Smoothclients 1 Options

[Sigma-Chi]

Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2003 12:11 pm Post subject: cg_smoothclients 1, what it does

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Smoothclients set to 1 has to do with delaying frames. There is something called a smoothing buffer, which essentially takes snapshots from the server and delays them before they become available to the client. This is done to make movement smoother, hence the command "smoothclients".

cg_smoothclients:
Also this setting helps smooth out movement when other players have packet loss, very low rate or low cl_maxpackets. Normally you would see them stutter or warp on your screen in multiplayer. Setting this cvar to "1" adds extra prediction code for such clients and their movements as seen by you should be less erractic. One side effect of enabling this option is that prediction errors can occur. Do not use cg_smoothclients if you are using a negative cl_timenudge.

cl_timenudge:
This is similar to pushlatency in HalfLife, defaults to 0 which is our suggested setting for online play. In Quake3 it is normally used for offline bot practice by using a positive value that is the same as average ping. However, a positive value can also be used to stabilize displayed frames with gameworld updates(snaps) and negative values are reported to adjust client side prediction.

We strongly suggest you leave cl_timenudge at 0 for online play. However If you do wish to alter cl_timenudge to adjust client side prediction then try a negative value that is 25% to 50% of your average ping. Example if you are currently pinging 100 to the server then experiment with a setting between -25 to -50 as your cl_timenudge value. Note that if you are using a negative value for cl_timenudge the top graph in cg_lagometer may be mostly yellow.

A positive value may help if you have problems with gameworld updates (snaps) not being rendered in time. Try a small positive cl_timenudge value of 5,10,15 or 20 never higher. See cg_lagometer for an explanation of how to determine if gameworld updates are not being rendered in time.

Do not use a negative cl_timenudge if you are enabling cg_smoothclients.

This was some info taken from German and various Quake3 sites.

[FatherMurphy]

What the...who the...how the...

Dern, Sigma...that almost made sense to even ME!

Thanks for the clarification! That's the first edifying post on the subject I've read!

But it begs a couple of questions:

1) If it increases the prediction factor, doesn't smoothclients actually SLOW your reaction time to those players who are moving erratically? Meaning you're aiming where your computer thinks they are going, while they've already changed direction? Or is the difference so small as to be negligible?

2) If you have a decent ping and graphics card, will using the timenudge feature with a negative value INCREASE your reaction time, at the loss of some smoothness in gameplay?

Thanks again for the post! Now, since you're obviously of the Wizard Class when it comes to computers, I have a question...what the heck are those other buttons next to the on/off switch for? I'm afraid to touch them!

FatherMurphy