Input lag and lack of modern features make this unplayable

[Anaryl, Emperor of Sol. GEH]

I'vew been trying to get into this game for a few months now and the realisation I keep having is that this isn't a viable product in 2023.

The game doesn't have an attack move function, so units will regularly walk to their death. The input lag and sim speed are in fact so bad that the game regularly drops commands. Even using select all units on screen, still causes units to simply stay behind.

Units routintely drop orders and fail to respond to events around them. You can't react with micro quick enough, because the game is so damn so slow and the controls are fumbly at best. For some reason, only in ranked matches, the screen likes to start scrolling in some random direction. A behaviour it won't emulate in other applications or in replays. Just when Im trying to micro.

This was a great game for its time, but its horribly unplayable now.

[Nyerguds]

Originally posted by Anaryl, Emperor of Sol. GEH:

I'vew been trying to get into this game for a few months now

What is "this game"? Tiberian Dawn, or Red Alert?

Originally posted by Anaryl, Emperor of Sol. GEH:

and the realisation I keep having is that this isn't a viable product in 2023.

That's because you're looking at it as if it's a 2020 game, rather than what it really is: a remaster running on the same old 90's game engine.

Originally posted by Anaryl, Emperor of Sol. GEH:

The game doesn't have an attack move function, so units will regularly walk to their death.

That's just because you decide to send them off without looking at them. Have you tried just... not doing that? Especially Red Alert's gameplay is designed to be the complete opposite of attack-move, with a manual orders queueing command (holding down Q) to allow you to make your troops move past enemies while shooting at them.

Originally posted by Anaryl, Emperor of Sol. GEH:

The input lag and sim speed are in fact so bad that the game regularly drops commands. Even using select all units on screen, still causes units to simply stay behind.

Input lag? Wait, are you talking about multiplayer? lol, no wonder you find it lacking. These games were made primarily as singleplayer games. Multiplayer was always just a fun extra on them. And that's really the only way to look at its multiplayer. Look at it as real competitive stuff and you're probably in the wrong place; go check out the originals on CnCNet then.

[Anaryl, Emperor of Sol. GEH]

I bought this game when it came out dude.

[Cat]

Originally posted by Anaryl, Emperor of Sol. GEH:

I'vew been trying to get into this game for a few months now and the realisation I keep having is that this isn't a viable product in 2023.

No, this is exactly what long time fans since the originals want from EA in 2023.

[Neverbeing]

Why isn't this 1995/6 game the same as a 2023 game!? Your Darwin award is in the post.

[Nyerguds]

Originally posted by Anaryl, Emperor of Sol. GEH:

I bought this game when it came out dude.

Okay. So after buying it, it took you three years to start playing it. How exactly is that relevant?

[EF_Neo1st]

Originally posted by Anaryl, Emperor of Sol. GEH:

I'vew been trying to get into this game for a few months now and the realisation I keep having is that this isn't a viable product in 2023.

The game doesn't have an attack move function, so units will regularly walk to their death. The input lag and sim speed are in fact so bad that the game regularly drops commands. Even using select all units on screen, still causes units to simply stay behind.

Units routintely drop orders and fail to respond to events around them. You can't react with micro quick enough, because the game is so damn so slow and the controls are fumbly at best. For some reason, only in ranked matches, the screen likes to start scrolling in some random direction. A behaviour it won't emulate in other applications or in replays. Just when Im trying to micro.

This was a great game for its time, but its horribly unplayable now.

Game is the same as it was before, it is a "graphics remaster" of the original game with some extra features (but none that change the gameplay) so there it is, you wanted the game to be a complete different game when it is not, same goes along the lines of Crash trilogy remaster and Spyro remaster, just graphics overhaul with more modern grapphics but no gameplay change watsooever.

Game still good, maybe not for you.

[Ceejay]

What are your specs? You should not be seeing any lag. Certainly not input lag. Have you tried single/skirmish are these lagging or just multiplayer?

[Nyerguds]

Input lag is only a thing in multiplayer. It's caused by the fact the server is the only one really playing the game, so commands you give need time to get sent to the server, and that system doesn't seem to be very optimised.

[Ceejay]

Originally posted by Nyerguds:

Input lag is only a thing in multiplayer. It's caused by the fact the server is the only one really playing the game, so commands you give need time to get sent to the server, and that system doesn't seem to be very optimised.

Normally yes, which is why I was checking, if he is lagging in non multiplayer, then something else is wrong. Otherwise it is most likely the above.

[DontCryJustDie]

This game has high input lag because the game logic only runs at around 60 ticks per second on the highest speed setting. On normal speed it is around 30 ticks. Verified with TD.
Another thing that adds a delay to units responsiveness is that the game logic delays some commands until a later time.

People that are used to play other games with hundreds of fps will of course find this title lagging.

[Ritsuka]

Originally posted by DontCryJustDie:

This game has high input lag because the game logic only runs at around 60 ticks per second on the highest speed setting. On normal speed it is around 30 ticks. Verified with TD.
Another thing that adds a delay to units responsiveness is that the game logic delays some commands until a later time.

People that are used to play other games with hundreds of fps will of course find this title lagging.

what input lag? i've seen none, and as others have said they've only seen it in MP

[DontCryJustDie]

People are different, some are more sensible to input lag than other. Just because you haven't experience it doesn't mean it doesn't exists.

[UnBlessed]

In PVP, ping will affect your input, like if I play against some players, my click will slow about 2 or 3 second.
To against AI in high resource map, everybody trying to train units and building as more as possible, then AI's unit will stuck, that will make game lag, this also happened in Red Alert 2, when too many units stuck, then game will lag badly.

[Ceejay]

Originally posted by DontCryJustDie:

People are different, some are more sensible to input lag than other. Just because you haven't experience it doesn't mean it doesn't exists.

As the op mentioned rank matches, I do think we are talking multiplayer therefore its most likely lag due to servers/connection.

[Cat]

Originally posted by UnBlessed:

In PVP, ping will affect your input, like if I play against some players, my click will slow about 2 or 3 second.
To against AI in high resource map, everybody trying to train units and building as more as possible, then AI's unit will stuck, that will make game lag, this also happened in Red Alert 2, when too many units stuck, then game will lag badly.

Same. I once played a red alert skirmish with 7 AI players on a large money map and afk for half the game to test if the AI would field high tech level units like Tanya and chrono tank, the game was more laggy and unresponsive than a typical online 2v2.

It's probably my hardware but I don't have this issue with the classic games.