Valve dev talks subtick servers in CS2, defends jump problem

Nov 4, 2023

Reading time: 2 min

CS2 fans are still in an uproar about subtick servers, and a personal talk with a Valve dev has fixed some things while worsening others.

Like it or not, subtick servers are here to stay. Valve put a lot of effort into creating a happy medium between 64 and 128-tick servers, but various little bugs have emerged in the process. One of the most sinister causes jumps to reach inconsistent heights, leading to botched movement despite no player mistake. Amid all the protests, a lone Valve dev has bravely stepped forward to talk about the issue. Here’s a breakdown of the conversation and how one small statement made things go south.

The dev is none other than John McDonald, senior software engineer at Valve. McDonald has previously spoken with the community on a variety of issues, giving him the most familiar face among CS2 fans. In the thread, John praised one fan’s analysis of subtick as it relates to the jump bug. He then elaborated that the issues surrounding the jump bug are related to cl_showpos, which is not correctly interacting with the subtick system.

CS2 fans were more than happy about the rare communication from Valve, but one particular statement has turned the discussion sour.

Valve dev claims fixing subtick jumps would cost FPS

John McDonald enamored fans by talking about the problems with subtick, but one comment on the jump bug has raised eyebrows within the community.

After shutting down one fan who criticized his explanation, McDonald claimed that fixing the jump issue could result in decreased game performance. He then suggested that more players would benefit from the theoretically increased FPS than a fixed jump height.

Are you referring to the case where you jump and bump your head during the jump?

That case is indeed a little inconsistent. Is there a case where that is relevant to gameplay?

It could be made consistent but it would cost fps that I suspect users would rather have.
— John McDonald (@basisspace) November 4, 2023

This prompted immediate confusion and arguments from fans. Some questioned how the two are even related to each other while others claimed that inconsistent jump heights could affect major moments in the esports scene. While the conversation was ultimately productive, this last quip ended things on an awkward note.