A few thoughts (Gaming)

by CruelLEGACEY , Toronto, Monday, July 03, 2017, 07:47 (2493 days ago) @ Cody Miller

This thread is a little all over the place ;)

So a few things jump out at me about this topic.

First of all, 60fps clearly, obviously improves the controls of any game. This shouldn't even be an argument. It's a plain fact. A game running at 60fps is twice as responsive as a game running at 30fps.

That doesn't mean games running at 30fps feel "bad" or are "unplayable". Destiny feels great! In fact, the feel of the game is probably the most consistently praised thing about it. BUT... go play nothing but Titanfall 2 for a couple weeks, then jump back into Destiny. You'll feel like you're trying to move while underwater for the first hour or two, until your brain and hands get used to the slower response time again.

So is it a "must have" feature? Clearly not in all cases, but it does make an appreciable difference with games that move quickly and require precise timing.

Regarding the "most people don't notice 60fps" argument: This is true, in that user research data shows that the majority of people say they can't tell the difference between 30fps and 60fps while watching videos or playing games. I've mentioned this myself several times in the past.
However, there is often a large gulf between what people detect and their ability to specifically quantify it. To put it another way, if you grabbed 1000 gamers and asked them to play Halo 3 and COD MW2 back to back, then asked them which game "controlled better", I guarantee the vast majority would say "COD". They just probably wouldn't understand why it feels better to control. Their eyes may not detect the smoother frame rate or quicker response times, but they will almost certainly pick up on the fact that it just "feels better".

In the specific case of this Crash Bandicoot remaster, it sounds to me like there are several issues piling up:
* The added lag from HDMI/HD tvs as compared to older CRT screens
* The added lag from wireless controllers
* The slower response time of 30fps opposed to 60fps
No one of these issues on their own would be that big a deal, but pile them up on top of each other and you will certainly get a game that does not control as well as the original. And being a game where timing is extremely important, I can totally see why Cody and others would find this unacceptable.

Regarding some of the other remastered games discussed in this thread (Uncharted, TLOU), I find these cases to be a little muddier in terms of this discussion. I haven't played the Uncharted collection, but there is no doubt that TLOU remaster on PS4 controls better than the original PS3 version. Some of that is due to the remaster running at 60fps, but another reason is the change in controllers: the Dual Shock 3 had terrible analog sticks ever made, while the Dual Shock 4 has some of the best sticks on a gaming controller ever. But either way, neither TLOU or Uncharted are great cases for the importance of 60fps, because the shooting mechanics in both games are poor to serviceable at best. Faster controller response is great, but laggy controls were never really the problem with the shooting in those games, so its not an improvement that many people will get excited about.