents Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien
Bit.Trip Runner
Blackwell Convergence
Blackwell Legacy
Blackwell Unbound
Bleed
Braid
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway
Burnout Paradise
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Cave Story
Commandos 3: Destination Berlin
Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty
Costume Quest
Creatures
DOSBox
Deadpool
Doom 3
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
Duke Nukem
Duke Nukem II
Dyad
FIFA 14
Fallout: New Vegas
Final Fantasy XI
Fractal: Make Blooms Not War
From Dust
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Hitogata Happa
Hotline Miami
How to Survive
Hype: The Time Quest
Injustice: Gods Among Us
Intrusion 2
Iron Brigade
Ittle Dew
Jet Set Radio
Joe Danger
L.A. Noire
MX vs. ATV Reflex
Magic Carpet
Major Stryker
Master of Orion
Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor
Monaco
Moonbase Alpha
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Full Burst
Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012)
Neighbours from Hell 2: On Vacation
NightSky
No Time to Explain
Noitu Love 2: Devolution
Perfection.
PixelJunk Monsters Ultimate
Planescape: Torment
Post Mortem
Privateer 2: The Darkening
RAGE
Rayman Origins
Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale
Return to Mysterious Island
Risk of Rain
Runaway 2: The Dream of the Turtle
Saints Row 2
Scribblenauts Unlimited
Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure
Sega Mega Drive Classics
Silent Hill: Homecoming
Sine Mora
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Sonic 3D Blast
Sonic Adventure 2
Sonic Spinball
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II
Space Colony HD
Spelunky
Stacking
Star Wars: X-Wing
Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance
Street Fighter IV
Super Meat Boy
Syberia
Teleglitch: Die More Edition
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Baconing
The Banner Saga
The Bard's Tale (2005)
The Castle Doctrine
The Cave
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The King of Fighters XIII
The Shivah: Kosher Edition
Thief: Deadly Shadows
Time Gentlemen, Please!
Toki Tori 2
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Online
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction
TrackMania 2: Stadium
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron
Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle
Ultima VII: The Black Gate
Ultima VIII: Pagan
Vessel
Wing Commander: Prophecy
Wing Commander: Secret Ops
Worms World Party
Wrack
Zombie Shooter
Zombie Shooter 2
Zuma's Revenge!
source: http://pcgamingwiki.com/index.php?title ... alue=false
Last edited by Haste on 27 Feb 2014, 04:59, edited 1 time in total.
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Black Octagon
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Re: HALL OF SHAME: List of games with locked frame rates (60

Post by Black Octagon » 15 Feb 2014, 12:49

Fantastic idea for a thread!

But is it really fair to list Skyrim? 'Unlocking' it to 120+ fps is really straightforward. Just disable vsync from the cp and (in order to prevent game from going spaz) limit frame rate to 118

Sent from dumbphone (pls excuse typos and dumbness)

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Re: HALL OF SHAME: List of games with locked frame rates (60

Post by Black Octagon » 15 Feb 2014, 12:51

We should also list Dark Souls..except it is limited to 30 (!) fps and so deserves its own special form of public humiliation

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Re: HALL OF SHAME: List of games with locked frame rates (60

Post by Chief Blur Buster » 15 Feb 2014, 12:51

Thanks so much!

I would like to create an initiative web page that enlightens game developers. Several game developers, including DICE (battlefield) and others are regular readers of Blur Busters and/or follow @BlurBusters on twitter, and are avoiding frame rate capping. But I think we all could do more! I think a public Hall Of Shame page could help prevent a game or two (maybe more) from being framerate locked this year.

To ferret this out better, I'd like bold-out games that are developed since the first 120Hz desktop LCDs came out, since those are the games that should be called out loudly -- so the games like "Doom 3" would go into a historical section, while Sky Rim is recent enough to be a good loud call-out in the "120hz Hall Of Shame"

To save all of us time time, can you add dates to at least some games listed above - so I can more loudly call out the more recent games, in upcoming Blur Busters articles later this winter?

One paper magazine is going to publish a copy of one of the blurbusters GSYNC articles in an April issue, so I may have other channels later this year to help enlighten some laggard developers -- give them a nudge -- maybe not all -- but at least prevent one, two or a few mistakes from happening this year.
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Re: HALL OF SHAME: List of games with locked frame rates (60

Post by Haste » 15 Feb 2014, 13:45

I agree with the historical section. I'll add the dates.

What information should be provided for each of these games?
-Official page?
-PC Gaming wiki?
-Links to forum threads/blogs/articles complaining about the cap limit?
-Means to contact the developer(s) of the game or give feedback?

At which point does a game have its place in the Hall of shame? Some workarounds can be used for certain games to avoid the FPS cap. (e.g. INI files, ingame commands, ...)
-Should these game be in the list?
-If they do, Should we document these workaround or link to them?
Some games can be uncapped but at the price of glitches that can be severe.
-Should we document these glitches?

Note: I haven't reviewed the games I posted in the second and third post of this thread. We should verify them before they can enter officially the Hall of shame.
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Re: HALL OF SHAME: List of games with locked frame rates (60

Post by Chief Blur Buster » 15 Feb 2014, 14:50

Haste wrote:I agree with the historical section. I'll add the dates.

What information should be provided for each of these games?
-Official page?
-PC Gaming wiki?
-Links to forum threads/blogs/articles complaining about the cap limit?
-Means to contact the developer(s) of the game or give feedback?

At which point does a game have its place in the Hall of shame? Some workarounds can be used for certain games to avoid the FPS cap. (e.g. INI files, ingame commands, ...)
-Should these game be in the list?
-If they do, Should we document these workaround or link to them?
Some games can be uncapped but at the price of glitches that can be severe.
-Should we document these glitches?

Note: I haven't reviewed the games I posted in the second and third post of this thread. We should verify them before they can enter officially the Hall of shame.
All very good questions, and some thinking will be required. In general, workarounds such as a simple INI setting, that allows glitch-free 120fps operation, would most likely be omitted, but a game like Sky Rim has too many glitches at 120fps to escape scrutiny. I think the key benchmark to staying off the list is "Playable at 120fps on retail release date, in an unmodified installation, with only minor configuration changes", or something thereabouts. It might not be exactly this, but this would be the general idea.

There might have to be subjective judgement for borderline cases that may exist (e.g. games that are fully playable at 120fps one year after release date, only after heavy configuration changes, registry editing, and tweaks) but games that are frame capped and only glitchfree at 60fps, that are released today (2014) would deserve top placement very high in the Hall Of Shame.

Let's order orthographically.
It would take hours to research every single game, so let's at least focus on 2014 and 2013 releases, then go back to 2012. These are the priority games that needs quick entry into the "120Hz Hall Of Shame" webpage I'll create in the coming weeks.

Information for 120Hz Hall of Shame
- Game title
- Date of game release is important
- Links to people complaining about the cap is important (more the merrier, HardForum/OCN/etc posts, just paste links underneath the game title, or link them by number like link1, link2, link3)
- The rest of the information is a bonus, but not really needed unless it includes info on framerate limits.

Feel free to just spend a few minutes, to reply one, two, three, five, ten games per reply if you want. You can edit your original posts, edit the posts later to add more links, if you want. Don't overwork yourself.


____

To begin with, the priority is a reasonably compact article that can loudly call out smaller number of major, big-name, recent game titles, that are not very 120Hz-friendly in an era of "Better Than 60Hz" technologies. Followed by a smaller section listing the rest of the games, as well as a historical section.
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Re: HALL OF SHAME: List of games with locked frame rates (60

Post by Black Octagon » 15 Feb 2014, 15:34

Again, I personally think it's a little harsh to have Skyrim on here. I certainly had a glitch fest after disabling vSync, but limiting the framerate fixed nearly everything and made the game very enjoyable

(At least, that was the case on my 7970...I've had sufficient exchanges with NV users to conclude that this game might behave rather differently on NV gpus)

Edit: unless things like setting a frame rate limit are considered too much to have to do?)

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Re: HALL OF SHAME: List of games with locked frame rates (60

Post by Chief Blur Buster » 15 Feb 2014, 17:28

Black Octagon wrote:Again, I personally think it's a little harsh to have Skyrim on here. I certainly had a glitch fest after disabling vSync, but limiting the framerate
On slower GPU's, frame rate slowdowns caused the glitches to come back. If you can sustain 120fps@120Hz, keep it steady with a frame rate cap, it is possible to get through a fair bit of the game that way, but it's not guaranteed to be possible to make it through. It is still rather inconvenient not to be able to do it in an out-of-box state.

The more popular a game and made less than 3 years ago, the more likely it needs be on the list even if it's partially semi-fixable -- because we need to remind game developers away from permanently designing a game around a 60fps frame rate limit too early on in development -- and to thank the game developers that avoid doing so.
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Forum Rules wrote:  1. Rule #1: Be Nice. This is published forum rule #1. Even To Newbies & People You Disagree With!
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  3. ALWAYS respect indie testers here. See how indies are bootstrapping Blur Busters research!

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