Wow, shmupping at 85 fps actually makes a difference

[raiden]

I´ve been advocating the arcade principle of 60 fps for as long as I can remember gaming. So I used to switch my PC monitor to 60 hz as well, but this week I got a new monitor, and wanted to look at 85 fps Quake III, just to give it a try. Well, I liked it, so I didn´t switch back. But then I tried Embodiment of Scarlet Devils, and the game runs in 85 fps completely smoothly, it´s not even a fast PC (1,2ghz with Geforce 2). It really blew me away. Hi-res plays its part, too, of course, but all in all the patterns just looked so incredibly clear and smooth, I couldn´t believe I was playing on a PC at all. Input lag was also reduced, in some respect this was even better than playing PCBs on an arcade cab, an experience I had just a week ago. Well, I tried other games after that, like Radio Zonde for instance, and they weren´t as smooth as the Shanghai Alice games, whether due to bad programming or weak hardware, I can´t tell. But one thing I learned: IF the hardware can handle it effortlessly, increasing the framerate beyond 60 is just SO worth it. I don´t think it makes sense to do that with emulation for games that were designed for 60 fps, but building a game from the ground up with a high framerate in mind can give very, very nice results. I´m deeply impressed.

[benstylus]

I did the same thing with Embodiment of Scarlet Devil a couple months ago - well not on purpose. I was testing out different refresh rates and put my monitor at 75 hz, then i forgot about it.

When I next played EoSD, it seemed to play noticeably faster than I remembered it.

I think the higher framerate actually increases the speed of the game...

[superhitachi4]

Yeah, you'd be surprised about the difference FPS can make in PC gaming. I used to play Quake MegaTF competitively (one of my clans was literally *the* best), and you wouldn't believe the impact FPS plays. FPS impacts the entire physics of the game: you can "bunnyhop" faster, sometimes even walk up hills and such that you couldn't before, and it just overall feels *much* smoother. Smooth to the point where it actually helps your aim a little.

[Acid King]

"bunnyhop"

That word just triggered a bad CounterStrike flashback.