UPDATE 2 - October 24
Following player feedback about the server tick rate being lowered to 20hz across multiplayer and Blackout, Treyarch have issued an update that has increased the server send rate to 30hz, along with a handful of other fixes. Among the changes was a fix for the memory leak issue that was causing the game to crash on PC for some users, as well as general stability improvements across all modes.
Original story:
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 has been available for a week, but the multiplayer beta was the first time players got their hands on it. The beta, which ran in August, showed off a small portion of the final game's multiplayer.
After comparing tests run on the beta and on the final game, a couple of Reddit threads have reported that the server response time is lower than it was in the beta. The beta servers performed at 60hz, whilst the final game performs at 20hz, meaning that it pings back to the server 20 times a second instead of 60. This essentially means the servers for the game are operating at a third of the speed than they previously were.
"The server send rate has been lowered from 60hz to 20hz causing more inconsistency compared to the beta due to the fact that there is (on average) triple the amount of time between server updates." Reddit user Smcro explains. "Also, it would seem that matchmaking sometimes chooses servers that are undesirable in terms of latency. It would be nice to have the ability to whitelist server locations which give the best experience to prevent this from happening."
Meanwhile, the game's battle royale mode, Blackout, also runs at a server send rate of 20hz. According to Battle(non)sense's breakdown video, the game starts at 40hz before dipping down to 20hz for the rest of the game. He says the servers for most battle royale games perform better as a match goes on as there are fewer players to contend with. This is an improvement on the 10hz servers used in the Blackout beta that was done in September.
Perhaps Treyarch is trying to create a more even playing experience, forcing 20hz across all modes. Either way, players are calling on Treyarch to find out why the servers have purportedly been downgraded. We'll report on any updates.
In the meantime, why not check out our review for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, which calls it "the best Call of Duty has been in years".
UPDATE 1 - October 22
Treyarch responded to the community's questions about why the server send rate has been reduced. Here's what they had to say:
"We've also noticed a lot of discussion around network performance over the past couple of days and wanted to take a moment to address this directly. We’re constantly working to optimize the game, and particularly network performance, to ensure the highest quality online experience for our players. For a game launch with as massive a population as ours hitting so many global servers at once, we configure our infrastructure to ensure game stability as the highest priority over all other factors.
Now that we’re past the initial launch of the game, we are focusing on fine-tuning network performance around the globe, using the real-world data that we have collected. Over the course of the next two weeks, we will roll out several updates to our network setup that will continue to improve upon the experience of our players since launch. As we have always said, launch is just the beginning, and we’re committed to making Black Ops 4 the best-supported game we’ve ever delivered. This is a journey that will involve constant adjustments, improvements, and additions. We appreciate your continued support and patience – thank you!"
What do you think? Do you feel it makes a big difference? Let us know in the comments!
