bigvaL

What are Rates?


Rates in CounterStrike Source and all other Valve games such as CounterStrike 1.6 and Day of Defeat use client side CVAR's which adjust internet connection settings. By default, the game gives you low rates and leaves out many important CVARs that will help your shots hit the target much better. The rates I will give you work best on 100tick servers.

People refer to your bullets hitting the target as registration. Lots of servers have a low tick rate which leads to bad shot registration.

What is a tick rate?

A tick rate is a server side setting that is very important for good gameplay. The optimal tickrate for a server is 100tick. 100tick servers are usually more expensive to rent and are more strenuous on the server itself. Other common tickrates are 33 and 66.

What are some common client side rate CVARs?

cl_updaterate - Default setting from valve is 20. This value is the number of packets per second of updates that you are requesting from the server. The best setting for this is 101.

cl_cmdrate - Default setting from valve is 30. This value is the number of command packets sent to the server every second. The best setting for this is 101.

rate - Default setting from valve is 10000. This value is the maximum bytes per second that the host can receive data. The best setting for this is 25000.

What are some shot registration CVARs?

cl_interpolate - This setting interpolates models on the screen. This is used for smooth gameplay.

cl_interp - This setting interpolates objects positions starting seconds in the past (the value given).

What should I do about this?

If you commonly play on 100tick servers, add these CVARs to your config.cfg file located here:

C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\steamusernamehere\counter-strike source\cstrike\cfg\config.cfg

Shot registration:

cl_cmdrate 101
cl_updaterate 101
rate 25000
cl_cmdbackup 2
cl_interp 0.01
cl_interp_all 0
cl_interpolate 1
cl_lagcompensation 1
cl_lagcomp_errorcheck 1
cl_smooth 1
cl_smoothtime 0.01
cl_predictweapons "1"
cl_pred_optimize "2"
sv_unlag "1"
net_maxfragments "1280"

Violence (See the blood from hits easier)

violence_ablood 1
violence_agibs 1
violence_hblood 1
violence_hgibs 1

Another CVAR I like is ( cl_downloadfilter "nosounds" ) which allows you to never download sounds from servers.

If you have trouble with CSS FPS then try:

mat_picmip 2 (Can go up to 4 which decreases image quality as you go up. 0 is best, 4 is worst)
mat_dxlevel 70 (Uses directx7 and will greatly increase FPS with minor image quality loss/bugs. Illegal in CAL)
mat_dxlevel 80 (Directx8.0)
mat_dxlevel 81 (Directx8.1)

I hope you enjoyed this FAQ and learned a thing or two about rates. :)

tankman12

Very nicely done Bigval. I was wondering if there were any changes I could make seeing as how I just bought the game like 8 hrs ago.

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cokker

Nice one, i was gonna look for some CSS tips.

These will do for now:D

bigvaL

Adding those shot registration CVAR's to your config should make quite the difference. I noticed the biggest difference with the deagle. I couldnt hit anything before even if they werent moving and my crosshair was on their face. Now it seems very accurate. Best thing to do is add a bunch of stuff to your config (delete the duplicate CVARs) and then back it up.

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CS:S Server - GunGame 100tick Ping Boosted 32 Slot: overclock.nuclearfallout.net:27015
OC Settings: 3600mhz (400x9) 2:3, 1200mhz 5-5-5-15, 1.475vcore, 2.25vdimm, 58 C load @ 22C ambients, 650/2000 GPU.

muffin

You ask the question "What is a tick rate?" and then don't really give an answer...

bigvaL

Because the term is pretty much self explanatory. 100tick means the server "ticks" or refreshes 100 times per second. That is why if you play on a 33 tick server, the guns actually shoot slower. Go into a 33tick and shoot the AK then shoot it in a 100tick and you'll notice.

bigvaL

I thought this would get a LOT more feedback. :( Oh well..

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CS:S Server - GunGame 100tick Ping Boosted 32 Slot: overclock.nuclearfallout.net:27015
OC Settings: 3600mhz (400x9) 2:3, 1200mhz 5-5-5-15, 1.475vcore, 2.25vdimm, 58 C load @ 22C ambients, 650/2000 GPU.