Hey there,

there was an issue about the fps_max value whether it should be kept unlimited or should be capped at a certain value. There was discussions about this in the sourceruns discord. Several opinions reaching from having 100fps cap, 250fps cap, or unlimited fps have been brought forward and explained. Current rules allow unlimited fps, which was initiated by Bloodvez. After considering this issue for some time now, the rules will now change the cap for fps_max to "250".

It is true that this game is not tied to a particular client; it doesn't therefore have a tradition of a locked standard fps_max value you could orient yourself by. First runs by Lynnwicked were done on fps_max 100. Later runs by Bloodvez were done on unlimited fps. Under unlimited fps, some tricks were custom tailored for high fps_max values and do not properly work with fps_max 100 or lower. It is also true that trying to preserve the ability to do tricks more easily or doing them at all is not a proper reason to keep a higher fps_max value. Some of those tricks are also possible on fps_max 100. It is therefore perfectly possible to limit the fps_max value to 100. However, since it is not traditionally played on 100 fps, the main parties argued between deciding for either 250fps max or unlimited fps. The reason for this is one of opportunity. Since the game is not bound to a 100fps cap, why not pursue the possibilities of high fps tricks, like very narrow objectboosts on several occasions, or a higher speed in more consistent bunnyhopping allowing to maneuver through the vast landscapes particular to They Hunger more quickly. It is one of the gameplay benefits of this game and of having the openness of these yet almost untouched leaderboards to provide such a possibility, and it is a change to what you are used to from HL or OF or other HL-mods.

The reason the fps cap will now be decreased from unlimited fps to 250fps on the other hand is one of necessity in terms of consistency among runners. Most importantly the RNG of the characters in the game increases by a lot the lower your fps are. This is not simply an issue of lag. The mechanics of the game include having NPCs turn slower the higher your fps get. Especially in a game like They Hunger, where you have a lot of enemy encounters and no battery charge but only spare health you need to deal with to perform tricks like grenade jumps and the like, the chances to perform some of the crucial situations are drastically decreased for people having lower fps than others. There of course will be runners, who can't maintain steady 250fps throughout the game (like myself). But the majority will be able to rather do that than stay on a constant 1000fps which for some runners is achievable. The issue is not simply one of RNG itself obviously, but of the different RNG amount among runners created by a too high (or unlimited) fps cap. There will continue to be hardware differences between runners and the consequential differences in performances and times. With this rule, it is at least narrowed down by a lot. At last, having a steady fps_max value of 250 will also allow for using Goldsrc 2 beta and NGHL as clients without too quickly getting a slowmotion bug occuring when having unstable fps values (see also: https://wiki.sourceruns.org/wiki/FPS_Effects ).

Thank you for all your opinions which are all valued in the decision making. In the end it was not only the majority of the people discussing this issue, but more importantly the majority of the runners who agreed on this 250 fps_max cap. I hope, this rule will preserve the equality among runners and benefit the gameplay and the competition on the leaderboards.

Greetings qd