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Splatoon 2 Testfire only had a tick rate of 12.5Hz

B

Bluth54

Member
After doing some packet capture for the Splatoon 2 Global Testfire it's been determined that Splatoon 2's tick rate was only 12.5Hz.

The tick rate is how often per second the server sends updated data to the game client. The higher the tick rate the more accurate the action occurring on screen is. You may remember that just a few months ago Blizzard had to increase the tick rate on their servers from only 20Hz to just over 60Hz.

If Nintendo is interested in making Splatoon 2 a serious competitive shooter and possibly an esport (which seemed to be hinted at during the Switch's reveal trailer) 12.5 Hz is far too low.

The tick rates of other competitive shooters:
Splatoon 1: 25Hz
Overwatch: Increased from 20Hz to 63Hz
CSGO: 64 Hz
Team Fortress 2: 66 Hz
Battlefield One: Increased from 30 Hz to 45 Hz
Rainbow Six Seige: Increased from 30 Hz to 60 Hz
 
Robin64

Robin64

Member
I mean, sure, but it felt okay to play during the Testfire. Like, I'm not here trying to get super accurate headshots or anything, I'm spraying paint around.
 
D

DrArchon

Member
Does a higher tickrate = more data usage?

I honestly have no idea, but if that was the case, it could be they wanted it to be convenient for people playing while tethered to their phones.
 
D

Dystify

Member
So what was the tick rate of Splatoon 1? Nintendo did do some eSports events for that game.

Vexii said:
Bit of an ignoramus here, but how does this affect the common man, looking at the bigger picture?
Click to expand...

Just as casual players often don't notice lower FPS or lower resolution in games, you probably won't notice this either. So it doesn't really affect you unless you want to play this game professionally...
 
A

andycapps

Member
CS: GO has 64 and 128 tick rate servers, btw. Though I don't play it.

I don't think I can take a shooter seriously if it's trying to be competitive in any way with a 12.5 tick rate.
 
M

MrNelson

Banned
I don't think a lower tick rate is going to be that big of a deal with Splatoon 2. Shooting ink everywhere doesn't exactly call for the same level of precision that a game like CS:GO or CoD needs.
 
S

SirPinkyNose

Member
12.5 tickrate is like playing a fighting game at 12.5 fps. It's ridiculously low.
For common players this could not be a big deal if they can accept that some of their hit won't register even if it hits on their screen, but for a competitive player that's the different between a win and a loss.
 
nikos

nikos

Member
That probably explains why I had some "WTF" moments.

This could be a trend with Switch games, considering it's portable and there will be people on some really shoddy connections.
 
S

SirPinkyNose

Member
MrNelson said:
I don't think a lower tick rate is going to be that big of a deal with Splatoon 2. Shooting ink everywhere doesn't exactly call for the same level of precision that a game like CS:GO or CoD needs.
Click to expand...

Just because the projectile is not hit scan and have large hit box doesn't mean it's ok to have low tick rate server, especially when you want the game to be a competitive shooter.
Hell, even Battlefield 4, which is not a competitive game in any shape of form, has amazing netcode and tickrate.
 
U

User 73706

Banned
Vexii said:
Bit of an ignoramus here, but how does this affect the common man, looking at the bigger picture?
Click to expand...

It would be a different situation if the game was something like Call of Duty where nearly every weapon is hitscan, headshots are important and kill times are really high, but basically the tickrate affects specific updates to game engine actions across the network and to the other boxes. So, for example if the game is running at 60FPS and it has a tickrate of 60hz, it's updating once every frame. If it's running at 60FPS and has a tickrate of 12.5hz, it's updating at a little more frequently than once every 5 frames.

It may not seem like a huge difference (moreso considering Splatoon's gameplay can afford it), but tickrate variations like that combined with poor netcode / internet connections can cause things like Halo 3's infamous ability for people to eat sniper rounds without taking any damage over xbox live.

EDIT: to clarify, tickrates aren't a "free" action - they'll usually be lower than the framerate for performance reasons. Like, as a basic example, if the game needs to check and see what the player's health is to update the UI every tick, and you jump from 12.5 -> 60hz, you're suddenly having to perform a check for 8 unique players almost 5 times more often. Outside of some absolutely necessary stuff, though, it's generally discouraged to tie events to the event tick.
 
U

UnemployedVillain

Member
nikos said:
That probably explains why I had some "WTF" moments.

This could be a trend with Switch games, considering it's portable and there will be people on some really shoddy connections.
Click to expand...

Is there something about GAF that causes people to go from 0 to 100 instantly? A server test demo, for a single game, is going to decide the future of all Switch multiplayer games. Do you know how ridiculous this sounds?

Also we have no idea if this is the tick rate for the full version of the game.
 
M

MTC100

Banned
DrArchon said:
Does a higher tickrate = more data usage?
Click to expand...

I am no expert but I am quite certain that a higher tickrate means higher data usage. However you have to remember that Splatoon is only having 8 players at once on a battlefield that's not really that much and even playing an MMO like WoW with 30 man raids for hours with all the stuff that happens to individual players only takes a very tiny amount of transfer.
 
S

shandy706

Member
Maybe this is why Splatoon felt so off to me? I played it starting it with the Beta. It's possible the OG Splatoon wasn't that low though.

(it was also the really sluggish dual analog controls that bugged me)
 
B

Bluth54

Member
andycapps said:
CS: GO has 64 and 128 tick rate servers, btw. Though I don't play it.

I don't think I can take a shooter seriously if it's trying to be competitive in any way with a 12.5 tick rate.
Click to expand...

From what I understand Valve CSGO servers use 64HZ while community servers can support higher. I went with Valve's rate since I imagine most people are playing on their servers.
 
O

OmegaFax

Member
I thought it played well and they improved the netcode but it looks like they dialed everything down a bit to make it appear smooth?
 
P

PeterGAF

Banned
Wowfunhappy said:
So why did the test fire feel fine? Magical Voodoo?

Legitimate question, I'm not doubting the claim.
Click to expand...
Because most of the time you're shooting the floor and not an enemy player. You're going to notice it less when shooting an enemy isn't the only important thing to do. Also, Splatoon isn't a very "precise" shooter. It feels pretty loose compared to other shooters so the tick rate might not matter as much in Splatoon as it would in overwatch or CS where having accurate, precise aim is very important.

But I wouldn't be surprise if people who played Splatoon at a high level noticed it.
 
G

Geg

Member
It's supposedly half the tickrate of Splatoon 1 and it's noticeable. I guess it's meant to accommodate people playing on mobile now but like... eh. If it stays this way it's going to be extremely annoying in higher level play. At least there's no invincibility specials this time hopefully.
 
B

Bluth54

Member
DrArchon said:
Does a higher tickrate = more data usage?

I honestly have no idea, but if that was the case, it could be they wanted it to be convenient for people playing while tethered to their phones.
Click to expand...

Yeah a higher tick rate means more data usage since you get more data packets from the game server.
 
S

Sesuadra

Unconfirmed Member
Geg said:
It's supposedly half the tickrate of Splatoon 1 and it's noticeable. I guess it's meant to accommodate people playing on mobile now but like... eh. If it stays this way it's going to be extremely annoying in higher level play. At least there's no invincibility specials this time hopefully.
Click to expand...
Or it was just for the testfire and they'll up it for the retail release.
 
S

Smooth Operator

Member
Splatoon 1 (and probably 2) are amazing games, don't get me wrong. But even if Nintendo is trying to appeal to the esports crowd, i'm not sure a lot of people took Splatoon seriously in that aspect. And even if they want to break in with Splatoon 2, it's not going to happen with a 12,5hz.

For me, Splatoon is a great game i can play whenever i feel like playing it, lots of fun etc... And that's a good thing. Not every game needs to be competitive / esports.
 
C

ChazGW7

Member
Valve use 64 tick servers for their online Competitive games in CS:GO, however even that feels like a joke after you've grown accustomed to third party offerings from Face-It and ESEA who use 128 tick servers.

Nintendo using 12 tick servers is... pathetic, quite honestly. Especially if they want to move this franchise towards e-sports territory. I understand that Splatoon is a different beast to CSGO completely, but 12 tick is unacceptable no matter the game. Hopefully this will change for the full game. The optimist in me says it will.
 
BigEmil

BigEmil

Junior Member
I imagine 12.5hz is only for the beta and it will go up to atleast 30hz in Splatoon 2 full game while 60hz tickrate would be best of course but don't think it'll get it
 
R

RRockman

Banned
If Nintendo is interested in making Splatoon 2 a serious competitive shooter and possibly an esport (which seemed to be hinted at during the Switch's reveal trailer) 12.5 Hz is far too low.
Click to expand...

?????????

Wouldn't it just mean that events that matter would actually have to be held in person? There's a reason why People get up and go to EVO and other tournaments in person rather than do online only. If I remember correctly, this was the exact setup in said trailer.
 
B

Berordn

Member
Since we know local multi is a thing in Splatoon 2, I'm more curious if that extends to local play.

It was fine in the testfire, but like others said the game isn't really a precise shooter.
 
Robin64

Robin64

Member
RRockman said:
?????????

Wouldn't it just mean that events that matter would actually have to be held in person? There's a reason why People get up and go to EVO and other tournaments in person rather than do online only. If I remember correctly, this was the exact setup in said trailer.
Click to expand...

Yeah, this won't affect local play at all, and top level competitive stuff will be done locally.
 
S

SirPinkyNose

Member
RRockman said:
?????????

Wouldn't it just mean that events that matter would actually have to be held in person? There's a reason why People get up and go to EVO and other tournaments in person rather than do online only. If I remember correctly, this was the exact setup in said trailer.
Click to expand...

The problem would be online qualifiers.
Unless Nintendo would want to get every teams around the world into a lan and host the qualifier there.
 
B

Bluth54

Member
Sesuadra said:
Or it was just for the testfire and they'll up it for the retail release.
Click to expand...

I suppose that's a possibility but it kinda defeats the purpose of having a server stress test if the servers for the retail game are going to be running at a much higher tick rate.
 
A

atmuh

Member
RRockman said:
?????????

Wouldn't it just mean that events that matter would actually have to be held in person? There's a reason why People get up and go to EVO and other tournaments in person rather than do online only. If I remember correctly, this was the exact setup in said trailer.
Click to expand...
online tournaments don't matter?
 
G

guybrushfreeman

Unconfirmed Member
MTC100 said:
I am no expert but I am quite certain that a higher tickrate means higher data usage. However you have to remember that Splatoon is only having 8 players at once on a battlefield that's not really that much and even playing an MMO like WoW with 30 man raids for hours with all the stuff that happens to individual players only takes a very tiny amount of transfer.
Click to expand...

It does take more bandwidth. Blizzard even called it high bandwidth mode when testing the upgrade to Overwatch: https://us.battle.net/forums/en/overwatch/topic/20748474858 however I can't say how big the difference is. 12.5Hz is very low though, it's hard to imagine raising it wouldn't have a noticeable positive impact on the game. I wasn't part of the test however so others can comment on how it plays now
 
7

7DollarHagane

Banned
These low tickrates are unacceptable in a modern game. I didn't notice it in the testfire because the weapons fire slowly and it's a slower paced game in general.

But this is just lazy. Cod also has this problem with a 10hz tickrate. It's miserable in that game and makes it unplayable and broken.
 
N

Nightii

Banned
This is basically accommodating all the people that intend to play the game with their "totally better than wired" phone hotspots, so yeah, it sucks and it will be noticeable to people when they start blaming others for lagging so absurdly lol.

I can only hope it does change on release.
 
O

ozz ex machina

Member
I think the baffling thing here is people listing Splatoon as a competitive shooter.

Also worth noting on counterstrike 64 tick is standard for matchmaking but is a joke. 128 tick is used for any comeptitive play.
 
N

NormalFish

Banned
RRockman said:
?????????

Wouldn't it just mean that events that matter would actually have to be held in person? There's a reason why People get up and go to EVO and other tournaments in person rather than do online only. If I remember correctly, this was the exact setup in said trailer.
Click to expand...
How do you suggest teams are chosen for LANs in splatoon? the FGC is pretty different since it's largely grass roots and you only need 1 player per "team". For a team game with longer matches, you need structure. That structure comes from not playing an anyone-can-sign-on massive bracket over the course of a weekend.
 
S

spyroflame0487

Member
MrNelson said:
I don't think a lower tick rate is going to be that big of a deal with Splatoon 2. Shooting ink everywhere doesn't exactly call for the same level of precision that a game like CS:GO or CoD needs.
Click to expand...

I think the bigger problem will be with "ranked" modes. Splat Zone, and especially Tower Control and Rainmaker require precision to take out an advancing enemy. While yes, the Testfire was all about just covering the map as one would do, the Ranked modes require more precision.

It's not really clear what exactly Nintendo intends for esports; are they going to have players focus on Ranked or on regular Turf War stuff.
 
G

Geg

Member
Generally for most people yeah Splatoon's latency isn't going to be a problem. It's much more noticeable up in the S and S+ ranks where fast and precise movement and aim are more important. You can often find yourself getting killed almost instantly by weapons that are supposed to take 3 shots to kill, for example.

Sesuadra said:
Or it was just for the testfire and they'll up it for the retail release.
Click to expand...

That's what I'm hoping.
 
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