Fortnite has a dark secret for people playing on the Switch or low-end hardware
Playing Fortnite on the Switch, or a lower-end PC? We’ve got bad news. Those playing Fortnite at 30 frames per second (FPS) are being hit by a particularly nasty glitch that’s making them worse than those playing it at 60fps.
The problem? It turns out that those playing at 30fps are actually firing slower, due to a weird bug in Epic’s Unreal Engine, meaning you’re getting blitzed by those
This has been spotted by Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry, who found a Reddit Thread describing the problem and then ran experiments, confirming that those playing at 30fps really are getting the short end of the firefight stick. This is especially rough for Nintendo Switch players as the console never really goes past 30fps but you can be dropped into matches with people from any platform.
Related: Fortnite Review
Lots of discussion about higher Fortnite fire rates with higher frame-rates. We noted a 5.2% increase in fire rate at 60fps vs 30fps in this test, but no further advantage beyond that. Epic says it will be fixed in an update. pic.twitter.com/lmbgNOhrLR
— Digital Foundry (@digitalfoundry) January 23, 2019
Visit the Digital Foundry article for discussion of their methodology and how they crunched the numbers to get this 5.24 percent increase in firing speed.
“There is some logic to why this is happening,” says the Digital Foundry piece. “The running theory is that a gun’s rate of fire is linked to the way frames are output by a PC or console. This way, each bullet syncs to a new frame as it’s fired. However, in cases where a gun’s rate of fire is too high – with an automatic rifle, for example – a 30fps machine will delay the release of a bullet by a millisecond to match it. It’s a tiny delay, but those milliseconds stack up over the course of emptying a large clip, creating a larger difference.”
It’s bad news for Fortnite players trying to be competitive on low end hardware, although it seems Epic are aware of the problem and are currently working on a fix. However, as of the current patch it’s an ongoing issue.
Have you noticed slowdown while playing at lower framerates? Does this issue make you watn to hold fire on playing the game? Let us know on Twitter at @TrustedReviews
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
