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Given a choice of frame rates between 30/60

  • I always pick 60fps

    Votes: 2,595 76.9%
  • I always pick 30fps (possibly with improved visual)

    Votes: 126 3.7%
  • Depends on the game

    Votes: 640 19.0%
  • AC Valhalla at 30fps, rest at 60

    Votes: 14 0.4%

  • Total voters
    3,375

headspawn

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,620
I'll even take 60FPS with dips over 30.

Dippy as hell God of War on PS4 Pro played and looked so much better on the higher performance mode.. I normally agree with the 'if it's all over the place under 60 with big swings, lock it to 30' but it just felt like crap in comparison. The controls, the chunky particles etc etc I could not, would not.
 

Jroc

Banned
Jun 9, 2018
6,145
I don't think I've ever willingly played a PC game at 30FPS. I always lower the settings until I get a smooth framerate.

On console I would only choose 30FPS if it was something like Persona, or the 60FPS mode looked like absolute garbage.
 

Tathanen

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,039
This is the wrong crowd for this argument, op, but I hear what you're saying. I've been playing some PS5 games and toggling between frame rates and I don't always feel like "wow this is 60 is so much better," there's definitely some nuance to it.

Interestingly in my case I think some of it has to do with how OLED TVs handle motion, there's always going to be some blur or smear no matter what due to sample and hold and I've found that 30 frames per second actually helps hide it a little bit, it's going to be blurry both ways no matter what but at a lower frame rate it's a different kind of blur, I'm blur I'm more used to from decades of low frame rate content.

A couple games I've kept at 30, and a couple I've played at 60, I think ultimately for me it depends on how much I'm moving through an environment versus how much I'm staying generally in one place and interacting with nearby things.
 

Oracle

Banned
Nov 7, 2017
1,932
Perfect topic to get some input. I may boot up ratchet and clank ps5 today, 30 or 60 fps mode ?
 

J-Skee

The Wise Ones
Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,112
If the 30fps is locked with visual enhancements, sometimes I prefer that over 60fps. Ratchet & Clank is a great example of this. It's sublime in 30fps.

If people are saying 30fps sucks, it's because they're switching back & forth & won't let their eyes adjust to it.
 

Deimos

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,777
The latest AC games have shitty, floaty animations so 30 fps is probably masking that.
 

Kernal 64

#TeamThierry
Member
Oct 28, 2017
491
NY
If it's a stable 30, it's fine. It would be better if it was a stable 60 or higher, but it's certainly playable. That said, I've never come across a game that plays worse at higher frame rates unless the game breaks at anything above it's target fps. Playing on my PC with a 144 Hz monitor with GSync is fantastic. I don't have to care about fluctuating frame rates anymore because it always stays smooth and responsive with no screen tearing and I can push the frame rate as far as it can go and not worry about it being visually unstable or introducing significant input lag to stabilize it. VRR solves that nicely.

As an example, DriveClub is one of my favorite racing games and it runs at 30 FPS. It's a mostly rock solid 30 FPS and I've adjusted to it, but there times I imagine how much better it would look and feel if it were running at 60. I can only hope that one day we'll get a PS4 emulator I can run on a high end PC and play this game at 60+ FPS without breaking the game logic. Some games don't react well to being run at higher frame rates than expected, sadly.

Maybe 30fps is just hiding how bad the sense of feedback is in Valhalla.

I suspect this is probably what's happening in OP's case.

I find 60fps zealots particularly annoying. There are some games that require it, but most don't.

You could say this about anything, though. Most games don't require 1080p or 4K either. 480p is fine. Motion resolution is just as important as rendering resolution.
 

Androidsleeps

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,597
It's not a huge issue if 30fps is the only option in certain games, but I'd take 60fps and 60 with occasional drops over 30fps. Tell me how great the camera feels when you're moving it at 30fps!
It also should be noted that there's nothing "next gen" about a game locked at 30 today, especially when games on PC have been at 90 and 120 for years now.
 

Necromanti

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,550
I can see how people could confuse input lag or less responsiveness as "weightiness". But it's probably not by design.
 

TaySan

SayTan
Member
Dec 10, 2018
31,470
Tulsa, Oklahoma
A locked 30 fps with perfect frame pacing is fine with me. A locked 60 fps is preferred of course, but 30 fps can be more than playable.
 

Dennis8K

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
20,161
People saying even 60 fps feels choppy...

b8edcfd6dd79720249b61853c178e8dca5-surejan.2x.h473.w710.jpg
 
Oct 29, 2017
13,519
Switch + PC. So in one had I take whatever they give me on Switch, while also never willing to go under 60 if there's anything I can do about it on PC. Haven't played at 30 on PC probably since I used a laptop in college 7 years ago.
 
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OP
OP
Joo

Joo

Member
May 25, 2018
3,882
I used to be absolutely fine with 30fps even though I preferred 60fps. Given the choice I often picked image quality over performance.

Fast forward to today. I've spent the past year or two playing almost exclusively at high frame rates through my PC, VR and PS5.

The other day I realised that I cannot play 30fps anymore, as in it almost made me feel ill trying the graphics mode on FFVII. I imagine with time I could adapt back again, but I was honestly shocked.
I have played only 60fps games for half a year now on PS5 and first I also thought that 30fps just doesn't look good anymore. Then I realised that for me at least, 30fps will always look bad and jarring if you're just flipping between 30 and 60 without letting your eyes adjust and definitely gives a false impression.

Play 10 minutes at 30fps, and it'll feel distinctly different and smoother, compared to playing it right after you've switched from 60fps mode gameplay. Like I kept switching modes with Valhalla several times after 20 seconds of gameplay and didn't like either. 60fps felt floaty and 30fps felt choppy.

The floaty feeling doesn't go away, but imo the choppiness in some ways does as your eyes adjust. I usually always prefer 60fps regardless of genre, and of course 30fps just doesn't work with certain games, but I don't mind it at all with Valhalla. Increased resolution is also a nice bonus.
 

Scheris

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,383
If t's stable & locked, 60fps. Otherwise I'll feel ill due to it varying and would choose 30fps instead.
 

ResoRai

Member
Nov 4, 2017
217
At this point, I will never play a game at lower than 60 FPS. looks horrid
Same, haven't in years. Every console game that is locked 30 fps I just play on PC at 60+

There is no 30 vs 60 for me, just turn down res or graphics.

I can see how people could confuse input lag or less responsiveness as "weightiness". But it's probably not by design.
This is what OP is feeling, and yeah it's definitely not by design.
 

headspawn

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,620
People saying even 60 fps feels choppy...

b8edcfd6dd79720249b61853c178e8dca5-surejan.2x.h473.w710.jpg

Anecdotal but I had a 75hz monitor and every now and again, some issue with the settings would revert it to 60hz... I could tell right away. So I'd say it's a lot easier to notice on PC when you have a quick moving mouse as your input device (in game and out of game), versus console where you have sluggish controls from the start so it's maybe not as noticeable.

Also, I had a 144hz monitor in another room at the time, so yeah, it definitely changes your perspective.
 

Kaswa101

Member
Oct 28, 2017
17,749
Valhalla is actually the game that sold me on 60 fps. Same with Miles Morales - couldn't go back to 30 fps after these games.
 

RK9

Member
Apr 5, 2021
306
If it's a stable 30, it's fine. It would be better if it was a stable 60 or higher, but it's certainly playable. That said, I've never come across a game that plays worse at higher frame rates unless the game breaks at anything above it's target fps. Playing on my PC with a 144 Hz monitor with GSync is fantastic. I don't have to care about fluctuating frame rates anymore because it always stays smooth and responsive with no screen tearing and I can push the frame rate as far as it can go and not worry about it being visually unstable or introducing significant input lag to stabilize it. VRR solves that nicely.

As an example, DriveClub is one of my favorite racing games and it runs at 30 FPS. It's a mostly rock solid 30 FPS and I've adjusted to it, but there times I imagine how much better it would look and feel if it were running at 60. I can only hope that one day we'll get a PS4 emulator I can run on a high end PC and play this game at 60+ FPS without breaking the game logic. Some games don't react well to being run at higher frame rates than expected, sadly.



I suspect this is probably what's happening in OP's case.



You could say this about anything, though. Most games don't require 1080p or 4K either. 480p is fine. Motion resolution is just as important as rendering resolution.

Well explain technically what makes 60fps the baseline for acceptable standards and not 30fps.
 

III-V

Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,827
60 feels much better and looks much more fluid than thirty. That said, if the game is locked at 30 I don't care. If I have the choice between a res and performance mode, ideally I choose perf.
 

Maturin

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,105
Europe
I started gaming on a ZX Spectrum. And while I like 60 if available, I'll take a smooth framerate over any particular number that judders.

I find frame-rate absolutism rather bizarre, especially as it would mean missing out on a game one might otherwise enjoy. For example the Forza Horizon series until recently were always 30fps but so so smooth.

I'll take performance vs graphics mode on a case by case basis, rather than deciding without trying.

Fun > a number divisible by 30.
 

AnimeJesus

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,181
I get what the OP is saying, 30fps can make some actions in game feel heavier and more impactful and 60fps sometimes gives games a floaty cheap feel. For the most part I prefer 60fps but not at he cost of heavily downgraded visuals. I can get used to 30fps after a while but it is more difficult after directly switching from 60fps.

My XSX should be coming in next week so I'll be grabbing AC:V while it's on sale this week and will try both 30fps and 60fps on it.
 

Wil Grieve

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,079
I'll always choose performance over fidelity given the option.

I don't see enough of a difference to give up the bells a whistle for higher frames
 

Miaus

Member
Jan 28, 2018
416
Bunch of clowns. 10 FPS OoT, SotC or Blighttown is the only way REAL gamers play at.
 

NicoNicoRose

Member
Dec 9, 2020
119
Portland, OR
I actually agree - some bigger slower RPGs and such feel better to me at 30, more cinematic to my eyes. It's not like a huge deal but I do find myself sticking to 30 for Valhalla.

The way some people get angry or weirdly confrontational when given this opinion....ugh, lotta Gamers to set on ignore round this forum.
 

Quinton

Specialist at TheGamer / Reviewer at RPG Site
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
17,287
Midgar, With Love
30 fps is intolerable. I would sooner eat raw eggs, yolk and all, than put up with a single second of this grotesque plebian armageddon.

60 fps is intoxicating. I have no interest in poisoning my body with artificial floatiness.

45 fps is the only acceptable speed. Don't you even @ me.
 

FTF

Member
Oct 28, 2017
28,433
New York
No way. But if a game only has 30fps I adjust to it almost immediately and it's fine/great sometimes (initial release of TLOU2 for example). But if a game has a 60fps option and I pick that, there's just no going back. 30fps after that is horrible.
 

HiLife

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
39,685
R&C looked amazing at 30fps but I don't know how anybody could deal with the combat/traversal when things starting getting hectic.


60fps immediately felt like home.
 

ResoRai

Member
Nov 4, 2017
217
Well explain technically what makes 60fps the baseline for acceptable standards and not 30fps.
Motion clarity and responsiveness. But it's all about what each of us are used to really.

In 30fps games on console, even the best implementations of motion blur obscure detail when turning the camera.

And input latency... Some are better than others, but if I told you really every game at 30 fps feels like Read Dead 2 at 30fps to me you'd probably think I'm crazy, but they just feel ridiculously restrictive.

I recently finished Hellblade (really not a fast paced game) and switched back and forth between fps modes, but it felt like the controls were fighting against me at 30fps.
 

StrangeADT

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,058
Of course 60 fps feels better. But 30 is far from unplayable, and anyone who says 30 is a 'slideshow' or any other such thing is a pretentious, hyperbolic clown who I just cannot take seriously.
It can literally make me sick if the framerate is too low - but sure, I guess I'm a pretentious hyperbolic clown because I don't like the feeling of being nauseated.
 

secretanchitman

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,788
Chicago, IL
I don't think there's been a single game that I've preferred playing in 30FPS over 60FPS. The last time that happened was with Miles Morales - playing in 60FPS and going back to 30FPS to look at fidelity mode was a slideshow. No thank you to 30FPS ever again!

60FPS or bust.
 

Ctrl Alt Del

Banned
Jun 10, 2018
4,312
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
I never chose 30 FPS when 60 is available, but that's not how I played Valhalla on PS5. The 60 FPS mode made the game look just plain ugly in Norway, so I switched to Quality and never looked back.